Glad to Find this thread:-). Started on Atkins on January 28(?), and so far so good. Had My ovaries taken out a few days ago(dermoid cysts), and got an IV full of glucose afterwards. So I'm glad to be back on track.
Even though I've suffered from hot flashes, I haven't taken any meds. My major concern at the age of 55 is the loose skin.
I look forward to shedding with you.

I turned 50 last June and I have been doing Atkins off and on for about 10 years. When I stick with it I have been really successful but for the past few years I was struggling and I believe it is because I’m peri-menopausal. Pain, heavy periods that lasted for 3 weeks, hot flashes and night sweats and no energy made it difficult to stay motivated.
For years I had horrible periods and about 7 years ago they did the first ablation. It helped for a few years but I continued to have my period and then the horrible pain started again so I had my second ablation. Later we discovered that I have Adenomyosis and any further ablations would be pointless. My family Doc and my surgeon are not fans of hysterectomies so they put me on a regiment of Progesterone and Estradoiol and I get a monthly injection of Leuprorelin. I must say I feel great. I still have some trouble sleeping but the hot flashes and night sweats are all but gone and as long as I get my shots on a regluar basis I have no pain and no period. I know drugs aren't everyones cup of tea but I had tried all sorts of other methods and none worked for me.
Now that I'm feeling better I know I can get back to having a life.

MizKitty, I feel your pain.

I have to confess that I've been anything but true to plan for the past six months, and boy does it show. Scale weight has only increased 4 pounds, but I've gained two sizes in clothing and terrible mid-section spread.

I'm 55 and menopausal for about eight years now. No hrt by choice due to high risk of breast cancer in my family.

The only remedy for me is to be true to myself and recognize that only I can choose which path to take. I can bitch and moan and pout all I want, but only I can change it.

Have a great day everyone!

Update since my earlier post where I asked that question. That was 3.5 months ago, 1/6/12. Since then, I've lost 35 pounds! So, it took almost 4 years to get far enough through menopause and about 8 months of hrt therapy, but finally the scale is moving in the right direction again, and I couldn't be happier.

Sbear, bioidentical estrogen and progesterone has not been linked to any increased risk of breast cancer, in fact, just the opposite, here's a brief study, there's more out there like this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19179815
It's just the synthetic or animal-based hormones doctors are in love with prescribing (big pharma brain-washed). I insisted on bio-identical. I mean, how can it be dangerous to replace something you're supposed to make anyway?
Of course, it's still a big debate.
I only know how much better I feel on them, it's like night and day.

I started doing Wright watchers again, I hope this thread reignites!

Hi,
I started low carb a few weeks ago and so far it's proving the answer to my prayers.

In my thirties I lost about 8 kilos on what I now realise was pretty much a low carb diet. I did have a piece of dry toast in the mornings which I'm not doing now, but mostly I ate meat, fish, fruit veg, low-fat cheese (whereas now I wouldn't watch the fat so much) and salads. I can't remember the details but it worked - I made a bet with a co-worker and we both lost. I kept away from sugar for some time but reintroduced complex carbs and kept the weight off for a few years.

More recently - after having two kids - I found my weight creeping up again despite exercise (10ks and quarter marathons, dance class, etc.), so much so that the exercise became difficult. I quite the dance class and stopped running as my knees were in bad shape. I lost a few kilos with Weightwatchers but found myself cheating on the calories - partly to fit in a few glasses of wine - and gained back what I lost with a bonus.

To cut a long story short, at 57 I found myself back at my lifetime high of 84 kg. This summer I went on holiday to Spain and was amazed to find I didn't gain. I ate well but healthily - though not strictly low carb. That gave me a boost. I had started to be attracted to stuff on the web about low carb and thought I'd give it a whirl when I got back. It really seems to suit me as I feel healthy and don't get any cravings. I can resist chocolate and stuff much better. It's not too difficult to eat low carb at home. I give my husband some extra carbs sometimes - rice, potatoes - and don't eat them myself. I also take my own lunch to work. In restaurants I can generally find something that's OK and if they serve potatoes or rice or polenta with something I either ask for the meal without or leave it. Usually it works out OK.

I have high cholesterol and my doc wants to see me in September as I told her I wasn't taking the statins she prescribed a year or so ago. I'm convinced my readings will be better. I hope so anyway.

Oh, and I've lost about 4 kg since the spring and since I went low carb I've dipped under 80 kg for the first time in six or seven years or maybe more.

So wish me luck.

Hi Lulumae Welcome to the board. Lots of information, advice and support to be found here, so stop in every day!

Thank you MizKitty, it's nice to have company.

I'm sure I'll learn a lot. I'm rather winging it at the moment, rather than sticking strictly to one plan or another - although I've got plenty of literature on low carb which I'm slowly reading my way through - but if the results are disappointing I'll go back to the drawing board. Yesterday I watched the Hairy Dieters on TV. I like them and they've obviously lost weight but I'm afraid if I did what they are doing - restricting calories to 1400 a day and making light versions of their normal food and laying off the booze, I'd be frustrated all the time. I can't believe I'm not getting hunger pangs. I enjoy my meals but they don't trigger a desire to eat more, even in the evening.
Tonight I am going to dinner with friends. I don't want to bother them with the diet so I'll may have to compromise a bit, but hopefully not enough to trigger a major setback.

I'm not cheating, but I'm not losing, either, to top it off I replaced the battery in my scale and its weighing 10 pounds higher at 52 my cycles are still regular, or were until last month when I had a strange period, it was light for 2 weeks and then normal for 3 days, since I was just at my GYN and everything was good, I assume maybe its the beginning of menopause. If so I'll have to really work at figuring out how to lose during this mess.

What plan are you following?

It's still early days for me but so far this is different from any WOE I tried - except when I lost weight back in my '30s. The difference is the way I feel - not like an elastic band stretched to breaking point but calmer and above all more happy with myself.
At my friends' place everything was great for low carb except the first course - spaghetti al dente with home made pesto. I ate a small(ish) portion and it didn't trigger any cravings. I skipped desert which was melon and berries - I should probably have had it but I said no desert in order not to risk getting served ice cream or something. I didn't weigh myself till two days later and there was no damage even though I drank a couple (or three) glasses of wine. I'm down a pound now.
At the weekend I made a low-carb cake with black chocolate. No one liked it because it's pretty bitter (I tried making a courgette cake with Stevia to sweeten but it wasn't nice so this time no sweetener, just a spoon of maple syrup), but I enjoyed a slice with berries and cream. You sure can't eat much of it though. It's still sitting on the kitchen table.
My first goal is 78 kg - the weight I was when I switched jobs about 8 years ago. I am just one kg off now. My next goal is 74, which I was when I got married, and my overall goal is 65kg, which I haven't been since I was 12 years old.
Also at the weekend I got out my "thin wardrobe". I came close to throwing it all out a while ago but then put it into plastic binbags. Now it is all out and some things have been laundered. I am hoping to be able to wear some of it by early 2013 at the latest.
I have been menopaused for 4 - 5 years, am not taking anything and generally feel OK. Before starting to low carb, I was feeling old and fat and past it but my self-perception has really changed even though I've only lost 4 kg so far.

Hi all! I'll be 55 this Friday. I started Atkins July 14, 2012 and have been mostly compliant since then. Trying to go up the carb ladder, but it seems that I need to stay around 30 or less to keep losing anything at all.

Glad you all are out there!

I feel your pain. I just got a new digital scale and "gained back" 7 pounds I thought lost for good. Yuck!

I also just got finished with bleeding just like a period though my hormone levels indicate I am post-menopausal. Another yuck.

For me, losing weight after menopause is proving to be harder than before. Even though I never managed to keep it off, I could always drop a few pounds with just a few little changes. Now it seems like they are digging in and refusing to budge.

Hi everyone,

Glad to have found this thread. I've been struggling with rapid weight gain since my forties. Prior to that, relatively normal weight but with very bad dieting habits, yo-yo dieting and experimented with 'diet doctors' in my youth. I suspect I've ruined my metabolism but am too scared to think that could be permanent

Day 2 of Atkins. So far so good, don't feel any bad effects or cravings (which is surprising, I guess)

Welcome to the board cielo.

I gained weight over the summer and feel terrible about it. Between thyroid and peri/meno - it's just really depressing.

I'm still hanging in there, had a semi normal cycle and I am now 2 pounds down, but I also had to really reign in my snaking to do it, I think this is going to really make it tough, because I love to eat, even low carb stuff, and now I need to restrict portions, too