06/20/2025
The noise and chatter about midlife/menopause weight change is palpable these days. As an eye-witness to menopause messaging for the past decade, I can attest to this issue only getting more confusing when the goal was for women to feel a sense of confidence and clarity at this stage of life.
One of the problems I’ve seen is the confusing message that weight loss can be achieved simply by addressing “healthy habits” while ditching the diets (so “non-diet”). I’m completely on board with “undieting” and a non-diet approach to health and helping with behaviors that support health.
Here’s the problem. This message feels like an intentional “bait and switch.”
Many many many women “do all the things” and still gain weight (or don’t lose unwanted weight). So, when a “non-diet” clinician promotes weight loss through “healthy habits” it sets up an idea that there is “something they know” that you have been missing out on.
Then, these same folks admit that “a calorie deficit still works…not a drastic deficit, just a moderate deficit.” (From a recent post I saw) or “you need to cut out carbs/sugar, eat more protein…” Hello - this is dieting. But also, you’re assuming that midlife women are overeating and need to eat less (aka “diet”) which is often not the case.
Look, if you change some behaviors and that results in weight loss - fine. But, I’m here to tell you that I see women all day long who are: “exercising regularly, lifting weights, eating enough high quality protein, meal prepping, eat lots of veggies, are not overeating, don’t over consume sugary beverages or alcohol… all the things” and still gain weight or notice their body composition change.
So, can we stop gaslighting women and recognize that weight change at this stage of life can be a natural and normal thing. And that, it’s our fat-phobic culture that stigmatizes any weight or body change as “not healthy.”
Midlife and menopause is a great time to reassess your health status and regroup around health-promoting behaviors but it doesn’t mean you have to panic about fixing your body or your weight.
