What is the best diet for a 46 year old woman with chronic fatigue and
early menopause who also needs to lose weight?

With a couple of specific issues like you mention I think it would be
best for you to consult your family doctor and get their
recommendations as well as a possible referral to a Personal Trainer
who has a degree in Kinesiology and some industry certifications. They
will be a lot more qualified to answer your question as they can go
further into your current physical state, setup workouts, diet,
vitamin/supplement intake etc.

As a start though, it is generally best to eat 6 smaller meals a day
(roughly every two hours), eat a good balance of protein and
carbohydrates and make sure to eat a good helping of vegetables and
fruit during the day. A typical meal structure would be:

08:00am: Breakfast
10:00am: Snack
12:00pm: Lunch
02:30pm: Snack
05:00pm: Supper
08:00pm: Snack

The composition of those meals will be different based on what your
doctor and personal trainer feel is best for you. The general theory
behind eating every few hours is that your body never really feels
hungry and therefore will not store excess food/fat because your body
knows that in 2 hours it will eat again. When you only eat 3 large
meals a day your body will store the excess because it has to go so
long between meals and this can promote weight gain, or hinder weight
loss.

You will need to work out as well. Not just cardio, weight training
too or you won't really get much weight loss. Even though you are a
woman weight training is essential for physical fitness and weight
loss. Don't worry though, you won't turn into some musclebound freak
:)

forge

I think taking an estrogen supplement at this time may aleviate alot
of your discomfort. Try a plant based estrogen such as "Menest", for a
couple of months. I'll bet you see a difference in yuur energy level.
I did!
Good Luck!!
Spinnster