The Hidden Perimenopause Struggle No One Warned Us About
If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and thought, “This isn’t my body… what is happening?” — you’re not alone.
Just this year, one of the women who reached out to me said something I hear almost weekly:
“I'm starting to realise that everything I’ve been going through for the past three, four years is actually perimenopause. I haven’t felt fantastic, I’m always tired… I just blamed it on the kids. I’ve been eating well, exercising 4-5 days a week, but nothing is shifting. My body is changing and I don’t feel in control anymore.”
Her story is the story of so many midlife women — women who are smart, proactive, health-conscious, and doing “everything right,” yet nothing seems to work anymore.
Instead of getting results, the scale doesn’t budge. Fatigue lingers. Workouts feel harder. And the body they’ve always known suddenly feels unfamiliar.
And the hardest part?
They blame themselves.
For many women, the symptoms creep in quietly. A little weight gain that won’t shift. A sudden change in where the weight sits — especially around the tummy and hips. Feeling puffy. More tired. Less resilient. More emotional. A sense of being off.
Most women don’t realise it’s perimenopause… until years later.
Just like the woman on my call, who said:
“I actually started doing my own research because I didn’t feel fantastic… and now I see it clearly. I want to get control of it before it gets out of control.”
She’s young. She’s fit. She’s dedicated.
But her body has been quietly shifting beneath the surface while she continued doing the same things that always used to work.
That is where the frustration begins.
Here’s the truth no one tells women early enough:
Your body in your 40s and 50s is running on a completely different operating system.
What worked at 28 — or even 38 — won’t necessarily work at 45.
Hormones influence:
So when estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol all start shifting…
your body starts responding differently.
Most women think it’s their fault.
It isn’t.
It’s physiology.
This woman told me:
“I go to the gym 4-5 days a week. I’ve been consistent for years. Every body scan is the same — no change, even though I work so hard.”
This is one of the biggest heartbreaks women carry silently.
They’re dedicated.
They’re disciplined.
They’re doing more than they ever have.
And still…
It makes them feel like they’re failing — or like their body is betraying them.
But the truth?
Their body is asking for a different kind of support.
Not punishment. Not harder workouts. Not stricter diets.
Support. Nourishment. Nervous system care. Hormone-aligned strategies.
Women come to me when they’re frustrated, confused, and exhausted from “doing all the things.”
They tell me:
My work is about giving them that.
Most women are shocked when I explain the hormonal patterns that have been affecting them for years without them realising it.
Once they understand why their body feels different, everything shifts.
Not by eating less.
Not by exercising harder.
But by aligning nutrition, protein, fats, carbs, and meal timing with the midlife metabolism — so the body finally feels safe to release weight again.
Many women overtrain in midlife, thinking it will help.
It often backfires.
Together we recalibrate intensity, load, and recovery so the body becomes stronger without being stressed.
Because cortisol is one of the biggest drivers of midlife weight gain.
My clients learn how to nourish the nervous system, not fight it.
This is the part women don’t expect…
but it’s the part that changes everything.
When a woman starts listening to her body instead of fighting it, the frustration melts.
She starts feeling grounded again.
She starts feeling hopeful again.
She starts feeling like herself again.
If you’re reading this and thinking:
“This sounds like me…”
It probably is.
Women come to me when they are ready to stop guessing, stop blaming themselves, and start understanding their bodies with compassion and clarity.
The woman on that call didn’t need another diet.
She didn’t need more intensity.
She didn’t need to work harder.
She needed support.
She needed a guide.
She needed someone who understands women’s midlife physiology.
She needed personalised strategies that actually work for her changing body.
And that’s exactly what I give the women I work with.
Because you deserve to feel strong, capable, and confident in your body — no matter your age, no matter your hormones, and no matter what season of life you’re in.
