Never Diet Again with Max Lowery

The Menopause Myth: Why Hormones Aren’t To Blame For Your Weight Gain

• Max Lowery

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You've been told menopause is the reason you’re gaining weight.


 Here’s the truth: it’s not your hormones. It’s your habits.

In this episode, Max Lowery breaks down the five real (and fixable) reasons women over 40 struggle with weight gain. From emotional eating and sugar-burning mode to lifestyle shifts and years of yo-yo dieting.

You'll learn:

  • Why menopause isn’t the main problem (and why that’s good news)
  • How your dieting history has secretly sabotaged your mindset
  • What to do when muscle loss slows your metabolis
  • Why emotional eating + evening binges are more to blame than your hormones
  • How the Never Diet Again method rewires your habits for good


If you're tired of feeling stuck, frustrated, and fed up with band-aid solutions, this episode will change how you see your body and your future.

Watch my The Cravings & Fat-Burning Masterclass:  https://www.neverdietagain.uk/register-podcast

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/max.lowery/

Book a Food Freedom Breakthrough Call: https://www.neverdietagainmethod.uk/book-call-ig



Max Lowery:

I'm going to say something that might shock you. Menopause is not the reason you've gained weight. Yes, hormones change and yes, your body will feel very different and menopause can make things harder, but it's not the root cause of why you feel out of control and why the scale keeps creeping up, or why every diet you've tried hasn't worked and I appreciate this might be infuriating to hear from a 35-year-old man, but I haven't just made this up. My opinion on this comes from working with 1,200 women over 40 in the last 12 years and, although you may not want to hear this, it's what you need to hear. And the fact that it's not your hormones or your age is actually a good thing, because that means you can actually do something about it. The weight loss industry, social media and probably even your doctor may have told you that weight gain in the menopause is inevitable, but it isn't so.

Max Lowery:

In this episode, I'm going to break down what actually happens in the menopause, the real reason you're struggling and, most importantly, what you can do to take back control. How do you create a life that allows you to lose weight, eat the foods that you love and sustain the results? Over the last 10 years, I've helped thousands of people do exactly that. I'm Max Lowery. I'm an author, personal trainer and weight loss coach. In this podcast, I'm going to share my top tips and tricks from within my one-on-one coaching program. It's my goal to give you the tools and understanding so that you never diet again.

Max Lowery:

So let's clear up what actually happens during the menopause, because, yes, hormones do change and they can affect your body. Estrogen and progesterone levels drop significantly. Testosterone also declines, though more gradually, and this shift impacts composition, and this shift can impact your body composition. Women often see more fat stored around the middle and less around the hips and the thighs. This isn't your imagination. Estrogen influences where your body stores fat, and when estrogen levels drop, fat storage patterns change. On top of this, your basal metabolic rate, or your BMR, which is the number of calories you burn at rest, can decline. So at the end of the day, you're burning less calories than you were before. On top of this, lower estrogen can increase hunger and cravings. This can mean you feel hungrier and less satisfied after meals. Sleep is another big factor. Hormonal changes can cause hot flashes, night sweats and disrupted sleep, which increases stress hormones like cortisol and makes you more likely to crave comfort food. And then there's motivation and energy. Many women report feeling fatigued, less motivated to exercise and more prone to stress eating. So, yes, menopause can absolutely make weight loss harder. But here's the key point the impact of some of these issues have far less of an impact than the things I'm going to be sharing with you today in this episode. They can make things harder, but they don't make weight gain inevitable.

Max Lowery:

Before I get into the real drivers of weight gain for women over 40, I want to remind you of the most basic mechanism of fat loss. To lose weight, you must be in a calorie deficit. That means consistently taking in less energy than your body burns. There's no magic pill, no secret hack, no shortcut around this, and our program doesn't pretend there is. There's no magic pill, no secret hack and no shortcut around this. We help our clients achieve a calorie deficit, but the way that we do that is much more enjoyable and sustainable, without cutting out their favorite foods or punishing themselves in the gym.

Max Lowery:

I know a lot of people like to deny that a calorie deficit isn't needed for weight loss. Many people don't want to admit that the reason they're struggling with their weight is because they're eating too much food. But it's the truth. And if you want proof, just look at the explosion of weight loss drugs. People who spent years unable to lose weight and telling themselves they don't eat too much are suddenly dropping weight. And why is that? These drugs don't magically change your metabolism. All they do is reduce your appetite, which makes you eat less and therefore creates a calorie deficit. That's it.

Max Lowery:

So, yes, hormones can make sticking to a calorie deficit a bit trickier. They can increase cravings, lower energy and mess with your sleep. But compared to what I'm about to share with you the real root causes of weight gain, hormones are a small piece of the puzzle. So one of the reasons I feel I'm such an effective coach is because I've worked one-on-one with over 1200 women during the last 12 years. When you do that kind of work, you get very good at spotting patterns. You start to see what actually moves the needle, the biggest levers to pull and what's just a waste of time.

Max Lowery:

The problem is most women and, honestly, most coaches as well focus on the small levers, the things that don't really matter. It's the perfect meal plans, perfect macros, going gluten free, cutting out fat, living on protein shakes, worrying about supplements, debating about what time of day you should eat. All of these are a waste of time and they're not the reasons that you're stuck. These things are secondary, they're surface level tweaks and when you focus only on them, it's no surprise you get frustrated, burnout and end up blaming your genetics, your age or your hormones. That's why so many women I talk to feel like they've tried everything. They've gone to personal trainers, they've followed strict meal plans, they've done every diet you can imagine, but none of it worked long-term, because no one ever helped them address the real root causes, the real drivers of their overeating. That's what I'm about to share with you now the big levers that actually explain why women over 40 struggle with weight loss and, most importantly, what to do about it.

Max Lowery:

So firstly, and by far the biggest lever I pull with my clients is emotional and mindless eating. The thing is, most women don't identify as emotional eaters. They think emotional eating is what you see in the movies Bridget Jones eating an ice cream after a breakup. But in reality it's much more subtle than that. Emotional eating is anytime you're eating, when you're not physically hungry. It's the mindless snacking between meals. It's heading to the fridge after dinner. It's overeating. On the weekends it's eating past the point of fullness. And the triggers, the boredom, procrastination, stress, loneliness, the reward at the end of the day, these are all emotional reasons for eating.

Max Lowery:

And here's the problem those extra calories add up fast. I talk to so many women who love eating nutrient-dense home-cooked food. Their meals are not the problem. But then they add thousands of extra calories each week without even realizing it. And no diet plan, no workout and no supplement will ever fix this. This is why so many women feel like they've tried everything without success, because no one has helped them address the emotional and psychological side of eating. So whilst the menopause can make it harder to be in a calorie deficit, it's not doing anywhere near as much damage as consuming thousands of calories extra every week through mindless and emotional eating. If you want to learn how to stop emotional eating, make sure you check out my cravings and fat loss masterclass by clicking the link below.

Max Lowery:

The second driver is being stuck in sugar burning mode. Your body has three main fuel sources glucose from carbs, glycogen stored in your muscles and liver, and body fat. When you're stuck in sugar burning mode, your body becomes dependent on a constant stream of food. You lose the ability to efficiently tap into glycogen and fat, which is essentially endless energy. That's why women feel like they're constantly craving sugar, constantly crashing and constantly out of control with food. It's not that their body is broken, it's that their metabolism is inflexible. And again, diets try to fix this by swinging to extremes like keto Atkins or cutting out all carbs. That's unsustainable and especially damaging for women over 40. Being stuck in sugar burning mode makes it almost impossible to stay in control of your calorie intake. It leads to eating when you're not hungry, eating past the point of fullness and mindlessly snacking in between meals, and this can lead to consuming hundreds of extra calories per day and thousands in a week, which again has a far bigger impact on weight gain than the hormonal changes of the perimenopause and menopause.

Max Lowery:

So the third driver is years of yo-yo dieting. If you spent years hopping from one diet to the next, it's likely had a fundamental impact on your relationship with food and your mindset. It can lead to things like the scarcity mindset, where you believe that certain foods are a scarce resource, and that can lead to overeating and disordered eating with these foods. It leads to all or nothing thinking You're either doing everything perfectly or throwing in the towel completely. It leads to labeling foods as good or bad, which fuels guilt, shame and blame every time you slip up, and these mindset issues and these behaviors destroy self-esteem, identity and self-belief. They create inconsistency, self-sabotage and overeating, which again add up to thousands of extra calories being consumed per week, or you may give up entirely.

Max Lowery:

The fourth driver of weight gain is a loss of muscle mass, which is known as sarcopenic obesity. So as women age, muscle mass naturally declines, and this decline accelerates when estrogen levels drop. Less muscle means a lower basal metabolic rate, so your body burns fewer calories at rest. So every single day, that can mean fewer calories burned without you even realizing it. So, look, you might argue that this is exactly how menopause causes weight gain, and you'd be right. It can. But the mistake many women make is believing that there's nothing that can be done about this, because that is simply not true. With a few lifestyle tweaks, it doesn't have to be nearly as bad. You can counter this with two strategies strength training, also known as resistance training, and eating enough protein, and when I say enough protein, it's likely double what you're currently consuming. When you build and protect lean muscle, you keep your metabolism firing and improve your body composition, making weight loss far more achievable.

Max Lowery:

Really quick one for me. Guys, I don't run ads on this podcast and I do aim to give you as many high-value tips and tricks as I can for free. All I ask in return is that you help me spread the word. That way I can help as many people as I can to never diet again. The way to do that is to rate, review and share this podcast. A review will only take 30 seconds, but it would mean the world to me. But, more importantly, it could help change the life of someone else and finally, life itself changes. Your kids grow up, so there's less running around after children. Maybe you're spending more time working. The fact that you have more flexibility and freedom means maybe you're going out for meals more often, drinking more alcohol and essentially, life is more comfortable. So because of these lifestyle shifts, you end up consuming more calories and burning less, irrespective of what's going on with your hormones.

Max Lowery:

So when you add all these drivers up, the truth becomes clear. Emotional eating, being stuck in sugar burning mode, your mindset, muscle loss and lifestyle changes have a far bigger impact on weight gain than the hormone fluctuations of the menopause. So I know for some of you listening to this right now, this might feel confronting. You might even feel angry at me, a 35 year old man, telling you that the menopause isn't the reason you've gained weight. So let me be clear. I'm not denying that the perimenopause and menopause can be incredibly difficult, with a huge impact on almost every aspect of your life. I see and hear this daily from the women in my life and the 1200 women I've personally coached over the last 12 years. But right now I'm talking exclusively about weight gain, not about any of the other issues related to the menopause, and here's why this is actually good news.

Max Lowery:

If weight gain during menopause was purely down to hormones and your age, then you have no control. You'd be a victim of your biology. Inevitable weight gain would just happen and there'll be nothing you could do about it. But that's not the reality, because the reality is you are in control. You can change your habits, your mindset, your relationship with food and your lifestyle, but you're not going to get that by doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. Endless weight gain is not inevitable, and really the decision comes down to this which reality do you want to live in? You can live in the reality where you believe your hormones are broken and this is the reason for your weight gain. If you do, that, belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You stop taking action, you give up control and the weight keeps creeping on, just like you expected. Or you can choose the reality where you accept that you are in control, you take action, you address the root causes and get results. Both realities are true. It just depends which one you choose to live in.

Max Lowery:

If you want to feel inspired, just click the link under this podcast. I have countless of written and video testimonials from clients who are over the age of the 40 and changing their lives. Everything I say in this podcast is backed by hard evidence and experience. So what do you do instead? Because no diet, no meal plan, no personal trainer and no nutritionist will ever address the real issues I've laid out for you. That's why I developed a three-phase system, which we call the Never Diet Again Method, and it's specifically designed to address the root causes once and for all.

Max Lowery:

The first phase is to reset. This is where we reset your metabolism out of sugar burning mode and back into fat burning mode, and here's the key. We do this without cutting out your favorite foods without tracking every gram, without you feeling like you can't live your life. You can still go out for dinner, have a glass of wine and enjoy dessert. When you move from sugar burning to fat burning, everything changes. You feel less hungry, you have more energy, you feel in control and you stop eating when you're not hungry and your energy levels skyrocket. Because of all these positive changes, you end up eating less, without being restrictive or cutting out your favorite foods. This then lays the foundation for phase two, which is to rewire. This is where we do the deep work to rewire your brain so you no longer turn to food when you're not hungry.

Max Lowery:

Whether it's from stress, boredom, loneliness or as a reward, most people just focus on what they're eating. We focus on why our clients eat and we use proven strategies from cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral change science and my 12 years of experience helping over 1200 women in this exact situation. When clients go through WIRE, they think about food less, they crave food less, they feel more in control and they stop eating when they're not hungry. That alone eliminates thousands of weighted calories every single week. And I want to stress we don't have a magic wand. This isn't about being perfect. Our clients slip up, they make mistakes, but with consistency, support and accountability they build a completely different relationship with food that no diet could ever give them.

Max Lowery:

And finally we move into phase three, which is to realign. This is where we shift your mindset and your identity so you don't just lose weight, you keep it off for the rest of your life. Diets never address this phase because ultimately, weight loss is a byproduct of addressing the underlying causes I listed above. This isn't just about theory. Our clients are living proof. Ellen lost 44 pounds in 90 days, gussie lost 42 pounds in the same time, louise is now down 62 pounds in about a year and Helen has lost 85 pounds in a year. Every single one of these women is over 40. And every single one was going through the perimenopause and menopause and every single one thought they were stuck. But every single one has proved that lasting change is possible when you address the root causes. So if you're ready to find out what's really holding you back, the quickest way is to book in for a food freedom breakthrough.

Max Lowery:

Call On this call. I'll help you diagnose your root cause problems, show you whether you're stuck in sugar burning mode and give you a clear action plan to get out of it. If we both agree that it's a good fit, then I'll show you exactly how we can help you transform your body and life through coaching. If we both agree it's mutually a good decision to work together, then I'll explain exactly what it looks like and how it works. That's it for today. Hopefully you've enjoyed this podcast. The best way to say thank you is to leave a review and share this with someone you think who needs to hear it. Thanks again.