What’s Really Behind Your Menopause Symptoms — From Brain Fog to Weight Gain (And 5 Natural Fixes

Struggling with menopause sleep problems, brain fog in perimenopause, or weight that won’t budge no matter what you try? You’re not alone—and it’s not just aging. In this episode, functional nutritionist Lynda Enright breaks down the real reasons behind common perimenopause symptoms and shares 5 natural solutions to help you feel like yourself again.

✨ You’ll learn:

• How hormone shifts affect sleep, mood, and metabolism
• The link between how estrogen affects weight loss
• Why brain fog symptoms and hot flashes at night are so common in perimenopause
• What to do about perimenopause sleep problems and anxiety
• How your thyroid and menopause symptoms may be connected

✅ These strategies go beyond the basics—so you can sleep better, think clearer, and start losing weight during menopause without calorie-counting or burnout.

🎧 Stick around for Tammy’s inspiring story of how small changes made a big difference!

🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more science-backed support during perimenopause and menopause.

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

(00:00):
Are you waking up at 3:00 AMagain, sweating, heart racing,
mind spinning.
Hello, I'm Lynda Enright,functional nutritionist with 25
years of experience helpingwomen take back control of their
health during perimenopause andmenopause.
And I want you to know twothings.
Your body is not broken and youare not alone.
Menopause sleep problems, hotflashes at night, brain fog in

(00:23):
perimenopause, sudden weightgain, anxiety.
These are the symptoms I hearabout every single day, and most
women are told it's just aging.
Or worse, there's nothing theycan do about it.
But the truth is, these symptomsare your body talking to you.
And today we're going to decodewhat it's saying.
You'll learn why these symptomshappen, what's really behind

(00:43):
them, and five powerfulstrategies to start reversing
them naturally and stick around.
Because at the end of thisepisode, I'm going to tell you
about Tammy, a woman who feltcompletely stuck, she couldn't
sleep, was gaining weight nomatter what she ate and felt
like her brain was in a fog.
Once we uncovered the realdrivers behind her symptoms and
made a few key changes,everything shifted.

(01:04):
Her story is one you won't wantto miss, so let's get started.
Menopause doesn't have to feellike you are living in someone
else's body.
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.

(01:26):
Let's start with the truth.
Perimenopause is not a smooth,gentle transition.
It can be for many women, ahormonal roller coaster, and
your symptoms are the loops andthe drops.
Let me explain a bit about whatis going on with your body
during this time.
So first of all, progesterone,it begins to decline first.
It's the first hormone thatstarts to lower and it leads to

(01:47):
perimenopause sleep problems,anxiety, and irregular cycles.
And then estrogen can start tofluctuate sort of all over the
place.
One day it's high, the next dayit's crashing, and eventually
then it just drops off.
So these shifts can cause a lotof symptoms.
Menopause, insomnia, brain fogsymptoms, night sweats in

(02:08):
perimenopause and menopause,mood swings, low libido and
weight gain that doesn't respondto the changes that you've maybe
made before and immediatelycould get some results.
Regular sort of diet andexercise stuff.
But here's the thing, thehormone changes are just part of
the picture.
In a moment, I'm going to tellyou about five underlying causes

(02:29):
that are making these symptomsworse and keeping you stuck even
if you're doing everything sortof quote unquote, right?
So here's what most people don'trealize.
When your hormones shift, theold strategies like cutting
calories or pushing harder atthe gym, they just don't work
anymore.
In fact, they can actually makethings worse.
Why does that happen?
Because how estrogen affectsweight loss is completely

(02:51):
different in menopause, estrogenhelps to regulate insulin
sensitivity, where you storefat, even how your brain
functions, and that's whyunderstanding the root causes of
your symptoms is the key tolong-term relief and
transformation.
If you want extra help gettingstarted, grab my free guide on
balancing hormones naturally.
You'll find the link in the shownow.

(03:12):
So now let's get in to the realreasons behind your symptoms.
Number one, chronic stress andhigh cortisol stress pulls
resources from progesterone tomake more cortisol, and now this
can lead to menopause sleepproblems, anxiety and fat stored
around the belly.
It also drives thyroid andmenopause issues and may make

(03:34):
your metabolism slower.
Poor estrogen detox.
Your liver and gut areresponsible for clearing out
used, up, broken down estrogen,and if they're sluggish,
constipation being one bigreason, estrogen then can
recirculate causing hot flashesat night, night sweats, and a
lot more.
Third blood sugar imbalance.

(03:55):
When estrogen declines, yourblood sugar gets harder to
regulate.
This can worsen brain fogcravings, energy crashes, and
create stubborn weight gain.
Number four, nutrient depletion.
You might be low in magnesium.
B 6, zinc, vitamin C, allnutrients that support hormone,
balance, neurotransmitters andsleep, which is why it's one of

(04:17):
the first things I start withwith my clients is
understanding- are there anynutrients that are depleted?
And then lastly, environmentalhormone disruptors,
xenoestrogens from plastics,conventional meats, personal
care products.
They can mimic estrogen andamplify symptoms.
In the show notes you can checkout.
Um, I have a masterclass oncleaning your kitchen of toxins,

(04:38):
so that might be somethingyou're interested in.
If this episode is speaking toyou, please hit follow or
subscribe and share it with afriend who might need it too.
So now let me give you fivepractical ways to start
supporting your body today.
Number one.
Eat to stabilize your bloodsugar.
When you build meals thatinclude protein, fiber, healthy
fats, you help to regulate howquickly glucose enters your

(05:01):
bloodstream.
This keeps your energy levelsteady and reduces those
frustrating crashes and ups anddowns that can happen all day
long.
That lead to your irritability,anxiety and cravings.
Stable blood sugar also helps tosupport better weight
management, improve sleep,reduces inflammation.
All of which are so criticalduring this stage of life.

(05:22):
Some meal ideas might be grilledsalmon with roasted vegetables,
a side of quinoa or eggs withsauteed greens and avocados.
I was just telling someone aboutthis great cookbook I love
called Cook'ish.
Uh, she was telling me how shejust makes chicken and broccoli
like boring chicken andbroccoli, and her, her family's
sick of it.
So I was telling her about Kish,which has just lots of great,
really flavorful and super easyrecipes.

(05:44):
So there's lots of ideas there.
Number two, support liver andgut detox.
Your body's natural detoxsystem, especially the liver and
the gut, play a really importantrole in clearing out excess
hormones and environmentaltoxins.
So when these systems, yourdigestive system, your liver
balance gets sluggish, you canget things like bloating,

(06:07):
fatigue, worsened, PMS ormenopause symptoms.
Those can all start showing up alittle bit more.
So we want to support thesedetoxification pathways by
eating things like cruciferousvegetables.
These are some powerhouses inthis area, broccoli,
cauliflower, kale.
These contain things that helpyour liver break down estrogen.

(06:27):
They help this wholedetoxification process.
Also, do not underestimate theimportance of getting plenty of
water hydration throughout theday.
Moving your body.
Just daily movement and regularbowel movements.
They're how your body eliminateswaste and hormone byproducts.
Third nourish your nervoussystem.

(06:49):
We don't think enough about thenervous system, and this is also
one of the beginning things Iwork with with my clients in my
Joyful Menopause program.
We have to get your nervoussystem well regulated because
chronic stress and high cortisollevels can wreak havoc on your
hormones, then on your sleep, onyour weight, your mood.
This is just one of the bigfactors I see for so many women

(07:10):
during perimenopause andmenopause.
To calm your nervous system.
Think about ways to integrategentle, consistent movement.
Things like going for a walk,meeting a friend, being in
nature, yoga, deep breathing,exposure to natural light.
Just 10 minutes being outsidecan reduce cortisol and improve
your circadian rhythm, makingyou sleep better and more

(07:32):
soundly at night.
This is a really simple butpowerful strategy for reducing
some of these symptoms likeanxiety, hot flashes, and
insomnia.
Number four, reduce exposure totoxins.
Many products that you find inyour home, plastic containers,
conventional cleaning supplies.
Some beauty products containsomething called endocrine
disruptors.

(07:53):
They mimic or interfere withyour natural hormones,
especially estrogen.
So over time, this can actuallylead to estrogen dominance,
having too much estrogen, makingsymptoms like breast tenderness,
irritability, and heavy periodsworse.
Things you can do.
Swap to glass storagecontainers, fragrance free
personal care products, andorganic produce when you can,

(08:16):
you can check out the DirtyDozen and Clean 15.
If you go to ewg.org, it's theenvironmental working group.
They have a great resource thattells you what are the best
produce to choose organic, ifyou're going to choose those,
these small choices actually addup and they lessen the hormone
burden.
It's not, you don't have to doall the things all the time,
every little bit you can do tohelp reduce some of this

(08:38):
exposure and help to supportyour health in the best way
possible.
It all is gonna add up.
And number five, rebuild yournutrient reserve.
So we wanna have good nutritionto support everything working
the way that it should.
Your body uses a lot ofnutrients.
To manage stress processhormones, support metabolism,
and during perimenopause andmenopause, the demand for some
of these nutrients like Bvitamins, magnesium, zinc,

(09:01):
vitamin C, it all increases.
These nutrients support keysystems like sleep regulation,
mood stability, energymetabolism, and the health of
your immune system.
Consider adding nutrient densefoods like leafy greens, nuts
seeds, citrus fruits, and beans,or talk with a qualified
practitioner about targetedsupplements to help you feel

(09:23):
your best.
But don't just take supplementsbecause your friend or your
sister does.
Every woman has unique needs,and again, in my Joyful
Menopause program, we start withnutrient testing so we can
really understand what does yourbody need and what are the best
supplements if you do needsupplements.
So now let me circle back toTammy.
Tammy was exhausted, she wasfrustrated, and she was

(09:46):
absolutely convinced that herbest days were behind her.
Menopause sucks.
It's just that's the end.
She couldn't sleep through thenight.
She struggled with brain fog andno matter how little she ate,
she gained weight.
She always said, I can just lookat food and I am gaining weight.
So we didn't start withrestriction.
We didn't start with perfection.
We didn't start with caloriecounting.

(10:08):
We started with nutrients.
We started understanding whatnutrients does her body
personally need.
We started with support bybalancing her blood sugars,
adding gut friendly foods.
So we nourished her gut well.
We worked a lot on managing herstress, which had a huge impact,
and we replenished thosenutrients that she was depleted

(10:30):
in.
Really fast she started noticingimprovements.
Her menopause insomnia, improvedreally quickly.
Then when she was sleepingbetter, of course, her energy
started coming back, and overthe next few months, she started
shedding the weight withoutstarving herself, without
feeling overly restrictedbecause her body was nourished
well.
Her gut was functioning at itsbest.

(10:51):
She was better managing herstress.
Everything was coming togetherand she was getting the results.
Even better.
Her confidence returned.
She felt better in her body andin her clothes.
She said she finally felt normalagain.
So let's recap.
If you're experiencingperimenopause or menopause sleep
problems, brain fog, weightgain, or mood changes, know that

(11:14):
your hormones are shifting, butyou are not powerless.
The root causes are often hiddenin stress, blood sugar, detox,
nutrient levels, and yourenvironment.
And when you support thosesystems, you will feel better.
You'll sleep through the night.
You'll think clearly, feellighter, emotionally and
physically.
This is what's possible with afunctional nutrition approach to

(11:35):
menopause.
So until next time, I'm LyndaEnright, and here's to creating
your most joyful, energized, andempowered next chapter.