Healthy, Happy, and Hormonal: How to Care for Yourself During Menopause

October 18th marks World Menopause Day, an annual reminder that taking care of yourself isn’t optional. It’s essential. Menopause marks a powerful transition, one that affects your hormones, metabolism, mood, and even your confidence. But it’s not the end of feeling good in your body.

While menopause brings real challenges that deserve validation and solutions, it can also serve as a catalyst for positive changes that benefit you for decades to come. With the right daily habits and a supportive mindset, you can feel strong, energetic, and in control again.

Menopause and Its Impact on Your Body

Menopause occurs when a woman’s menstrual periods stop permanently, typically between the ages of 45 and 55. The transition period leading up to menopause, called perimenopause, can last several years and brings its own set of changes as estrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate.

Common menopause symptoms include:

Hot flashes and night sweats
Trouble sleeping
Mood changes and irritability
Brain fog and difficulty concentrating
Vaginal dryness and changes in sexual function
Weight gain, particularly around the midsection
Loss of muscle mass
Bone density changes

These symptoms occur as your body responds to real hormonal changes, which means addressing them requires strategies that work with these changes, not against them.

Why Weight Gain During Menopause Is So Common

Weight gain is one of the most frustrating symptoms that roughly 60-70% of women experience during menopause. Several biological factors make weight management more challenging during this time:

Metabolic changes: Declining estrogen levels slow your resting metabolic rate, meaning your body burns fewer calories at rest than it did before menopause.
Muscle mass loss: We lose approximately 3–8% of muscle mass every 10 years after age 30, and this accelerates during menopause. Since muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, losing muscle further reduces metabolic rate.
Insulin sensitivity changes: Estrogen helps regulate how your body processes sugar. As estrogen declines, your body may become more insulin resistant, making it easier to store fat and harder to lose it.
Lifestyle factors: Sleep disruption from night sweats, increased stress, and reduced physical activity due to fatigue all compound weight management challenges.

So if you’ve gained weight during menopause, it’s not because you did anything wrong. It’s just your body’s natural response to hormonal changes. Losing menopause belly fat requires addressing the underlying hormonal and metabolic changes, not just willpower.

Move Your Body: Exercise During Menopause

Regular physical activity becomes even more important during menopause, offering benefits that extend far beyond weight management.

Strength training helps preserve and build muscle mass, which counteracts the natural muscle loss that occurs with aging and hormonal changes. Aim for 2-3 strength training sessions per week, focusing on major muscle groups.

You don’t need fancy equipment. Bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, or light dumbbells work well.

Cardiovascular exercise supports heart health, which becomes increasingly important as estrogen’s protective cardiovascular effects decline. Activities like brisk walking, swimming, cycling, or dancing can help manage weight and even improve mood.

The mental health benefits of exercise during menopause deserve equal attention. Regular physical activity reduces anxiety and depression, improves sleep quality, and helps manage stress, all of which tend to worsen during the menopausal transition. Building consistent movement into your morning routine can set a positive tone for your entire day.

Sexual Health and Wellness Deserve Attention

Declining estrogen levels can cause vaginal dryness, thinning of vaginal tissues, decreased libido, and other changes that affect many women’s sexual health and intimate relationships.

These symptoms are common, treatable, and nothing to feel embarrassed about discussing with your healthcare provider.

Water-based lubricants and vaginal moisturizers can provide relief from dryness and discomfort. Regular sexual activity, whether with a partner or solo, helps maintain vaginal tissue health by increasing blood flow to the area.

Communication with your partner about changes you’re experiencing can strengthen your relationship and help you navigate this transition together. Many women find that menopause brings a new sense of freedom and confidence in their sexuality once they no longer need to worry about pregnancy.

If vaginal symptoms significantly impact your quality of life, talk with your healthcare provider about treatment options, which may include local estrogen therapy or other interventions specifically designed to address these concerns.

Sleep Better, Stress Less

Night sweats and hot flashes frequently disrupt sleep during menopause, creating a cascade of health effects. Poor sleep increases stress hormones, worsens mood, increases appetite (particularly for high-calorie foods), and makes weight management even more challenging.

Creating a sleep-supportive environment helps counteract these disruptions:

Keep your bedroom cool (65-68°F is ideal)
Use moisture-wicking sheets and sleepwear
Avoid alcohol and caffeine in the evening, as both can trigger hot flashes
Establish a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends
Consider a fan or cooling device near your bed

Stress management becomes equally important during menopause. Chronic stress elevates cortisol levels, which promotes fat storage around the midsection and exacerbates symptoms. Techniques like deep breathing, meditation, yoga, or simply taking regular breaks throughout your day can help regulate your stress response and improve how you feel both physically and emotionally.

Even small changes make a difference. Try taking five deep breaths before meals, stepping outside for a brief walk when you feel overwhelmed, or setting boundaries around work and personal commitments that drain your energy.

Nutrition Strategies That Actually Help

What you eat during menopause directly impacts how you feel, how you manage your weight, and your risk for chronic diseases that become more common after this transition.

Prioritize protein: Aim for 25-30 grams of protein at each meal to help preserve muscle mass, increase satiety, and support a healthy metabolism. Good sources include lean meats, fish, eggs, Greek yogurt, legumes, and protein supplements if needed.
Focus on fiber: High-fiber foods help regulate blood sugar, support digestive health, and increase feelings of fullness. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes should form the foundation of your meals.
Include calcium and vitamin D: With increased osteoporosis risk after menopause, ensuring adequate calcium (1,200 mg daily) and vitamin D (600-800 IU daily) becomes crucial. Dairy products, leafy greens, fortified foods, and supplements can help you meet these needs.
Limit processed foods and added sugars: These can worsen insulin resistance and contribute to weight gain, particularly around the midsection.

Meal planning can make healthy eating feel more manageable during this busy life stage. Having nutritious options readily available reduces the likelihood of reaching for less healthful convenience foods when you’re tired or stressed.

When You Still Need Extra Support

Despite your best efforts with diet and exercise, hormonal changes during menopause can make weight loss feel nearly impossible. The metabolic shifts, muscle loss, and insulin resistance that accompany declining estrogen levels create real biological barriers to weight management.

For women struggling with weight despite lifestyle modifications, medical interventions may offer additional support. GLP-1 medications like semaglutide have shown promise in helping women manage weight by improving insulin sensitivity and reducing appetite.

At PeachesRx, we designed Slim, an oral dissolving tablet form of compounded semaglutide + vitamin B6. No injections, no in-person visits, just support that fits into your life. We know that weight gain during menopause involves complex biological factors beyond willpower or discipline.

Combining medical support with the lifestyle habits discussed in this article creates a comprehensive approach to managing symptoms and supporting your overall health during this transition.

See if you qualify for Slim at peachesrx.app.

Make This World Menopause Day Meaningful

World Menopause Day serves as an annual checkpoint to assess how you’re caring for yourself during this significant life transition. Use this day as a reminder to evaluate your current habits and identify one or two areas where you’d like to focus your energy.

Perhaps you’ve been meaning to establish a more consistent exercise routine, prioritize sleep, or address symptoms you’ve been tolerating rather than treating. Maybe you’re ready to have an honest conversation with your healthcare provider about what you’re experiencing and what options might help.

Menopause lasts for the rest of your life. The habits you establish now will impact your health, energy, and quality of life for decades.