Why Do We Have Food Cravings?

Food cravings can hit you all at once in perimenopause. 

One day you wake up, and you notice you’re standing in the kitchen at 9:47 p.m., holding a spoon, thinking: “I ate dinner. I wasn’t even hungry. Why am I emotionally attached to peanut butter? 

It’s not a lack of willpower. It’s not “emotional eating” in the way we’ve been taught to blame ourselves. It’s biology… with a very specific sense of timing. 

Perimenopause is the era of hormonal havoc. Estrogen doesn’t just gently decline, it fluctuates. And estrogen plays a surprisingly important role in how your body handles blood sugar and insulin. 

Here’s the short of the estrogen-insulin connection: 

Estrogen helps your cells respond efficiently to insulin. 

Insulin’s job is to move glucose (fuel) from your bloodstream into your cells. 

When estrogen fluctuates, that system becomes less efficient. 

Research shows that during perimenopause, women can gain an average of 3.3 pounds per year without changing habits, largely due to shifts in estrogen and insulin sensitivity. 

When insulin doesn’t work as smoothly: 

• Blood sugar rises and falls more sharply 

• Energy crashes happen faster 

• Cravings get louder (especially for sugar and refined carbs) 

Your body isn’t being dramatic. It’s trying to stabilize itself, and honestly, it is okay if you gain a few pounds in the process. It is healthy, it is normal, and nobody is judging you.  

In your 20s and 30s, things were just more straightforward: you’d eat something, the glucose would go into your cells, and give you steady energy throughout the day. 

In perimenopause: you eat, glucose hangs out in your bloodstream longer, so insulin works harder, and your energy feels inconsistent, so sugar cravings appear like unavoidable iPhone alerts. 

Your body is asking for quick fuel because it’s struggling to access energy efficiently. That’s why cravings often show up: 

• in the late afternoon and evening 

• after stress 

• after poor sleep 

Not because you’re “undisciplined,” but because your metabolic system is adapting for your benefit. 

Unfortunately, that does mean that this is the stage of life where you can do everything right, and still find yourself up a dress size. Rest assured, as long as you are fueling your body properly, you are equally as radiant, and equally as deserving of admiration.  

It can be really difficult to feel the lack of control that comes with your old patterns affecting your physique differently. It’s very confusing.  Especially because the rules you followed for years suddenly feel… ineffectual. 

This is your sign to let go of the food rules that no longer serve you. Perimenopause is basically your body saying:  “Thank you for your previous strategies. We will be updating the system.” 

Self Blame Makes Us Less Balanced 

When cravings are framed as personal failure, women often respond with restriction and guilt, which will worsen blood sugar instability and stress hormones, leading to more cravings, and your body clinging onto to more calories to regulate. 

But when cravings are understood as signals of depletion, stress, or metabolic adaptation, the response changes: 

• More protein earlier in the day 

• More fiber and minerals 

• More consistent nourishment 

• Less punishment 

Research consistently shows that supporting insulin sensitivity, muscle mass, fiber intake, sleep, and stress regulation can reduce cravings, improving energy and overall physique — without extreme diets or overcorrection. 

This isn’t about discipline. It’s about adapting. 

If you’ve been wondering why your body feels louder lately — you’re not imagining it. It is easier said than done to release the anxiety you may feel over it, but we promise, nobody is noticing a couple extra pounds until you point it out.  And when they do, it’s likely to appreciate your evolution into the likeness of Aphrodite.  

 Perimenopause is a transition that asks for different inputs, and different approaches, not harsher rules. Your weight is not a moral issue, and you don’t have to be perfect at combatting cravings to be healthy. It’s all just information to help you feel your best.  

At Shala, we believe hormone balance feels best when education, nourishment, and self-trust move together. Understanding why your body is asking for something is often the first step toward feeling steadier again. 

Thank you for being curious instead of critical. Your body is doing its job — and now, you’re listening with love.