Walking Through Perimenopause With You: My Story, My Work, and Why Women Deserve Better

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, cravings, poor sleep, low energy, brain fog, heavy or irregular periods, anxiety, mood swings and the feeling that their body has suddenly become unfamiliar. My work is about perimenopause nutrition and helping women understand the best foods for perimenopause in a way that feels simple, realistic and kind. It is not about restriction, calorie counting, guilt, fear or trying to force your body into submission.

I’m Jo Leccacorvi, a registered nutritional therapist, and I help perimenopausal women find their forever way of eating without restrictive dieting or calorie counting. This work matters deeply to me because it is not just something I have studied, researched or supported clients through. I am perimenopausal, and I know how disorientating it can feel when your body starts doing things you do not recognise.

This blog, Walking Through Perimenopause With You: My Story, My Work, and Why Women Deserve Better, is my way of sharing more about me, why I do this work, how I support women, and why I feel so strongly that perimenopausal women deserve better than the fear-based marketing, quick fixes and over-simplified advice that is thrown at them every day.

I first hit perimenopause when I was around 40, but I did not realise it at the time. I was experiencing really heavy periods that were affecting my day-to-day life. I could not sleep properly, and I was wide awake at 3am almost every morning without fail, unable to get back to sleep. I was low on energy, anxious, miserable and not feeling like myself at all.

At the time, I did what we are always told to do. I got the heavy bleeding checked out, and thankfully all the scary things were ruled out. That was obviously a relief, but then I was just left to it. There was no real conversation about what else might be going on, no explanation that this could be perimenopause, and no sense that my symptoms fitted into a bigger picture.

It was only after a chance conversation with someone who mentioned perimenopause that things started to make sense. I had heard of menopause, of course, but I genuinely thought that was something that happened to women in their 50s when their periods stopped. I did not understand that perimenopause could begin years before that, or that it could affect sleep, mood, anxiety, periods, energy, joints, memory and how you feel in your own body.

Once I started reading and researching, I finally understood what was happening. I also felt embarrassed that I had not known more about it, especially given my profession. Then something happened that made me feel a lot better. I saw a GP who did not seem to understand perimenopause either. That was frustrating, obviously, but it also helped me realise that if even some healthcare professionals are not fully joining the dots, then women absolutely cannot be expected to recognise it in themselves straight away.

That moment made me even more determined to support women through this stage of life with honesty, compassion and proper information. I do not want women to be left thinking they are broken, lazy, dramatic, weak or failing. I want them to understand what is happening in their bodies and what they can do to support themselves without adding even more pressure to their already overloaded lives.

That realisation changed so much for me. It made me feel less ashamed for not knowing, and it made me even more determined to support women through this stage of life with honesty, compassion and proper information. I do not want women to be left thinking they are broken, lazy, dramatic, weak or failing. I want them to understand what is happening in their bodies and what they can do to support themselves without adding even more pressure to their already overloaded lives.

My own perimenopause journey has been a rollercoaster. I decided to go down the HRT route, but getting there was not straightforward. I had to fight to be heard. I was told I was too young. I was told I was not menopausal because I was still having periods. That particular conversation with the GP was heated, to put it politely, and it was not a great experience. In the end, I went private because I needed support and I needed someone to listen.

HRT has been amazing for me. I know it works because if I forget to change my patch, my symptoms come back very quickly. That said, one of the biggest lessons I have learned is that HRT is not a magic wand. At first, I think I was looking at it as a panacea, the thing that would cure everything and make all my symptoms disappear. What I have come to understand is that perimenopause is more about riding the wave and having a variety of tools to support you.

I often say to clients that you need a variety of tools in your perimenopause toolbox. HRT might be one of those tools. Nutrition might be another. Stress management, self-care, boundaries, rest, sleep, movement, connection, letting go of things or people that no longer serve you, and learning not to push through everything are all part of the bigger picture too. Perimenopause is not usually solved by one thing, because we are not machines with one faulty part that needs replacing.

This is also why I get so frustrated with some of the advertising aimed at perimenopausal and menopausal women. So many adverts mix together a few kernels of truth with exaggerated claims, emotionally loaded language, oversimplified physiology and appearance-based fear marketing. That combination is incredibly persuasive because it makes women feel seen while simultaneously making them feel broken.

Women deserve better than that. They deserve better than being told their cortisol is ruining their body, their belly fat is stubborn and impossible, their hormones are out of control, or that one supplement, plan or protocol will finally “fix” them. They deserve better than being drawn in through fear, only to internalise the message and end up blaming themselves even more.

I am not saying supplements never have a place. They absolutely can, but they should be individualised and considered properly. I avoid blanket supplement recommendations because I do not know everyone’s health history, what medication they are taking, what conditions they have, what blood results show, or what is actually appropriate for them. Supplements can interact with prescribed medication, and more is not always better.

Anyone telling you that nutrition will cure all your perimenopause symptoms should be treated with caution. Anyone telling you their supplement will fix you should also be viewed with a good dose of suspicion. Nutrition can be incredibly powerful, but it is not about miracle cures. It is about giving your body the support it needs in a stage of life where your needs may have changed.

During perimenopause, hormones do not decline in a neat, steady, predictable line. They fluctuate in a chaotic, up-and-down way, a bit like a rollercoaster that nobody asked to get on and nobody seems to know how to stop. This is one of the reasons symptoms can feel so random. You can feel fairly okay in the morning and be crying by the afternoon. You can have a good week, then suddenly sleep disappears, cravings ramp up, and your patience leaves the building with its coat on.

This is why I feel so strongly that the worst thing we can do is respond to perimenopause by punishing ourselves. Drastically cutting calories, restricting food groups, skipping meals, trying to survive on coffee and willpower, or forcing ourselves into exercise we hate is not the answer. Your body is already navigating a lot. It needs nourishment, not punishment.

That phrase sits at the heart of how I work. Nourishment over punishment. Always.

The women I work with often come to me feeling like their bodies have changed and they do not know what to do anymore. They might be dealing with poor sleep, low energy, cravings, weight gain, brain fog, night sweats, hot flushes, heavy periods, irregular cycles, anxiety, panic, mood swings, painful joints, headaches, PMS, dry skin or feeling less resilient to stress. Some are taking or considering GLP-1 weight loss injections because traditional approaches no longer seem to work and food noise feels relentless.

Alongside all of that, they are also carrying the mental load of life. Work, children, partners, parents, appointments, school emails, shopping lists, meals, washing, caring responsibilities, friendship admin, family logistics and the constant feeling that everyone needs something from them. By the time they think about their own health, they are often exhausted, overloaded and running on fumes.

Then they go online and are told they need more discipline. More willpower. More exercise. More restriction. More protein. More fibre. More supplements. More tracking. More morning routines. More sleep hacks. More everything.

The truth is, many of these women are already doing more than enough. They are carrying enough. They are not failing because they lack discipline. They are not struggling because they are weak. Their bodies are changing, their nutrition needs may have changed, and the old approaches may no longer fit.

This is where my work begins. I help women understand what is going on in their body and make simple, nourishing changes that fit into real life. I do not ask women to weigh every mouthful, count every calorie, cut out everything they enjoy, or build their life around food rules. I help them look at what is happening with meals, cravings, energy, sleep, stress, digestion, mood and routine, then we work out what needs support first.

For many women, this might mean looking at whether they are eating enough protein across the day, especially at breakfast and lunch. It might mean gently increasing fibre to support blood sugar balance, digestion, cholesterol and fullness. It might mean building meals that keep them satisfied, rather than leaving them raiding the cupboards at 4pm and feeling awful about it afterwards.

It might mean making lunch more substantial, having realistic backup meals, learning how to steady blood sugar without becoming obsessive, or understanding why cravings are not a moral failing. It might mean finding quick, healthy meals that do not require a spare hour, a perfectly stocked fridge, or the energy of a woman who has had eight uninterrupted hours of sleep and has never once had to remember a school trip payment.

My approach is simple because life is not. I believe in small, consistent changes to everyday diet and lifestyle because those are the changes that actually last. I would much rather help a woman find three realistic breakfasts she can repeat than give her a complicated meal plan that looks lovely on paper but falls apart by Wednesday because life has happened.

I also believe in self-kindness and self-compassion, not as fluffy extras, but as essential parts of behaviour change. Shame does not create long-term health. Guilt does not make people consistent. Beating yourself up does not help you listen to your body. Most women I work with have spent years being harsh with themselves, and they do not need another person telling them they are doing it wrong.

They need to feel heard. They need to understand their body again. They need practical guidance that helps them feel calmer, clearer and more confident around food. They need support that says, “This makes sense, and there is a way forward,” rather than, “Here is another list of things you are failing at.”

My business, Jo Leccacorvi Nutrition, is built on simplicity, self-love, joy, compassion and health. These values matter to me because I do not believe health should come at the cost of your relationship with food, your mental wellbeing or your enjoyment of life. I believe every woman deserves to live a joyful, healthy life in a way that is right for her.

This means helping women ditch diet culture, enjoy movement rather than using exercise to earn food, and build a way of eating that supports them without becoming another source of stress. It means helping women move away from all-or-nothing thinking and towards something more flexible, sustainable and kind. It means reminding them that consistency does not mean perfection, and one snack, one meal, one takeaway or one difficult week does not ruin anything.

When women work with me, we do not chase perfection. We look for patterns. We look at what is realistic. We look at where their body is asking for more support. We look at what can make the biggest difference without making life feel harder. Sometimes the most powerful changes are not dramatic at all. They are the simple things done regularly, such as eating breakfast that actually satisfies you, adding more fibre gradually, planning one backup lunch, getting more daylight, drinking enough water, or allowing yourself to rest instead of pushing through until you crash.

I want women to know that they are not alone in this. If your body feels different, if food feels more complicated, if cravings feel louder, if sleep is all over the place, if you feel more anxious than you used to, or if you keep thinking, “I just want to feel like myself again,” I see you. I really do.

I also want you to know that you are not broken. You do not need fixing. You do not need to be frightened into buying another supplement, shamed into another diet, or persuaded that your body has somehow betrayed you. Your body is changing, and that can feel hard, frustrating and emotional, but it also deserves care, respect and support.

Perimenopause can be a lot. It can be confusing, irritating, exhausting and, frankly, a bit rude. It can make you question yourself in ways you did not expect. It can also be a stage where you finally stop trying to do what has never really served you and start building something that supports the woman you are now.

That is the work I love doing. I help women find their forever way of eating, one that supports their health, their hormones, their energy, their cravings and their real life. Not a perfect way of eating. Not a restrictive way of eating. Not a “start again Monday” way of eating. A way of eating that feels nourishing, doable and yours.

Every woman’s experience of perimenopause is unique, and nutritional needs can vary widely. If you have underlying health conditions, are taking medication, are using or considering GLP-1 medication, or are under medical supervision, please speak to your GP, prescribing clinician or a menopause-trained healthcare professional before making significant changes to your diet, lifestyle or supplements.

If you are reading this and thinking, “This sounds like me,” then I want you to know there is support available. You do not have to figure it all out on your own. You do not have to keep blaming yourself. You do not have to keep bouncing between restrictive diets, confusing advice and adverts that make you feel seen for five seconds before making you feel worse.

You deserve better than that. You deserve nourishment, clarity, compassion and practical support that meets you where you are. You deserve to feel heard, understood and supported through this stage of life, because you are not imagining it, you are not failing, and you are absolutely not alone.

If this has resonated with you and you are thinking, “This sounds like me,” then you do not have to figure it all out on your own. I offer complimentary Clarity Calls where we can talk through what is going on for you, what you are struggling with, and whether my support would be the right fit. Click here to book.

You are also very welcome to join my free Facebook group, Kicking Perimenopause in the Arse, where I share practical nutrition advice, honest conversations, reassurance, and support for women navigating perimenopause without restriction, guilt or nonsense.

You deserve better than fear-based adverts, confusing advice and being made to feel like your body is a problem to fix. You deserve nourishment, clarity, compassion and practical support that meets you where you are. You are not imagining it, you are not failing, and you are absolutely not alone.