Some tips for how to lose weight during menopause include cutting calories, drinking thermogenic teas, and avoiding ultra-processed foods.

It is also important to engage in physical exercise that helps maintain muscle mass and boost the metabolism. This includes strength training like weight lifting, calisthenics, and Pilates, as well as aerobic exercises like walking, swimming, or cycling.

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Tips and strategies

Some helpful tips for losing weight and slimming down during menopause include:

1. Engaging in regular physical activity

Regular strength training, such as weight lifting and calisthenics, facilitates weight loss by helping maintain muscle, which is a tissue that increases metabolism and promotes fat burning.

It is also important to practice aerobic exercises like running, walking, cycling, dancing, or swimming. Aerobic exercises increase heart rate and respiratory rate, causing the body to burn more calories, which can lead to weight loss.

Learn more about aerobic vs anaerobic exercise.

2. Cutting calories

In order to shed pounds and lose inches off your waist, it is important to reduce your caloric intake by 250 to 1000 calories per day. The calorie deficit needed to lose weight will vary based on a person's age, activity level, weight, and height.

Use the calculator below to determine how many calories you should ingest per day in order to lose weight:

Before starting a low-calorie diet, it is recommended to consult a registered dietitian who can design a healthy, well-balanced diet to avoid any nutritional deficiencies.

3. Practicing intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is a lifestyle that involves not eating solid foods for 16 to 24 hours, then returning to your regular eating habits.

This type of fasting lowers levels of glucose and insulin in the body. This forces the body to use fat cells as a source of energy, thereby increasing fat burning and promoting weight loss.

4. Drinking thermogenic teas

Thermogenic teas stimulate the metabolism, causing the body to burn more fat and calories, which can lead to weight loss.

Green tea, ginger tea, black tea, and yerba mate are thermogenic teas that can help you lose weight and shed inches off your waist.

5. Avoiding ultra-processed foods

It is important to avoid ultra-processed foods like ice cream, sodas, fast food, and ready-made sauces. This is because these foods are typically high in calories and low in fiber, which stimulates appetite and promotes weight gain.

Many of these foods also contain flavoring, sugar, and/or fat, ingredients that stimulate cravings and add calories to your diet, making it difficult to lose weight.

6. Getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night

Getting between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night is important for weight loss because it is during sleep that the body produces growth hormone, which helps regulate the metabolism and increase fat burning.

Meal plan

The following table is an example of a 3-day meal plan for weight loss and reducing belly fat:

Meal	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
Breakfast	1 cup green tea + 1-egg omelet + ½ whole wheat roll	1 cup (200 mL) milk or plant-based milk + 1 crepe made with 1 egg, 1 Tbsp oat flour, and 2 slices of cheese	1 cup of coffee (no sugar) + 1 serving of overnight oats, made with 1 Tbsp oats, 6 Tbsp coconut milk, 1 plain fat-free yogurt, 1 chopped kiwi, and 1 Tbsp chopped walnuts
Morning snack	½ papaya + 1 Tbsp chia seeds	1 banana with a pinch of cinnamon and 1 Tbsp oats	1 pear + 2 Brazil nuts
Lunch	1 grilled fish fillet + 2 Tbsp brown rice+ 2 Tbsp beans + 1 side salad of raw carrots, beets, and cucumber seasoned with 2 tsp of oil and vinegar + 4 strawberries	1 stewed skinless chicken thigh with 4 Tbsp okra + 1 medium boiled potato + 2 Tbsp bean salad with tomato, onion, and pickles, seasoned with 2 tsp olive oil + 1 small tangerine	1 medium eggplant stuffed with 3 Tbsp Bolognese made with soy granules and homemade tomato sauce + 2 Tbsp couscous + 3 Tbsp chickpea salad with onion and tomato seasoned with 2 tsp olive oil + 1 small slice of watermelon
Afternoon snack	1 smoothie made with 5 oz (150 mL) milk or plant-based milk, ½ an apple and 1 Tbsp rolled oats	1 plain fat-free yogurt + 2 tsp honey + 1 Tbsp linseed flour	3 rice cakes + 3 Tbsp guacamole + 1 cup green tea
Dinner	1 serving of vegetable soup made with zucchini, cabbage, squash, tomato, and leeks + 1 small persimmon	1 serving of chicken and rice made with brown rice, chicken breast, carrots, celery, and zucchini + 1 small slice of melon	1 omelet made with 2 eggs, onion, spinach, and tomato, 2 tsp olive oil, and salt and pepper + 3 Tbsp black-eyed peas + 1 orange

This meal plan is only one example of a weight loss diet for menopause. Amounts and types of foods will vary based on a person's age, current weight, and general health status. This is why it is important to consult a registered dietitian to help develop an individualized diet plan that meets your specific nutritional needs.

Other recommendations

Other recommendations for losing weight and slimming down in menopause include:

Eating at least 6 small meals spread out during the day;
Making sure to eat slowly and chew your food well;
Drinking about 2 L of water a day;
Choosing grains high in fiber, like brown rice, whole grain bread, and whole wheat pasta;
Eating lean protein at every meal, such as chicken, white fish, eggs, turkey, and tofu.

It is important to avoid drinking alcoholic beverages, as they are high in calories. Drinking alcohol also tends to be associated with consuming high-calorie foods like sausages, french fries, and high-fat cheeses.