Perhaps lunch used to see you through to dinner, and now you are hungry by three. Or you have noticed that food is much more on your mind after a broken night’s sleep.
Appetite can change during perimenopause and menopause. Understanding what might be contributing gives you something useful to work with: a chance to adjust your meals, give sleep the attention it deserves and find a pattern that suits your life.
The starting point is curiosity. When does hunger appear? What have you eaten? How have you slept? Those details can tell you more than another list of foods to avoid.
Can menopause make you feel hungrier?
Some women notice that they feel hungrier or less satisfied after meals during the menopause transition.
In a five-year study following 94 women who were premenopausal at the start, researchers found that reported hunger and desire to eat increased through the transition, while feelings of fullness when fasting declined. Yet food intake decreased. Feeling hungrier and eating more were not the same thing in this study. [1]
The study cannot tell us what caused those changes, but it gives us a reason to take changes in appetite seriously.
Hormones are part of the picture. So are sleep, activity, the amount you eat and the demands of your day. Understanding how these fit together is more useful than assuming hunger has a single cause.
Where appetite hormones fit
Appetite is a conversation between your brain and body, with several hormones helping to communicate what you need.
Ghrelin helps stimulate hunger. Leptin, produced by fat tissue, communicates information about longer-term energy stores. Other signals help you feel full during and after meals.
Oestrogen also plays a part in appetite regulation. As its levels change during the menopause transition, it is one of several influences worth considering alongside sleep, meals and activity.
These signals work together with the pleasure of eating, familiar routines and what food is available. Feeling hungry does not, on its own, tell you that a particular hormone is too high or too low.
You do not need a hormone-by-hormone explanation to begin making your meals and routine work better for you.
Why sleep deserves attention
After a broken night, you may notice that you feel hungrier or that food is harder to put out of your mind.
Research in adults shows that restricting sleep can increase hunger and food intake. Appetite hormones may contribute, alongside changes in how the brain responds to food. The hormone findings vary between studies, but the practical message is clear: sleep belongs in the conversation about appetite. [2], [3]
During perimenopause, night sweats and other symptoms can make sleep harder to maintain. If that sounds familiar, look beyond your plate as well as at what is on it.
Start with what is practical: a regular sleep routine, a comfortable bedroom temperature and noticing whether late caffeine or alcohol affects your night.
If symptoms or persistent insomnia are interrupting your sleep, speak to your GP. Treatment and support are available, including HRT where appropriate and cognitive behavioural therapy. [4], [5]
For a closer look at disrupted nights and the support available, explore our guide to menopause and sleep.
First, check whether your meals are doing enough
Before making your meals smaller, look at what they contain and whether the amount suits your day.
A coffee and a slice of toast may be convenient before work. A light salad may be easy between meetings. By mid-afternoon, you may simply need more food.
Does breakfast include a useful source of protein? Is lunch substantial enough for the hours that follow? Have you increased your walking or exercise without adjusting your meals? Are you postponing food until you are very hungry?
Hunger is information you can respond to. If you regularly finish a meal wanting more, try changing its composition or portion size and notice the difference.
For a wider look at your everyday eating pattern, explore our menopause diet guide.
Practical ways to build more satisfying meals
Give protein a place at breakfast and lunch
Dinner often gets the attention when we think about protein. Look at the earlier meals too.
Eggs on toast, Greek yoghurt with oats, tofu scramble or beans alongside breakfast all offer ways to include it. At lunch, try lentils, fish, chicken, cottage cheese or tofu as a substantial part of the meal.
Check labels where useful. Yoghurts and plant alternatives can vary considerably in protein content.
Include fibre from a variety of foods
Oats, beans, lentils, wholegrains, fruit and vegetables contribute fibre as well as variety.
Add chickpeas to a salad, use wholemeal bread for a sandwich or keep frozen vegetables ready for dinner. These are small, repeatable changes rather than a new set of food rules.
Increase fibre gradually if you currently eat little, and drink enough fluid.
Keep enough food on the plate
Build a meal around a source of protein, vegetables or fruit, and foods such as potatoes, bread, rice or other grains. Include some fats, such as olive oil, nuts or seeds, across your day.
Adjust the quantities to your needs. You may need a larger lunch on an active day, or a snack when dinner will be late. A meal needs to work for the day you are having.
Make meal timing work for you
Notice what happens when meetings push lunch back or you leave a long gap before dinner.
If that pattern leaves you uncomfortably hungry, plan an earlier meal or a snack you can keep at work. There is no requirement to eat by the clock. The useful question is whether your routine supports you.
A WORD FROM CLAIRE
“Cravings aren’t just about willpower. […] The goal isn’t to cut everything out, but to make cravings feel more manageable.”
Claire Thomas
BANT Registered Nutritionist, Eve Biology
If you would like help putting these ideas into practice, our five-day menopause meal plan gives you a starting point for planning meals across the working week.
Where Eve fits into a busy day
Having a few convenient options makes it easier to fit a meal around work, travel and everything else in the diary.
Eve Biology’s Rebalancing Shake is a plant-based meal replacement shake, providing 25.4g of protein, 5.3g of fibre, 24 vitamins and minerals, and 209 calories per 55g serving when prepared with water according to the label.
It offers a straightforward option when preparation time is short. As with any meal, consider how it fits into the rest of your day, including your appetite, activity and overall food intake. If you are still hungry, you may need additional food.
Explore Eve’s Rebalancing Shakes
If you are considering a shake, our guide to best meal replacement shakes for weight loss explains what to look for and how the options compare.
A simple way to understand your own pattern
For a few days, make a brief note of your meals, when you feel hungry and how you slept. Include exercise or unusually demanding days if they seem relevant.
You might find that hunger follows a small lunch, appears after training or is more noticeable after a broken night.
Choose one adjustment and see whether it helps: a more substantial lunch, food ready after exercise or support for symptoms affecting sleep.
The purpose is to find something useful, not to score your eating or turn every meal into a calculation.
When to get advice
If increased hunger is persistent, unusual for you or difficult to explain, speak to your GP and mention any other changes.
If you also have persistent thirst, are urinating more often or are losing weight without trying, seek prompt medical advice rather than assuming it is menopause. [6]
Frequently asked questions
Why am I hungrier during perimenopause?
Appetite can change during the menopause transition. Hormonal changes, broken sleep, activity and the amount you eat may all contribute. Looking at when hunger occurs and what your day has involved can help you identify a useful place to start.
Can poor sleep make me want to eat more?
Yes. Experimental research in adults has found that restricting sleep can increase hunger and food intake. Changes in appetite hormones and the brain’s response to food may both play a part. [2], [3]
Should I ignore hunger if I am trying to lose weight?
Regularly feeling very hungry is a reason to review your approach, rather than something you have to push through. Look at meal size, protein, fibre and timing. Seek individual nutrition advice if you are struggling to find a manageable pattern.
Do cravings mean my blood sugar is unstable?
A craving alone cannot tell you what your blood glucose is doing. Recent meals, sleep and familiar routines are all worth considering. Our guide to blood sugar balance in menopause explores the topic in more detail. Persistent or unexplained symptoms deserve medical advice.
Understanding gives you more options
Your appetite is worth paying attention to.
Start with the part of your day that is not working: the breakfast that leaves you hungry, the delayed lunch or the broken nights. Make one useful adjustment, notice what changes and build from there.
The goal is to eat well in a way that supports the life you lead.
References
- Effects of the menopausal transition on dietary intake and appetite: a MONET Group Study. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2014.
- Effects of sleep restriction on metabolism-related parameters in healthy adults: a comprehensive review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2019.
- Short sleep duration, glucose dysregulation and hormonal regulation of appetite in men and women. Sleep, 2012.
- NHS: Things you can do to help menopause and perimenopause symptoms.
- NHS: Treatment for menopause and perimenopause.
- NHS: Diabetes.
