Do I need to cut carbs or certain foods?

If you've found yourself wondering whether carbs are the problem, or whether you should cut out gluten, or dairy, or sugar, or some other food you've read about online. You're not alone, and the question makes sense. Diet culture has spent decades telling us that certain foods are the enemy. It's hard to tune out.

So let's look at what the research actually says about carbs in perimenopause, because most of those rules don't hold up.

Why it happens

The reflex to cut a food group usually comes from somewhere. Maybe you felt better when you stopped eating something once. Maybe you've read that a certain food causes inflammation or stalls fat loss. Maybe the rules feel simpler than tracking. Rules are easier than counting, and when progress stalls, they're the first thing the brain reaches for.

The problem is that eliminating foods usually creates a restriction-rebound cycle. You cut out bread for two weeks, feel in control, then eat half a loaf on a Friday night and feel like a failure. The issue wasn't the bread. It was the restriction.

What to check first

Ask yourself what's actually driving the question. Is it that a specific food makes you feel unwell, or is it that you've eaten more of it than you planned and you're looking for a reason to ban it? Those are different situations with different answers.

Also check whether your calorie target and protein are actually in place. Most of the time when a food gets blamed for a stall, the real answer is in the total calories or the protein, not the food itself.

A few things to try (pick what feels doable)

No food causes fat gain in isolation. Fat gain comes from eating more energy than your body uses, consistently, over time. Carbs aren't uniquely fattening. Gluten doesn't slow your metabolism unless you have coeliac disease. Dairy doesn't cause weight gain for most people. The research on this is fairly settled.

What does matter is the hierarchy: calories first, then protein, then fibre. If those three are in order, the composition of what fills the rest is much less important than the internet suggests. Whole foods generally support that hierarchy well. Ultra-processed foods make it harder to stay in a deficit because they're engineered to be easy to overeat. That's the real distinction worth making.

If a food causes physical symptoms (digestive discomfort, bloating, a reaction) that's a medical conversation, not a coaching one. Worth flagging with your doctor rather than guessing.

If it's still feeling stuck

If the urge to eliminate foods keeps coming back, it's often a sign that the plan feels restrictive in another way, and the brain is trying to take control somewhere. That's worth exploring rather than acting on.

Still in your corner., Catharine