Menopause Belly Fat: Best Foods to Eat & What to Avoid (Simple Guide)

Are you struggling with stubborn belly fat during menopause? You’re not alone! Hormonal changes can make it feel almost impossible to lose weight—especially around your midsection. But the foods you eat can make a huge difference.

In this video, I break down exactly what to eat—and what to avoid—to help you lose belly fat during menopause. You’ll get practical meal ideas, easy food swaps, and time-saving tips that fit into even the busiest schedule. No complicated diets, no hours in the kitchen—just simple, sustainable changes that work!

What You’ll Learn:
✔️ Best foods for menopause belly fat loss (protein, fiber, healthy fats, hydration)
✔️ What to avoid: added sugars, refined carbs, processed foods, alcohol
✔️ Easy meal ideas and realistic food swaps
✔️ Batch prepping and time-saving hacks for busy women
✔️ How to make healthy eating simple and sustainable

Download your FREE 3-Day Menopause Meal Plan:
https://www.camoyler.com/mealideas

Related Videos:
👉 Watch Next: Menopause Fitness Myths https://youtu.be/bq2hWR5vzcM
👉 Menopause Weight Loss Mistakes to Avoid

Menopause Minis: 10-Minute Strength Workouts
https://www.camoyler.com/meno-minis
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Let’s connect:
Which food swap are you going to try first? Comment below. I love hearing your ideas and supporting you on your journey!

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Chapters:
00:00 Midlife Food Tips for Fat Loss
05:03 Fiber Fuels Gut and Health
08:18 Brain Benefits of Healthy Fats
12:07 Hydration Tips for Better Health
15:23 Healthy Food Swaps Simplified
19:02 Organized Grocery and Snack Tips
20:04 Celebrate Small Wins Daily

#menopause #bellyfat #menopauseweightloss #menopausediet #midlifewomen #healthyaging #mealprep

Transcript

0:00

Do you feel like you're doing everything right, but your midsection? Did not get the memo. So many women tell me this, and actually I lived it myself. In 2024, hormones change how your body stores fat, and food has a huge influence. More than you think. Today, I'm sharing the simplest ways to eat for a more comfortable belly in menopause. Hey, there. I'm Cam Allen. Welcome back to the menopause method. And did you know that certain foods can actually trigger your body to store more fat during menopause, while other foods actually help you not do that? Yep. Certain foods can nudge your body to store more belly fat, while other foods can help you use it for energy. Stick with me, because I'm going to show you how to build meals that actually work for your midlife metabolism without complicated diets or hours in the kitchen, because who wants that? Not me. So let's start with foods that actually help you lose belly fat during midlife. Well, we're going to start with protein, and I'm going to say 25 to 30 grams of protein at is your target at every single meal. Now, in the last seven years, I've increased that because I came from the vegetarian world where I was not eating enough protein before menopause. After menopause, that was one of the first things I changed. I started eating animal products again. I knew the gig was up, and I knew I had to stop being a jerk to myself. Protein helps you feel full, supports your muscle, and changes your metabolism. So here is the simplest way to think about it. Your digestive system isn't as quick or as efficient as it used to be. What that means is stomach acid that breaks down protein slowly decreases with age. Lower stomach acid means you don't break apart the amino acids as well. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, which means your muscles aren't getting the raw materials that they need. So when you're eating the same amount you did when you were 35, your body is absorbing less. Now at 50, and because of that, midlife women actually need more protein to get the same effect. A few things start happening all at once. Muscle becomes harder to maintain. Now your body is naturally losing muscle faster, and your digestion isn't delivering the materials it needs as efficiently. It's kind of like trying to build a house with half of the bricks. Number two, you don't trigger muscle repair as easily. Muscle stimulates muscle protein synthesis. And what that means is as you age, you need a bigger dose to flip on that switch. So again, think 25 to 30 grams per meal as your baseline. Number three, your recovery slows down. When protein absorption isn't as strong, your muscles don't repair as quickly. This is why you can feel sore for days after a workout. That used to be easy. Number four, satiety signals get really fuzzy. Protein helps you stabilize your blood sugar and your hunger. And when your digestion slows down and you're eating less than your body needs, your cravings and your energies really creep in. Number five, your metabolism depends on your muscles. Less muscle means slower metabolism. And without protein, you're losing muscle simply by existing. So when women tell me, I don't know why I'm so hungry or so tired or so sore, this is usually the first place we start. How much protein are you eating? So here's some easy meal ideas. Greek yogurt with berries. And I also throw in some nuts. That's like my go to breakfast. Or maybe eggs with spinach or leftover veggies from dinner. Or maybe a grilled chicken salad. A protein smoothie. I do supplement with protein smoothies. That'll get you started. Aim for 25 to 30 grams per time you eat and see what happens. Number two, fiber rich foods. Okay, so just like protein is non negotiable, fiber is not optional in midlife. It's one of those quiet workhorses that keeps everything steady when your hormones start doing their own interpretive dance on the side. So here are the basics. You need more than you think. Just like protein, most women get like 12 to 15 grams a day. You actually need like 25 to 30 grams a day. In fact, when I'm working one on one with clients, guess what? We track protein grams and fiber grams. That's the gap where a lot of your symptoms live. Fiber also slows your digestion down in a good way. Fiber gives your gut something to work with. It keeps food moving at the right pace so you aren't constipated one day and then sprinting to the bathroom the next day. Fiber also studies your blood sugar. It slows how fast your carbs hit your bloodstream. This helps with energy swings and your cravings. And that mid afternoon. Why am I so tired? Slump. Also, fiber helps your gut bacteria. I like to think of our gut is like this beautiful rainforest of diverse bacteria that lives inside of there. Now there's good guys and there's bad guys and we want the good guys to win your gut. Microbes feed on certain fibers and when they're happy, you have better digestion, less bloating Stronger immunity and a calmer nervous system. Fiber also helps with cholesterol. This is so amazing. Many women report that their cholesterol goes up in menopause. Did you know adding soluble fiber can actually bind to the cholesterol in the gut and helps remove it. And then your body has to make more bile acid, which requires cholesterol to make, so you're getting rid of it and then your body needs to make more. It's going to naturally lower your cholesterol. Midlife is a prime time for rising cholesterol, so this really matters. Next, fiber helps your body remove what it no longer needs. Hormone metabolites, toxins, waste. All that fiber helps escort all of that out, if you know what I mean. You can't just add a ton of fiber overnight though. Here's a word of warning. If you jump from 10 grams to like 30 grams, your gut is going to revolt. Increase your fiber slowly, Drink water or you're asking for bloat and misery and no one wants that. What are the best sources of fiber? Veggies, especially leafy green ones like broccoli and bell peppers, Beans, lentils, chia seeds are all soluble fiber that ferment in your gut. So if they cause discomfort, then stick to like something like psyllium husk, which is a soluble fiber that doesn't ferment, which doesn't cause gas. So what exactly are the best sources of fiber? Veggies, especially leafy ones. But don't forget veggies like broccoli and bell peppers. There's a whole group of soluble fibers. Beans, lentils, chia seeds, oats are all soluble fibers that ferment. So if those give you gas or bloating, try something like psyllium husk. Psyllium husk is a soluble fiber that is non fermentable, which means it doesn't cause doesn't ferment in your belly. Okay, number three, healthy fats. Now don't fear your fat. If you're around my age, we lived through the 90s where fat free everything was loaded with sugar and other additives. Honestly, I was my fattest during the fat free phase of my diet life. So don't fear fat. Your hormones are actually made from fat. And you know this midlife is a hormonal roller coaster. Healthy fats give your body the raw materials to make and regulate those hormones. When you are low fat, it shows up in mood swings, dry skin and feeling just flat like no energy. Fats actually help you absorb key nutrients like a D E K. Those Vitamins actually need fat in order to get into your system. Without enough fat, you can take all the supplements in the world and and still come up short. Fats also keep your blood sugar steadier. So pairing carbs with fat actually slows your digestion. This smooths out your energy crashes and cravings, especially those late afternoon ones. And did you know that your brain actually runs on fat? Yeah, about 60% of your brain is fat. Midlife women often report brain fog, forgetfulness, mental fatigue. Adequate healthy fat supports clearer thinking. Fat also helps you feel satisfied for longer. Fat does not spike your insulin. It actually helps your meals stick with you longer. In fact, when I eat breakfast and I didn't add enough fat like in this, I usually add nuts to my yogurt, I notice that the first thing I think when I am hungry faster in the morning is did I get enough fat? And the answer is usually no. This means when you have fat in your diet, you're going to have less grazing, less hanger, and less nighttime pantry visits. And actually inflammation responds to the right kind of fats like omega 3 fats like salmon, sardines, chia seeds, walnuts. Those all support a calmer, inflammatory response. Midlife joint pain, stiffness recovery issues often ease when Omega 3 is improved. And me personally, I notice my skin is not as dry, so I actually do supplement with omega 3s. Healthy fats support your metabolism and they help regulate your hormones linked to your metabolism and your hunger. When you under eat fat, your body can feel like it's constantly conserving energy. Now obviously quality matters. Think olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, fatty fish. Less helpful fats would be industrial seed oils like canola oil or overly processed fried foods. All of those are inflammatory and not helpful in midlife. And you don't need a ton of fat. A little goes a long way. Think about like a tablespoon of olive oil or half of an avocado or a handful of nuts. Or maybe add some chia seeds to your yogurt in the morning. So that would round out my best picks for healthy fats. Avocado, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish like salmon. And number four, hydration. Did you know that sometimes thirst is actually mistaken for hunger? Your thirst signal gets quieter when you age. You can be dehydrated and not even feel thirsty. And by the way, if you feel thirsty, you really need water. This is why so many midlife women walk around tired, foggy, cranky with without realizing that it's partly due to dehydration. Water Supports your hormone pathways. Hydration helps your body move those hormones and clear out hormone metabolites that are used up and keeps everything circulating. Low water means everything gets a little bit sluggish. Speaking of that, your digestion depends on water. Stomach acid, your enzymes, your bile, all need fluid. And when you're dehydrated, digestion slows down. That means bloating, constipation, Heavy meals just kind of sit there. Did you know your muscles literally shrink without water? Muscle tissue is mostly water. If you want to build and maintain muscle, midlife hydration is a dial you cannot ignore. Hydration stabilizes your energy. Even mild dehydration can tank your energy, your mood, your focus, your coordination. This is often why afternoon workouts feel feel so much harder. Electrolytes matter more now. Midlife shifts and how your body handles sodium and fluid balance. Adding electrolytes to your cells actually helps your body use the water instead of you just drinking it and flushing it out. And finally, hydration can help regulate your appetite. Dehydration can actually mimic hunger. Women often think they're craving sugar when their body is just asking for water. In general, most women are dehydrated. A general target is about half of your body weight in ounces, plus a little extra if you sweat, you lift, or you drink caffeine. Hydration is one of the simplest ways to feel better fast. You got more energy, you have better digestion, and you have fewer cravings. Small sips throughout the day is way better than chugging a whole bunch at night. That makes you get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Now, I don't want you to forget herbal teas. In fact, here's a little list. Herbal teas are really great for hydration too. And they do more than one thing. Like spearmint tea can help with hormonal acne. Peppermint tea can help you with that sweet tooth. Ginger is known to help with digestion. And lemon balm helps calm your nervous system. So in the mid afternoon, like 3 o' clock in the afternoon, especially now that it's cold out, why don't you make some tea knowing that you're hydrating? And also you're helping your body with some other benefits. Depending on what tea you pick, here's a quick tip. When you're building your plate, use the plate method. It's so simple. You take your plate, half of it is veggies. That's your fiber. A fourth of it is your protein. And about a fourth of it is your whole Grains or your starchy vegetables. That would be your carbs. Add a little drizzle of healthy fat on top, maybe a slice of avocado, maybe some olive oil, and you're set. I like to keep things really simple. Now let's talk about what to avoid or at least what to cut back. I kind of like to think of it as crowding out. You put more of the good guys on your plate and you crowd out the bad guys. And then what happens over time is you don't really want the bad guys anymore. So first one is added sugars. Sugary drinks, pastries, even healthy granola bars can spike your blood sugar and trigger that fat storage around your belly. You got to read the label for the actual ingredients. Did you know that there's 50 to 70 different ways to label sugar? The higher it is on the ingredients list means that there's more of that sugar inside. Here are some words to look for. Straight up sugar. Words like cane sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, white sugar, powdered sugar. Obviously that sugar. The second way we have sugar in our foods is disguised as syrups. Corn syrup, rice or brown rice syrup. Those are some examples. Words that end with OS o u s. Those are chemistry sounding words that are also sugar like dextrose and fructose and glucose and lactose. Those are all sugars. And then there's also grain or fruit based sweeteners like brown rice sweetener or apple or grape juice concentrate. Those are also forms of sugar. So when you read the ingredients, look for those kind of words. Here's some easy swaps for you. Choose some fruit. Once you detox your taste buds for your sugar, fruit's actually going to taste sweet the way it was intended to be. Or try some grape yogurt with some cinnamon. Cinnamon is also really helpful in reducing sugar cravings. Number two, refined carbs. Now hear me out. I love carbs and I think you should eat carbs too. It is actually our brain's preferred energy source. But I'm talking about like white bread, pasta and crackers. Those are quickly digested and can lead to more cravings. Those sorts of carbs don't have any fiber, which we already talked about, and they cause blood sugar spikes and crashes, leaving you hungry, leaving you searching in the pantry for something salty and crunchy if you're me. So an easy swap would be whole grains like quinoa or brown rice or sweet potatoes, something like that. Number three, processed foods. We're talking about packaged snacks or frozen meals or even takeout can have like tons of hidden sugars and unhealthy fats and a ton of salt. So an easy swap would be to prep your meals at home. Batch cook a pot of chili or roast a tray of veggies for a week. Ingredient batching is my favorite method. Wash and chop your vegetables and then store them in a glass container. Or batch roast your favorite veggies and then add it to eggs in the morning for breakfast or to a salad or to a bowl. Number four Alcohol. Number four thing to avoid is alcohol. I love a good glass of red wine or a craft beer and and honestly this has been the hardest shift for me. Alcohol can slow your metabolism and make it really hard to lose belly fat. When you drink alcohol, your body loses water because alcohol is a diuretic. You pee more than usual. That means the scale often drops the next morning, not because you lost fat, because you're actually dehydrated. And then once you rehydrate and eat normally again, the scale usually bounces up. And let's be honest, alcohol also lowers your inhibition. So you're going to be in the pantry looking for those processed food or those frozen foods, which are foods that we are avoiding for belly fat. When the scale bounces back up, your body is just replacing the water it lost from drinking alcohol. So the drop isn't progress, it's actually just dehydration pretending to be progress. Swaps for alcohol. Try sparkling water with some lime or a splash of juice for a festive low calorie drink. Again, think of these things as crowding out versus stopping cold turkey. Use caution around mocktails because I think they're really loaded with sugar. Plus they're beautiful. But just be careful. Let's put this all together. Eating for belly fat loss doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming. I definitely have that limited belief that prepping food and meal prepping and all this was going to be really time consuming and very boring and maybe very expensive. And the truth is they were all false. So here are my favorite quick tips to actually crowd out those inflammatory foods and get more healthy foods in your life and therefore less belly fat. My favorite is to batch prep various ingredients. That means if you go buy a cucumber, wash it, chop it up, store it in glass so it's ready to go. Or if you buy an onion, chop it up so you can add onion to the different things. Batch prepping ingredients is my favorite because you can mix and match it with all these sorts of things. Next batch, cook some proteins and veggies on the weekends when you have more time. Now my husband's better at batch cooking proteins than me, but he'll do a dozen hard boiled eggs. They're ready to go. Or he'll batch cook extra meat. So then we'll add it to bowls or even leftovers for breakfast. Do it when you have time. We tend to go with the grocery on Sunday. We come home, we put the groceries away and then we batch the ingredients. We batch roast stuff, we'll cut up the cucumber, whatever it is. Next, keep healthy snacks visible and ready to grab. Boy, this really applies to my husband. He needs to see it. He needs to see his water bottle and he needs to see his healthy snacks. Keep them in the front of the pantry. Another idea would be have a grocery list that stay on track. When my kids were younger I actually had a grocery list. I typed it up on Microsoft Word and it was in the order of the grocery store. And so when we ran out I would just mark it and then I would take my list to the grocery store. Now I don't do that so much anymore, but I do keep it in my phone and I organize it by where it's located in the store. If we run out of something, it goes in my notes app. So next time I'm at the store I'm ready to go and I have one part for Trader Joe's, one part for Costco, one part for Kroger. So my version of my grocery list has changed over the years, but there has to be some organization. Next up, don't skip meals. I know it's like, but I'm not hungry or I got really busy. That can actually backfire at this stage of life and slow your metabolism. Don't do it. Your metabolism needs energy. It needs fuel. It's like throwing a log on the fire. As you move through this, be sure to celebrate your small wins because every single healthy choice that you're making every single day, every single time you eat adds up. If you need more meal ideas, check out the notes below because I have a free sample 3 day meal plan that included a grocery list. If you found these tips helpful, please give this video a thumbs up and subscribe for more Menopause Health and fitness. Which food swap are you going to try first? Let me know in the comments. I love hearing your ideas and if you want more support, check out my next video on midlife fitness myths and I'll see you there.