How to lose weight during menopause: A nutrition-first approach

Nearly 2/3 (63%) of women in menopause or perimenopause report experiencing weight gain.¹ Women may start noticing changes in weight due to fluctuating hormones as early as their late 30s. And menopause—defined as 12 months without a period, generally in a woman’s early 50s—is when the biggest drop in estrogen occurs and symptoms like weight gain usually peak. 

Over half (51%) of women in menopause or perimenopause have been told that weight gain at their age is "normal" and not worth treating.¹ But just because menopause weight gain is common doesn’t mean it’s inevitable. Finding an approach that works for you comes down to understanding the root cause of menopause weight gain and what your body needs to address it.

Why does menopause cause weight gain? 

Menopause makes you more prone to weight gain because the decline in estrogen changes how and where your body stores fat. Estrogen regulates body fat distribution, and when this hormone drops dramatically, fat starts to accumulate around the abdomen—leading to the stubborn “menopause belly” many women dread.

The drop in estrogen during menopause also causes your body to become more insulin resistant. Insulin is a natural hormone that regulates your blood sugar and helps determine whether you’re storing fat or burning it for energy. When you’re in a state of insulin resistance, your body becomes more likely to store energy as body fat and less likely to release that fat from storage.

All these changes come down to shifting hormones directly affecting your metabolism and overall metabolic health—how your body turns food into energy, and how efficiently it uses that energy. When your metabolism is working well, your energy is more stable, weight is easier to manage, and risk of chronic disease is lower. But when your metabolism is impaired, like it may be during menopause, you have a greater risk of not just weight gain, but bigger health problems like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.²

Why is losing weight during menopause different?

Women struggling with menopause weight gain are often just told to eat less and exercise more. But standard weight loss strategies don’t take into account the host of biological changes women experience during menopause, like age-related muscle loss, sleep issues, mood changes, and increased stress—all of which make losing weight even harder. 

More importantly, to effectively lose weight during menopause, you have to address the root cause of the weight gain: metabolic slowdown and insulin resistance, brought on by declining estrogen. The right strategy doesn’t mean eating less—it means eating smarter.

How can nutrition help stop menopause weight gain?

According to a 2026 study from Virta’s clinical research team, a diet low in carbohydrates significantly helps control weight and regulate metabolism in menopausal women. In Virta’s study, women aged 45+ who followed a low-carb nutrition program for at least 1 year lost over 18lbs (from 200lbs to 181.5lbs on average), and BMI fell by an average of 3 points.³

Here’s what our research shows about what to eat during menopause:

Low carbohydrates

To prevent weight gain during menopause, limit carbohydrates in your diet, especially processed carbs (like white bread, crackers, and baked goods). Reducing carbohydrates matters for weight loss because carbs get digested quickly, which floods glucose into your bloodstream and spurs insulin production.⁴ When your body produces more insulin, that tells your body to store fat rather than burn it, and it ultimately stimulates hunger. This cycle, from carb intake to insulin spike to hunger cravings and back again, is a key driver of weight gain in menopause and beyond. 

Focusing on nutrient-dense whole foods can help you break free of this cycle. Instead of filling your plate with grains or starches, try replacing them with non-starchy vegetables. It can be as easy as using some raw or sautéed leafy greens as a “bed” for your protein, or you can try 1:1 swaps like zucchini noodles for pasta and cauliflower rice for white rice.

High protein

Protein matters for weight loss—especially for women in menopause—for 3 main reasons:

• Protein gets digested slowly, burning more calories in the process and helping to stabilize your blood sugar. 
• Protein helps maintain muscle, which is extra important during menopause when you are more prone to age-related loss of muscle mass (called sarcopenia).
• Protein naturally triggers fullness hormones in your brain, so you’re less likely to overeat.

To avoid weight gain and other menopause-related health issues, make sure you’re prioritizing protein at each meal. The recommended protein intake for women in menopause is roughly 25 to 30 grams of protein per meal, which looks like a palm-sized portion of cooked meat, poultry, or fish. Some non-meat options are also great protein sources, such as Greek yogurt, tofu, cottage cheese, eggs, and legumes like edamame or peanuts.

Habits that support nutrition during menopause

• Strength training helps preserve muscle, which is key for metabolism because muscle burns calories even at rest.⁵
• Sleep directly impacts blood sugar regulation and hunger hormones. Even small lifestyle changes, like keeping a consistent sleep schedule or limiting screen time before bed, can improve sleep and help you stave off hunger cravings.
• Lowering stress in tandem with improving sleep can reduce cortisol, sometimes called the “stress hormone.” It’s important to avoid sustained high cortisol, which further spikes insulin and slows metabolism, exacerbating the typical issues brought on by menopause.  

What makes menopause weight loss stick?

One of the most important factors in preventing or stopping menopause weight gain is adopting strategies that are sustainable for you. A recent survey found that while the vast majority of women have tried to lose weight during menopause, only about a quarter (29%) successfully lose the weight and keep it off.¹ 

That’s where a program like Virta comes in, which combines evidence-based guided nutrition, meal planning, and 1:1 health coaching, all with oversight from licensed medical providers. A virtual health program helps you translate all these different pieces—swapping out carbs, increasing protein, making small lifestyle shifts—into a plan that’s realistic and practical for you, as well as expertly tailored to your specific body and metabolism. 

The results speak for themselves. Under Virta’s guided nutrition program, which is designed to specifically target insulin resistance and underlying causes of weight gain, women of menopausal age lost 7.5% of their body weight in 6 months (that’s a loss of about 13lbs for a woman weighing 175lbs).⁶ And of people who were taking a GLP-1 when they enrolled with Virta, 50% of them stopped using the drug entirely within 90 days.⁷

Beyond the numbers, many Virta members also report improvements in things like energy, cravings, sleep, mood, and overall quality of life⁸—which makes sense, because when metabolic health improves, the benefits often extend beyond weight alone.

The bottom line

Metabolic health and weight management aren’t one size fits all, and what works for someone 10 or 20 years younger (or what worked for you before menopause) won’t necessarily work for you now. The best thing you can do to lose weight during menopause—and keep it off—is understand the biological factors behind weight gain and pursue a sustainable nutrition strategy that’s designed to work with your current body and lifestyle, not against it. 

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Menopause weight gain FAQ

Does menopause weight gain eventually go away?

Menopause weight gain will eventually slow, but the weight won’t go away by itself without diet and lifestyle changes to combat the metabolic effects of decreased estrogen.

If you feel like menopause weight gain is never-ending, that’s because symptoms can span a decade or more, with the most significant weight changes occurring between perimenopause and the first 1–2 years of postmenopause.⁹

Should I take a GLP-1 for menopause weight gain?

GLP-1s can be a good tool for losing weight during menopause if other strategies don’t seem to be helping enough. In fact, data show that women ages 40 to 64 have been the top recipients of GLP-1 prescriptions since 2019.¹⁰ 

However, without addressing the root cause of menopause weight gain, using a GLP-1 can lead to long-term medication dependence and unintended health issues, like loss of lean muscle mass. The best strategy if you’re taking a GLP-1 for weight loss during menopause is to use the drug in combination with dietary and lifestyle changes, which can offset side effects and help you preserve good nutrition and strength.

What causes belly fat during menopause?

Belly fat during menopause is a result of insulin resistance: to combat built-up resistance, your pancreas goes into overdrive producing insulin, and that insulin triggers fat storage. This process results in the accumulation of visceral fat, a type of fat located deep in your abdomen around your organs. Visceral fat like a “menopause belly” is not only harder to lose than other types of body fat, but it also increases your risk of stroke, heart disease, breast cancer, and diabetes.

What should I eat during menopause?

To preserve muscle mass and manage weight during menopause, focus on eating protein, fiber, non-starchy vegetables, and healthy fats, and reduce carbohydrates and processed foods. A well-rounded meal might follow this basic formula: 

• About 25–30g of protein (meat, fish, tofu, eggs, etc.)
• 1–2 servings of vegetables (non-starchy veggies like broccoli, leafy greens, or zucchini)
• A tablespoon or two of healthy fats (like olive oil, avocado, or butter)