I remember the exact moment I realised my body wasn’t responding the way it used to. I was doing everything I’d always done - moving regularly, eating well, staying active - and yet something had shifted. The weight sat differently. My energy was unpredictable. My sleep was all over the place.
As a former GB athlete and someone who has spent her entire adult life understanding the body, I wasn’t naive about ageing. But perimenopause caught me off guard. Not because I didn’t know it was coming, but because nothing I’d learned up to that point had fully prepared me for how different it would feel.
If you’re in your 40s and the body that used to cooperate suddenly feels like a stranger, I want you to know: you’re not imagining it. You’re not failing. And you’re absolutely not alone.
What’s actually happening in your body during perimenopause
Perimenopause is the transitional phase leading up to menopause, and it can begin as early as your late 30s - though most women notice it in their mid-40s. During this time, your ovaries gradually produce less oestrogen and progesterone. But it’s not a steady decline - hormone levels fluctuate unpredictably, sometimes wildly, which is why symptoms can feel so erratic.
These hormonal shifts affect far more than your menstrual cycle. They influence your metabolism, your sleep quality, your mood, your stress response, your appetite, your energy levels, and where your body stores fat. If it feels like everything changed at once, that’s because in a sense, it did.
One of the most significant changes is the shift in fat distribution. Before perimenopause, women tend to store fat around the hips and thighs. As oestrogen declines, fat storage shifts towards the abdomen. This “menopause belly” isn’t vanity - visceral fat around the middle carries different health implications than fat stored elsewhere, which is why understanding and addressing it matters.
Why your old approach to weight loss stops working
Here’s the frustrating reality: the approach that worked in your 20s and 30s - eat less, move more, push harder - often stops delivering results during perimenopause. In fact, it can make things worse.
When your hormones are already under stress, adding more stress through extreme calorie restriction or intense exercise can be counterproductive. Your body is already in a heightened state of flux. Piling on restrictive dieting tells your system there’s a threat, triggering cortisol production and further disrupting the hormonal balance you’re trying to support.
I’ve worked with so many women in their 40s who are doing more than ever - exercising harder, eating less, sleeping poorly because they’re anxious about it all - and the weight still won’t shift. It’s not because they aren’t trying hard enough. It’s because the rules have changed, and nobody told them.
Your body isn’t broken - it’s adapting. And the old approach was never designed for this phase of life.
The metabolism shift: it’s not just about calories anymore
Your metabolic rate naturally decreases with age - roughly 1-2% per decade from your 30s onwards. But during perimenopause, this can accelerate, particularly if you’ve lost muscle mass through years of cardio-heavy exercise or restrictive dieting.
Muscle is metabolically active tissue. It burns energy even at rest. As oestrogen declines, your body becomes less efficient at building and maintaining muscle, which means your basal metabolic rate - the energy your body uses just to keep you alive - drops. Fewer calories burned at rest, plus increased fat storage around the middle, plus hormonal appetite changes… it’s a perfect storm.
This is why “just eating less” doesn’t work here. If you slash calories when your metabolism is already slowing, you’re compounding the problem. Your body goes into conservation mode, holds onto fat more stubbornly, and you feel exhausted and hungry all the time.
The answer isn’t less food. It’s the right food, in the right amounts, combined with the right kind of movement.
Movement that supports hormonal change (not punishes it)
If you’re still doing the same workouts you did ten years ago and wondering why they’re not producing results, it might be time to rethink your approach.
During perimenopause, your body responds differently to exercise. High-intensity cardio - which you might have relied on for years - can increase cortisol levels, particularly if you’re already stressed or under-recovered. Cortisol is the hormone that tells your body to store fat, especially around the middle. So running yourself into the ground on the treadmill could actually be working against you.
What your body needs now is:
- Strength training. This is non-negotiable in perimenopause. Resistance exercise helps preserve and build muscle mass, supports bone density (which also declines with falling oestrogen), and boosts your metabolic rate. You don’t need to lift heavy from day one - bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, and light weights all count. But building strength is the single most impactful thing you can do for your body at this stage.
- Walking. Don’t underestimate it. Walking supports fat loss without spiking cortisol. It regulates blood sugar, improves mood, and supports recovery. Aim for daily walks rather than occasional intense sessions.
- Flexibility and mobility work. Yoga, stretching, Pilates - these support your changing body, reduce stiffness that often accompanies hormonal shifts, and help manage stress. They’re not optional extras; they’re essential.
- Recovery. Rest days matter more than ever. Your body’s recovery capacity decreases during perimenopause. More isn’t always more - sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is rest.
If you’re not sure where to begin with exercise, start with what feels manageable. A 20-minute walk and 15 minutes of bodyweight strength work is a brilliant foundation. Build from there.
Nourishment over deprivation: eating for this phase of life
What you eat during perimenopause matters enormously - but perhaps not in the way you’ve been taught. This isn’t about restriction. It’s about nourishment.
Your body needs:
- Adequate protein. Aim for protein at every meal. It supports muscle maintenance, keeps you fuller for longer, and helps stabilise blood sugar. Think eggs, fish, lean meats, legumes, Greek yoghurt, nuts and seeds.
- Healthy fats. Your brain, your hormones, and your skin all need fat to function. Avocado, olive oil, oily fish, nuts - these are your allies, not your enemies.
- Complex carbohydrates. Please don’t fear carbs. Your brain runs on glucose. Whole grains, sweet potatoes, oats, fruits and vegetables provide sustained energy without the blood sugar spikes of refined carbs.
- Fibre. Crucial for gut health, hormone regulation, and satiety. Most women don’t eat enough. Vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and seeds are your best sources.
- Hydration. Hormonal changes affect fluid balance. Many perimenopausal symptoms - headaches, fatigue, brain fog - are worsened by dehydration.
Most importantly, eat enough. Chronic undereating is one of the most common things I see in women at this stage. Years of dieting have left their metabolisms damaged and their relationship with food fractured. Eating adequately - and consistently - is the foundation of everything else.
Sleep, stress and the cortisol connection
I can’t talk about perimenopause weight gain without talking about sleep and stress. They’re not separate issues - they’re deeply intertwined with everything else.
Poor sleep - which is extremely common during perimenopause - directly affects weight management. When you don’t sleep well, your hunger hormones go haywire. Ghrelin (the hunger hormone) increases, while leptin (the satiety hormone) decreases. You crave quick energy - sugar, carbs, caffeine - because your body is trying to compensate for the energy it didn’t get from sleep.
Chronic stress compounds this. Cortisol - the stress hormone - promotes fat storage, particularly around the abdomen. It also disrupts sleep, which creates a vicious cycle: poor sleep increases stress, stress disrupts sleep, both promote weight gain.
Supporting your sleep and managing stress aren’t luxuries. They’re essential components of any approach to perimenopausal weight management. That might look like:
- A consistent bedtime routine and sleep schedule
- Reducing caffeine after midday
- Daily movement (but not intense exercise too close to bedtime)
- Breathwork, meditation, or other calming practices
- Saying no to things that drain your energy
- Spending time in nature - even a short walk outside can regulate your nervous system
You’re not broken - your body is adapting
If there’s one thing I want you to take from this, it’s this: there is nothing wrong with you.
Your body is going through one of the most significant hormonal transitions of your life. It’s adapting, reshuffling, recalibrating. And it needs you to meet it with understanding, not punishment.
The women I work with in F.L.A.M.E who are navigating perimenopause often arrive exhausted - physically, mentally, emotionally. They’ve been fighting their bodies for years. When they finally stop fighting and start listening, the shift is profound. Not just in their weight, but in their energy, their confidence, their relationship with themselves.
This phase of life is not a decline. It’s a transition. And with the right support, the right information, and a willingness to adapt your approach, you can feel strong, energised, and at home in your body again.
This is not your body failing you. This is your body asking you to show up differently. And when you do, everything changes.
If you’re navigating perimenopause and feeling lost, overwhelmed, or frustrated by what’s happening to your body, know that there is a way through this that doesn’t involve another diet or another punishing exercise regime. It starts with understanding, and it grows with support.
F.L.A.M.E was built for exactly this - for women who are ready to stop fighting their bodies and start working with them. If that sounds like what you need right now, I’d love to hear from you.
You’re not past your best. You’re just getting started on a new chapter.