The Ageless and Awesome Podcast

Feeling like you don’t recognise yourself anymore can be the most confronting part of perimenopause and it often sits beneath the better-known symptoms like weight gain, brain fog, anxiety, poor sleep, and mood swings. I’m Susie Garden, a perimenopause naturopath and clinical nutritionist, and I’m talking about the “unlisted symptom” I hear in clinic all the time: that deep sense of becoming a stranger...

Anxiety that starts in your 40s can make you question everything, especially when you have handled stressful jobs, family pressure, and life curveballs for decades. If you are waking at 2am or 3am with a racing heart, feeling on edge for “no reason”, or getting overwhelmed by everyday tasks, I want you to hear this clearly. You are not going crazy, and you are not weak. For many women, perimenopause anxiety is a hormone...

You know that moment when you walk into a room and completely forget why you’re there, or you lose a word mid-sentence and suddenly feel embarrassed and frustrated? Menopause brain fog can be one of the most confronting symptoms because it doesn’t just feel annoying, it can make you question your competence and your sense of self.

I’m Susie Garden, Perimenopause Naturopath and Weight Loss Nutritionist, and ...

Motivation can disappear so quietly in perimenopause that you start telling yourself a brutal story - 'I’m lazy', 'I’ve lost my discipline', 'I don’t recognise myself'. We’re putting that story under the microscope and replacing it with something far more accurate and far more useful: your body is moving through a major hormonal transition that changes brain chemistry, sleep, stress response, and the way eff...

Weight loss after 40 can feel like your body suddenly stopped playing fair. If you’ve tried the old tricks, watched the scales stall, and started wondering whether your metabolism is “broken”, I want you to hear this clearly: you’re not too old and you’re not failing. The rules change in perimenopause and menopause, so the strategy has to change too.

I talk through why midlife fat loss can be sl...

Ever felt like you’re doing “everything right” and still gaining weight? Let’s flip the script on midlife metabolism. I unpack why eating less and exercising more can backfire in peri and post-menopause, and how to send your body the safety signals it needs to release stored fat. As hormones shift, insulin sensitivity drops, cortisol rises, sleep can be poor, and muscle mass slides. The old calorie-in, calor...

Your body hasn’t just “stopped working” after 40 - your biology has changed the rules. In today's episode I unpack the five hidden drivers behind stubborn midlife weight gain and show you how to work with your hormones, not against them. From silent inflammation to cortisol spikes, poor sleep, gut shifts, and insulin resistance, I map out practical steps that make weight loss feel possible again.
 
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When life is flat out, why do your healthiest routines disappear first, and how do you stop the slide without needing “perfect” days? This week on the pod,  I’m sharing a practical, no guilt approach to staying consistent with wellness when work, family, stress, and midlife hormones collide. 

I unpack the real reasons consistency breaks down, including decision fatigue, rising stress, and the way ...

Fat loss after 40 can feel unfair. You eat less, you push harder in the gym, you try to be “good” all week and somehow your body responds by holding on tighter. In today's episode I unpack why that happens for women in perimenopause and menopause, and why the old calories-in-calories-out mindset often creates the exact stress chemistry that stalls progress. 

I walk through the 5 biggest fat loss mistakes wom...

The most frustrating part of perimenopause weight loss is doing all the “right” things and getting nothing back from the scales. If you’ve cleaned up your eating, started moving more, cut back on alcohol and sugar, and worked on sleep and stress, yet your weight won’t shift, I want you to hear this clearly: it doesn’t automatically mean it’s not working.

I walk through the hidden time lag ...

Your metabolism didn’t change overnight, but it might have quietly lost something powerful - muscle. If fat loss after 40 feels harder than it used to, I’m sharing the missing piece I see in so many women navigating perimenopause and menopause and it’s not more hustle, more cardio, or harsher restriction. It’s building and preserving muscle mass.

We talk through why muscle starts declining from around...

Eating less should mean losing weight, right? If you’re in perimenopause and the scales are stuck, that old rule can start to feel like a personal failure. I want to flip that story. For many women over 40, chronic dieting, meal skipping, and aggressive calorie counting don’t “boost discipline” at all, they trigger the exact body responses that make weight loss harder.

I break down what can happen whe...

Your metabolism hasn’t “given up” on you. When weight creeps on in your 40s and 50s even though you’re eating less and trying harder, it can feel personal and hopeless. I want to flip that story, because what’s usually happening in perimenopause and menopause is adaptation: your body is responding to hormone shifts, muscle loss, stress chemistry, and years of dieting in the most human way possible, by ...

Hot flushes can be more than heat, they can feel like a sudden loss of control. If you have ever had that split-second surge of panic before a flush, or noticed anxiety and low mood creeping in at the same time, you are not imagining things and you are not “going crazy”. I’m Susie Garden, naturopath and clinical nutritionist, and I’m sharing the hormone connection that so many women never get told about.
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Have you ever considered that your waistline might be whispering secrets about your health? On today's podcast episode, we unravel the mystery of belly fat's impact on women's health, with a spotlight on those navigating  perimenopause and menopause. I'll guide you through the nuances of visceral fat, how it differs from other body fats, and why it's a paramount health indicator. We'll explore the two major dietary villains th...

You’re exhausted, you fall asleep, and then boom, you’re awake again at 2 or 3am like your body set an alarm. If you’ve been lying there with a racing mind, a hot flush, a pounding heart, or that strange “wired but tired” feeling, I want you to hear this clearly: you’re not broken, and you’re not weak. There are real physiological reasons perimenopause insomnia shows up so predictably, and ...

Brain fog can be the symptom that scares you the most, because it doesn’t just make you tired, it makes you doubt yourself. If you’ve ever forgotten a simple word mid-sentence, walked into a room and blanked, or reread the same thing three times and still not absorbed it, you’re not alone. I’m Susie Garden, naturopath and clinical nutritionist, and I’m unpacking why brain fog is so common in perimenopa...

What if your missing motivation isn’t a mindset problem but a hormone story your brain is trying to tell? In this week's episode I dive into how perimenopause impacts dopamine and cortisol, why tasks suddenly feel heavier, and how small, targeted changes can switch your drive back on without relying on willpower. I open up about nearly walking away from my practice, the fear that my spark was gone for good, and the science-ba...

Burnout from “eat less, move more” is not a character flaw - it is a mismatch with midlife biology. In this week's episode, I dig into a calmer, smarter way to lose weight and feel steady in peri and post menopause by rebuilding the foundations your hormones can tolerate. That means consistent protein, colourful anti-inflammatory foods, predictable meals, strength-focused training and recovery that fits real life, not a...