It’s especially important to look after yourself around the time of menopause. Healthy lifestyle choices will help to improve physical and emotional symptoms.
Benefits of a healthy weight at menopause
Benefits of a healthy diet at menopause
How alcohol and smoking can impact you at menopause
Benefits of physical activity at menopause
How to improve your sleep at menopause
How to look after your bone health at menopause
How to look after your mental health at menopause
What you can do about low libido at menopause
How does menopause affect fertility?
Weight gain and increased abdominal (belly) fat is common among women at midlife. Many people think weight gain is part of menopause, but it’s more likely due to ageing and lifestyle changes.
Women tend to gain weight as they age, whether they are experiencing menopause or not. On average, women between the ages of 45 and 55 gain about half a kilogram per year.
It’s not healthy to carry too much weight. Weight around your stomach (visceral fat) can increase your risk of developing health conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. It can also increase menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and joint aches.
A review published by the Mayo Clinic shows women can prevent weight gain at midlife by having a healthy lifestyle and managing menopausal symptoms.
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) may also help to reduce belly fat after menopause, but MHT shouldn’t be prescribed for weight management alone.
Download our fact sheet on Menopause and weight
A healthy diet can help prevent weight gain during midlife. Making healthy food choices is one of the best ways to stay within a healthy weight range.
A healthy diet will improve your energy levels and help you manage your weight and some menopausal symptoms.
Learn more about why good nutrition is important, including tips for eating healthy eating.
If you are overweight and want help to lose weight, talk to your doctor, dietitian or a nutritionist.
Find delicious and nutritious recipe ideas.
Listen to this podcast featuring Sandra Villella, naturopath at Jean Hailes Clinics, talking about menopause and nutrition.
Read this article about 5 dietary tweaks for women over 50.
If you drink too much alcohol, it can cause weight gain, disrupt your sleep and trigger hot flushes and night sweats.
In the long term, heavy drinking can also lead to an increased risk for developing depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers.
Learn more about the Australian alcohol guidelines and ways to minimise alcohol harm.
Smoking can cause more severe and frequent hot flushes and night sweats, which can disrupt sleep. Smoking and drug use can also increase your risk of developing serious health conditions.
For health advice about smoking, visit Quit.org.au. If you are concerned about your smoking or alcohol consumption, talk to your doctor.
Menopausal symptoms can make it harder to do physical activity, which may contribute to weight gain.
Physical activity is an important part of being healthy, especially as you age. It can reduce the risk of chronic disease, falls and osteoporosis. Staying active can also help you manage your weight and menopausal symptoms.
For women, the current recommendations for physical activity are to be active on most (preferably all) days of the week, and to avoid sitting for long periods of time.
Read the recommended guidelines for exercise.
Try some of these practical ideas:
There are many reasons why you may develop sleep problems around the time of menopause, for example, changing hormone levels and night sweats.
Poor sleep can make it hard to eat well, do regular physical activity and manage menopausal symptoms.
Learn more about how to improve your sleep.
After menopause, lower levels of oestrogen can affect your bone health, which may increase your risk of developing osteoporosis.
If you experience premature or early menopause, you may have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis earlier in life.
Learn about bone health after menopause.
In the lead-up to menopause, you may notice mood changes and other issues such as forgetfulness and brain fog. This may be due to hormone changes or life pressures or both.
There are many practical things you can do to look after your emotional wellbeing at this stage of life. For example:
If you are experiencing strong emotions, anxiety or depression, see your doctor.
Sexuality is an important part of our human experience, but hormonal changes at menopause can lead to reduced sex drive (libido).
It’s common for some menopausal symptoms to affect your sex drive.
For example, hot flushes, lowered mood, sleeplessness, fatigue and dry vagina. This can be frustrating and may affect your relationships.
If you experience early or premature menopause, the sudden change in hormones and other challenges can affect your sex drive.
At midlife, your sex drive may be influenced by life’s pressures and responsibilities, such as caring for children and elderly parents while also working. You may also feel differently about your body at this age and might not want to be intimate as often as you used to.
If you’re in a relationship, it’s important to discuss your thoughts openly with your partner.
Your partner may not know about menopausal symptoms or what you’re going through. You can ask them to learn more about menopause so they can support you through this time.
If you are concerned about your sex drive, you can ask your doctor for treatment options or a referral to a psychologist who specialises in couples therapy.
In this video, Professor Sheryl Kingsberg, Clinical Psychologist, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (USA), talks about how women can boost their libido.
Your fertility will decline as you age, but while you still ovulate it is possible to get pregnant. In the lead-up to menopause, it’s possible to ovulate twice during one cycle. And you can still ovulate up to 3 months before your final period.
The possibility of pregnancy in women aged 45 to 49 is estimated to be 2% to 3% per year. After the age of 50, it’s less than 1%.
If you’re younger than 50 and you don’t want to fall pregnant, you should use contraception for at least 2 years after your final period.
If you’re 50 or older and you don’t want to fall pregnant, you should use contraception for at least one year after your final period. Note that MHT is not a contraceptive.
Talk to your doctor about the best contraception for you.
This content has been reviewed by a group of medical subject matter experts, in accordance with Jean Hailes policy.
© Jean Hailes Foundation. All rights reserved.
