Why weight loss is harder in menopause – and what to do about it

Registered Nutritional Therapist, Sam Blackburn, shares her top tips for dealing with menopause weight gain.

For decades we’ve been told to eat less and move more to lose weight. But maintaining a healthy weight depends on many different factors.  

Our fluctuating female hormones also add another layer of complexity when it comes to weight loss.

Read this blog to find out what else needs to be considered and how to address it.

This one may be easier said than done, but is perhaps the most important. Your nervous system doesn’t know the difference between difficult work deadlines, a ton of family stuff or whether you need to run away from a tiger.  It just knows it needs to keep you safe. Weight carried around the middle is often linked to stress, and excess fat is effectively stored energy. Your body responds to ongoing stress by producing hormones like cortisol, which can encourage fat storage around the middle and make weight loss more difficult. Stress hormones also impact your thyroid hormones, which also play a role in weight regulation.

Your thyroid hormones regulate your metabolism, helping your body use glucose efficiently and burn fat. But (and this is a big but) the active thyroid hormone T3 is the hormone that does most of the work inside your cells. It isn’t routinely included in standard NHS thyroid testing, so sometimes a fuller thyroid assessment may be helpful if symptoms persist. What’s more, the symptoms of an under-active or sub-optimal thyroid are very similar to menopausal symptoms – weight gain, low energy, brain fog, low mood, aches and pains.

As oestrogen levels fall during menopause, we naturally lose muscle more quickly. Eating enough protein helps preserve muscle, keeps you feeling fuller for longer and supports a healthy weight.

Your gut microbes do far more than support digestion. They also influence your hormones, immune system and metabolism, all of which can affect your weight. Studies in mice have shown that transferring gut bacteria from lean animals can help protect against weight gain, while gut bacteria from overweight animals can promote it. Researchers are now exploring whether similar approaches could one day benefit people too.

There are numerous types of fasting: 3-day, overnight, water fast, 5:2 and 16:8, to name but a few. However, most of the research has been carried out in men, as is true for much of nutrition research. Longer fasts and very low-calorie diets can reduce levels of the active thyroid hormone T3 and may also increase stress hormones in some people.

GLP-1 is a hormone we naturally produce in the small intestine in response to food. It’s become well known thanks to the rise of GLP-1 medications, often referred to as the “skinny jabs”.  And now supplement companies are producing “natural GLP-1 products” containing nutrients that have been studied for their effects on blood sugar management and weight loss.

What to do: Fibre is your friend here. It fills you up and feeds your friendly gut bacteria, which produce short-chain fatty acids. These stimulate GLP-1 release, as does protein. Aim for protein and fibre at each meal to support your body’s own appetite-regulating hormones. Meals eaten earlier in the day may also trigger a more pronounced GLP-1 response.

This blog has been provided by Registered Nutritional Therapist Sam Blackburn who is passionate about helping women live life with more energy. Download her free guide, Effortless Energy, for easy 5-minute, power-packed lunches

Sam runs quarterly 7-day Energy Resets. These are guided group meal plans that take the guesswork out of healthy eating. No need to worry about protein and plants, everything is planned for you, so all you need to do is shop and cook.