You’re working out. You’re consistent. You’re doing all the “right” things—especially those long, steady, slow, what-feels-like-never-ending cardio sessions that used to melt body fat away. You double down. Add another day. Throw in more steps on the treadmill. Push harder, hoping this will be the thing that finally works…
But instead of shedding fat, your body feels like it’s holding on for dear life.
Sounds familiar? What’s actually going on??
If you’re still grinding through long slow cardio every day in your seasoned years, my love, it might not just be unhelpful—it could actually be working against you.
Let me explain…
From birth, women’s bodies are wired differently than men’s. One of the key differences? We’re naturally more efficient at using fat (free fatty acids) for energy. This is thanks to both our biological design and the influence of estrogen during our reproductive years.
It’s part of our biological blueprint—what I like to call our “female default setting.” And when our hormones are cycling regularly, estrogen helps our body shift between using carbs and fat for energy, depending on the phase of our cycle.
Our female body’s default setting:
- Prioritizes fat burning over carbohydrate burning
- Is really good at storing fat—especially to support pregnancy, breastfeeding, and survival
- Has more oxidative muscle fibers and stronger mitochondria (your cellular energy powerhouses), which favor fat as fuel
But here’s the twist: when you take that hormonal fluctuation away—typically around age 40 and beyond—and estrogen starts to drop, your body reverts to that default setting, your body leans even more into burning fat as its primary energy source… and becomes more insulin resistant. Your muscles don’t use carbs as efficiently. And the fat-storing tendency gets turned up a notch.
The result?
When you keep doing long, low-intensity workouts—which mainly burn fat but also raise cortisol (your stress hormone)—your body gets the message:
“We’re stressed and burning fat. Better hold on to more, just in case!”
So instead of releasing fat, your body shifts into preservation mode. And the longer you stay in that low-intensity, high-cortisol state, the stronger the signal to save and store fat—especially around the belly.
Mind-blowing, right? When I first learned this, I felt such relief.
And we all deserve to know this.
You’re not doing it wrong.
Your body is just asking for something different.
What worked in your 20s or 30s might not serve you now—and that’s not failure.
That’s wisdom.
In perimenopause and menopause, your hormones shift—and so should your workouts.
So what works better now?
Aligning fitness strategies with your evolving physiology is your best ally. With the changes of estrogen and progesterone, your body needs external triggers to help create new positive adaptations the way these hormones used to. Your body doesn’t need the long slow miles, it needs what it’s lost from the hormone stimulus.
The answer: Less cardiovascular work, more resistance work.
Here are a few recommendations you could start incorporating into your exercise routine right away. Implementing these new strategies can help stimulate bone growth, improve insulin sensitivity, support neuromuscular function, help your body use and store carbohydrates more efficiently, lower cortisol, signal to your brain that you’ve got fuel for your workout and get out or “preservation mode”, and trigger the signal for maintaining and building lean mass. They can help also mitigate menopausal symptoms and promote overall well-being during perimenopause and menopause.
1. Short, intentional workouts like HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training):
- Frequency: In early perimenopause, incorporate HIIT sessions 2-3 times per week. As you progress to later stages, increase to 3-4 sessions weekly.
- Structure: Warm up for 10 minutes, then perform 20-second high-intensity efforts (e.g., sprinting) followed by 2 minutes of recovery. Repeat this cycle 4-5 times.
2. Heavy lifting (low reps with heavy weights):
- Frequency: Engage in heavy resistance training 2-3 times per week.
- Repetitions and Sets: Aim for 3-5 sets of 3-5 repetitions, selecting weights that are challenging but allow you to maintain proper form.
3. Plyometric Jump Training:
- Benefits: Plyometric exercises, such as jumping, hopping, and bounding, enhance muscle power, speed, agility, and bone health.
- Integration: Incorporate plyometric movements into your warm-up routines to activate the central nervous system before engaging in high-intensity or resistance training.
4. Proper Fueling Before and After Movement:
- Pre-Workout: Consume a small meal or snack containing 15-20 grams of protein before resistance training to support muscle engagement and maintain metabolic rate.
- Post-Workout: Aim to intake 25-30 grams of protein as soon as possible after exercise to aid in muscle recovery and adaptation. If you delay calorie intake, you stay in a breakdown state—your body won’t start repairing until you take in some food!
Bottom line:
Our beautiful female body is designed to burn fat efficiently—but also to store it well.
During this midlife transition, without estrogen helping us regulate that balance, we need a smarter strategy. One that creates an external stimulus to keep optimizing body composition, performance, and overall fitness goals:
✨ Short, intense workouts
✨ Strength training
✨ Proper fueling (yes, that includes more protein!)
Less stress. Less pressure. Less grind.
More strategy. More partnership with your body.
This chapter of your life isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing what aligns with who you are now.
