3 Reasons why menopause weight loss diets fail and what works instead

Join Lynda Enright, a seasoned expert with 25 years of experience helping women thrive in midlife, as she reveals why traditional diets often fail during menopause and perimenopause. 

Learn about the three main reasons why cutting calories and fad diets are counterproductive for weight loss and health in midlife. Discover practical, science-based strategies to balance your hormones, stabilize blood sugar, and boost metabolism by focusing on nutrient-dense foods and sustainable lifestyle changes. 

Hear success stories from real clients like Angela and Pamela, who transformed their health with Lynda's guidance. If you're ready to stop dieting and start feeling better, this episode of Joyful Menopause is for you!

00:00 Introduction: Why Traditional Diets Fail in Midlife

00:37 The Truth About Traditional Diets in Menopause

00:43 Welcome to Joyful Menopause

01:02 Three Reasons Traditional Diets Fail Women in Midlife

02:28 Client Story: Angela's Journey

03:13 Hormonal Changes and Dieting Challenges

04:09 The Importance of Healthy Carbs and Fats

04:44 What to Do Instead: Sustainable Approaches

08:29 Client Story: Pamela's Transformation

09:59 Conclusion: Nourish Your Body for Long-Term Health

When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to feel your best during perimenopause and menopause:

1. Want more science-backed health tips? Click here to sign up for my free weekly newsletter for practical advice on navigating menopause with confidence:

2. Click here to get the free guide: 5 Natural Ways To Reduce Menopause Symptoms.

2. For more information about Lynda and how she supports women on their health journey, click here to learn more.

3. Interested in seeing if nutrition coaching with Lynda is right for you? Click here to book a free discovery call with Lynda.

Transcript

0:00

If you've been cutting calories, skipping meals, or trying every new diet trend only to see the scale refuse to budge, you're not alone. Traditional diets that worked in your 20s and 30s just don't seem to work anymore. And today I'm going to tell you exactly why that is, and more importantly, what you can do instead to support your body, balance your hormones, and feel better than ever in perimenopause and menopause. I've worked with hundreds of women for 25 years in midlife who feel stuck. They were doing everything right, eating less, exercising more, following the latest diet, and yet they weren't seeing results. But here's the truth. Traditional diets are actually working against you in menopause. And today I'm going to tell you why. So let's get started. Menopause doesn't have to feel like you are living in someone else's body. Your host, Linda Enright, has spent the last 25 years helping women to thrive in midlife. Here you'll find science based practical advice that you can start using today to get real results for your health. Welcome to Joyful Menopause. I want to start today by explaining three of the reasons why traditional diets fail women in midlife. I wonder if for most of your life, you've been led to believe that eating less and moving more is the answer for weight loss. And I think often women are told it's better for your health too. The truth is. The eat less, move more approach can make it harder to lose weight in menopause because it can slow your metabolism. So often diets focus on cutting calories, and yes, in your younger years that maybe worked. I'm not saying that quantity of food doesn't matter. Of course, eating too much can stall weight loss, but what also can happen is that reducing calories too much can actually slow down your metabolism. This is a concept that I find people really struggle with a lot. Common sense definitely tells us that eat less to reduce your calories and move more to burn more calories would be the solution for weight loss. But what can happen is that your body senses that it's not getting enough fuel. So it adapts by burning fewer calories and holding onto fat, especially around the belly. And I find it often leaves women feeling exhausted because you just don't have the fuel and the nutrients your body needs to function at its absolute best. Research shows that extreme calorie restriction can lower your resting metabolic rate and increase cortisol levels, your stress hormone, which makes fat storage even easier. Take my client, Angela, for instance, she came to me because she felt like she had tried everything to lose weight. She was restricting her calories to about 1200 calories a day. She'd get up, she'd have a hard workout with cardio and strength in the morning, and then she'd go for an hour walk after work. She was hungry all the time, and she was exhausted. But she believed that's what she had to do in order to lose weight. She was working so hard, and the scale would not budge a pound. When we started working together I encouraged her to scale back to one exercise session a day with a day off during the week for rest and we increased her calories and focused on optimizing her nutrition choices. She immediately started losing weight. She was shocked. I wasn't. I see this happen often. The second reason traditional diets often fail for women in midlife is because hormonal changes make fad dieting a recipe for disaster. Menopause isn't just about aging, it's about shifting hormones. As estrogen and progesterone decline, your body becomes more sensitive to stress blood sugar swings, inflammation. Your body is, again, more sensitive to these things. So the problem, most traditional diets don't take these into account. Highly restrictive diets can actually make things worse by increasing cortisol and making blood sugar imbalances more extreme, this can then lead to more cravings, mood swings, and even weight gain in the long run. And when we get so caught up in reduction and macros, we often lose sight of diet quality, leading to a diet that might be nutrient depleted and often can actually be pro inflammatory, having more inflammation. The third reason is that cutting too many carbs or fats can backfire. Many times women in menopause think that they need to cut out all the carbs or all the fats to lose weight. But here's the thing. Your body needs healthy carbs for hormone production, and it needs healthy fats for brain function, metabolism, and even mood stability. The key is choosing the right kinds of carbs and fats, ones that fuel your body, not spike your blood sugar or contribute to inflammation. Today, we're talking about why traditional diets don't work for women during perimenopause and menopause. And now let's talk about what to do instead, how to have a sustainable approach for hormone balance to reach your health goals. The first thing that's important is to balance your blood sugar levels. Instead of restricting calories or cutting entire food groups out, focus on stabilizing blood sugar. This means eating a combination of protein, fiber, and a healthy fat at every meal. This can help keep insulin levels steady, reduce cravings, and support a healthy metabolism. So a meal might look like eggs, avocado, and berries, maybe for breakfast. For lunch, you could have a salad with lots of vegetables, with chicken, or maybe canned salmon with olive oil and vinegar for dressing. A good rule of thumb is to build your plate with at least 20 to 30 grams of protein, some healthy fats like olive oil or nuts, and fiber from vegetables or whole grains. The second thing you can do is to eat in a way that supports your hormones. Your body needs the right building blocks for hormone production. That means more omega 3 fats from salmon, tuna, flax seeds, or chia seeds. It means magnesium rich foods like leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and edamame soybeans. And fiber from vegetables and fruits so it can help your body to naturally detoxify excess estrogen. Number three, stop starving yourself. Fuel your body consistently. Skipping meals or drastically cutting portions leads to energy crashes, mood swings, and a slower metabolism. Instead, aim to eat balanced meals throughout the day. Some women do better when they eat three meals a day. Others adding a snack or maybe even two can be helpful to keep energy levels stable and your body nourished. And even intermittent fasting can work for some people and still remain balanced. You can check out my other podcast on intermittent fasting to learn more about that. The point is, there is not a one size fits all for the timing of eating. You should listen to your body and see what feels good for you, but severely restricting and undernourishing is not the answer. And the fourth important thing you can do to have a sustainable approach to balancing your hormones and reaching your health goals is to focus on nutrient density, not just calories. Not all calories are created equal, so think about a processed, maybe 200 calorie snack bar. Will not fuel your body the same way that 200 calories of avocados, nuts, and protein will. Eating nutrient dense foods gives your body the vitamins and minerals it needs to support metabolism, reduce inflammation, and keep you feeling full and energized. So what does that mean? It means focusing on whole foods. When shopping, stay on the outer ring of the store. Skip the middle part as much as possible where foods are more processed. Read ingredient labels and choose foods that you can understand what the ingredients are and there are few of them. If you can't read it, maybe you shouldn't eat it. One of the biggest shifts I teach my clients is to stop focusing on perfection and start focusing on progress. Small, sustainable changes absolutely will add up. Traditional diets often fail because they're built on extremes. The real secret to lasting health in menopause is to find what works for your body and make gradual changes that you can actually stick with. So if you've been struggling with weight gain, energy crashes, or just feeling like your body is working against you, know this. It is not your fault, and you don't have to keep doing what isn't working. Instead of chasing another diet, Start fueling your body in a way that supports your hormones. Eat to balance blood sugar, focus on whole, nutrient dense foods, and make changes you can sustain for the long term. Before I end today, I want to share Pamela's story with you. Pamela came to me struggling to lose weight, but more than that, she felt exhausted all the time and was dealing with constipation. As a nurse with long shifts and an unpredictable schedule, she often relied on convenience foods or skipped meals entirely. She thought it wasn't that bad when she skipped meals because at least she'd eat less and maybe that would help her lose weight. But the lack of nutrients in the processed foods plus skipping meals were stressors on her body, potentially slowing her metabolism and absolutely creating inflammation. So I worked with Pamela to create a plan for batch cooking and prepping meals in advance So she had nourishing options ready to go. We also found simple homemade snacks she could bring with her like trail mix to keep her energy up when she wasn't able to take a full meal break. We focused on getting enough protein, again that 20 to 30 grams per meal, and nutrient dense meals rather than processed foods. And also, with nutrient testing, we found what vitamins and minerals she personally was depleted in, so we could focus on maximizing her nutrition to meet those needs. She didn't find it difficult. It just took a bit more planning than what she was doing already. The first thing she noticed was her energy was increasing. She came home from work without crashing, and within a couple of months, she lost 10 pounds. Not because she was counting calories, but because she was nourishing her body in a way that worked for her. Her digestion improved also, which felt really great. Thank you for joining me on today's episode of Joyful Menopause. If you're ready to stop dieting and start feeling better, I'd love to help. Click the link in the description below. I'd be happy to set up a time to chat and find out what's going on with you and your health. Until next time, take care of yourself and be well.