Supplements to get rid of meno belly

[Hudsonheights]

Hi all. I am being bombarded online by multiple supplement brands, all claiming to help me lose the dreaded meno belly by either helping with hormones, reducing inflammation and cortisol etc etc etc. I have tried exercise, I eat healthily, I don’t drink, I sleep well at night. But over past few years (I’m 52 and been on HRT for over five years), I’ve put on nearly two stone which just will not shift!! I am getting desperate. Can anyone recommend anything? I’m reluctant to believe any of the online reviews of these products as it’s probably all just marketing nonsense, but I’m prepared to pay for something that actually works! Help a fellow woman in need! Many thanks ☺️

Supplements will not get rid of a belly.

Supplements will not help this

Hi, I know the supplement itself will not get rid of the belly (if only!), but what they all appear to be saying is that the issue lies with inflammation and raised cortisol levels and an imbalance in the hormones which is causing the body to hold on to fat, and by balancing your gut microbes, hormones and cortisol, this will allow the fat to be released. Having read through many articles etc, this seems to make sense. But I also feel I’m doing all the things suggested, ie eating well, sleeping well, exercising (walking, strength training, yoga and Pilates) and nothing is shifting the weight, so I’m wondering if any of these supplements will help. The reviews all look great, but they could all be AI for all I know.

What kind of food are you eating - you say you eat healthily, but what does that mean?

When they reference "imbalance in the hormones which is causing the body to hold on to fat" the hormone that does this is insulin. Insulin levels rise to the extent that this happens if your diet is high in carbs.

Hi, I focus on protein and vegetables. Breakfast is usually 10% Greek yoghurt with seeds, flaxseed, blueberries and protein powder. Lunch is usually tuna or cottage cheese, sometimes a slice of sourdough. Dinner is chicken/fish with veg. I don’t drink (except the odd night out - maybe once /twice a month). I don’t snack.

I am aware of insulin resistance

Any pasta I eat (maybe once or twice a month) is lentil or pea pasta

I'm really sorry to sound harsh but saying you 'don't drink' then saying you do drink once or twice a month makes me question whether you are doing enough of the healthy eating and exercise you list and crucially doing them consistently. I had one drink in 2024 but wouldn't say I 'don't drink' as it's not true. I am mid-forties and been on HRT for years and therefore you have my sympathies as it's really hard to stay in shape, but I have found strength training and yoga make a massive difference, plus other things you list like sleep, plus drinking plenty of water, eating kefir daily, loads of fruit / veg and protein etc. I rarely eat out or have takeaways as they are too calorific. I don't take any supplements (naughty), but should including B6, VitD and magnesium. Hopefully others will be along with some ideas, but in my experience there is no magic bullet and you just need to find a combination of things that work for you :)

Hi, thanks for your reply. I’m my mid 40’s all the things I do now worked back then (I have been doing yoga and Pilates four times a week for over 10 years). After 45, things got harder to keep in shape. And now, 7 years on from then, it is impossible. Weight keeps piling on. I have been looking ‘for the right combination’ for over three years and that is why I am now asking for further help as there are only so many combinations of healthy living’ out there. I do hope all you are doing now continues to work when you’re 50+ as it is incredibly difficult to deal with if it doesn’t. You may find that you will need more than one drink a year to cope with it 😉

How many calories are you eating in a day?
You don’t seem to eat many vegetables?
Do you drink fizzy drinks, milk in tea if coffee?
Do you snack?
You need to up the exercise, weights are great for building muscle. Muscle will make you look better. Muscle at rest requires more calories maintain than fat. You’ll need 3 times a week
Do you walk as part of your normal day

Dont waste your money on supplements

You have my sympathies. I have been the same weight for over 30 years then hit peri-meno a couple of years back and put on a stone seemingly overnight with a belly I cannot shift.
I'm the same as you and have done pilates & yoga for years, eaten healthily etc etc. The only change has been hormones.
I am taking this from Wild Nutrition (no obvious benefits yet) but I am feeling pretty down about this change of body shape.

I eat vegetables every day, walk the dog every day. Weight train three times a week and Pilates and yoga four times a week. I don’t snack, just three meals a day.

@DanceForMeColin its a nightmare isn’t it? It is so bloody depressing. The conflicting info/remedies is overwhelming. I just want to know what is actually going to help! Years ago, fasting and 5:2 would work wonders. Not now. Now I’m meant to eat protein because the body needs nourishing. Fine, I’m doing that, but no change. Told, don’t do cardio as it will raise your cortisol. Fine, no more running for me (I used to do 5k at heart three times a week). No change. In fact that’s a lie, there is a change. I just keep getting bigger! 😩😩

@Hudsonheights I think the problem is that people don't believe it until it happens to them - menopause has caused my body to change without my diet / exercise changing. It sucks.

I do weights now, alongside cardio (I still run - sod that thing about cortisol!), do pilate and yoga. My arms and legs are toned, it's just the bloody middle!

You must be starving, that wouldn't feed a toddler.

Yep, me too, it’s just the middle bit! I may just have to save up for liposuction at this rate! Nothing is working! Arrrgh! I would LOVE to see how peri and meno will affect all the influencers out there who have not yet reached this stage. Will be fascinating to see how their bodies change unwillingly!

@Hudsonheights I was a smug arse until it happened to me 😆
The only thing I haven't tried is cutting out carbs altogether <weeps>

Once I hit peri, everything changed! Nothing that worked before worked then. My diet was the same, I was exercising more - and just getting fatter.
I hated the new gut I had (that was definitely new!) so I tried a few different things and this is what worked:

I spent 2 weeks logging everything I ate into My Fitness Pal. Every single thing that went in my mouth was logged. This was both boring and enlightening because, like you, I had a good diet but I was eating and drinking way more than I actually thought.

I joined Macros Inc on FB. This is free and you put in your current weight, height and target weight and they calculate your daily calories and macros (protein, carbs and fat). They give you a realistic target (I got a lot more with them than on weight watchers) and focus on good quality protein.

I then continued to log everything, making sure I stuck to my Macros.

I ditched a lot of my cardio (I am old school, I like running and aerobics) and replaced with strength training. I bought some cheapo weights and started doing Sydney Cummings workouts, they are free on Youtube.

I made sure I got 10k steps per day

For the first 2 weeks, I stuck to it religiously and nothing happened. I was getting the arse with it, but then in week 3 I lost 4 lbs and it continued at a steady 1 - 2lbs per week after that. I am now back to the same size and measurements I was in my 20s, my wedding dress fits!

I still train at least 5 times a week ( I use much heavier weights now) and get my steps in and I follow my macros Mon-Fri but I take weekends off. This means I maintain my weight. Its a bit of a faff to get started but it does work. Good luck x

Have you tried acceptance of your meno belly?
I recommend it.

It doesn't make sense @Hudsonheights
If that is all you're eating you should not be gaining weight.

Even protein can cause weight gain so maybe look at how much?

I'd drop the 10% fat yoghurt to 5% or even 2% for a start. I eat Fage 5% sometimes mixed with 2%.

Look at portions. 200mgs is going to be a lot more than 100mgs. Seeds are great but there are actually a lot of calories in seeds. You don't need to ditch them but maybe half the amount?

If all you have at lunch is tuna or cottage cheese is there no salad with that?

My daily intake is similar but I'm not on a diet. No significant weight gain- maybe 2-3 lbs round my middle which I could shift with effort. BMI lower end of normal.

I can only guess you're eating more than you need even if it is all healthy food.

You also need some carbs, even if that is low carb like 30-50 gms a day.

I'm not sure any further comment from me as someone in their 40s will be welcomed, but for what it's worth I'd ditch the alcohol, as someone else has suggested log calories for a while to check you're not over eating / ensure you are eating enough to fuel your exercise and spend more time strength training (how many hours are you doing a week?) and less time on yoga / Pilates. Like you my understanding is that things like running spike cortisol but perhaps it's worth reintroducing a little to see how it goes? I don't think I've seen you mention struggling with other menopause symptoms (but apologies if I've missed this) so assume you are OK with current type / dose of HRT and therefore this doesn't need reviewing.

It might be worth reviewing your HRT. You don't say if you're on combined continuous or sequential.

Continuous may not be helping as daily progesterone often doesn't help. It's worth thinking about going back to sequential IF you've changed to continuous.

Or maybe you need to increase your estrogen? Reason for saying that is that HRT is supposed to mimic pre-menopause fat distribution. So women post menopause often get fatter around the waist , although very careful eating can help a lot, but HRT should help you not to get a 'meno belly'.

The Pilates and yoga are good for strength/ tone etc but they won't do anything for weight.

I'd forget thinking that exercise is going to do anything at all to reduce weight because the amount of calories burned is minimal unless you're running miles a day and not compensating by eating more.

It's got to be the food. So track what you eat, even the portions of protein.
My BMR is 1200 cals.To lose weight I need to drop to around 900 a day- 3 meals of 300 cals.

Hope you can make some progress.