The PERI-GAIN. WTF is happening to your body. If your hormones always felt a little off ... perimenopause is a different beast entirely. This isn't PMS. This is a full hormonal shift that changes how your body stores fat, processes food, and responds to stress. You're not going crazy. Here's what's actually shifting. Estrogen is fluctuating,and fat is moving with it. As estrogen becomes unstable, your body redirects fat storage straight to your abdomen. And it's not just about how it looks. Visceral belly fat is metabolically active and inflammatory ... meaning it actively makes the problem worse the longer it sits there. Your insulin sensitivity is changing. Carbs that never affected you before are now making you puffy, bloated, and inflamed ... and storing as fat instead of burning as fuel. This isn't a food intolerance. It's your cells responding to insulin differently than they used to. Your stress tolerance dropped ... at the worst possible time. Estrogen buffers your cortiso...