Perimenopause Weight Gain: 5 Things That Actually Work

If you're in your late 30s or 40s and the scale is creeping up even though you're eating the same and working out the same, you're not imagining it, and you're not failing. You're likely in perimenopause, the years leading up to menopause when your hormones start to shift.

I've coached women through this stage since 2016, and here's the good news: your body isn't broken. It just needs a different plan than the one that worked at 25.

Why perimenopause makes weight gain easier

During perimenopause, estrogen and progesterone start to rise and fall unpredictably. That can affect where your body stores fat (often more around the belly), how well you sleep, how hungry you feel and how quickly you recover from workouts. On top of that, we naturally lose muscle as we age unless we actively work to keep it, and less muscle means your body burns fewer calories at rest.

So the "eat less and do more cardio" approach many of us grew up wit...