About this episode

Dr. Federica Amati discusses menopause-related weight gain and the metabolic changes that occur during this phase, emphasizing the importance of diet and nutrition.

ZOE nutritionist Dr. Federica Amati explains why basal metabolic rate barely changes in perimenopause, but postprandial metabolism does, glucose, fat, insulin, and inflammation stay elevated longer after meals, partly via gut microbiome shifts. She unpacks why "thin" can mask sarcopenic obesity, why calorie labels carry ~20% error, why a nutrient-dense breakfast curbs cravings, and why a 70,000-woman ZOE study saw a 35% symptom drop from diet changes alone. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - Why basal metabolic rate isn't the problem in perimenopause, but postprandial metabolism is - What's actually driving new midsection fat storage as estrogen declines - Why calorie counting fails as a long-term strategy, from label error to the food matrix effect - How satiety hormones like GLP-1, PYY, and GIP shift after menopause, and why breakfast is the highest-leverage meal of the day - Why looking thin doesn't mean you're metabolically healthy, and what sarcopenic obesity reveals about muscle as an organ - What HRT actually changes about your metabolism, muscle mass, and visceral fat, and what it doesn't - How a 70,000-woman study found a 35% drop in menopause symptoms from diet changes alone, and why…

People in this episode

Host: Angela Foster

Guest: Dr Federica Amati

Topics covered

• menopause
• weight gain
• metabolism
• nutrition
• hormones
• gut microbiome
• diet changes

Keywords

• menopause
• weight gain
• basal metabolic rate
• postprandial metabolism
• sarcopenic obesity
• calorie counting
• satiety hormones
• diet changes
• ZOE study
• HRT

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ZOE

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