Weight loss and menopause, keep your muscle first
To lose weight during the menopause, protect your muscle first. Fat tends to settle around the waist while muscle slowly falls. Your shape changes more than the number on the scales. So the methods that worked at 35 often work less well at 52.
A club coach looks at your situation with you and gives you the best advice.
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Menopause and weight, what changes
The menopause usually happens between 45 and 55, as the NHS guide to menopause and perimenopause explains. Falling oestrogen moves fat stores away from the hips and thighs towards the waist. Lean mass falls too, and muscle is precisely what uses energy at rest. Less muscle means fewer calories burned, even with the same meals.
Sleep often suffers as well, with night sweats and early waking. Short nights increase hunger the next day, as our article on sleep and weight loss explains.
Scales and body fat, a mismatch
Many women say the scales have hardly moved, yet their trousers no longer fit. That is the change in body shape. A tape measure round the waist, each month, tells you more than daily weighing.
Weight loss during the menopause, 3 levers
- Protein at every meal. Eggs, fish, chicken, beans, lentils, Greek yoghurt. Protein contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass. The British Dietetic Association menopause diet fact sheet also looks at protein, calcium and vitamin D at this stage of life.
- Strength exercises. The NHS menopause advice on things you can do recommends regular exercise, with a focus on weight-bearing exercise to build strength. Squats, stairs, carrying shopping, a class at the leisure centre, 2 times a week or more.
- Bones. Calcium is needed for the maintenance of normal bones, and so is vitamin D. Milk, yoghurt, kale and tinned sardines help, as the NHS suggests.
Adjust rather than restrict
Cutting hard on calories takes muscle with it, which works against you. Small adjustments work better. Slightly smaller portions of starchy food in the evening, a vegetable at every meal, fewer biscuits with the afternoon cup of tea, and a daily walk. Our article on avoiding yo-yo dieting explains why gentle changes last longer.
Hot flushes, low mood, poor sleep and treatment options such as HRT are a conversation to have with your GP. This article does not replace advice from your GP or another health professional.
An assessment at the Witney club
At our club in Witney, Rachel Clarkson, Sara and the coaches trained in nutrition support members every day. The first assessment is free, and it is a good moment to look at your waist, your muscle and your meals together. You can also read our guide to losing weight after 50.
Your weight loss curve
Enter your profile and the curve redraws straight away.
At the median pace, it would take about 11 weeks to lose 8 kg. At the gentlest pace, about 4 months.
The benchmark most often given for lasting weight loss is 500 g to 1 kg a week. That is the ideal zone of the chart. Above 1 kg a week on a regular basis, the body draws on its muscles as much as on its fat. That is the hatched zone.
An indicative projection. Every journey is personal and results vary from person to person. The calculation runs on your device, nothing is saved or sent. Over 65, talk to your doctor first.
How this curve is calculated
The top edge of the zone matches 500 g a week, the gentlest pace. The bottom edge matches 1 kg a week, the risk threshold.
The first weeks go faster, mostly water, then the pace slows. After 40, the median curve slows gradually, because metabolism slows. For the same effort, a man usually loses weight a little faster than a woman.
The journey curve adds plateaus of a few days and small regains, as in real life. It does not predict your own journey.
This advice is general. It does not replace medical advice.
Further reading
For day to day support, see the healthy eating programme.