One of the most common frustrations I hear from women in midlife is:
“I haven’t changed what I’m doing, so why am I suddenly gaining weight?”
Sometimes it’s particularly noticeable around the middle. Clothes fit differently, the strategies that worked in your 30s no longer seem to work, and often your energy has changed at the same time.
If this starts during perimenopause or menopause, it’s very easy to assume hormones are responsible for all of it.
Hormonal changes can certainly play an important role.
But I don’t believe we should automatically put every change in weight, energy or metabolism down to menopause.
Sometimes we need to investigate further.
Menopause and your metabolism
The hormonal changes of perimenopause and menopause can affect where we store body fat, our muscle mass, sleep, appetite and the way our bodies respond to insulin.
But menopause doesn’t happen in isolation.
At the same time, a woman may be dealing with increasing insulin resistance, chronic stress, poor sleep, digestive issues, nutrient deficiencies or changes in thyroid function.
That’s why two women can go through menopause and have very different experiences.
Could your thyroid be part of the picture?
Your thyroid hormones play an important role in regulating metabolism, energy production, body temperature, bowel function, heart rate and many other processes.
Some symptoms of an underactive thyroid can also look remarkably similar to symptoms commonly attributed to menopause.
These may include:
• Fatigue
• Weight changes
• Poor temperature regulation
Feeling cold
• Constipation
• Hair thinning or hair loss
• Dry skin
• Low mood
• Poor concentration
• Changes in cholesterol
• Menstrual changes during the perimenopausal years
This overlap is one reason I’m so passionate about encouraging women to look beyond the label of “just menopause”
“But my thyroid blood test was normal”
I hear this regularly.
Often when a woman tells me her “thyroid was tested”, the test she is referring to is TSH.
TSH is an important test, but depending on the individual situation, there may be value in discussing a more comprehensive thyroid assessment with your healthcare practitioner.
This may include TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 and, when appropriate, thyroid antibodies such as TPO antibodies and thyroglobulin antibodies.
Blood results also need to be considered alongside your symptoms, medical history, medications and the rest of your health picture.
What if you’re already taking thyroid medication?
This is another group of women I see frequently.
They already know they have a thyroid condition. They take their thyroid medication every day and their latest results may have been described as normal.
But they still don’t feel well.
Perhaps they’re exhausted, struggling with weight changes, experiencing brain fog or constipation, sleeping poorly or simply don’t feel like themselves.
That doesn’t automatically mean their medication is wrong or that every symptom is being caused by their thyroid.
It means it may be time to ask a different question:
What else could be contributing?
Don’t forget insulin
Insulin resistance is another area I consider when a woman is experiencing changes in weight and energy in midlife.
You can have a fasting glucose result within the reference range while insulin levels are already increasing.
Some signs that make me want to investigate blood sugar and insulin regulation more closely include increasing abdominal weight, cravings, energy crashes after eating, difficulty losing weight and a family history of type 2 diabetes.
Again, it isn’t always one single cause.
It may be the interaction between menopause, thyroid function, insulin, sleep, stress, nutrition and other areas of health.
Menopause is the great revealer
I often describe menopause as “the great revealer.”
Rather than causing every new symptom, the hormonal shifts of perimenopause and menopause can sometimes expose areas of health that may already have been under strain.
Your body may have been compensating for years.
Then midlife arrives and suddenly it becomes much harder to compensate.
That’s why I believe this stage of life is an opportunity to become curious about what your body is telling you rather than simply accepting that feeling tired, gaining weight and not feeling like yourself is inevitable.
Want to understand what may be happening in your body?
I’m running a FREE online masterclass:
🔎 It’s Not Just Menopause: What’s Really Behind Your Weight & Energy Changes in Midlife?
📅 Monday 12 October
⏰ 7.30 pm ACDT
💻 Online and FREE
We’ll look at the overlap between menopause, thyroid function, insulin resistance and metabolism, useful blood tests to consider, why your results can sometimes look “normal” when you still don’t feel right, and practical steps you can start taking.
REGISTER HERE FOR FREE – It’s Not Just Menopause: What’s Really Behind Your Weight & Energy Changes in Midlife?
Your body is telling you something.
Sometimes midlife is simply when it becomes loud enough for us to finally listen.
Kate
The Midlife Health Detective