My decision to study eating disorders grew from the work I was already doing with my nutrition clients. Some people came to me with a known history of an eating disorder, while others described thoughts and behaviours around food that suggested their relationship with eating might be more complicated than it first appeared. Completing my health coaching training gave me useful tools for supporting behaviour change. However, there were times when it felt as though we were only

There is a point in perimenopause where even thinking about food can feel like another job. You may already be dealing with poor sleep, low energy, brain fog, cravings, work, family life and a mental load that feels permanently full. Then you open social media and are told to eat more protein, increase your fibre, cut sugar, reduce carbs, stop snacking, drink more water, meal prep, strength train and somehow remain calm while doing all of it. No wonder so many women feel comp

This question came up recently, and I have not stopped thinking about it since. Someone asked me how she could lose weight without having to stop eating, especially the foods she actually enjoys. It was such an honest question, and I think it speaks for so many women in perimenopause and menopause. Because let’s be honest, most women are not asking, “How can I follow another miserable diet that makes me feel hungry, restricted and slightly furious by 3pm?” They are asking,

From thunder thighs to meno belly, women’s bodies have been turned into marketing material for decades. Before diet culture sells women the solution, it often gives the body part a name. Thunder thighs. Muffin top. Bingo wings. Mum tum. Meno belly. Cortisol belly. Love handles. Saddlebags. Bra bulge. Spare tyre. Jelly belly. Cankles. Back fat. Double chin. Once you start noticing these phrases, it becomes impossible to ignore how often women’s bodies are chopped up into parts

GLP-1 has become one of those health terms that seems to have appeared everywhere almost overnight. One minute most people had never heard of it, and the next it was being used to sell weight loss injections, supplements, GLP-1 diets, meal plans, powders, probiotics and all sorts of “natural alternatives” aimed at women in perimenopause and menopause. As always, there is often a small piece of truth sitting underneath the marketing, but that truth can become very distorted wh

Every week, my social media feed seems to deliver another advert aimed at perimenopausal and menopausal women, and lately my camera roll has become a depressing little museum of screenshots. Not because I want to share them or give them more attention, but because they make me feel genuine despair. These adverts are everywhere. They promise flat stomachs, reduced bloating, better skin, fewer cravings, balanced hormones, fixed cortisol, boosted metabolism, weight loss, impro

I recently came across an article claiming that a “cortisol detox” is helping menopausal women lose 30 to 40 lbs in six weeks, without injections, HRT or calorie counting. The article says that weight gain in menopause is not really about age, metabolism or willpower, but about cortisol. It claims that certain foods, including whole grains, fruit smoothies, low-fat yoghurt, protein bars, diet drinks and deli meats, can spike cortisol and cause the body to hold onto stubborn b

Perimenopause nutrition can feel like an absolute minefield. One minute you are being told to eat more protein, the next you are being told to cut carbs, fix your cortisol, heal your gut, take a miracle supplement, lose weight, reduce inflammation, avoid everything fun, and somehow feel calm while doing it all. It is no wonder so many women feel overwhelmed, confused and completely fed up. I work with women in their 40s and 50s who are navigating perimenopause, weight loss in

Perimenopause weight gain, menopause belly fat, slow metabolism during menopause and collagen supplements for menopause are all topics dominating social media right now. If you are a woman in your 40s or 50s, it is almost impossible to scroll through Facebook or Instagram without seeing adverts promising to “fix” your metabolism, flatten your belly, rebuild your muscle mass or reverse the effects of menopause with a supplement. Recently, I came across an advert for a collagen

If you have spent any time on social media lately, chances are you have seen someone blaming inflammation for absolutely everything happening during perimenopause. Belly fat? Inflammation Brain fog? Inflammation Poor sleep? Inflammation Cravings? Inflammation Weight gain that will apparently “melt away” if you follow a special detox, drink a supplement, cut out food groups, or “reset” your hormones. Some of these adverts are incredibly persuasive. They use scientific sounding

It’s taken me a huge amount of strength to write this, but I think it’s important we talk about it. I recently saw a post on Facebook where a woman shared, anonymously, that she had a “horrendous double chin.” She said she hadn’t realised quite how bad it had become until her son took a photo of her without her knowing. She asked, “How do I fix this? I’ll do anything.” She also mentioned that she was a size 10, as if she needed to justify that the rest of her body was “accept

Another one of those supplement adverts popped up on my newsfeed recently. This time it was talking about belly fat in menopause. It started by explaining that there are two different types of fat, subcutaneous and visceral, and then quickly moved into why your “stubborn belly” is not your fault, cannot be fixed with diet or exercise, and is actually caused by your gut lining breaking down due to collagen loss. Conveniently, the solution was their collagen supplement. Now, I

If you have noticed your body feeling different lately, perhaps in the way your clothes fit or how your shape has shifted, you are not alone. Many women I work with tell me that their body shape seems to be changing, even when their habits have not. Clothes fit differently. Weight seems to settle around the middle. And perhaps most frustrating of all, the things that used to “work” no longer seem to make a difference. It is very easy in this space to fall into the trap of thi

There is something I see time and time again in the women I work with, and if I am honest, something I have experienced myself too. It is a quiet disconnection. A sense that somewhere along the way, we stopped trusting our bodies and started looking outside of ourselves for answers. Instead of tuning in, we rely on apps, watches, plans, and rules to tell us what is happening inside our own bodies. We second-guess how we feel, override hunger, question cravings, and push throu

Recently, I came across an advert on social media that made me stop scrolling. Not because it was inspiring, but because it raised a lot of questions. The advert claimed that by following a simple 20-minute daily routine, the person discovered their cortisol levels were three times higher than normal. Once they “fixed” this with the plan, everything changed. They were back in their favourite jeans and finally felt comfortable in their body again. Another part of the advert sa

Why the “female-specific nutrition” narrative deserves a closer look Recently I came across a post on Instagram that stopped me mid-scroll. It said, “I’m a scientist and a woman. If female-specific exercise and nutrition recommendations were legitimate, I’d follow them and recommend them to other women.” It was a bold statement, and it made me pause because it captured something I have been thinking about for a long time. You might expect a Registered Nutritional Therapist wh

Recently, I keep seeing more and more articles and social media adverts aimed at women in midlife making bold claims about cortisol and menopause weight gain. Many of these posts revolve around the same idea: cortisol, menopause, and “belly fat” are presented as though they are directly and simply connected. The message often follows a very familiar pattern. Your weight gain in perimenopause is caused by cortisol. Your body has a hidden hormonal switch. If you trigger it cor

If you have spent any time on social media recently, you have probably come across posts that tell a very familiar story. A woman in her 40s shares how she suddenly gained weight despite eating the same foods and living the same lifestyle. She explains that her doctor blamed hormones, but that turned out to be wrong. She then reveals a different reason, often something unexpected like stress or the nervous system, and describes a transformation where the weight finally starte

The Phone Call That Broke My Trust: What Perimenopause Care Can Feel Like (But Often Doesn’t) If you have ever put down the phone after speaking to a healthcare professional and felt shaky, angry, and unsettled, I want you to know I get it. Yesterday I received an unexpected call from my GP surgery, and it left me feeling blindsided, unsupported, and unsure what to do next. It also triggered something that I know many women in perimenopause will recognise, that familiar sen

By Justina Triasovaite, Women’s Health & Hormone Specialist PT Www.justinatraining.com Every January, women are told it’s time to start over. New body. New routine. New rules. New discipline. And for women in perimenopause, that pressure can feel even heavier, especially when your body suddenly feels unfamiliar. Workouts that once felt easy now leave you exhausted, recovery takes longer, and the idea of pushing harder feels more draining than motivating. But here’s the trut