As women approach menopause, many begin to notice changes in their bodies, especially when it comes to maintaining their weight. Understanding how to prevent menopause weight gain can make a big difference in navigating this transition.
But menopause doesn’t have to mean inevitable weight gain. By doing things differently—like adjusting your diet, managing stress, and following a balanced exercise routine—you can stay in control of your weight and well-being.
At Trinity Transformation, we specialize in helping women navigate the changes that come with menopause. Through our Fit Over 40 programme, we provide a tailored approach to fitness and nutrition that supports healthy hormone balance, stress reduction, and sustainable weight management.
This article will walk you through the main factors contributing to weight gain during menopause, from hormonal imbalances to stress, and offer practical solutions to help you manage it.
What Are The Symptoms of Menopause
There are a number of hormonal changes that start to happen around menopause, and they can begin earlier than you might think—often as early as your late 30s or early 40s. The primary changes are with the female sex hormones, particularly oestrogen and progesterone.
The production of these hormones decreases, with the big drop in oestrogen being responsible for most of the symptoms that women experience.
Common symptoms of menopause include:
- Hot flushes: Sudden feelings of warmth, often accompanied by sweating, that can be uncomfortable and unpredictable.
- Joint aches and pains: Decreased oestrogen levels can affect joint health, leading to stiffness and pain.
- Night sweats: Similar to hot flushes, but occurring during sleep, disrupting rest and leading to fatigue.
- Brain fog: Difficulty concentrating and memory lapses are common as oestrogen levels decline.
- Weight gain: Many women notice an increase in weight, particularly around the abdomen, which can be difficult to manage.
These symptoms can vary in intensity and duration, but one of the most frustrating for many women is the weight gain that often accompanies menopause. Understanding what causes this weight gain is the first step to managing it effectively.
What Causes Menopause Weight Gain?
So, what’s behind that stubborn weight gain during menopause? It’s not just about the drop in oestrogen—it’s much more complex than that.
One key factor that often goes unnoticed is the body’s response to stress and the effects of cortisol, the main stress hormone.
Cortisol can be helpful in short bursts, such as during exercise, where it aids in breaking down and rebuilding muscles and releasing fat from fat cells. However, when cortisol levels remain chronically elevated—due to factors like poor sleep, work stress, or even over-exercising—it can lead to negative effects such as:
- Insulin resistance: This makes it harder to regulate blood sugar and can lead to fat storage, especially around the middle area.
- Leptin resistance: You may feel hungrier and experience cravings for comfort foods.
- Slowed metabolism: Thyroid function decreases, making it harder to lose weight.
This combination is what we call the weight gain triangle. To avoid triggering it, focus on stress reduction, balanced hormones, and hormone-friendly nutrition.
What Causes Chronically Elevated Cortisol Levels?
So, what causes cortisol levels to stay elevated over time? There are many factors that might be flying under the radar that are causing your cortisol levels to rise:
- Constant work stress: Juggling deadlines, meetings, and the pressure to perform can keep your cortisol levels high.
- Family stress: Whether it’s caring for children, managing relationships, or supporting aging parents, family stress can be a significant contributor.
- Sleep deprivation: Menopausal symptoms like night sweats can disrupt sleep, which in turn raises cortisol levels.
- Poor nutrition: A diet high in sugar and processed foods can keep your body in a state of inflammation, which raises cortisol.
- Over-exercising: High-intensity workouts like HIIT or spinning can actually increase cortisol when done too frequently, especially for women over 40.
10 Tips To Prevent Menopause Weight Gain
1. Balance Your Hormones
Hormonal imbalances are one of the biggest culprits behind menopause weight gain. To balance your hormones, focus on supporting your body through nutrition, exercise, and stress management. Avoid crash diets or extreme exercise routines, as these can further disrupt your hormones.
The big drop in oestrogen around menopause isn’t the only reason for weight gain. Another key player is cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone. Chronic elevation of cortisol from factors like lack of sleep, work stress, and even over-exercising can lead to insulin resistance, leptin resistance, and a slower metabolism.
To avoid triggering this weight gain triangle, focus on reducing stress and balancing hormones. This involves hormone-friendly nutrition, such as incorporating healthy fats (e.g., avocado, nuts, olive oil) into your diet and following a consistent exercise routine.
At Trinity we use an approach called hormonally balanced eating. It’s split into two main stages:
- The Diet Makeover: this is the stage where we cut out WADS foods (wheat, alcohol, dairy, and sugar), all of which are ultra processed food that are common culprits for increasing inflammation, causing digestive discomfort, and disrupting hormone balance, especially during menopause.
- The Key 3: this stage focuses on setting specific targets for calories, protein and fibre targets personalised for each individual. This isn’t a one-size fits all approach as each person has different goals and body types. These tailored plans ensure you’re eating the right amount for your body.
2. Increase Your Protein Intake
One of the most important changes you can make to prevent menopause weight gain is increasing your protein intake. Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass, which naturally decreases with age. When muscle mass declines, your metabolism slows down, making it easier to gain weight.
Aim to include a source of protein in every meal. Lean meats, fish, eggs, legumes, and plant-based protein sources like tofu and quinoa are great options. This will not only help with weight maintenance but also keep you feeling fuller for longer, reducing the likelihood of overeating.
Action Step: Start by adding an extra portion of protein to your meals. For example, if you usually have a salad for lunch, try adding grilled chicken or tofu to make it more filling.
3. Choose The Right Exercise
As you age, the exercises that worked for you in your 20’s and 30’s become less effective due to so many hormonal changes that start to happen. This means you need to take a different route with your exercises to really see differences in your body and prevent menopause weight gain.
Exercises you want to avoid over 40 are:
- HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training): While HIIT is effective for fat loss and fitness in younger individuals, for women over 40, it can overstress the body and lead to chronically high cortisol levels. This can encourage fat storage, especially around the middle, and slow down metabolism, making it harder to lose weight.
- Spinning: Spinning classes are great for cardiovascular fitness, but the high intensity and repetitive nature can put unnecessary stress on joints and muscles. For menopausal women, this added stress can contribute to joint aches and inflammation, common symptoms of menopause.
- Gym Classes: Gym classes like boot camps or circuit training are designed to keep the heart rate high, but they also tend to emphasize endurance and cardio over strength building. While these may help burn calories in the short term, the high-intensity approach can contribute to the weight gain triangle by increasing cortisol levels and disrupting hormonal balance.
- CrossFit: CrossFit workouts often include heavy lifting combined with high-intensity movements, which can lead to muscle breakdown without leaving enough time for recovery. This can create a chronic stress response in women over 40, which causes that stress hormone that we mentioned earlier to rise. This then leads to muscle fatigue, injury, and weight gain.
What to do instead?
- Low-impact strength training: Many women avoid weightlifting, fearing that it will make them bulky. But the reality is that strength training is one of the best ways to prevent menopause weight gain. Lifting weights helps you build and maintain muscle mass, which boosts your metabolism and helps your body burn more calories even at rest.
Action Step: If you’re new to strength training, start with bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, and push-ups. Gradually incorporate weights as you become more confident.
4. Eat a Balanced Diet of Whole Foods
Processed foods can wreak havoc on your weight and overall health, especially during menopause. To prevent menopause weight gain, focus on eating a balanced diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods. This includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Whole foods provide essential nutrients that support hormone balance, energy levels, and overall well-being. They also help stabilize blood sugar levels, which can reduce cravings and prevent overeating.
The last thing you want to be doing is any form of extreme dieting to lose weight.
Extreme dieting can backfire, especially during menopause. It’s tempting to try drastic methods when you’re frustrated, but these often do more harm than good. They can raise cortisol (your stress hormone), leading to stubborn belly fat and creating a vicious cycle of weight gain.
Here are a few diet mistakes to avoid:
- Super low-calorie diets: Diets with calories as low as 800 or 1200 a day can stress your body and slow your metabolism.
- Cutting out entire food groups: Cutting out carbs or fats entirely can cause hormonal imbalances and rob your body of essential nutrients.
- Shake diets or meal replacements: Relying on meal replacement shakes might cause rapid weight loss initially, but they’re hard to sustain long-term and can lead to nutrient deficiencies.
Instead of extreme measures, aim for balance. Fill your plate with a variety of whole foods and eat in a way that feels sustainable, not restrictive.
Action Step: Try to cook at home more often, using fresh ingredients. Plan your meals in advance to ensure you’re getting a good balance of nutrients.
“Through Trinity I have changed my diet dramatically as I no longer eat sugary foods and I don’t crave chocolate any more. I’ve used my love of food and cooking to make healthy, delicious and “non-diety” meals that satisfy the whole family. Trinity has taught me more resilience.”
– Rachel Pratt (52), Trinity Client
5. Increase Your Daily Steps
While strength training is essential for building muscle, it’s just as important to stay active throughout the day. Increasing your daily steps is an easy way to burn extra calories, improve cardiovascular health and prevent menopause weight gain.
Aiming for 10,000 steps a day is a good goal, but if that feels overwhelming, start small. Even an extra 2,000-3,000 steps a day can make a big difference in your overall activity levels.
Some ways to increase your daily steps are:
- Park further away: When you go shopping or to work, park your car further from the entrance to get extra steps in.
- Take the stairs: Skip the lift or escalator and take the stairs whenever possible.
- Walking meetings: If you have a phone call or a meeting, try walking while you talk. It’s a great way to stay active without even thinking about it.
- Evening stroll: After dinner, go for a 10-15 minute walk around your neighborhood to aid digestion and relax before bed.
- Consider buying a walking pad: This is particularly useful if you have a job that requires you to be sat at a desk for the majority of the day. This way you can kill two birds with one stone and get your steps in without having to leave your desk.
- Set a timer: Every hour, stand up and take a 5-minute walking break. These short bursts add up throughout the day.
6. Balance Blood Sugar Levels
When blood sugar levels spike and crash, it can lead to increased hunger and cravings, making it harder to maintain a healthy weight. To prevent these fluctuations, focus on eating balanced meals that include protein, healthy fats, and fibre.
Avoid sugary snacks and processed carbohydrates, which can cause blood sugar to rise rapidly and then crash. Instead, choose whole grains, fruits, and vegetables that provide a steady release of energy throughout the day.
Action Step: Try to pair carbohydrates with protein or fat at every meal to help stabilize your blood sugar levels. For example, instead of just eating a piece of fruit, pair it with a handful of nuts.
7. Improve Your Sleep
Poor sleep can have a significant impact on your weight. When you’re sleep-deprived, your body produces more of the hunger hormone ghrelin and less of the satiety hormone leptin, leading to increased appetite.
To improve your sleep, establish a consistent bedtime routine, avoid caffeine late in the day, and create a calming environment in your bedroom. Prioritizing sleep will help regulate your hormones and support your weight loss efforts.
Action Step: Aim for at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night and try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
8. Take Care of Your Gut Health
Your gut health is a key factor in your overall well-being, and it plays a particularly important role in managing your weight during menopause. The gut microbiome, which consists of trillions of bacteria, helps regulate digestion, immune function, and even hormone balance.
When there’s an imbalance in these bacteria, often referred to as dysbiosis, it can lead to inflammation, weight gain, and other digestive issues such as bloating and constipation.
A healthy gut microbiome can help improve digestion, boost your metabolism, and even regulate your appetite. However, stress, poor diet, and lack of sleep can disrupt this balance, making it harder to maintain a healthy weight. Fortunately, certain foods and lifestyle habits can help support gut health.
Foods to Support Gut Health:
- High-fiber foods: Whole grains (brown rice, oats, quinoa), legumes, fruits, vegetables
- Fermented foods: Yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, kombucha
- Prebiotic foods: Garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, bananas
9. Practice Mindfulness and Reduce Stress
As we’ve mentioned, stress is one of the biggest contributor to weight gain in menopause. When this stress hormone is high, your body begins to store an increased amount of fat, especially around the belly.
With the daily struggles of work, families and general responsibility, we get how difficult it can be to find time for you. But, even just starting off small and setting yourself 30 minutes each week for something you enjoy that helps you relax can make the world of difference.
A few ways to manage your stress could be:
- Deep breathing exercises: Practice slow, deep breaths to calm your nervous system and lower cortisol.
- Yoga or gentle stretching: This helps release tension in your body while improving flexibility and mindfulness.
- Walking in nature: Spending time outdoors can lower stress levels and clear your mind.
- Journaling: Writing down your thoughts and feelings can help release stress and put things into perspective.
- A warm bath: Just having time to lay and relax in a warm bath with your own thoughts or a good book can give you the time and space to reset.
“I’m much better at managing my stress levels. I know it’s a cliche but Trinity has actually transformed my life. I’ve lost 30kg, I joined to lose weight. What I didn’t expect was for my life to change quite so much and for the better.”
– Rachel Hillier (53), Trinity Client
10. Cut Down On Caffeine and Alcohol
Alcohol and caffeine can both have a negative effect on your body in menopause. Both can disrupt sleep, increase stress, and make weight loss harder by affecting your metabolism and hormone balance.
Alcohol, in particular, is full of empty calories that can add up quickly, while caffeine can spike cortisol levels and make falling asleep on an evening harder, making it harder to shift stubborn fat around your middle.
- Gradually cut back: If quitting entirely feels overwhelming, start by reducing the number of days you drink alcohol or the number of coffees or teas you have daily.
- Switch to herbal teas: Herbal teas like chamomile or peppermint can replace caffeinated drinks and promote relaxation without the jitters.
- Find alcohol-free alternatives: Opt for sparkling water with lemon or lime, or non-alcoholic versions of your favorite drinks when you want to unwind without the extra calories.
- Create a relaxing evening routine: Instead of winding down with a glass of wine, try a bath, some light stretching, or a good book to de-stress at the end of the day.
How To Prevent Menopause Weight Gain
Preventing menopause weight gain doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By making small, sustainable changes to your diet, exercise routine, and lifestyle, you can take control of your health and achieve lasting results.
We understand the unique hurdles that come with this phase of life, from weight gain to hormonal shifts, and have helped countless women feel confident and strong again.
Here’s How We Help Women Just Like You:
- Community and support: You won’t be going through this journey alone. We’ve built a supportive community of women who understand the same struggles and celebrate each other’s wins.
- Tailored fitness plans: Our Fit Over 40 program is designed specifically for women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, using Low Impact Strength Training (LIST) to help you lose fat and build lean muscle without putting stress on your joints.
- 1-1 coaching and accountability: You’ll get personalized support from expert coaches who keep you motivated and on track, making sure you stay consistent and see results.
- Sustainable, science-backed nutrition: We don’t believe in extreme diets. Our nutrition plans focus on balanced, whole foods that work with your body’s needs during menopause.
- Trackable progress: We’ll help you set measurable goals—whether it’s losing 1-2 dress sizes or dropping 15-25 pounds within 12 weeks—so you can clearly see your progress and feel empowered.
Frequently Asked Questions:
At what stage of menopause do you gain the most weight?
Weight gain typically happens during perimenopause, the transitional phase leading up to menopause, due to hormonal fluctuations.
Why am I gaining weight during menopause?
Hormonal changes, especially a drop in estrogen, slow metabolism and cause fat to be stored more easily, particularly around the belly.
What is the fastest way to lose weight during menopause?
Combining strength training, staying active with daily steps, and following a personalized nutrition plan focused on calories, protein, and fibre is the most effective approach.
Does menopause weight ever go away?
Yes, with the right exercise and nutrition plan tailored to your changing body, it’s possible to lose menopause weight and keep it off.
