10 Reasons For Menopause Weight Gain
I’m willing to bet that one of your more frustrating symptoms of aging is menopause weight gain.
I get how frustrating menopause weight gain can be, even though I have been immersed in the non-diet mentality since 2018! I’ve gotten heavier in menopause, and while I have learned so much with Mindful Eating and the Non Diet approach to health, I still struggle with how my body is changing.
Some women describe their menopause weight gain as “appearing overnight” and others say the whole thing has been a steady climb over the years. Many women try diet after diet, and say the menopause weight won’t budge.
It is a huge source of angst in midlife. We’re so used to the bodies we once had, and it can feel like we are unrecognizable in the stage of menopause, or post-menopause.
While I’m not writing about how to lose weight, I want to acknowledge that I am all about body autonomy, and if you want to battle menopause weight gain, I completely understand. I support healthy eating and living, in ways that feel right to you!
In a world of constant information and imagery via social media, we can compare ourselves to others on a regular basis.
I think we should spend some time talking about WHY we feel so awful about this weight gain, and what weight loss ACTUALLY means to us, I think it’s important to uncover connections to aging and menopause weight gain.
Over the years, in my dental hygienist practice and in my nutrition coaching sessions, women have identified their top priorities for their health.
These top 3 come to mind:
I want more energy.
I want to lose weight.
I want less anxiety.
Things like brain fog, night sweats, joint pain, high blood sugar, hair loss also make the list.
However, the concern over menopause weight gain tends to rank high!
The British Menopause Society states that approximately 50% of women gain during menopause. (Side note: the article is weight loss focused).
This weight gain tends to happen around the middle, and is also known as the meno-pot or menopause belly!
Our bodies tend to lose lean muscle and gain more fat with the drop in estrogen.
But is it just estrogen and other hormonal changes that cause menopausal weight gain? Lets unpack the reasons why we gain weight in menopause.
10 Reasons For Menopause Weight Gain
Sleep & Circadian Rhythm
Sleep disruption is one of the hidden drivers of midlife weight gain. Hot flashes, night sweats, or even sleep apnea risk increase during menopause. Poor sleep raises cortisol and lowers insulin sensitivity — which makes cravings stronger and weight harder to manage.
Hormonal Changes and Their Impact on Menopause Weight Gain
Hormones play a role in regulating metabolism and body weight. During perimenopause, levels of estrogen and progesterone are declining, with progesterone stopping with ovulation.
As these hormone levels decrease, the body’s metabolism slows down, and the increase in body fat can start.
Estrogens, specifically estradiol, are linked to weight gain. The lower estradiol gets, the higher the potential for weight gain. Estradiol exerts its regulatory effect on the body by influencing food intake and energy output (1).
While a lot of perimenopause information seems to focus on estrogen and progesterone, there are other hormones at play, including thyroid hormones T3 and T4, FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and possibly another hormone called inhibin, which comes from the ovaries.
Menopause Weight Gain and Thyroid hormones
Many women see their thyroid function change in perimenopause and through the transition to menopause. This can be due to thyroid hormones relationship to estrogen.
Estrogen has direct and indirect affects on your thyroid. Too much or too little estrogen affects the thyroid in different ways.
The thyroid changes in size and shape as we age. The follicles inside diminish as there is an increase in fibrous connective tissue.
The incidence of hypothyroidism increases as we age and can also be tough to identify because the symptoms overlap with menopausal symptoms such as:
anxiety
heart palpitations
sweating
gaining weight
insomnia
Always seek help from your licensed care practitioner if you suspect a thyroid or any other health issue.
Menopause Weight Gain and Adrenal Glands
If you are in midlife, you know this is a stressful time! Stress can come from life (career, finances, divorce, loss of parents or health issues, or dieting to combat menopause weight gain (lack of nutrients causes stress).
We may also suffer from that sleep disruption and chronic inflammation.
Your adrenals are responsible for putting out cortisol in response to stress.
Cortisol gets a bad rap, and it is part of your body’s natural rhythms. It helps wake you up and gives you energy in the morning.
Chronic stress elevates cortisol levels, and may cause what functional medicine practitioners call “adrenal stress”. The idea behind this is that your adrenals can’t keep up with the demand that stress is placing on your body.
Whether or not “adrenal stress” or “adrenal fatigue” is a recognized medical condition, we know that the decline in estrogen means that we don’t regulate cortisol like we used to. This in turn means more sleep issues, hot flashes, anxiety and brain fog.
UGH.
Your adrenals are also responsible for some sex hormone production in menopause. If cortisol is high, which it can he higher in menopause and post menopause, your body may store fat.
This is because of the mechanism of “survival mode.”
Estrogen also increases vagal nerve action, and reduces sympathetic nervous system action. This means that as we lose estrogen, our nervous system can increase in the stress response.
This is where blood sugar balance and insulin sensitivity come in to play in menopause.
Blood sugar and insulin levels
Transitioning into Menopause can see a rise in blood sugar issues like insulin resistance (IR). IR is a changed response to insulin. Tissues that utilize insulin’s action have decreased sensitivity to it, meaning those tissues don’t respond like they used to. Here, you may see increase in blood sugar, and even lipid levels, as this comes from the liver.
Weight changes, or redistribution of weight, can show up in the abdominal area.
We make a hormone called adiponectin, and this is important to metabolizing glucose (sugar) and fatty acids. It helps cells of the body be “sensitive” or use, insulin. This is important in the muscle cells and liver cells.
Your liver plays a large role in blood glucose, or blood sugar stabilization.
The abdominal distribution of fat that happens with this change is associated with a decline in adiponectin. Having low adiponectin is associated with metabolic syndrome and IR.
Gut Microbiome
Your gut health and digestion also shifts during this time. The balance of bacteria (the microbiome) can change with age and with the decrease of estrogen. This can drive inflammation, change how you process nutrients, and even affect how estrogen is recycled in the body (the estrobolome).
Supporting gut health with fiber, fermented foods, (if they suit you) and stress resilience/management may help ease your menopause symptoms and support blood sugar balance.
Changes in body composition
There is a shift that happens in menopause, where we lose lean muscle and gain fat. This is associated with estrogen, particularly that estradiol.
Skeletal muscle fibres have specific estradiol receptors that promote regeneration of muscle.
There is a change within the cells of the muscle, and we can lose strength too.
Sarcopenia is the term for loss of strength and muscle as we age. This is why weight bearing exercise is so important as we age, to maintain strength, muscle and balance.
Another subtle change comes from appetite hormones like leptin and ghrelin.
Declining estrogen alters how these hormones signal fullness and hunger, which can make women feel hungrier or less satisfied after eating — even if eating the same foods as before.
Menopause Weight Gain, Joint Pain & Fatigue
There is much evidence on the internet that lack of physical activity contributes to the changes in our bodies in menopause. Many women experience such a drop in energy, that their regular fitness activities are difficult to keep up.
Perimenopause and menopause fatigue has many factors, including gut health, stress, hormone fluctuations and even emotional connections.
Joint pain and stiffness often increase during menopause, which also make regular exercise harder to keep up with. When movement decreases, it can add to the cycle of weight changes — even if your eating hasn’t changed much.
If you feel your menopause weight gain is due to lack of energy, grab my FREE Mini Course here.
NO DIET REQURED.
You’ll get 5 tips to boost your energy in midlife, that have nothing to do with losing weight. When you FEEL more energetic, you want to DO the things that make you feel healthy!
Menopause Weight Gain and Lymph Flow
Your lymph system runs along side your cardiovascular system and all throughout your body. It’s called the sewer system, but it really is a fantastic immune and transport system that affects your whole body health.
It transports nutrients, lipids (important connection to your cardiovascular system here), and also immune cells to sites of infection.
Another layer is low-grade inflammation, sometimes called ‘inflammaging.’ As estrogen declines, the body’s inflammatory response can increase, which may play a role in changes in fat distribution and that feeling of puffiness.
Women look at weight gain in so many ways, including a number on the scale, how their pants fit, and even the puffiness of their face.
What are you really measuring besides the mass of the body overall?
Muscle? Fluid retention?
This is why you cannot rely solely on weight numbers or the BMI.
Genetics
This is a factor that often gets missed: your genetics play a role in your weight throughout your life. I am a 5’3” curvy woman whose genetics range from lanky, to curvy, and larger bodied. No matter how much I dieted, there was only so much my body would change.
We all have a unique genetic blueprint. It’s what makes us special!
Menopause Weight Gain: What to Do From a Non Diet Focus.
I bet after reading all this your mind is saying, “OK, I need to go on a diet.” It makes sense, if you’re looking at the information here, and relating weight to calories in and calories out.
You might also be saying, “I need a sugar detox.” Again, when reading about the changes in insulin sensitivity in menopause, this can make sense.
The problem is that many menopausal women diet to no avail. The weight doesn’t budge.
Another issue is that there is a strong body of evidence that diets have limited long term “success” meaning that there is almost always rebound weight gain.
So what DO you do?
✅ Get your basic blood labs done.
While routine labs won’t give the full picture, they can highlight important trends in nutrition status, thyroid function, and blood sugar balance. These are not just “numbers” — they’re information about how your body is adapting. If something feels off, explore deeper testing like a full thyroid panel or DUTCH test for hormones.
✅ Look at your alcohol intake.
Even moderate drinking can impact sleep, liver function, and fat storage around the midsection. You don’t need to quit entirely — simply noticing how alcohol affects your energy, mood, and sleep can lead to meaningful change.
✅ Understand and accept your genes.
Your DNA sets the stage, but your daily choices and stress levels influence how those genes express. Blaming your body isn’t productive; supporting it through nourishment, rest, stress resilience and movement is.
✅ Focus on behaviours, not body size.
Lasting change comes from consistent, caring actions — not punishment or perfection. Start small. Hydrate more, walk in nature, or stretch before bed. These create the foundation for feeling good, not just “looking” a certain way. Remember, self-criticism doesn’t create sustainable change — curiosity does. (
Finding your own interpretation of what health looks like is KEY. The word health can mean different things to all of us.
Read this blog post next for more about ditching that criticism.
✅ Try the Add-In approach to boosting your nutrition.
Instead of restriction, think expansion. Add nutrient-dense foods that support hormones and satiety — protein, fiber, healthy fats, and colorful plants. If your fiber intake is low, increase it gradually with more fruits, grains, and vegetables. If protein is low, sprinkle it throughout your day — eggs, beans, fish, or Greek yogurt. Make these shifts flexible and enjoyable, not rigid or rule-based.
✅ Eat with awareness.
Notice your hunger, fullness, and satisfaction cues. Slowing down even a little changes digestion, blood sugar, and emotional satisfaction. It’s not just what you eat, but how you eat that shapes metabolism in midlife.
✅ Support stress recovery.
Chronic stress hormones (like cortisol) directly impact where your body stores fat and how you metabolize food. Deep breathing, better sleep hygiene, and gentle movement — all count as metabolic support.
There are many ways to enhance your well-being in menopause, beyond the weight you may be worrying about. Health and well-being comes a lot easier when you make it simple, enjoyable and personal.
Tuning in to your own body signals, and eating according to your own needs, is sustainable for the long haul.
Truly, I’d like to add: Explore your desire to lose weight.
Many say they desire to lose weight in menopause for health reasons, when it really is about body image.
Understanding what is behind your desire to lose weight is key. There is a lot of pressure to lose weight, and remain youthful, from so many areas, including our own heads.
Perhaps it’s time we stopped pathologizing menopause, and weight gain, and look at it from another angle.
Our bodies are smart, and adaptable. They change according to what we need. Isn’t that amazing? The checks and balances that the body is capable of can manifest into menopause symptoms, including menopause weight gain.
However by focusing on overall health. wellbeing, and feeling good, you can take the energy you put toward measuring and calorie counting, and put it towards creating health behaviours that fit YOUR life.
How does that sound?
Your Menopause Deserves BETTER.