Wise Women Conversations

In this week’s episode I am sharing an interview that I did with Yvonne Shepherd from Women’s Fitness Adventures (WFA) for her community.  I share some of my challenges around osteoarthritis and weight gain and how I was able to recover from a full hip replacement and complete a 27km walk 6 weeks after finishing my rehab program.   I don’t think of myself as inspiring when I share my story because I am simply doing what I need to if I want to be able to stay health and mobile as I age but I have been told that my story is inspiring. If only one woman gets inspiration from what I have achieved, then I will continue to share.   Mobility, balance and flexibility is so important as we age.  These are what will continue to give us a good quality of life and for me it means that I can continue to do the multi-day hikes that I love to do.  I love the challenge of deciding to do a hike and then the planning process to get fit and strong to be able to complete the hike.  My next big hike

As we age and our hormones shift, many women start to notice that their skin changes. It isn’t as tight as it was in the past and often, they start to notice lines and wrinkles that weren’t there in the past. I get so many questions about the best skincare to use as you age that I decided to chat with Kim Morrison, the Founder and Creator of a fantastic natural skin care brand called Twenty8. Kim Morrison is a 5 times best-selling, award-winning author, founder of Twenty8 Essentials, an aromatherapist, health and lifestyle educator, mentor, Master NLP Practitioner and Time Line therapist, Advanced Hypnotherapist and a multi-tasking wife and mum. With two aspiring athletic children, one a ballerina and the other a rugby player, Kim is married to former NZ Cricketer Danny Morrison who, as a family, moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2006. With athletic goals herself, she played netball well into her 40’s and proudly represented Auckland from 1983-1986. Kim took up the crazy sport of ultra marathon running in her ea

I often get asked about some of my favourite books, podcasts, communities etc when it comes to the topic of menopause. In this episode I share with you some of those resources and their links Books Queen Menopause by Alison Daddo Art of Self-Love by Kim Morrison The Upgrade by Dr Louanne Brizadene  Goddesses Never Age by Dr Christiane Northrup  The Wisdom of Menopause by Dr Christiane Northrup The Hormone Repair Manual by Lara Briden  Magnificent Midlife by Rachel Lankester  Podcasts The Self Love Podcast with Kim Morrison  Magnificent Midlife Podcast with Rachel Lankester  Essentially You by Dr Mariza Synder  Dear Menopause by Sonya Lovell  Self-Kind with Erica Webb  Thriving Thru Menopause with Clarissa Kristjansson  Communities Menopause Conversation Facebook Group  Women’s fitness Adventures  The Self-Kind Hub  35+ Where to Shop Facebook group  Magnificent Midlife Women 40+ - Self Love, Body Love

It was an honour to have Maryon Stewart as a guest on the Menopause Conversations Podcast. Maryon is the author of Manage Your Menopause Naturally and 27 other books. She is considered a pioneer of the Natural Menopause Movement. She has helped tens of thousands of women around the world overcome PMS and menopause symptoms without using drugs or hormones. She has had her own TV and radio shows as well as contributing to many other shows and series. In 2018 she was awarded the British Empire Medal and was recognized as one of the 50 most inspirational women by the Daily Mail. In this episode we talk about - Women’s expectations and fears around menopause - The role that phyto-oestrogens can play in helping you to get through your menopause transition with relative ease - The different research projects that Maryon has conducted to understand more about women’s experiences in menopause and the best method to support women through this transition without the use of additional hormones or drugs. If you would like

Headlines like “Menopause is Costing Women $17bill in lost income a Year” or “Nearly 1mill women leave the workforce due to Menopause” are quite scary and give women the idea that menopause will cause them to lose their jobs. While it is possible that some women make decisions to leave their job while they are in their menopause transition the issue is not as big a problem as the headline makes out. In this episode of the Menopause Conversations podcast I have a look at some of these headlining statistics and delve into the ‘real’ truth behind the numbers. One thing that I learn many years ago when I was studying to be an Accountant is that you can often “mold” the numbers to tell the story that you want to tell. Add these headlines to the fact that women are being told that everything is “normal” leads women to feel like they are not being heard or that there is nothing that they can do to feel great again, and that life is a downward slide as they reach their menopause transition. This episode is a little b

Don’t we all sometimes wish that our face looked a little tighter or that we could hide some of the wrinkles that seem to be appearing? In this episode of the Menopause Conversations podcast Vanamala Mayr-Reisch shares some of her tips to naturally lift and tighten your face using face yoga. Vanamala’s mission is to empower women to build their confidence and feel proud of who they are. She is a certified face yoga teacher, physiotherapist, eye fitness trainer and the founder of Face Yoga Australia. Face Yoga is a natural way to lift the face and a pathway to profound inner transformation. Vanamala is deeply passionate about sharing her extensive knowledge about the body, mind and spirit, acquired over 35 years of working with people. Have a listen to the episode and try a couple of the exercises that Vanamala shares for a couple of weeks and see if you notice a difference. Vanamala offers a variety of face yoga classes, workshops, coaching programs, one-on-one consolations and corporate classes in person and

When I heard that the largest demographic of homeless people in Australia were women over the age of 50, I was completely shocked.  These women are often hidden from society and lose their homes after marriage breakdowns. This statistic is one that my guest on the podcast this week also wants to change. Some people would say that Bernadette Jansen from The School of Renovating is simply a renovator. She is so much more than this.  Bernadette shows women how it is possible to make money through renovating to support you through the second half of your life.   In this episode Bernadette shares: Her first attempt at renovating when she was 13 years old How you can renovate for a profit without being ‘on the tools’ yourself Why the popular renovating TV shows are unrealistic How you can get started with renovating even if you don’t have a lot of money to start with If you have ever thought about renovating as a way of funding your retirement, then this is the episode to listen to. Bernadett

It was recently reported that Drs in the UK are prescribing walking to maintain great health rather than medications, this was music to the ears of our guest on the Menopause Conversations podcast this week.  Yvonne Shepherd is the owner of Women’s Fitness Adventures a company whose mission is to encourage women to become stronger for life through fitness, adventure and social connection.  Yvonne has seen the impact that getting out and moving in nature has had on the health and lives of women in her community.  Many of Yvonne’s members are over 50, with some enjoying life on the trail well into their 70s.   Yvonne has built a great community of women who train with her to get fit and strong for different adventures and she also creates those great adventures as well.  With hiking trips all around Australia and overseas there are always a variety different experiences available for various levels of fitness, and if you don’t feel fit enough to do a specific adventure Yvonne will suppo

If you have ever felt that you have missed out on precious summer memories because of how you feel in a swimsuit, then this episode is for you. Anita McLachlan from Sequins and Sand and Summer Confidence Society chats to me about the very real issue that many women experience in summertime. Having owned an online swimsuit retail store for many years Anita soon realised that she wasn’t really in the business of selling swimsuits, she was actually in the business of giving women back their confidence and their self-acceptance In this episode we discuss The difference between body confidence and swimsuit confidence The role of the media in women’s confidence about their body, particularly in a swimsuit The annual Cossie Confidence photoshoot that has women coming back year after year to have their photos taken in their swimsuits and how this event has changed the lives of many women The importance of finding the right swimsuit that provides support and confidence Speaking with Anita is always fun, and sh

Today’s guest on the Menopause Conversations Podcast is Dr Alyssa Dweck. Dr. Alyssa Dweck is a practicing gynaecologist and the Chief Medical Officer of Bonafide. She has been an Ob/Gyn for over 25 years with a special interest in menopausal health and training in female sexual health. Dr. Dweck is the co-author of three books and has appeared on The Today Show and Good Day LA. She contributes regularly to multiple in print and online media outlets. She has been voted “Top Doctor” in New York Magazine and Westchester Magazine. When she’s not helping women improve their health, Dr. Dweck enjoys time with her husband, two sons and “girly” English Bulldog. She is an avid runner and sports car enthusiast. In this episode we discuss: Vaginal Health The difference in the terms ‘vulva’ and ‘vagina’ The main causes of the common symptom’s women experience as their hormones drop What you can do about these symptoms The use of topical oestrogen to alleviate symptoms The importance of looking after your pelvi

Every single day you receive messages from your body, some messages are louder than others. Have you ever heard them? The only way in which your body can communicate with you is through symptoms, these are the messages from your body. The human body spends its entire life trying to stay in balance, this is what we call homeostasis. When your body is out of balance you will experience symptoms while the body tries to re-balance itself again. If you don’t listen to the messages and the situation doesn’t change your symptoms will get worse and worse until you have no choice except to stop and make change (or you die!) As women go through their menopause transition, they often start to experience new symptoms that appear to come out of nowhere. They haven’t come from nowhere and they are not caused by your hormones. In fact, hormones are simply messengers that pass messages between different cells in your body. Your reproductive hormones are quite protective and as these hormone levels come down you start to lose

Everyone has tried diets that didn’t work or have found out that what used to work doesn’t work now.  Every woman’s experience of menopause is different  some have hot flashes and night sweats and others don’t some put on weight and others lose it some have excruciating joint pain and others don’t there are so many different symptoms associated with menopause and no 2 women have the same experience Your experience of menopause is unique to you, this is why what works for others might not work for you.  It is time to get rid of the cookie cutter approach when it comes to menopause and start seeing every woman as the unicorn that they are.  This is what personalised health is all about, recognising your uniqueness and creating a solution that will work for you So what makes you different to every other woman on the planet – your genes? (except for identical twins but I will get to that in a minute) Your genes determine How tall or short you are What your natural hair, skin and e

Statistics show that women over the age of 45 are the largest consumers of alcohol in Australia and I would assume that these stats are similar in other western countries. We live in a culture that tells us that alcohol is required to be social, to relax, to have fun, to be part of the group. But there is another side to alcohol consumption, particularly when it comes to women as they are moving through their menopause transition. The changes in women’s bodies and their hormones means that there is less tolerance to the impacts of alcohol than there was in the younger years. Some of the common symptoms that are associated with alcohol consumption are: Alcohol creates stress in your body and causes symptoms such as: hot flushes and night sweats joint and body pain weight gain around tummy sleep problems low energy foggy headedness mood swings depression and anxiety Have a listen to the episode to get a better understanding of what happens to your body when you drink that glass of wine and why

Our special guest on this week’s episode of Menopause Conversations Podcast is Fiona Keary from Style Liberation. I have shared Fiona’s work before on an earlier episode any I thought it was time to have Fiona on to have a deeper conversation around how the clothes that we wear tell a story about ourselves. To be honest this was also an opportunity for me to get a personal styling session as Fiona answers some of my questions about how you can determine the best style of clothes to wear and how to create particular shapes with your clothes. Fiona admits that she used to be a real ‘style tragic’, she loved clothes but had no idea how to put them together in a way that looked great. She obviously has learnt a lot since those early days and now she loves working with women who are over the age of 40, helping them to dress to suit their changing body shape and their changing hair colour. In this episode Fiona shares: The concept of Style Personalities and when you understand what your Style Personality is how e

The menopause is a time of change. One of the biggest changes that many women experience is weight gain. You might have gained weight despite your best efforts to exercise regularly and pay attention to your nutrition, especially in the hard to lose Meno-Belly region. But the issue is the former weight loss strategies that used to work for you typically cease working once you enter menopause. Women's hormone levels begin to fluctuate in their early 40s. Along with other variables, these hormonal changes play a big part in menopause weight gain. As women progress through menopause, they may gain weight for a variety of causes (often a mix of these). Lowered Thyroid Function Insulin Resistance Stress Oestrogen Receptors Dietary Choices The good news is that you can shed those excess kilos, but it will require some effort on your part. Understanding how your body functions can help you take the actions that will have the biggest impact. You may have noticed that not everyone responds well to a particul

One of the symptoms associated with menopause that is least discussed is joint and body pain. I had continual pain for approximately 2 years when I was in peri-menopause. Although I don't often use painkillers, there have been a few times when I needed to take Panadeine just to fall asleep. Since this generation of women leads more active lives than our mothers and grandmothers did, joint and body pain have not historically been a common symptom associated with Menopause. But there are several factors that need to be considered here. The drop in Oestrogen, diet and ordinary wear and tear all contribute to the pain. Any underlying inflammation will become visible when Oestrogen levels drop, and collagen levels decrease. Inflammation is most frequently brought on by our food, but there are other causes as well. Collagen is what keeps our skin appearing smooth and young, it also keeps our ligaments and tendons working properly. So, when collagen levels decline, we may become stiffer and less flexible. Meanwhile,

At the age of 47 Tania Dalton started to wonder what would happen if she lived a short life like her Dad, what would she miss out on? Tania decided that she was going to train to run a marathon even though she says she didn’t consider herself an athlete, didn’t like running and she wasn’t fast. Peri-menopause hit Tania quite hard with lots of symptoms such as hot flushes, weight gain and debilitating joint pain. But she didn’t give up. Tania completed the marathon in a faster time than she thought was possible. But that wasn’t end of physical challenges for Tania, she then decided to complete a full Ironman event. It took her 3 years of training, while her menopause symptoms were getting worse due to the stress that she was putting her body under and then along came covid and threatened to derail everything that she had trained for. Tania kept training but she knew there was a chance that she wouldn’t make the cut off for the event or even be able to travel interstate as border closures came in virtually over

This week is the final episode in the Understanding Hormones series and in the episode, I am talking about the hormone Insulin and specifically something that is known as Insulin Resistance. Insulin Resistance is one of the key factors when it comes to weight gain in peri-menopause and beyond. In this episode you will discover: - What the role of insulin is in the body - What insulin resistance is - How the shift in your reproductive hormones can trigger insulin resistance - The other factors that you need to consider when it comes to insulin resistance - What you can do to reverse insulin resistance and get rid of your meno-belly If you want a better understanding of why you put on weight as you move through peri-menopause and beyond why not download a copy of the free Secret to Getting Rid of Your Meno-Belly Ebook. You will find further information about Insulin Resistance, Thyroid Concerns and other causes of your weight gain and most importantly you will discover the steps that you can take you reduce you

In this week’s episode of Menopause Conversations, I have Clarissa Kristjansson as my guest. Clarissa is a Mindful and Menopause Expert, Author of the bestseller The Mindful Menopause and the host of Thriving Thru Menopause Podcast. Clarissa believes that life transitions give women the opportunity to explore life differently. In this episode we discuss the important topic of menopause in the workplace and how you can not only keep your job but thrive. Some of the topics that we cover in this episode include: - Why it is important to take a kinder approach to ourselves through peri-menopause and beyond - How to shift from blaming and criticising ourselves to self-acceptance - Clarissa shares her journey through menopause while she was in a high level corporate role - Some mindbody practices to help you to manage your symptoms To follow Clarissa and learn more about the work that she does visit Website Email LinkedIn Instagram Podcast If one of your concerns around menopause is weight gain that won’t shift reg

It is time to get a better understanding of the role that the thyroid plays in some of t he symptoms that are often associated with menopause, particularly weight gain.  In this episode of Menopause Conversations, you will discover: - The role your thyroid plays in keeping you healthy - The specific nutrients you require for a healthy thyroid - Why the liver plays such an important role in keeping your thyroid functioning well - How you can support your liver through food and nutrition Weight gain is one of the most common symptoms that women complain about when it comes to menopause and while the thyroid might be playing a role there are several other factors that are also impacting your weight and importantly your ability to lose the extra kilos.  This is why I have written an ebook called The Secret to Getting Rid of Your Meno-Belly, you can grab your free copy HERE [insert ]