Weight Loss Clinic Wollongong – Specialising in Peri Menopause / Sanctuary By Thrive
Why do we gain weight during peri menopause & menopause – despite trying everything? Parents Guide Illawarra asked the experts from Sanctuary by Thrive, Wollongong’s leading clinic for weight loss for perimenopausal and menopausal women. Dr. Jemima Grant and team offer medically supervised, evidence-based, personalised weight management plans. Sustainable effective weight loss results comes from treating the root causes of weight gain—not just the symptoms. We asked this leading Illawarra doctor, why perimenopause can make weight management more challenging, and what weight loss solutions are best.
Dr Grant knows her clients have worked at weight management. She explained that for many women, perimenopause – the transitional stage before menopause – brings sudden shifts in hormone levels that can impact metabolism, leading to weight gain, especially around the midsection. It’s a common yet frustrating change women face, affecting confidence and self-esteem and increasing future health risks. Mood changes, poor sleep, and general fatigue often accompany this, making it feel nearly impossible to focus on your health.
Due to hormonal shifts, maintaining a healthy weight in perimenopause means we have to change the lifestyle tricks. At Sanctuary by Thrive, Dr Grant and her medical team are dedicated to helping women unpack the realities of perimenopause and weight loss, offering actionable, evidence-based solutions.
The Science Behind Weight Gain During Perimenopause Explained
In perimenopause, hormonal and metabolic shifts occur such as oestrogen fluctuation and insulin resistance that change how your body stores fat, how are body makes muscle and how your body uses insulin to reduce blood glucose levels. This means there is a predictable increase in body fat, reduction in lean body mass and insulin resistance.
Some of the changes in perimenopause you might experience are:
- Slower metabolism: the body burns fewer calories at rest, making weight gain more likely;
- Abdominal fat storage: hormonal shifts may lead to more fat being stored around your midsection, increasing risks for conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes;
- Sleep disruption: poor sleep can disrupt hormones that regulate appetite, leading to overeating, as well as increasing cortisol (our stress hormone);
- Mood changes and fatigue: emotional stress and tiredness can exacerbate sleep disruption, making it harder to stick to healthy eating or exercise routines.
These are real, physiological challenges that require targeted strategies to overcome. The truth is, the standard “eat less, exercise more” advice doesn’t always work during perimenopause. Your body’s needs have changed, and your weight management approach should reflect that.
Weight Loss During Perimenopause – The Sanctuary by Thrive Approach
Sanctuary by Thrive takes a holistic, multidisciplinary approach that considers every aspect of your health during perimenopause.
Our medical team includes 2 specialist GPs, Dr. Jemima Grant and Dr. Natalie Jonker, with an interest in metabolic health and hormones. We now have an in-clinic team including a Clinical Naturopath, Nadine Campbell and a Perimenopause & Metabolic Health Coach, Kylie Bucich, to help our patients make meaningful lifestyle and nutrition habits and recommend evidence-based supplements and herbal interventions to help with symptoms.
Dr. Grant and Dr. Jonker bring over 20 years of experience as GPs, and their unique perspective as busy mums and perimenopausal women, makes them uniquely attuned to your needs. This includes offering solutions for sustainable change for challenges beyond weight, such as skin changes, fatigue, poor sleep, and reduced libido including menopausal hormone therapy and medications to assist with significant weight gain.
Some Simple Tips
The habits you build every day are the most important interventions for meaningful and sustainable weight loss and general health. Changing your alcohol and eating habits, prioritising sleep, addressing stress management and exercising to increase your muscle mass, are the foundation for long term change.
1. Targeted Nutrition
Starving yourself will not result in long term health or weight loss. Fad diets are not the answer. Instead, we recommend nourishing your body with balanced meals rich in lean proteins, healthy fats, and fibre to stabilise your blood sugar and help your body to make muscles and bones. You also need to cut down alcohol – we advise less than 6 drinks a week, less if you have a history or family history of breast cancer.
2. Get strong, and increase your muscle mass
Evidence now supports increasing your muscle mass as the primary driver to longevity and health. We suggest a supervised, strength-based exercise program that will help your muscle cells to grow. In addition to this, we recommend moving daily for your mood to encourage fat reduction – a walk for 30 minutes a day to improve your general health – make sure you are slightly out of breath as this is the best indicator of exercising at the correct intensity to burn fat.
Growing your muscle mass has been shown to reduce diabetes, heart disease, dementia and depression. To get started – see an Exercise Physiologist, Physiotherapist or Personal Trainer who can personalise a program for you – this avoids injury and bad habits.
3. Consider Medical Support
Sometimes, lifestyle adjustments aren’t enough – and that’s okay. A medical review can uncover deeper insights into your metabolic health and hormonal balance.
Our doctors can prescribe evidence-based medical treatments, including:
- Body Identical Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) to rebalance hormones. MHT replaces the hormones your body no longer produces, helping to improve the metabolic and inflammatory effects of oestrogen deficiency and improve symptoms like hot flushes, aches and pain, disrupted sleep, mood changes, and low energy levels. If you are in your 40s and have noticed these symptoms, we suggest a review.
- GLP-1 agonists (“weight loss injections”), which can aid fat loss by reducing appetite, improving blood sugar levels and for some patients, they can reduce problem drinking and binge eating. GLP-1 agonists, often referred to as “weight loss injections,” can offer significant improvement to those who have struggled with their weight long term or have underlying health issues like insulin resistance or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
These medications, however, are not one-size-fits-all, have risks, and do not work in the long term if you don’t improve your lifestyle. They should only be used under ongoing medical supervision.
Dr Grant says “It’s essential that medical treatments are thoughtfully reviewed and incorporated into your care plan only when necessary”. For successful weight management, they have to complement your holistic health strategy, long term monitoring and education on how to use them effectively. They should not be used as a quick fix to lose weight, as evidence shows us that patients are likely to put their weight back on when they stop and can also reduce their muscle mass and bone mass if not used under supervision”.
4. Adopt a Holistic Perspective
Real, lasting weight management goes beyond quick fixes. At Sanctuary by Thrive Skin, we provide integrative care, referring to a range of healthcare professionals, responding to the unique mental and emotional needs of each patient.
5. Regular Check-ins and Review
Dr Grant emphasises the importance of ongoing monitoring using validated questionnaires, as well as cardiometabolic screening to look at your long-term risk of disease.
How Sanctuary by Thrive is Different
Dr Grant and her team at Sanctuary by Thrive take a holistic, multidisciplinary approach that considers every aspect of your health during perimenopause.
Unlike generic services that hand you a script or so-called “quick fix”, Dr Grant provides a best-in-class approach to perimenopause health – right here at Sanctuary by Thrive in the Illawarra.
- Experienced Specialists – Dr Jemima Grant and Dr Natalie Jonker hold over 20 years of medical experience, combining deep expertise in perimenopause and weight loss with firsthand understanding as busy mums and perimenopausal women themselves. Both are Fellows of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and members of the Australasian Menopause Society and continue to stay up to date with the latest developments and research.
- Holistic Care – Dr Grant and Dr Jonker practice alongside diabetes educators, naturopaths, nutritionists and health coaches, ensuring every aspect of your health is supported.
- Evidence-Based Solutions – we only use TGA approved medications including menopausal HRT and medications to support weight maintenance. Everything we recommended is grounded in solid scientific research and tailored to each unique woman.
Are you ready to prioritise your health and regain balance during perimenopause?
If you’ve been struggling with your hormones, weight, or want lifestyle support to improve your health in the long term, take the first step by booking a consultation today. Sanctuary by Thrive have 3 different consultation options: a medical appointment with Dr. Jemima Grant and Dr. Natalie Jonker – specialist GPs and Fellows of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, a Naturopathic Medicine consultation with Nadine Campbell or consider lifestyle support with our Health Coach Natalie Bucich.
They have a supporting and empathetic team to guide you along the way and create a personalised plan that puts your wellbeing front and centre.
Book Your Consultation at Sanctuary by Thrive today
If you’re ready for solutions tailored to your unique needs, it starts with a conversation. Book online at thriveskinclinic.com.au or call (02) 4272 5070. Together, they’ll create a plan that helps you thrive through this life transition.
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