Are you struggling to see results with weight loss as you hit your forties? Here are some reasons why your hormones affect your weight loss.
It’s really common for women over forty to struggle to lose weight.
One of the main reasons this happens is down to the physical and hormonal changes that women go through as they get older. These changes can make it easier to gain weight around the middle and more difficult to lose it again with normal dieting.
The good news is that there’s a quick and easy way to escape from this situation! And it usually comes down to a few simple mistakes that people make, which stop them from getting the results they want.
Over the next few blogs, we’re going to go through the most common reasons that women over 40 struggle to see movement on the scales.
Plus, we’ll clue you into our most effective strategies to get the scales moving, drop a couple of dress sizes in the next few months, and feel amazing in all your favourite clothes!
How Hormones Affect Weight Loss
As women age, their hormones undergo significant changes, particularly during perimenopause and menopause. These changes have a direct impact on weight loss, especially when it comes to belly fat.
Here’s how your main hormones play a role in weight loss:
- Estrogen and Progesterone: During menopause, estrogen levels decline, which affects how your body stores fat. Lower estrogen levels lead to fat accumulation, particularly around the abdomen. The loss of progesterone can also affect your metabolism, making it harder to burn calories and lose weight.
- Insulin: Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. As you get older, hormonal changes can lead to insulin resistance, meaning your body becomes less efficient at processing sugar. This results in more fat being stored, particularly around your belly.
- Leptin: This hormone controls hunger signals, telling your brain when you’re full. As hormones fluctuate, leptin resistance can develop, meaning your brain doesn’t get the message that you’ve eaten enough, leading to overeating.
- Cortisol: The stress hormone cortisol tends to rise during perimenopause and menopause, especially when you’re under emotional, physical, or dietary stress. High cortisol levels are linked to increased fat storage, especially around the belly.
With these hormonal shifts, it’s easy to see why many women struggle with weight loss in their 40s and beyond. However, by balancing these hormones, you can start losing weight more effectively.
How Can I Balance My Hormones to Lose Weight?
The key to losing weight after 40 is adopting strategies that work with your body’s changing hormones. By focusing on hormone-friendly eating and exercise, you can bring your body back into balance and kickstart weight loss.
Here are some actionable steps to balance your hormones for weight loss:
- Focus on Hormonally Balanced Eating
Forget the extreme diets you may have tried in the past. Low-carb, fasting, or keto diets often backfire as they increase cortisol and disrupt your hormone balance. Instead, focus on Hormonally Balanced Eating, which keeps your blood sugar steady and supports your metabolism.
- Prioritise lean proteins, which help maintain muscle mass.
- Include healthy fats, like avocado and nuts, which support hormone production.
- Eat plenty of fibre from vegetables and whole grains to stabilise blood sugar.
By keeping your blood sugar levels balanced, you prevent insulin spikes that encourage fat storage and ensure your body has the fuel it needs to burn fat effectively.
- Low-Impact Strength Training (LIST)
Cardio-heavy workouts like running or spinning may have worked in your 20s, but they’re not the most effective approach once your hormones start to change. High-intensity workouts can raise cortisol, which makes it harder to lose weight.
Instead, try Low-Impact Strength Training (LIST), which focuses on building lean muscle without over-stressing your body. Lean muscle mass is crucial for boosting your metabolism and helping you burn more calories throughout the day.
- Get Plenty of Rest and Manage Stress
Stress is one of the biggest hormone disruptors. When cortisol levels remain high for too long, it can lead to fat storage around your belly. Stress management is key to balancing your hormones and losing weight.
Make time for relaxation and self-care:
- Practice meditation or deep breathing exercises to lower stress.
- Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night, as poor sleep raises cortisol and can disrupt your weight loss efforts.
Can Hormones Interfere with Weight Loss?
Yes, hormones can absolutely interfere with weight loss. Many women find that traditional diet and exercise routines don’t work as well in their 40s and 50s because they don’t address the underlying hormonal imbalances.
When your body is in hormonal turmoil, it’s more likely to hold on to fat, particularly around the belly. This is due to a combination of factors, including:
- Leptin resistance: You don’t feel full, so you’re more likely to overeat.
- Insulin resistance: Your body stores more fat, especially around the midsection.
- Thyroid deregulation: This slows down your metabolism, making it harder to burn fat.
Balancing your hormones is crucial if you want to lose weight successfully after 40.
What is the Best Hormone for Weight Loss?
There isn’t one single “magic” hormone for weight loss, but balancing key hormones like estrogen, insulin, leptin, and cortisol is essential.
- Estrogen: Plays a significant role in fat distribution. When estrogen levels drop during menopause, fat tends to accumulate around your belly. Balancing estrogen levels can help reduce this fat storage.
- Insulin: Balancing insulin ensures your body processes sugar efficiently and stores less fat. Eating balanced meals that stabilise blood sugar will help manage insulin levels.
- Leptin: When leptin levels are stable, your brain can recognise when you’re full, preventing overeating.
Balancing these hormones through proper diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes is the most effective way to promote weight loss.
How to Fix Hormonal Belly Fat
The hormonal belly is one of the most frustrating parts of aging for many women. It’s the extra weight that accumulates around your midsection due to hormonal imbalances like declining estrogen and elevated cortisol.
Here’s how you can tackle it:
- Stabilise Your Blood Sugar: Eating balanced meals that contain protein, fibre, and healthy fats helps prevent insulin spikes that contribute to belly fat.
- Manage Stress: Elevated cortisol levels lead to fat storage, particularly around the midsection. Reducing stress through mindfulness, yoga, or simply getting enough sleep can help lower cortisol and combat belly fat.
- Exercise Wisely: Avoid high-intensity cardio, which can increase cortisol. Instead, focus on strength training and walking, which support fat loss without spiking stress hormones.
Birth Control and Hormones: What You Need to Know
Many women continue using birth control well into their 40s, and this can have an impact on your hormones and weight loss efforts.
While birth control doesn’t necessarily cause weight gain, it can affect your body composition—the ratio of muscle to fat.
Certain types of birth control, particularly those with synthetic hormones like early-generation progestins, can make it harder to maintain muscle mass and can lead to fat gain.
If you suspect your birth control might be interfering with your weight loss, talk to your doctor about switching to an IUD or another low-hormone option.
Cortisol and Weight Loss: How Stress Affects Your Body
Cortisol is your body’s stress hormone, and it plays a huge role in weight gain, especially around your belly. As you age, your body becomes more sensitive to stress, and cortisol levels rise. This is particularly problematic for women going through menopause.
High cortisol levels can lead to:
- Leptin resistance, making you crave sugary or high-fat foods.
- Insulin resistance, which promotes fat storage around the middle.
- Slowed metabolism, making it harder to burn calories.
Managing your stress levels is one of the most effective ways to keep cortisol in check and support weight loss. Avoid extreme diets or workouts, as these can further elevate cortisol levels.
Conclusion: Balancing Your Hormones Is Key to Weight Loss
If you’ve been struggling to lose weight in your 40s, 50s, or 60s, hormones are likely playing a big role. But by understanding how hormones affect weight loss—and by taking steps to balance them—you can start to see real progress.
Focus on hormonally balanced eating, prioritise low-impact strength training, and manage your stress levels to support your body’s changing needs. With the right approach, it’s possible to lose weight, drop a dress size or two, and regain your confidence.
Ready to take control of your hormones and start losing weight?
- Download our free guide to learn how to lose weight and tone up during menopause – without extreme calorie cutting. [Download here]
- Sign up for our free training on weight loss and fitness specifically for women over 40. [Sign up here]
- Learn more about our Fit Over 40 Program and how it can help you drop 1-2 dress sizes in just 12 weeks. [Learn more here]