The Reinvention We Don't See Coming

There are moments in life that demand we completely rebuild ourselves.

I thought I understood this when I had to make the huge call to tell my business partner that I needed to exit and sell out of our thriving 7-figure business that we'd built from scratch.

I thought I got it when my husband and I left behind a decade of our lives in a place we loved to start over in a new country.

That kind of upheaval? It takes serious courage. Walking away from a sure thing after massive burnout to begin again felt like the biggest transformation I'd ever face.

I was wrong.

The last year of my life has asked more of me than any business decision ever did. Perimenopause forced an identity shift so profound that some days I barely recognized myself. And here's what no one really tells you: for at least 40% of women who go through it, this will be one of the most massive transformations of your life.

If you're currently drowning in overwhelm, fighting through brain fog, or beating yourself up for being inconsistent - this is for you. Because sometimes the answer isn't to push harder. Sometimes we have to get brutally honest, listen to what our bodies are screaming at us, and completely reimagine how we show up every single day.

📑 Start With Data, Not Guesswork

Here's the unsexy truth: you can't fix what you're not tracking.

I had to start logging everything - how I felt each day, what I ate, what supplements I took, my coffee and alcohol intake, my sleep quality. All of it.

Because without data, you're just guessing. And guessing wasn't going to cut it anymore.

Get yourself a baseline. Track for at least a month. Notice patterns. Pay attention. Patterns will start to emerge - and you’ll have clear notes to share if you ever need to see your doctor.

🚀 What Actually Moved the Needle For Me

I’m not sharing this so you can copy my exact protocol or take it as medical advice.
I’m sharing it to help you look at your own life differently - to start experimenting with what works for your body.

I’m not perfect with any of this all the time (far from it). It’s all a work in progress.
But after countless deep dives into the research - and a lot of trial and error - these are the things that have made a real difference for me (and for many others).

Movement: Daily walks became non-negotiable. In 2023 I started running - after hating it at first I grew to love the intensity, and cardio has always been good for my mental health so it became a regular part of my routine. But extreme cardio now? (running longer distances, HIIT, etc). My body can't handle it anymore, and I had to make peace with that. I still do short runs once a week, but what I added instead was heavy weight lifting 2-3 times per week. This has been transformational for how I feel, and it’s so important for maintaining muscle mass during this phase of life when we naturally start losing it.

Food: Fiber and protein became my foundation. I aim for 30 grams of protein per meal, or at least 90 grams daily (some people suggest more, I’ve heard up to 1.6 times your body weight in kgs). I'm not gluten intolerant, I still eat it sometimes - but I feel dramatically better when I don't. So now my carbs come from fruit, veggies, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and potatoes. Some people find cutting dairy changes everything for them. The point isn't perfection or restriction. It's paying attention to how you feel after eating certain foods (in your daily tracking) and being willing to make changes based on what you discover. Even if you only eliminate something 90% of the time, that can make a massive difference.

Drinks: This one hurt. Coffee was my lifeline. I genuinely didn't feel human until that first cup hit my system. And I always loved wine when socialising, or to unwind. Then perimenopause hit, and my body just...stopped tolerating either of them. Like, at all. I tried cutting back, switching to different kinds, timing them differently. Nothing worked. I had to let them both go, and it was NOT easy. But I feel exponentially better for it. (Note: not every women becomes intolerant of these things in peri/menopause but I am in groups where I hear this as a very common thread, so something to pay attention to).

Supplements: I’m not big on over-supplementing, but there are a few staples that nearly every perimenopause expert agrees on, and that I’ve personally noticed real results from.

I use protein powder to help hit my protein targets, plus magnesium glycinate (helps anxiety & sleep), creatine (brain health and muscle strength), high-quality fish oil (brain clarity & reduced inflammation), vitamin D (supports hormone balance, bone density, mood), vitamin C (not just for immunity - it's incredible for skin), and collagen (make sure its hydrolyzed).

Here's the thing about supplements: in most countries they're barely regulated. Don't buy the cheap stuff from the grocery store. Find brands that disclose their excipients (extra ingredients) and use third-party testing. Pay more. It's worth it.

HRT: This is where I have to get real with you. Lifestyle changes are crucial - absolutely essential. But Western medicine has its place, and if you're struggling - please do not be afraid to talk to your doctor about HRT.

I was so hesitant. I was only 42. I'd always been the person who found natural remedies, who avoided prescription drugs, who believed I could supplement and lifestyle-change my way through anything. But here's the truth: HRT gave me back my quality of life. No amount of supplements (and believe me, I tried nearly all of them) or lifestyle tweaks could do what HRT did. It's been 1000% worth it.

(Always get medical advice specific to your body and situation - but don't let fear keep you from exploring this option if you need it.)

💤 The Hustle Detox

For most of my life, my answer to everything was: work harder.

Feeling behind? Push more.
Tired? Power through.
Unmotivated? Double down.

That mindset built me a successful mortgage business, a property portfolio, got me out of debt and changed my financial future.

But it also broke me.

When perimenopause hit, my old formula stopped working entirely. The harder I pushed, the worse I felt. I’d force myself to “keep going” - hit the gym exhausted, load up on coffee, skip rest, ignore my body - and end up even more depleted.

What I didn’t realize was that I wasn’t just burning out physically - I was running a decades-old operating system built on overdrive.

So I had to re-learn rest. Real rest. Not collapsing at the end of the day or zoning out on Netflix, but genuine recovery. Intentional, guilt-free downtime that my body and nervous system actually needed.

Walks without my phone, quiet mornings, saying no without guilt, lying down for ten minutes when I needed to. I’ve even been trying to meditate (not easy, but so beneficial when I actually do it).

At first it all felt uncomfortable, even lazy. But slowing down didn’t make me less productive - it made me human again. It made me sustainable.

Sometimes the bravest thing you can do isn’t to push harder. It’s to pause long enough to rebuild your capacity to show up fully again.

✨ When Your Identity Has to Shift

Slowing down and making these changes sometimes felt like I was becoming a different person (to me and everyone around me).

I loved coffee. I loved food and wine. I loved running, being busy all the time, doing all the things. I prided myself on being someone who didn't need prescriptions, who could handle things naturally.

All of that had to change.

Because showing up fully in my life and my business - feeling good, thinking clearly, having energy again - that had to become the priority. Not my idea of who I thought I should be. Not the identity I'd been clinging to.

If you're fighting to maintain a lifestyle or an identity that isn't working for you anymore, maybe it's time to stop fighting.

Maybe it's time to ask yourself: what if letting go of who I've been, is what allows me to become who I need to be?

This isn't about perfection. It's about quality of life. It's about having the courage to pay attention, to be honest about what's not working, and to make the hard changes that give you yourself back.

If you look back you can probably recall a time you've reinvented yourself, your life, your business before. You've navigated impossible transitions. You've built things from nothing.

You can do this too.

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