Dear Kayla,
I am 53 years of age. I have not been having periods for the last 4 months. My weight is at 169 lbs (77 kg), and my height is 5’ 4″. I do fasting for 15 hrs. Also I’m doing weight training 3 days a week. The scale has yet to move. What should I do?
Signed,
Uma Anand
Dear Uma,
First, you didn’t mention if the lack of having periods was from menopause, or if it could be due to something else. If you’re unsure why it’s happening, please consult a trusted doctor first. Periods are important, and losing it due to overexercise or eating too little is not a good thing. But, for the rest of my letter, I’m going to assume that the amenorrhea is due to menopause and you have the green light from your doctor to lose the weight.
Right now, your BMI is 29, which puts you in the overweight category. In order to get into the “normal” zone, you’d need to lose about 24 pounds. You might find, like I did, that you’re happy even at the low end of overweight. Regardless, a reasonable goal to shoot for would be losing a half a pound to a pound on average per week, which would put your timeline between 6 months to a year. It might also take longer than that, depending on how consistent you are, and how slowly your body drops weight.
The next thing to consider is how long you’ve been consistently sticking with a 15-hour fast. I recommend weighing daily, keeping track of your 7-day average, and then watching how your 7-day average moves over 6 weeks of consistently practicing intermittent fasting. (Free spreadsheet that will calculate that for you here.)
If you have been consistent with a 15-hour fast for 6 weeks straight, and your starting 7-day average is exactly the same today as it was 6 weeks ago, then that means that you’re currently eating enough to maintain your weight. In order to lose, you’ve got to start eating a bit less, so that you’re in a deficit. There are several ways you can do this:
- Don’t snack during the eating window, and focus on eating meals instead. Snacking is often habitual eating due to boredom, stress, procrastination, worry, or anger.
- Cut out all distracted eating. No screens, work, or reading while you’re eating. Focus on the food and stop eating when full (or just before that point.)
- Consider shortening the eating window, if that’s something that will work in your life and that you’ll find easy.
Whatever strategy you choose, keep a laser focus on making permanent changes. This is not about doing something drastic that will “kickstart” your weight loss. This is about doing stuff you can do forever. Be patient with yourself and with the process. Keep at it, and you’ll hit your goal.
Sincerely,
Kayla