Cortisol in Menopause: Why You’re Gaining Belly Fat and Losing Energy

Tired but wired? Gaining weight no matter what you do? Let’s talk about cortisol.

In this episode of The Menopause Method, we’re diving into cortisol and weight gain in midlife—especially that stubborn menopause belly fat that seems to appear overnight (and refuses to leave).

If you’re feeling:
💤 Exhausted during the day but wide awake at night
💥 Stuck in a cycle of cravings, bloating, or burnout
🧠 Frustrated by hormonal weight gain that just doesn’t respond to diet or exercise...

...this episode is for you.

You’ll learn:

• How stress hormones like cortisol affect your metabolism, sleep, and belly fat
• Why menopause fatigue and stress are deeply connected
• What cortisol symptoms in midlife look like (spoiler: it’s not just feeling “stressed”)
• How to lower cortisol naturally—without quitting coffee or bubble bathing your life away
• Simple ways to support your nervous system in menopause and finally feel like you again
  
  

We’re also breaking down why traditional weight loss advice doesn’t work after 45 and how to shift from survival mode to feeling strong, safe, and steady in your body again.

Because when your body feels safe, it can let go of fat and so much more.

🔗 Links Mentioned
💪 Menopause Minis: 10-min strength workouts to support your metabolism → https://www.camoyler.com/meno-minis
😴 FREE Sleep Guide → https://www.camoyler.com/opt-in
📲 Say hi on Instagram → @heymomma_cam

Chapters:
00:00 Cortisol's Role in Midlife Stress
05:26 Managing Stress and Cortisol Balance
08:11 Overcoming Undereating and Sleep Issues
10:02 Cultivating Calm and Trust

Transcript

0:00

If you've ever asked yourself, why am I gaining weight when I'm barely eating, I'm constantly moving, I'm even thinking peaceful thoughts while I rage clean my kitchen, this episode's for you. Today, we're gonna talk about cortisol. Hey there. My name is Cam Allen. Welcome back to the Menopause Method. We're gonna talk about why does cortisol spike in menopause, and why does it affect our weight and our energy so much. And most importantly, you're going to learn how to lower it without quitting life. So what exactly is cortisol? It's actually your get up and go hormone. It is produced by your adrenal glands, which are in your lower back by your kidneys, and it's part of your stress response. Cortisol is meant to wake you up. In fact, it works on daylight. So in the morning, when the sun comes up, your cortisol level rises to its highest level, and then as the day goes on, it should drop and get to its lowest level. Many times, I see women doing things in the evening or in the later afternoon hours that spikes their cortisol. The problem with that is cortisol and melatonin work on opposite cycles, kinda like a seesaw. When cortisol is high, melatonin, your sleep hormone, is low. And if your melatonin is high, your cortisol is low. If your cortisol is high, your melatonin is low. They don't come out to play at the same time. It's like an either or situation. So cortisol is meant to wake you up. It's also meant to reduce inflammation, which is so crazy because the right amount of core cortisol is actually anti inflammatory. That's amazing. But too much cortisol, then we have weight gain and puffiness and bloating and all this other crazy stuff. So finding the right amount of cortisol for you is important so you can get rid of that belly fat and have the energy you deserve. And that's the third thing. Cortisol is meant to give you energy. I know this about myself. I get most of my best work done in the morning, and then the afternoon is, like, slower paced, and that is not a good time for me to start a project. If I'm starting a project, the best time for me to start that is in the morning. When cortisol stays elevated for too long because of life and midlife and modern stress and social media, it causes problems because you see the right amount of cortisol is your best friend. But if it's too high for too long, you're gonna start to see belly fat, cravings, wild move swings, and just basically burnout. So exactly why does cortisol go off the rails in midlife? Well, that has to do with estrogen. Estrogen used to buffer the cortisol. Estrogen is like this warrior hormone that protected us from all the nonsense diets and workouts we did when we were younger. That's what makes it really frustrating when you get to this side of midlife, and you're like, well, it used to work. I go back to my old ways. I eat like a bird. I exercise like a crazy lady, and yet it backfires, and I gain weight, and I feel more bloated and puffy. What in the world's happening? That has to do with estrogen being gone, and you're more sensitive to cortisol. Now some of us, me, might be on hormone replacement, but it's not like when you were 20 and 30. You're not at that level of estrogen. Because we lose our estrogen, our nervous system is more sensitive in perimenopause and menopause. And let's be honest. You're probably doing more than ever with less recovery. In fact, I just got a phone call from my dad that he needs me for something. So it's kinda like I'm on go. Let's be honest. You're probably doing more now than ever with less recovery, and, actually, your body may be asking for a break. Midlife just hits different. Your body's like, hey. I can't keep up with this pace without some kind of cost. So here are some really common signs that your cortisol may be out of whack. First and foremost is the belly fat that just won't budge. When I think belly fat, I think these two hormones. I think cortisol and I think blood sugar, and they actually dance together. Did you know you can actually raise your blood sugar by having stressful thoughts? Yeah. It's true because we're hardwired to respond to danger. And if you are responding to danger, that means you need to run away. Right? You gotta run away. That means your body's gonna release glucose so you have blood sugar in your system to have energy to respond. See how that works? Actually didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. I had a continuous glucose monitor on, and my dog was barking at me. And I was working, and I remember being really irritated. And lo and behold, I spiked my glucose because I was having stressful thoughts about my dog barking at me. The second common symptom is being tired and wired at night. That feeling like you're just so exhausted, but you just can't fall asleep. Or this happens. You fall asleep just fine, but then you're waking up at two or three in the morning. And then your brain starts, and then you're not sleeping. Those are both signs of cortisol being too high for too long. The other thing I've noticed is midday crashes and that need for sugar and caffeine. Honestly, I knew I was in trouble in my late forties when I was drinking coffee all day, and my body had stopped responding to it. I always joke about it, but you can't live on cap caffeine and cortisol. Just doesn't work. The other thing that happens when cortisol is out of whack are those anxious thoughts or feeling overstimulated. I feel it I'll describe it as, like, busyness in my brain and, like, the front of my brain. When I know I feel that way, that is a sign for me to stop what I'm doing, take some deep breaths to kick into the calm side of your nervous system, which is called parasympathetic, and just chill out. For me, if I can, I go sit on my deck in the sun? We have water that's moving, being in mother nature, being in daylight, breathing, putting my phone down. Those are some of the ways I handle that anxious feeling and that overstimulated feeling. Another sign that your cortisol is, like, not your friend is cravings for carbs after dinner. Oh, I just need something sweet. I can look back on my life and see stages of that. And when it creeps up now, I know that my body is saying you're doing too much. You're running on cortisol. Back off, lady. The other thing that I've noticed happens is inflammation or puffiness in the face, joint pain, or like crazy appetites. All of these are signs that cortisol is not in balance for your body. You might find that your body's trying to protect you, not punish you by holding on to weight or craving that comfort. That's how we respond. So this is not about less stress because you can't bubble bath your way out of burnout if your food, your sleep, and your movement are sending these stress signals to your body. I mentioned this one earlier, but blood sugar roller coasters are definitely a stress signal to your body. Overexercising, under recovering, that was my story through my forties. Skipping meals or practicing intermittent fasting or fasted workouts or other things that cause too much cortisol in the midlife body. See, your body likes consistency. It likes to go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time. It likes to know when food's coming and know when food's not coming. And when we are skipping meals or practicing fasted workouts, we're tipping our scale too far on the stress bucket. Let's talk about how to lower cortisol naturally without quitting coffee or your life. Let's start with food. Think about nourishing your body to stabilize your body. First of all, figure out what you're eating, what protein you're eating, and put it on your plate first. And then eating in regular intervals every four to five hours would help. And forget the restriction. Make sure you're eating enough. Because, honestly, I feel like ninety percent of the women I work with come to me undereating. They're stuck in the diet culture mode thinking they have to eat less and exercise more. And by the time we start working together and we start tracking their nutrition to see where they are, they're at, like, 1,200, 13 hundred calories, which is not enough for your body even to function, much less thrive and build muscle. The second bucket would be to restore your sleep. The easiest thing to do is get outside in the morning with morning light in your eyeball. That helps set your wake sleep cycle. That helps set your digestion as well. And, also, it regulates your cortisol and your melatonin. So cortisol naturally rises in the morning, and it naturally goes down at night. So let's talk about night. If we get morning light in the morning, evening light, sunset colors, helps our brain get ready for sleep. Cortisol gets low. Melatonin gets high. Also, you can limit the blue light after dark. So blue light comes from our computer screens and our phone and our TV, and blue light wakes up your brain. We do not wanna wake our brain up when we're getting ready for bed. It would be helpful to create some kind of wind down routine. Reading a paper book is one of my strategies. Sometimes I'll do a gratitude journal. The third bucket is about moving but not overdoing it, prioritizing walking over crazy marathons, prioritize strength over spin class. In fact, if you need help on strength training, check out the menopause minis. It's just enough to build muscle and absolutely soothe your system so you're not running on caffeine and cortisol all day. The fourth bucket is to calm your mind and calm your body. Let your body know that everything's okay and that you don't need to run away from anything. That could be breath work or journaling or even just slowing down in the morning, giving yourself five or ten minutes before you hit the floor on go mode. What we wanna send the message we wanna send to our body is I'm safe, I'm supported, I've got me. That's the kind of energy. And one of the best ways to lower cortisol is making decisions from trust, not from pressure. Cortisol, you see, is not the enemy. It is just the messenger. And when you learn how to support your body, your body's gonna respond with more energy and clarity and peace. I promise you, you are not broken. You may feel a little burned out, but I'm telling you there's another way. I invite you to reach out on Instagram. Find me @heymomma_cam, and let me know what your low cortisol day looks like. Are you taking breaks throughout your workday, going outside, putting your feet on the earth, or maybe you're practicing deep breaths through your belly. If you need help with those workouts, again, check out the menopause minis in the notes below. And, also, I have a sleep guide. These are the tips that help me figure out my sleep in 2020. They are a game changer. And when you're sleeping through the night, life gets easier, and we know that your cortisol is more in sync with your body. Thanks for joining me today. Be sure to hit like, follow, and subscribe so you'll never miss another episode. Thanks for being here.