Understanding Weight Loss for Women Over 40
Apr 23, 2025
Understanding Weight Loss for Women Over 40
This article is the first of a three-part series focused on understanding weight gain and changes in body composition for women over 40.
Our bodies are constantly changing, and nowhere is this more evident than during the menopause transition, the period between perimenopause and postmenopause, which continues throughout the rest of our lives. Changes to our reproductive hormones during this time affect every physiological structure in our body.
This article will discuss the changes to metabolism and body composition that occur during this period.
Metabolism Over the Lifespan
Before we dive in, it’s essential to note that although there are changes to body composition during the menopause transition, there are no changes to your metabolism. Total daily expenditure, the amount of energy the body needs, has been studied throughout the lifespan using a diverse database of women and men aged 8 days to 95 years. The study suggests that our Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) remains stable throughout our lives, including during menopause, until the age of 60. At this time, expenditure starts to decline. What shifts during adulthood is our physical activity over the years, and this appears to be the reason for midlife weight gain (Posner, 2001).
If you have noticed a change in your body weight during menopause, one potential cause is a gradual shift in your movement patterns over time. Take the pandemic, for example. Many of us noticed a change in weight gain. Yes, some of it could be due to food intake, but most of us became more sedentary during the pandemic than we were before.
Metabolic Health
There is a distinction between your metabolism and your metabolic health. Metabolic health refers to your body’s efficiency in processing food and maintaining ideal levels of blood sugar, triglycerides, and HDL.
Hormones regulate how our body uses nutrients and energy, and the shifts in reproductive hormones don’t cause an adverse change in your metabolism. However, they still contribute to your metabolic health. During midlife, you may experience or notice shifts in your health markers, such as an increase in LDL cholesterol, A1C, and triglycerides, to name a few.
These metabolic changes do not signify weight gain. It is also essential to know that lifestyle habits can support your metabolic health. Eating balanced meals, engaging in regular exercise, adopting healthy sleep habits, and managing stress effectively all contribute to supporting your metabolic health.
Body Composition
Although the media and social media suggest otherwise, research suggests that men and women gain fat at the same rate in midlife. The difference is in where women store their excess fat during menopause (Girls Gone Strong Menopause Coaching Specialist Certification, 2023).
During menopause, women may experience a shift in their body fat distribution, with an increase in abdominal fat.
Again, it is essential to remember that this shift in body fat is due to a decrease in activity over time.
Muscle loss is also a part of middle age, and when there isn’t an effort to maintain or build muscle, it is replaced with fat mass.
Putting it all together
Given the double whammy of midlife and the hormonal changes during the menopause transition, it is crucial to focus on establishing or maintaining lifestyle habits that support metabolic health, healthy body composition, and musculoskeletal function.
A good place to start is to examine your lifestyle habits and identify areas for improvement.
The following are some general benchmarks to follow:
👉 Nutrition: Aim for a balanced diet (protein, carbohydrate, and fat) at every meal
👉 Movement: Aim to move your body daily
👉 Strength training: Aim for progressive strength training at least 2x a week
👉 Sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep a night.
👉 Stress: Manage your stress and assess your current stress management strategies to ensure they align with your goals.
If you would like to learn more, click below for a metabolism checklist that provides additional details.
Next month, we will explore how lifestyle factors can help support you during the hormonal shifts associated with menopause transition.
