Let’s talk about perimenopause fat gain because I think there are a lot of women who need to hear this.
Yes, our hormones are changing. Estrogen and progesterone fluctuate and eventually decline, and those changes can affect everything from where we store body fat to our sleep, energy, insulin sensitivity, and ability to recover from exercise.
The things that worked for us in our 20s and 30s might not work quite the same way anymore. I know this firsthand because I’m going through it, too.
But here’s where I think we need to have a little tough love.
(You can also listen to this post here.)
I see so many women who have convinced themselves that their hormones are the reason they can’t lose fat. They’ve accepted that gaining weight is just part of getting older, and they’ve stopped looking at all the things they could actually be doing to improve their situation.
And I think that’s selling ourselves short.
There are SO many things we can do to support our metabolism, build muscle, improve insulin sensitivity, and make fat loss possible during perimenopause. But these things take effort, consistency, and a willingness to look at what we’re actually doing rather than what we THINK we’re doing.
If you’re struggling to lose body fat, I want you to go through this list and ask yourself how many of these boxes you’re REALLY checking.
Because chances are, there’s still plenty of room to make improvements.
Why Does Perimenopause Make Fat Loss Harder?
During perimenopause, fluctuating estrogen and progesterone can influence insulin sensitivity, sleep, appetite, and how our bodies store fat. Declining estrogen is also associated with increased abdominal fat accumulation, while age-related muscle loss can contribute to changes in our metabolism.
These changes can make weight management more challenging, but perimenopause fat gain is not inevitable. Maintaining muscle, managing our calorie intake, staying active, and improving our metabolic health can all help us continue losing body fat throughout this transition.
So, let’s talk about what we can actually DO.
Build Muscle and Move Your Body
1. Building muscle makes us more insulin sensitive.
Our muscles are one of the biggest consumers of glucose in our bodies, and resistance training helps them pull glucose from the bloodstream and use it for energy. Maintaining healthy muscle mass and improving insulin sensitivity helps our bodies manage blood sugar more efficiently, which is especially important as our hormones change during perimenopause.
2. Building muscle and training hard, regularly, helps us burn more calories at rest.
Muscle is metabolically active tissue, meaning it requires energy even when we’re sitting on the couch doing absolutely nothing. Building and maintaining muscle supports our resting metabolic rate, and consistent strength training helps preserve that muscle while we’re losing body fat.
3. Increasing daily movement outside of our workouts increases total calorie expenditure.
You can crush your workout in the morning and still spend the other 23 hours of your day barely moving. Walking, taking the stairs, doing chores, and generally being more active throughout the day all contribute to NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), which can make a meaningful difference in how many calories we burn each day.
4. HIIT cardio can be an amazing tool for fat loss when we’re managing stress and recovering properly.
HIIT challenges our cardiovascular system, improves insulin sensitivity, and increases post-exercise calorie expenditure through something called EPOC, or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. This means we continue burning additional calories as our bodies recover from exercise, making HIIT another useful tool in our fat-loss toolbox.
Get Serious About What You’re Eating
5. Eating upon waking, then maintaining smaller meals every 3–4 hours, can help us manage blood sugar.
Eating regular, balanced meals throughout the day can help prevent us from getting so hungry that we end up eating enormous meals or reaching for whatever is quick and convenient. Including protein, fiber, and healthy fats in our meals helps slow digestion and moderate our blood sugar response, giving us more stable energy throughout the day.
6. Eating plenty of protein supports a slightly elevated metabolic rate.
Protein has the highest thermic effect of the three macronutrients, meaning our bodies use more energy digesting and processing it than they do carbohydrates or fats. It also helps us preserve and build muscle, supports recovery, and keeps us feeling fuller longer, all of which are incredibly valuable when we’re trying to lose body fat.
7. Being in a calorie deficit, without making it excessively restrictive or stressful, allows for fat loss.
We still need to consume fewer calories than we’re burning over time if we want to lose body fat, even during perimenopause. But slashing calories too aggressively can make it harder to maintain muscle, recover from workouts, manage hunger, and stay consistent, so we want a deficit that supports the work we’re asking our bodies to do.
8. Tracking your food helps you understand what you’re actually eating and whether you’re even in a calorie deficit.
You can eat healthy foods all day long and still consume more calories than your body needs. Tracking your food gives you a clear picture of your calorie intake, protein, carbs, fats, and fiber so you can make adjustments based on actual data instead of guessing. If you’re struggling to lose body fat but have no idea how much you’re eating, this is one of the first places I’d start looking!
Support Your Digestion, Hormones, and Metabolism Through Nutrition
9. Avoiding highly processed foods helps keep us healthy so our organs can function properly.
Our bodies need vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, and healthy fats to carry out the thousands of processes that keep us functioning every day. A diet built around whole, nutrient-dense foods gives us those raw materials, helps us feel fuller, and makes it easier to manage calorie intake without constantly feeling hungry.
10. Avoiding alcohol, excess sugar, and highly processed foods helps keep inflammation down so our digestion can function properly.
Alcohol can disrupt sleep, irritate the digestive tract, and add a significant number of calories to our diets, while regularly consuming excessive amounts of added sugar and ultra-processed foods can make it harder to manage blood sugar, inflammation, and overall calorie intake. Giving our bodies a break from these things and focusing on whole, nutrient-dense foods can support digestive health and make maintaining a calorie deficit much easier.
11. Eating plenty of prebiotic and fiber-rich foods and staying hydrated helps us poop regularly, supporting healthy estrogen metabolism and elimination.
Our liver processes estrogen, and some of those estrogen metabolites are eliminated through our stool, so keeping our digestive system moving is an important part of supporting healthy estrogen metabolism. Fiber also feeds beneficial gut bacteria, supports regular bowel movements, and helps manage blood sugar, while adequate hydration helps keep things moving through our digestive tract.
12. Eating the rainbow and a wide variety of foods can improve our mineral status, support hormone production, and support the thyroid, which regulates metabolism.
Our bodies rely on vitamins and minerals to produce hormones, metabolize thyroid hormones, and carry out the metabolic processes that keep us functioning. For example, iodine is essential for producing thyroid hormones, while selenium supports thyroid hormone metabolism, so eating a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods helps us get the nutrients our bodies need.
Get Your Sleep and Stress Under Control
13. Prioritizing quality sleep helps regulate hunger, improve insulin sensitivity, and support muscle recovery.
When we’re consistently sleeping poorly, our bodies become less sensitive to insulin, our hunger and cravings can increase, and we have less energy to train and make healthy choices throughout the day. Research has even shown that restricting sleep to approximately six hours per night for six weeks can increase insulin resistance in women, making sleep an incredibly important part of managing our metabolic health during perimenopause.
14. Managing stress makes healthy choices easier and helps keep excess cortisol at bay.
Chronic stress can contribute to elevated cortisol, increased cravings for calorie-dense foods, disrupted sleep, and greater abdominal fat accumulation. When we’re constantly overwhelmed, exhausted, and running on fumes, it’s much harder to make good decisions about our food, show up for our workouts, and give our bodies the recovery they need.
So, How Many of These 14 Boxes Are You REALLY Checking?
I want you to be honest with yourself here.
Are you consistently strength training and challenging yourself, or are you just going through the motions? Are you actually eating enough protein and fiber, getting quality sleep, managing your stress, and moving throughout the day?
Do you KNOW you’re in a calorie deficit, or are you just assuming you’re eating less than you’re burning?
Are you being really good Monday through Thursday and then undoing all of your hard work over the weekend?
Because I can tell you that most women I talk to are struggling with at least a few of these things, and many aren’t doing half of them consistently.
I understand that perimenopause can make things more challenging. I’m dealing with hormonal fluctuations, bloating, fluid retention, and changes in my own body, too. I know how frustrating it can be to feel like you’re doing everything right and still not seeing the results you want.
But I also know how much power we have to improve our health through the choices we make every single day.
And I think when we start seeing ourselves as victims of our hormones, we give away some of that power. We start believing that fat gain is inevitable, that our metabolisms are broken, and that there’s nothing we can do about it.
I refuse to accept that for myself, and I don’t want you to accept it for yourself, either.
You might need to change how you’re training. You might need to pay closer attention to what you’re eating, prioritize sleep, cut back on alcohol, or finally get serious about managing your stress.
And yes, you might need to dig deeper into what’s happening with your hormones, thyroid, blood sugar, or other aspects of your health.
But before you decide that fat loss is impossible because you’re in perimenopause, take a good, hard look at this list.
How many of these 14 things are you doing consistently? And how many could you start doing better TODAY?
You have more control over your health than you might realize, and I want you to start taking advantage of it.
Can You Lose Belly Fat During Perimenopause?
Yes! Perimenopause fat gain, especially around the belly, can be frustrating, but losing body fat is still possible as our hormones change.
Building and maintaining muscle, improving insulin sensitivity, managing our calorie intake, prioritizing sleep, and staying active all support our ability to lose body fat.
And if you’re already doing these things consistently and still struggling, it may be time to investigate what else is happening inside your body.
Want to Know What’s Happening With YOUR Hormones?
If you’re doing the work and still struggling with stubborn belly fat, poor sleep, low energy, bloating, or other frustrating perimenopause symptoms, understanding what’s happening inside your body can help you figure out where to focus your efforts.
I created a FREE Hormone Lab Cheat Sheet that walks you through the blood work I recommend discussing with your healthcare provider before considering hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
It covers the hormones, thyroid markers, blood sugar markers, and other important labs that can help you better understand your health, recognize patterns, and advocate for yourself when discussing your symptoms and treatment options.
Because the more you understand about what’s happening inside your body, the better equipped you are to make decisions about your health.
Download my FREE Hormone Lab Cheat Sheet here!
Your Coach,
Kyra