About this episode

This episode explores the causes of belly fat in women over 40 and offers actionable strategies for losing visceral fat during midlife.

If you're training hard, eating well, and still watching your waist thicken, I want you to hear this: you are not lazy, and your metabolism is not broken. Something else is going on, and once you see it, belly fat stops feeling like a mystery you can't crack. So I called in four people I trust most on this, Ben Azadi, Dr Sarah Berry, Cynthia Thurlow, and Mary Claire Haver. Together we get into why cortisol parks fat right around your middle, how losing estrogen quietly reroutes fat from your hips to your belly, and why the exact same meal spikes your blood sugar far more after menopause than it did before. We go deep on the pieces most women never get told about, the muscle you're losing, the gut and estrobolome shifts, and the insulin exposure that makes this fat feel so stubborn. Then I hand you the fix. My five levers, in the order that actually works, from breaking up long sitting to resistance training, smart HIIT, whole-food carbs, and protecting your sleep and stress. And I tell you honestly where fasted training helps and where it just becomes another way to punish yourself. If you're a busy woman over 40 who's done with "eat less, move more" and wants to know which lever…

People in this episode

Host: Angela Foster

Guests: Ben Azadi, Dr Sarah Berry, Cynthia Thurlow, Mary Claire Haver

Topics covered

• belly fat
• visceral fat
• menopause
• women's health
• metabolism
• exercise
• nutrition

Keywords

• cortisol
• estrogen
• blood sugar
• insulin
• resistance training
• HIIT
• whole-food carbs
• fasted training

More episodes of High Performance Health

• Why Women Over 40 Can't Lose Belly Fat (And Why More Exercise Makes It Worse) | Dr. Erin Kinney · September 6, 2026 · 54 min
• 3 Supplements to Support Your Mitochondria and Slow Cellular Ageing | Angela Foster · September 3, 2026 · 10 min
• Menopause Weight Gain & How to Lose It | Dr Federica Amati · August 31, 2026 · 59 min
• The 5 Supplements Every High-Performing Woman Over 40 Should Actually Take | Angela Foster · August 28, 2026 · 11 min
• How To Build Stronger Bones After 50: The 3 Pillars Every Woman Needs | Angela Foster · August 20, 2026 · 18 min
• Longevity Masterclass: How Women Can Live Longer, Stronger & Healthier · August 17, 2026 · 39 min

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