Balancing Your Blood Sugar To Manage Menopause Symptoms

Balancing Your Blood Sugar To Manage Menopause Symptoms.

Discover how simple food shifts can reduce cravings, improve energy, and support your hormones — no glucose monitor required.

Do you wake up tired, reach for coffee before breakfast, and crash by mid-afternoon only to crave something sweet or salty to get through the day? 

If so, you’re not alone. 

These frustrating patterns are incredibly common in midlife, and they’re often blamed on poor willpower or not getting enough sleep.

However, there’s something deeper happening and it starts with your blood sugar.

In menopause and perimenopause, your body becomes more sensitive to blood sugar spikes and crashes.

This means that mood swings, brain fog, cravings, poor sleep, and stubborn weight gain might not just be hormonal chaosmthey could be signs of blood sugar dysregulation.

The good news? 

You don’t need a continuous glucose monitor or a low-carb diet to fix it. 

You can start resetting your energy and supporting hormone balance with real food, a well-balanced plate, and a few intentional choices that work with your body — not against it.

In this post, we’ll explore:

• What blood sugar imbalance really looks like
• How it’s connected to symptoms like cravings, low mood, and fatigue
• Why whole foods, good fats, and fibre are more effective than gadgets
• How to make menopause feel more manageable and even empowering

Let’s get to the root of it, so you can feel better naturally and start your day in a way that sets the tone for hormone harmony.

What Blood Sugar Dysregulation Looks Like (Especially in Midlife)

Blood sugar imbalance isn’t just a concern for people with diabetes it plays a huge role in how you feel day to day, especially during menopause. 

When your blood glucose levels swing too high or too low, your body responds with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. 

Over time, this can lead to insulin resistance, increased fat storage, low energy, and inflammation all of which make menopause symptoms worse.

So what does dysregulation actually look like in your life?

Here are some common signs:

• You wake up tired, even after 7–8 hours of sleep
• You need caffeine or sugary drinks to function in the morning
• You get irritable, shaky, or light-headed between meals
• You experience energy crashes, especially mid-afternoon
• You crave white bread, fruit juice, or sweet snacks — often at night
• You struggle with mood swings and low motivation
• You feel exhausted after meals or get sleepy after eating white rice or large portions of carbs
• You often wake between 2–4am, wired and restless

If you’ve experienced any of these, your blood sugar control may need some support and it’s not about cutting all carbs or counting grams of carbohydrate obsessively.

In menopause, fluctuating estrogen impacts the way your body uses insulin, making it harder to keep healthy blood sugar levels stable even if you’re eating what used to “work” for you in your 30s and early 40s.

That’s why understanding and gently improving your glycemic control is one of the best ways to support your hormones naturally.

The Hormone Connection: Crashes, Cravings & Cortisol

So how exactly does blood sugar affect your hormones — and why does it feel so much worse in midlife?

When your blood sugar spikes (after a sugary snack, a big bowl of white pasta, or skipping meals and then overeating), your body pumps out the hormone insulin to clear the excess glucose from your bloodstream. 

This is a normal process but when it happens too often, your cells stop responding to insulin properly. 

This is known as insulin resistance, and it’s a key factor in many menopause symptoms, including:

• Stubborn weight gain around the belly
• Low energy levels, especially in the afternoon
• Increased cravings for carbs, salt, or sugar
• Sleep disruption
• Mood swings and low resilience to stress

Here’s where it gets even more interesting: every time your blood sugar crashes after a rapid rise, your body sees it as a mini emergency. 

It releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to bring your glucose back up. 

Over time, this pattern can lead to chronic stress, fatigue, and a heightened risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease especially when paired with hormonal shifts in menopause.

These ups and downs also affect your ability to burn fat, regulate appetite, and feel emotionally stable and because your hormone insulin works closely with estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol, keeping your blood sugar on a more even keel is one of the simplest, most powerful ways to ease your symptoms — without needing diabetes medicines or a continuous glucose monitor.

Why Real Food (Not Devices or Diets) Is the Best Way to Start

If you’ve ever felt tempted by the latest continuous glucose monitor, carb-tracking app, or low-carb diet trend, you’re not alone. 

These tools can provide data but they’re not required to create lasting change, especially in menopause.

In fact, focusing too much on grams of carbohydrate or obsessively checking your glucose can disconnect you from your body’s natural cues. 

You can support your hormones and energy more effectively by learning how to build a well balanced diet rooted in real food and guided by how you feel not just what a screen tells you.

Here’s what works instead:

• Start your day with a savoury breakfast: Skipping sweet options like fruit juice, white toast, or sugary cereals helps prevent a rapid rise in blood sugar first thing. Instead, include lean proteins, healthy fats, and high-fiber foods.
• Include complex carbohydrates and essential nutrients: These are rich in insoluble fiber and keep you full longer.
• Watch your portion sizes, not just the food type: Even healthier food choices can cause blood sugar spikes if portions are too large. This is especially true for refined foods like white rice, white bread, and foods with added sugar.
• Build meals that satisfy: A nourishing plate helps prevent the binge-restrict cycle and promotes a healthy lifestyle that supports long-term metabolic and hormonal balance.
• Avoid ultra-processed triggers: Sugary drinks, energy drinks, and foods with hidden sugars and inflammatory seed oils can throw off your balance even if the rest of your day is on track. Learning to read food labels is a great first step.

The goal isn’t perfection. 

It’s about steady lifestyle changes that help your body use enough insulin effectively without the rollercoaster of highs and lows. 

This approach also supports overall health, reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other serious health problems that can arise in menopause and beyond.

Simple Daily Shifts for Healthy Blood Sugar Levels

Balancing your blood sugar doesn’t have to mean overhauling your entire diet overnight. 

The best thing you can do is make small, consistent changes that support hormone balance, improve insulin sensitivity, and increase your energy levels on a regular basis.

Here are a few simple strategies to get started:

🍳 Eat within 60–90 minutes of waking

If you eat breakfast starting your day with added sugar (think: muffins, cereal, or fruit juice) leads to a blood sugar spike and an energy crash not long after. 

A savoury breakfast with lean protein, healthy fats, and a portion of complex carbohydrates sets you up for stable energy all day.

👉 Need inspiration? Try the free [Savoury Starts guide] — it’s full of real-food breakfast ideas to help you feel grounded and nourished.

🥗 Prioritise balance on every plate

Use the “well-balanced plate” approach:

• Prioritise protein, find out how much you should have HERE.
• High-fibre foods
• Good fat

This structure helps slow the release of glucose and reduces the demand on your hormone insulin.

🚶‍♀️ Move after meals

A short walk (even 10 minutes!) after eating helps your blood vessels shuttle glucose into your muscles supporting blood sugar control and reducing the risk of high blood glucose. 

This habit also supports cardiovascular health and is a good way to relieve stress levels naturally.

😴 Support your sleep + stress hormones

Chronic stress, poor sleep, and irregular meals can raise cortisol, which disrupts insulin levels and increases your risk of high blood sugar levels and weight gain. 

Try calming evening routines, regular physical activity, and reducing stimulants (like caffeine and energy drinks) and get morning and evening daylight to reset your circadian rhythm.

Take Control of Your Menopause Experience — One Balanced Bite at a Time

Balancing your blood sugar is one of the most effective ways to manage menopause symptoms naturally. 

By tuning in to your body’s needs and choosing whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, you can ease energy crashes, reduce cravings, and support your hormones all without expensive devices or restrictive diets.

If you’re ready to start feeling more energised and in control, why not take the first step today?

👉 Download Savoury Breakfast Ideas For Hormone Harmony to calim 10 free nourishing breakfast ideas designed to stabilise your blood sugar and fuel your day — perfect for menopause support.

Or, dive into the 5-Day Menopause Reset Challenge, where you’ll discover 5 nutrients your body needs to thrive through menopause and beyond and how to implement these simple daily shifts to calm your blood sugar, balance your mood, and reclaim your vitality all with guidance and support along the way.

You don’t need to navigate this alone. 

With the right knowledge and tools, you can make menopause a season of strength, clarity, and balance.

Learn more about my 12-week signature program and the 8-step pathway that will give you all the tools you need to thrive through menopause and beyond! HERE.