The Weight of the Perimenopause

Written by Dr. Ritva Mettänen, MD

No matter where you are right now in the seasons of a woman – glowing in your pre-perimenopause years, struggling through the decade of perimenopause, or recovering from what felt like a really painful ten-year-long metamorphosis – there is one symptom that we all collectively recognize and hate: the weight gain.

How do you know your season?

Just hop on a scale. If the numbers have started to increase, you’re on. Or perhaps you’ve started another diet to get the extra pounds off, only to find you’ve lost just a few pounds when the goal was twenty, or worse, gained two more.
Or maybe there’s a new floatie building around your waist, making every other co-worker congratulate you on a new baby, or at least side-eye your front side suspiciously, but hesitant to say anything yet.

The sad truth is that no woman is safe from the perimenopause pounds or the floatie. No matter how many salads you eat or lunches you skip, even just catching a whiff of a cinnamon roll is enough to pack on another pound. Or at least it will, if you don’t change anything.

The power of change

So many women have come to me crying, “Doc, please help me! I haven’t changed a thing, and yet my weight has gone up ten pounds within two months!” And every time, we’ve done the blood work – only to find slightly elevated blood sugar, but otherwise perfectly clean results. But if everything is fine in your body, why is the weight rising?

The complex set of changes

Let’s take a quick look at what happens in a woman’s body during the perimenopause.

Progesterone Drops
Say hello to insomnia, irritation, fatigue, PMS, and heavy bleeding (there’s just not enough space for all the symptoms, like wanting to murder someone for breathing or chewing too loud).

Estrogen Rollercoaster
Estrogen takes you on a 5-7-year trip on a rollercoaster. One day you’re glowing and the other day you feel like a radiator, hot enough to accelerate global warming. Insomnia and aches become a norm, your husband becomes your enemy number one, and the tears run down your face so often you could fill a pond in your backyard. The lack of sleep elevates – not your mood – but your hunger hormone levels. And the cortisol level sets to an all-time high – for years.

Let’s not forget to mention the weight that just keeps getting higher, no matter what you do or don’t do. And the fact that your clothes now only fit a Barbie. And that you have become invisible to society that admires the young, the skinny, and the beautiful. Oh, and did I mention the pure rage of the past experiences, like broken boundaries and broken promises flooding out of you?

Very often, the only coping mechanism is the most primal one: your favorite food on a plate, some snacks to fill the emptiness, sugar to cheer you up, or a glass (okay, a bottle) of wine to dull the pain. It feels rather unnecessary for me to preach to you about the effect this kind of diet has on your body weight.

The Sweet Haven of Menopause

Finally, estrogen comes down for good. And so does your libido, your face, your skin, your hair, your health, and yes – even the dreams you had for this phase of life. Usually, at this point, the marriage collapses too, if it hasn’t done it before (or if you are not married to the most perfect, loving, and supportive spouse in the world). Unfortunately, the weight will not follow.

The Estrogen Effect

There are three phases in a woman's life where estrogen levels are significantly higher.

• Puberty – installing and starting the baby factory
• Pregnancy – using the baby factory
• Perimenopause (“reverse-puberty") – shutting down the baby factory

As a doctor, I fully understand the first two, but if someone can explain number three to me, I’ll nominate them for a Nobel Prize. There is no earthly reason why a woman’s body would need more fat at that particular time of life. At least not in today’s world. Perhaps a few hundred years ago, when fat helped grandmothers survive the long, harsh winters marked by starvation and disease, and to be there, helping the younger generations survive and thrive.

In case you didn’t know, there is actually clinical evidence that a slightly higher BMI improves survival as you age. But there is a difference between ten and forty pounds. The difference lies in our very poor diet, combined with the worst habits, and the fact that our bodies are in a state of stress 24/7.

Your Body, Your Choice

Before you give up, there is something I want you to know.

Don’t Give Up. You can change this.

You don’t have to surrender to those perimenopause pounds. You don’t have to gain weight just because your hormonal engine is shutting down. The weight gain is not inevitable.

But if you don’t want the extra pounds, you have to take action. It’s vital to remember, though, that you always have a choice: you can either become the victim of the circumstances or take the lead. Because, at the end of the day, you are solely responsible for your health and well-being.

If you still decide to continue with the old lifestyle habits, you will most likely end up gaining a lot of weight. But if you’re ready to fight back, we've got you covered. Stay tuned, and when you’re ready, join one of our Workshops to get the support you need to start your transformation.

Because the transformation is inevitable – only the suffering isn’t.