Menopause and metabolism: what exactly happens in the body?
Many women find that they gain weight much more quickly during and after the menopause, especially in the abdominal area, which they find unpleasant. Even tried and tested methods of losing weight suddenly work much less well. At the same time, it seems as if the body reacts more slowly to changes in diet and exercise. But what exactly happens in the body? While these metabolic processes are also a complex interaction of various influencing factors, we will try to explain the most important factors and their interplay in a simplified way here, for the sake of the medical experts among you. The focus is on a basic understanding of what women are confronted with during the menopause and understanding which strategies help to achieve the most effective health progress possible.
Your metabolism effectively "slows down" during the menopause and hormonal changes are one of the main causes
During the menopause, oestrogen levels drop rapidly. Oestrogen is a hormone that plays a central role in your fat metabolism. How well the fat metabolism works, i.e. the extraction of energy from body fat vs. more readily available glucose from your blood, is why a falling oestrogen level has far-reaching consequences for your metabolism, which we take a closer look at here.
1. estrogen and fat distribution
Oestrogen is a key hormone that accompanies the female body throughout life and regulates numerous metabolic processes. One of the roles of oestrogen is to control where fat is stored in the body. In the pre-menopausal years, women tend to store fat on the hips, thighs and buttocks - a so-called subcutaneous fat distribution. subcutaneous fat distribution, which is considered healthy and is less associated with health risks. However, this clearly changes with the onset of the menopause.
With the drop in oestrogen levels during the menopause, the body shifts its fat deposits. Fat is increasingly stored in the abdomen (so-called visceral fat) instead of in the classic areas such as the hips and thighs. This shift has far-reaching health consequences, as visceral fat is far more problematic than subcutaneous fat (fat directly under the skin), but this can be effectively counteracted with targeted lifestyle adjustments.
- The role of insulin resistance: why fat burning is blocked
Another important factor that influences fat distribution and metabolism is increasing insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that ensures that glucose (sugar) is transported from the blood into the cells, where it is used or stored as energy. As long as insulin is circulating in the blood, fat fat burning is blockedas the body is primarily working to regulate blood sugar levels. This phase lasts longer when insulin levels are elevated - a situation that is exacerbated during the menopause by hormonal changes and reduced insulin sensitivity.
In other words: During menopause, your body responds less efficiently to insulin, a phenomenon known as insulin resistance is called insulin resistance. As a result, insulin levels remain high for longer, which not only inhibits fat burning, but also leads to more fat being stored - primarily in the abdominal area as visceral fat.
3. why you should counteract visceral fat
While subcutaneous fat (the fat directly under the skin) mainly serves as an energy store, visceral fat is much more than that. It is metabolically activewhich means that it acts like its own hormone-producing organ.
Visceral fat produces hormones and messenger substances that intervene deeply in the metabolism and have negative consequences:
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Production of inflammatory messengersVisceral fat releases pro-inflammatory substances such as cytokines that promote systemic inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation is linked to a variety of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and even certain cancers or mental health conditions (depression, anxiety disorders, migraines, Alzheimer's, brain fog).
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Increase in insulin resistance: Visceral fat produces hormones that increase insulin sensitivity even further, which means that your body no longer responds as effectively to insulin. This leads to a vicious cycle: the body produces more insulin to regulate blood sugar levels, but this increased insulin level in turn blocks fat burning and promotes the storage of even more fat - especially in the abdominal area.
- Release of free fatty acids: Visceral fat also releases an increased amount of free fatty acids into the bloodstream. These fatty acids enter the liver, where they have a negative effect on the metabolism, disrupt fat utilization and lead to the development of a fatty liver. fatty liver can contribute to the development of a fatty liver. A fatty liver is one of the first precursors to serious metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
4. how blood glucose tracking can help
Both insulin resistance and visceral fat are not blows of fate that we women simply have to accept during the menopause. Both symptoms can clearly be pushed back if you know about the mechanics and importance (you, for example, after reading this post). With continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), you can track in real time how your body responds to different meals and lifestyle factors. This allows you to recognize changes in your blood sugar progression and adjust your diet and exercise habits accordingly to reduce visceral fat storage. Once your body has been without carbohydrates for a while, it will become easier and easier to access fat reserves, melt visceral fat and you will see that the vicious circle of losing weight during menopause can be broken with a little perseverance, but basically with simple means. A CGM-supported program makes sense because you can only reduce insulin resistance if you also recognize spikes from supposedly healthy meals, stress, sleep deprivation and lack of exercise.
Three examples from our menopause program participants show you that this is not always so easy:
Tine, 50: The "healthy" breakfast cereal Tine thought she was eating a particularly healthy diet: "I always ate muesli with yogurt and fruit in the morning because I thought it was the perfect healthy choice." But blood sugar tracking showed her that this meal caused her blood sugar levels to spike quickly and intensely, only to drop again shortly afterwards. The result: ravenous hunger and tiredness by mid-morning.
What Tine has changed: "Now I eat scrambled eggs with spinach or tomatoes and a thin slice of whole wheat bread for breakfast. This keeps my blood sugar stable and I feel full and full of energy until lunch."
Anna, 48: The "easily" digestible lunch salad Anna was convinced that her daily salad with chicken breast was the best thing for her figure. But blood sugar tracking showed that although her low-fat salad sounded healthy, it wasn't enough to keep her blood sugar stable. Her body reacted to the lack of fats and proteins with cravings in the afternoon.
What Anna has changed: "I've learned to add healthy fats to my salad, such as nuts, hummus and olive oil. Now I feel full after eating and no longer have cravings in the afternoon."
Claudia, 52: The smoothie for an energy boost Claudia often drank a smoothie as a snack to feel fit in the afternoon. But to her surprise, the CGM showed that the combination of fruit and juice led to extreme blood sugar spikes, followed by a drop in energy. "I thought I was doing something good for my body, but my blood sugar was completely out of control."
What Claudia has changed: "Now I make smoothies with less fruit, but with more protein sources such as Greek yogurt and chia seeds. My blood sugar curve remains much more stable and I feel full of energy."
5. what you can do about it
All the results of the menopause described above can be significantly reduced or even made to disappear by making targeted adjustments to your everyday routine. In our menopause program, you will find out in real time where it is most worthwhile to make adjustments so that your efforts are rewarded. In general, we tackle the medically proven dimensions in the program:
1. use 💡CGM to understand which meals don't work well for you and destabilize your blood sugar
The first step to losing weight is stabilizing blood sugar levels. Sharp fluctuations in blood sugar lead to cravings and slow down fat loss. This is where blood sugar tracking can help you find out which foods keep your blood sugar stable and which lead to sharp fluctuations. A diet high in protein, healthy fats and fiber-rich carbohydrates supports stable blood sugar levels.
2. 👟Build and maintain muscle mass
Muscle mass is the key to keeping the metabolism active. As muscle mass is broken down more quickly during the menopause, it is particularly important to integrate regular exercise into your daily routine to counteract muscle loss. More muscle means higher calorie consumption, even at rest.
3. 🥗Adjust calorie intake
As the body burns fewer calories during the menopause, it may be necessary to reduce your calorie intake slightly in order to lose weight. It is important to pay attention to the quality of your diet - in other words, focus on nutrient-rich foods and avoid empty calories such as sugar and processed snacks. We recommend the NDR article on visceral fat:
Source: NDR "Getting rid of belly fat: How diet and exercise help"
4. 🧘Reduce stress
During the menopause, the body produces more stress hormones such as cortisol, which can inhibit fat loss and lead to weight gain. Stress management is therefore particularly important to support the metabolism.
5. 😴Optimize sleep
Lack of sleep can also slow down the metabolism and increase the feeling of hunger. During the menopause, many women struggle with sleep problems, which makes the weight loss process more difficult.
It's up to you, we would be delighted if we could help you to shed some light on the darkness!
