Happy birthday to me !

Birthdays, Menopause, and the Gift of Simplicity

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It’s my birthday week. I’m going to confess: I love my birthday. The actual day of calls, texts, and those big disarming smiles aimed at me like a beam of light. It’s the one day of the year when the outpouring of love warms me from the inside like a hot chocolate by the bonfire on a cold winter’s night while camping. (Full disclosure: I don’t actually like camping myself. Give me an indoor toilet and a doona any day, but you get the imagery.)

What I don’t love is the week before. “What are we doing for your birthday?” “Are partners invited?” “Breakfast? Dinner? Japanese? Italian?” Then come the dietary negotiations: “I’m gluten free. I’m pescetarian. I’m flexitarian.” By the end of it, I’m stressed instead of excited.

And this got me thinking… maybe the way I see my birthday is the same way many midlife women see their approach to fitness.

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There are too many choices and too much advice .

We’ve gone from being an “invisible group” to being bombarded with information .

Intermittent fasting is the key to everything… no wait, it’s only good for men.

Ice baths are the best recovery tool… no wait, a cold shower will do.

Carbs? Don’t touch them! Actually, have them… but only the “good” ones.

Do cardio! No, don’t bother, it’s all about resistance training.

It’s enough to make anyone’s head spin. And honestly, I see the frustration daily in the women I train. They’re doing their best, listening to experts, tracking their sleep, counting steps, upping their protein.

But by the time a perimenopausal woman has finished her morning meditation, had her creatine with supergreens, and driven her high-achieving 15-year-old to 6am rowing training, she’s already exhausted. And that’s before the work day, the school runs, dinner prep, and waiting for the plumber who’s “definitely coming at 2 pm.”

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Here’s what we actually know without the noise:

Strength training is gold in midlife. It helps maintain muscle and bone density, which naturally decline after 40. Studies show women can lose up to 8% of muscle mass per decade after menopause if nothing is done.

Protein really does matter. Research suggests women in perimenopause may benefit from 1.2–1.6g per kg of body weight daily to preserve lean tissue.

Cardio isn’t pointless, it supports heart health, which becomes even more important as estrogen declines.

And let’s not forget the simplest science of all: stress management improves recovery and lowers inflammation, something every menopausal woman can benefit from.

That’s it. No magic elixirs, no need to do everything all at once.

With all my study and research, I’ve come to see my main role as taking it all down a notch.

Because somewhere along the way, self-care and longevity got tangled up in a mess of apps, tests, and protocols. Instead of being empowering, it’s become another source of pressure.

So I try to lead my clients down a different path. Maybe I can’t change the whole world, but I can help one woman at a time rethink what wellness looks like.

To me, health and longevity are a lot like my birthday: they’re better when you pare them back and keep them simple.

Move well.

Eat nutritious food.

Be kind to yourself in how you handle work and stress.

So this year, my birthday will be low key: brunch, coffee, good conversation, and the people I love around me.

No spreadsheets, no food politics, no chaos.

Because I’m menopausal, and I don’t need any more complexity in my day.

Happy birthday to me. And here’s to the gift of keeping it simple.