Weight Loss after menopause
I had multiple reasons why I wanted to try Hormone Replacement Therapy at age 52, but the main motivation for me weight loss. In December of 2019, I was at my highest weight, I felt fat, ugly and stuck. And if you ask my husband, I wasn't much fun to hang out with.
I'm guessing there are many women who feel the same way and turn to Hormone Replacement Therapy as one of the main tools to aid in this endeavor. However, what many learn and what many medical articles will tell you is that HRT albeit great for most menopause symptoms including weight loss, by itself, it isn't enough or a magic pill. You must incorporate other tools from your toolbelt to achieve weight loss.
Menopause Weight Loss
Late in 2019 and early 2020 I was prescribed Hormone Replacement Therapy at the age of 52. I got serious about my food intake and my exercise and went on to lose 28 pounds.
Was it easy? No. I had to work my butt off and found myself white knuckling the final few hours of every fast. So no, it wasn't easy.
I wish the FDA approved GLP-1 (Semaglutide) meds had been available at the time. They were not, so I had to lose my weight the hard way. I used tools like the Cronometer app to track my macronutrients and bathroom scale to monitor my weight. I incorporated intermittent fasting and exercised way more and harder than I probably should have.
Adding a GLP-1 could be the missing piece to Weight Loss during menopause
It's no secret that losing weight and keeping it off once you hit perimenopause or your menopause years is HARD! Believe me, I know, it's no joke.
Most of us have heard or learned that our estrogen levels decrease during this time in our life. Our bodies are starving for estrogen so it searches for it anywhere it can. In obese postmenopausal women, adipose tissue (fat) is the main source for estrogen production. Your body needs estrogen so it hangs on to fat and makes more fat so it can create the much-needed estrogen. That's why it's so hard to lose the fat.
Hormone Replacement Therapy is used to add the needed estrogen to our bodies which helps prevent additional fat from being added, but what to do for the existing fat that needs to go?
This is where the GLP-1 or semaglutide drugs come into play. But isn't this the drug that we hear all over the news is impossible to find because pharmacies can't keep up? Well, the brand name versions, yes.
However, just like Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy is produced by compounding pharmacies so is semaglutide which is the compounded versions of drugs also known as Ozemic, Rybelsus and Wegovy.
The FDA approved semaglutide for weight loss in June 2021. In January of 2024, semaglutide and tirzepatide were both on FDA's list of drugs in shortage, which meant compounding pharmacies are now able to step in and provide compounded versions of GLP-1 meds.
Semaglutide (GLP-1) for menopause weight loss support
Is this the missing piece to the puzzle? Likely, yes, at least one additional piece.
When you combine the hormonal effects of menopause and a generalized tendency to be overweight, it's a recipe for a very un-happy woman.
According to Menopause Solutions' February 2023 article, Semaglutide and Weight Loss, "Due to the hormonal changes associated with menopause, semaglutide is particularly effective for effective and sustained weight loss in middle-aged and menopausal women."
Contrary to long held beliefs, weight loss is not simply a matter of willpower. As Julia Belluz writes in the New York Times, “We tend to believe body size is something we can fully control, that we’re skinny or fat because of deliberate choices we make. After talking to hundreds of patients with obesity over the years and to clinicians and researchers who study the disease, let me assure you: Reality looks a lot less like free will.” Weight gain and weight loss are a complex orchestra of hormones that tell the body when we’re hungry and when we’re full.
One of these hormones is leptin which regulates body weight not meal-to-meal, but over time. Disorders in leptin metabolism or the brain’s response to leptin can result in increased hunger, decreased satiety, and weight gain which are beyond the individual’s ability to control with willpower.
Semaglutide Injections
If you've read any of my work, or visited the website, you know I'm all about telehealth whenever possible. I've written dozens of articles on the benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy and how to find an HRT doctor or specialist online.
5400 people search Google for "Semaglutide Injections near me" every month. This tells me that just like HRT, many of us don't know where to start to find a qualified doctor to prescribe a GLP-1, like semaglutide.
Semaglutide, GLP-1 available via Telehealth
Much like HRT, you want to do your homework. This GLP-1 peptide is only available with a doctor's prescription, so you'll need to work with a medical professional who can write a prescription, send to a compounding pharmacy and mail directly to your home. You need to ensure the doctor is licensed in your state and be prepared to discuss your weight, medical history and other personal facts with the provider.
Best Weight Loss in Menopause: HRT AND Semaglutide
So, it seems, that yet another discovery has been made to help us ladies of a 'certain age.' As we continue our efforts to drop the pounds and then keep them off, it just may take some modern-age therapies to pull it all together.
I've mentioned a few times in other articles that I lost 28 pounds after starting HRT and I've kept it off. Although my current weight is significantly less than it was before I started HRT, I'm still borderline obese based on my weight and height. I'd still like to lose another 15 pounds.
If you are like me, there isn't much I won't try as long as the label isn't too scary! I want to be comfortable in my body and feel proud of my now 57 year-old self.
I started semaglutide on March 21, 2024. I'll track my progress and update this blog with my results as time marches on. It is my hope that it is the Holy Grail of weight loss after 50!
Put a 2-month, 4-month or 6-month supply in your cart and check out using the discount code. Joi will reach out with next steps on obtaining the prescription.
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