Can’t Lose Belly Fat During Menopause? Your Gut May Be the Problem

In this episode nutritionist Lynda Enright, explores the lesser-known connection between gut health and stubborn weight gain during (peri)menopause. Lynda discusses how factors like chronic inflammation, disrupted insulin sensitivity, and elevated cortisol levels can impede weight loss efforts, especially around the abdomen. 

She provides actionable strategies such as incorporating anti-inflammatory foods, boosting fiber intake, managing stress, and considering gut repair techniques. The episode also features the inspirational story of Angela, a client who successfully lost weight by healing her gut. Lynda concludes by offering a free guide with natural ways to reduce menopause symptoms, encouraging listeners to understand and address their underlying health issues.

00:00 Introduction: Understanding Menopausal Weight Gain

01:21 The Role of Gut Health in Weight Management

02:13 How Inflammation Affects Weight Loss

05:12 Strategies to Reduce Gut Inflammation

07:43 Angela's Success Story

09:52 Conclusion: Healing from the Inside Out

When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to feel your best during perimenopause and menopause:

1. Want more science-backed health tips? Click here to sign up for my free weekly newsletter for practical advice on navigating menopause with confidence:

2. Click here to get the free guide: 5 Natural Ways To Reduce Menopause Symptoms.

2. For more information about Lynda and how she supports women on their health journey, click here to learn more.

3. Interested in seeing if nutrition coaching with Lynda is right for you? Click here to book a free discovery call with Lynda.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
If you have been eating andexercising as you always have
been, and even cutting calories,but you're stuck with extra
weight, especially around theabdomen, it's not all in your
head, and this episode is foryou.
Hi, everyone.
Welcome here.
We uncover the hidden factorsaffecting your health during
perimenopause and menopause I'mLynda Enright a functional
nutritionist with 25 years ofexperience helping women feel

(00:23):
their best Today, we're tacklinga topic that hits close to home
for so many women thefrustrating weight gain
Especially around the abdomenthat does not seem to budge no
matter what you try Oneoverlooked culprit may be
inflammation in your gut.
Even if you don't have digestivesymptoms, your gut health could
be playing a major role in yourweight struggles.

(00:45):
By the end of this episode,you'll understand how the health
of your gut impacts weight gainthroughout menopause and what
you can do about it.
And stick around and I'll tellyou how my client Angela finally
started losing the extra fataround her middle when I helped
her create a diet that healedher gut.
So let's get started.
Menopause doesn't have to feellike you are living in someone
else's body.

(01:05):
Your host Lynda Enright hasspent the last 25 years helping
women to thrive in midlife.
Here you'll find science basedpractical advice that you can
start using today to get realresults for your health.
Welcome to Joyful Menopause.
I am passionate aboutunderstanding gut health because
my poor gut health is what droveme to study nutrition 30 years

(01:27):
ago.
And it is exciting because evenin the last five years, we have
learned so much about theimportance of your gut for
everything to work right in yourbody, from digestive health, to
immune function, to hormonebalance, and for weight loss.
So let's start by understandingyour gut.
It isn't just a tube where foodpasses through, it's a highly
active, complex system thatregulates your metabolism, your

(01:49):
hormones, immune system, andeven your mood.
When your gut is healthy, itsupports your body in processing
nutrients efficiently.
Managing inflammation andkeeping your hormones balanced.
But when your gut is inflamed, acondition often caused by
stress, poor diet, or evenhormonal shifts, it can trigger
a whole host of problems thatmake it extremely difficult to

(02:12):
lose weight.
And here are three reasons thatthis could be happening.
Number one, chronic inflammationdisrupts insulin sensitivity.
When your gut is inflamed, whichcan again be caused by things
like stress or your diet, toxinsfrom your cells can leak into
your bloodstream.
This then can trigger chroniclow grade inflammation

(02:33):
throughout your body, and thiscan affect insulin sensitivity
leading to insulin resistance.
Insulin is a hormone that helpsyour body store and use energy.
And when you become insulinresistant, your body is more
likely to store calories as fat,especially around the abdomen.
Chronic inflammation not onlyworsens insulin resistance, but

(02:53):
also makes it harder for yourcells to burn fat for energy.
A second reason is that gutinflammation elevates cortisol
levels.
Inflammation in the gut doesn'tjust stay in the gut, it affects
your entire stress responsesystem.
The gut and brain are connectedthrough something called the gut
brain axis.
Gut inflammation can increaseyour body's production of

(03:14):
cortisol, your stress hormone.
Cortisol promotes fat storage,particularly the kind of fat
that is stored deep in yourabdomen.
If you're under stress or eatingan inflammatory diet, it's like
adding fuel to the fire.
Addressing gut inflammation thenhelps calm your system and
reduce cortisol's effect on yourwaistline.
And third, pro inflammatorycytokines promote fat storage.

(03:38):
This is your immune system.
Leaky gut and inflammation cancause your immune system to
release molecules that createmore inflammation.
So it can be this vicious cycle.
More and more inflammation canthen interfere with your body's
hormone balance.
A couple hormones that can bedisrupted are insulin and
leptin.
These are important forregulating your body's hunger

(03:59):
signals and fat storage.
When the situation continues,it's essentially telling your
body to hold on to fat as asurvival mechanism.
So this is why diet and exercisealone often isn't enough to
overcome weight plateaus duringperimenopause and menopause.
Your body's inflammatoryresponse is working against your
goals.
So why does this become such anissue, particularly during these

(04:21):
years of perimenopause andmenopause?
Well, you're going through somebig hormonal changes.
As estrogen and progesteronelevels drop, they affect the
balance of gut bacteria.
At the same time, stresshormones, things like cortisol
might be high.
And here's the thing, highercortisol makes matters worse.
High cortisol then can increasecravings, can slow your

(04:42):
digestion and signal your bodyagain to hold on to fat as a
survival mechanism.
So this can be why a lot ofwomen find that their usual
strategies like eating less orexercising more.
actually make things worseRestrictive diets can deprive
your gut bacteria of the fiberand the nutrients they need to
thrive and over exercising canadd more stress to your system,

(05:07):
potentially exacerbatinginflammation.
The good news is that you don'thave to stay stuck.
There are actionable steps youcan take to reduce gut
inflammation and start seeingresults.
Today we're talking about yourgut inflammation and how it
might be standing in the way ofyou losing that frustrating
abdominal fat during the yearsof menopause.

(05:29):
In just a bit, I'm going to tellyou a story about my client who
got results by focusing on thehealth of her gut instead of
calorie restriction and excessexercise.
But first, let me give you fourstrategies for you to focus on.
Number one, add, don't restrict.
Instead of cutting calories,focus on adding anti
inflammatory foods to your diet.
Focus on whole, unprocessedfoods.

(05:51):
Think about colorful vegetableslike leafy greens, healthy fats
that are rich in omega 3s likesalmon, flax seeds, chia seeds,
or walnuts.
Number two, focus on fiber tosupport your gut microbiome.
Fiber is essential for guthealth and hormone regulation.
So you want to aim to include atleast one high fiber food with

(06:12):
every meal.
This could be things likelentils, quinoa, or even a
simple side of broccoli.
You can also add fermented foodslike yogurt, kefir, or
sauerkraut to your diet orconsider a high quality
probiotic supplement.
A diverse microbiome helps toreduce inflammation.
Number three, manage stresseffectively.

(06:33):
Remember stress isn't justmental, it's physical too.
Incorporating relaxationtechniques like yoga, deep
breathing, or even a short dailywalk can do wonders for calming
your gut and lowering cortisollevels.
And number four, consider gutrepair strategies.
For some women, addressing apossible leaky gut is key.

(06:53):
This might include addingsupplements like glutamine or
probiotics, but with this, Ialways recommend working with a
professional to create a planthat's tailored to your needs.
In just a moment, I want to tellyou a story about my client,
Angela.
Today, I've given you somespecific steps to heal your gut
and shift your body so it willbe easier to get rid of that

(07:13):
stubborn belly fat.
As always, I recommend you startwith choosing one strategy that
you can work on.
Feeling overwhelmed with tryingto do too much at once isn't
helpful.
The path to great health comesfrom one small step at a time.
And to help you with that, youcan grab my free guide, Five
Natural Ways to Reduce MenopauseSymptoms.
In it, you'll find lots ofspecific things you can start

(07:35):
with to create your best healthduring perimenopause and for
many decades to come.
To get that, you can go to thecomments below and click on the
link.
As promised, to help illustratehow gut health can be the key to
overcoming stubborn weight gainduring menopause, let me tell
you about my client, Angela.
When Angela first came to me,she was feeling defeated.
She had gained weight around hermidsection, something she'd

(07:57):
never struggled with before, andno matter what she did, it just
wouldn't budge.
She was eating a balanced diet.
She was exercising regularly andreducing her calories, but
nothing worked.
Angela didn't come to methinking that she had gut
issues.
In fact, when I asked her abouther digestion, she shrugged it
off.
She said it wasn't a big deal.
But as we dug deeper, I learnedthat Angela had been quietly

(08:20):
dealing with constipation anddiarrhea for years.
It had become such a normal partof her life that she didn't even
consider it a problem worthmentioning.
This was a major red flag forme.
I explained to Angela howchronic digestive issues like
hers often lead to gutinflammation, which can disrupt
key hormones like insulin andcortisol, making weight loss
feel impossible.

(08:41):
It wasn't just her digestion, itwas her whole body that was
being affected.
So we started working on a plan.
Together we created an antiinflammatory diet tailored to
Angela's needs.
We focused on foods that wouldsoothe her gut like leafy
greens, lean proteins, healthyfats, and fermented foods.
At the same time we eliminatedcommon triggers of inflammation

(09:02):
like refined sugars andprocessed foods.
The results were almostimmediate.
Within just a few weeks,Angela's digestive symptoms
started to improve.
Her bloating disappeared, herbathroom visits normalized, and
she felt lighter and moreenergized.
But the most exciting part forAngela was that she finally
started to lose the belly fatthat had been so resistant
before.

(09:23):
By healing her gut and reducinginflammation, her body was able
to shift into fat burning mode.
For Angela, it wasn't just aboutweight loss, it was about
feeling good in her body again.
Angela's story is a powerfulreminder that the weight you're
struggling with isn't alwaysabout calories or exercise.
Sometimes the solution lies inhealing your body from the
inside out.

(09:44):
If you're experiencingunexplained weight gain, even
without obvious digestiveissues, your gut health might be
the missing piece of the puzzle.
To wrap up, if you're feelingfrustrated with stubborn weight
gain during menopause, it's notyour fault and it's not about
willpower.
It's about understanding what'shappening beneath the surface
and giving your body the toolsit needs to heal and rebalance.

(10:06):
Your gut is a powerful ally andwhen it's in good shape, weight
loss can be easier, your energycan improve, and you can start
to feel like yourself again.
If this resonated with you, Iencourage you to download my
free guide, Five Natural Ways toReduce Menopause Symptoms.
You'll find more tips onnavigating these years with
confidence and clarity.
The link is in the show notes.

(10:27):
Thank you so much for listeninguntil next time, take care of
yourself and be well.