Practical Solutions for Menopause Weight Gain
Menopause Diet, Lifestyle and Weight Loss Injections
Dr. Aishah Provides Menopause Skin + Weight + Cosmetic Consultations.
Dr Aishah offers a comprehensive, holistic approach to cosmetic medicine, with a specific interest in perimenopause and menopause changes.
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- Expertise in Menopause-Related Health: She specialises in managing skin, weight, and body health issues unique to menopause and perimenopause.
- Medical Weight Loss Consultations: Provide tailored weight loss strategies for menopausal and general weight management, emphasising sustainable results.
- Anti-Ageing Treatment Consultation: Aishah offers a range of therapies targeting wrinkles and ageing skin changes, including treatments designed to rejuvenate oestrogen-deficient and ageing skin changes.
- Consultations for prescription medications, including Estriol Face Cream, prescription retinoids, and pigment inhibitors, to balance oestrogen in the skin and prevent intrinsic and extrinsic facial ageing.
- Personalised Consultations: Consult with Dr Aishah to discuss individualised skin, anti-ageing, and weight management goals.
Menopause Weight Gain and Body Composition
Weight gain during menopause and a shift in fat storage around the abdomen have profound health implications. This type of fat acts like an endocrine organ, releasing inflammatory substances into your body that can lead to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and heart disease.
Healthy habits can help manage body composition. Studies show that adopting a protein-rich Mediterranean-style diet and regular exercise helps with weight management and improves symptoms like hot flashes and mood swings.
Key Takeaways
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- Hormonal changes, particularly a decrease in oestrogen, underlie menopause weight gain in women, which increases the risk of developing metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and more abdominal fat.
- The gut microbiome appears to play a role in chronic inflammation and managing menopause weight gain. Specific diets high in prebiotics (fibre and polyphenols), whole-food vegetables, fruit, nuts, and healthy fats support healthier gut bacteria and possibly combat weight gain.
- Increasing dietary protein can help control hunger, maintain muscle mass, and balance energy intake.
- Lifestyle changes, such as adopting an anti-inflammatory Mediterranean diet, regular exercise, and improving sleep quality, can effectively manage weight and health during menopause.
- Weight loss injections offer a promising medical option for managing weight, especially for those with insulin resistance or difficulty losing weight through lifestyle alone.
- Oestrogen therapy may help some women manage weight and improve insulin sensitivity. Still, discussing this option with a healthcare provider is essential, as it requires a full assessment and discussion of benefits vs. risks.
How to Manage Menopause Weight Gain with Lifestyle Changes
Adopting a healthy lifestyle can be one of the best ways to manage menopause weight gain and reduce its health impacts. Here are some tips:
How to Manage Menopause Weight Gain with Lifestyle Changes
1. Choose a High-Quality Diet
A Mediterranean-style diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, lean protein, and healthy fats (like olive oil and nuts) has been shown to benefit women during menopause. This diet is high in fibre, plant nutrients such as polyphenols and phytoestrogens, and plant compounds that mimic oestrogen, which may help balance hormones naturally. It is anti-inflammatory and assists in maintaining gut microbial diversity.
2. Consider Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting, or eating within a set time frame, has gained popularity and is an effective way for some women to manage weight. By restricting eating hours, many find they consume fewer calories without restrictive dieting. Finding a routine that fits your lifestyle and staying hydrated throughout the day is crucial.
3. Add More Protein to Your Diet
Since menopause increases the body’s protein needs, aim to include protein in each meal. Lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, and plant-based proteins like tofu, legumes, beans, nuts and seeds are excellent options. This helps curb hunger, maintain muscle mass, and balance calorie intake without overeating.
4. Stay Physically Active
Regular physical activity, particularly resistance training, is essential for maintaining muscle mass. Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise weekly, plus two days of muscle-strengthening activities. This combination of cardio and resistance training can help prevent fat gain and muscle loss for postmenopausal women.
5. Support Your Gut Health
Eating prebiotic, fibre-rich foods like vegetables mushrooms, fruits and, whole grains, legumes supports a healthy gut; eat diet rich in polyphenols (from a variety of colourful plant foods) healthy fats from sources like nuts, avocado, olive oil, and increase plant protein (legumes, beans, nuts, whole grains, tofu) which may reduce inflammation and help with weight management. Probiotic-fermented foods like tempeh kimchi, kefir, and sauerkraut can also support a balanced microbiome. Eliminate ultra-processed foods, simple carbohydrates, trans fats all of which are pro-inflammatory and negatively impact gut microbiome.
6. Improve Sleep Quality
Sleep disruptions are expected during menopause and can lead to weight gain by affecting appetite hormones. Creating a relaxing bedtime routine and prioritising sleep can help regulate hunger and maintain healthy eating habits.
7. Medical Weight Loss Treatments
For some women, lifestyle changes alone may not be enough to address menopause-related weight gain. In recent years, weight loss injections known as GLP-1 agonists have emerged as effective options. These work by mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which helps regulate appetite and glucose metabolism. GLP-1 agonists promote weight loss by helping individuals to feel full longer, reducing cravings, and improving insulin sensitivity.
8. How Medical Weight Loss Works for Menopause Weight Gain
GLP-1 agonists slow gastric emptying, which means food stays in the stomach longer, enhancing satiety and reducing the desire to overeat. They also improve insulin function, which is crucial since insulin resistance becomes more common during menopause. These medications have been found effective in supporting weight loss in people who have difficulty with traditional diet and exercise alone, making them particularly valuable for managing menopause weight gain.
9. Consultations with Dr Anastasia for Menopausal Weight Gain
As with any medication, you must consult a healthcare provider to discuss whether GLP-1 agonists are right for you. They may be especially beneficial for women with additional risk factors, such as obesity or type 2 diabetes. However, potential side effects, such as nausea, are expected initially, and cost and availability may vary by location. There are potentially more serious side effects, so your consultation and assessment includes education and weighing the benefits vs risks of the medical weight loss injections.
Understanding Menopause Weight Gain
What Causes Menopause Weight Gain, Health Impacts, and How to Manage It
As women go through menopause, many experience changes in body shape and size, particularly with a gradual increase in weight, more abdominal fat, and a loss of lean muscle mass. While these shifts are natural, they can raise risks for health issues like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Explore why menopause weight gain happens, the health impacts it brings, and strategies to manage it effectively—including the role of new weight loss medications.
Why Does Menopause Lead to Weight Gain?
The weight gain many women experience during menopause isn’t just about ageing. Menopause itself causes hormonal changes that affect the body’s composition. One of the most significant changes is decreased oestrogen, a hormone that helps regulate how and where the body stores fat. Without enough oestrogen, fat tends to accumulate around the abdomen, increasing the risks for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
This weight gain might not be extreme, but even small amounts of extra weight, especially around the middle, can significantly impact long-term health (Fenton, 2021). Unfortunately, menopause weight gain can be challenging, especially if a woman has already struggled with weight management.
The Role of Oestrogen in Body Fat and Weight Gain
Oestrogen is key for storing fat in areas like the hips and thighs. But after menopause, oestrogen levels drop, and the body starts storing more fat around the belly. This shift in fat storage happens because lower oestrogen causes a relative rise in androgens (male hormones), which tend to increase belly fat. This type of abdominal fat, known as visceral fat, isn’t just inconvenient—it’s the most harmful type, linked to an increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes (Bermingham et al., 2023).
Studies also show that oestrogen impacts various enzymes that help store fat and burn calories. Reduced oestrogen leads to a slower metabolism, making it easier to gain weight. Oestrogen therapy, for some women, may help reduce this weight gain by supporting metabolism, reducing insulin resistance, and lowering diabetes risks.
Gut Health and Menopause Weight Gain
Recent studies, including the ZOE PREDICT study, highlight that the gut microbiome—the collection of bacteria in our digestive tract—may play an essential role in weight gain during menopause (Bermingham et al., 2023). The gut microbiome often shifts during menopause, moving towards bacteria associated with inflammation and obesity.
Interestingly, the gut microbiome can influence hormone levels by “recycling” oestrogen, allowing it to be reused in the body. This is helpful when natural oestrogen levels are low. Supporting gut health with a fibre-rich diet and fermented foods may help reduce weight gain and support hormone balance.
The “Protein Leverage” Hypothesis and Weight Gain
The “Protein Leverage” Hypothesis suggests that during menopause, women’s bodies break down protein faster, which can increase cravings for protein-rich foods. The body compensates if the diet doesn’t meet these protein needs by increasing hunger and calorie intake. This mechanism may explain why increasing dietary protein slightly (by 1-3%) can help balance energy intake and support muscle mass as metabolism slows with age (Simpson et al., 2022).
Adding more protein can be as simple as including protein-rich foods like lean meats, beans, nuts, tofu, or protein powders into meals. Combined with regular physical activity, a higher-protein diet may also help counteract the muscle loss that often accompanies menopause, helping to maintain a healthy weight and body composition.
Oestrogen Therapy as a Weight Management Option
For some women, menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) can help manage menopause symptoms and support weight maintenance. MHT has been shown to reduce visceral fat and improve blood glucose and insulin levels (Bermingham et al., 2023). However, MHT isn’t for everyone, so it’s important to talk to a healthcare provider about whether it’s a good option based on individual health needs.
References
Bermingham, K. M., et al. (2023). Menopause is associated with postprandial metabolism, metabolic health, and lifestyle: The ZOE PREDICT study. eBioMedicine, 85, 104303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104303
Fenton, Anna. (2021). Weight, Shape, and Body Composition Changes at Menopause. Journal of Midlife Health, 12(3), 187-192. https://doi.org/10.4103/jmh.jmh_123_21
Huang, F., Gao, J., Li, A., Mizokami, A., Matsuda, M., Aoki, K., Katagiri, T., Kawakubo-Yasukochi, T., & Jimi, E. (2024). Activation of NF-κB signalling regulates ovariectomy-induced bone loss and weight gain. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA): Molecular Basis of Disease, 1870(7), 167320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbadis.2024.167320
Hurtado, M. D., Tama, E., Fansa, S., Ghusn, W., Anazco, D., Acosta, A., Faubion, S. S., & Shufelt, C. L. (2024). Weight loss response to semaglutide in postmenopausal women with and without hormone therapy use. Menopause, 31(4), 266-274. https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000002310
Simpson, S. J., Raubenheimer, D., Black, K. I., & Conigrave, A. D. (2022). Weight gain during the menopause transition: Evidence for a mechanism dependent on protein leverage. Bjog, 130(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.17290
