If you’re experiencing perimenopause symptoms, your relationship with food and your body may feel harder lately

I didn’t ever need to carry around hand cream with me everywhere I went. That was what Mum always did. Not me. But alas, my skin is now drier than it used to be, and sometimes prone to itching as a result. Hence the hand cream in every single handbag, backpack, and bumbag I own.

There’s the way I’ve noticed sleep is more easily disrupted. If I wake up at 3am for no apparent reason, it takes me a lot more effort to get back to sleep.

And then there’s the perimenopause weight gain and body changes that have arrived even though I haven't made any changes to my energy intake or movement levels.

Skin sensitivitity, sleep disruption and body changes during perimenopause are a fairly common experience for midlife women. In the later part of perimenopause, irregular periods are common as well. All these changes come about as irregular and fluctuating levels of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone take centre stage.

As oestrogen – particularly oestradiol – fluctuates during this time, it can also influence how the body stores and regulates fat. This can mean a shift in fat distribution, often towards the middle, which can feel unfamiliar and even uncomfortable for many, even when nothing about your eating or movement has changed (Steiner & Berry, 2022).

Why perimenopause body changes can feel so unsettling

If you’ve experienced these perimenopause symptoms and body changes, you’re in good company.

Maybe your body has started to feel different lately too. Perhaps you’re wondering if this is normal, and whether you need to do something to “combat” these changes.

In Western society, the body changes that are often associated with the midlife transition are generally not well received. We have diet culture, anti-fat bias, ageism, and a society obsessed with the thin ideal and unattainable beauty standards to thank for that.

In fact, we know that many women experience increased body dissatisfaction and poorer body image during perimenopause (Carpenter et al., 2018; Vincent et al., 2023), and that the midlife transition brings both biological and psychosocial changes, which can increase our vulnerability to body image concerns (Vincent et al., 2023).

For some, this can become a particularly susceptible window – where old patterns with food resurface, or where unhelpful eating behaviours begin to take hold or intensify.

Perimenopause and your relationship with food and your body

If you’ve found yourself feeling more aware of your body, or even a little more critical of it lately – perhaps even less “at home” in it – you’re not imagining it.

We’re living in a time where women in midlife are increasingly targeted with messages that frame normal and natural hormonal body changes as problems to fix – through things like “menopause belly” fixes, hormone “balancing” protocols, before-and-after weight loss transformations, or subtle suggestions that your body just needs a bit more discipline or control.

Alongside this, there’s also a growing and more complex conversation around the use of medications like GLP-1s for weight loss.

Not to say that GLP-1 receptor agonists don’t have a role to play in, for example, diabetes management – but I believe a nuanced conversation is needed about their long-term efficacy, potential side effects, and whether they truly help in the long run.

While medications like GLP-1s can lead to weight loss, research highlights that their effects are often dependent on ongoing use, with weight regain commonly seen after stopping (due in part to factors such as high cost and side effects). There is also growing awareness of the need to carefully support adequate nourishment alongside them (Kellett et al., 2025; Wong et al., 2025). In my clinical experience, I have seen clients be frankly malnourished whilst on these medications.

What I'm saying is that, when your body already feels different or unfamiliar, as is the case for women going through perimenopause, all of this messaging can hit hard – often intensifying body dissatisfaction.

My Approach

Perimenopause is not a problem to fix. And your body is not something that needs to be controlled. My work involves supporting women at the intersection of perimenopause and eating concerns and providing compassionate, weight-inclusive and non-diet nutrition support. So, no strict meal plans and no focus on weight from me (unless weight monitoring is clinically indicated for safety).

My work is grounded in gentle, flexible nutrition, and centred on helping women feel more stable, supported, and at ease with food and in their body.

I support women who might be experiencing:

• Increased hunger, changed appetite, or feeling unsure how much to eat

• Binge eating or a sense of being out of control with food

• Restriction or the pull to “tighten things up”

• Body image distress as their body changes

• The return of old food rules or patterns

• Clinical eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder

  
  

If things have started to feel different, or harder… or more overwhelming than they used to – this isn’t a sign that you’ve gone backwards.

Your body is changing. Your needs may be changing too.

There is another way to navigate this. This space is where I’ll be sharing more about:

• Perimenopause and the changes it can bring

• Food, nourishment, and gentle nutrition

• Body image in midlife

• The intersection between hormones and eating patterns

• How to feel more supported and steady with food

  
  

All through a lens of compassion, curiosity, and respect for your body.

If you’ve been feeling like your body and your relationship with food are becoming harder to navigate, I want you to know:

There is nothing wrong with you.

And you don’t have to figure this out on your own.

References

Carpenter, J. S., et al. (2018). Body image, self-esteem, and sexual satisfaction in perimenopausal women. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Kellett, J., et al. (2025). The efficacy of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for insufficient weight loss or regain after metabolic/bariatric surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Surgery.

Vieira-Potter, V. J., Mishra, G., & Townsend, K. L. (2026). Health of adipose tissue: Oestrogen matters. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 22, 76–91.

Vincent, A., et al. (2023). Associations between menopause and body image: A systematic review. Women’s Health, 19, 17455065231106671.

Wong, H. J., et al. (2025). Efficacy of GLP-1 receptor agonists on weight loss, BMI, and waist circumference: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Diabetes Care.