SYMPTOM · PERIMENOPAUSE
Weight gain
A few kilos that settle in, mainly around the tummy, without any change to how you eat or move: it's one of the most common symptoms of perimenopause, and one of the most frustrating.
Why it happens
As oestrogen falls, fat is redistributed towards the tummy rather than the hips. On top of that, there's a natural loss of muscle mass, which slows your basal metabolism: your body burns fewer calories at rest, even if your habits haven't changed.
What tends to contribute to weight gain
- Loss of muscle mass due to age and hormones.
- Lack of sleep, which disrupts the hunger hormones.
- Chronic stress, which encourages fat to settle around the tummy.
- Physical activity that hasn't changed along with your body's needs.
In the moment
- Make sure meals have enough protein to keep cravings in check.
- Walk for a few minutes after meals.
- Drink plenty of water: we sometimes mistake thirst for hunger.
Day to day
- Add strength training to support your metabolism.
- Keep up regular cardiovascular activity, even if it's gentle.
- Prioritise sleep, a much underrated lever when it comes to weight.
Don't recognise your body any more?
A healthcare professional can help you understand what really makes a difference and move forward at your own pace, with no pressure.
For information only. This does not replace a personalised medical assessment.
If several of these symptoms ring true, it's no coincidence.
Menopause isn't just about hot flushes. Symptoms can begin years before your last period and affect sleep, mood, energy, memory, weight and intimate health.
Click on a symptom to find out more.
Brain fog
You search for words, reread the same sentence twice, lose the thread mid-conversation. Nothing to worry about: your brain is simply running slower, with less glucose to fuel it as oestrogen levels fall.
Sleep problems
Asleep in ten minutes yesterday, wide awake at 3 a.m. today, for no reason. Progesterone, which helped you switch off at night, is in shorter supply, and deep sleep takes the hit straight away.
Anxiety
Stress that spikes over an email, a meeting, running ten minutes late. Oestrogen affects serotonin: when it yo-yos, everything feels heavier to carry than before.
Joint pain
Knees that creak as you stand up, hands that feel stiff in the morning. Cartilage loses its best anti-inflammatory ally as oestrogen falls, and you feel as if you are rusting up all over.
Hot flushes
A wave of heat rising from the chest to the face, lasting one to five minutes. Deprived of oestrogen, the thermoregulatory neurons in the hypothalamus narrow the thermal neutral zone: a few tenths of a degree are enough.
Palpitations
Your heart suddenly races, with no effort and no reason. Oestrogen also influences the nervous system that sets your heart rhythm. Alarming in the moment, rarely serious.
Mood swings
You laugh, and thirty seconds later you could cry or tell everyone where to go. Hormones rise and fall faster than before, and your mood follows, without warning.
Low libido
Desire takes longer to arrive, or barely arrives at all. Oestrogen and testosterone fall, and sensitivity with them. The desire is still there; it just takes longer to get going.
Vaginal dryness
A feeling of dryness, sometimes a little discomfort day to day. Tissues lose their natural moisture as oestrogen falls. It is a common symptom, and still too rarely talked about.
Irregular periods
One cycle shorter, another dragging on, a month skipped altogether. Ovulation becomes less regular as the ovaries slow down. It is often the very first sign of perimenopause.
Night sweats
Waking up drenched in the middle of the night, sheets to change, sleep cut short. It is the same hot flush as during the day, night-time edition, and it wakes you just as surely.
Pain during sex
Discomfort, sometimes real pain, during or after sex. Tissues thin as oestrogen falls, and what never used to be a problem can become sensitive.
Dry skin
Skin that feels tight, marks more easily and seems to have lost some of its bounce. Collagen declines with oestrogen, by up to 30% in the first few years after menopause.
Chronic fatigue
Tiredness that will not lift, even after a good night. Broken sleep, falling hormones: your body runs less efficiently, and you feel it from morning to night.
Hair loss
More hair in your brush, a parting that seems to be widening. Oestrogen used to extend its growth phase. Without it, the cycle shortens and each strand gets finer.