No, the fundamental strategies for building muscle and losing fat don't change during perimenopause. You still need to lift appropriately heavy, eat enough protein, and maintain a calorie deficit for fat loss. What genuinely shifts is that fluctuating hormones already elevate stress, making stress management a more critical variable than before.
A lot of women assume that once they enter perimenopause, the entire playbook for training and nutrition needs to be thrown out and replaced. Kylie Larson, a coach who specializes in this exact population and is navigating perimenopause herself, offers a very different answer.
When it comes to building muscle and improving body composition, the strategies and protocols are still the same. We're just dealing with fluctuating hormones, which has implications on us.
The Fundamentals Don't Change
Lifting appropriately heavy, eating enough protein to support fat loss and muscle retention, and maintaining a calorie deficit if fat loss is the goal, these strategies remain the same whether you're cycling regularly or navigating perimenopause. The body may respond somewhat differently, but the objective actions required don't change.
Why This Population Gets Targeted With Unnecessary Products
Kylie points out that women in this life stage often feel confused and desperate for solutions, since their bodies are changing in ways that feel unfamiliar and are heavily marketed to. That combination, real confusion plus real spending power, makes this population a frequent target for supplements and products promising quick fixes that often aren't necessary.
The Real Variable: Stress Management
Kylie shares her own experience: she noticed signs like hair thinning and unexplained weight gain around her midsection, despite not changing her training or nutrition. After working with a naturopath and ruling out deficiencies, the answer came down to stress management.
Fluctuating hormones during perimenopause already put the body in a state of elevated stress. Adding more unmanaged stress on top of that baseline, without realizing it, was enough to trigger these noticeable changes for her.
Was It Really "Unexplained"?
Kylie also candidly reflected on whether her weight gain was truly unexplained. Looking back, she wondered if she'd been logging her food quite as consistently, or having an extra portion here or there without accounting for it. This is a useful reminder that hormonal changes and everyday tracking lapses can both be happening at the same time, rather than one fully explaining everything.
What Actually Helped
Rather than overhauling her entire approach, Kylie focused specifically on managing her stress load, being intentional about adding positive things into her life to build resilience against the demands of running a business and raising a young family, alongside the hormonal changes she was already navigating.
- The core strategies for building muscle and losing fat stay the same during perimenopause.
- Women in this life stage are often heavily marketed to with unnecessary supplements due to genuine confusion and spending power.
- Fluctuating hormones already elevate baseline stress, making stress management a more critical variable during this time.
- Unexplained weight gain can sometimes be partly explained by small tracking lapses alongside real hormonal shifts.
- Managing stress directly, not overhauling training or nutrition, was the change that made the biggest difference for one coach's own experience.
Perimenopause doesn't require abandoning what already works. It requires paying closer attention to a variable, stress, that becomes more consequential when your hormones are already asking more of your body than before.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do women need a different training approach during perimenopause?
No. The fundamental strategies for building muscle and improving body composition, lifting appropriately heavy, eating adequate protein, and maintaining a calorie deficit for fat loss, stay the same during perimenopause. What changes is how the body responds due to fluctuating hormones.
Why does stress management matter more during perimenopause?
Fluctuating hormones during perimenopause already put the body in a state of elevated stress. Piling on additional unmanaged stress, without changing training or nutrition, can be enough to trigger symptoms like unexplained weight gain or hair thinning.
Is unexplained weight gain during perimenopause always hormonal?
Not necessarily entirely. Sometimes what feels like unexplained weight gain is partly explained by small lapses in tracking or awareness, like an extra portion here or there, alongside genuine hormonal shifts happening during this life stage.
Why are women in perimenopause often targeted with unnecessary supplements?
This population often experiences a strong pain point around body changes they don't understand, which makes them a target for products promising quick fixes. Many of the fundamentals, like adequate protein and resistance training, don't require any special supplement to address.
Ready to Build a Body That Lasts?
Science-backed coaching for busy professionals over 40. Apply today for a plan built on fundamentals, not confusing quick fixes.
Apply Now →