Menopause hub
Menopause and perimenopause: weight, sleep and strength
Perimenopause and menopause can change your weight, your shape, your sleep and your energy, often all at once. These guides explain what is really happening in your body, what the research shows helps (strength training, protein, daily movement and sleep), and when it is time to talk to your GP.
Key facts
Menopause is when you have not had a period for 12 months; perimenopause is the run-up, when periods become irregular, and the NHS says it usually affects women between 45 and 55. Symptoms usually last 7 to 9 years, sometimes longer, and weight gain is common, often around the stomach and upper body. NICE advises that women aged 45 and over can usually be identified as perimenopausal from symptoms and cycle changes, without blood tests.
Start here
If you are not sure where to begin, read menopause weight gain first: it explains what changes and what helps. Still having periods? Go to perimenopause weight gain next. If sleep is the thing wearing you down, start with perimenopause tiredness, because everything else is harder on broken nights. Then put it into practice with the menopause diet plan and the menopause workout plan.
Menopause weight gain
The pillar guide: what changes in your body, how long it lasts, and how to lose weight during menopause.
Perimenopause weight gain
Sudden jumps, irregular cycles, water versus fat, and what to track in the transition years.
Menopause belly fat
What a menopause belly is, why it happens, foods worth cutting back on, and what shifts it.
Perimenopause tiredness
Why perimenopause wipes you out, what helps you sleep, and when tiredness needs a GP.
Cortisol belly
An evidence check on stress, cortisol and belly fat, and what helps instead.
Menopause diet plan
A 5-day high-protein, high-fibre eating plan for perimenopause and menopause, with portion guidance.
Menopause workout plan
A weekly plan with two or three strength days, walking and rest, plus a full beginner session.
Mounjaro and menopause
Protein, strength training and sleep while on a GLP-1 medicine in perimenopause or menopause.
Why am I not losing weight?
The usual reasons the scale stalls, from water to sleep, and how to read your trend.
Weight loss meal plan for women
A free 7-day high-protein meal plan built from everyday UK foods.
The 60-second muscle quiz
The Muscle and Hormone Quiz for women over 40: get your estimated LeanShield™ score in a minute.
Data: how women sleep in perimenopause
52% of Turtle members in perimenopause or menopause slept under 7 hours, against 38% of women under 45.
Data: how women exercise in menopause
Workout days logged by women in perimenopause and menopause, compared with women under 45.
Data: sleep hours by age
How long women tracking their sleep in Turtle actually sleep, by age group.
Perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause: what the words mean
| Stage | What it means | How it is usually identified |
|---|---|---|
| Perimenopause | The years before your last period, when periods become irregular (more or less often, heavier or lighter) | In women aged 45 and over: recent hot flushes or night sweats plus changes to your cycle, without blood tests (NICE) |
| Menopause | The point when your periods have stopped | No period for 12 months, when you are not using hormonal contraception (NHS, NICE) |
| Postmenopause | Everything after menopause | Some symptoms, such as joint pain and vaginal dryness, can carry on |
| Early menopause | Menopause before the age of 45 | Your GP may use a blood test to help confirm it at younger ages (NICE) |
Sources: NHS (menopause and perimenopause), NICE guideline NG23. Researchers use a more detailed staging system, STRAW+10, which applies regardless of age, ethnicity, body size or lifestyle.
The NHS says symptoms usually last 7 to 9 years, sometimes longer, and change along the way. In Turtle's own data, women in perimenopause or menopause kept training: they logged a workout on 38% of their active days, against 32% for women under 45 (how women exercise in menopause).
Built for midlife
A coach for perimenopause and menopause
Turtle is built for women in perimenopause and menopause: strength sessions, protein, sleep and a weekly check-in that reads your trend, not one weigh-in.
4.6★ on the App Store · 100,000+ members · Free to download
When to see your GP
Contact your GP if you think you have perimenopause or menopause symptoms and want to know your options, if you have palpitations, if your periods are getting heavier rather than lighter, or if you have any bleeding after 12 months without a period. Treatments, including HRT and CBT, are worth discussing with them. For your periods earlier in life, see our cycle guides.
What the research says
Each study below was checked against its PubMed record, or read at source for NHS, NICE and government pages, on 7 October 2026.
The NHS defines menopause as not having a period for 12 months (when not using hormonal contraception), says it usually affects women between 45 and 55, and that symptoms usually last 7 to 9 years.
NHS. Menopause and perimenopause. NHS website. Accessed 7 October 2026. www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause-and-perimenopause/
NICE advises identifying perimenopause and menopause in women aged 45 and over from symptoms and cycle changes, without laboratory tests.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2015). Menopause: identification and management (NG23), last updated April 2026. NICE guideline. www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23
The STRAW+10 staging system, the research standard for staging reproductive ageing, simplified the bleeding criteria for the menopause transition and applies regardless of age, ethnicity, body size or lifestyle.
Harlow SD, Gass M, Hall JE, et al. (2012). Executive summary of the Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop + 10: addressing the unfinished agenda of staging reproductive aging. Menopause (New York, N.Y.). 19(4):387-95 doi.org/10.1097/gme.0b013e31824d8f40
Questions women ask
What is the difference between perimenopause and menopause?
Perimenopause is the run-up to menopause, when your periods become irregular. Menopause is when you have not had a period for 12 months. After that, it is called postmenopause.
What age does perimenopause start?
The NHS says menopause usually affects women between 45 and 55, and perimenopause comes before it. It can happen earlier; menopause before 45 is called early menopause.
Is weight gain a symptom of menopause?
The NHS lists weight gain as a common symptom, often around the stomach and upper body. Our menopause weight gain guide explains what the research shows changes, and what helps.
Do I need a blood test to know if I am in perimenopause?
Usually not if you are 45 or over. NICE advises GPs to identify perimenopause from your symptoms and cycle changes. Blood tests may be used at younger ages.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. It isn't tailored to you and doesn't replace advice from your GP or another qualified professional. If something's worrying you, speak to your GP. LeanShield™ is a trademark of ParrotPal Ltd: it rates the habits linked to protecting muscle, is not a medical device and doesn't measure muscle.