Sunday 18 October is World Menopause Day. If you’re in perimenopause or menopause, you’ve probably spent years looking after everyone else. This is your reminder that your health deserves the same care.
Here’s what women told us about weight and menopause, what our Health Coaches hear every day and how you can start putting yourself first.
You’re not imagining it
We surveyed women across the UK about menopause and weight. This was a survey of the general public, not CheqUp members. Of the women experiencing perimenopause or menopause symptoms:*
82% said managing their weight had become harder since their symptoms started.
44% said weight changes were one of the symptoms that affected them most.
Yet only 15% of the women we surveyed who found their weight harder to manage felt supported by healthcare professionals.
Many simply accepted it: 40% put it down to ageing and 32% didn’t think they’d be taken seriously if they asked for help.
If that sounds familiar, you’re far from alone.
You haven’t stopped trying
Kirsten, a Health Coach at CheqUp, says she hears the same words again and again: “I never had a problem losing weight before. Now nothing seems to work.”
“These are often women who’ve managed their weight perfectly well for years with sensible eating and exercise,” she says.
“They haven’t given up or stopped trying. Most of them are working really hard. They just can’t understand why their body isn’t responding the way it used to.”
And midlife rarely comes on its own. Ageing parents, teenagers, children leaving home, work: it can all land at once. Your own health is often the first thing to slip down the list.
Putting yourself first, one step at a time
Putting yourself first doesn’t mean doing more. Often it means doing things differently. These are three shifts Kirsten sees make a real difference.
Protect your sleep. “Sleep and energy matter the most from a coaching point of view, because they affect everything else,” Kirsten says.
“If you’re exhausted, you’re more likely to grab whatever’s easy to eat, skip the gym and lose your routine.”
Nourish yourself, don’t restrict yourself. Many women are still following the dieting advice they grew up with in the 1980s and 1990s: eat less, avoid fat, exercise more.
“I remember coaching women who were surprised when I suggested they might actually need to eat more, not less,” says Kirsten.
Instead of seeing food as the enemy, she helps women see that properly nourishing their bodies is part of the solution.
Be kinder to your body. Kirsten helps women see they don’t need to punish themselves with endless cardio or survive on tiny portions. Strength training, balanced meals and realistic changes to everyday life are a kinder place to start.
We are here to support you at this time
Putting yourself first can start with one conversation.
The CheqUp Method is our complete approach to Weight Health. It starts with understanding you: your health, your history and what’s going on in your life right now, including menopause.
It combines clinically appropriate treatment with expert support from your personal Weight Health team who care for you, not just your weight.
- Your Clinician oversees your health and makes the clinical decisions.
- Your Health Coach gets to know you and helps your plan work in real life. Not a chatbot, an actual person.
- The Weight Watchers app, included with every CheqUp membership, helps you track your health and progress.
90% of those who used a CheqUp Health Coach said having a dedicated Health Coach kept them motivated and on track. 86% of CheqUp members feel confident in their ability to maintain their weight long term.**
This World Menopause Day, make some time for you. We care about you, not just your weight.
*Vypr survey of 750 UK women aged 35 to 64 from the general public (not CheqUp members), 9 October 2026. Figures on weight are from the 434 women with perimenopause or menopause symptoms. Figures on support and seeking help are from the 356 women who said managing their weight had become harder.
**Customer survey, 2,831 participants, December 2025.
