Short answer: Gaining weight during menopause is mainly because your oestrogen drops, your muscle mass decreases and your metabolism slows down as a result. Your body stores fat more quickly, especially around your belly even if you don't change anything about your food. The good news: you have more influence over it than you think. Not with eating less and more cardio, but with strength training, enough protein and an approach that suits your body in this phase.
Sound familiar? You eat the way you always ate, you move the way you always did and still the kilos pile on. Especially around your belly, in places where you never had them before. You're not the only one, and it isn't down to a lack of willpower. Something is changing in your body. And once you understand what, you also know what you can do about it.
Why you gain weight during menopause
During menopause your oestrogen drops. That hormone does much more than regulate your cycle: it plays a role in your metabolism, in how your body stores fat and in maintaining your muscle mass. When it drops, three things happen at once:
You lose muscle mass. From the age of forty muscle mass slowly decreases, and around menopause that speeds up. Muscles are your engine: less muscle means your body uses fewer calories at rest.
Your fat distribution changes. Fat that used to go to your hips and legs now goes to your belly sooner. That's the more stubborn, deeper belly fat.
You become more sensitive to stress and bad nights. Both increase the chance of craving sweet things and of storing fat.
In other words: it isn't that you're doing something wrong. Your old approach simply doesn't work any more, because your body has changed.
Why "eating less and more cardio" backfires
Most women respond to weight gain with exactly the wrong recipe: dieting more strictly and running more laps. In the short term that seems to work. But your body adapts: it starts running more economically, you lose even more muscle mass, your energy drops and you end up in an exhausting cycle of being strict, relapsing and gaining weight again.
Crash diets are therefore not a solution here in the long run they often make the problem bigger. What your body needs in this phase is not less, but smarter.
What does work
1. Strength training as the foundation
This is the most important dial you can turn. By training with weight or resistance you build muscle mass (or hold on to it), and with that you switch your metabolism back on. Bonus: strength training is proven to be good for your bones, which matters precisely because the risk of bone loss rises after menopause. Also read our blog Losing weight during menopause: why it feels harder (and what really helps).
2. Enough protein
You don't build and maintain muscle without building blocks. Proteins contribute to the maintenance of muscle mass, and during menopause in particular you need more of them than before. Can't manage to get that from your meals every day? Then a protein-rich Protein Shake or a Meal Shake is an easy way to reach your daily amount — including on busy days.
3. Rest and recovery
Sleep and relaxation aren't a luxury but part of the result. Too little sleep disrupts your appetite hormones and makes losing weight harder.
4. An approach you can keep up
Not a temporary cure, but a lifestyle that fits your life. That is exactly where personal guidance makes the difference.
You don't have to figure it out alone
Menopause calls for a different approach than you're used to and that's exactly where many women get stuck. With Killerbody online coaching you get a training and nutrition approach tailored to your body in this phase: strength training that works, getting enough protein without making it complicated, and a coach who thinks along with you. No crash diet, but results that last.
Ready to take a different approach? Discover Killerbody online coaching and take the first step today. Prefer to start on your own first? Take a look at our protein-rich products that help you protect your muscle mass.
Frequently asked questions
How much weight do you gain on average during menopause?
On average around 5 to 7 kilos, and the fat distribution often shifts towards the belly as well. It's a normal process but not an inevitable fate.
Can you still lose weight during menopause?
Yes. It just works differently than before. With strength training, enough protein and an approach you can keep up, you can get back in balance.
Does eating healthily on its own help too?
It helps, but without strength training you miss the most important lever: maintaining your muscle mass and with it your metabolism.
Why belly fat in particular?
Because of the drop in oestrogen your body stores fat around the belly sooner. That's more stubborn, but it responds well to the combination of strength, nutrition and rest.
