INTRO Starting Reta at 44, hoping to feel like myself again

[Naini]

Hello all! I'm 44, a mum of 3, and I took my first Reta shot - 5unit - on Wednesday. I'm feeling low, because perimenopause has arrived and I've put on something like 25kg even though I eat, as far as I can tell, normally. Then today I came across a thread claiming Reta won't do anything for you if your cortisol runs high, which left me feeling like a loser. Whether Reta can actually help me I don't know, but I'm really hoping to feel good about myself again. I've given 18years to being a mum and a wife and never clocked the weight creeping on. The irony isn't lost on me: I used to be a beauty therapist in a world class spa, and now here I am feeling like a loser.

 

[mineymo]

Welcome aboard, Naini!

Nobody here should be made to feel like a loser, and least of all you. Putting weight on through perimenopause is extremely common, and it usually has far less to do with how much you eat than with the way your body handles sugars as oestrogen drops. I've read a great many anecdotal accounts of Reta helping women at exactly this stage of life, so I really hope you'll notice a difference with a bit of time.

I've been on Reta for more than a year now, and high cortisol has definitely been part of my picture - yet it hasn't stopped me dropping 10kg altogether, so try not to read too much into that. Keep your protein high, get plenty of fibre in, and add some weight-bearing movement where you can. That's no small ask with 3 children around, I know, but even a pair of light dumbbells, or ankle and wrist weights while you're doing the housework, is genuinely worth the effort. The work does pay off!