The Ageless and Awesome Podcast

Want Different Results? Here’s Why You Can’t Keep Doing the Same Things

• Susie Garden • Episode 302

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Change is hard, but staying stuck in perimenopause symptoms feels even harder. As women navigate this transformative time, many hope that small tweaks or a new supplement will magically resolve their hot flushes, weight gain, and fatigue. The uncomfortable truth? Real results require significant changes, not just adjustments.

Your resistance to change isn't a character flaw—it's neurobiology. Our brains are wired for safety and familiarity, not transformation. Those habits you're clinging to—the evening wine, afternoon chocolate, or skipping movement—feel safe because they're predictable, even when they worsen your symptoms. This podcast reveals how neuroplasticity makes lasting change possible, turning what feels uncomfortable today into your new normal tomorrow.

We dive deep into the non-negotiables of perimenopause wellness: how alcohol disrupts sleep and triggers hot flushes; why sugar creates a vicious cycle of cravings and fatigue; how even 10 minutes of stress management can regulate cortisol; and why strength training trumps cardio for hormonal balance. Each change compounds into significant results—energy, confidence, symptom relief, and sustainable weight management.

Remember, nothing changes if nothing changes. But with the right approach, these shifts feel empowering rather than overwhelming. Your body is playing by new rules now; it's time your lifestyle does too. Ready to stop guessing and follow a clear path? Book a free peri-weight loss assessment call and discover how to create the changes that bring balance and vitality back into your life.

Send me a text!

Are you a woman feeling stressed, flat and experiencing the challenges of perimenopause or menopause?

It’s time to reclaim your youthful energy, radiance and self-assurance (and your ideal weight).

I’m here to help with my proven method.

Here's how I can support you -


1. Hit your health and wellbeing goals this year, balance your hormones and lose weight with your own personalised protocol, based on your body's biochemistry. Sounds awesome right!! Book a free 30 minute Peri Weight Loss Assessment with me so we can discuss your health and wellbeing goals and also see how I might be able to support you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Book your call here. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

2. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@the.perimenopause.path

3. Join the waitlist for my innovative NEW 8 week group program, In Your Skin™️, for women in perimenopause and post-menopause who want effective solutions to manage skin changes at this time of life.

Speaker 1:

Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and Awesome podcast. I'm an age-defying naturopath and clinical nutritionist and I'm here to bust myths around women's health and aging so that you can be ageless and awesome in your 40s, 50s and beyond. The Ageless and Awesome podcast is dedicated to helping women through perimenopause and menopause with great health, a positive mindset and outrageous confidence. Hit, subscribe or follow now and let's get started. Hello, gorgeous one, and welcome to this week's episode of the Ageless and Awesome podcast.

Speaker 1:

I'm back doing some fresh content. I've had to run some flashback episodes over the last few weeks because I've had construction going on in my house and it's just been impossible to record when there's so much background noise. So I hope you enjoyed those flashback episodes. They did really well, so it looks like you did, but today, you know, I thought today I'd make the topic a little different. Today we're going to have an honest conversation about something many women don't want to hear but, unfortunately, absolutely need to, and if you're someone who is struggling with perimenopause or postmenopause symptoms like stubborn weight weight gain, that just seems like it's out of control hot flushes, brain fog, fatigue, gut issues, like all the things even if it's just one or two, that each of them on their own is pretty horrible. But you may have thought you know, I'll just tweak a few things, it'll sort itself out, I'll just go spend, do an extra two sessions at the gym, that kind of thing. But you know what the truth is and many of you have already found this is that real results in this time of life require some significant changes, not just a few tweaks and not necessarily doing the things that you've always done. Generally, there's going to be some actual change required. So today I wanted to talk about some of the dietary and lifestyle shifts that, honestly, are really going to become non-negotiable if you want lasting relief from symptoms and you want sustainable weight loss that you can maintain with ease. And I also want to talk about why these changes. They're not a punishment, they're not going to feel like a punishment. There may be some initial resistance and I want to talk about that first up, but honestly, the benefits that you get from making the changes completely outweigh the challenge sometimes of making those changes initially, and let's talk about that. So let's talk about why change can feel so hard, and there is actually a physiological reason. There's also psychology sometimes with people, but there is a physiological reason Our brains love comfort and familiarity.

Speaker 1:

Our brains love it, even if what you're doing isn't working. Your brain loves it because it's all about our nervous system, is all about keeping us safe. So you know, and also our brain, remember, is wired for efficiency, it's wired for safety, it's not wired for transformation, okay, it's wired to keep us safe and to be efficient. So habits are hardwired neural pathways, so your brain takes the easy, familiar route automatically. So, like you know, pouring a glass of wine at night or reaching for some chocolate or coffee mid-afternoon, this is just, if that's a habit that you have, you've hardwired that into yourself and it's a nice, easy, safe, predictable, familiar route that you will just automatically do without even thinking about it. And even if those habits are making your symptoms worse, and even if you know that they're making your symptoms worse, your brain will interpret them as safe because they're predictable and known.

Speaker 1:

And if I can use the example of just driving home, the same way every day, think about the drive home from work, or if you're picking kids up from school or whatever, think about that drive. You probably take the same route every single day. I know for me. I work from home, but obviously I go out to different places and it's always the same kind of route home because I live in a small town, so you don't even really have to think about it. You can listen to a podcast, you can chat on the phone, you can mentally do a to-do list, plan dinner, whatever. Somehow you still pull into your driveway safely and often you just don't even remember how you managed to get there because it's just such an autopilot experience. And that's your brain on autopilot it loves routine, it saves energy, feels safe.

Speaker 1:

Now imagine one day you're on your way home and one of the roads that you take is closed, so you're getting forced to take a detour and suddenly you're hyper aware right Do I turn? Left here? Is this the right street? Where am I? You know it can feel uncomfortable, it might even feel stressful, it may be something where you then can't listen to your podcast. You have to maybe terminate the phone call because you have to really think about where you are and how you're going to get to where you need to go.

Speaker 1:

And you know the new way you're going isn't worse, the new road isn't worse, but because it's unfamiliar, you can't do it on autopilot. And this is exactly what happens when you try to change a habit, whether it's in perimenopause, postmenopause or at any time. Actually Like if you're trying to swap your afternoon coffee for some quick stretches to get you through the afternoon, or adding a 10 minute walk instead of collapsing on the couch. That feels hard, it feels weird, awkward. But here's the key Once you've if we use the driving analogy if you've driven that route a few times, it can become just as automatic as the old one. Your brain rewires the detour, becomes the new autopilot. And that's the same when you're breaking any kind of habit. We think about being in our comfort zone. So comfort versus gross Familiar is comforting, even if it's not serving you.

Speaker 1:

Change unfamiliar your brain will flag it as a potential threat and that's why giving up things like sugar, like alcohol, making time for stress management or movement can feel really uncomfortable. It can feel confronting. Your mind might resist. You're like why do I have to do this? It's literally your brain resisting the unknown. It's not a sign that you can't do it. It's not a sign that there's something wrong with you or that you lack willpower. This is literally the physiology of the brain and sometimes there's psychology there as well, depending on what your upbringing has been like, how you've rewarded yourself, how you've punished yourself. So there is complexity that can be led on. I find, particularly because I work with a lot of women, I do work with men as well, and they're not nearly as complex for the most part. When it comes to relationships with food For women, we do often have that extra element and it can make change very uncomfortable. I think that's one of the reasons why the programs that do work well is because you have a lot of support from me, so that discomfort can be verbalized and can be managed.

Speaker 1:

But there is some good news here, because you probably know that there is this thing called neuroplasticity. Right, the neuroplasticity means your brain can rewire. You're not set in stone. Even though you've got these neural pathways, you've been hardwired to do things a certain way. You can relearn, you can rewire those pathways and with repetition the new habits become the new comfort zone. And I see this happen all of the time, every single day, with my clients. Change doesn't have to feel hard, and it doesn't feel hard because you're weak. It feels hard because your brain is protecting you. But once you step into the new habit, your brain adapts and what once felt hard becomes your new normal. And that's awesome when you get to that point and it doesn't actually take that long.

Speaker 1:

Many women hope that getting improvement from symptoms, for example, is going to be as easy as adding a supplement or cutting a portion size if you're wanting to lose weight and that you're going to see these magic results. But perimenopause is different. Hormonal changes mean your body is playing by new rules and what worked in your 20s, your 30s, doesn't cut it anymore. So you know, while change feels hard, what feels harder is staying stuck, is feeling like you don't have control. I have so many women and their words literally to me when they do their peri-weight loss assessment with me. Their words are literally I'm putting on weight and I feel like I just can't do anything about it, doesn't matter what I do, this is happening and that feeling, that fear, is awful. It's awful and that's harder than change. So I hope that aspect of change works helps. I'm still going. I'm not winding up, but I just wanted to make sure that I kind of framed. Where I'm going with this podcast today is that change can feel hard and it doesn't mean that it's wrong. It doesn't mean you're not safe. It's just your brain needing to rewire.

Speaker 1:

Another thing I wanted to talk about when it comes to change because this is probably one of the biggest ones when particularly in with my Australian clients is alcohol and thinking oh my gosh, am I going to have to give up my, my wine or my cocktails or whatever. So, when we look at the impact of alcohol, alcohol absolutely will have an impact on your sleep. I heard one of the key thought leaders in the menopause space say I don't know whether it was a lecturer or whether it was on Instagram or something but she basically said if you're choosing to have a drink, you are choosing not to sleep. When you're in perimenopause and menopause and I can totally vouch for that Alcohol absolutely will worsen your ability to sleep. It will often help actually getting to sleep. You might go no, I get to sleep really easily when I drink and that may be the case but staying asleep becomes much harder. Often, women if you're prone to palpitations the alcohol you'll be lying awake with those palpitations and I've certainly experienced that. Alcohol also can worsen hot flushes, anxiety, cravings because it messes with your blood sugar and absolutely weight gain.

Speaker 1:

I think we all know that Long-term alcohol can raise inflammation and belly fat storage and again, I think most of us know about the belly fat storage and have experienced that as well. So what I ask for in my programs, particularly the GLOW protocol and metabolic balance, is a four week break from alcohol to let your body rest, reset, get that inflammation down, get kind of break it as a habit as well, and then after that four-week break you have the choice. We introduce treat, meals and alcohol can absolutely come in if that's what you want. A lot of women actually, when they get past that four weeks, they go. Actually I don't need it. I thought I did, but I don't feel like that's actually something I need to bring back in. So it's not really about deprivation when you're thinking about, oh man, I've got to give up alcohol. It's actually about giving your body a fair chance to heal and to get yourself back on track for a healthy, vibrant life. So hopefully that's addressed alcohol I've been very, very simplistic and there are some real experts in this that if you feel like this is something you'd like to explore more of, please DM me on Instagram or email me hello at suzygardencom and let me know and I can get someone on the podcast that can talk a little bit more about some really specific strategies around this to lessen or give up alcohol.

Speaker 1:

So I want to talk about sugar next, because we all know. We all know that sugar is not great for our brain. It's not great when you're trying to lose weight and sugar spikes our blood sugar. That leads to crashes. We get very fatigued. That leads to cravings because we're like we need the energy. So you have more sugar and it's this vicious cycle that ultimately ends up in fat storage. And the other thing is it really does. We know it impacts your brain, it impacts your gut microbiome. There's just no other than the I guess, the relationships that we have with it, the memories that we have attached to it, that there's really nothing that's good about sugar, unfortunately, and in perimenopause and postmenopause, insulin resistance is creeping in, so sugar's effects are magnified. Cutting sugar is not punishing you. It is the fastest way to stabilize energy, to stabilize mood and to lose weight.

Speaker 1:

Honestly and again, it's one of these addictive things that when you give it up, it does take a little bit of time. I think it's around 10 days or so to get sugar out of your system, and the less you have it, the less you actually want it. I cut sugar completely. Gosh. I don't even know how long it was now. It was pre-COVID, it was quite a while ago and I just had no, absolutely no desire for it at all. And even just walking through food courts and I've said this on the pod before the amount of sugar that I could smell even though I was walking through you know savory food, not next to a donut stand, but actually savory food you could smell the sugar in all of the sauces and things like that Made you realize, like, how much sugar is in our food, particularly takeout food. You could smell the sugar in all of the sauces and things like that. It made you realize how much sugar is in our food, particularly takeout food and processed food. And when you give it up completely, it makes it way easier to not have it. I now have not given it up completely. I've gone back into having sugar as a treat for myself and even though I know it's not great, I keep that under control. I know I can have it once or twice a week and I will be okay, but I would not push it any more than that because it is so easy to fall into the trap of having it every single day.

Speaker 1:

The thing is with giving up sugar. There's two schools of thought around this. Some say you should just go cold turkey, just do it, go cold turkey. And many women sorry, many people do that successfully. I would say just be careful. If you do suffer from anxiety, going cold turkey on sugar can mimic a panic attack, bizarrely enough. So if you have that going on for you, you may be better off gradually reducing sugar. And I would do it like you don't have to take a long time to do it. You know, maybe go to half your intake for a couple of days and then halve it again, and then halve it again and, you know, be off it in a week. But just choose something whatever works for you. And also, when you're giving up sugar, have a look at labels. There's a lot of sugar that's disguised as other things. So that's why eating whole foods fruits, vegetables, salads, quality proteins is ideal, because you don't even have to worry about any of those hidden sugars or other preservatives et cetera, because it's just not present in those types of foods. So yeah, either go cold turkey or gradually reduce, but getting rid of sugar does you a huge favor gradually reduce, but getting rid of sugar does you a huge favor.

Speaker 1:

I also wanted to mention stress management, because that is another thing that women talk to me about is their time and how they don't have any time and the thing is, chronic stress leads to high cortisol, leads to belly fat and worsened hot flushes, poor sleep, all those things. And many women said to me I don't have time to relax. And the truth is, if you don't make time, then your body will eventually force you to relax and that can be a very involuntary kind of breakdown or burnout. Even if you do a 10 minute practice a day and when I say a practice and people go, I don't have time for that but just even if it's some mindful breathing when you're driving or when you're cooking or when you're on your computer, just breathing deeply into the belly, even if you did that at every opportunity possible, you will help reduce your cortisol level possible. You will help reduce your cortisol level If you can do a 10 minute walk at lunchtime.

Speaker 1:

That will help reduce your cortisol level, particularly if you make it a walk where you're not running through the things you've got to do in the afternoon, where you're not thinking oh gosh, I don't have time for this. It's like no, you have a lunch hour, take 10 minutes just to get outside, get some sun on your skin and walk and just be very much present in the moment that you're walking. So listening to birds, looking at the sky, looking at trees if you're lucky enough to work near trees any of that. I got into a great habit of walking when I had my most recent dog, daisy. I've had for just over a year. When she first came to us I was taking her for a walk every lunchtime and I felt fantastic doing that. And now I've gotten out of that habit. I'm going to get back into it, but it's so good for the soul to just get out even for 10 minutes, breathe, get away from your screen and it just helps to reset your system and gives you some more energy for the afternoon.

Speaker 1:

Stress management really important when you're looking at managing perimenopause and postmenopause symptoms and weight Movement is something I also wanted to mention today because again, it's something that women say to me I don't want to have to exercise and honestly, it's pretty much. When we're looking at weight loss specifically, it's pretty much 80% food, 20% movement and many people don't really need to move that much at all in order to get a good weight loss. But when, again, when we're in post-menopause, we need to build our muscle mass. So movement is imperative from that point of view. But if we're looking specifically at weight loss, it's not particularly critical. Our old model calories in, calories out we all know that old model where if you did more and more cardio, burn more calories, you'll lose more weight. That backfires in perimenopause because it increases your inflammation, gets you in your stress response more often, so your cortisol goes up. All of these things block weight loss.

Speaker 1:

So what works well is strength training to build our muscle mass, ideally two to three times a week, daily walking is great because it helps with insulin and glucose management. Reformer Pilates or mat Pilates, yoga all of those sorts of things really help as well. They'd be the top ones. I would say, obviously, if you like running, keep running. If you like cycling, keep cycling, swimming, whatever. But if you're wanting to really get your best bang for your buck and you don't exercise that much and you don't love it, strength training and most women actually really do love strength training it makes you feel really good, really strong, because, again, with our movement at this time of life. It's not about calories and burning calories. It's about balancing insulin, building muscle and supporting your hormones. It's about balancing insulin, building muscle and supporting your hormones. So if you can reframe movement as a self-care activity, not as punishment, then that can really help when you're trying to get into a routine.

Speaker 1:

The thing is and this is my final sort of thoughts before I sign off for today the thing is you don't need to do it all. You don't need to do it all perfectly either. This is all about progress, not perfection, and every single small shift compounds on each other into significant results, and what feels hard in the beginning quickly becomes your new normal and the payoff is energy, confidence, symptom relief and weight that finally shifts. So if you're ready to stop guessing, if you want to start following a clear, proven path, I invite you to book a free peri-weight loss assessment call with me. We'll have a chat about what your goals are, what's holding you back, what you want to achieve and what your biggest struggles are, and we'll map out exactly how you can create the changes that bring relief, balance, your ideal weight, confidence, vitality back into your life. Remember, nothing changes if nothing changes, but with the right support, change feels empowering and not overwhelming.

Speaker 1:

So I hope you've enjoyed today's episode. I would love it if you would share it on your stories, in your Facebook, whatever on your social media. I would absolutely love that because, remember, you're not alone and you probably have people in your network that are really struggling and really needing help. We're starting to get into a really busy time of year. A really busy time of year September, when we come out of hibernation in Australia, and that's when I get the majority of my inquiries is September and sort of getting into December, january.

Speaker 1:

So if you're thinking, yep, I don't want to stay how I am, I need to change, I need to do something. How I am, I need to change. I need to do something. Just book on a free call with me. There's no obligation and I get a lot out of speaking to people, so I love it and you may just very well find a solution for what's going on with you. So, yeah, the link is in the show notes to book a peri-weight loss assessment and we just take half an hour just over video and, yeah, get to know each other a little bit.

Speaker 1:

So any questions, do let me know via email, hello at suzygardencom or you can DM me on Instagram. Thanks so much for joining me on the Ageless and Awesome podcast. If you would like this episode, please make sure you click the little plus button if you're on Apple podcasts, or the follow button if you're on Spotify, so that you get each new episode delivered to you every single week. If you feel like writing me a five-star review, you would absolutely make my day If you found this episode resonated with you. Head over to my Instagram and DM me at theperimenopausepath. I would love to connect with you.

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Susie Garden

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