Is Perimenopause Changing Your Relationship with Food? Exploring how hormonal changes impact your eating and how you feel about your body.
Whether you're currently in perimenopause or it's still quite a few years away, it's critical to understand the factors that can influence your relationship with food and your body, especially if you've struggled with these issues in the past.
Perimenopause is a time when women often find themselves in a whirlwind of changes, affecting both eating behaviours and body image. But why does this happen during this transformative phase of life?
Stress and Coping
This life stage can bring about anxiety, low mood, sleep problems, and brain fog. Life may start to feel overwhelming, and it's not uncommon for women to turn to food as a coping mechanism. Juggling responsibilities like caring for aging parents, adjusting to ‘empty nest’ syndrome, or going through a breakup can make things even more challenging.
Changes in the Mirror
During perimenopause, your body shape can undergo significant changes. The decline in hormones oestrogen and progesterone often leads to weight gain around the middle. Metabolism slows down, and conditions like Hashimoto's disease can add to the mix.
Recent studies have highlighted that perimenopause is associated with increased body dissatisfaction. An Australian consumer survey found that 56% of women reported being dissatisfied with their bodies during this stage, leading to calls for healthcare providers to screen for eating disorders more proactively.
The Pressure to Look a Certain Way
Alongside the changes happening in your body, there can be considerable pressure to stay slim and look younger. A 2026 study of 347 women aged 40–63 found that greater appearance pressure from the media was associated with more disordered eating attitudes, particularly among women experiencing higher stress or lower appreciation of their bodies. This highlights why the messages we surround ourselves with deserve attention. Notice how the content you see leaves you feeling. Does it support you, or leave you feeling that your body is something you need to fix?
Sleep Woes
Perimenopausal symptoms, including night sweats and anxiety, can disrupt sleep patterns. Lack of sleep can affect appetite regulation, decreasing leptin (the hormone that signals fullness) and increasing ghrelin (the hormone that stimulates hunger). This hormonal imbalance is likely to lead to cravings for high-calorie foods.
Stress Hormone: Cortisol
Cortisol, the body's primary stress hormone, can become elevated during perimenopause. Chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels can lead to fatigue, anxiety, and cravings for sugary treats. Additionally, chronic stress can interfere with insulin function, making it harder for the body to process glucose, potentially leading to weight gain.
Insulin and Appetite
Insulin resistance is more prevalent during perimenopause, which means the body struggles to move glucose into cells for energy. As a result, despite having plenty of glucose in the bloodstream, cells aren't getting the fuel they need. This can leave you feeling hungry and craving sugar, even though there's already enough circulating in your system.
Brain Chemistry and Cravings
Fluctuating oestrogen levels during perimenopause can lead to lower levels of mood-regulating brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin. This imbalance can result in powerful sugar cravings and An increased appetite, sometimes leading to emotional eating and bingeing.
Understanding these changes is the first step in navigating this life phase effectively. If you're experiencing challenges with food and body image during perimenopause, this is just one of the many topics I explore in my best-selling book: 📕 The Binge Freedom Method™️: Your Four Pillar Plan to Beat Emotional Eating for Good, where I share strategies, tools and insights to help you understand your patterns and take back control of your eating habits. You can download a free chapter of my book HERE