Why am I gaining belly fat in menopause when I eat clean and work out?

On The WarriorBabe Show, Nikkiey is clear that this is not a willpower problem. The standard advice, eat less and do more cardio, is what she says keeps women stuck. She describes cardio as spiking cortisol, and high cortisol as telling your body to store more belly fat. On her overtraining episode she adds nuance: a hard lifting session spikes cortisol briefly and then it comes back down, which is a healthy stress. The problem is chronic cortisol, when hormonal changes, under-eating and poor sleep are already running it high and you stack five or six sessions a week on top with no real recovery.

Under-eating is the other half. Nikkiey explains that when you under-eat and over-exercise, your body reads it as a famine and holds on to fat on purpose as a survival reserve. The woman who has restricted and ground it out for years often arrives at menopause the most metabolically worn down, and menopause speeds up what was already breaking down.

She is honest that it is not fast. One client who was training five to six days a week on very little food took four to five months to see real change. If you have questions about your hormones themselves, work with your doctor alongside the plan.