I am planning to get tested shortly, but since the whole hormone therapy topic is rife with controversy (each medical professional I speak with has a different opinion it seems) – when you mention that your clinical and anecdotal experience supports that correction of hormonal changes boosts weight loss – can you be more specific? In other words, in a middle aged woman in a state of declining hormones- should raising estrogen and progesterone levels through HRT be the route to take? would we seek to raise those levels back to the levels they were in the reproductive years? thank you.

Comment from MD Eades: I wouldn’t really be able to make a blanket statement about what all peri and post menopausal women should do, because it varies. What I would say in a general sense is that taking hormones back to actual reproductive age levels can be fraught with problems (return of menses, for instance) for some women. And for others there may be other medical reasons why they shouldn’t push replacement to that level. For my own part, I shot for the lowest level of estrogen replacement that kept my mood level and my nights sweat free. And for a progesterone level that put me at the low end of normal for a younger woman probably, but at the higher end of normal for a post-menopausal woman. Every woman’s situation is unique, however. Some for metabolic reasons are estrogen heavy, others progesterone heavy, and others deficient in everything, including enough testosterone. I wish I had a clearer answer, but it really is a tough question.

Am I wrong here? I have read studies that indicate that body fat distribution can be impacted by hormone supplementation – but not overall weight loss.
Any advice you have is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Comment from MD Eades: I agree that the literature is relatively light on double blind placebo controlled human studies documenting specific weight loss with the correction of hormonal changes, but certainly there is anecdotal evidence (such as that is) to support it and my own clinical experience bears that out. And, for many women, restoring the (sometimes) dramatic shift in body composition and body shape that accompanies the hormonal changes of perimenopause to a more ‘normal’ one is of significant benefit even in the absence of tremendous weight loss.

Still, now that it’s been a year since this post, have you noticed any benefits so far doing the “Rummy”?

-Tomas

COMMENT from MD EADES: Can’t say it’s been a terrific weight loss tool, but as my father would have said: who knows where I might have been without it? You do get better at standing and maybe that means some fitness benefit out of it, I think. And I still do it much of the day.

You mention hormonal changes as we age, especially decades after menopause, but what did you find different after you started taking bioidentical hormones? Were you able to lose any weight as a result? Or did you just feel better?

I am able to maintain my weight on low carb and did lose on the 6WC but bounced back to where I started when I went back to eating high fat meats (primarily beef). If I avoid beef completely, I can drop a pound or two but can’t take off the pesky 10 pounds I was aiming for.

I can stand much longer now I have knee replacements but doubt I could do 8 hours.

Anything further on those bioidentical hormones would be helpful.