Menopause Weight Gain Over 50: My Nutrition and Fitness Journey

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Nothing fits the same. I’m starting a monthly segment where I talk through what I’m actually doing to feel like myself again in this particular season. It’s just a look at what I’m trying in order to combat menopause weight gain over 50, what’s helping and what isn’t. I’d love for you to chime in in the comments or on facebook because I think we learn more from each other than most anywhere else.

Troy and I came back to the US after several years living on an island in the Adriatic. It was a slower, simpler life, built around real food and long walks and a pace where nobody was rushing. Coming back has been its own kind of adjustment.
And my body held a full on rebellion. Crazy hormones, wildly different food ingredients, and just the stress of life here — all of it landed at once, and the weight came on fast. All of it settled around my midsection.

I don’t have a lot of control over most of what’s happening in my life right now. But nutrition and my fitness are still mine. That’s the lever I have, so that’s the one I’m pulling.

I spent years working as a fitness trainer, so this isn’t unfamiliar territory for me — it’s more like territory I used to know well and am now relearning under new rules. My pre-rebellion body would have quickly and predictably responded to what I’m about to lay out for you . My current body is proving not-so-cooperative. But I know exactly what doing nothing produces, so I’m staying with it.

A little context: I’m currently on HRT through Evernow ($25 off w/ the link)— 1mg Estradiol daily, 100mg Progesterone nightly — and I track everything through Cronometer, which goes far deeper than just calories and macros if you want to actually understand what you’re eating. Right now I’m paying closer attention to macros and nutrients than to calorie counts. If that stops moving the needle, I’ll adjust.

AM Supplements — What I take every day

List is also always available here in my shop.

• Favorite Collagen
• Creatine, 5g
• Ashwagandha, 1000mg
• Magnesium L-Threonate
• Focus mushroom gummies
• DHA Omega-3, 1400mg
• Vitamin K2 + D3
• Vitamin B-12

PM Supplements — What I take every night

• Magnesium Glycinate, 500mg

Water & Drinks

• At least 84 oz daily, spread throughout the day, in a 21 oz bottle – Favorite bottle.
• One electrolyte sachet daily — This one is super close to the LMNT brand profile but a fraction of the cost.
• One cup of coffee in the morning; hot tea and water the rest of the day
• A glass or two of red wine with my husband most evenings — reconnection time I genuinely look forward to, and I’m still experimenting with timing at night to keep this ritual while not de-railing my goals or my sleep.

A Typical Day of Eating

No added sugar, no sodas, fast food, or processed food.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled with spinach and chopped tomatoes, 1 cup Greek yogurt, 1 cup wild blueberries, 1 slice turkey, 1 slice Ezekiel toast
• Lunch: ½ cup rice, chicken breast, vegetables, fresh salsa
• Snack: protein bar + matcha tea
• Dinner: protein + vegetables + a small amount of carbs (sweet potato, squash, etc.)

Fitness

• Mornings: Coffee, sunlight, prayer/meditation, Bible reading, yoga, stretch flow, abs. This is something I’ve carried with me in all our travels as well. It takes about an hour, sometimes more- it’s all done from my yoga mat, preferably outdoors. I look forward to it every morning.
• Everything is tracked on my Garmin smartwatch.
• 8,000–10,000 steps daily
• Gym 3x per week + 1 cardio day- this is not my preferred schedule, but it’s the only one we’ve been able to be consistent with.
• At least 8 hrs of sleep- quality tracked for patterns.

Lower Body — 3 sets, 8–10 reps (leg press to failure): squats, stiff-legged deadlift, walking lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, leg press

Upper Body — 3 sets, 8–10 reps: curls, hammer curls, overhead extensions, single kickbacks, bench press, flys, bent rows

Full Body — 3 sets, 8–10 reps: Full Body- 3 sets 8-10 – Squats, dumbbell curls, shoulder press, T-Bar Rows, Lat raises, Leg Press

Cardio: Run/walk at home, Lap Swim @ gym, Treadmill walk on high incline @ gym

The Current State of Things

So here’s where I actually am, several weeks in: no visible changes. Not in the mirror, not on the scale, not in how my clothes fit. Nada. My pre-rebellion body would have shown me something by now, and this one hasn’t. That’s super frustrating. Muscle building is happening, so thats a win.

I’ll be back next month with an honest update on my menopause weight gain over 50 — what moved, what didn’t, and whatever I’ve changed along the way. This isn’t a program. It’s just my attempt to feel at home in my body again, in a season that definitely didn’t come with a manual.

If you’re in this season too — whatever your version of “nothing fits the same” looks like — I’d love to hear it. Tell me in the comments, or come find me on Facebook. What’s helped you? What hasn’t? I have a feeling there’s more we can learn from each other here than from any single expert with a program to sell.

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