If you feel like menopause and ageing have hit you like a freight train, you’re not alone. Many women notice signs of menopause at 40, ranging from stubborn weight gain and aching joints to unpredictable sleep and hot flashes.
But here’s the good news: while menopause and ageing are inevitable, how you experience them isn’t set in stone.
You don’t need to just accept feeling older than you are. You can regain your energy, shift the weight that won’t budge, and finally feel like yourself again.
In this article, we’ll walk through exactly what’s going on in your body, why what worked in your 30s won’t work now, and how to adapt your routine to look and feel incredible at any age.
Why Do Women Age Faster During Menopause?
The reason women age faster during menopause comes down to hormonal shifts—particularly the drop in oestrogen and progesterone. These hormones play a vital role in regulating everything from skin elasticity and bone density to metabolism and brain health.
When they decline, your body enters a state that accelerates the visible and invisible signs of ageing. This can show up in a few different ways:
Joint Pain, Stiffness, and Inflammation
With lower oestrogen levels, your body’s natural anti-inflammatory processes weaken. This often leads to aching knees, stiff hips, and general joint discomfort, especially if you’re carrying extra weight.
Muscle Loss and Reduced Bone Density
Muscle mass naturally declines with age, but the drop in oestrogen speeds this up. Less muscle means a slower metabolism and less tone, while lower bone density increases your risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
Slower Metabolism and Weight Gain
Even if you’re eating “healthy,” the same meals that maintained your weight in your 30s may now lead to weight gain. That’s because hormonal changes slow your resting metabolic rate.
Increased Cortisol Sensitivity
As oestrogen declines, your body becomes more sensitive to cortisol, the stress hormone. Elevated cortisol causes fat storage, which especially affects your midsection, this in turn, make it harder to lose weight.
Add in poor sleep, busy jobs, alcohol, caffeine, and chronic dieting, and it’s a perfect storm that accelerates ageing. Many of our clients say they feel 10 years older than they are. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
“Before Trinity I was 11 stone 3 ½ lbs relying hugely on alcohol and food as a bit of a comfort to happiness, I suppose. I felt a little bit out of control and found myself getting a little sluggish. I’d seen your advert on Facebook. It was the over 40 bit that I picked up on, because I’d never tried anything that was tailored specifically to my age group. Since Trinity, I’ve completely transformed into somebody who owns who I am. I’m now 8 stone and have lost over 45 lbs in weight. I really enjoy what I do now, I love going for walks. I feel really healthy, I feel really strong and I love that I can do press-ups!”
– Sarah Davies (43), Trinity Client
Tips to Stay Energized, Fit, and Youthful Over 40
1. Fix Your Sleep to Look and Feel Younger
Sleep is the unsung hero of weight loss and energy during menopause. A poor night’s sleep disrupts your hunger hormones: ghrelin (increases appetite) goes up, while leptin (tells you when you’re full) goes down.
That means more cravings, more snacking, and more weight gain.
One study showed that just a few nights of five-hour sleep led to eating 300 extra calories per day. Over time, that could mean gaining over two stone in a year, and that’s just from poor sleep!
Sleep is your anti-aging superpower. It balances your hunger hormones and allows your body to repair and recover. Poor sleep not only causes weight gain but can also make you look and feel more tired and aged.
How to fix it: Optimise your sleep environment, avoid caffeine after midday, and reduce late-night screen time. We help our clients improve sleep quality through hormone balancing, targeted supplements, and smarter lifestyle habits.
2. Reduce Caffeine to Calm Hormones and Feel More Balanced
Caffeine blocks adenosine, your natural sleepiness signal, and spikes cortisol (your stress hormone). That means it can disrupt your sleep, ramp up anxiety, and trigger menopausal symptoms like night sweats and hot flashes.
How to fix it: Switch to decaf after lunch. This small change can significantly improve your sleep and reduce cravings caused by hormone disruption.
“Before Trinity I wasn’t making time for me. I was making poor food choices and drinking alcohol quite regularly. I didn’t feel good about myself, I had low confidence, and low mood. I felt lethargic and I had wobbly and saggy bits, plenty of cellulite, no get up and go, no motivation. Through the Trinity program I have lost 2 stone within 4 months to get to my target weight of 9 stone. I am looking better and feeling healthier. I now have definition and tone to my muscles and my body. Trinity has had a profound and life changing impact!”
–Sarah Needham (51), Trinity Client
3. Manage Stress to Prevent Premature Aging
Many of our clients work demanding jobs, manage households, and rarely switch off. That mental load adds up and keeps cortisol high—which stalls fat loss and increases ageing symptoms.
Learning to manage stress gives your body a chance to rebalance and feel younger, stronger, and calmer.
How to fix it: Start with boundaries. Commit to finishing work by a set time, avoid evening emails, and carve out 7-8 hours of sleep. With the right nutrition and strength training, your energy will bounce back.
4. Eat Enough to Support a Youthful Metabolism
Low-carb and low-calorie diets may have worked in your 20s, but now they spike cortisol, increase cravings and sabotage your metabolism. They also lead to the “Weight Gain Triangle”:
- Leptin resistance (more cravings)
- Insulin resistance (fat storage around the middle)
- Thyroid deregulation (slower metabolism)
How to fix it: We use a method called Hormonally Balanced Eating. It helps women over 40 eat enough to lose 1-2lbs a week consistently, without extreme restrictions. Your body needs fuel to function.
5. Ditch the Calorific Drinks
Lattes, smoothies, frappes and even kombucha can quickly rack up hidden calories and sugar, without filling you up. Just one skinny latte a day can undo your weekly calorie deficit.
Cutting them can help reduce inflammation, bloating, and fatigue which can help you feel lighter and more energised.
How to fix it: Stick with black coffee, herbal teas, sparkling waters like Loveau or Aqua Libra, or plain water with lemon. Save calories for meals that keep you full.
6. Balance Alcohol to Support Recovery and Energy
Alcohol around menopause is a double-edged sword. Not only is it high in calories (a bottle of wine = 625kcal), but it increases appetite, reduces motivation to exercise, and worsens menopause symptoms.
Choosing low-calorie alternatives or foregoing it completely can improve energy, reduce bloating, and help you feel in control of your ageing process.
How to fix it: Try lower-calorie options like diet G&Ts or 0% beer, and limit alcohol to specific social occasions. We help clients find a realistic balance that still gets results.
7. Prioritise Protein to Maintain Muscle and Strength
Most women over 40 eat far too little protein. The RDA is just 45g—barely enough to survive, let alone thrive. Protein supports muscle, boosts metabolism, and keeps you full for hours.
Protein is essential for muscle tone and recovery, both of which help you look younger and feel stronger. It also helps reduce cravings and stabilise energy throughout the day.
How to fix it: We calculate optimal targets based on lean body mass and guide our clients in hitting it every day. This helps tone the body, reduce cravings, and improve energy. Aim for a high-protein source at every meal, like eggs, Greek yoghurt, lean meats or tofu.
8. Boost Fibre for Gut Health and Hormone Balance
Fibre isn’t just about digestion. It feeds your gut microbiome, regulates appetite, and supports balanced hormones. Many women cut calories and end up skipping fibre altogether.
How to fix it: Eat a fist-sized portion of colourful vegetables with every meal. Aim for 30 different plant-based foods per week, including nuts, seeds, and herbs. Build meals around colourful vegetables, add a portion of legumes or whole grains, and include nuts and seeds regularly.
This nourishes your gut, reduces cravings and helps regulate hormones.
9. Choose the Right Exercise for Menopause
High-impact cardio or HIIT can spike cortisol and inflame sore joints. For women over 40, it’s often counterproductive.
What works best? We recommend LIST training: low-impact strength training. It builds muscle, protects joints, supports metabolism, and tones the body. Our clients train 3x a week for 45 minutes from home and drop 1-2 dress sizes in just 12 weeks.
Watch How Kate Got Her Energy Back During Menopause
How Trinity Can Help You
At Trinity, we specialise in helping women over 40 navigate menopause and ageing with confidence and clarity. Our Fit Over 40 programme is designed for your body, your hormones, and your lifestyle.
We’ve helped over 7,000 women transform their lives. And 97% of our clients see weight loss results in the first 12 weeks.
Unlike quick-fix diets or weight loss jabs, Trinity is a complete lifestyle re-education. We teach you:
- How to eat in a hormonally balanced way that keeps you full and supports fat loss.
- How to train smart with strength workouts that work with your body, not against it.
- How to sleep better, manage stress, and rebalance your hormones naturally.
And most importantly, you’ll never do it alone. Our expert coaches guide you every step of the way, supporting you with accountability, custom advice and real-life solutions that work.
If you’re tired of feeling older than you are… if your joints ache, your clothes don’t fit, and nothing seems to work anymore, Trinity can help you reclaim your body, energy and confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does early menopause make you look older?
Yes, early menopause can accelerate signs of ageing due to the sudden drop in oestrogen, which affects skin, hair, and muscle tone.
What are the effects of menopause on aging?
Menopause can cause joint pain, slowed metabolism, muscle loss, skin changes, and increased fat storage, all of which can make you feel older faster.
How to stop aging during menopause?
You can’t stop aging, but with the right strength training, sleep, nutrition and hormone support, you can slow the visible and physical effects significantly.
