Is Menopause Really Wrecking Your Metabolism?

If you've spent any time on social media, you've probably heard the story: you're cruising along with a perfectly good metabolism, menopause arrives, and suddenly your metabolic rate falls off a cliff.

Apparently, your metabolism gets the same memo as your ovaries.

But is that actually what happens?

Is menopause really wrecking your metabolism? The answer is more complicated than social media would have you believe.

For years, one of the arguments used to support the idea that menopause dramatically slows metabolism came from research by Eric Poehlman. However, multiple publications from his research were later retracted, and the U.S. Office of Research Integrity found that he had engaged in scientific misconduct involving fabricated and falsified research data. Several of the affected studies involved menopause, energy expenditure and metabolism.

Unfortunately, the idea that menopause automatically causes a major metabolic slowdown had already become part of popular fitness culture.

When researchers look at the broader evidence, the picture isn't nearly as dramatic.

A 2023 study compared 120 women across different age groups and menopausal stages. After accounting for body composition, resting energy expenditure was not lower in postmenopausal women compared with pre- and perimenopausal women. The researchers concluded that age, rather than menopause itself, may explain much of the decline in resting energy expenditure seen in women.

Another study followed 102 women for five years through the menopausal transition. Total daily energy expenditure did decline after menopause, but the biggest contributor was a reduction in energy burned through physical activity. Resting energy expenditure, on average, remained stable.

And then there's an interesting 2022 study that compared premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Resting energy expenditure was similar between the groups.

However, researchers did find differences in body-fat distribution and how much fat was used for fuel during moderate exercise.

That's an important distinction.

Menopause can change your body without “breaking” your metabolism.

Hormonal changes during the menopause transition can influence where body fat is stored, body composition and other aspects of metabolic health. At the same time, symptoms such as poor sleep, hot flashes, fatigue and changes in mood can make it harder to maintain the habits that support a healthy body.

You may also move less without realizing it.

That matters.

One older study found that postmenopausal sedentary women had a lower resting metabolic rate than premenopausal sedentary women. Interestingly, that difference was not seen in postmenopausal women who regularly exercised.

So instead of thinking, “Menopause ruined my metabolism,” a more useful way to think about it is, “My body and circumstances are changing, so my strategy may need to change too.”

That is a much more empowering conversation.

You don't need to wage war against your metabolism with starvation diets, endless cardio or the latest metabolism-boosting supplement.

Focus on the things you can actually influence: strength training to help maintain muscle, regular physical activity, adequate protein, a nutrient-dense diet, good sleep habits and managing the lifestyle factors that make consistency harder.

And if you're in perimenopause or menopause and your body seems to be responding differently than it used to, you're not imagining everything. Your physiology is changing.

But that doesn't mean your metabolism is broken.

Your body isn't working against you. It's asking you to train and live a little smarter.

If you want help navigating strength training, nutrition and body-composition changes through midlife, that's exactly what I help women do through 6 Fitness and Nutrition.

Visit my website to learn more about my coaching options and how we can create a strategy that works with your changing body instead of constantly fighting against it.