Why Too Much Cardio Can Backfire for Weight Loss During Menopause

Fitness in Menopause Needs to Be More Nuanced: How Too Much Exercise Can Actually Lead to Undesired Weight Gain

The menopause transition is rough for many women. Even if you have been a lifelong healthy eater and exerciser, the hormonal changes can wreak havoc on your efforts at weight control and managing your body composition. Women in menopause often see an increase in body fat, especially around the belly area.

Understandably, many women look to cardio workouts to manage these changes and get back to a healthy weight. However, too much cardio can sometimes have the opposite effect, complicating weight management efforts. And "too much" is relative to each woman, so what may be "too much" for you might be "just right" for another person, who has different genetics and life stressors.

The Impact of Excessive Cardio on Weight

While cardiovascular exercise is essential for overall health (no surprise there), too much cardio can lead to several drawbacks, especially for women in menopause or who are post-menopause. First, long hours of aerobic exercise can cause the body to increase cortisol levels, the major "stress hormone" that impacts everything from sleep to muscle gain. Elevated cortisol can trigger weight gain, particularly in the abdominal (belly) area, counteracting the very benefits women hope to achieve through cardio. And that fat is the "bad" kind of fat - visceral fat, which is linked with higher amounts of inflammation and increases your risk for all sorts of diseases. And very frustratingly, visceral fat actually SENDS SIGNALS to your body to increase its hunger levels and decrease how satisfied you feel by foods....so the more fat you have, the hungrier you get. Not an easy situation for weight loss.

Moreover, chronic cortisol elevation due to excessive cardio can result in muscle loss. As we age, we will naturally lose muscle mass. Relying heavily on cardio, EVEN IF you are doing strength training as well, can exacerbate this issue. Your body is trying to adapt to whatever stress you give it, and it tries to use the least amount of resources necessary to do so.

If you are asking your body to do a lot of cardio, your body is smart: it knows that carrying around a lot of muscle mass for prolonged amounts of time requires a lot of effort. So any incoming calories are going to be prioritized for either fuel for your cardio activities, stored for future use, or allotted to fuel your normal bodily functions. Your body doesn't really "want" to build a lot of muscle because it knows you're going to be dragging that muscle around all over the place, which requires energy.

In contrast, doing the exact same amount of strength training but with a little less cardio can actually fuel muscle growth. Incoming extra calories will go towards building new MUSCLE rather than trying to play catch up from the cardio demands. This is doubly true if you give your body high-quality nutrition in the form of proteins and carbohydrates, both of which can improve muscle gain over time.

Muscle is particularly crucial for a healthy metabolism and regulated blood sugar levels. You don't want to lose it over time. Because that will lead to decreased caloric needs, making it harder to maintain weight on the exact same number of calories.

Finding the Right Balance

So, what can women do to effectively manage their weight during menopause without falling into the trap of too much cardio...but also knowing that cardio is healthy for your heart and mind? It’s best to strike a balance. Incorporating strength training exercises at least 2x weekly will help preserve and build muscle mass, which is vital for a healthy body in menopause.

Daily walking as your primary form of cardio seems to be the best type of cardio 80-90% of your cardio). Lower intensity cardio like this does not send the same signal that higher intensity prolonged cardio sends, meaning that it has less impact on muscle growth. Even better, walking tends to IMPROVE cortisol patterns, rather than worsen it. If you're getting 7,500-10,000 steps a day, it's highly unlikely that you are in the range of overdoing it with cardio to the point where your cortisol levels would elevate. So walking is both healthy for your metabolism, body, and mind. And since it's lower impact, it doesn't tend to aggravate joints and tendons as much (also key in menopause).

But what about the higher intensity stuff? Practically speaking, I would generally recommend you optimize for strength and walking BEFORE you consider adding high-intensity cardio to your routine. Most of us have limited hours in our week for exercise, and allotting most of them to walking and strength training makes sense if your goal is to optimize body composition. Once you have a comfortable rhythm going, AND you have managed other forms of stress, AND You are sleeping enough, you can start to add in high-intensity interval work.

Shorter, high-intensity cardio sessions can provide significant health benefits without the downsides of prolonged cardio sessions. I'm talking 25 minutes TOTAL from start-to-finish, where you are pushing yourself HARD on the intervals, but then recovering fully before the next interval. You don't need to do this more than 2x a week, and in fact, 1x a week is a better place to start for most women.
The beauty of high-intensity interval training is that it targets belly fat (visceral fat) more effectively than longer-duration cardio, and thus improves your metabolic health very efficiently. And it also raises your VO2 max, a key marker for health and longevity.

In conclusion, while cardio IS a vital component of any fitness routine, it’s important for women in menopause to be mindful of the amount of cardio they perform. Overshooting the amount that their body can tolerate can lead to counterproductive results, exacerbating weight gain issues. By focusing on a balanced exercise approach that includes strength training and strategic amounts of cardio, you will be better prepared to meet the demands and challenges of menopause. It's not an easy transition no matter what, but having a smart and sustainable exercise approach will make it a little bit easier.