How to Lose Belly Fat in Perimenopause: A Practical Guide
If you’re in your 40s or early 50s and feeling frustrated by the sudden appearance (or stubbornness) of belly fat, you’re not alone. Perimenopause brings with it a host of hormonal shifts that can leave even the healthiest eaters wondering, WTF happened to my waistline?
Your body is changing - and it’s asking for a new approach. Here’s your practical guide to understanding what’s going on and how to work with your body (not against it) to feel lighter, stronger, and more in control.
Why Belly Fat Shows Up in Perimenopause
Blame it on estrogen - but not entirely.
During perimenopause, estrogen levels begin to fluctuate, and over time, decline. This hormonal shift affects where your body stores fat. Instead of being more evenly distributed, fat tends to accumulate around the middle. Add in stress (hello, cortisol), poor sleep, and blood sugar swings, and your body ends up in fat-storage mode more often than not.
What’s more, the old tricks - skipping meals, doing endless cardio, cutting calories - often stop working. In fact, they can make things worse.
So what does work? Let’s get into it.
Step 1: Balance Your Blood Sugar
Stabilising your blood sugar is the first step to calming cravings, reducing cortisol, and nudging your body out of fat-storage mode.
Here’s how:
Eat within an hour of waking – ideally a protein-rich breakfast.
Aim for 30g of protein per meal. This helps keep you full, supports lean muscle, and stabilises insulin. (All Peri Plan meal recipes have 30g of protein. Find them here.)
Avoid grazing. Instead, stick to three balanced meals a day to give your digestive and hormonal systems time to rest.
Quick tip: Swap your cereal or toast for turmeric eggs and greens, a protein smoothie, or Greek yoghurt with nuts and berries.
Step 2: Eat for Your Hormones
Your body doesn’t need extreme dieting - it needs nourishment.
Think:
Whole, anti-inflammatory foods like vegetables, legumes, leafy greens, oily fish, berries, and olive oil.
Smart carbs like sweet potato, quinoa, or brown rice (especially in the evening - they help with sleep and cortisol).
Healthy fats (avocado, seeds, nuts) to support hormone production.
And yes, cut out ultra-processed snacks, alcohol, and added sugar.
Step 3: Build Muscle, Not Just Burn Calories
Strength training is one of the most powerful tools for fat loss in perimenopause. Why? Because it helps:
Increase lean muscle (which burns more calories at rest)
Improve insulin sensitivity
Support healthy bones and joints
Start with two to three sessions a week. You don’t need a gym. Bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, or dumbbells at home are enough to begin with.
Walking is also great - but think of it as a stress-soothing tool, not your main fat-loss strategy.
Step 4: Prioritise Rest and Recovery
This is the piece that gets overlooked. If your nervous system is constantly in overdrive, your body will resist fat loss—especially around the belly.
Here’s how to work with your body’s stress response:
Sleep 8–9 hours—protect your wind-down routine like it’s a part-time job.
Schedule relaxation—sauna, yoga, forest walks, journaling, or even just lying on the floor in silence for 10 minutes.
Cut back on high-intensity exercise if you feel depleted. HIIT is great in perimenopause - but two times a week is enough.
Rest isn’t lazy—it’s strategy.
Step 5: Support Your Digestion
As estrogen declines, digestion can slow down. Bloating, irregularity, and gut discomfort can make belly fat feel even worse.
Support your gut with:
Daily fibre from veggies, fruit, and whole grains
Fermented foods (like kimchi, kefir, sauerkraut)
Staying hydrated
Eating slowly and chewing thoroughly
Sometimes what looks like belly fat is also bloating - and that’s fixable.
Be Patient, Be Kind
Your body is not broken. It’s recalibrating. Fat loss in perimenopause is completely do-able - but it requires a more attuned approach.
You’re Not Alone
If you’ve been trying to eat “healthy” and exercise but nothing seems to shift, it’s not your fault. What worked in your 30s likely won’t cut it now. But there is a path forward.
Start small. Focus on protein, strength, sleep, and stress. Get curious, not critical. And if you need guidance, there’s no shame in asking for support.
You deserve to feel at home in your body again—strong, steady, and well. Would you like 6 weeks of 1:1 coaching and a personalised plan? Meet me over here.