Are you finding it difficult to keep your weight steady as you go through menopause? It’s not just you. This natural stage of life brings major changes in your body — especially in hormone levels and metabolism — that can make weight management much more challenging.
By understanding what causes menopause weight gain, you can take practical steps to support your health and feel more in control as you navigate midlife.
What causes weight gain during menopause?
Gaining weight during menopause is a result of the natural aging process. Hormonal shifts, muscle loss, and common midlife challenges — like age-related medical conditions — can make it harder to maintain a healthy weight.
Let’s take a closer look at what causes menopause weight gain:
Hormonal changes
As you approach menopause, your estrogen and progesterone levels start to decline, and this drop ultimately alters how fat is distributed and stored in the body. More fat tends to settle around the abdomen as a result of failing estrogen levels, instead of staying mostly around the hips and thighs.
In fact, research shows that belly fat can make up 15% to 20% of postmenopausal women’s total body weight, compared to just 5% to 8% before menopause.
Muscle loss
Aging itself is a huge driver of weight gain during menopause. As you get older, muscle mass may start to decline. Since muscle burns more calories than fat, this loss slows down your metabolism, meaning your body needs fewer calories than before. If you keep eating the same way you always have, those “extra” calories are more likely to be stored as fat.
On average, women between the ages of 45 and 55 gain about half a kilo per year without substantial changes to their previous diet and exercise habits.
Lifestyle factors
Weight gain and perimenopause symptoms can also be indirectly connected. For example, hot flashes and night sweats experienced during menopause can interfere with sleep. Poor sleep, on the other hand, can increase hunger and cravings for high-calorie foods while lowering your motivation to exercise.
Stress and mood changes are also common at this stage, both of which can significantly raise levels of cortisol — a hormone that promotes fat storage — particularly around the belly.
Midlife responsibilities should also be taken into account. If you’re caregiving for a parent, managing a busy household, balancing a demanding career, or dealing with health concerns, it can be difficult to prioritize exercise and meal planning.
Medical conditions
Certain health conditions, including thyroid problems, diabetes, or sleep apnea, become more common with age and may complicate weight management. Taking certain medications, such as some antidepressants, may also sometimes contribute to weight changes.
Should you be concerned about weight gain during menopause?
Weight gain is common during menopause, but understanding how it impacts your health is important. Excess weight — especially when it crosses into obesity — has been linked to a higher risk of complications, including:
Type 2 diabetes
Visceral fat — the deeper type of fat that accumulates around organs in the abdomen — is more metabolically active than fat stored elsewhere, meaning it can interfere with how the body uses insulin. This can lead to insulin resistance, increasing the risk for type 2 diabetes. Research shows that women who gain more abdominal fat after menopause are more likely to see shifts in blood sugar levels and develop diabetes.
Breathing problems
Obesity is a leading cause of sleep apnea, a condition where you repeatedly stop and start breathing during sleep. This disrupts rest and can cause fatigue, high blood pressure, and even poor metabolism.
Heart disease
Menopause is also a critical time to monitor your cardiovascular health. Studies show that the risk for heart disease rises significantly during this time, largely due to greater accumulation of abdominal fat and the reduction of the hormone estrogen, which has a protective role in heart health.
Cancer
Unmanaged weight gain has also been associated with a higher risk of certain cancers, including breast, colon, and endometrial. This is largely due to the inflammatory substances and hormones released by visceral fat, which can fuel cancer cell growth. In fact, the American Cancer Society reports that about 11% of cancers in women in the United States are linked to excess body weight.
Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
Menopause may also raise the risk of cognitive conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. While the connection is still being studied, one possible factor is the significant drop in estrogen, which also helps protect the brain.
Menopausal weight gain itself, along with the risks related to it, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, is also known to affect brain health and may potentially contribute to the development of cognitive conditions.
Arthritis
Extra weight puts more strain on bones and joints. This, paired with an increase in bone loss post-menopause, may worsen arthritis or other problems with mobility.
How to lose weight during menopause
Now that you have a better idea of what causes menopause weight gain, the next step is to learn how to manage it properly. Instead of banking on drastic changes, opt for building small but consistent habits that support your health for the long haul. Start with the following:
Stay active and focus on building strength
To achieve better health during menopause, it’s important to keep moving. Simple activities like walking the dog, gardening, or choosing the stairs instead of taking the elevator can be easily integrated into your daily routine.
Supplement these with two days of strength training. This helps rebuild compromised muscle, boost metabolism, improve bone density, and balance hormones — all of which are crucial aspects to focus on during menopause. Bodyweight moves like squats, push-ups, lunges, or resistance band exercises may be enough as long as you do them consistently.
Eat a balanced diet
Because much of the weight gain comes from natural changes in your body as you age, the best approach is to think long-term, which means you should focus on habits that nourish you, not restrict you:
- Prioritize whole foods: Fill your plate with vegetables, fruits, lean proteins (like fish, chicken, beans, or lentils), whole grains, and healthy fats such as olive oil and nuts.
- Watch your portions: A gentle calorie deficit of around 500 calories per day is enough to lose roughly one to two pounds per week. Prioritize higher volume, lower-calorie foods like vegetables, or eat more slowly to help you feel satisfied without overeating.
- Limit processed foods: Reducing sugary snacks, refined carbs (like white bread and pastries), alcohol, and excess salt can help keep your energy steady and your mood more balanced.
If you’re struggling to find the right approach to diet and menopause weight gain, perhaps a more personalized plan may work for you. A registered dietitian can design healthy meal plans tailored specifically to your body’s unique needs and your medical history.
Prioritize quality sleep
Getting poor sleep disrupts hormones meant to regulate hunger, often leading to more cravings for high-calorie foods.
To support better rest, aim for a consistent bedtime and build a calming routine. Keep your room cool and dark, and avoid caffeine or alcohol in the evening. Refrain from using any device when it’s time to wind down; instead, do something that helps you feel more relaxed, like reading or gentle stretching.
If you’re struggling with menopause-related night sweats or insomnia, reach out to your medical provider to see about options for managing these symptoms.
Reduce your stress
Managing chronic stress is key to lowering your cortisol levels. Practice yoga, spend time outdoors, or take five minutes to stretch to help take some tension off. Doing these can make weight loss efforts more effective.
Set realistic goals
Keep your health goals as realistic as possible to make success more manageable. Aiming to lose one to two pounds per week, for example, is a lot better than going for drastic measures that may undermine your consistency.
Also, avoid weighing yourself more than once a week to not put unnecessary pressure on yourself.
Monitor your progress
Keeping track of the factors contributing to menopause weight gain — along with your goals and habits — can help you see patterns, celebrate progress, and stay motivated. You can do this with a journal, an app, or by scheduling regular check-ins with a healthcare provider.
Make menopause easier with expert support from a Health Loft dietitian
There are many ways to prevent or reverse weight gain during menopause. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your choices, remember that you don’t have to go through this by yourself.
At Health Loft, you can work with a registered dietitian specializing in menopause and perimenopause nutrition who can help you get a better grasp of what causes menopause weight gain and what the best approaches are for curbing its symptoms. Book one-on-one telehealth sessions you can attend wherever you are, and co-design a customized, long-term nutrition plan that reflects what you want to get out of your treatment.
Best of all, we work with in-network healthcare providers, so you can avail of telehealth sessions for as little as $0, depending on your insurance coverage.
Find an ally you can rely on at Health Loft. Learn more about how we can help improve your health and quality of life.
This article was reviewed by Adrienne DePaul, MS, RDN. It is intended for informational purposes only and does not replace personalized nutritional advice.
