The Menopause Dietitian Blog

Breakfast and lunch are your blood sugar anchors: why restricting food early in the day so often backfires by bedtime, and how two well-built meals can hand you back a sense of control You start the day with just a coffee, or a small breakfast you barely notice eating. Lunch gets squeezed between meetings, school pickups, or errands, so it ends up small too, an afterthought rather than a meal. You feel virtuous. Disciplined, even. Then somewhere around 4pm, the wheels come of

Eating disorders can occur across the whole of a woman's life, and a growing body of research points to midlife, including the years around perimenopause, as a time when some women become newly vulnerable. This is not a post about what to do, or how to eat, or how to feel better. It is simply about naming something that too often goes unspoken, so that if it is happening to you, know that you are not alone, and it is worth talking about it with your doctor. Eating disorders d

If the scale has been running your mornings, here is some good news: you have been tracking the wrong thing. Weight tells you very little about what is actually happening over the menopause transition and even less about your health. Body composition tells you everything. The moment you start paying attention to that instead, you stop feeling at the mercy of a number and start holding something you can act on. What is actually changing Muscle becomes a harder to hold onto and

Your most recent cholesterol result is the highest it has ever been, and you have not changed a thing about how you eat. Here is what that result means: your body is moving through a major physiological shift, and the way your liver handles cholesterol is changing along with it. A note from me: This is a longer read than usual, and that is deliberate. What is going on with your cholesterol in menopause is not a single simple story, it is a genuinely nuanced one, and the expla

Breaking up periods of sitting matters in Menopause In my work with women through menopause, one thing comes up again and again. The women who come to see me are not sedentary because they lack willpower or motivation. They are sedentary because their work asks it of them. Most of them sit at a desk, and a working day can quietly add up to eight, nine, even ten hours in a chair before anyone really notices. That is exactly why one research finding tends to land so strongly wh

By Lizalet Oosthuizen APD | The Menopause Dietitian If you have noticed weight settling around your middle despite not eating any differently than you used to, you are not imagining it. Visceral fat (the fat that accumulates around the organs in your abdomen) increases significantly during the menopausal transition, and it responds differently to diet than the weight you may have managed successfully in your 30s. The good news is that the research points to one dietary c

And why what worked in your 30s doesn’t work anymore By Lizalet Oosthuizen APD, The Menopause Dietitian If you are in your 40s and feel like your body has changed overnight even though nothing in your diet has changed, you are not imagining it, and it is not your fault. Perimenopause is a genuine hormonal shift that changes how your body stores fat, builds and maintains muscle, handles blood sugar, and regulates hunger. Understanding what is happening is the first step to w

Many women arrive in perimenopause feeling confused and frustrated: they’re eating “healthy,” not overeating, and yet their weight slowly increases, especially around the middle. One of the most common patterns I see in clinic is all-day grazing. It feels harmless and even virtuous, but hormonally it can work against you during this life stage. The metabolic shift of perimenopause Perimenopause is not simply a reproductive transition; it is a metabolic one. Fluctuating oestro

During the menopause transition, many women notice their body changing — weight settles around the middle and feels stubborn to shift. The old advice of “eat less, move more” doesn’t just fail here, it can make things worse. In this post, I’ll explain what’s really happening in menopause and give you the facts you need to feel strong, supported, and confident in your body again. As a menopause dietitian , I see this every day. And research confirms it: menopause causes signif

Poor sleep in perimenopause and post-menopause is common, but it is not trivial — and it is not something you should simply endure.

Many women notice their appetite changing as they move through perimenopause. Hormonal fluctuations, disrupted sleep, and shifting mood can all influence hunger and cravings—often pushing us toward sugary foods or energy-dense comfort snacks. In fact, studies show that women in perimenopause tend to crave more sweets and snack more frequently, which can quietly contribute to weight gain over time. And when we add the festive season to the mix? With its long lunches, grazing t

With the right food choices, you can support your body, balance your appetite, and feel like you again.

One way of eating that continues to shine in research is the Mediterranean diet — a way of eating based on the traditional diets of countries like Greece, Italy, and Spain.

If you’re a woman in your 40s or 50s, strength training isn’t just a “nice to have”, it’s essential for your hormonal health, metabolism, and long-term strength.

Many women experience disrupted sleep during the menopause transition, but the good news is, there are simple changes that can help.