If you want to feel younger during menopause but everything you’ve tried only makes you feel worse, you’re not alone.
Many women over 40 are doing what worked in their 20s and 30s—slashing calories, skipping meals, adding more cardio—only to feel older, more drained, and further from their goals.
The truth is, these traditional weight loss methods don’t work the same way once hormone levels start to shift.
In this article, we’ll explore what’s really ageing your body during menopause, why you’re feeling stiff, tired, and out of sorts, and how you can turn it all around with smart, sustainable changes.
Does Early Menopause Make You Feel Older?
As estrogen levels decline during perimenopause and menopause, the body experiences a range of changes that can affect your energy levels, brain function, skin, hair, and joints.
One of the biggest contributors to premature ageing during this time is extreme dieting. While cutting calories might have worked in your 20s to shed weight quickly, doing the same in your 40s, 50s, and 60s comes at a significant cost.
This kind of restriction can lead to muscle loss, which slows your metabolism and causes your skin to sag, making it harder to maintain tone. It can also result in thinning hair, brittle nails, and dry skin due to a lack of essential nutrients.
Bone density often declines too, increasing your risk of fractures and persistent pain. On top of that, you may notice more age spots and fine lines, and experience chronic fatigue and a weaker immune system. These effects can leave you feeling older than your years.
However, menopause doesn’t have to age you. With the right approach—one that prioritises nourishment, strength, and balance—it’s entirely possible to feel more vibrant and youthful, even during this hormonal transition.
“I’d tried to lose several times, sometimes with a little success, only to put the lbs I had lost and more back on again. I had got to the point of feeling that even if I could lose the weight I wanted I would still look old and saggy and had given up on feeling youthful. Powerless to effect the change I wanted and on a downward slope to hip replacements and heart disease. Wow, such a negative and self loathing mindset! I now weigh 10 stone dead on. And I’m toned! I don’t look like a potato or a saggy old turkey. I’m well within a healthy BMI and my children see me working hard to stay healthy and to feel good. I went to a club night at the weekend and was proud to raise my toned arms above my head!”
– Sally Ham (53), Trinity Client
Will You Ever Feel Good Again After Menopause?
The answer is yes, absolutely.
But feeling better won’t come from crash dieting or relentless cardio. Many women we work with have been following conventional advice, they’ve been eating clean, exercising intensely, and even trying hormone therapy or weight loss injections.
Despite their efforts, they feel worn out, mentally foggy, and weighed down by stubborn fat that just won’t shift. They often feel uncomfortable in their own skin, hiding behind oversized clothes and withdrawing from the people and activities they love.
This doesn’t mean they’ve failed, instead they just need to change their strategy. Menopause reshapes how your body responds to stress, food, and exercise. If you want to feel better, your approach has to evolve too.
“I’d reached the point where I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I was worried this was just how it was going to be as I got older despite having kept very active throughout my life and having had a decent diet. I didn’t recognise myself in the mirror and felt uncomfortable in my clothes. I’m not sure there are words to describe the transformation I’ve been through over the last 18 months. I’m 2 stone lighter, but the consequent mental transformation has been even better. I was worried that giving up HIIT training would have a negative effect on my fitness but at 46, I’m fitter and faster than I have been in a good while!”
–Rachel Crooks (46), Trinity Client
Why You Lack Energy in Menopause
Think of your body like a car, a car can’t run on an empty tank and neither can you. During menopause, many women experience a dramatic dip in energy.
This often stems from under-eating, which leaves you without the fuel you need to function. Low oestrogen plays a role too, affecting your motivation, mood, and metabolic rate.
Add chronic stress into the mix, and rising cortisol levels make it even harder to sustain energy, often leading to fat gain, especially around the middle.
Skipping meals or living off tiny portions doesn’t just drain your energy, it can cause dizziness, brain fog, and in extreme cases, even fainting. We’ve heard of ambulances being called for women on weight loss jabs who collapsed due to under-fuelling.
Your body needs consistent nourishment to keep hormones balanced and your energy stable.
Why Your Bones and Joints Hurt During Menopause
If you’re waking up stiff, sore, or dealing with back pain that wasn’t there before, you’re not imagining it. As oestrogen declines, inflammation increases and bone density begins to drop.
Without strength training and proper nutrition, you become more susceptible to aches, slower recovery from injuries, and a much higher risk of osteoporosis.
Research shows postmenopausal women can lose up to 4.4% of their bone density each year between the ages of 50 and 54 – which adds up to nearly 25% over five years.
But there’s hope. A 2017 study found that even six weeks of light, low-rep strength training significantly improved bone density and joint strength in women experiencing muscle loss.
It’s never too late to start rebuilding strength and reducing pain and your body is capable of so much more than you think. You can feel younger during menopause with the right approach.
“Before I joined Trinity, I was 50 years old and at 104kg I had got to the point where I felt like it was all too late and that I would just carry on getting fatter and fatter until it killed me. My knees ached when I walked. I avoided doing any kind of exercise and I didn’t look at myself in the mirror. I know its a cliche but Trinity has actually transformed my life. I’ve lost 30kg, my skin is clearer, my smile is brighter, I’m a normal BMI. I have a spring in my step and the only aches and pains I have are DOMS related. I’m now the size and weight I was at 20 years old and I’m going to stay there!”
– Rachel Hillier (50), Trinity Client
8 Hacks to Feel Younger in Menopause
1. Lift Weights, Don’t Punish Yourself with Cardio
High-intensity workouts might feel effective, but for women in menopause, they often leave you exhausted, inflamed, and stuck.
Lifting weights just 3–4 times a week keeps stress low, strengthens your muscles and bones, and helps your body burn more fat even at rest.
The result? You’ll feel younger, more toned, and full of energy—instead of wiped out and achy..
2. Ditch the Crash Diets
Women on low-calorie plans or weight loss jabs often experience muscle loss, hair thinning, skin sagging and even reduced libido. Why? Because your body needs food to thrive.
Try the Goldilocks principle: not too little, not too much. Eat enough quality protein, healthy fats and whole carbs to support your body without overwhelming it.
3. Support Hormone Health Naturally
Hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy can help manage menopause symptoms, but they come with their own risks.
Natural support through sleep, stress management, balanced nutrition and strength training can often improve symptoms like dry skin, mood swings and hot flashes.
Always consult your doctor for individual medical information if considering any form of replacement therapy.
4. Move More Without the Stress
Movement is key to feeling vibrant but, it doesn’t have to mean punishing yourself at the gym. Walking 5,000+ steps a day boosts your mood, increases fat loss, supports digestion, and helps regulate your hormones without draining your energy.
It’s one of the simplest ways to feel lighter, brighter, and more refreshed each day.
5. Cut Back on Alcohol
Alcohol ages your body faster than almost anything else. It disrupts your hormones, slows your metabolism, blocks fat burning, and wrecks your sleep. Even small amounts can leave you feeling foggy, bloated, and drained.
Cutting back or switching to alcohol-free options, can make you feel clearer, lighter, and more in control within days.
6. Get Off the Sugar Rollercoaster
Sugar ages you inside and out, creating inflammation, storing fat, and leaving you constantly craving more.
It drains your energy, messes with your skin, and keeps you stuck in a cycle of mood swings and crashes.
Cutting it out even short-term, gives your body the break it needs to reset. Within days, you’ll feel more balanced, more energised, and more like your younger self again.
7. Cut Out WADS Foods
Wheat, alcohol, dairy, and sugar (WADS) are a fast track to feeling older, think puffy face, bloated belly, aching joints, and rollercoaster moods.
These foods spike inflammation and stress your body, making it harder to lose fat and easier to store it around your waist.
Removing them helps reduce bloating, balance hormones, improve digestion, and bring back that light, clear-headed, energetic feeling you’ve been missing.
8. Take Care of Your Skin, Hair and Confidence
Thinning hair, age spots, and dry skin can all contribute to feeling older. Improving nutrition and hydration helps tremendously.
And remember that you deserve to feel good in your clothes. Many women we coach go from hiding behind oversized outfits to rediscovering their favourite dresses, going makeup-free with confidence, and planning active holidays.
How Trinity Can Help You Feel Younger in Menopause
Something we’re seeing more and more is women in their 40s, 50s and 60s doing everything they can to lose weight—slashing calories, skipping meals, even turning to weight loss jabs…
Only to end up feeling older, weaker and more drained than ever before.
…The weight might shift a little, but their body shape changes in all the wrong ways
…Metabolism slows, energy disappears, strength drops, and they feel like they’ve aged 10 years in the process
This isn’t bad luck or inevitable aging. It’s what happens when you diet the wrong way after 40.
At Trinity, we take a completely different approach. One that has helped over 7,000 women, with a 97% success rate.
We focus on:
- Strength training designed for women in menopause
- Balanced nutrition that supports hormone health
- Personalised coaching to make your plan work for your life
- Sustainable changes that reshape your body and mindset
You don’t have to figure it all out on your own, we can help.
