Fasting has become a trendy weight-loss method in recent years, with many people swearing by its benefits. But if you’re a woman in your 40s, 50s, or 60s, you might be wondering: Is fasting good for menopause?
Can it help with the hormonal changes and stubborn weight gain that come with this phase of life?
Let’s face it, many women in menopause feel stuck. You’ve likely tried diets that worked for you in your 20s and 30s, but now they seem ineffective.
The weight—especially around your middle—just won’t shift. Fasting might seem like a solution, but the truth is, it’s not always the answer for women in midlife.
In this blog, we’ll explore the connection between fasting and menopause, debunk some myths, and offer a better approach for sustainable weight loss.
Rachel’s Story: When Fasting Didn’t Work
Take Rachel, for example. A lawyer in her 50s from South Wales, she was desperate to lose a couple of stone. She wanted to fit back into her favourite clothes and take control of her weight before it started impacting her health.
After trying several diets without success, she turned to fasting. She heard it could help reduce insulin levels and increase metabolism, which sounded ideal.
But after a week of “dieting,” she stepped on the scale—ZERO movement.
Rachel was stuck wearing clothes that covered her “problem areas” instead of the outfits she loved. She was frustrated and fed up because nothing seemed to work, despite all her efforts.
It wasn’t until she found a new approach, which worked with her changing hormones, that she was able to drop 3 stone and lose 36 cm from her waist and hips in just 9 months.
In this blog, we’ll explain why fasting didn’t work for Rachel, why it doesn’t work for most women over 40, and what to do instead if you want to drop 1-2 dress sizes in the next 12 weeks.
What Is Fasting?
Fasting is a practice where you avoid consuming food or calories for a set period. The most common methods include:
- 5:2 Diet: Eating normally for five days of the week and restricting calories to around 500 on the other two days.
- 16:8 Method: Limiting your eating window to 8 hours a day (usually between noon and 8 pm) and fasting for the remaining 16 hours.
These fasting approaches claim several benefits, such as:
- Reduced insulin levels
- Increased metabolism
- Reduced inflammation
- Potentially lower risks of diseases like cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s
- Weight loss
At first glance, fasting sounds like a great option. But is fasting good for menopause? Let’s take a closer look at why these benefits might not apply to women in their 40s and beyond.
Why Isn’t Fasting Effective for Women Over 40?
While fasting may work for some people, it’s important to understand that much of the research on fasting has been done on men or younger women, whose hormones are in a very different state than women going through menopause. Here are the main reasons fasting and menopause don’t mix well.
1. It Can Backfire and Lead to Overeating
One of the biggest reasons fasting doesn’t work for many women is that it can easily backfire. Restricting your eating window can cause blood sugar levels to crash, and as soon as you’re allowed to eat, your hunger levels skyrocket.
This often leads to overeating, making it easy to consume more calories than if you hadn’t fasted at all.
Many women find that after fasting for a day or skipping meals, they end up bingeing on the foods they’ve been craving. This is particularly true when your hormones are fluctuating during menopause, which makes cravings and hunger more difficult to control.
2. It Disrupts Key Fat-Loss Hormones
During menopause, your body goes through a significant hormonal shift. Oestrogen and progesterone levels drop, making you more sensitive to stress. Fasting is a form of stress on the body, and while you might be able to handle this in your 20s and 30s, it can have a very different effect when you’re over 40.
Here’s what happens:
- Cortisol Levels Increase: Fasting can raise cortisol (the stress hormone), which promotes fat storage, particularly around the middle.
- Leptin Resistance: High cortisol can lead to leptin resistance, increasing cravings for comfort foods and making it harder to feel full.
- Insulin Resistance: Menopause makes your body more prone to insulin resistance, meaning you store fat more easily—particularly around the belly.
- Thyroid Deregulation: Stress from fasting can slow down your metabolism by affecting your thyroid function.
This combination of high cortisol, leptin resistance, and insulin resistance is known as the Weight Gain Triangle, which makes losing weight harder than ever.
3. Fasting Increases Stress on Your Body
Fasting is a form of stress, and during menopause, your body is already dealing with various stresses, from hormonal changes to lifestyle pressures. Adding fasting into the mix can push your body over the edge, leading to more weight gain, mood swings, and even worsening menopause symptoms like hot flashes and fatigue.
Fasting might work for younger women who can handle stress better, but as you age, your body becomes less resilient to extreme approaches like this.
4. It’s Hard to Stick to Long-Term
The final problem with fasting is that it’s tough to sustain. Most women find the 5:2 diet or 16:8 fasting method too restrictive, especially if they have busy lives, social commitments, or family responsibilities. And if you can’t keep it up, the results will only be temporary.
On top of that, fasting doesn’t teach you how to eat in a way that supports your hormones, so as soon as you stop fasting, you’re likely to regain any weight you’ve lost.
A Better Approach To Fasting
If fasting isn’t the answer, then what is? The key is to follow an approach that works with your hormones, not against them.
At Trinity Transformation, we recommend a method called Hormonally Balanced Eating, designed specifically for women over 40 who are dealing with the hormonal changes of menopause. This approach helps you lose weight and keep it off without feeling deprived or stressed.
Here’s what Hormonally Balanced Eating includes:
1. The Diet Makeover
Start by eliminating four hormone-disrupting foods that we call WADS:
- Wheat
- Alcohol
- Dairy
- Sugar
Cutting out these foods for 1-2 weeks can help you reset your system and balance your hormones. After that, aim to avoid them 80% of the time to keep your hormones in check while still enjoying flexibility in your diet.
2. Eating the Right Amount of Calories, Protein, and Fibre
To lose weight in menopause, it’s not just about calories in versus calories out. You need to eat the right amount of calories, protein, and fibre based on your age, weight, body fat percentage, and hormonal situation.
- Protein is essential for preserving muscle mass and keeping you full.
- Fibre helps regulate your digestion and balances blood sugar.
- Calories should be tailored to your individual needs—too much or too little can disrupt your progress.
3. Holistic Fine Tuning
The final step in our program is tweaking other lifestyle factors that can affect your weight and hormones, such as:
- Caffeine intake
- Sleep quality
- Alcohol consumption
- Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
By fine-tuning these areas, you can optimise your results and make your weight loss journey easier and more sustainable.
Ready to See Results?
Learn more about our Fit Over 40 Programme and how we can help you drop 1-2 dress sizes in 12 weeks: Learn more here
Download our free guide on how to lose weight and tone up during menopause: Download here
Sign up for our free training to discover the best weight loss strategies for women over 40: Sign up here