What’s Works For Menopause Weight Wisdom?
It's different and unique both in menopause and for you!
If you’re new here—hello, and if you’ve been fanning yourself with us for a while—you know that we are all about translating lifestyle research to support your evolution—and your empowerment.
This entire month, we’re dedicating HOT FLASH! The Newsletter to spotlighting a series of recent research articles from the ME-WEL (Menopause and Weight Loss) project.
As a quick recap…
In Week 1, we unpacked the irony of the ME-WEL project’s title. While the phrase “weight loss” might grab attention, it doesn’t capture the full story of the ME-WEL initiative, or, the more nuanced “prevent weight gain” truth of the menopausal experience.
And, last week, we explored the ME-WEL team’s powerful published article on the Health Belief Model and how our beliefs (and inner narratives) about weight shape (pun intended!) our weight-related behaviors (and outer outcomes), as well as sense of self during this transition.
Now, in this third installment, we’re digging into a ME-WEL article published last year that shifts the conversation from what women “should” be doing to strategies they’re actually implementing - successfully - to manage their weight.
📘 “Cognitive and behavioral weight management strategies during the menopausal transition: Insights from the ME-WEL Project”
Published in Maturitas, September 2024
Insights from this research were the result of researchers interviewing 31 Portuguese postmenopausal women who had successfully maintained their weight from pre- to postmenopause. What emerged from these conversations wasn’t just a list of behaviors—it was a set of meaningful patterns linked to both effective weight management and a deeper sense of empowerment.
Their conclusions provide practical, useful insights into how real women are using structure, mindset, and self-compassion to successfully support themselves in managing their weight during menopause.
💥 Spoiler alert: It’s not about choosing between discipline or permission. It’s about a combined approach to moving, eating and self regulation—where structure meets self-trust, and nuance replaces all-or-nothing pressure.
✅ Weight management isn’t about either/or—it’s both/and, less about both control and pressure and more about combining both awareness and balance.
And, if you’ve been here before, you know that…
“Despite [inherent] limitations [in study size and bias], the study’s focused exploration of cognitive-behavioral strategies for weight management—particularly for postmenopausal women—is valuable.”
Now, let’s dive into what they found.
In this edition:
✨ Key study findings: what’s particular in what works for menopause weight wellness
💡 Reflections to help you apply this
🔮 A look ahead to next week’s finale: what contributes to weight gain
Key Findings: What Works for Menopause Weight Management
What stood out most in this week’s featured ME-WEL research wasn’t just what women did to maintain their weight—it was how they approached it. That is, researchers observed that, for us in midlife, our approach to maintaining our weight has some unique patterns.
Of course we already knew this—but the researchers confirmed it: midlife weight wisdom doesn’t follow the rules. There was no single “winning” strategy for managing weight. And get this: five of the most common approaches (you can find a table listing all of the categories, subcategories and behavior strategies found here) these women used didn’t even fit neatly into the standard OxFAB (short for Oxford Food and Activity Behaviors) weight management model they tried to measure us against. That’s right, the strategies that actually worked didn’t check the usual boxes.
Instead, what emerged was the kind of flexible, layered brilliance we’ve come to expect in midlife. As the study put it, “All women mentioned several strategies, but most were discussed by less than half,” which points to what we’ve been saying all along: it’s not one thing—it’s your unique blend of things.
Call it custom. Call it curated. We call it Changing with the Change.
Menopause wellness may call for a model of its own created by layering others and adding what works for us uniquely.
And here’s what this research tells us about the layers of the midlife model:
Movement is key.
Aerobic activity was the most frequently cited strategy (83.9%). But nearly half of the women also reported staying active through more informal or unspecified forms of physical movement (48.4%). This means that, while most of them stayed active, there was no one-size-fits-all prescription for activity or exercise.
The takeaway? Finding ways to move that work for you—i.e. that you can return to consistently and sustainably—is a cornerstone of weight maintenance in menopause.
Food choices matter—but not obsessively.
Food-related behaviors make up the majority of the top strategies. On further inspection, what is unique is not only how we may make choices, but how we relate to and approach our food behaviors. It appears that the most successful midlife approach to eating balances discipline and flexibility with self-trust as the foundation. Specifically, the researchers claimed that these menopausal women demonstrated what seemed to be a mid-life specific approach to:dietary choices, i.e. food quality and healthy food choices
food literacy, i.e. selection and acquisition and culinary competencies
intuitive eating, i.e. not restricting (opposes rigid restriction) and physical reasons (health and weight maintenance)
effortful inhibition, i.e. self-control, a particularly interesting unique-to-midlife self-directed twist on the OxFAB “impulse management” category
When it came to food that was “allowed” or “off limits,” these women were guided by self-trust and context—not hard rules. Bottom line: Things that might have seemed contradictory were actually using a deeper kind of wisdom: customization, not contradiction. The real power was in the flexibility of both/and.
Weight management behaviors are influenced by mindset. (yup, that word again!)
One of the emergent unique-to-midlife strategies we were not surprised to see from the study was “Psychological self-care” which researchers “associated with maintaining/improving psychological health while addressing overall body needs.” Those who successfully maintained their weight also paid attention to and cared for the impact of psychological factors (e.g., self-esteem) on weight maintenance and vice versa. This part of the research directly aligns with what we’ve always believed at HOT FLASH! The Newsletter:
In menopause—with weight or otherwise—”success” isn’t about rules and pressure, it’s about adaptability and personalization. Our psychological self-care starts with the belief and recognition that: We don’t need to “fix” our bodies. We get to partner with them to figure out what works.
Key Takeaways: Make Choices That Work For You
Remember, this isn’t a to-do list—it’s an invitation. Use these ideas as ingredients, not mandates. Blend what resonates. Leave what doesn’t. Trust your evolving wisdom.
Choose movement that feels joyful—and sustainable. It doesn’t have to be intense. It doesn’t have to be structured. Walking counts. Dancing counts. Taking the stairs counts. What matters most? That you enjoy it. Because what brings you joy is what you’ll return to. And what you return to is what will support you—consistently, compassionately, and long-term.
Anchor yourself with food foundations. No need for food rules. Having a few go-to food habits—like fruits, vegetables, and quality protein—that you can return to can support you, your energy, your digestion, your metabolic rhythm and your weight. Similar to joyful movement, food that makes your body feel good—both in the moment and in the long run—is key. These are your food foundations. Let them reflect your values, your preferences, and your body. (Check out more on the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating here.)
Practice “both/and” thinking. You can reduce sugar and allow treats. You can plan meals and go with the flow. Context matters for customization of the solution that will work best for you. Experiment. Layer. Adjust. Combine self-control with flexibility. Create a personalized strategy that honors both your health and your humanity.
Trust your own feedback loop. While these strategies offer powerful inspiration, remember: what works for others may not be what works for you. Your body is constantly communicating—through your energy, your mood, your sleep, your digestion. These are your signals, your data. The smartest strategies don’t come from someone else’s rulebook. They come from you—from tuning in, listening closely, and honoring what truly feels supportive.
If you want support in developing strategies that work for you, schedule a chat with me to discuss menopause coaching!
This week, we explored what real women are actually doing to sustain weight wellness during menopause—not through restriction, but through rhythm, self-trust, and both/and strategies that honor who they are and what works for them. From joyful movement to flexible food foundations, this article confirms: what feels right to you is what is sustainable and most likely successful for you.
It won’t look perfect—and it doesn’t have to. Like you, it’s evolving. What matters most is your belief that change is possible, valuable, and worth showing up for. (We saw just how powerful that belief can be last week.)
Next week, we’ll wrap up our ME-WEL series by flipping from what supports weight management to what may contribute to weight gain. We’ll spotlight their article “Exploring underlying weight gain factors during the menopausal transition.” Because understanding what can challenge weight wellness is just as important as knowing how to support it. You won’t want to miss it.
Until then,
Keep choosing both joy over judgment and partnership and permission over pressure with the power of both/and!
The HOT FLASH! The Newsletter Team