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As you enter 40s, it can be a sudden shock to realize that your once tight and fit body has softened and your tummy seems to grow despite eating the same way you always have. This can be an emotional experience, as you may feel like you’ve lost control over your body. You might have heard this referred to as Meno Belly or the middle-age spread, but regardless of the label, it can be a challenging time.
And if you’re like me, you’ve probably tried dieting, hitting the gym, hot yoga, peloton rides, and even weight loss pills that promised “quick results”. But nothing has worked so far.
Hang in there, because in this article, we’re going to examine the reasons behind belly fat accumulation in our 40s and 50s, explore ways to get rid of the unwanted midsection, and share our personal favorites. Let’s jump in!
There are countless reasons why we gain belly fats and finding the right one is key to helping you lose the belly fat.
And for most women in their 40s and 50s, a very common reason is hormonal change.
Our hormones influence the amount of fats our body absorbs and where they store them (hint: the belly!)
Let’s explore the four key reasons for hormonal weight gain first:
Perimenopause and menopause are the most important contributor to hormonal weight gain because they are natural stages of life that every woman goes through.
Generally, perimenopause starts around 45 and lasts for 7 years before menopause. However, some women go through perimenopause as early as their late 30s.
During this period, estrogen levels decline which leads to higher amounts of fats deposited around the belly.
Why the belly? Because estrogen is like a messenger in our body and they tell our body what to do. When estrogen levels are low, more fats are deposited around the belly where our organs are.
Furthermore, many women experience low energy and sleep issues during this period. This can cause us to become less active and increase our appetite, causing a higher food intake than intended.
All these factors contribute to unexpected weight gain, and studies have found that as many as 80% of women experience sudden weight gain during menopause, so you’re not alone!
Around 600,000 women go through hysterectomy each year and over 20,000,000 women in the US have had hysterectomy.
What most women don’t know is that once they undergo hysterectomy, they start to experience what is called “surgical menopause”.
This means that they go through the same experience that any woman does during menopause since they no longer have periods.
While everybody is different, it is not uncommon for women who undergo hysterectomy to experience weight gain around the belly, for the very same reason that perimenopausal and menopausal women experience weight gain around their midsection.
Hypothyroidism is a medical condition that happens when the thyroid gland in our neck doesn’t make enough hormones.
These hormones help our body burn energy and when we don’t have enough of them, our body’s metabolism slows down. A slow metabolism means that our body doesn’t burn as many calories as it should, and the extra calories can turn into fat. Coupled with lower estrogen levels during our 40s and 50s which cause more fats to be stored around the belly, it is no surprise that we gain more belly fats as a result.
Another thing that happens in hypothyroidism is that our body doesn’t respond to insulin as well as it should. Insulin is a hormone that helps our body use sugar from the food we eat for energy. When our body doesn’t respond to insulin well, our body has to make more insulin to keep sugar levels in check. This can cause the body to store more fat around the belly area.
According to Health.com, there is some evidence that birth control may be associated with weight gain. But this requires further studies to be confirmed.
Birth control pills contain hormones that prevent pregnancy. One of these hormones, called progesterone, can cause the body to retain water and salt. This can make a person feel bloated and can cause them to gain weight, especially around the belly area. The weight gain may not be fat, but rather water weight, which can make a person’s belly look bigger.
Additionally, some studies suggest that birth control pills may affect a person’s metabolism, which is how their body uses energy from food. This means that a person may burn fewer calories throughout the day, which can cause them to gain weight.
Did you identify the likely reason(s) behind your sudden weight gain around the belly?
Next, we’ll explore effective ways to get rid of these belly fat. We’ll look at the popular methods – from supplements and pills to weight loss programs and diets – and share our recommendations.
Natural supplements may look a lot like weight loss pills, but they are made from safe and healthy ingredients.
High-quality supplements are formulated to supply specific nutrients and beneficial ingredients to the body.
Some natural supplements contain ingredients that help to lose belly fats. This includes:
Weight loss supplements are becoming more popular recently because they provide for a more balanced approach to weight loss compared to prescription drugs that may have higher efficacy but also carry more risks.
This approach means it can take time for most women to experience results (typically 60-180 days) and it doesn’t require extreme diets and excessive exercise – and avoids harmful side effects inherent in most drugs.
But a fair warning – given that supplements are not tightly regulated by the FDA, watch out for unrealistic claims. Be skeptical of any product guaranteeing that you can “lose 30 pounds in 30 days” – a legitimate company will not make that promise because it’s nearly impossible for it to work for everyone. Those kind of results typically reflect outlier conditions such as excessive weight or water weight that are the easiest to lose.
Weight loss medications have been clinically tested to reduce weight. In fact, drug trials show participants can lose up to 5 – 15% of their body weight.
However, these aren’t for just anyone to take. Most physicians only prescribe them when someone has a body mass index (BMI) of 30 and greater, or a BMI of 25 – 30 with a weight-related illness like type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
A big drawback of pharmaceutical fat blockers and appetite suppressants is they don’t resolve the root cause of the over-40s weight gain – such as hormonal cravings and sluggish metabolism. Left unchecked, the problem may worsen.
As with most prescription drugs, the side effects may make you wonder if it’s worth the risk. These include serious health issues like pancreatitis, seizures, heart palpitations, chest pain, insomnia, vomiting, uncontrolled bowel movements and suicidal thoughts, among others6.
The truth is, lasting weight loss especially around the midsection involves lots of commitment and effort.
It may require overcoming sedentary lifestyles and undoing habitual patterns of unhealthy eating, all ingrained for years.
Here’s where weight loss programs can bring much-needed support – by providing a mix of goal-setting, accountability check-ins, behavioral support, educational resources, and/or done-for-you meal plans.
However, hundreds of these programs flood the market every year, but few undergo rigorous evaluation for long-term efficacy.
A study of 141 weight loss programs in the United States revealed only 32 featured behavioral and nutritional components – while just 6 met US Preventive Services Task Force criteria.
So if you think participating in a program will help, choose one with evidence-based success rates.
Whether it’s intermittent fasting… doing the ketogenic diet… or juice fasts, nearly all belly fat burning diets count on eating fewer calories than your body uses, in order to shed the excess pounds.
But why do diets seem to stop working after 40?
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, women’s calorie needs drop as they age. That means you need to eat less to maintain the same weight – and even less if you wish to lose it.
But here’s another problem; most restrictive diets don’t last. Numerous studies prove dieters are prone to gaining back the pounds they’ve shed. Not to mention, hormonal changes can make older women crave food even more – making it extremely difficult to stick to a diet.
Here’s a major reason your workouts don’t seem to reap the same results as before – muscle atrophy as you age.
A study found that women can experience up to 10% decline in muscle mass during perimenopause and menopause. This is crucial, given that muscle mass affects metabolism.
At rest, muscles burn more calories than fat. So when muscles shrink, the female body consumes less energy. The result? A lower resting metabolism.
Increasing exercise frequency and adding muscle-strengthening activities is a great way to burn more calories and build healthy muscles.
In a nutshell, we think there is no one-size-fits-all solution. But we prefer an approach that is safe, sustainable, and doesn’t require major lifestyle changes if we’re already eating and moving in moderation.
For this reason, we’re going to explore natural supplements, find out what is on the market, and share some of our recommendations with you.
With thousands of belly fat burner supplements out there… How will you know what to pick?
Thankfully, we’ve done the legwork for you.
First, we analyzed a systematic review of 1,7437full-text articles, including data from 315 randomized clinical trials of 14 popular herbal supplement ingredients marketed for belly fat burn and weight loss published in the PubMed database. In addition, we examined 27 other clinical studies published on alternative belly fat burning ingredients in the market today.
Here are the main ingredient types that have demonstrated effectiveness in supporting belly fat burn and weight loss.
One systematic review of 27 randomized clinical trials8 on probiotics, published on the National Institutes of Health, PubMed database, found over 83% reported significant weight loss.
But be aware not all strains have fat-reducing effects.
Choose strains with “thermogenic” properties that are clinically-proven to increase metabolism, prevent fat absorption and decrease abdominal fat by strengthening gut health, boosting microbial diversity and lowering inflammation.
Natural, safe and effective – belly fat & weight management probiotics are in a class of their own.
Examples: L. gasseri SBT2055, L. gasseri BNR17, and L. curvatus HY7601 with L. plantarum KY1032
These are ingredients which stimulate or support fat breakdown into energy – especially useful for women who experience low metabolism and fatigue.
Just note that stimulants should not be consumed in excess – or you may risk heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and anxiety.
Examples: Green tea, caffeine, conjugated linoleic acid, capsaicin
Hormonal fluctuations can lead to changes in blood sugar levels, causing insatiable cravings that may derail diets and contribute to weight gain in women.
You can bring your appetite back to normal, with the help of these natural ingredients that rebalance and stabilize blood sugar levels.
Examples: Chromium, Moringa Leaf, dietary fibers
These ingredients naturally block fat from being absorbed from your diet or prevent storage in your body. Unlike prescription-strength fat blockers that can cause digestive issues, these natural ingredients are gentler. They either bind to fat molecules or intercept the fat formation process.
However, there’s little evidence to prove the long-term effectiveness of these ingredients.
Examples: Chitosan, garcinia cambogia
Provitalize is the only supplement in our list containing three of the best probiotic strains for combating belly fats (including L. gasseri SBT2055). Multiple studies suggest that these three strains are capable of supporting higher fat and cholesterol metabolism levels, reduce fat absorption in the gut, lower inflammation levels, and even tackle bloating – one of the reasons for a protruding belly.
In addition to probiotics, Provitalize contains a herbal blend with clinically-studied benefits for women including turmeric root extract, moringa leaf extract, and curry leaf extract. Together these herbs help to lower inflammation levels and serve as plant-based estrogen to support our hormonal levels.
By pairing absorption enhancers like BioPerine® (black pepper extract) and sunflower lecithin, with special delayed-release capsules DRCaps™️, Provitalize maximizes the absorption of its nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, as well as probiotic delivery.
According to their official website, over 1.2 million women have shed their stubborn weight with just two capsules a day. We counted over 25,000 reviews on Amazon, Trustpilot and Okendo, which gives us confidence in this product. As expected, there are some negative reviews from customers whom it didn’t work for, but the good news is that Better Body Co. offers a 90-day money-back guarantee. Most customers who didn’t see results managed to get a full refund (some reported they didn’t get a refund as they made a request past the 90-day window).
Want 50% faster visible weight results from Provitalize? Then the Slim Gut Bundle is for you. This holistic bundle combines the weight-management powers of Provitalize with ‘super fiber’ prebiotics in Previtalize.
The probiotics in Provitalize feed on these ‘super fibers’ to multiply faster in the gut. This means women can see faster visible results such as reduction of belly fat & cravings.
These healthy fibers include fructooligosaccharides, galactooligosaccharides, and inulin. Previtalize also aids digestion and stabilizes mood naturally.
We listed the Slim Gut Bundle 2nd only because it costs more than Provitalize alone. Other than that, we believe it’s the best-value-for-money bundle in the market right now.
Garcinia Cambogia is a popular weight loss ingredient and we came across an Orphic Nutrition supplement that was one of the more popular brands.
This supplement contains 2100mg of Garcinia Cambogia Extract made of 95% Hydroxycritic Acid (HCA), 105mg of Potassium, 105mg of Calcium, and 420mcg of Chromium.
According to Healthline, HCA is the key compound that has shown some anti-obesity effects in some studies. Early studies showed promising results but it is important to note that subsequent studies have not shown consistent results.
With this in mind, we looked at the customer reviews. Orphic Nutrition’s Garcinia Cambogia supplement is rated 4 stars on Amazon. As they carry multiple products, we are not able to ascertain the product’s ratings on other trusted sources such as Google.
Since Orphic Nutrition’s Garcinia Cambogia supplement has scored highly on Amazon and the presence of some studies to support the use of this ingredient as a weight-loss supplement, we think it deserves the third place in our recommendations.
NOW Supplements’ Chitosan contains 1.5g of Chitosan and 300mcg of Chromium per serving. Instead of generic chitosan, it uses LipoSan ULTRA, a high-density form of chitosan that binds up to 5X more fat than conventional chitosan according to a clinical study.
NOW Supplements is a reputable supplement brand and while there is a lack of broader scientific evidence behind the effectiveness of chitosan as a weight loss supplement, we think that NOW Supplement’s Chitosan deserves some attention.
However, take note that NOW Supplement’s Chitosan claims are targeted at weight loss and may not help with belly fats specifically.
More than 1,200 Amazon reviews have given NOW Supplements’ Chitosan the thumbs up and they also have 4.6 star rating on Google from thousands of customers. This gives us confidence to place it in the 4th spot.
Exipure is an affiliate-sold belly fat supplement containing 8 nutrients and plants aimed at increasing the proportion of brown adipose tissue (brown fat) in our body.
It contains a proprietary formula so the exact makeup of its ingredients are not fully known. These 8 ingredients include perilla, kudzu, holy basil, white korean ginseng, amur cork bark, propolis, quercetin, and oleuropein. Some of the ingredients have only been studied on animals, not humans.
Given the recent popularity of Exipure, we looked up customer reviews on neutral platforms like marketplaces and TrustPilot. We found that Exipure is rated 3 stars on Amazon and 1.8 stars on TrustPilot. For this reason, we doubt Exipure’s effectiveness for the majority of people and we don’t recommend it.
Shedding belly fat is one of the hardest things to do and while there are FDA-proven pharmaceutical solutions, these solutions may carry negative side-effects or could be aggressive. On the other hand, weight loss programs take time but they also can require a lot of effort, a restrictive diet, and a lot of money.
After reviewing the science behind nutritional supplements, we think it is the safest and most sustainable approach for the average woman.
Also, women can gain belly fats more easily after 40 due to multiple reasons. While lower estrogen levels could be the root cause, the intermediate concerns are inflammation, leaky gut, and lower metabolism. We recommend looking for supplements that can address all three.
Individual results vary, but according to our research, people supporting diet and exercise efforts may shed an additional 5-10% of weight with the supplements listed in this article.
Generally speaking, all of the belly fat burner supplements listed in this article are considered safe. If you have any health concerns consult your physician before buying.
