Linda McClure - Linda Mac Studio

30/09/2025

Perimenopause Doesn't Care About Your Salad

Your body is changing the rules, and nobody told you.

You're doing what worked in your 30s. Eating your vegetables, cutting back on fat, maybe doing some cardio.

And now you're exhausted, gaining weight around your middle, can't sleep, and your brain feels like it's wrapped in cotton wool.

The advice you're getting? "Eat more whole grains. Cut calories. Exercise more."

That advice assumes your body still works the way it did before your hormones started shifting. It doesn't.

When oestrogen and progesterone start dropping in perimenopause, your body loses its ability to handle carbohydrates the way it used to. Insulin resistance creeps in.

Blood sugar becomes unstable. Inflammation ramps up. And if you already have autoimmune issues or chronic fatigue, you're dealing with a system that's already struggling to cope.

Low carb, keto, or even carnivore approaches work for some women in this phase because they address what's actually happening: your body needs stable energy from fat and protein, not the blood sugar rollercoaster that comes from carb-heavy meals.

This isn't about weight loss. It's about giving your hormonal system the stability it needs when it's already under strain.

If you have autoimmune conditions, gut issues, or chronic fatigue on top of perimenopause, the stakes are higher.

Your body is screaming for help, and generic "balanced diet" advice isn't listening.

Your symptoms aren't separate problems. They're connected.

Your gut health affects your hormones. Your hormones affect your inflammation. Your inflammation affects your energy and your brain.

It's all one system, and it all needs to be addressed together.

The women who do well in perimenopause aren't following mainstream advice.

They're following what their specific body needs based on what's going on.

If your body is trying to tell you something, I can help you hear it:

Take My Free Quiz - links in the bio (comments on Facebook)

****it

30/09/2025

I was around 43 when my body decided to betray me.

Not dramatically at first. Not all at once. Just... quietly.

The bread I'd eaten my whole life suddenly left me looking six months pregnant and my skin like I'd been tortured with a blow torch.

The 3pm crash wasn't "I need coffee" tired, it was "I genuinely cannot keep my eyes open" tired.

Everyone kept saying "welcome to your 40s" like it was some rite of passage I'd signed up for.

Here's what was actually happening:

declining oestrogen was unmasking insulin resistance that had been building for years.

My cells weren't responding to insulin properly anymore, so my blood sugar was all over the place.

This wasn't aging. This was metabolic dysfunction that nobody was connecting the dots on.

When I asked for help, it was always the same.

Eat healthy whole grains, low fat and lose weight!!

I now understand that this was probably the worst advice ever.

And once I understood that? Everything changed.

****it

30/09/2025

So even though I had the most stressful tech week from hell last week (more on that in my last post!), on a plus note I still stuck to my new lifestyle protocol I've now been doing for 4 weeks.

I stepped on the scales yesterday morning (my weekly weigh in for documenting my journey) and I have officially lost my first stone!

That's 14lbs gone in the first 4 weeks of my personal carnivore journey.

As I said last week, I made a promise to myself that I would document every week as I go through this while journey.

I won't be writing my blog post update for this week yet, but I'll do an update on there later in the week.

But this past week has brought:

My ears finally clearing up.
Both behind my ears where I had pretty severe psoriasis and it often could open up like a wound. It has now healed leaving only a little bit of dry skin.

Inside my ears were also pretty bad. And I believe that this was not only psoriasis inside but also candida. Again this has healed up yay 😁

Less inflammation.
More energy (when I'm not stressing over plugins! 😆).

And a body that is finally letting go of the weight it's been holding onto for bloody ages. I have spoken about the more on my blog posts I have written over the past month or so.

It's been quite a reflective process going through this so far. I don't know how many times my husband Stuart said to me, "if I'd suggested eating this a year or two ago, you'd have told me to F**k off". He was meaning meat.

I was a vegetarian for years and years. I didn't eat red meat for about 35 years. Not since I was a teenager. Partly to do with, I didn't think I liked it, but mainly because I love animals.

I started trying wee bits again about a year and a half ago, because I knew deep down it was the only way to heal my body. The research I'd done and also what I specialised in as a Nutritional Therapist, all pointed towards this for me.

Carnivore is something I honestly didn't think I could do. But I had gotten to the stage I'd have tried anything to heal this final layer of what has been going on in my body for yrs.

I had seen so many people completely turning chronic health issues around through doing it.

And here I am, just 4 weeks in and I actually can't quite believe the difference.

If you'd like to read more of my journey so far, the ups, the downs and all the in-betweens, check out my blog below.

And if anyone is looking to make changes in their own healing journey, you can drop me an email or DM.

You can change everything through using food as medicine, and it doesn't have to be as strict as I have gone.

Much love

Linda 💞

In Health – In Business – In Life Welcome to my blog, a space where I share what I’m discovering, thinking about, and figuring out as I navigate this whole new work world I’ve found myself in. Certified Nutritional Therapist | AIP Coach | Keto Specialist | Biz Bestie

29/09/2025

I learned a valuable lesson this past week.

Stress and how much it can affect us physically when we do not listen to our body.

I bought some new plugin software for both my own business and that of my clients who I am building websites for.

I'd been using it for other things as it does lots of nifty stuff.

But this past week I was working on building advanced quizzes as lead magnets. Oh and they are so cool.

Cut long story short, I let the stress I was feeling (as at first I couldn't get the bloody thing to calculate a score and had spent 3 days on a support ticket with the developers), I was so tensed up and hadn't quite realised how much.

Now it's Monday, and yes the magnesium baths I mentioned in a previous post helped. But I carried on working 🙈

Instead of walking away and going for a walk, or simply anything that took me away from my chair and desk. What did I do? I continued to work on it all. Driving myself round the bend because I knew it would be a simple solution

And there it is.

The perfect real-world example of the Mind-Body Connection in action.

My mind was stressed and frustrated by a business problem (the tech), so it sent stress signals (cortisol and adrenaline) flooding through my system.

My body, trying to protect me, went into "fight or flight" mode, tensing every single muscle in my back, shoulders, and even my legs, until they were screaming in protest.

I was so focused on fixing the "system" on my computer that I completely ignored the blaring warning signals from my own biological system.

It's a powerful reminder that it's all connected.

Your business stress isn't just "in your head." It manifests physically.

Your mental state directly impacts your physical state.

It is one single, interconnected system.

So today, I'm finally listening. I'm taking a proper break, I'm covered in magnesium spray, and letting my nervous system finally calm the hell down.

And the "simple solution" to the tech problem?

It turned out to be one tiny, hidden setting that I found yesterday. Even the developers couldn't find it when I exported my quiz over to them. But yay I did it yesterday.

So even though I'm a bit done in 🙈 my advanced quiz system works yippee 😂

Don't be like me.

Listen to your body. It's always telling you the truth.

Take a break when you feel the stress overwhelm you ❤️

27/09/2025

"She looks fine" is the cruelest thing you can say to a struggling woman.

On the outside: Put-together professional showing up to meetings, managing responsibilities.

On the inside: Waking up drenched in sweat with heart racing, forgetting words mid-sentence, so exhausted she can barely think.

Successful women are masters at holding it together while falling apart inside.

They've built careers on competence. Admitting struggle feels like professional su***de.

So they suffer in silence. Another coffee to fight fatigue. Smile through brain fog. Pretend anxiety isn't making their heart race during presentations.

Meanwhile, they're dealing with cognitive changes that their colleagues don't face.

Your symptoms aren't weaknesses to hide. They're signals that your body's systems need support.

The same intelligence that built your career can be applied to understanding what's happening in your body.

Stop choosing between success and feeling human. Address the root causes instead of just pushing through.

My Gut-Zen Method™ DIY Program is the system that teaches you how to do this. It's the blueprint for applying your intelligence to your own biology.
You can get the full system here

https://lindamac.studio/the-gut-zen-method-diy-program/

27/09/2025

This year my business changed a lot.

I not only work with clients and support them with their health.

I also work with practitioners to get their online presence sorted.

As a fellow practitioner, I understand how your business works and what you actually need to succeed online.

I get to know you and your vision so everything I create feels authentically like you.

From brand design to complete business systems, I help practitioners have a system in place, that captures clients, right through to building a community for you.

Want to see what's possible, and set up a free call to see how I can help you?

Check out my website here

Business System Design for Coaches & Holistic Practitioners - Your Business Deserves More Than Digital Wallpaper - SEO - Lead Magnet - Automated Funnels

27/09/2025

Do you wake up between 1-3am regularly?

Often with anxiety, heart racing, or skin that feels like it's burning?

You're not alone. This is THE most common wake-up time I see in women struggling with perimenopause.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1-3am is liver time.

This is when your liver is supposed to be doing its heaviest detox work - processing toxins, metabolising hormones, and clearing emotional stress.

But if your liver is overwhelmed (hello, years of synthetic hormones, processed foods, chronic stress), it can't do this work efficiently. So it wakes you up.

That burning, itchy skin?

That's toxins trying to eliminate through your largest organ because your liver can't keep up.

The anxiety and racing thoughts?

Your liver processes emotional stress too.

In TCM, the liver is connected to anger, frustration, and feeling "stuck."

This was my exact pattern. 1-3am wake-ups with burning skin and anxiety spirals. I knew my liver was struggling, and my emotional stress needed addressing.

Now? I sleep through the night because I supported my liver's ability to do its job properly.

This doesn't mean you need your liver "checked" or that something's wrong with the organ itself.

It means the liver system needs support to handle its workload.

Most women get sleeping pills for this.

I look at the root cause and how to support you and your body.

**t

27/09/2025

Perimenopause doesn't just give you hot flashes.

It can destroy your career.

The brain fog that makes you forget words mid-presentation.
The crushing fatigue that makes colleagues think you've lost your edge.
The anxiety that makes you doubt decisions you used to make confidently.

Successful women are taking demotions, stepping back from leadership roles, and even considering early retirement because their cognitive function feels broken.

Meanwhile, their male colleagues aren't dealing with hormonal chaos affecting their ability to think clearly.

The playing field isn't level, but nobody talks about it.

I eliminated ALL my menopause symptoms by understanding what was actually happening metabolically and fixing the root causes.

My brain works better now than it did in my 40s. The fog lifted. The confidence came back.

The difference? I didn't just "manage symptoms." I addressed the metabolic dysfunction causing them.

If you're a successful woman watching your performance suffer because your body feels broken, this isn't an inevitable decline.

This is a fixable dysfunction.

**t

26/09/2025

https://www.activehealthgroup.co.uk/25th-anniversary