Menopause weight gain affects 50% of women. While it’s not inevitable, a combination of hormonal, metabolic and social influences all combine to contribute to up to a 10kg gain for many women. The good news, is that it can be reversed by following evidence-based guidance that works.

Take a look at our top tips below and, if you need more community support, sign up to our next Back to Basics Lifestyle and Weight Management Programme.

Top Tips

• Weight management in menopause requires a completely different approach to anything you’ve used for weight loss in the past. Quick fixes, fad diets and radical food group exclusions don’t work. A new, lifelong plan is needed for long term health.

• Set realistic expectations for what you want to achieve from the outset, and more importantly why you want to achieve it. A new dress for a special occasion, more energy for children and grandchildren, or dancing naked in your nineties – if it matters to you, there’s your reason for change.

• Slow and steady change is more sustainable in the long term. Wave goodbye to radical and extreme weight loss measures that more often than not lead to a vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting. Say hello to a sustainable, healthy lifestyle for the rest of your life.

• Ditch the scales. Success is just as easily measured by how your clothes fit, body measurements, and above all, how you feel.

• When thinking about food consider food groups rather than individual food items. Consider if you’re getting the right proportions of protein, carbohydrate and fruit and vegetables every day, and with every meal.

• Plan meals and snacks to stay in control and fuel your body with the nutrition it needs to thrive.

• Eat slowly and mindfully; savour every meal and every mouthful. Mealtimes shouldn’t be a sprint.

• Don’t dive into supplements to fill the gaps. Vitamin D is the only recommended supplement during autumn and winter. Anything else should be based on clinical need.

• Movement matters, so get your steps in and increase that calorie deficit. In simple terms, burn more calories than you consume.

• Consider strength exercise as part of your weight management regime. It’s the most efficient method for increasing muscle mass, metabolic rate and changing body shape.