If you work with pre-, peri- or post-menopausal women, you’ll know many of them don’t feel their best—mentally or physically. They report fatigue, irritability, brain fog, and low mood. It’s tempting to attribute everything to hormones (and yes, they matter), but there’s another hidden factor that often gets overlooked: the stress of trying to control eating with willpower.
When clients use their minds to control appetite instead of letting the body’s instinctive appetite system do its job, they can feel worse—both physically and mentally.
Here’s why, and what you as a trainer can do to help.
The Stress of Willpower-Driven Eating
Your clients’ bodies already have an intricate appetite regulation system. Hormones like ghrelin (hunger), peptide YY and CCK (fullness), leptin (long-term balance), and insulin (blood sugar control) work in sync with the brain to keep energy intake stable.
When clients override this system with food rules—“no carbs after 7pm,” “only 1,200 calories,” “skip breakfast”—they create an exhausting mental battle.
The results?
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Fatigue: constantly monitoring food takes mental energy
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Irritability and low mood: restriction elevates cortisol and undermines serotonin
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Sluggishness: the body slows metabolism when under-fuelled
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Food chatter: clients can’t stop thinking about food
As trainers, it’s important to recognise that this “control strategy” is draining. Just as breathing is automatic, eating should be instinctive—not an all-day mental negotiation.
Other Reasons Midlife Clients Don’t Feel Great
Yes, hormonal shifts are real. But menopause often coincides with other stressors that affect client wellbeing:
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Poor sleep (insomnia, night sweats, disrupted circadian rhythms)
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Life stress (teenagers, elderly parents, career pressure, relationships)
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Physical changes (declining muscle mass if resistance training/nutrition don’t support it)
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Dieting history (yo-yo dieting elevates appetite set-point and dysregulates signals)
In practice, this means many midlife clients aren’t just dealing with hormones—they’re also juggling the side effects of years of restrictive eating.
Negative Energy Balance: Why It Feels Bad
One of the most common outcomes of willpower-driven dieting is negative energy balance—consistently eating less than the body needs.
While “calorie deficit” is often celebrated, it’s worth reframing it for clients: running in the red.
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Fatigue: no fuel for daily life or training
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Brain fog: the brain underperforms without glucose
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Mood swings: low energy intake elevates stress hormones
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Muscle breakdown: if dietary energy isn’t sufficient, the body consumes muscle tissue
Helping clients understand that permanent under-fuelling doesn’t lead to sustainable health—or sustainable weight management—can be game-changing.
Low/No Carbs: Why Clients Feel Worse
Carb avoidance is a big theme in diet culture, especially marketed at midlife women. But physiologically, cutting carbs often backfires:
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Energy crash: carbs are the body’s most efficient energy source
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Mood decline: carbs regulate serotonin; too few = irritability, anxiety, low mood
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Digestive issues: carbs (especially fibre) feed the gut microbiome
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Cravings & rebound eating: restriction intensifies desire, fuelling binges
So when a client says, “I feel awful but I’m being good, I’ve cut out carbs,” it’s an opportunity to re-educate.
A Different Way Forward for PTs and Clients
As a trainer, you can help clients shift focus from control to trust. That means:
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Encouraging adequate fuelling (not glorifying energy deficits)
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Normalising carb inclusion at meals for energy and mood
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Supporting strength training to counter natural muscle decline
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Introducing intuitive eating principles: respecting hunger/fullness and rejecting rigid rules
This approach not only improves client energy and mood but also builds trust and longevity in your coaching relationship. Clients feel supported in health, not trapped in the next unsustainable rule set.
Final Thoughts
If your midlife clients seem constantly tired, foggy, or stuck in negative cycles, it may not just be hormones. It may be the long-term stress of willpower-driven dieting, under-fuelling, or cutting out key nutrients like carbohydrates.
As PTs, we have the chance to break this cycle by promoting adequate fuelling, muscle maintenance, and a return to the body’s natural appetite regulation. That shift—from mind control to body trust—can transform not only how clients feel, but how they train, recover, and thrive.
