Understanding Menopause Weight Gain: Does It Go Away?

Understanding the Causes of Menopause Weight Gain

The weight gain typically seen during menopause can be attributed to several physiological and hormonal changes. Key among these are:

• Hormonal fluctuations: Decreased oestrogen levels significantly affect fat distribution, favouring accumulation around the abdomen.
• Metabolic slowdown: Ageing slows down the metabolism, making it easier to gain weight.
• Loss of muscle mass: With age, muscle mass decreases, lowering the rate at which the body uses calories.

You may be feeling tired, stressed, anxious, and have low mood in the menopause. It’s the easiest thing in the world to comfort eat when you feel like this, and it’s just as easy for calories to increase without us noticing. Release of the stress hormone cortisol can also result in fat settling around your middle.

Tiredness, stress, and low mood can also decrease your motivation to exercise, which leads to weight gain. Many of us are juggling relationships, work, and our symptoms and we forget to take time to look after ourselves.

Is Menopause Weight Gain Temporary?

For many women navigating through the menopause transition, the experience of weight gain can be particularly troubling.

However, it’s important to know that this weight gain is not an inevitably permanent change. Addressing and managing menopause-related weight gain effectively often requires a multi-pronged approach, including potential modifications to one’s lifestyle. Several factors significantly influence this phenomenon, encompassing genetics, lifestyle choices, and general health conditions. By adopting a proactive stance towards diet and exercise, and consulting healthcare professionals for personalised advice, many women find that they can mitigate or even reverse the weight gain attributed to menopause. Thus, while the challenge is real, it is also manageable with the right strategies and support.

Effective Strategies to Manage Weight During Menopause

Addressing weight gain during and after menopause can be challenging but is achievable through a combination of effective strategies:

• Enhanced physical activity: Engaging in regular exercise is important for managing weight during menopause. It helps to counteract the metabolic slowdown and the loss of muscle mass often experienced during this time. Activities such as walking, swimming, or yoga not only burn calories but also improve overall health and wellbeing.
• Healthy eating habits: Maintaining a diet that is balanced and nutritious plays a vital role in managing menopausal weight gain. Emphasising the intake of fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins ensures that the body receives essential nutrients whilst avoiding excessive caloric intake. It is also beneficial to reduce the consumption of processed foods and sugars, which can contribute to weight gain.
• Stress management: Menopause can be a stressful period, and high stress levels can disrupt hormonal balances, leading to weight gain. Implementing effective stress management techniques such as mindfulness, meditation, or even simple breathing exercises can significantly mitigate stress and its effects on the body.

By integrating these strategies into daily life, it is possible to manage and even prevent weight gain during menopause, leading to a healthier lifestyle and improved quality of life.

We have a wealth of free, evidence-based information and advice from a range of experts on all things exercise here and on all things nutrition here.

When to Consult a Doctor

If you are finding it increasingly difficult to manage your weight despite earnest attempts, it could be an appropriate time to seek help from a healthcare professional and/or a dietician. They are well-equipped to assist you with personalised strategies that are specifically tailored to meet your individual requirements. They can offer:

• Personalised advice: This involves creating customised plans that address your specific health concerns and dietary needs, ensuring that the guidance you receive is directly applicable to your situation.
• Medical support: For some individuals, medical interventions may be necessary. This can range from pharmacological treatments to hormone replacement therapies, depending on the underlying causes of your weight management challenges.  For some women, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may help prevent some of the changes that result in weight gain in the menopause. There’s no evidence that HRT itself causes weight gain – a commonly held belief. HRT can also increase your sense of wellbeing by managing your menopause symptoms. If you feel better, you will be less likely to comfort eat and are more likely to be more active.

Talk to one of our menopause specialists or your GP to discuss the benefits and risks of medical treatments for menopause-related weight gain.

Conclusion

Understanding the connection between menopause and weight gain is key for enhancing management strategies through dietary, physical, and psychological adjustments. Consulting with healthcare professionals can offer personalised guidance and support tailored to individual needs. This understanding not only aids in mitigating unwelcome weight changes but also improves overall well-being during the menopausal transition.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.