How does menopause lead to weight gain?

I’m a weight loss dietitian, and many of my patients are at the age where they’re going through the menopause and they find that their weight goes up, despite their best efforts. Does menopause mean weight gain is inevitable? This blog post will dive into the menopause and how it affects weight. 

What is the menopause?

Menopause is the permanent ending of a woman’s periods and means she is no longer able to fall pregnant. 

The menopausal transition can be as long as 7 years and typically occurs between 45-55 years of age. In this time, levels of the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone fall and this leads to symptoms like irregular periods, night sweats, hot flushes, and mood swings. 

How does menopause lead to weight gain?

Women typically gain around 2-3kg while in the menopausal transition.

This happens because as levels of oestrogen fall, the types of fat around the body changes. It leads to an increase in visceral fat. Visceral fat is what grows around your stomach and belly area. 

And as we age, there is also a decline in muscle mass. With your muscle mass declining this leads to your metabolic rate decreasing too. This lower metabolic rate means your body needs less energy to function. So if you continue eating the same, it’ll be easier to gain weight as you’ll be in more of a calorie excess.

Along with the muscle mass loss, there is also a loss of bone mass due to the declining oestrogen levels. Women going through the menopause have an increased calcium need, around 1200mg a day, compared to non-menopausal adults who need 700mg a day.

How can you counteract the menopausal weight gain?

To help manage the weight gain, you can:

• Prioritise balanced meals and snacks with protein and wholegrain carbohydrates
• Incorporate strength training into your exercise routine
• Get enough sleep and take time to relax

Prioritise balanced meals and snacks:

Protein needs increase in menopause, with women needing at least 1.2g of protein per kg of body weight. For example, if you weigh 65kg, you’ll need 78g of protein a day. Good protein sources include meat, fish, beans and lentils. 

Wholegrain carbohydrates take a longer time to digest and so release sugar slowly into the blood stream. This limits sharp rises in blood sugar levels and helps to keep you full. It’s also important to get enough fibre, which will further stabilise blood sugar levels and increase fullness. Fibre can be found in vegetables, beans, wholemeal rice/pasta/bread, nuts, and seeds. 

An easy way to make a balanced meal is to aim for:

•  ½ of your plate to be vegetables or salad
• ¼ of your plate a protein source
• ¼ of your plate a wholegrain carbohydrate source
• 1 serving of a healthy fat

Example meals could be: 

• Harissa chicken and vegetable traybake served with wholemeal couscous
• Prawn and vegetable curry with brown rice
• Beef and lentil bolognese with wholemeal spaghetti and salad
• Chicken stir fry with vegetables and wholemeal noodles

Snack ideas include:

• Greek yoghurt with fruit and small handful of nuts
• Roasted chickpeas
• Plain popcorn with small handful of nuts
• Banana or apple slices with peanut butter

How to get enough calcium:

Remembering to increase your calcium intake during the menopause will help prevent your bones getting weaker. Weak bones can lead to fractures and falls, which can mean a loss of independence. Menopausal women are aiming for 1200mg of calcium a day.

Adding in these foods into your meals can help: 

• 100ml of milk - 124mg of calcium
• 30g of cheese - 250mg of calcium
• 150g of yogurt - 240mg of calcium
• ½ tin of sardines, with bones - 240mg of calcium
• 100g of calcium set tofu - 300mg of calcium
• 1 medium orange - 30mg of calcium
• 100g boiled kale - 150mg
• 30g of almonds - 75mg of calcium

Incorporate strength training:

As our muscle mass decreases with age, it’s crucial to try and minimise this by doing some form of strength training 2-3 times a week. This helps to maintain and build muscle and will increase your metabolic rate. 

The gym is a great way to focus on specific exercises but it’s not the only way. You can start at home doing body weight exercises such as squats, lunges and pressups. Resistance bands are a good way to increase the difficulty as you progress and are cheaper than a gym membership!

Other activities that use muscles but aren’t the gym are: gardening, DIY, rock climbing, and hiking. 

Get enough sleep and take time to relax:

Ensuring you get enough sleep is key. During the menopause you can get low in mood and irritable so maintaining a good sleep routine can help you be well rested and settle your mood. This also helps minimise snacking on sugary/fatty foods as when we don’t get enough sleep we crave high energy foods for a quick energy boost.

Similarly with stress, high levels of stress hormones can increase your appetite and make you crave energy-dense foods. Incorporating things you find relaxing and that you enjoy into your daily routine can help with this, as it’s easy to overeat energy dense foods which leads to weight gain.

We all relax in different ways but things like crafting, having a warm bath, or going for a walk are good ways to have some time to yourself and recharge. 

Menopause can lead to weight gain due to hormonal changes but by being aware of what’s to come can help you prepare and minimise it. You can also read more weight loss tips in my E-book, which you can buy on Amazon.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Bye for now 👋

References: 

What is menopause? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1521693423000482?via%3Dihub 

Menopause and weight gain: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10952331/ 

Calcium: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/calcium.html 

Calcium https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8746734/#sec7-nutrients-14-00180 

Menopausal transition: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4433164/ 

Sleep and weight: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9031614/ 

Stress and energy intake: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17869482/ 

Strength training and menopause: https://hylonome-publications.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/jmni/published/38/02MALTAIS.pdf