Breaking Down Menopause and Weight Gain

"Calibrate is a modern, medical approach that combines doctor-prescribed medication with 1:1  coaching—all personalized to your biology, your goals, and your life for a metabolic reset that lasts and 10% weight loss guaranteed (see terms)."

Weight gain is one of the most common complaints during menopause. On average, women gain 2-5lbs during the perimenopausal transition (the years leading up to menopause), but those with overweight or obesity are at risk of gaining more and also experiencing worse menopausal symptoms overall. Gaining this additional weight is serious—during menopause, women store fat in their midsection and this poses the biggest threat to metabolic health because it increases the risk of heart and blood vessel disease and type 2 diabetes. 

The weight gain that occurs during this life stage can be challenging. One Calibrate member, Ali, said she was always able to manage her weight, but after undergoing a partial hysterectomy that triggered perimenopause, she began to gain weight no matter how much she exercised or how restrictive she was with her diet. Another Calibrate member, Ruth, was experiencing something similar—following a hysterectomy due to endometriosis, she explained that she had no energy and was gaining a lot of weight. 

This underscores once again that weight loss isn’t about willpower; it’s about biology. While we are unable to change our genetics, we can influence our environment and how our biology responds to it to help lower our set point—the weight our body fights to maintain—and improve metabolic health. Calibrate built its One-Year Metabolic Reset to help reprogram the metabolic system with doctor-prescribed, FDA-approved, GLP-1 medications and tiny tweaks that add up to impactful changes in what foods you eat, how you sleep, how much you exercise, and how your emotional health is supported. This combination is scientifically proven to lead to improved metabolic health followed by weight loss. To date, Ali has lost 10.2% of her body weight and says she has a greater mindfulness in regard to her emotional relationship with food. Ruth, who has now completed the program, lost 22% of her body weight. 

Other common symptoms that women experience during this life stage are hot flashes and night sweats that can lead to sleep disturbances—all of which can be reduced through weight loss, according to studies. 

Further, we know that sleep plays a crucial part in maintaining weight, and if we are unable to get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night, we risk an increased appetite plus more cravings for calorie-dense foods high in carbohydrates. Menopause can also be linked to increased levels of stress which can have a serious impact on our emotional health. Because Calibrate’s program focuses not just on weight loss, but on all the factors that influence metabolic health (what we call the Four Pillars of Metabolic Health), Ruth was able to tackle and improve factors like sleep and emotional health—improving their overall energy along with their weight.

We know that menopause can be isolating, and that starting a wellness journey can be overwhelming. If you are going through perimenopause or menopause and feel that your weight is impacting your metabolic health, reach out to hello@joincalibrate.com for more information on how our One-Year Metabolic Reset can help you achieve real results and a new day-to-day.