What DOESN’T Work for Menopausal Weight Gain
Fat Loss Over 40
Weight loss.
It’s one of the most common personal goals for women.
Whether it’s 10 pounds to feel a bit more trim.
Or 30+ pounds to feel significantly healthier.
But hormonal shifts in midlife, the most influential one being 👑 Queen Estrogen, make it increasingly harder to maintain a healthy body fat composition.
This can impact:
👉 The amount of metabolically active muscle mass on your body
👉 Joint pain and lack of overall energy—resulting in less daily movement
👉 Digestion, cravings and changes in glucose sensitivity
👉 Difficulty getting enough quality sleep nightly
👉 Greater physical impacts of stress
And sadly, all of these changes can accelerate fat accumulation.
So, NO, you’re not just imagining it!
If you want to lose weight (and more specifically body fat this year), this is what TO DO and what NOT to do in midlife.
Why This Matters
Excess fat is about much more than aesthetics. Studies suggest that due to decreasing estrogen levels beginning in perimenopause and onward, there’s a shift toward more abdominal and visceral fat accumulation, which is associated with increased cardiovascular and metabolic risk. With heart disease being the number one killer of women, getting your body fat levels to an appropriate number (<35%) could be a matter of life or death.
FITNESS SIMPLIFIED
To experience weight loss and a better body composition as a woman in midlife, it’s NOT as simple as “eat less & move more”.
Fitness Tip for Smart Weight Loss
Strong & Steady Daily Movement
As a woman over 40, here’s what NOT to do with your fitness plan in order to see body fat changes:
🛑 Focus ONLY on cardio
🛑 Follow an extremely intense program that exposes you to injury and creates more physical stress
🛑 Be inconsistent (e.g. doing 5 workouts one week then only 1 workout the next)
This “Fast & Furious” approach is so common, but ultimately won’t lead to meaningful fat loss.
Instead, DO this:
👍 Make “building muscle mass” your highest priority (this optimizes your metabolic output)
👍 Keep it balanced, with sustainability in mind—gradually build up to avoid injury, which could sideline you for weeks or months.
👍 Move every day, no matter what (make this non-negotiable)
By focusing on “Strong & Steady”, you’ll be prioritizing the factors that matter most for fat loss in this season of life.
I have the perfect routine for you to start with!
This one 👇 helps you start prioritizing strength and building muscle mass.
AND is doable enough that you’ll have no problem staying consistent!
Simple Full-Body Routine
- Glute Bridges (10 reps): Lie on the floor, squeeze your glutes, and lift your hips up.
- Bear Crawls (5 reps): On your hands and knees, hover your knees up off the floor, exhale firm to engage your core, then set your knees back down.
- Side Split Squats (10 reps/side): Plant your feet wide and place your hands behind your head, squat to the side back into one hip, then stand and repeat on opposite side.
- Bent Over Thoracic Rotations (10 reps total): Sit into a half squat and reach one arm up overhead, rotating as far as possible to engage your upper back and posture muscles.
Extra Tip: Perform this circuit 3-5 times through. Turn this into a complete workout by starting with a warm-up (include dynamic stretches, balancing exercises and other bodyweight movements) and finishing with a cool-down (include foam rolling, stretching and other gentle muscle work).
Did You Know...
- For women over the age of 40, the “athletic/fit” body fat range is 16-22% body fat; the “acceptable” body fat range is 23-35% body fat; while “overweight/obese” range is 35% and higher.
- There are a variety of methods to measure body fat - some accurate, others not. Skinfold calipers, body circumference measurements, DEXA scan, hydrostatic weighing and air displacement plethysmography (BodPod) are the most accurate methods. Most standard bathroom scales on the market that measure your body fat use Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis—a method that isn’t very accurate, sadly.
- Daily weigh-ins are NOT the best way to measure your weight loss progress. It can become emotionally frustrating and/or an obsession. Once per week (or, even better, once per month) is plenty to see if you’re on the right track and whether any adjustments to your habits need to be made.
NUTRITION SIMPLIFIED
Midlife is the time to prioritize nutrition for long-term health and boost your nutrient intake, setting the stage for a strong, vibrant future.
Nutrition Tip for Smart Weight Loss
Think MORE not LESS
As a woman over 40, here’s what NOT to do with your nutrition in order to see body fat changes:
🛑 Eat as little as possible
🛑 Obsessively count calories or macros
🛑 Restrict all week long, then overindulge on the weekends
These things are tedious, can throw you off course and are emotionally taxing.
For healthy fat loss in midlife, do this instead:
👍 Create a sustainable calorie deficit based on an abundance of nutrient dense foods
👍 DON’T skip any meals
👍 Limit calorie dense food like chips, candy, junk food, caloric beverages, etc. - these are for planned splurges
Ultimately, shift your eating habits so that you’re eating robust meals, full of whole, fresh foods with PRO’s (PROtein & PROduce) as the star of every dish.
And rarely eat junk and other splurge-only items.
Trust that this is the best method to fuel your body and create a healthy calorie deficit.
Need ideas for a meal that is nutrient-dense without being calorie-dense?
Try these chicken thighs this week! Even your picky eaters will love this one.
Creamy Baked Chicken Thighs
More seasonal eating ideas:
- Fill half your plate with PROduce, the more colorful the better, add a complex carb like baked sweet potato and a lean protein to the other half.
- Easy “party” shrimp the family will love: Marinate shrimp in your favorite spices for 2 hours then toss marinade and broil shrimp for 3-4 minutes on each side. Eat along with a salad or variety of roasted veggies.
- Oven roasted pork tenderloin, potatoes and veggies make an easy one pan meal. Use a dry rub of spices & salt on the pork and place on baking sheet. Cut potatoes into chunks and arrange around the pork along with onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Bake at 400f for about 25 minutes or until pork reaches 145f internal temp.
MINDSET SIMPLIFIED
Weight loss as a woman over 40 can feel very slow and downright poky!
While trying to stay focused on the little everyday habits, that big picture goal can continue to feel out of reach.
Try to become more like the curious little pup in the old children’s classic book, The Poky Little Puppy.
Notice every little bright spot and victory along the way.
It may take 6-12 months of consistent, daily effort to see significant body fat changes.
Remember this 👉 0.5-1.0% body fat loss per month is fantastic!
On your journey, you’ll undoubtedly also have moments of…
✨ More energy
✨ Less joint pain
✨ Greater strength 💪
✨ Better sleep
✨ And so much more positive benefits!
The journey is well worth it!
Mindset Tip for Smart Weight Loss
Celebrate Each Victory - Big or Small
THE TAKEAWAY
Midlife is the time to stop chasing quick fixes and start building something that truly lasts—even when fat loss is at the top of your TO-DO list. When you approach your fat loss journey with a strong, steady and sustainable mindset (while purposefully avoiding what NOT to do), you’ll also achieve true strength and vitality along the way. 💪
- Strong & Steady Daily Movement
- Think MORE not LESS
- Celebrate Each Victory - Big or Small
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Self Care Simplified podcast
152. Weight loss, perfectionism, and wanting to give up with Krista Treadway
216. The Best Ways to Measure Your Progress (Especially if Weight Loss is Your Goal)
184. The Best Nutrition Hack for Sustainable Weight Loss and Better Health
SPECIAL RESOURCE
Ready to try something that will get your heart rate up, yet is completely doable for beginners? Workout along with me as we do a full body routine with no equipment needed beyond our own bodyweight! Let’s go!
10 MIN Total Body Metabolic Workout // No Equipment
Until next week... Be strong
