What You Believe About Weight Matters
How ME-WEL Unpacks the Psychology of Menopausal Weight Gain using the Health Belief Model
If you’re new here—hello!
And if you’ve been fanning yourself with us for a while, you already know: HOT FLASH! The Newsletter is where we spotlight science you can actually use—real research on what works for women like us, no prescription pad (or permission) required.
Last week, we got real about the ME-WEL research initiative—applauding its focus on the connection between mindset and weight, while also calling out the mixed messaging of a research name that leans on the outdated and potentially harmful language of "weight loss." The irony wasn't lost on us. But despite the title, what’s inside the project is rich with insights. At Changing with the Change, mindset is our jam, and this type of research directly aligns with our belief (excuse the pun!) about how deeply our mental narratives can influence our physical outcomes.
This week, we’re diving deeper into one of the ME-WEL papers published in January of this year that explores how beliefs about weight can shape both behaviors and bodies during menopause.
This is the second newsletter in our June series exploring the ME-WEL project and its published research articles (see the first one here). This week, we are spotlighting ME-WEL research that asks:
How do women’s beliefs shape their weight experience during the menopausal transition?
We’ll get into the details in the next section, but here’s the short version of their conclusion:
💭 What you believe about menopausal weight gain may significantly shape your experience of it.
Specifically, when we don’t see ourselves as susceptible to weight gain, and/or, we believe that nothing we do can make a difference, we’re far less likely to take the appropriate actions. Especially health-promoting actions that will help us maintain a weight that is supportive of our overall well-being. Of course, by not taking supportive action (or any action at all), we are more likely to gain weight.
In this edition:
The Health Belief Model (HBM) and the powerful link between beliefs, behavior, and body change
What this week’s featured ME-WEL study reveals about the HBM and menopausal weight gain
Actionable strategies to reframe weight conversations from short-term vanity metrics to meaningful, long-term prevention-based care
Remember, we’ll be unpacking ME-WEL project research all month long. Next week, we will spotlight their article on specific strategies for consideration in maintaining a healthy weight during the menopausal transition.
P.S. Ready to turn this month’s insights into action? Join us for the June EmBODY WELLshop: “Weight Loss, Waist Loss, and What Works.” We’ll delve into mindset shifts and meaningful, research-backed strategies to maintain a weight that works for overall wellbeing.
Understanding the Health Belief Model (HBM)
Often used by health psychologists and coaches (like me!), the Health Belief Model (HBM) is a psychological model used to understand health behaviors. It proposes that our actions are shaped by our beliefs about:
Our susceptibility to a condition (like menopausal weight gain)
The severity of that condition’s consequences
The benefits of taking action
The barriers that might get in our way
Cues to action (internal or external prompts that motivate change)
And most importantly, our self-efficacy, or belief in our ability to take action and be successful
In this week’s featured study, “Exploring weight management beliefs during the menopausal transition (ME-WEL project): A qualitative comparative study based on Health Belief Model,” the authors used the HBM to explore how participants’ beliefs may have influenced their behaviors and weight outcomes through the menopausal transition. What they found offers powerful insight into—and actionable perspective around why mindset really does matter.
Which brings us back to a core HOT FLASH! tenet. If you've been with us a while, you know our mantra—Changing with the Change, not resisting it—is all about honoring the power of perspective. This study affirms what we’ve been saying all along: how we think (and what we know) about our body shapes how we care for our body.
In the context of menopause, this means asking: Do I believe weight gain is possible? Do I feel empowered to manage it? Do I think it matters for my health? And what’s standing in my way?
This ME-WEL study zooms in on one major driver of behavior: what we believe—and how it plays a role in our weight, health risks, and what’s likely and possible.
Key Findings from the Study
Published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, this study explores the beliefs menopausal women hold about weight gain, body change, and our own agency. It reveals just how much our thoughts can either support—or sabotage—our health behaviors and our body itself.
The ME-WEL team didn’t just ask what women were doing to manage weight (that’s next week’s featured ME-WEL paper ;-)); they asked what women believed. Using interviews, they analyzed how beliefs shaped behavior and results.
To do this, they interviewed two groups*:
A) The “Weight Gain Group”: Women who gained weight from pre-menopause to to post-menopause, with an increase above 7% of their pre-menopausal weight.
B) The “Weight Maintenance Group”: Women who maintained their weight from pre-menopause to post-menopause, not exceeding 5% of their pre-menopausal weight.
*I will note that the study used the terms “unhealthy” weight gain and “healthy” weight maintenance to describe these groups, but in the spirit of mindset, we’re reframing this simply as weight gain or maintenance.
Here are some of the standout insights from their conclusions:
🧠 Beliefs about risk matter.
The Weight Gain Group did not believe they were likely to gain weight before menopause. Once they did, many experienced shame that prevented proactive change.
The Weight Maintenance Group, by contrast, believed their weight might change and understood that it was tied to their identity and values. This belief helped them take early, consistent actions to support their health.
📣 What motivates action is different. The study found that successful action was closely connected to 1) having more internal (than external) motivation and 2) having strong identity beliefs around the ability to make health happen, i.e. who we are and what we can do.
While the Weight Gain Group leaned on external support like friends, programs, and community resources to feel motivated,…
…the Weight Management Group was more internally driven, often motivated by a sense of identity, age awareness, and an associated desire to stick with healthy routines.
💪 Confidence makes a difference. The Weight Management Group (vs the Weight Gain Group) reported stronger self-efficacy—meaning they believed they could make changes and stick with them. This belief alone played a big role in supporting healthier outcomes. Especially when…
🛑 Barriers show up for everyone. Both groups shared common struggles: food cravings, difficulty sticking with changes, and frustration with how their bodies responded in midlife. But these barriers were interpreted differently depending on beliefs—especially a belief in the ability to overcome them. That is, while the barriers were real, their beliefs about how insurmountable they were differed greatly.
What This Means for You
So what does all of this mean for you as you navigate your own shifting shape (literally and figuratively), and try to do right by your body and overall well-being, but are not always sure what’s working?
These ME-WEL findings offer more than just insight—they are a reminder that what we believe matters. That our inner dialogue is talking…and, it’s not just background noise, our bodies are listening.
We can actually shift our weight by empowering our role as the narrator in our own health story. Here’s how we’re translating the ME-WEL HBM findings into mindset-fueled action around beliefs:
🧠 Practice belief editing. Beliefs aren’t facts—they’re stories we’ve picked up along the way, and often, they’re not even ours. Start by identifying the ones that feel limiting, then ask: Where did this belief come from? Does it actually serve me? Do I want to keep it? This includes examining the beliefs of those around you—family, friends, media—and separating what’s theirs from what’s yours. You get to rewrite the script. For tools to help, request the EmBODY WELL S.E.R.V.E. or Tribe Network Model self-exploration activities (part of the EmBODY LOVE resource kit), or join the next Mirror Board Playshop.
🤯 Challenge the belief that it’s all out of your hands. Menopausal weight gain is common and often hormonally driven—not a personal failure. You’re not “at fault” for midlife changes. But you do have influence. And that influence grows by replacing shame with curiosity, self-compassion and strategy.
🌱 Adopt self-compassion as a health strategy. Choose self-support, mindfulness, confidence, and self-trust (vs self-criticism, frustration, fear and self-doubt) to fuel your healthy behaviors and overall well-being.
To recap, what you believe about menopause and weight directly impacts your health behaviors, as well as the actual number on the scale.
By reframing the story we tell ourselves about our bodies, we can begin to shift our beliefs, reduce distress, unlock more resilience, empower new strategies, and enjoy greater wellbeing.
Remember, mindset-first does not mean mindset-only. This isn’t about wishful thinking. Your mindset lays the foundation for your behavior, and together both can change your biology. The ME-WEL findings are a call to align your inner story with your outer behavior and actions (more on actions next week).
We’ll continue our monthlong dive into ME-WEL findings in next week’s edition, where we’ll highlight actionable strategies to manage weight observed to be most successful for menopausal women.
🗓️ And don’t forget to join us on Saturday, June 28 at 2PM ET for the live EmBODY WELLshop:
“Weight Loss, Waist Loss and What Works”
We’ll spotlight even more research that goes beyond fads and helps you design a weight strategy that honors your changing body.
👉 Drop us a line on your beliefs and/or experience with menopausal weight gain, management or loss—and let us know what you notice. Your stories, feedback and questions fan the HOT FLASH! The Newsletter fire!