What’s Really Behind Your Menopause Symptoms — From Brain Fog to Weight Gain (And 5 Natural Fixes

Struggling with menopause sleep problems, brain fog in perimenopause, or weight that won’t budge no matter what you try? You’re not alone—and it’s not just aging. In this episode, functional nutritionist Lynda Enright breaks down the real reasons behind common perimenopause symptoms and shares 5 natural solutions to help you feel like yourself again.

✨ You’ll learn:

• How hormone shifts affect sleep, mood, and metabolism
• The link between how estrogen affects weight loss
• Why brain fog symptoms and hot flashes at night are so common in perimenopause
• What to do about perimenopause sleep problems and anxiety
• How your thyroid and menopause symptoms may be connected

✅ These strategies go beyond the basics—so you can sleep better, think clearer, and start losing weight during menopause without calorie-counting or burnout.

🎧 Stick around for Tammy’s inspiring story of how small changes made a big difference!

🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more science-backed support during perimenopause and menopause.

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

Are you waking up at 3:00 AM again, sweating, heart racing, mind spinning. Hello, I'm Lynda Enright, functional nutritionist with 25 years of experience helping women take back control of their health during perimenopause and menopause. And I want you to know two things. Your body is not broken and you are not alone. Menopause sleep problems, hot flashes at night, brain fog in perimenopause, sudden weight gain, anxiety. These are the symptoms I hear about every single day, and most women are told it's just aging. Or worse, there's nothing they can do about it. But the truth is, these symptoms are your body talking to you. And today we're going to decode what it's saying. You'll learn why these symptoms happen, what's really behind them, and five powerful strategies to start reversing them naturally and stick around. Because at the end of this episode, I'm going to tell you about Tammy, a woman who felt completely stuck, she couldn't sleep, was gaining weight no matter what she ate and felt like her brain was in a fog. Once we uncovered the real drivers behind her symptoms and made a few key changes, everything shifted. Her story is one you won't want to miss, so let's get started. Menopause doesn't have to feel like you are living in someone else's body. Your host, Lynda 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. Let's start with the truth. Perimenopause is not a smooth, gentle transition. It can be for many women, a hormonal roller coaster, and your symptoms are the loops and the drops. Let me explain a bit about what is going on with your body during this time. So first of all, progesterone, it begins to decline first. It's the first hormone that starts to lower and it leads to perimenopause sleep problems, anxiety, and irregular cycles. And then estrogen can start to fluctuate sort of all over the place. One day it's high, the next day it's crashing, and eventually then it just drops off. So these shifts can cause a lot of symptoms. Menopause, insomnia, brain fog symptoms, night sweats in perimenopause and menopause, mood swings, low libido and weight gain that doesn't respond to the changes that you've maybe made before and immediately could get some results. Regular sort of diet and exercise stuff. But here's the thing, the hormone changes are just part of the picture. In a moment, I'm going to tell you about five underlying causes that are making these symptoms worse and keeping you stuck even if you're doing everything sort of quote unquote, right? So here's what most people don't realize. When your hormones shift, the old strategies like cutting calories or pushing harder at the gym, they just don't work anymore. In fact, they can actually make things worse. Why does that happen? Because how estrogen affects weight loss is completely different in menopause, estrogen helps to regulate insulin sensitivity, where you store fat, even how your brain functions, and that's why understanding the root causes of your symptoms is the key to long-term relief and transformation. If you want extra help getting started, grab my free guide on balancing hormones naturally. You'll find the link in the show now. So now let's get in to the real reasons behind your symptoms. Number one, chronic stress and high cortisol stress pulls resources from progesterone to make more cortisol, and now this can lead to menopause sleep problems, anxiety and fat stored around the belly. It also drives thyroid and menopause issues and may make your metabolism slower. Poor estrogen detox. Your liver and gut are responsible for clearing out used, up, broken down estrogen, and if they're sluggish, constipation being one big reason, estrogen then can recirculate causing hot flashes at night, night sweats, and a lot more. Third blood sugar imbalance. When estrogen declines, your blood sugar gets harder to regulate. This can worsen brain fog cravings, energy crashes, and create stubborn weight gain. Number four, nutrient depletion. You might be low in magnesium. B 6, zinc, vitamin C, all nutrients that support hormone, balance, neurotransmitters and sleep, which is why it's one of the first things I start with with my clients is understanding- are there any nutrients that are depleted? And then lastly, environmental hormone disruptors, xenoestrogens from plastics, conventional meats, personal care products. They can mimic estrogen and amplify symptoms. In the show notes you can check out. Um, I have a masterclass on cleaning your kitchen of toxins, so that might be something you're interested in. If this episode is speaking to you, please hit follow or subscribe and share it with a friend who might need it too. So now let me give you five practical ways to start supporting your body today. Number one. Eat to stabilize your blood sugar. When you build meals that include protein, fiber, healthy fats, you help to regulate how quickly glucose enters your bloodstream. This keeps your energy level steady and reduces those frustrating crashes and ups and downs that can happen all day long. That lead to your irritability, anxiety and cravings. Stable blood sugar also helps to support better weight management, improve sleep, reduces inflammation. All of which are so critical during this stage of life. Some meal ideas might be grilled salmon with roasted vegetables, a side of quinoa or eggs with sauteed greens and avocados. I was just telling someone about this great cookbook I love called Cook'ish. Uh, she was telling me how she just makes chicken and broccoli like boring chicken and broccoli, and her, her family's sick of it. So I was telling her about Kish, which has just lots of great, really flavorful and super easy recipes. So there's lots of ideas there. Number two, support liver and gut detox. Your body's natural detox system, especially the liver and the gut, play a really important role in clearing out excess hormones and environmental toxins. So when these systems, your digestive system, your liver balance gets sluggish, you can get things like bloating, fatigue, worsened, PMS or menopause symptoms. Those can all start showing up a little bit more. So we want to support these detoxification pathways by eating things like cruciferous vegetables. These are some powerhouses in this area, broccoli, cauliflower, kale. These contain things that help your liver break down estrogen. They help this whole detoxification process. Also, do not underestimate the importance of getting plenty of water hydration throughout the day. Moving your body. Just daily movement and regular bowel movements. They're how your body eliminates waste and hormone byproducts. Third nourish your nervous system. We don't think enough about the nervous system, and this is also one of the beginning things I work with with my clients in my Joyful Menopause program. We have to get your nervous system well regulated because chronic stress and high cortisol levels can wreak havoc on your hormones, then on your sleep, on your weight, your mood. This is just one of the big factors I see for so many women during perimenopause and menopause. To calm your nervous system. Think about ways to integrate gentle, consistent movement. Things like going for a walk, meeting a friend, being in nature, yoga, deep breathing, exposure to natural light. Just 10 minutes being outside can reduce cortisol and improve your circadian rhythm, making you sleep better and more soundly at night. This is a really simple but powerful strategy for reducing some of these symptoms like anxiety, hot flashes, and insomnia. Number four, reduce exposure to toxins. Many products that you find in your home, plastic containers, conventional cleaning supplies. Some beauty products contain something called endocrine disruptors. They mimic or interfere with your natural hormones, especially estrogen. So over time, this can actually lead to estrogen dominance, having too much estrogen, making symptoms like breast tenderness, irritability, and heavy periods worse. Things you can do. Swap to glass storage containers, fragrance free personal care products, and organic produce when you can, you can check out the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15. If you go to ewg.org, it's the environmental working group. They have a great resource that tells you what are the best produce to choose organic, if you're going to choose those, these small choices actually add up and they lessen the hormone burden. It's not, you don't have to do all the things all the time, every little bit you can do to help reduce some of this exposure and help to support your health in the best way possible. It all is gonna add up. And number five, rebuild your nutrient reserve. So we wanna have good nutrition to support everything working the way that it should. Your body uses a lot of nutrients. To manage stress process hormones, support metabolism, and during perimenopause and menopause, the demand for some of these nutrients like B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, vitamin C, it all increases. These nutrients support key systems like sleep regulation, mood stability, energy metabolism, and the health of your immune system. Consider adding nutrient dense foods like leafy greens, nuts seeds, citrus fruits, and beans, or talk with a qualified practitioner about targeted supplements to help you feel your best. But don't just take supplements because your friend or your sister does. Every woman has unique needs, and again, in my Joyful Menopause program, we start with nutrient testing so we can really understand what does your body need and what are the best supplements if you do need supplements. So now let me circle back to Tammy. Tammy was exhausted, she was frustrated, and she was absolutely convinced that her best days were behind her. Menopause sucks. It's just that's the end. She couldn't sleep through the night. She struggled with brain fog and no matter how little she ate, she gained weight. She always said, I can just look at food and I am gaining weight. So we didn't start with restriction. We didn't start with perfection. We didn't start with calorie counting. We started with nutrients. We started understanding what nutrients does her body personally need. We started with support by balancing her blood sugars, adding gut friendly foods. So we nourished her gut well. We worked a lot on managing her stress, which had a huge impact, and we replenished those nutrients that she was depleted in. Really fast she started noticing improvements. Her menopause insomnia, improved really quickly. Then when she was sleeping better, of course, her energy started coming back, and over the next few months, she started shedding the weight without starving herself, without feeling overly restricted because her body was nourished well. Her gut was functioning at its best. She was better managing her stress. Everything was coming together and she was getting the results. Even better. Her confidence returned. She felt better in her body and in her clothes. She said she finally felt normal again. So let's recap. If you're experiencing perimenopause or menopause sleep problems, brain fog, weight gain, or mood changes, know that your hormones are shifting, but you are not powerless. The root causes are often hidden in stress, blood sugar, detox, nutrient levels, and your environment. And when you support those systems, you will feel better. You'll sleep through the night. You'll think clearly, feel lighter, emotionally and physically. This is what's possible with a functional nutrition approach to menopause. So until next time, I'm Lynda Enright, and here's to creating your most joyful, energized, and empowered next chapter.