Have you found it harder to lose weight around your middle after menopause? Here are 16 proven strategies to get rid of menopause belly fat.

We’ve worked with a lot of women in their 40s and 50s who’ve experienced weight gain after hitting menopause… especially around their middle. Despite living similar lifestyles, and staying the same weight… this stubborn extra belly fat is a common side effect of the change.

If you find yourself in this situation, you’re not alone. The International Menopause Society reported that menopause does distribute fat differently.

We’ve seen this change with a lot of our clients. They’re often caught up in an endless cycle of trying to lose this belly fat. Whether it’s through trying programmes that previously worked for them, or eating an incredibly small amount of food to shift the weight… nothing seems to work for them.

On the whole, this is always a frustrating process. Our clients often tell us that they felt trapped, stressed and anxious due to this hormonal change. A process which is inevitable for most women over 40. Many find that worrying that they’ll never shift this extra belly fat is constantly on their mind. 

Harvard Medical School reported that incidents of depression double throughout menopause. From dreading beach holidays to avoiding clothes shopping… the repercussions of this shift extend further than the physical change

What Burns Menopausal Belly Fat?

The key to burning menopausal belly fat is making a few key lifestyle changes. Here’s what works:

1. Consider Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

Your hormones play a significant role in where your body stores fat. During menopause, the decline in estrogen and progesterone can lead to more fat being stored around your midsection. While we aren’t medical professionals, studies show that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can help reduce menopausal symptoms and support weight management.

HRT helps balance your hormones, potentially easing menopause symptoms like hot flashes and mood swings. By restoring estrogen and progesterone levels, HRT can also reduce the likelihood of storing excess fat around the belly.

If you’re considering HRT, it’s important to discuss it with your GP to explore the best options for you.

2. Do Low-Impact Strength Training

Exercise is crucial for burning fat, but the type of exercise you do matters. Many mainstream fitness plans suggest high-intensity workouts, but for women over 40, this can raise cortisol levels and hinder progress.

Instead, we recommend Low Impact Strength Training (LIST). Strength training builds muscle, which boosts your metabolism, helping you burn more calories even when you’re at rest. It’s also easier on your joints and doesn’t spike cortisol the way high-impact exercises like running or HIIT can.

Our Fit Over 40 clients see amazing results with just a few sessions of LIST per week, combined with the right diet. This approach helps reduce belly fat and leaves you feeling toned and strong.

3. Reduce Your Alcohol Intake

Alcohol has a much bigger impact on belly fat than most people realize. When you drink alcohol, your liver prioritizes metabolizing it over burning fat. This means that while your body is processing alcohol, fat burning comes to a halt.

On top of that, alcohol can spike cortisol levels and suppress testosterone production, which further slows down your metabolism.

4. Switch To Alcohol-Free Alternatives

If you enjoy a glass of wine or a G&T, consider cutting back or switching to alcohol-free alternatives. Brands like Eisberg Sparkling Wine, Lucky Saint Unfiltered Lager, and Seedlip (a non-alcoholic gin alternative) offer delicious options that won’t disrupt your fat loss efforts.

These are usually lower in calories and won’t cause the cortisol spikes that alcoholic drinks do. And you’re less likely to reach for that family-size packet of crisps after.

5. Avoid Keeping Unhealthy Food at Home

One of the easiest ways to avoid overeating is to limit temptation. It’s a simple truth—if unhealthy snacks or alcohol are easily accessible in your home, you’re much more likely to indulge when you’re tired or stressed.

We suggest setting yourself up for success by doing a Cupboard Cleanse. Remove unhealthy foods from your home or store them in harder-to-reach places. This makes it less likely that you’ll reach for them when willpower is low. Our Fit Over 40 clients find this strategy incredibly helpful for staying on track.

6. Regularly practice a simple mindset routine

Your mindset will impact your weight in more ways than you might realise. 

At Trinity, we encourage our clients to practice mindset routines like journaling or positive affirmations to help shift their perspective on weight loss. By reducing stress and improving your mental health, you’ll not only feel better but also see better results around your midsection.

Paying attention to mindset helps to change the way we think. It reduces anxiety and helps to process stressful events that are going on in their lives. This means they’re less stressed, which lowers cortisol… resulting in easier fat loss from around the middle.

An added benefit of mindfulness is having more mental space and energy. So, you can make the right choices with their eating and exercise!

7. Improve Your Sleep to Reduce Cravings

Sleep plays a bigger role in belly fat than you might think. When you don’t get enough sleep, your hunger hormones—ghrelin and leptin—become unbalanced. Ghrelin increases, making you feel hungrier, while leptin decreases, making it harder to feel full. This combination can lead to cravings and overeating.

To improve your sleep and reduce belly fat, aim for 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night. Try limiting caffeine in the afternoon, avoiding screens before bed, and creating a calming bedtime routine. Prioritizing sleep will help regulate your appetite and reduce those late-night cravings that sabotage your progress.

8. Manage Stress Levels

High cortisol levels caused by stress are one of the biggest culprits behind belly fat in menopause. Taking steps to manage stress can have a huge impact on your ability to lose weight. Regular meditation, deep breathing exercises, and even just taking time for yourself can help reduce stress and keep cortisol levels in check.

9. Cut Down on Caffeine

Caffeine can give you an energy boost, but it can also increase cortisol levels, making it harder to burn fat. While you don’t need to cut out coffee entirely, consider limiting your intake—especially in the afternoon—to keep stress hormones under control.

Switching to decaf or herbal teas later in the day is a simple fix that can support better sleep and fat loss.

10. Tracking Your Food for Better Results

To get rid of menopause belly fat, one of the most important steps is tracking your food and ensuring you’re eating the right amount for your body. As we age, our metabolism slows, meaning we need fewer calories than we did in our 20s or 30s.

To successfully lose fat, it’s important to eat the right amount of calories for your body’s current needs—not too much, but also not too little. Many popular diets suggest eating as little as 1200 calories per day, but for most women over 40, this is far too low and will only lead to more stress and weight gain in the long run.

Our Fit Over 40 program calculates your individual calorie needs based on your age, weight, height, hormones, and dieting history, ensuring that you can lose fat steadily without feeling deprived or exhausted.

11. Avoid Overeating on Weekends

Overeating is one of the main reasons women struggle with belly fat during menopause. It’s especially common to overindulge on weekends or at social events, which can undo progress made during the week.

We help our clients identify the root causes of their overeating—whether it’s stress, cravings, or social pressure—and develop strategies to avoid overeating. Once you understand why you tend to overeat, it becomes much easier to control.

12. Cut Down on Sugar

Sugar is one of the biggest contributors to stubborn belly fat, especially during menopause. Eating too much sugar creates a blood sugar rollercoaster, leading to spikes and crashes in energy levels—and worse, it triggers cravings for more sugar.

To reduce belly fat, we recommend cutting out sugar for a short period to reset your cravings. In our Fit Over 40 program, we use a process called the Diet Makeover, which helps clients eliminate sugar and other processed foods for just two weeks. This simple reset reduces cravings and helps you focus on healthier, whole foods.

13. Consider Trying Meditation

Meditation is an amazing mental exercise if you want to improve your ability to deal with stress.

As mentioned above, reducing stress levels can make or break your progress. It helps with avoiding stress eating, and keeps the stress hormone cortisol down… which means you won’t store so much weight on your mid-section.

If you find the idea of meditating intimidating, you’re not alone! Luckily, there are plenty of useful apps out there which will guide you through the process. We recommend the following:

  1. Headspace
  2. Insight timer

14. Prioritize Yourself

When you’re always on the go… dealing with a busy career and taking care of everything around the house… it can be easy to fall into a position where you’re not taking any time for yourself.

This can cause a few issues when it comes to menopause belly fat. Namely, it can cause you to feel stressed and overwhelmed most of the time. This easily leads to poor choices with food and exercise – as well as out of control cortisol levels.

In our experience, taking some ‘me time’ can be hugely beneficial. We recommend that all our clients take time for themselves every single week. This is to de-stress and do something they enjoy.

This can be as simple as having a relaxing bath or reading a thrilling book. The key is taking some time out purely for you – and for no-one else. After all, what’s the point in working so hard if you never get to enjoy it!

15. Join a Supportive Community

Losing belly fat during menopause can be challenging, but you don’t have to do it alone. Being part of a supportive community of like-minded women can make a huge difference. Having others to share your struggles, celebrate your wins, and keep you accountable will make your journey much easier.

Our Fit Over 40 program offers a strong community of women who are all working toward the same goal: losing weight and feeling confident again. Together, they support each other and stay motivated to reach their goals.

16. Get a Coach Who Understands Menopause

Accountability is key to achieving long-term weight loss success. Having a coach who understands the unique challenges of menopause can keep you on track and help you make the right adjustments when needed. It’s easy to fail alone.

After a stressful week at work, dealing with a chaotic family life and having endless chores to consider… it’s very easy to give in at the end of a busy week. A bottle of wine, bar of chocolate or bag of crisps are even more tempting when you’re swamped!

Having someone there to keep you accountable can be a game-changer. We recommend having someone who asks you for weekly updates. Find someone who chats you through problems. This has a huge impact on your chances of success.

Just like you show up to work each day and work hard – because you have a boss checking up on you… you need that same level of accountability when attempting to get rid of menopause belly fat.

At Trinity Transformation, we’ve helped thousands of women over 40 lose weight, drop dress sizes, and regain their confidence through a combination of personalized coaching, the right diet, and effective exercise. If you’re ready to take control of your body and lose that stubborn menopause belly fat, we’re here to help!


Ready To Make Start Getting Results?

Take the next step today by choosing one of the following:

Learn more about our Fit Over 40 Programme: Fit Over 40 Programme

Download our free guide: Download Guide

Sign up for our free training: Free Training


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