The truth about cardio and belly fat after 50: Why more cardio is not better

Eliminating belly fat

Photo: Contributed

More hours in spin class is not the way to reduce belly fat, says columnist Tania Gustafson.

If you’ve been running on a treadmill, riding a spin bike or doing endless cardio classes in the hope of finally losing that stubborn belly fat after 50—this is for you.

For decades, women have been told more cardio is the key to weight loss. When belly fat starts creeping on in menopause, the natural reaction is to do even more—more miles, more spin classes, more hours on the elliptical.

But here’s the truth—too much cardio is actually making it harder for you to lose belly fat.

Let me break it down and talk about what really works after 50.

Cardio has its place but when it comes to fat loss after 50, especially in menopause, too much cardio backfires. The reason? Stress and cortisol.

When you do long-duration cardio—especially at high intensity—it spikes cortisol, your body’s primary stress hormone. And when cortisol is elevated for long periods, it signals the body to store fat—particularly in the belly. Why? Because your body perceives stress as a threat and holding onto fat is a survival mechanism.

Too much cardio equals chronically elevated cortisol and that equals increased belly fat storage.

If you’ve ever noticed that despite all your efforts, your midsection feels more bloated and softer instead of leaner and more toned, that’s cortisol at work. The problem with relying on cardio alone is:

1. It breaks down muscle – After 50, you’re already losing muscle at a faster rate due to declining estrogen and testosterone. Excess cardio accelerates this muscle loss, which in turn slows metabolism.

2. It increases hunger and cravings – Have you ever finished a long cardio session only to feel ravenous and craving carbs? That’s because cardio depletes glycogen (your stored energy), triggering hunger hormones and making it harder to make healthy food choices.

3. It doesn’t shape your body – Cardio may burn calories in the moment, but it doesn’t build lean muscle or improve body composition. Without resistance training, you’ll lose both fat and muscle, leading to that “skinny fat” look rather than a toned, lean body.

If you want to lose belly fat and firm up, maintain a healthy metabolism and feel strong well into your 50s and beyond, you must prioritize strength training. Lifting weights and resistance training builds lean muscle. More muscle equals a faster metabolism.

Muscle is metabolically active, meaning it burns more calories even at rest, long after your workout. Building muscle helps reduces cortisol. Unlike excessive cardio, resistance training doesn’t trigger the same prolonged cortisol spike. Instead, it helps balance hormones and improves insulin sensitivity, making it easier to lose fat.

More muscle mass supports bone health and strengthens joints. As estrogen declines, women are at a higher risk for osteoporosis and joint pain. Strength training improves bone density and joint health, reducing injury risk.

Strong is the new sexy. Lifting weights doesn’t make you bulky. It helps create a lean, sculpted look by replacing fat with firm, toned muscle. You don’t need to become a bodybuilder or spend hours in the gym. The goal is to stimulate muscle growth while keeping cortisol low. Here’s what works best:

• Weight lifting – Squats, deadlifts, lunges, rows and presses using dumbbells, barbells, or resistance bands

• Bodyweight exercises – Push-ups, planks, step-ups and squats work well if you’re just starting out

• Shorter, smarter cardio – Swap long-duration cardio for short bursts of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or walking with incline to avoid excessive cortisol spikes

Start where you're at and go from there. If you have never lifted before, I highly recommend hiring a trainer or consulting one at your local gym for proper body alignment. Aim for three to four strength sessions per week and you will start to see and feel results without overtraining.

Lifting weights is only part of the equation. If you want to lose fat, you must balance your blood sugar and that means fuelling your body with enough protein. Without enough protein, your body can’t repair or build lean muscle after workouts. Protein helps keep you full. Unlike carbs, protein keeps you feeling satisfied longer and helps prevent cravings. That lone banana before or after a workout is not your friend.

Protein also has a thermogenic effect, meaning your body burns more calories digesting it than it does with carbs or fats.

Aim for at least 20g to 30g of protein per meal. That can include chicken, fish, eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, grass-fed beef, lentils and clean protein shakes. Whatever you do, don't skip breakfast, and start your day with protein to set the tone for balanced blood sugar and hormonal balance.

If cardio is your go-to but you’re still struggling with belly fat, it’s time to shift your focus. I invite you to swap out your cardio sessions for strength training three to four times a week, prioritize protein first thing in the morning and at every meal, in order to give your body time to reduce stress, bring down cortisol and recover. This approach will not only help you lose belly fat, but will also keep you strong, energized, and confident well into your 50s, 60s and beyond.

For more information and strategies you can use to create hormonal balance, master menopause and move from just surviving to thriving, register for Tania's Menopause Masterclass webinar. Registration is free, but spaces are limited.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Eating right to balance your metabolism can help stop menopause weight gain

Menopause and weight gain

Photo: Contributed

For decades, women have been told weight gain is just a normal part of menopause—something we have to accept as our metabolism slows down and our hormones shift.

Let's just bust that myth right now, weight gain in menopause is not inevitable. What’s really happening isn’t a metabolism malfunction, t’s a hormonal imbalance. And when you address the imbalance, your body stops fighting against you and starts working with you again.

As women transition into perimenopause and menopause, the hormonal landscape shifts dramatically. Estrogen, progesterone and testosterone levels decline, while stress hormones like cortisol often remain elevated due to poor sleep, stress and restrictive dieting. When hormones are out of balance, the body struggles to regulate weight, energy, mood, sleep and even digestion.

Symptoms of this imbalance can include increased belly fat, even if diet and exercise haven’t changed, cravings for sugar and processed carbs, sluggish metabolism and low energy, mood swings, anxiety and depression, as well as poor sleep, night sweats, hot flashes, bloating, gas, and digestive discomfort, brain fog and forgetfulness, joint pain and inflammation. Those are just a few of the most common symptoms.

Does any of that sound familiar? Those signs are a distress-call that your body is full of inflammation and out of balance. When it comes to weight, the last thing your body needs is for you to deprive it of nutrients, aka dieting and eating less. Let's face it, nothing thrives in a deficit.

The weight loss industry loves to target menopausal women with quick fixes—pills, patches, drops and hormone replacement therapies that promise to melt belly fat. But here’s the truth. If those worked, you wouldn’t still be searching for answers.

Even for women who do find relief using HRT, without addressing the inflammation and gut issues, it's still making your body struggle to come into balance. Low-calorie diets slow your metabolism and signal to your body it’s in survival mode and that makes it burn muscle and hold on to fat. Endless cardio raises cortisol, which leads to more belly fat storage.
Weight loss medications suppress appetite and trick your body into thinking it doesn’t need nourishment, leading to muscle loss, insulin resistance and even more metabolic damage.

None of those quick fixes restore balance and until your hormones, gut and metabolism are supported properly, your body will keep fighting against you.

So, if weight gain in menopause isn’t inevitable and diets aren’t the answer, what is?

The key is restoring balance in the body, not fighting against it. That means focusing on nourishment, not restriction and addressing the root cause. Using food to create hormonal imbalance and stabilize blood sugar, along with clean foods to optimize gut health and reduce inflammation is what will get you the results you want today and be able to keep them long term.

One of the biggest mistakes I see women make is not eating enough or going too long between meals. When you don’t fuel your body consistently, blood sugar crashes, cortisol spikes, your body burns muscle and fat storage kicks into high gear.

Eat every 3-4 hours to keep blood sugar stable. Focus on protein at every meal to preserve muscle and balance hormones. Don’t fear healthy fats—your brain and hormones need them. Protein is non-negotiable in menopause. Without enough, muscle mass declines, metabolism slows and cravings skyrocket.

Aim for 20 grams to 30 grams of protein per meal. Include sources like grass-fed beef, chicken, eggs, fish and plant-based proteins, like hemp, chia, spirulina. Start your day with a protein-rich breakfast to set the tone for balanced blood sugar all day.

Chronic inflammation makes it nearly impossible to lose weight, especially belly fat. The good news is you can bring inflammation down naturally by changing what you eat and how you support your body. Cut out or at least minimize inflammatory foods like gluten, soy, dairy, alcohol, sugar, processed seed oils and artificial sweeteners. Increase omega-3 fats from salmon, flaxseeds, and walnuts. Eat more leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, and berries for antioxidants. Manage stress with deep breathing, quality sleep and practice self care.

Your gut health directly impacts estrogen, metabolism, inflammation and fat storage. When your gut is out of balance, so are your hormones. Consider adding fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi and kefir. Eat unprocessed fibre-rich foods to feed good gut bacteria. Ditch that Fibre 1 bar. It's not your friend. Avoid processed foods, they disrupt the gut microbiome. Stay hydrated to support digestion and detoxification.

Weight gain in menopause isn’t about a broken metabolism or aging, it’s about the length of time you've been doing things that don't serve your body and cause disruption in hormones and balance. The more you fight against your body with restrictions, over-exercising or quick fixes, the more it resists. When you nourish it the right way, everything starts to shift.

You’ll stop craving sugar, your belly will start to shrink, the brain fog will lift, energy will return, you'll sleep better and you’ll wake up feeling like you again.

The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute medical advice. All information and content are for general information purposes only.

To learn more about using food to create hormonal balance, watch Tania's free video.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

How healing your gut can lift menopause brain fog

Clearing the clouds

Photo: Contributed

Ladies, have you ever walked into a room on a mission-ready grab, do or organize something and then all of a sudden, poof! You stop dead in your tracks and can't remember what it is you were after in the first place? You're not alone.

If you’re somewhere in your 40s or 50s, in menopause or perimenopause, most would roll their eyes or laugh and tell you to get used to it. It comes with the territory.

But I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to.

Brain fog is one of the most common—and most frustrating—symptoms women experience in perimenopause and menopause. Forgetting why you walked into a room, struggling to find the right words or feeling like you’re in a mental haze all day can be unsettling. Even if you’ve never been that organized or on-top-of-things, you're probably feeling like you're losing your mind.

Most women assume this is just part of aging, something they have to live with. But here’s the truth: Brain fog is not inevitable. It’s a symptom of something deeper going on in the body and one of the biggest culprits is your gut.

Your gut isn’t just responsible for digestion. It’s home to trillions of bacteria, fungi and other microbes that influence everything from your immune system to your hormones and, yes, your brain function. This ecosystem, known as your microbiome, is in constant communication with your brain through something called the gut-brain axis or GBX.

When your gut is healthy, your brain benefits. When it’s out of balance, you start seeing symptoms like brain fog, mood swings anxiety and even depression.

For women in perimenopause and menopause, this GBX connection becomes even more critical. As estrogen levels decline, it impacts the composition of your gut bacteria, leading to dysbiosis—an imbalance between good and bad bacteria. More bad bacteria can trigger inflammation, disrupt neurotransmitter production (hello, serotonin and dopamine), and impair the way your brain processes information.

Seventy per cent of your overall health is made in your gut, as well as 50 per cent to 90 per cent of the hormones and neurotransmitters that regulate mood, motivation, focus, happiness, energy and sleep. If you're getting a gut feeling about this, read on.

What science used to think was a head thing, is now showing that it's a gut thing. So, if you want the fog to lift and start feeling like yourself again, healing your gut and the GBX is the best place to start.

Healing your gut isn’t about taking a random probiotic and hoping for the best. It requires a strategic, multi-step approach to rebalance your microbiome, reduce inflammation and restore proper communication along that axis between your gut and brain.

Here’s three steps that will go a long way to promote healing:

Prebiotics: Feed the good bacteria

Think of prebiotics as the fertilizer for your microbiome. They’re specific types of fibre that feed the good bacteria, helping them grow and thrive. Without prebiotics, probiotics (the good bacteria) struggle to survive.

Some of the best prebiotic-rich foods include:

• Garlic

• Onions

• Asparagus

• Bananas (especially green ones)

• Chicory root

• Flaxseeds

Supplementing with specific prebiotics together that support the GBX can also be helpful, especially if your diet is lacking in fibre or if you’ve been dealing with gut issues for a while.

Probiotics: Restoring the balance

Probiotics are live bacteria that help repopulate your gut with beneficial microbes. But not all probiotics are created equal. Different strains do different things and if you’re dealing with brain fog, you’ll want to focus on strains that support cognitive function and reduce inflammation, rather than one that deals with say constipation or diarrhea.

Some of the best probiotic strains for brain health include:

• Lactobacillus R0052 – Supports neurotransmitter production for positive mood

• Bifidobacterium R0175 – Helps improve stress resilience

• Lactobacillus R0011 – Enhances gut barrier function and reduces toxins that contribute to brain fog

You can get probiotics through fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir and yogurt, but most women benefit from a high-quality probiotic supplement, especially in menopause and/or if you've been dealing with gut imbalances for a while.

Postbiotics: The missing link

Postbiotics are the beneficial compounds that probiotics produce when they ferment fibre in your gut. These include short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, which help reduce inflammation, heal the gut lining, and improve brain function.

Research shows postbiotics play a key role in reducing oxidative stress, which also reduces inflammation and supports neurotransmitter activity—both of which are crucial for eliminating brain fog. While some postbiotics are naturally produced when you eat fibre-rich foods, targeted supplementation can accelerate the healing process.

Rebalancing your microbiome is the first step, but maintaining a gut-friendly lifestyle is what keeps brain fog from coming back. Here are some additional strategies to support gut and brain health long-term:

• Eat a diverse, whole-foods diet. The more variety of whole foods in your diet, the better your gut and microbiome will be. Aim for a rainbow of fruits and veggies, quality proteins, and healthy fats.

• Reduce processed foods and sugar. Sugar feeds harmful bacteria and contributes to inflammation. Cutting back can make a huge difference in both gut and brain function.

• Manage stress. Chronic stress alters gut bacteria and increases inflammation, making brain fog worse. Mindfulness, deep breathing, and purposeful movement (like yoga, walking, weight training) can help.

• Get quality sleep. Poor sleep disrupts the gut-brain axis, so prioritize good sleep hygiene—reduce screen time before bed, keep your room cool, and establish a bedtime routine.

• Stay hydrated. Water is essential for digestion, detoxification, as well as brain function. A properly hydrated brain functions 28 per cent better than one that is not.

Brain fog isn’t just a symptom of menopause—it’s a sign that your gut needs attention. By taking a targeted approach with your food as well as prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics you can heal your microbiome and the GBX, restore gut-brain communication, and watch the fog lift for good.

For more information on reducing inflammation and balancing hormones, watch Tania's free video.

The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute medical advice. All information and content are for general information purposes only.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Menopause metabolism – How to turn it back on

Dealing with menopause

Photo: Contributed

Your metabolism feels stuck, like it’s switched to airplane mode.

You’re eating well, moving your body and doing all the things you’re supposed to do. So why does it feel like your body is fighting you every step of the way?

If you’re in menopause or even peri-menopause, you’ve likely noticed what used to work, doesn’t anymore. The belly fat won’t budge, your energy crashes by midday, cravings seem relentless, and despite a full night's sleep, you wake up exhausted. Sound familiar? If so, it’s not your fault—your body isn’t getting the memo, and there’s a real reason why.

Although it can happen at any age, this abrupt halt in metabolism is most noticeable for women over the age of around 40, (aka menopause).

Hormonal changes, chronic stress and years of dieting can send your metabolism into survival mode. Your workouts, which used to help, don't seem to be working anymore no matter how many cardio days you put in. The “healthy” eating you swear by added extra fluff around the middle. It can feel like your metabolism has completely cut off communication with the rest of your body, leaving you frustrated and stuck.

But here’s the thing—it isn’t about eating less and moving more. That old-school advice doesn’t account for what’s actually happening inside your body. It all starts with dysregulated blood sugar. When blood sugar isn't balanced, insulin resistance and inflammation take over and your mitochondria—the energy powerhouses of your cells—become overwhelmed with too much glucose in the system.

Although glucose is fuel, when there’s too much fuel in the system, your body can’t process it efficiently, leading to weight gain, low energy and stalled progress. The combination of insulin resistance and inflammation is the perfect storm for weight gain, especially for women in menopause. Here’s how it plays out:

1. Insulin resistance: When your body becomes less responsive to insulin, glucose stays in your bloodstream instead of being used for energy. This excess glucose gets stored as fat, particularly around the belly.

2. Chronic Inflammation: Inflammation makes it even harder for your body to regulate blood sugar and burn fat efficiently. Things like poor gut health, stress, processed foods, and environmental toxins all contribute to inflammation.

3. Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Your mitochondria are responsible for converting food into energy, but when they’re overwhelmed, they can’t keep up. Instead of burning fat and providing steady energy, your body stores excess glucose and leaves you feeling drained.

Hopefully you're not resonating with any of these, but if you are having a lightbulb moment and you feel like your metabolism has shut down, there are ways to turn it back on. It starts by working with your body instead of against it.

As noted earlier, it all begins with blood sugar. Stabilizing blood sugar is key to reversing insulin resistance and reducing inflammation and you can do a lot with what and how you're eating. Instead of eating sporadically or skipping meals, focus on protein, fibre, healthy fats and clean carbs at every meal to keep glucose levels steady. Before you reach for that piece of toast or bowl of cereal however, the clean carbs your body needs are nutrient-dense carbs, like fruits and veggies.

Prioritize protein, especially first thing in the morning, to prevent blood sugar crashes and fat storage. Avoid processed carbs and sugary snacks that spike blood sugar and have no nutritional value. Eat consistently throughout the day to keep your metabolism fired up and running.

Your mitochondria need the right nutrients to function properly. Eating whole, nutrient-dense foods like leafy greens, berries, nuts, and seeds, prioritizing magnesium, B vitamins, and omega-3s, and moving your body in a way that reduces stress - walking, strength training, and yoga all support mitochondrial health without overwhelming your system. If you're going hard on the cardio, it's time to rein it in and focus more on strength training together with movement that is not stressing your system.

Chronic inflammation is one of the biggest culprits behind a sluggish metabolism. Remove processed foods, seed oils, and excess sugar from your diet. Eat anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric, wild-caught fish and dark leafy greens.

And work on improving gut health by consuming probiotic-rich foods and reducing stress. Oh and please don't just throw high doses of generic probiotics at the problem. If you've got any leaky gut – and most women do to some degree – too much and/or the wrong type can cause more problems.

Hormonal changes can make your body more sensitive to stress, which in turn spikes cortisol and worsens insulin resistance. Cortisol is also known as the fat-storing hormone, so if weight has been one of your issues, you definitely want to get that under control.

Prioritize sleep. Aim for seven to nine hours per night of good quality, uninterrupted sleep. Practice breathwork, meditation or gentle movement to calm the nervous system. Avoid excessive high-intensity workouts, which can stress your body further and perpetuate that cycle. .

The bottom line is, if your metabolism doesn't feel like it used to, the answer isn’t to restrict more, work out harder or go back and do that diet that “worked” for you a few years back. Instead, work smarter by addressing the root cause.

When you focus on balancing blood sugar, supporting your mitochondria, reducing inflammation, managing stress, and healing your gut, you’ll create an environment where your body wants to burn fat and gives you back your energy.

For more information on blood sugar stabilization and watch Tania's free video.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.