9 Ways To Get Rid of Menopausal Belly Fat

Whether you’re in perimenopause (the 2-10 years leading up to menopause) or you’re in the throes of menopause itself, you may notice an increased weight gain—, particularly around your middle.

The menopause belly even has some cute names for the not-so-cute tummy situation you might find yourself in: menopause apron, menopause apron belly, the menopause hanging pouch, and the pendulous abdomen.

If you can relate, don’t be concerned. Many women gain a “menopause belly” in their 40s and 50s. We know it can be extremely frustrating to try and work it off.

Here’s the deal: in order to lose belly fat in menopause, you have to take other factors into consideration aside from daily exercise.

Are you eating the right foods? Are you doing things to keep your hormones in balance? Don’t feel powerless in menopause! It’s important to keep a positive mindset during this change. Now let’s explore nine natural things you can do to diminish that pesky menopausal belly fat.

You might also like these workouts: The Best At-Home Workouts For Women

Why Many Women Gain Belly Fat In Menopause

Hormones and Body Fat

During menopause, your hormones get thrown out of whack. Your estrogen levels plummet, and body fat that used to settle around the hips, thighs, or butt now tends to settle around your middle.

In menopause, your progesterone also decreases, which contributes to elevated cortisol levels in the body. Elevated cortisol can cause you to gain that so-called menopause belly. (As if hot flashes weren’t enough, right?)

Weight Gain and Metabolism

You may have unknowingly become a bit more sedentary as you’ve aged into your 40s and 50s as well, making weight gain all the more common. Your metabolism slows down as you lose muscle, and aches and pains or a busy schedule may keep you from exercising as frequently.

All of these factors can contribute to an increase in abdominal fat during your menopausal years.

Subcutaneous vs. Visceral Fat in Menopause

Belly fat isn’t just annoying, it can be linked to poor health factors. The fat you can pinch is called subcutaneous fat. But the fat that appears around your stomach is often visceral fat, which is fat that surrounds your organs within your abdominal wall.

This type of fat puts you at an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems. High levels of visceral fat can result in increased insulin resistance, which may lead to glucose intolerance and even type 2 diabetes.

You might also be interested in:

Embracing A Positive Mindset During Menopause

Best Strength Training for Women Over 50: 11 Moves

The Best Core Exercises for Seniors

You want to minimize your belly fat not just to look and feel your best but to stay healthy for years to come.

How to Get Rid of Menopausal Belly Fat

Here are nine tips to help you get rid of your menopausal belly:

1. Start Your Day With ACV or Lemon Water

Kick-start your body’s natural detoxification process first thing in the morning by drinking a glass of water with lemon or apple cider vinegar in it.

The acetic acid in the vinegar helps your body burn fat and rids your body of toxins. It also gives you a little energy boost to start your day.

The benefits of apple cider vinegar or lemon in your water are endless! Just add a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar, or slice a lemon and squeeze it into your water.

2. Add Strength Training To Your Workouts

According to the CDC, you need 150 minutes of cardio each week to stay healthy. Many women get the cardio part right but don’t add the strength training part to their routine.

If you don’t add strength training into your life, your metabolism won’t work as effectively as it could. The more muscle you have on your body, the faster your metabolism works, making weight loss easier (nice!)

And after the age of 30, you start to lose muscle mass if you’re not actively replacing it. Do your part to keep your body strong and your metabolism revved by strength training at least three times per week!

You can use your own body weight with moves like push-ups, lunges, and squats or use dumbbells, kettlebells, or resistance bands. Try the below exercises for menopause belly and overall strength!

Related: Beginner’s Guide To Strength Training

3. Cut Back On Sweets

Excess sugar is not your friend – especially if you want to get rid of menopause belly fat. Eating too much refined, added sugar is not only unhealthy but can cause you to cling to stubborn belly fat.

Start by eliminating any sugary beverages or sodas—then focus on reserving your intake of sugary foods like cakes, cookies, or ice cream for special occasions.

Natural sugar, like the kind found in fruit, is not an issue because it’s accompanied by fiber—and when you eat fiber with natural sugar, your body can process it more slowly.

It’s those spikes and crashes from artificial sugar that is harder on your body—they cause an insulin rise, and too much insulin can cause excess blood sugar to be stored as belly fat.

 So in short, keep eating fruit and skip all the processed, added sugars.

4. Eat Smaller Meals More Often

Another way to manage your blood sugar and belly fat? Eat smaller meals more frequently.

When you overeat, you’re putting too much stress on your body, and you’re spiking your insulin and blood sugar. Conversely, when you wait too long between meals, your blood sugar crashes. This is hard on your metabolism and can make losing that excess belly fat even harder.

Help your metabolism out by eating smaller meals more frequently instead of two or three large meals per day.

5. Strengthen Your Core

It’s impossible to spot-reduce body fat—you need to lose it all over first through cardio, strength, and clean eating. But once you start to shed body fat, you can target your belly by using ab-strengthening moves like these:

• Oblique Burners
• Russian Twists
• V-ups
• Sweeping Scissors
• Mountain Climbers
• Froggy Crunches

You can use this workout in a few different ways:

1. A Stand-Alone 10-Minute Workout  – Great for the days when you only have a quick 10-minutes to get a workout in!
2. An Add It On Workout – Looking for a little extra burn post a strength or cardio workout? Add this 10-minute workout onto the end to feel your core burn!

Workout Equipment: no equipment necessary, bodyweight workout!

The above 10-minute ab workout is done in a timed interval format: 

• 45 seconds per exercise, followed by 15 seconds rest
• Repeat all six ab exercises x 2 sets for a 10-minute ab-workout. Take each exercise at your own pace and try to get as many reps in as possible in the 45-second working interval.

6. Minimize Stress

Since you already know that too much cortisol (the stress hormone) can cause you to cling to belly fat, work on minimizing stress as much as possible. Practice deep breathing and meditation for at least 15 minutes each day. Journal. Take long walks in nature. Do yoga.

Whatever brings you a sense of calm, spend more time doing it. It’s not just good for your mind, but your body (and belly fat!) too.

7. Keep Emotional Eating In Check

It’s tempting to want to deal with changing hormones through emotional eating. Fluctuating emotions make that late-night nosedive into the ice cream even more appealing than normal.

Trying to shed extra weight in menopause doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself of everything, but you should monitor when you get the urge to binge on junk food and try to regulate your emotions in healthier ways.

Distract yourself, practice self-care, and become aware of whether or not your body is actually hungry.

8. Get 7-8 Hours Of Sleep Per Night

Similar to the “minimize stress” advice, this one is something you probably already know: you should be getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

Getting too little sleep can throw two of your body’s hunger hormones out of whack—leptin and ghrelin—which can cause you to hold onto more fat and crave sugary, salty foods more frequently.

Prioritize sleep, like stress management, for your mental well-being, as well as your weight!

And if you are having trouble falling asleep, try taking magnesium or melatonin and reducing or eliminating screen time before bed.

Check out some of our other tips for a better night’s sleep.

9. Do HIIT Exercises

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a great way to burn more calories in less time—as are circuit and interval workouts!

Interval workouts require you to do short bursts of all-out effort followed by brief periods of rest, while circuits are one exercise after the next without rest until the whole circuit is over.

Both of these methods are different than steady-state cardio workouts like walking, jogging, or the elliptical because they get your heart rate up and help your body burn fat better.

Psst! Want me to lead you in HIIT and circuit-style workouts from the comfort of your own home? Check out our HIIT workouts and circuit workouts on Get Healthy U TV!

If losing that menopause belly proves difficult, and you’re also overweight, you may want to talk to your doctor. You can have your hormone levels checked—some women have thyroid issues that can make weight loss harder than it needs to be.

However, small tweaks to your daily habits can create some amazing results in reducing belly fat. It won’t always be easy, but it is doable. The key is to be consistent!