Insulin Resistance in Midlife: Signs, Symptoms, and How to Support Your Metabolism

This is often the most confusing stage.

For many women, insulin resistance doesn’t arrive loudly.
It creeps in quietly.

Energy starts to dip in the afternoon.
Cravings feel stronger and less predictable.
Weight gathers around the middle, even though eating habits haven’t changed much.

Often, this is the point where women are told to “try harder,” or “be more disciplined.”
But insulin resistance in midlife is rarely caused by lack of effort.

It’s a metabolic adaptation — and understanding it changes everything.

What Is Insulin Resistance?

Insulin is a hormone that helps move glucose from your bloodstream into your cells, where it’s used for energy.

When cells respond well to insulin, blood sugar stays stable and energy feels steady.
When cells become less responsive, the body compensates by producing more insulin to get the same job done.

Over time, this creates a state known as insulin resistance.

Importantly, insulin resistance is not the same as diabetes.
It’s a spectrum, and many women in midlife sit somewhere along it without realising.

This is one of the core reasons [metabolic health](LINK TO METABOLIC HEALTH PILLAR) becomes so important after 40.

Why Insulin Resistance Becomes More Common After 40

Midlife brings a perfect storm for insulin sensitivity.

Hormonal fluctuations during [perimenopause](LINK TO PERIMENOPAUSE BLOG) affect how insulin works.
Oestrogen normally helps keep cells sensitive to insulin, and as it fluctuates, that protection becomes less consistent.

Add in:

• Years of dieting or under-eating

• Chronic stress and elevated cortisol

• Loss of lean muscle

• Poor sleep or disrupted circadian rhythms

And insulin resistance becomes much more likely — even in women who eat “healthily” and exercise.

This isn’t a personal failure.
It’s physiology responding to long-term load.

Common Signs of Insulin Resistance in Midlife

Insulin resistance doesn’t always show up clearly on standard blood tests.
Often, the body gives functional clues first.

Common signs include:

• Energy crashes, especially mid-afternoon

• Strong cravings for sugar or refined carbohydrates

• Difficulty losing weight despite eating well

• Weight gain around the abdomen

• Feeling shaky, irritable, or “hangry” between meals

• Brain fog after eating

• Waking during the night, especially around 3–4am

Many women experiencing these symptoms are also struggling with [weight loss resistance](LINK TO WEIGHT LOSS RESISTANCE PAGE) — not because they’re doing something wrong, but because insulin is driving the pattern.

Why Cutting Calories or Carbs Often Makes Things Worse

When insulin resistance is present, the instinct is often to restrict more.

Less food.
Fewer carbohydrates.
Longer gaps between meals.

But for many midlife women, this increases stress hormones, worsens blood sugar swings, and reinforces insulin resistance rather than resolving it.

The body interprets restriction as threat.
Cortisol rises.
Glucose output from the liver increases.
Insulin demand goes up.

This is why so many women feel worse — not better — on ever tighter plans.

Supporting insulin sensitivity is not about control.
It’s about stability.

Insulin Resistance and the Stress Connection

Insulin does not operate in isolation.

Cortisol, adrenaline, sleep quality, and nervous system state all influence how insulin behaves.
Chronic stress keeps blood sugar elevated and reduces insulin sensitivity — even with a “perfect” diet.

This is why addressing stress physiology is just as important as food choices.
I explore this more deeply in [How Stress Hormones Affect Appetite, Cravings, and Weight After 40](LINK TO STRESS / CORTISOL BLOG).

If the nervous system doesn’t feel safe, insulin regulation remains compromised.

How to Support Insulin Sensitivity in Midlife (Without Dieting)

Improving insulin sensitivity is not about drastic changes.
It’s about creating conditions where the body can respond again.

That often includes:

• Eating regularly to prevent large blood sugar swings

• Prioritising adequate protein at meals

• Including carbohydrates in a way that supports stability, not fear

• Reducing physiological stress (sleep, recovery, nervous system regulation)

• Preserving and building lean muscle

• Choosing movement that improves sensitivity rather than depleting energy

These shifts support insulin sensitivity without pushing the body into survival mode.

This is the foundation of a non-diet approach, which I explain further in [A Non-Diet Approach to Metabolic Health in Midlife](LINK TO NON-DIET BLOG).

Why Insulin Resistance Is Reversible (and Not a Life Sentence)

One of the most important things to know is this:

Insulin resistance is not permanent.

Cells can regain sensitivity when stress load is reduced and energy regulation improves.
This happens more reliably when the focus shifts from weight loss to metabolic health.

When insulin sensitivity improves, many women notice:

• Steadier energy

• Fewer cravings

• Better sleep

• Improved mood

• And often, easier weight regulation

Not because they forced it — but because the body finally felt supported.

The Takeaway

If you’re eating well and nothing feels stable — energy, appetite, weight — insulin resistance may be part of the picture.

That doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
It means your metabolism is asking for a different kind of care.

Supporting insulin sensitivity in midlife isn’t about eating less.
It’s about helping the body feel safe enough to respond.

If you want clarity, a [metabolic health assessment](LINK TO SERVICE PAGE) or this [metabolic health quiz](LINK TO QUIZ) can help identify whether insulin resistance is playing a role for you.

Midlife isn’t the time to fight your metabolism.
It’s the time to understand it.