How to Actually Increase Your Metabolism in Perimenopause (What Works, What's Marketing)

Somewhere in your feed right now, there's a tea, a powder, or a "metabolism reset" promising to fix what perimenopause has done to your body. It won't. Not because you haven't found the right one yet, but because it's selling a solution to a problem it doesn't actually understand.

Your metabolism hasn't broken. It's responding to multiple changes that are happening. Here's what's actually going on, and what to do about it.

What Actually Changes to Your Metabolism in Perimenopause

I know it probably feels like your metabolism has ground to a halt. You haven't really changed your diet or exercise yet overnight it felt like your body changed and all of a sudden you're carrying weight around your tummy that wasn't there before.

Research has shown that our metabolism is roughly stable between our 20's - 50's but can start to decrease in our 60's. So what the heck is happening now?!

You're losing muscle mass. 

Declining oestrogen affects how your body maintains and builds muscle. Less muscle means fewer calories burned at rest, because muscle is metabolically active tissue.

Your body is storing fat differently, and it's harder to shift. 

As oestrogen declines, insulin sensitivity tends to drop too, which means your body holds onto fat more readily and stores more of it around the abdomen rather than elsewhere. This shift is often accompanied by a low-grade rise in inflammation. Together, these are a big part of why the fat that shows up now behaves differently to the fat you carried in your 30s, and why it doesn't respond the same way to what used to work.

You're moving less without realising it. 

This is the part almost nobody talks about. Incidental activity, the walking to meetings, standing at your desk, chasing kids around the house, adds up to real energy burned across a day. As your life changes shape (a more senior role that keeps you seated, kids who no longer need physical supervision), working from home - that incidental movement quietly disappears. Nobody replaces it, because nobody notices it's gone.

The Marketing Version vs the Mechanism

The supplement industry needs your metabolism to be a mystery, because mysteries sell solutions. A tea that "boosts fat burning" or a powder that "resets your metabolism" implies there's a switch somewhere waiting to be flipped.

Sadly, there isn't! I know we'd all love it to be that easy but my general rule around supplements and wellness products...'if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!'

What Actually Works

Rebuilding Incidental Activity

This is often overlooked but can have a significant impact. Rebuilding it doesn't mean adding a gym session. It means looking for opportunities within your day to build in movement. I often set my clients the target of adding an additional 30 minutes of movement in their day. However, this can be done in small blocks across the day e.g. 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes. For example, take a walking call or walking meeting, park further away....all of it adds up.

Protein, Muscle Preservation & Strength training

Protein does two jobs here: it preserves the muscle mass you have, and it keeps you fuller for longer, which matters when energy and appetite feel harder to predict than they used to.

Aim for a source of protein at every meal, not just dinner. For many of my clients, breakfast is the biggest protein gap so this can often be a good place to start.

Regular strength training helps you to maintain the muscle mass that's naturally declining, and it improves how your body manages insulin at the same time. This matters more now than it did a decade ago. It doesn't need to be complicated and you don't necessarily need to join a gym. Have a think about what sort of environment might suit you best - if it's convenient and you feel comfortable, you're more likely to train consistently!

Sleep and Appetite-Regulating Hormones

Poor sleep disrupts the hormones that regulate hunger and fullness. When sleep is short or broken, appetite-regulating hormones shift in a way that makes you hungrier and less satisfied by food the next day. So try to resist the extra time doom scrolling and get into bed that bit earlier!

Consistency Over Intensity

None of the above works as a one-week fix. This is where systems become important. A simple, repeatable structure across most days beats a perfect plan you can only keep up for a week.

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Want a practical starting point for the protein piece specifically? Click here to download my free Peri Protein Guide. It's built around exactly the pattern above: getting protein in earlier and more consistently, without overhauling your whole day.

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What Doesn't Move the Metabolism Needle

• Detox teas and "metabolism boosting" powders or supplements

• Extreme calorie restriction, which works against you by accelerating muscle loss

  
  

Frequently Asked Questions

Does perimenopause really slow your metabolism? Not in the dramatic way it's often described. What changes is muscle mass, insulin sensitivity, and incidental daily movement. The result looks like a slower metabolism, but there are definitely factors within our control.

What is the best diet to increase metabolism in perimenopause? There's no single diet that "boosts" metabolism. The most effective approach is consistent protein at each meal to preserve muscle, alongside enough sleep to support appetite-regulating hormones.

Do metabolism boosting supplements work? No credible supplement can replace the muscle mass or incidental movement that perimenopause and lifestyle changes are actually reducing. Save your money and instead spend it on some comfy PJ's or ear plugs to block our your snoring partner!