Menopause weight loss: Karen Newby’s guide to eating well

Why can losing weight during menopause feel harder?

Hormonal changes can influence where your body stores fat, with more settling around your waist. Ageing, changes in muscle mass, sleep, activity, and eating habits can also affect your weight. These factors can continue to matter after menopause.

Carbohydrates can be part of a balanced weight-loss diet. Higher-fibre options, such as oats, wholegrain bread, potatoes with their skins, beans, and lentils, provide energy and can help make meals more filling.

For wider advice, read our guide to managing weight during menopause.

Carb-conscious, not carb-free

This is why being more carb conscious is important for helping with weight loss at menopause. No need to strip carbs out completely as this is unsustainable, but focussing more on complex carbs and less on the ultra-refined carbs found in processed sweet foods.

A flexible approach to menopause weight loss

For weight loss, you generally need to take in less energy than your body uses over time. Filling, balanced meals can help you do that while getting the nutrients you need.

Start with practical changes: add vegetables to your main meals, include a source of protein, and choose portions that leave you comfortably satisfied. Oils, nuts, and cheese can be part of your diet, but their calorie content means portions still matter.

Protein-rich breakfast ideas

Try eggs on wholegrain toast, plain Greek yoghurt with oats and berries, or scrambled tofu with bread and vegetables. Including protein can help you feel full.

Adjust the timing and portion size to suit your appetite and day.

Do you need to fast overnight?

An overnight gap between meals may help if it reduces unplanned evening snacking, but fasting isn’t essential for menopause weight loss.

Research on intermittent fasting in adults with overweight or obesity suggests it may offer little or no additional weight loss compared with standard dietary advice. Choose a meal pattern that suits your appetite, health, and routine.

Making room for foods you enjoy

I eat dark chocolate every evening. Keeping foods you enjoy in your usual eating pattern can make it easier to maintain.

Think about a portion that feels satisfying and how it fits alongside the rest of your meals. If you notice frequent cravings, consider whether you’re hungry, tired, or dealing with stress.

Everyday ingredients for balanced meals

• Good protein sources: meat, fish, eggs, cottage cheese, hummus, 5 per cent or 0 per cent fat Greek yoghurt, organic soya yoghurt, kefir, nuts like almond or cashew, nut butter, peas, seeds and pulses
• High-protein snacks: nuts and seeds, or an apple and a hunk of cheese
• Plant-based meals for high fibre and minerals: vegetables, pulses, beans, lentils
• Complex carbs over highly refined carbs: pulses, quinoa, brown rice, squash, sweet potatoes, edamame or lentil pasta, oats. Try courgetti with the Thai occonut chicken soup recipe below
• Vitamin C: citrus fruits, green leafy veg, parsley and berries
• Cinnamon: add it for flavour to porridge, yoghurt, or baked fruit.
• Omega-3: salmon, trout, mackerel and linseed/flaxseed oil for salad dressings, nuts and seeds and a reduction of processed fats found in cakes, crisps, biscuits, and so on)
• Teas: peppermint or other herbal teas versus a 3 p.m. cuppa that goes so well with a few biscuits. This will help break the habit cue.

Karen’s Thai coconut chicken soup

Karen’s soup combines chicken, coconut milk, ginger, and vegetables. Enjoy it on its own or add rice or noodles for a more substantial meal, adjusting the portion to suit your appetite.

Serves 4

Prep time 15 minutes

Cook time 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1½ tbsp coconut oil
• 25g/1oz peeled fresh ginger, cut lengthways into ½cm/¼in-thick slices
• 2 lemongrass stalks, lightly bruised and cut into 5cm/2in-long pieces
• 10 makrut lime leaves, rolled up and thinly sliced
• 20g/¾oz fresh coriander, stems chopped into 2cm/¾in pieces, leaves roughly chopped
• 2 banana shallots, roughly chopped
• 800ml/28fl oz chicken stock
• 1 × 400ml/14fl oz can coconut milk
• 400g/14oz skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2–3cm/¾–1¼in pieces
• 100g/3½oz white button mushrooms, sliced ½cm/¼in thick or halved
• 100g/3½oz beansprouts, French beans cut into thirds, or mangetout, depending on the season
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
• 1 red chilli, thinly sliced (optional)
• 1 lime, quartered into wedges, to serve

Method:

1. Add the coconut oil to a large saucepan and place over a medium heat. Once melted, pop in the ginger, lemon grass, lime leaves, coriander stems, and shallots and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring from time to time.
Pour over the stock, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

2. Next, strain the stock through a colander into a heatproof bowl (crucially, so as to not throw away the liquid!), pressing the aromatics to extract as much flavour as possible. Return the liquid to the saucepan (the aromatics can now be discarded) and add the coconut milk, chicken pieces and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. The beansprouts, French beans, or mangetout, go in next and it’s cooked for a final 3-4 minutes. Stir through the lime juice and fish sauce.

3. Serve as is, or on top of cooked noodles, courgetti, or rice, with the red chilli (if using) and coriander leaves sprinkled on top, plus a wedge of lime alongside for everyone to squeeze over their own bowl.

Image: Laura Edwards

Is rapid weight loss during menopause normal?

Book a GP appointment if you’re losing weight without changing your diet or activity level, particularly if it continues or you have other symptoms. They can investigate possible causes.

If you’re aiming to lose weight, seek support with a gradual, balanced approach that you can maintain.

Recipes from The Natural Menopause Method Cookbook by Karen Newby (Pavillion). For more information head to karennewby.com

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