Perimenopause and Weight Loss

Perimenopause and Weight Loss Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Perimenopause and Weight Loss, Women's Health Clinic, Wellington.

We help perimenopausal women navigate hormonal challenges and lose 10+ kg through personalized nutrition and honest, no-BS coaching, all done fully online with the support you need to succeed.

The 3am anxiety. The racing heart in the supermarket. The feeling that the walls are closing in for no reason. Crying in...
21/05/2026

The 3am anxiety. The racing heart in the supermarket. The feeling that the walls are closing in for no reason. Crying in the car. Snapping at your husband over nothing. If you've never had anxiety before and it's suddenly your daily reality somewhere in your 40s, your hormones are talking to you.

Here's what's happening biochemically. Progesterone is the hormone that calms your nervous system. It binds to GABA receptors in your brain, the same target as benzodiazepines. When progesterone is high (pregnancy, or the second half of your menstrual cycle in your 20s), women often feel calm and grounded. When it drops, you lose that buffer. And in perimenopause, progesterone is the first hormone to fall. Some women lose half their progesterone production years before they notice changes in their cycle.

At the same time, oestrogen is fluctuating wildly. Some months it surges. Other months it tanks. Oestrogen modulates serotonin and dopamine, your mood and motivation neurotransmitters. The erratic swings create mood swings that feel like emotional whiplash. Layer in disrupted sleep, blood sugar that swings because insulin sensitivity has changed, and a stress system already on alert, and you have a perfect storm for anxiety.

Most women get told it's stress. Get told to meditate. Get put on antidepressants. None of these address the root. What actually helps: stabilise blood sugar (protein at every meal, no skipping breakfast, fewer high-sugar foods), support progesterone naturally with sleep and magnesium glycinate, lift weights to raise GABA and lower cortisol, and dramatically reduce or eliminate alcohol, it depletes the very hormones you need.
This anxiety is real. It is also addressable. You don't have to white-knuckle your way through the next decade.

Today I had the privilege of speaking at the Women in Property Pink Ribbon Breakfast in Wellington, sharing a panel with...
21/05/2026

Today I had the privilege of speaking at the Women in Property Pink Ribbon Breakfast in Wellington, sharing a panel with Kate Twigg and Hannah Bascand , two genuinely remarkable women.

I spoke about perimenopause, shared my story, and encouraged women to listen to their bodies and seek a second opinion when something doesn’t feel right. If you feel like something is wrong , you are probably right. Fight for answers. Advocate for yourself, because no one else will do it for you.

Perimenopause is still massively under-discussed.

But the questions in that room told me everything. Women are hungry for real information, not another “eat less, move more” lecture.

Educating and giving back to this community is something I’ll always make time for. If even one woman walked away understanding her body a little better, that’s a win.

This is exactly why I do what I do. Women deserve to understand what’s happening in their bodies. Not vague advice , actual answers!!

20/05/2026

Great message ! Aging gracefully isn’t about trying to look 25 forever.
It’s about feeling strong in your own body, having energy, protecting your health, and still living fully in your 40s, 50s and beyond.

Too many women spend years putting everyone else first while running themselves into the ground. Looking after your health gets pushed to the bottom of the list somewhere between work, kids, stress, hormones, and exhaustion.

Then one day the weight creeps up.
Sleep turns to crap.
Your body aches.
Your mood changes.
Your confidence drops.
And suddenly you don’t feel like yourself anymore.

Taking care of yourself is not selfish.
It’s responsibility.

Your health affects everything:
Your energy.
Your patience.
Your relationships.
Your confidence.
Your future.

Strength training matters.
Protein matters.
Sleep matters.
Managing stress matters.
Supporting your hormones matters.

You do not win awards for burning yourself out.

I want women to stop waiting until they completely crash before they start prioritising themselves. You are allowed to take up space. You are allowed to invest in your health. You are allowed to want more than surviving.

Aging gracefully is not about shrinking yourself.
It’s about becoming stronger, wiser, healthier, and more in control of your wellbeing as you age.

Comment PERIMENOPAUSE if you want my free guide.

19/05/2026

You’re eating less.
Skipping meals.
Trying to “be good”.
And somehow your weight keeps going up especially around your stomach.

When you chronically under-eat, your body sees it as stress. Your metabolism starts slowing down to conserve energy. Thyroid output can drop, cortisol rises, recovery gets worse, and instead of burning fat efficiently, your body starts holding onto it.

And during perimenopause? It gets even messier.

Declining estrogen affects insulin sensitivity, stress tolerance, sleep, appetite, and where your body stores fat. So the old “eat less and move more” advice that worked at 25 often backfires at 42.

I see this constantly with women who come to me exhausted, inflamed, anxious, under-eating all day… then blaming themselves because nothing is working anymore.

Your body does not release fat well when it feels unsafe, stressed, underfed, and hormonally overloaded.

The answer isn’t starving harder.
It’s supporting your metabolism, hormones, muscle mass, blood sugar, stress response, and recovery properly.

This is why so many women finally start losing weight when they stop fighting their body and start working with it.

Comment PERIMENOPAUSE for a free guide.

Every woman over 40 who comes to me has the same story. "I'm eating less than I ever have and I'm gaining weight." This ...
18/05/2026

Every woman over 40 who comes to me has the same story. "I'm eating less than I ever have and I'm gaining weight." This isn't a willpower issue. This is your biology telling you the strategy is broken.

Here's what happens. In perimenopause your hormones are already chaotic. Oestrogen and progesterone are dropping. Your body interprets these shifts as stress. When you layer a calorie deficit on top of that hormonal stress, your nervous system flips into survival mode. Thyroid output drops. Metabolism slows. Cortisol climbs. And cortisol's job in this scenario is to protect fat stores and break down muscle for emergency fuel.

This is the part most women miss. You can be eating clean, tracking everything, and still sabotaging the exact result you want. The scale might drop for two weeks. Then it stalls. Then it climbs. What you actually lost was muscle and water not fat. And once muscle is gone, your metabolism is even slower than when you started. The next round of dieting works less. And less. And less.

What you need at this stage of life is not less food. It's more strategic food. Protein at every meal not a sprinkle, a proper serving. Strength training that genuinely challenges your muscles. Carbs around training to support recovery. Healthy fats to support hormone production. Sleep protected like it's your most important investment, because it is.

When you eat enough, lift weights, and let your nervous system settle, your body finally lets go of fat. Not because you tortured it. Because you stopped fighting it.

https://www.perimenopausehealth.co.nz/free-consultation/

17/05/2026

Get to know me !!! Let me be real with you from the start because that’s the only way I know how to be.
I’m Anastasia. I’m direct, I don’t sugarcoat, and I’ve never really known how to be anything other than exactly what I am.
I grew up as the black sheep. Tattoos, loose cannon energy, zero interest in fitting the mould. My family probably didn’t see “responsible adult” in my future and honestly, neither did I. Now I’m raising kids and running businesses and somehow that chaotic girl became the most reliable person in the room.

But here’s the thing I figured out along the way that happiness isn’t something that happens to you. I chose it. Deliberately. Repeatedly. On the hard days especially.
I create my own sunshine. One of my tattoos says “create your own sunshine” … That’s not toxic positivity, it’s a decision I make every single day.

So if you’re here for someone who tells it straight, lives loudly and actually believes women can feel better in their 40s and beyond , you’re in the right place.

Follow me for more wisdom…

15/05/2026

Great message by

Your heart doesn’t get a free pass after menopause.

Oestrogen isn’t just a reproductive hormone. It actively protects your cardiovascular system .. keeping blood vessels flexible, cholesterol in check, and inflammation low.

When oestrogen drops, that protection disappears.

The result? LDL climbs. HDL falls. Blood pressure rises. Arterial stiffness increases. And your risk of heart disease which was lower than men’s for most of your adult life, starts to catch up and eventually surpass it.
This is why women over 55 are significantly more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than from any other cause.

But here’s what most women aren’t told:
HRT , when started within 10 years of menopause or before age 60 has been shown in research to reduce cardiovascular risk.

The old fear around HRT came largely from a misread of the Women’s Health Initiative study, which used older women, synthetic hormones and oral oestrogen only not the transdermal, body identical options most commonly prescribed today.

Modern evidence supports HRT as cardioprotective in the right window:
→ Improves lipid profiles
→ Reduces arterial stiffness
→ Lowers risk of type 2 diabetes (a major CV risk factor)
→ Supports healthy body composition
The timing matters. Starting HRT early in the menopause transition, when the cardiovascular system is still responsive , is where the benefit is greatest. This is called the critical window hypothesis.

If you’ve been told HRT is “too risky,” it’s worth having a more informed conversation with your GP or menopause specialist.

14/05/2026

Low tolerance in perimenopause isn’t a personality flaw. Well maybe it is but let’s not admit it.
Oestrogen plays a direct role in regulating serotonin and dopamine, the neurotransmitters that help you feel calm, patient, and in control. As oestrogen fluctuates and drops, so does your buffer.
That’s why small things hit harder. Noise, mess, people chewing, a slow driver things that never bothered you before can now feel genuinely unbearable.

Your nervous system is running with less chemical cushioning than it used to have. You’re not overreacting. You’re under-resourced.

What actually helps:
Blood sugar stability (crashes spike cortisol and make it worse), sleep quality, reducing inflammatory load, and managing your stress response not just your schedule.
You can work with this. But you need to understand what’s driving it first.

If this sounds familiar, save this and follow for more on what’s actually happening in your body during perimenopause.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Comment PERIMENOPAUSE for a free guide

Address

Wellington

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Perimenopause and Weight Loss posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Perimenopause and Weight Loss:

Shortcuts

Share

Category