3 Science-backed strategies to lose weight during menopause

What worked in your 20s won’t work now—here’s what will

By Luigi Meli, nutritionist

October 24, 2025

One of the most common conversations I have with women at midlife starts like this:

“I don’t understand. I’m eating less than I ever have. I’m going to the gym. But I can’t lose this belly fat, and the scale won’t budge.”

Here’s the truth that most women don’t realize: Your body in menopause is fundamentally different from your body in your 20s or 30s. So the diet strategies that worked back then—cutting calories, doing more cardio, eating low-fat everything—can actually work against you now.

The hormonal shifts during menopause change everything:

Your metabolism
How you store fat (hello, belly)
Your insulin sensitivity
Your ability to maintain muscle mass

Trying to lose weight the “old way” is like using a map from a different city—you’ll end up frustrated and lost. The good news? Once you understand what changed, you can adapt. Here are the top three strategies that consistently work for the women I work with.

1. Prioritize Protein at Every Meal

During menopause, your body becomes less efficient at building and maintaining muscle mass. Since muscle is a metabolically active tissue, losing it means your metabolism slows down even further.

Protein is your best defence. It helps preserve muscle, keeps you full longer, and has a higher thermic effect than carbs or fats—meaning your body burns more calories digesting it.

Aim for 25-30 grams of protein at each meal. Think: a palm-sized portion of chicken, fish, or tofu; Greek yogurt with nuts; or eggs with beans. This is significantly more than what most women needed in their 20s when their bodies maintained muscle more easily.

2. Reduce Inflammatory Foods

Inflammation plays a significant role in both weight gain and those frustrating joint aches many women experience during menopause. When your body is chronically inflamed, it becomes more resistant to weight loss and more prone to storing belly fat.

The biggest inflammatory culprits? Processed foods, refined sugars, excess alcohol, and industrial seed oils (like soybean, corn, and canola oil). These weren’t necessarily a problem in your 20s, but now they work against you.

Focus instead on anti-inflammatory foods: fatty fish, leafy greens, berries, nuts, seeds, and extra virgin olive oil. You don’t need to be perfect, but making this shift will support both your weight loss and overall well-being.

3. Don’t Slash Calories Too Low

I see this all the time. Women try intermittent fasting because it’s trendy, thinking skipping meals will help them lose weight. But in my experience working with menopausal women, extreme calorie restriction and long fasting windows often backfire.

When you dramatically cut calories or go too long without eating, your metabolism slows down to conserve energy. You might lose weight initially, but you’ll plateau quickly, feel exhausted, and lose valuable muscle mass in the process.

Instead, I recommend eating three balanced meals within a 12-hour window. For example, if you eat breakfast at 7 am, finish dinner by 7 pm. This gives your body consistent fuel to maintain your metabolism while still allowing for natural overnight fasting. The goal is to nourish your body while creating the conditions for fat loss, not to starve it.

The Truth About Menopause Weight Loss

Menopause weight gain—especially that stubborn belly fat—isn’t about a lack of willpower or effort. Your body has different needs now, and using the same old playbook (low-fat diets, extreme calorie cuts, skipping meals), will only leave you frustrated and stuck.

But here’s what I’ve seen time and again: when women adjust their nutrition to work with their changing body instead of fighting it, the weight starts to fall off (almost automatically). These three strategies are sustainable shifts that support your metabolism, preserve your muscle, and reduce inflammation.

If you’d like personalized guidance on navigating menopause nutrition, you can book a free 20-minute consultation with me. We’ll discuss your current health goals, assess your lifestyle and eating habits, and identify the most significant opportunities for improvement.

Feature image: Ryan J Lane – Canva

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Luigi Meli is a registered Montreal nutritionist who got his start working with elite athletes, including female competitors who require specialized hormonal nutrition support. Today, he makes those same proven, high-performance strategies accessible to everyday clients. He specializes in helping women navigate the unique nutritional challenges of menopause, weight loss, and hormonal balance.