Total Health in Midlife Episode #209: Menopause Survival Guide: Pt 2 The Lifestyle Shifts That Actually Work

Do you ever feel like your body is suddenly working against you, no matter how much you exercise or how carefully you eat, the weight just keeps creeping up, the exhaustion is unrelenting, and the frustration is just boiling over? If so, unfortunately, you’re not alone.

So many women hit midlife and feel completely blindsided by what is happening. It’s confusing, it’s overwhelming. And the advice out there, it’s often outdated, generic, or just plain wrong. But here’s the thing. Your body isn’t broken. It’s just changing. And the rules that you’ve been following all your life just don’t apply anymore.

So, in today’s episode, I am sharing why your efforts haven’t been working, the emotional toll that it takes when nothing seems to make sense. And why lifestyle changes are the key to finally feeling in control again.

If you’ve ever thought, ‘I know what to do, I’m just not doing it,’ or felt like throwing in the towel completely, you are going to want to stick around. Because the truth is you can feel better, stronger, and more vibrant, but only if you stop fighting against your body and start working with it.

So, let’s get started.

Welcome to Total Health and Midlife, the podcast for women embracing the pivotal transformation from the daily grind to the dawn of a new chapter. I’m Elizabeth, your host and fellow traveler on this journey.

As a Life and Health Coach, I am intimately familiar with the changes and challenges we face during this stage. Shifting careers, changing relationships, our new bodies, and redefining goals and needs as we start to look to the future and ask, what do I want?

In this podcast, we’ll explore physical, mental, and emotional wellness, offering insights and strategies to achieve optimal health through these transformative years.

Yes, it’s totally possible.

Join me in this amazing journey of body, mind, and spirit, where we’re not just improving our health, but transforming our entire lives.

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Total Health in Midlife podcast. I am Elizabeth Sherman, and I am so glad that you are here today because we are diving in to a topic that so many women struggle with, but rarely talk about openly.

Now, if you’ve ever found yourself wondering, why does it feel like my body is working against me? Or feeling like the harder you try the more stuck you get. Trust me, I’ve been there, and you are not alone. There are just so many women who are also feeling this way.

I hear this all the time from the women that I work with, who are smart, capable women, who have done everything right like what they tell you to do. But still feel like they’re spinning their wheels.

Now, in the last episode that I recorded just last week, I peeled back the curtain on menopause. What it is? Why it happens? And why society hasn’t prepared us for it? So, today, we’re taking that conversation just one step further. We’re going to talk about why so many of the strategies that you’ve been told to follow just don’t work anymore. And more importantly, what it takes to finally feel like you are in control of your body again.

Today’s episode isn’t about quick fixes or magical solutions. It’s about helping you understand what’s really going on in your body and why making the right lifestyle adjustments can be a total game changer.

Now, last year, after a talk that I gave, a woman came up to me and already, I could just feel her exhaustion. Before she even said a word, she told me that she had gained 10 pounds over the past year. Even though, she was doing everything right, quote unquote right.

This is a story that I hear all too often. She worked out consistently, she ate quote unquote clean, she ate a plant based diet, and hadn’t changed her habits. And yet, at the same time, the weight just kept creeping up. She was frustrated, she was confused, and she was overwhelmed. Everywhere it seemed like she turned, there was another expert shouting about hormones, gut health, supplementation, or some new biohacking trend.

She felt like she was drowning in information and still had no idea what was going wrong. This is so common. Women hit midlife and suddenly, the rules that used to make sense change. What used to work, cutting calories, upping your workouts, eating quote unquote healthy, stops working.

And when nothing makes sense anymore, it’s easy to turn the blame inward. And think like, what’s wrong with me? Why is my body broken? But here’s the thing. There’s actually nothing wrong with you, your body isn’t broken, it’s just changing.

So, menopause changes how your body responds to stress, to food, and to exercise. Hormonal shifts, especially changes in estrogen, progesterone, and even testosterone can affect everything from how you process carbohydrates to how you store fat. They can disrupt your sleep, your mood, and even how much energy you have to get through the day.

The truth is your body needs something different now. But the advice that you’ve been following isn’t tailored to where your body is right now. So, let’s take exercise for example. Maybe you’ve been using it as a way to burn calories to undo what you’ve eaten. Common from when we were 20, right? But during menopause, that approach can backfire.

Now, exercise is a stress. And when your body is already more sensitive to stress, which is what happens when we move out of our reproductive years. Pushing harder can make things worse. The same goes for cutting calories too low or ignoring how your body’s nutritional needs have shifted.

That woman that I mentioned earlier, she wasn’t doing anything wrong. Her goals were simply pulling her in opposite directions. She wanted to stay vegan, but her diet wasn’t providing enough protein to support her body’s changing needs.

When we made a few adjustments, her body responded. But the real shift was in her mindset. She stopped fighting herself. She stopped thinking her body was failing her. Because when you understand what’s happening, you stop working against your body. And that’s where the real change begins.

It’s no wonder you feel like you’re failing. The advice out there wasn’t designed for women in our shoes. Women’s health, especially the study of menopause has only started to gain attention in recent years. For decades, it was ignored because men controlled the research dollars. And they weren’t interested in studying something that didn’t directly affect them.

And so, the experience of menopause was largely swept under the rug. Women were left to suffer in silence, or even worse, to figure it out on their own. Now, here we are with countless women navigating this confusing stage of life, only to be bombarded with advice that doesn’t take into account what their bodies are actually going through. It’s no wonder you feel stuck, frustrated, and overwhelmed.

Maybe you’ve tried dieting, but the weight won’t budge. Or you’ve doubled down on your workouts only to feel more exhausted than ever. And let’s not even get started on the endless stream of miracle supplements. Hormone replacement options or trendy bio hacks that promise the world but rarely deliver.

Trying to piece it all together feels like a full time job, doesn’t it? Spending hours reading articles, watching videos, following gurus on social media, all while second guessing whether you’re doing the right thing or if any of it will even work. And in the quiet moments when the research and the trial and error stop, the deeper fears start to creep in.

You worry about losing your vitality, that spark that makes you feel like yourself. You wonder if this is just how it’s going to be from now on, feeling tired, foggy, and out of control. And you catch yourself feeling, well, invisible, like your needs and struggles are dismissed by the people around you. Or maybe the scariest thought of all sneaks in, what if it’s too late?

Now, those fears, they are 100 percent real. And it’s okay to feel them. But here’s the thing. You don’t have to let them control you. The good news is you don’t have to keep spinning your wheels trying to fix this on your own. There is a way forward.

You can stop the cycle of frustration, stop chasing every piece of conflicting advice, and start focusing on what actually works for you. Your body isn’t your enemy. It’s just trying to tell you what it needs. And when you learn to listen to it, when you work with it instead of against it. That’s when everything starts to change.

So, let’s talk about why lifestyle changes matter so much during menopause. And why this phase of life requires a completely different approach than what you might be used to. Everything you do, from how you move, to what you eat, to how you manage your stress can either work with your body or against it. And the truth is, the rules have changed.

During menopause, your hormones are shifting in ways that affect how your body functions on nearly every single level. Your stress response is heightened, your metabolism slows, and your sensitivity to certain foods changes. Things that worked in your 20s, 30s, or 40s, they might not even work anymore because your body isn’t the same anymore.

But here’s the thing. You weren’t taught how to listen to your body. Most of us weren’t, I know that I wasn’t. We were taught to push through, to diet harder, to work out more, to rely on willpower as if it were a badge of honor. And so, when the rules suddenly change, it feels like a slap in the face, doesn’t it? Like you’re supposed to have all the answers, but no one ever gave you the tools to figure it out.

So, if you’ve ever thought, I should know how to do this by now. Let me assure you, you are not supposed to know. You weren’t given a playbook. And the playbook you’ve been using is completely outdated and for a different model.

The symptoms you’re experiencing, weight gain, brain fog, fatigue, even emotional swings, they aren’t random. They are your body’s way of saying, ‘Hey, I need something different.’ They’re signals. And the solution isn’t to double down on outdated strategies. It’s to learn a new way of working with your body.

This isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what works for your body now. Lifestyle adjustments, like changing how you eat, how you approach exercise, or how you manage stress are the foundation for real, lasting relief. They’re what allow you to reclaim control.

And let’s be clear, if you are using hormone replacement therapy or considering it, that’s absolutely okay. HRT can be an incredible tool for many women, but it’s not the whole answer. Whether you use HRT or not, lifestyle changes are essential because they address the root causes of so many symptoms.

When you shift the way you eat, how you move, and manage stress to align with what your body actually needs, you stop fighting against it. And that’s where the magic happens. This is about creating a plan that works for you, not about willpower. It’s not about guessing; it’s about understanding your body’s new language and giving it what it needs so that you can feel like yourself again. This is where I come in.

My expertise lies in helping women like you make realistic, effective changes that actually make a difference. I work with women who feel stuck in the cycle of trial and error, who are tired of following advice that doesn’t fit their life or their body. Whether you want to avoid hormone replacement therapy altogether or use it as a part of your plan. My focus is on helping you feel in control again on your terms.

Here’s the truth. All of those habits that we got away with when we were younger, they don’t fly anymore. Overeating and then trying to out exercise it, that just doesn’t work anymore. Managing stress with emotional eating, wine, or a late night snack, that’s totally backfiring. Skimping on sleep and then pushing through anyway, it’s not an option anymore.

Menopause shines a spotlight on every single area that we’ve ignored or gotten comfortable with. Suddenly, it becomes painfully clear how much those habits influence how we feel. And if you’re like most women, you’re realizing that you can’t rely on willpower alone to change them.

I can help you understand what your body is asking for and guide you in creating a plan that fits your life and goals. My approach isn’t about doing more or working harder. It’s about working smarter, aligning your habits with what your body actually needs during this transition.

I know investing in yourself can feel daunting. You might be thinking, ‘can I really do this? Will it work for me? Like, listening to my body?’ Those doubts are totally normal. But imagine what it would feel like to finally break free from the cycle of frustration.

Imagine waking up feeling like you’ve had a good night’s sleep with energy to face the day. Imagine feeling comfortable in your body again. Not because you forced it to change, but because you’ve learned to work with it. Imagine having the clarity and confidence to know that you’re doing what’s best for you and your body. That’s what I help women achieve.

And if you’re ready to stop struggling and start feeling better, I can help you. You don’t have to keep spinning your wheels trying to piece together solutions on your own. Schedule an ‘I Know What to Do, I’m Just Not Doing It’ strategy call with me today at elizabethsherman.com/call and let’s create a plan that works for you.

This isn’t about adding more to your plate or overwhelming you with advice. It’s about understanding where you are right now and figuring out how we can get you to where you want to be. Feeling good, energetic, confident, and in control of your health.

Imagine what it would feel like to finally stop guessing. To let go of the frustration and to have a clear path forward. Imagine waking up feeling like yourself again, energized, strong, and at peace with your body. You don’t have to figure this out alone.

I can help you uncover the habits and strategies that will actually work for you and your body and your lifestyle. You deserve to feel good again. And I’m here to help you make that happen. So, schedule your call at elizabethsherman.com/call and I will see you there.

That’s all I have for you today. Have an amazing week everyone and I will talk to you next time.

Thank you for tuning in today. Now, if you enjoy the podcast and are ready to take the next step in addressing your health concerns, I would love to invite you to schedule an I Know What To Do, I’m Just Not Doing It strategy call.

In this 60 minute session, we will explore what’s holding you back and create a personalized action plan. You will gain clarity, support, and practical steps to move you forward. Visit elizabethsherman.com/call to book your call now. You can transform your health and I would love to be there to help.