Well Body Podcast

What Every Woman Needs to Know About Perimenopause & Menopause With Andrea Riggans

• Renee Diment • Season 9 • Episode 3

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In this episode of the Well Body Podcast, Renee sits down with women’s health coach and personal trainer Andrea for an honest and empowering conversation around perimenopause, menopause, hormones, strength training, and navigating the major shifts women experience during this stage of life.

Together, they unpack the symptoms so many women are silently struggling with - from fatigue, anxiety, brain fog, sleep disruption, body composition changes, and mood shifts - and why so many women feel disconnected from their bodies during this transition.

Andrea also shares her personal journey navigating menopause alongside her lymphoma diagnosis, bringing both lived experience and professional insight into this deeply important conversation.

Inside this episode, we discuss:
• The early signs of perimenopause women often miss
• Why symptoms are about more than just hot flushes
• Hormones, metabolism, muscle, and body composition changes
• The importance of strength training during midlife
• Nervous system health, stress, and energy regulation
• How nutrition can support women during hormonal transitions
• Why women need better education and support around menopause
• Rebuilding trust, confidence, and connection with your body

This episode is designed to help women feel seen, informed, empowered, and supported - because these transitions are not something women should have to navigate alone.

Find Andrea:
➡️ INSTAGRAM

➡️ ONLINE


Find Renee: Beyond the Body

For more info on how I can help you get in touch!
ptwithrenee@gmail.com
Instagram: @reneediment

Tiktok: @beyondthebody__

www.beyondthebody.co

SPEAKER_02

Welcome back to the Wild Body Podcast. Today's episode is a really important conversation, especially for women who are navigating perimenopause, menopause, or who simply want to better understand what this transition can look like and feel like. Because while menstruation and reproductive health are often spoken about more openly now, menopause is still an area where many women feel underprepared, under-supported, or unsure what is happening in their body. And yet this is a completely natural phase of life that every single woman will move through. Today I'm joined by Andrea, who is a personal trainer specializing in supporting women through perimenopause and menopause. Andrea not only works with women in this space professionally, but she has also experienced this transition herself, which brings a really valuable lived perspective to our conversation. We talk about her journey through perimenopause and menopause, even her own cancer journey, the challenges that she experienced, what she learned along the way, and how this has shaped the way she supports other women. We're also going to explore how training, nutrition, lifestyle, and mindset can support women through this phase, and how understanding what is happening in the body can help women feel more empowered rather than confused or alone. Perimenopause and menopause can bring a wide range of experiences, changes in energy, changes in mood, changes in sleep, changes in body composition, changes in confidence, changes in how the body responds to exercise. And often women are still expected to just keep pushing through without much guidance or conversation. This episode is about creating more openness around the stage of life, helping women feel supported, and understanding that feeling different does not mean something is wrong with you. It means your body is transitioning. And with the right support, women can continue to feel strong, energized, and confident throughout this phase. Andrea shares practical insights from both her personal experience and her professional work with women, how movement and strength training can play an important role in supporting health during perimenopause and menopause. As always, this conversation is educational and is not intended for medical advice, but rather to help you feel more informed and supported as you learn more about your body. Whether you're currently experiencing perimenopause, approaching menopause, supporting someone who is, or simply wanting to better understand women's health across the lifespan, I hope this conversation helps you feel more prepared and empowered. Let's get into it. Welcome to the show, Andrea. Thank you so much for joining me. It's so exciting to have you on the podcast. Andrea and I have worked together and known each other for a long time now. We worked together at the studio when I used to own my fitness studio and we've just known each other since, you know, what, 13 odd years when we both started personal training.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, well, we've both been doing it for 13 years. Yeah. So we didn't know each other then. It was like after that. Yeah, after that. Yeah. I think you came to one of my boxing classes. That's right. When you were pregnant with me at.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. So, well, so that's nearly nine years ago.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it was a long time ago.

SPEAKER_02

So nearly a decade. Yeah. And so because we're on the theme of all things hormones, I really wanted to bring Andrea on today to talk more about, I guess, your journey with menstruation, perimenopause, where you're at now in your journey and how that's been for you. Do you remember your very first period?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yes, I do. Yes, I do. I was at my sister's house because she's 12 years older than me. So yeah, I was at my sister's house. And I don't recall I don't ever recall having any period chats. Yeah. Wow. I no. I don't know. Nothing with your mum? It was just different. Yeah. It was just different then. Yeah, I don't re I don't maybe she did, but I don't remember it. But I do remember getting it, and I was at my sister's house, but I can I can't remember really anything after that. I don't remember it being like a big deal or yeah, anything like that. So yeah, but I do remember that. That's interesting. I'd never been asked that.

SPEAKER_02

That's cool. And so was your sister like, was she the person that you that you went to when you when it happened and she was the one that kind of helped you, or were you told just to here you go, here's a pad, carry on, and we don't talk about it.

SPEAKER_00

I actually don't remember. I actually don't remember telling her or anything. I I don't know what I did. Maybe I just knew. Maybe I'd had things. I actually can't remember. I just remember being at her house when I got it. Yeah. Maybe I did tell her, but I can't, I honestly can't remember. She did buy me my first bra.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my god, I didn't want that. I remember getting my first bra too. Yeah. You know those training bras? Oh yes, the training bras. The training bras. I love how that's the name for them. A training. A training bra. We're training you to wear this. So excited. So excited to get my first bra.

SPEAKER_02

That is wild. And have you always had pretty regular periods? Your periods were always quite good, but you never had any issues?

SPEAKER_00

Never. Never had any issues with my menstrual cycle. Always really spot on. Always used to be like every month. So say, let's say I got it on the 30th of the month. I would get it on the 30th of the following month. And then it changed to every like 28 days. Was that for a long time? And then it wasn't until probably late 40s that it started getting shorter. So it would move to three weeks.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00

And that was probably the beginning of the perimenopause, I would say. When my period started becoming shorter. Like, yeah, it was only like it was like every three weeks or something like that. But other than that, they've always been absolutely fine. Like not heavy, not painful, no problems at all ever.

SPEAKER_02

Amazing. Yeah. That's really awesome. Which is great. And would you say that you've reasoned that you've lived a pretty healthy lifestyle most of your life and that's a contributing factor? Or is do you feel like you've just been quite lucky in the in the sense?

SPEAKER_00

I think it's probably definitely in like teenage years, I would say that it's more luck.

SPEAKER_01

Because I can't say I lived a healthy lifestyle in my teenage years.

SPEAKER_00

Partying. Yeah. Doing lots of bad things, eating lots of bad food. But I I did used to do aerobics. Okay. I used to go to the gym and do like, you know, aerobics aerobics. Oh my god. Did you wear the outfits? No. Okay. I never wore the G-string.

SPEAKER_02

What did you wear at the gym back in those days? I think I'm not that old. I don't know why I wear it these days.

SPEAKER_01

It feels like it.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I I used to just wear I used to wear like little crop tops and little shorty shorts, but I didn't wear the le the leatard with the leggings and the G-string lear. I didn't didn't didn't do that. Didn't do that. But I did used to probably dress quite skimpy-yeah, I guess. But um yeah, but I did, yeah, I did used to go to the gym. I I was doing exercise from a young age, like uh, maybe 15. Yeah. Like I started off doing the aerobics on the TV. Oh my god, I love it. Aerobics Oz style was a good name.

SPEAKER_02

What was that lady's name? Who started the whole whole aerobics thing? Not Jane Fonda. That one? Jane Fonda? Is she the one I'm thinking of?

SPEAKER_00

Maybe. Yeah, Jane Fonda. Yeah. My mum used to do it to Jane Fonda. That's so funny. But yeah, and that it was Aerobics Oz style. And then there was like, I don't know if you remember, I think he might have been a Les Mills guy, but Brett Fairweather. Yeah. Do you remember him? No, but Oh, he he he then he I used to have all these aerobics videos. That is so funny. And I'd record them on the TV and then and then redo them and jump around the living room.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I love it. And I guess, and did you get into exercising like that because you wanted to feel good, you wanted to feel healthy, or what was the what was the take us back in time? Like what was the era? What was it like?

SPEAKER_00

I used to probably do it I used to like the aerobics because it was for me, it was kind of like dancing. Okay. Cool. I think. And it was the dancing, it was the moves to music, and I really enjoyed that side of things because when I was growing up, I always wanted to be a dancer.

SPEAKER_01

I love that. I didn't know that about you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I always wanted to be a dancer. And but mum never took me to any dancing lessons. So you found aerobics. So I found aerobics. I had to find aerobics. But um, yeah, so I never went to dancing lessons or anything like that. But I wait, but me and my friends used to make up dances all the time. We used to go on like talent quests and I know, I know. That's so cool. But maybe that was why I loved aerobics so much. Yeah. Because I loved the I loved the, you know, because it was all done to choreography. Choreography, to music, and I I really liked that kind of thing. So I think I'm thinking that's why I liked aerobics so much.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Probably a byproduct of you doing aerobics and being happy, dancing and feeling your best was a good period, a good menstrual cycle. Because exercise and how we feel has a massive impact on how our menstrual cycle feels. So there you go. You were keeping fit and healthy without even realizing it. Which is a great way to exercise, really, because that means you're gonna do it more. Yeah. Yeah. And so when you know, when you got to about 40, I do, I do believe that you actually went through quite a traumatic time with your health. So did you talk to us about that?

SPEAKER_00

Yes, I did. So I ended up getting lymphoma behind my eye, and I didn't know what it was. My eye just swelled up, was kept swelling up, and I went to the doctor eventually. I already cancelled a couple of appointments before that I was supposed to go to the doctor and check out this eye thing. And I cancelled the appointments, and then I went and I went for something else, and then I just threw it in the conversation. And I was like, oh, why is my eye swallowing up like this? And she immediately got me. She I don't know, she knew, but she immediately booked me, got me into an eye specialist, which I cancelled. What was the reason for the cancelling?

SPEAKER_02

Were you scared that you were gonna hear something you did?

SPEAKER_00

I had no idea. Like I had would that would have been the furthest thing from my mind. I just I had no idea what was coming. And anyway, cut a long story short, went to him. He the first alarm bells was when he said, I'm sending you for a CT scan.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_00

And he said, It's either I can't remember what he what he said. He said he did say cancer, and then he said, or something else that will have to put you on steroids. Oh. And I was like, Oh, well, I'm not taking steroids. I was immediately I was like, I'm not taking steroids. Like, you can forget that, I'm not taking steroids. Yeah. Anyway, had the CT scan, found out it was cancer, and mum was like, God, give me the steroids. Give me all the drugs. Oh, I had a steroid option. Thanks. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, but that was that was a really it was actually a really I I I don't remember being like really scared because it wasn't bad. Okay. So then luckily we had health insurance, which was incredible. That helped hugely going to the right people. They sent me to the public hospital and I was like, I'm why am I here? I'm not going to the public hospital. I met someone, a a doctor, an oncologist that I really did not like. And they were like, We're gonna start radiation, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, no, I'm not doing it. So for six months, I just went naturally. So I went to see naturopaths, I was having this rife treatment, I was doing intravenous vitamin C. I completely she changed my diet. So she changed my diet, the naturopath mainly changed my diet to no dairy, no red meat. So basically vegetarian, plant-based, plant-based diet, which was quite hard. I had to cut out coffee, which was extremely hard. But as I was just saying to you before, I have never felt better than during that time. I never felt better. I felt I did not feel sick once, ever.

SPEAKER_02

So diagnosed with cancer, and before that, maybe not feeling the greatest. Yeah. And then after the diagnosis, completely changing your diet, changing your lifestyle and feeling the best you've ever felt. Yeah. Wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So that was that was incredible. So I did that for six months, just did nothing. I didn't do any treatment or anything like that. I just did that for six months. And then one day when I was in the intravenous vitamin C clinic, because the majority of the people in the intravenous vitamin C clinic have got cancer. Yes. You just get talking to them. And this one lady in there who I got talking to recommended an oncologist to go and see, and he deals with brain tumours and lymphoma specialises. And so I thought, okay, because the eye wasn't really going down. I felt amazing, yeah, but the eye wasn't going down. So, and they had done a biopsy on the eye as well, which I thought was just like a little needle, just a little prick. Yeah. But it wasn't, it was they like slice across across your eyelid. Oh my god, impressive. Yeah. So I looked like Rocky, had been beaten up. And I went into boxing classes like that. Did you? Yeah. I love it. I went and continued taking boxing passes with my eye like black and blue. And they were like, wow, fitting. But anyway, I went to see this oncologist and privately, and he was incredible because I was all for I was not going to stop the vitamin C. Yeah. I was doing, I was seeing the naturopath, and I there is no way I would see an oncologist who didn't believe in that kind of healing as well.

SPEAKER_02

Because it takes I mean it's it works in unison, right? Like you see a doctor to help you with the extra tools, but what you did to your body was almost give yourself this really good set point before having further treatment if it was needed.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So he was really good and he was so open to everything. He was totally on board with everything. I felt I felt comfortable and at ease with him like I didn't with the other lady that I saw. I didn't like her vibe or energy at all. This guy was amazing. And he said that he's had clients bring him in huge boxes of this is the this is the evidence I have for the natural stuff. This is the evidence I have for the medical. And he said I said to him, Did you look at it all? And he said, Absolutely. I look at everything. So we did MRIs, CTs, and he said it hasn't got any bigger, it hasn't got any worse, nothing. He said, but it hasn't, it also hasn't shrunk. Yes. So he said, This is what we can do. We can do, I can do targeted radiation to the eye. He said because he said it will be less time. So normally most people have radiation for maybe six weeks or something. He said yours will be three weeks and it will be half the dose. Amazing. So and he was incredible because that he targets directly onto the tumour.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

But with very, very minimal, hardly any scatter. He won't work in the public system because there's they won't do it how he wants to do it, and there's lots of scatter.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So yeah, I that's amazing. It's amazing you found someone who was just willing to be open about what made you feel comfortable. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And that was I think that is kind of like the moral of the story is just wait. Like don't go if you if you're not comfortable with somebody or um find the professional. Find somebody else. Yeah. There will be somebody else. Yeah. No matter what it is that you're dealing with. Like if you're not comfortable with the person, you don't feel like they're listening to you or helping you, then don't don't go with them, go with somebody else. Yeah. Yeah. So so we did that. We did the we did the radiation. I bit the bullet and did it. And and then yeah, it's been it's been that was what, 13 years ago.

SPEAKER_03

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So I guess in turn, having both, you really changed your diet. You got rid of things that may maybe would have caused inflammation at the time. And then you had the the radiation, but where it needed to go, and in turn, you've been cancer free 13 years. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So cool. Yeah. I think it's really important that we touch back on the diet side of things. So you weren't mostly plant-based for that time. So probably the naturopath would have been focusing on your gut microbiome and working on your gut health. Even though we have so much more research on the gut now than we did, say 13 years ago, that's probably what she was doing. Right. Did you find it hard because you weren't allowed to eat meat, you weren't allowed to eat things? What did you find hard about that?

SPEAKER_00

I the first thing I was like, no, don't take away my coffee. Coffee. It's like coffee. Yeah. No, do I really have to give that up? Yeah. Yeah, no, I did I did I did find it a little bit challenging not eating meat because I was just so used to it. Yeah. But yeah, I do find I do find plant-based vegetarian meals harder to cook and it's so much easier to cook with meat. Yeah. Just cook so much easier. Yeah, it's so much easier to just have meat and salad or meat you you know. It's just so much yeah. So that that I did find I did find hard. But I did it. Yeah, and you felt the best. And I did it, and I felt and I felt the best. Amazing. Yeah, I felt the best. So I mean I didn't cut meat out completely. Like I did like I still had like a bit of chicken and and fish and stuff, but I didn't I d I did kind of m mostly cut out the red meat. I can't remember if I had a little bit. Yeah, I remember going on a trip with a friend to Melbourne and having lamb for the first time there. Nice. And it didn't like it didn't if I didn't eat it and then feel really bad or anything afterwards. So it was fine.

SPEAKER_02

I guess for you it was more of an elimination process for your like life. Your health, you know? Yeah. And then I think it's so positive that you did that. Yeah. Interestingly enough, there is some research now that too much red meat actually feeds a bacteria in your gut that isn't so good. And so too much red meat can be quite catastrophic on the old gut health. Yeah. So it's pretty awesome that 13 years ago you had a naturopath that was pretty on board with high fibre, diabeticity with plants, and yeah, eating a lot more plant-based food. So that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So after going through your cancer journey, which would have been quite a hectic time in your life, did this change anything with your menstrual cycles, especially with having the radiation, or were things quite normal for you still after that?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it didn't change anything. And it's not like chemo, but I think it it would have been probably different for like where I had it and what I had and the amount that I was getting. Yeah. I I would imagine it would be very different if you're having radiation like for so like ovarian. Yes. You know what I mean? Like, so you know, maybe that's why nothing changed. Like nothing changed in that area at all. Like yeah. So yeah, as I I think I had like their best plan and the best document. Yeah, sounds like it. Yeah. So I was very lucky in that way. So you know, nothing changed, but that could be just because of the type that I had where it was located. I think it would be different if it was all over. I would imagine it would be different if it was in a different area. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

For like a woman. And I s I s I suppose because you did so much work on the fundamentals of your health with your infusions, with vitamin C and your diet, you probably gave yourself a really good, you know, baseline to work with.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And just meeting so many like holistic doctors, you know, just learning so much. Yeah, and like I said, like I said, I just felt I didn't feel sick once ever. Wow. The radiation didn't affect me at all. That's incredible. Yeah, it was just was great. It was just all like I mean, it wasn't great. No, you know. It was like it's such a positive story. It was a positive story. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So yeah, those lifestyle changes really helped.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. It sounds like you've been pretty active most of your life and you've maintained a you know, maintained a somewhat really good diet, especially after cancer. And once you went through cancer, you decided, right, I'm not going to drink anymore. I'm going to keep my diet healthy. So I remember you saying you let up drinking at one point.

SPEAKER_00

Oh yes, I did. Well, that would have been, yeah, that would have been around that time. Yeah, that would have been around that time because it was my 40th. My 40th, which is after my 40th, I decided I'm not drinking anymore. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. And that was the best thing you did for your health.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah. But just my body just rejected alcohol. Yeah. Yeah. My body just didn't like it at all. My friend said to me, I think that you're allergic to alcohol. Was that because you got too drunk at your 40th? Yeah. No, but it wasn't just it wasn't just my 40th. It was like any time I drank and my body just did not like it. It just didn't it didn't take hardly anything to be very, very sick. Sensitive. Yeah. So I yeah, after that was when I decided to stop drinking. Yeah. Yeah, it wasn't like I drank all the time. It's just I wasn't like a big drinker, but when I did Yeah, it really affected me. If it was like at a party or something like that, then it would really, yeah, really affect me. So Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Well there you go. So you got a pretty healthy baseline. How old were you when you started noticing the perimenopausal symptoms?

SPEAKER_00

Well, as we touched on earlier, I can't remember the exact age, but then I when we were talking about how my cycles was 28 and then it went to like 21. Yeah. That was probably the first sign of things changing. But other than that, I felt I still felt great. Cool. I remember hopefully my sister doesn't listen to this. I didn't want to tell her. I remember when I had my 50th. I remember my sister saying to me, it all goes downhill from here. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. She was like, it all goes downhill from here, it's shit from here. And I was like, I and because I still felt great when I was 50. I still felt great. I was like, wow. I was like, wow, I wow, that's such a negative attitude. Yeah, yeah, I was. I was I was like, that's such a negative attitude.

SPEAKER_01

What a horrible thing to say. Happy birthday. Just letting you know, yeah, you're fucked now.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, exactly. But you know, touching on that for a second, I guess it's a mindset of the world we live in today, right? People hit a certain age and they think, oh well, it's all help, it's all it's all downhill, downhill from here. And people kind of give up. They give up on caring for themselves, they give up on their health, they give up on what's important. But you definitely have it done so much.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, no, yeah. So but I uh yeah, I'd I'll never forget that. Her saying that. I was like, whoa. And I was like, wow, you're so negative. But but but she was kind of right. Yeah. Is this right? You notice the reason? Yeah, I mean it wasn't, she's not right as in it's all shit. Yeah. But she but she was right in the fact that it did change. Yes. Like quite yeah, it did change after that. That was when I really started noticing things. So I was like, you know, like, you know, weight gain, really hard to much harder to get it off, very easy to put it on. Oh, what else? At the mo this summer that we've just had is the first time I have ever had hot flushes. Really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And how old are you now?

SPEAKER_00

I'm 53.

SPEAKER_02

So that's pretty good, being 53 and only just starting to experience that, I guess.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I thought I was gonna get away with it. Like, but it's this, yeah, this summer, the humidity I now hate. Yeah. My body is like a sauna. Yeah. I thought of hopping in the sauna or something like that, just I couldn't think of anything worse. Yeah. It's just, yeah, I'm quite hot a lot. Sleeping with the fan right next to me, like every night. On flight this far away from me. Like, like blowing on me on full blast. Yeah, I'm I'm yeah, this summer, it's I just could not wait for autumn to come. Yeah, what? I'm looking forward to winter. Oh my goodness. You know how cold I get.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, you're a cold boyfriend.

SPEAKER_00

I know, not anymore.

SPEAKER_01

So you're not gonna be robbing up in a plumpy, I'll be in a single. Like, God, is it hot in here?

SPEAKER_02

Can you can you talk us through the feeling of a hot flush? Because I have a lot of people that listen to this podcast that are approaching either perimenopause or they're in their 30s and they always kind of go, I'd love to know what it's actually like, because it's for so long, menopause, perimenopause, it's been a real taboo sub subject, and people don't really talk about it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Can you talk us through like what a hot flush feels like? It just feels like because I had never had one until this summer, and it just feels like it kind of starts like from your chest. Yeah. And it just feels like this heat is just building up and coming up over your face. It's just your whole body just heats up. Wow. Yeah, it's not it's not really your like your legs or your lower limbs or anything like that. It's mainly kind of like from the chest upwards. Wow. And you start sweating. Yeah, I'm just I'm just boiling. Like I was I was miserable this summer. Have you got an island shower? I was having lots of cold showers. Yeah, I was just like, I cannot wait for autumn. I we are moving to the South Island, you know. Oh my god. I know, it was a very interesting experience. So, yeah, very interesting, been a very interesting experience. That is the the first kind of I guess, apart from the you know, noticing a little bit harder to like lose weight. Yeah. But I have lost weight. Yes. So you can do it. Yes. I have if when I'm really, you know, when I'm really focused and eating really well and stuff like that, you yes, you can, you can still lose weight. But it's not impossible. It's not impossible, you can still lose weight. I've got a client who over a year, but she's lost 10 kgs. Amazing. So, and she's in menopause. Yeah. So she's possible. It is possible. You can do it. It's not, it's not the end. No. So I just want to reiterate that. But it just it did things did change from 50. I still am getting periods. Awesome. But that they're every God knows when. Yeah. Four months, five months. Okay. I think last time I was really annoyed. Because last time was like eight months. And I was like, oh, we're we're we're getting that. Yeah. And then eight months. I was like, damn it. There she is.

SPEAKER_01

She had a few more eggs.

SPEAKER_00

Few more eggs.

SPEAKER_01

She's hanging on. Wow. Yeah. That's incredible.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so I don't, I'm not in menopause yet because I haven't not had a period for 12 months. So it's just keeps surprising me every now and then.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. And so we hear a lot of noise on social media about like perimenopause and how awful it can be, and how you need to start taking this supplement and doing this and doing that. And like, I feel like people are almost scaremongered right now with the whole perimenopause building into menopause. How would you say you've handled that? Because I mean, like you you're you're still getting a period in your 53. Like I feel like that's really healthy. Right. You know, but what would you say you've focused on mostly without it being this big massive life overhaul? Yeah. And all these supplements you have to start taking and all this money you have to start spending on this and that and that. Yeah. What have you done consistently in your 40s post-cancer that has helped you, you think, have a better time going through perimenopause? Because you're not on HRT or anything, are you?

SPEAKER_00

I when I was this this summer, when I was dying from hot flushes, you went and got HRT. I went and got I went to see the doctor. Nice. And she gave me just the uh estrogel gel. Nice. Estrogen gel gel.

SPEAKER_02

I've heard that's amazing.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Instead of the patches. And but I do actually want to go off it and just and and manage it, see if I can manage it myself. Yeah. But just at that point in time I was and I was also used to be really scared of HRT. I used to I used to always say, I'm not going on that, I'm not doing that because I, you know, I do prefer a natural way than medication. But I didn't I wasn't uh educated enough enough on HRT and I didn't realise that it's it's just bioidentical hormones. Yeah. And we're we're losing those hormones, we're losing them, and so why would we not put them back in? Why would we not want them? So especially if it's gonna give you quality of life, yeah, exactly. And I and I wasn't very happy like getting you know, with my with the these all of a sudden feeling like I was I had an internal saw sauna in me every day. Uh but um so I went and saw her, and but I would like to try and and go off it and see if I can do this myself. So I think which I can, so I've been doing a lot of studies through Dr. Wendy Sweet, who's a menopause expert. She's got lots of credentials, and she she her it's very interesting like because a lot of women, it's there's so much conflicting information that's so hard, especially when women are seeing things on Instagram and supplements and take this and take that. There's so much information, and some of it is conflicting with each other. So I think like Dr. Stacy Sims has got a different approach to Wendy Sweet. So it's taking just a little bit of I think of what works for you, and what I want to say is everyone is individual. They are everyone is individual. So what may work for one person might not be a good thing for another person. So especially really pushing really high protein diets and you know, you must strength train and heavy, heavy, heavy and all that kind of stuff, which we know is important, but for some women that that isn't the right thing for them.

SPEAKER_02

So And like I feel like the whole high protein thing, just touching on that, can be really used out of context as well. Like, you know, you've got people that are having protein shakes in between every meal. Yeah. And it's it's not so much about high protein, high protein. I think I think it's just people are confused as to what protein actually looks like. Yeah. And as a nutritionist, you know, like you can get great great amount of protein from eating beans and seeds and a little bit of feed of cheese if you like dairy. You know what I mean? Like it doesn't always need to be like steak with every meal.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And that's what and that's also, and because it's also it when you eat, especially if they eat like a big meal at night and and a lot of meat, yeah, then that's at night, it's heat creating. So if you're getting hot flushes, then don't eat a huge lasagna for your dinner. Yeah. You know what I mean? Well, it's like the biggest difference. So things like that. Plant lots and lots of veggies, fruit veggies, like you said, the legumes, the beans, all that kind of stuff is so great. Like the Mediterranean diet. I love that diet. Mediterranean diet is the best.

SPEAKER_02

Olive oil with beans and seeds and lots of oily fish.

SPEAKER_00

Yes and you know, I just that's been the best diet for healthy aging and menopause.

SPEAKER_02

Well, when we look at studies, that is the best way to eat. It is. At any stage of life. Yes, any study. Because of what it does to the gut microbiome. Which is why we're finding that the Mediterranean diet is a great one in terms of like, I guess, giving people an example as to how you could live your life with food. Yeah. But when we work on the gut microbiome by increasing our fibre intake, and we can massively increase our fibre intake through vegetables, through fruits, through nuts, seeds, legumes. Not only that, you're getting your protein sources from your seeds, your legumes, and your oily fish, a little bit of meat every now and again for sure, especially if that's part of your culture and you enjoy it. But that is not the diet we see most people consuming today. Most people are having so much processed meat, a lot of ultra-processed foods, and probably having a really rough time getting through their perimenopause menopause symptoms.

SPEAKER_00

So if you have got a diet like that and you are eating lots of ultra-processed foods, uh then you you you may very well not have a great time through menopause. Yes. You know? So yeah, definitely switching and also making sure that you're you the first thing, the first thing that I address with my woman is sleep. Sleep and stress comes before anything. Yes. It comes before if you're not sleeping, we are not doing heavy weights. No. Yeah. If you're not sleeping, you're not doing a high-intensity exercise session. Like it's just not happening because you have to sleep. You've got to sleep first.

SPEAKER_02

You've got to get that well, you're not gonna recover sleeping. So you're gonna injure yourself if you're if you're if you're not sleeping and you try and strength train, you're probably not gonna recover well. You might find yourself with a sore back, or you've injured yourself, or an old niggle's flared up again. Yeah. So love that tip. So always focus on the sleep first, and then the second thing.

SPEAKER_00

Well, sleep stress and getting your circadian rhythm. Yeah. So, you know, that your all the sleep tips that you have for night time, all those, all those types of things really help. Doing some beautiful stretches before bed, putting your phone away. Yeah, put that phone down. Put the phone away, lock it away, cupboard. Do not disturb from 6 p.m. Yes. Yeah. Put the phone away, no screens at nighttime. If I happen to look at my phone or or watch I'm on my phone just before bed, I cannot sleep.

SPEAKER_02

It's really and it must be more sensitive. You must be more sensitive to it when hormones are more sensitive on the other side of you know, your your hormonal cycle life. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Because sleep is a a huge problem for women in period or menopause. Yes. So yeah, sleep stress, yeah, and then and then your yeah, and resetting your circadian rhythms, you know, getting getting outside first thing in the morning, don't open your eyes, go on your phone. Yes, that is not helping your circadian rhythm.

SPEAKER_02

We need to look at natural lights. Yes.

SPEAKER_00

Which is going to be a little bit hard now that we're like dark in the morning.

SPEAKER_02

I guess I guess you know, walking by nature as well is really important for the circadian rhythm because of the red light reflection on the leaves from the sun. So like just getting outside more.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. All of that. This technology. Yes. To maybe, I mean, the only way you could maybe have your phone if you needed to listen to like a guided meditation or something like that. But at night if you needed to, but doing some beautiful stretches before bed. Read a book is great. Yeah. Yeah. Read a book. Then you don't have to touch your screen. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And then if you wake up during the night doing some doing the big deep belly breathing, that helps trying not to drink too much before drink too much liquid, like maybe like a couple of hours before bed, trying so you're not getting up all the time to pee. Because every single thing in your body is changing. Yeah. When you move through those menopausal years, your skin is changing, your liver is changing, like everything is changing. Even your bladder, your pelvic floor, everything. And you that's so we don't want to be getting up to the ha get into that habit of our bladder, like going to the toilet every all night as well, because then that also affects our sleep. So sleep is such a huge, a huge topic, but just to remember that your body is changing so much. Like there is so much going on. This everything is changing. And just to kind of get it's it's a new, it's a new you. It's a new you. You're coming to a new you. You just need to adapt and change things to a change with your new changing body. Yeah. It's a lot of change.

SPEAKER_02

And at the end of the day, well, yeah, it is a lot of change, but it's 100% of women are going to go through menoves. Yes. And I think having these real conversations with women who are in the depths of it, yeah, is so empowering for younger women because we're not actually going to stay young forever. No. We can't. No. We may mentally be 31. Yeah. But our biology is on a bit of a time clock. Yeah. And it knows what it needs to be, it knows what it needs to do and it knows where it needs to go. Yeah. You're going to go through it. Do you kind of feel as though, you know, having all these tools in place, but also having some kind of acceptance that this is just part of the natural aging process. Yeah. And it's not a disease. It's not something you have to try and fight, but it's something you can work with. Do you feel like that's a mindset that women should adopt when they come to this time in their life?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, absolutely. And that's been that part has been really hard. Yeah. Like accepting. Accepting it. Yeah, like accepting it and seeing your body change and seeing things change and feeling, you know, not feeling like you did when you were 30, you know, like and when you're 30, I mean, I'm so glad that people are talking about this now, but like there is there's so much more conversations going around perimenopause and menopause. It's quite big out there now. But, you know, when I was 30, I wouldn't have even thought about this. Yeah. Like I wouldn't have, it wouldn't have even crossed my mind. Like you just, I guess you just don't think about it until it happens. So I'm so glad that we're talking about it. But one thing someone told me once, which I thought was really good advice, was to find an expander. So don't look at the 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds girls on Instagram. No. For inspiration. No. You know what I mean? So not very And they don't know what you're going to do. No, as to like, this is what I should look like. Yeah. Find an expander. Find someone your age, around your age, that is that you look up to, that you are inspired by. Someone like Rachel Hunter. Oh my god, I love her. Yeah. She's a beautiful person. She's beautiful, but she's aging naturally. Naturally. She's not full of lip filler and you know, like she's just, she's just a beautiful person. She spoke openly about perimenopause and how she's how she's what she's been going through on a podcast before I've listened to her. But someone like that for an example. Like, that's just who I can think of off the top of my head. Like, she's around that age. She's in her 50s. And she just look for an expander of someone. It doesn't have to be someone like that, but just someone who you can look up to who inspires you. Yeah. Who's around the same age as you?

SPEAKER_02

I love that. It's so important. Actually, Robin Robin, is it Malcolm? Yeah. She's the actress, New Zealand actress. Yeah. I saw a video pop up of her, and she was like, I need to start being the age that I am and embracing that because I need to empower the younger women that are coming through that it's okay to be 61. It's okay to be 65. It's okay to be 55. Because I guess in the world we live in today, everyone is trying to suppress that natural aging process. And by like what you say, like endless facelifts and surgeries and a shitload of like filler and they don't even look like themselves anymore. No. But what is that message then sending to the younger generation? That aging is not okay, that getting older is not okay. We don't have to be old as in like you're in a wheelchair and you can't move, but just embracing that phase of your life of being the wise woman. Yeah. Because once you reach menopause and that you're at the other side, you are the wise woman. Yeah. You are the woman that is there to be an expander for the younger generations. And that it's someone to look up to. Yeah. And so I really love that. And I hope that a lot of women listening, especially if you are in your 40s and 50s, you're not following some 25-year-old who's telling you to just find more hours in the day and to go harder and you just need to eat less because what the fuck do they know? Yeah. They don't. They haven't lived life. They don't. You know? I mean, even I'm only 31 and I'm still like so much more to learn. And that's why having these conversations is so important. Yeah. Empowering. Yeah. I really love that. It's a really great, a really great, I think, takeaway for people to maybe go onto social media and clean up their feeds a little bit. Yeah. Make sure it's not a whole lot of 20-something year olds posting booty picks with their Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Just don't if you're trying to get that, then just stop.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

But yes. I I mean I saw an amazing video. I I can't remember where I saw it. It was on Instagram. But it was Hayley Berry. Oh. And and she was 60. I think she's 60. Oh my God. She looks incredible. Like she looks incredible. But she doesn't look fake. No. You know, she looks she looks incredible. And she was, yeah, d doing talking about it. And it was just like, wow. Yeah, wow. And it but it is, it is, I do understand the mind. Yeah, it's a you know, it's it is hard.

SPEAKER_02

Well, especially when we live in a society that doesn't embrace the natural process of being a human in the first place. Yeah. Especially when it comes to being a woman. Yeah. You know, like having your period is a taboo subject. Talking about fertility issues is a taboo subject. Miscarriages is a taboo subject. Perimenopause, like everything everything that a woman might and goes through in her life, it's not talked about. No. It's not seen. We live in this facade where everyone has to have like everything perfect. And no wonder we're we're all so hard, like finding it hard to accept what is life. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

What is to come. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it is. So yeah, just just follow, yeah, like you said, clean up your feed and follow pages and people that inspire you. Yeah. And yeah, just and get rid of the ones that don't. Well or or if if they're making you feel, you know inadequate. Inadequate or, you know, God, I used to be like that, you know. Like, yeah. Yeah. Which we would have. Yeah. Once upon a time. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So But you can still be fit and sexy at 53. Because Andrea definitely is. What would you say like top tips for like summary summarizing everything we've kind of spoken about, top tips for women to do now and leading up to that menopause when it's when it when it is going to happen? So let's say someone's in their 30s and they're like, okay, what can I do so that when I get to my 50s, I have a little bit I cope better moving through that time in my life. What would you say your top tips are for those women? Whoa, I I just What do you need to do in your 30s now so that when you get to that stage, it's manageable?

SPEAKER_00

Well, I think exactly what we talk about, what we spoke about before, with the as far as the the diet, the food, nutrition, like get just, you know, stop eating all the yeah, more plant-based protein, stop eating all the ultra-processed foods all the time. Sometimes is okay. Sometimes is fine, yeah. All the time. You know, yeah, like I think what you do when you're in your 30s and stuff like that, if you have lived a pretty unhealthy lifestyle, it will catch up with you. It will catch up with you later on. So exactly what we've talked about, move your body. Yeah. You can move it differently in your 30s than what you can in your 50s. It depending on the person. Yeah. Just everything that we've everything that we've already touched based on. Yeah. You probably know, like the sleep thing, like, you know. It's important all the time. It's important all the time, but you know, it's definitely if you it's the only reason I touch on sleep is because when we usually get to perimenopause and menopause, we're not sleeping as well. We're we're, you know, finding it. We're waking up 3 a.m. wide awake, can't get back to sleep. You know, sleep just become does become more difficult. But just I would just say in your 30s, look after yourself as much as you can with nutrition, move your body, lift weights. Build muscle. Build muscle. Do another really important thing is aerobic exercise. Yeah. Because, you know, when you do get into your and through menopause, then you're at the high, high risk of cardiovascular disease. So it's you need to do aerobic, slow, like steady aerobic. So it's manageable.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I do notice a lot of people have higher cholesterol when they go through them, like not all women, but there are some cases where people of a sudden they've had healthy cholesterol their whole life, and then they get to perimenopause and their LDL is all of a sudden high, and then their doctor's like, we need to look, we need to manage this, we need to keep an eye on this. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, absolutely. Aerobic exercise. And again, diet makes a massive impact. Yeah. Cholesterol and heart.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So just look after yours look after yourself now. Do you do all those things now and look after yourself now? You're going to ease into it way better than if you're going into perimenopause after eating a really crappy diet and not moving your body at all. And then it's just going to be way harder and your body's going to be full of so much more inflammation. Yes. And yeah, these, yeah, it's just, it won't, it won't be a fun time. No.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Let's say someone's in the depths of perimenopause, and let's say they have maybe not so much been focusing on their nutrition and their and their well-being and their movement. It's never too late to start something in that time in their life. What would you say to that? What do you mean, absolutely? Like it's never too late to start. Because they get let's say someone's never exercised, they haven't really focused on their diet, they get they get into perimenopause and they're like, oh, I've got to start doing something because I just feel awful.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. What would you say to those ones? Well, I would say once again, go back to the basics. Go back to the basics. Yeah, go back to the basics. We would look at this. I would probably get them to go get some blood tests done, check your vitamin D, your iron, your vitamin B12, and yeah, go back to the basics, sleep, start. If they've never done any exercise, then start walking. You know, slowly implement things bit by bit. Don't go all health a level and go in and be like, right, I'm just gonna eat salads and I'm gonna do training six times a week and I'm gonna do it, you know, because it it won't last. It's just like like my client who's implemented all these changes slowly. And in a year, you should see the before and after photos. Like it's amazing. Like she's just feeling so much better. And all of her symptoms have gone as well. So I would say if you're you're hitting that age and you haven't done anything, you've never exercised before, and you're like, oh my god, what am I gonna do? Now I need to, you know, just start slowly. Yeah. It's never too late. It's never too late. Start slowly and find yourself, get yourself some help. Yeah. Like get yourself some help. Start slowly with just the basics. It's not complicated.

SPEAKER_02

No, I know, right? And I think I think that's like we see so much noise on the internet, on social media about this being the next best best thing and this being the next best thing. But at the end of the day, they may not be sexy, but the basics always work. Yeah. If we come back to eating a diet that is rich in whole foods, we come back to just moving our bodies every single day, not not formally or vigorously, but just movement, building muscles so that we're strong and resistance training is going to look different for everybody, and then making sure we're getting enough sleep. Yeah. Plus, on top of that, just having like living joyfully, finding the happiness in life. We we take life too seriously. Well, it sucks. Well, it's like loads on. Yes. They all just happy. They're dancing together in communities. Community. They they you know, they go to their neighbor's house uninvited and just go, I'm just here to grab an egg, you got fun. Oh, I might just come in and have a have a coffee with you while I'm in it.

SPEAKER_00

And it's just connection. Yeah. Connection's really important. So if you also, if you get to that point and that stage in your life and you feel lost, connection. Yeah. Connection, people, all the blue zones have got very similar, they all have very similar things. So it's like connection, family. They all live together, they all cook together, they all eat together, they dance, they're so important. Yes, they eat whole foods, they move. Yes. They're walking up and down hills and up and down stairs, and they they are, it's all very similar traits, and that's based, they live the longest and healthiest in the world. So I love that. You know what? It's so basic. It is basic.

SPEAKER_02

It's so basic. But unfortunately, it's complicated. The big well, but also like the basics don't sell when it comes to like marketing, right? Which is why so many companies have come up with clever ways to sell you fat loss pills and potions and sell you programs that are literally probably just the basics in disguise, but in their own language, it all comes back down to those basics. Yeah. And I think the happiest I've ever been is when I stopped taking life too seriously. Right. Yeah. When I told myself to stop worrying about having everything yesterday, and I just started living for the now and just enjoying every moment. Yeah. Oh, I just feel like a big weight's been lifted off my shoulder. Yeah. Really like living up to the subtle art of not giving a fuck. And that in turn, paired with good health from food, exercise, sleep community is going to probably help you massively with your hormones. Like when it comes to hormone health, it's not some crazy magic program you need to go on. It is just getting those basics in a good place and getting them right.

SPEAKER_00

No, and the and so sometimes those crazy programs that will make you lose weight quickly. Or a a magic pill or a magic injection, or you know, something like that d will make you lose weight. Yes. Yeah. You see Yeah. You will see rapid results, but you would most people put it back on again because it's too hard, it's too restrictive, and it's and it's just not sustainable. No. You want to live a life that's happy, joyful, healthy, sustainable, something you can do forever. You want to move in a way you can do forever, you want to eat in a way you can do forever. We want to live this life for the rest of our life, and then we will be much healthier and happier, and then we won't need to take any magic pills or potions or be on another diet start Monday, and you know the yo-yo cycle of it up and down. Like, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

The best thing you can do on a Monday is just go, right, where are my basics at? How can I reset one of them that wasn't maybe working for me last week? Yeah. Okay, maybe my nutrition needs a little bit of a reset. How can I reset the reset that this week so that I know I'm getting enough fiber, enough protein, enough diversity? Yeah. Not restarting a new program and finding the next thing. Yeah. Because you just end up in that constant cycle.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And buying program after program after program, challenge after challenge after challenge after.

SPEAKER_02

And never actually looking at the PDF in your inbox. Yeah. Because a lot of people do that. Yeah. I'm going to do this program, but it's sitting in my inbox still, and I haven't opened it. Oh. You know? Yeah. I've seen that happen a lot too. But I think this conversation has been so insightful. It's been very informative. We've gone from talking about, you know, your own health, your own journey, to giving some really incredible tips to our listeners about their health and how it's going to help them later on in life. Now and perimenopause and menopause. Yeah. I just want to finish on a high note and I would love for you to say something to our listeners, something inspirational to help them just with their journey, no matter where they're at. What's something you have to say to them?

SPEAKER_00

Just find your people, find your purpose, and know that it can be done. So say if you're if you feel like there has been an alien that has moved into your body, there are so many people that can help you now, and there's so much more information out there than there was in our mother's grandmother's day that that can help you and you can do it. Like you can do it. If you want to feel better, then it absolutely can be done. Hundreds of women have done it. You can do it too. Don't give up. Don't give up and think that this is, like my sister said, all shit.

SPEAKER_01

It's all downhill from me.

SPEAKER_00

It's all downhill from here. If you think that way, it will be. Yeah. So if you think that way, it will be. So turn it around. You can turn it around, and you can absolutely thrive. And, you know, people will look at you when you're 60 and be like, oh my God, are you 60? Jesus Christ. You know, like it's yeah, you can absolutely turn it around. Don't give up. Don't think that it's all over from here. Just you've really got to work at changing your mindset around it. I know that it's I know that it can be challenging, but find those expanders and go for gold.

SPEAKER_02

I love that. Thank you so much, Andrea. It's been amazing to have you on the show, and I hope to be back again soon. Yay! Thanks. Thanks for listening to the Wild Body Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a review or share it with someone who needs to hear it. You can find more support, resources, and information on my website at www.beonthebody.co. Until next time, I look forward to having you in the next episode.