Menopause and Fat Loss

Menopause and Fat Loss: What Actually Works

Menopause makes fat loss harder because falling oestrogen disrupts sleep, increases hunger and changes recovery – but it doesn’t change what your body needs to lose fat, and it doesn’t make fat loss impossible.

Does menopause make fat loss impossible?

No. And the belief it does is likely having a bigger impact and you and your actions than the hormones themselves.

We are often told our metabolism slows as we age and in particular through menopause. This is untrue. One of the largest studies ever done on metabolism across the human lifespan (Pontzer et al., 2021, published in Science) found that energy expenditure stays remarkably stable from your twenties right through to about 60 – it doesn’t meaningfully drop at menopause (average age 51-52) The decline that does happen later in life is mostly explained by reduced muscle mass and activity, not hormones ‘switching off your metabolism’ or whatever the latest ultra relatable low credibility influencer trying to sell you something is saying. 

What menopause actually changes is everything downstream of reduced estrogen levels – poor sleep, increased hunger, low energy, impaired recovery, depressed mood. Those changes make.. Well, everything harder! But they don’t change what works.

Why it feels different, even though the science hasn’t changed

What builds muscle and drives fat loss before menopause is exactly the same during peri and post menopause. Your diet and training principles haven’t changed. However, how you apply them probably needs to.

That means:

1- Smarter training that prioritises recovery, not necessarily less training. I have found shorter but more frequent workouts optimise recovery, energy and mood.

2- A way of eating that accounts for the hunger increase that comes from poorer sleep – there is no huge secret here it is considering these key hunger principles and making sure you have structure to your diet.

3- This might be the most important – focus on energy FIRST. Most women come to me with low energy trying to move even more and eat even less and feel like nothing works and their body has given up on them. We need to take at least a few weeks building your energy up because, trust me on this, fat loss is a lot easier when you have energy and it feels almost impossible if you don’t. 

Your hormones aren’t directly blocking fat loss, even though it can feel that way. It’s the downstream effects of symptoms making adherence harder – and that’s addressable.

The wellness industry makes money by convincing you otherwise. A special menopause diet. A ‘menopause-friendly’ workout plan. A menopause supplement blend with your name on it. It’s not empowerment. It’s a sales strategy, and it’s patronising at best and manipulative at worst.

Some menopause myths I don’t want you to fall for:

• ‘Don’t do HIIT, it’ll spike your cortisol.’ – oh hell no – KEEP DOING HIIT. High intensity interval training  is one of the best things you can do for your health at this stage. All exercise raises cortisol – that’s meant to happen. People making this claim have no grasp of exercise physiology and should not be giving out health reccomendation.
• ‘Avoid phytoestrogens.’Foods high in phytoestrogens are actively good for peri and post-menopausal women.
• ‘You need 15g of protein before you train.’ Protein timing matters far less than people think. Aim for at least 20g somewhere around your workout and don’t stress about the exact timing. How this looks in practice – you have a meal before or after the gym within an hour or 2 and you get on with your life.
• ‘Cortisol is stopping you lose fat’ Cortisol isn’t the enemy. Acute rises are a normal, necessary part of life and exercise. Chronically elevated cortisol is worth managing – but you don’t do that by avoiding the gym. Exercise actively helps manage stress.
• ‘You’re insulin resistant now, so you can’t handle carbs.’ Insulin resistance isn’t an on/off switch. You haven’t suddenly lost the ability to process carbohydrate because you’re peri-menopausal. If insulin sensitivity has dropped, the fix is the same as it’s always been – get lean and stay lean, avoid long stretches of inactivity, and resistance train. Muscle is the single biggest site for glucose disposal in your body.

What should menopausal women be doing

• Well firstly whatever the fuk they want – I hate putting women in a box based on age or menopause status. It’s ridiculous – some of the fittest and most impressive women I work with are in their 50s and 60s and are in the shape of their lives – try telling them that weight gain and inactivity is inevitable after menopause. 
• Resistance training. Non-negotiable for maintaining muscle and metabolic health, and it also protects bone density – a genuine concern at this life stage. 
• Protein. Roughly 1.6-2.2g per kg of bodyweight a day, to preserve muscle, support satiety and body composition. On a practical level just aim for 20g or more at each meal and have a high protein snack – you won’t be far off.
• Sleep. Most people who sleep badly aren’t choosing to but do whatever you can to improve this. Poor sleep drives the hunger increase most women notice at this stage plus the lower energy and mood. Improving poor sleep makes everything 10x easier. But don’t worry if you can’t – there is still a lot we can do.
• HRT, if appropriate for you. A conversation for you and your GP or menopause specialist, not something to self-manage from a blog post or social media content.

Supplements worth your money (and the ones that aren’t)

Most supplements marketed specifically at menopausal women are complete and utter bullsh*t or if I am being polite… have very little evidence behind them.

What’s actually worth spending on:

• Creatine monohydrate, 3-5g daily. Well established for supporting muscle mass and strength . Some less robust research on cognition and brain fog. 
• Protein powder, if needed. Not magic – just a convenient way to hit your protein target if food alone doesn’t get you there.
• Vitamin D, if you’re deficient or get little sun exposure. Many women in the UK are low, especially over winter. Important for bone, immune and muscle function.
• Omega-3, if your oily fish intake is low. May offer small benefits for mood and inflammation.

What to skip – you’re very likely wasting your money:

• Collagen – simply get in enough protein and your body will synthesize its own collagen just fine. My only slight caveat is a potential small benefit if you have osteoarthritis.
• ‘Menopause blends’ – huge mark up, wild claims and almost always underdosed and full of things you don’t want or need so they can merit charging you more. 
• Anything built around ‘adrenal support’ or ‘cortisol balancing’
• ‘Hormone balancing’ supplements
• Fat burners
• Detox products
• Any other product marketed specifically for menopause

Save that money. Or better yet, invest it – shoot me a message if you want my free webinar on everything I wish I knew about money

Commonly asked questions:

Does menopause slow your metabolism? Not meaningfully – not until around age 60, and even then it’s mostly down to muscle mass and activity levels, not menopause itself.

Do I need menopause-specific supplements? No. The evidence-backed basics – creatine, protein, vitamin D and omega-3 where needed, and HRT if appropriate – are the same ones that work at any life stage.

Is HIIT bad for you during menopause because of cortisol? No. HIIT remains one of the best things you can do. All exercise raises cortisol temporarily, and that’s normal.

Am I destined to gain weight during menopause? No. Energy balance still holds true it can just often feel a lot harder when you are struggling with low mood, energy and motivation and high hunger, cravings and irritability. 

The bottom line

Menopause doesn’t change how fat loss works. It makes creating a deficit harder- worse sleep, increased  hunger, lower mood and motivation, impaired recovery. The fix isn’t a menopause plan or menopause supplement stack. It’s the same evidence-based fundamentals, applied while considering your symptoms and if you’re working with me by getting your energy up first so you’re not trying to add more to your plate when you’re already running on empty. 

If you want support tailored to your actual life rather than trying to figure it all out alone, apply for 1-1 coaching or find out about Commit to 6. I also cover menopause questions regularly on the ESGfitness podcast – search “menopause” in the episode archive for the deep dives.

I hope this is useful and gives you some hope because you should be hopeful! Despise what many people and society as a whole tells you – Life can get better as you age! And what a privilege it is.

ESG x