Your Body After 40 Is Not Broken - It Is Changing
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If you have recently looked in the mirror, tried to pull up a pair of trousers that fit perfectly six months ago, and felt a sudden wave of betrayal, you are not alone.
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Category
PERIMENOPAUSE
Date
09/07/2026
Length
6 min read
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If you have recently looked in the mirror, tried to pull up a pair of trousers that fit perfectly six months ago, and felt a sudden wave of betrayal, you are not alone.
So many of us hit our forties and suddenly feel like our bodies have stopped listening to us. The things that used to work—skipping dessert for a few days, going for a few extra runs—suddenly do
absolutely nothing.
It is incredibly easy to feel like something has gone wrong. Like your body is broken, or
worse, that you are doing something wrong.
But I want to offer a reframe: your body is not broken. It is changing. And understanding the
science behind that difference is the first step to making peace with the woman in the
mirror.
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The Metabolism Myth
We often hear that our metabolism "slows down" as we age, but that is only half the story.
The truth is much more complex, and it has everything to do with our hormones.
As we enter perimenopause—which can start years before actual menopause—our estrogen
levels begin to fluctuate and eventually drop. This hormonal shift does two very specific
things. First, it changes where our bodies store fat. Instead of storing it around our hips and
thighs, lower estrogen levels signal the body to store fat around the abdomen, creating
what is often called visceral fat (1) .
Second, this drop in estrogen accelerates the loss of muscle mass. Muscle tissue burns
more calories at rest than fat tissue does. Therefore, when we lose muscle, our resting
metabolic rate drops. It is not that your metabolism is broken; it is simply that you have less
muscle driving it (1).
The Reality of Muscle Loss
This brings us to a word we all need to learn: sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is the medical term for
the gradual loss of muscle mass and strength. For a long time, doctors believed this was
just a natural part of aging. However, recent research has proven that for women,
menopause actively accelerates this process (2).
A landmark study published in the Journal of Physiology found that a sharp decline in
strength begins in our forties, directly coinciding with hormonal changes 2 . It turns out
that estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone all work together to maintain muscle tone
and function. Estrogen supports muscle repair after activity, progesterone aids in tissue
recovery, and testosterone helps preserve strength (2). When these hormones decline, our
muscles literally become less efficient at repairing themselves.
Interestingly, the quadriceps—the large muscles at the front of your thighs—are among the
first to weaken, typically around age 45 (2). These muscles are rich in fast-twitch fibers that
are highly sensitive to hormonal shifts. Because strong quads are a key predictor of
mobility and balance as we age, preserving them is vital (2).
Working With Your Body, Not Against It
For decades, we have been taught to fight our bodies. We restrict, we punish, we push
harder. But when your body is going through a profound hormonal transition, fighting it
only creates more stress—and stress produces cortisol, which breaks down muscle even
further.
Instead of fighting, we need to start working with our changing biology. Here is what the
science suggests actually works:
The Old Way (Fighting)
The New Way (Working With)
Why It Works
Endless cardio to burn calories
Heavy resistance training
Builds the muscle mass needed to boost resting metabolism and protect bone density
1
2
Restricting food and dieting
Prioritising protein intake
Protein provides the essential building blocks for muscle repair, which is harder without estrogen
2
Pushing through exhaustion
Prioritising deep sleep
Deep sleep is when the body produces growth hormone and repairs cellular damage.
Accepting the changes as "just aging"
Exploring Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
Estradiol replacement has been shown to help preserve muscle mass and redistribute visceral fat
1
3
My Own Experience — And Why I Stopped Hating My Body
For It
I want to get personal for a moment, because I think the most powerful thing we can do for
each other is be honest.
Over the past year or so, I have gained around ten kilos. Ten. I could blame it on
perimenopause, on the hormonal rollercoaster, on my HRT — and honestly, it is probably a
combination of all three, plus the fact that my body is simply in a different chapter now. The
truth is, I do not know exactly what caused it, and I have stopped trying to pinpoint it.
What I do know is that I had a choice in how I responded to it. I could have gone down the
road of crash diets, restriction, and punishing myself at the gym out of frustration. I have
been there before. It is exhausting, it is demoralising, and frankly, it does not work the way
it used to anyway.
So instead, I made a different decision. Rather than hating the extra weight, I decided to
work with it. I chose more exercise — specifically strength training — with the goal of
turning some of those new curves into muscle. Not to punish my body into submission, but
to give it what it actually needs right now. And the difference in how I feel? Significant. More
energy, more strength, more confidence. The scale has not moved dramatically, but my
body has changed. And more importantly, so has my relationship with it.
That shift — from fighting to working with — is exactly what this article is about.
The Mindset Shift
Most women do not have a positive body image in midlife. We spend so much valuable
time, energy, and emotional bandwidth obsessing over the ways we have changed. But
women who manage to cultivate a positive regard for their bodies are typically more
engaged in life, more self-confident, and physically healthier.
Your body is currently doing exactly what it was biologically programmed to do. It is
transitioning into a new phase of life. Yes, it requires different maintenance now. Yes, you
might need to trade the treadmill for some dumbbells, and you might need to look into HRT
if your symptoms are affecting your quality of life.
But your body has carried you through four decades of life, stress, joy, and survival. It is not
failing you. It is just asking you to learn a new language.
Once you stop fighting the changes and start giving your body the strength, protein, and
rest it is asking for, you might just find that this new version of you is the strongest one yet.
References
[1] Mayo Clinic. "Menopause weight gain: Stop the middle age spread."
[2] The Pause Life. "Menopause and Muscle Loss: Why Sarcopenia Starts Sooner Than We
Thought."
[3] Geraci, A., et al. "Sarcopenia and Menopause: The Role of Estradiol." Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2021.
