Menopause, Midlife, My 50th Prep Plan

21 Aug

This September, Alan and I will be celebrating our 50th birthdays with a holiday, and I want to feel my absolute best for it. Turning 50 feels like a milestone in so many ways — not just in years, but in how I take care of myself.

The truth is, I’ve put on weight in the past few months, and I’m keen to shift it. People often assume that because I’m a fitness instructor and so active, I don’t need to think about my weight. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Abs really are made in the kitchen — and so is energy, focus, and balance.

I had blood tests recently which (again) showed I’m post-menopausal. A few years ago I got the same results and ignored them, almost as if I didn’t believe it. But this time I feel it. I never used to understand when women said, “I’ve put on weight because of menopause.” Now I do. The fatigue feels different, deeper. And when I’m exhausted, the whole chain breaks down — no shop, no cooking — and that’s when I reach for the easy stuff (aka the crap I know won’t help me feel better). And even though I know this about myself, I still find it hard to control.

So, two days ago I had a chat with myself. I decided it’s time to put things back in place, not just to lose the weight I’ve put on, but to feel my best again. Because for me, energy is everything. When I’m tired, everything feels hard. When I have energy, life flows.

Here’s what I’m doing right now:

Morning routine: I start the day with 500ml of warm water with a slice of lemon, followed by an Americano (coffee is one thing I’ll never give up ☕).
Intermittent fasting: I usually eat my first meal about 16 hours after dinner. Dinner times vary, so my first meal shifts too.
Tracking: I’m logging everything in Cronometer, which keeps me honest and helps me see the bigger picture.
Focus: Prioritising protein, keeping carbs lower (but not cutting them out), eating good fats, and watching portions. I LOVE food, so portion control is big for me.
Movement: Prioritising getting a minimum of 10,000 steps in daily

And food-wise, here’s what that looked like yesterday:

On the way home, I grabbed a banana because I was starving (not my best choice — it’s better to start meals with protein to reduce insulin spikes).
When I got home: 2 boiled eggs with Himalayan salt, followed by an apple with peanut butter.
Dinner: a large salmon fillet cooked in olive oil and sea salt, lots of spinach and rocket, Moroccan hummus, capers, sauerkraut, baby tomatoes. And yes — some Keogh’s butter popcorn after.

My carbs were higher than I’d like them to be over the next few weeks, but I was very active yesterday, so I’m giving myself grace.

The hardest part for me is sugar. I’m a total sugar fiend, and I know it’s my biggest challenge. That’s why blood sugar control is one of my main goals — to tame the sugar monster before it takes over.

So here are my intentions:

Lose the extra weight I’ve put on
Feel energised every day
Prioritise protein
Reduce carbs (without cutting them completely)
Manage blood sugar & cravings
Feel satiated (because I LOVE food and don’t want to feel deprived)
Always consider gut health

I’m not following one set plan. Instead, I’m pulling together everything I’ve learned from different approaches over the years and shaping it into something that works for me right now.

This is about more than a holiday — it’s about honouring my body as I step into this next decade.

Day 2 – Wednesday 20th August

Sleep: About 6 and a half hours, but I woke around 3am and tossed and turned. Definitely not the deep, refreshing sleep I’m aiming for.

Exercise: Taught a 30-minute yoga class. Walked 3.5km to Donaghmede carrying a 3kg weight (power walk pace), taught my class, then 3.5km home again with the weight. Felt strong, but tired later in the day.

Movement: Total steps = just over 15,000+ (so hit my 10k goal ).

Food: Started with 500ml warm water and lemon + an Americano. Intermittent fasting meant my first meal came about 16 hours after dinner. Grabbed a banana on the way home (note to self: should have had protein first). Later had 2 boiled eggs with Himalayan salt, an apple with peanut butter. Dinner was a large salmon fillet in olive oil with spinach, rocket, Moroccan hummus, sauerkraut, baby tomatoes and capers. Finished with a small bowl of Keogh’s butter popcorn. Carbs were higher than planned, but I was very active.

Feelings: Quite tired in afternoon but so determined. Sugar cravings strong today.

Reflections: Despite the tiredness, I feel good that I got my steps and exercise in. Logging everything on Cronometer really helps me see the patterns. Reminding myself: protein first makes a difference with energy and blood sugar. Bed before 9pm. What a treat :-)

Weight: I forgot to weigh myself on Tuesday morning, so unsure if I lost anything.

Supplements: 5gm Creatine for my muscles

Day 3 – Thursday 21st August

Sleep: 9 hours 41mins, wowsers! Woke up a bit stinky. My liver + kidneys are getting used to low carb and using ketones for energy. Haha, hopefully this goes away QUICKLY.

Exercise: Taught a 30-minute Strength & Active Rest class. This is only strong class I will be doing in my week as I want to keep cortisol low and fat burning high. Taught a chair aerobics class which contributed to my step count but really that’s cheating lol!

Movement: Total steps = just over 10,500+ (so hit my 10k goal but ideally I need to improve this).

Food: Started with my usual 500ml warm water and lemon + an Americano. Thursday mornings are busy with classes, so I opted for the easy protein fix of 2 boiled eggs with himalayan salt again, an apple with peanut butter (apples have great fibre), and 2 tablespoons of roasted cashews, pecans and walnuts. Dinner was the same as yesterday as I cooked 2 fillets of salmon yesterday. Didn’t drink enough water today. Have to cop on there.

Feelings: Still tired. Maybe I’m detoxing from sugar, maybe my body is getting used to changing energy source.

Reflections: Delighted I got good protein in, good fats, omegas, minded my gut health and stayed low-ish carb

Weight: Down 0.8kg, which am sure is water weight but I’ll take it.

Supplements: 5g Creatine

Day 4 – Friday 22nd August

Sleep: 8 hours 2mins, nice! Woke up a bit stinky again. Ok, this definitely better go away soon.

Exercise: Didn’t teach any classes today.

Movement: Total steps = just over 15,500+ (one of them was a very fast walk, so me thinks cortisol may have been released).

Food: Water intake was excellent. Late breakfast was 125gm smoked salmon with green olives, turmeric sauerkraut, moroccan hummus & beetroot hummus. Dinner was stirfried jumbo prawns with garlic served on a bed of rocket and delicious homemade guacamole on the side. Snacks were raw roasted nuts & my usual daily apple. Was very thirsty so took one sachet of LMNT watermelon salt with sparking water. One of my fav drinks at the mo.

Feelings: Feeling much better, but still getting tired at 10pm. Consistent energy during the day.

Reflections: Loved my food today, well I love it every day but I have a real soft spot for good guacamole. Upped my creatine to 10g as per Rhonda Patrick’s guidelines (brain health benefits) BUT regretted it as I ended up with diarrhea. Ah!!!!!! All that good food gone! Noticed dry scalp on my head. This is often linked to detox + microbiome shifts. When carbs drop and healthy fats go up, your skin + scalp sometimes purge oils/toxins before rebalancing. Or it could be because my electrolyte balance was off due to creatine reaction. Who knows. I’ll keep an eye.

Weight: Down 0.65kg, which am sure is still water weight but happy enough.

Supplements: 10g Creatine - silly girl. I will ease myself into this amount next time and take it in morning and again at night.

Day 5 – Saturday 23rd August

Sleep: 6 hrs 11 mins. Woke up feeling ready for the day. Delighted the stinkiness phase has passed – thank god!

Exercise: The plan was a 50km zone 2 bike ride, but a puncture put a stop to that. Instead, I powered through an 8km fast walk. Got absolutely drenched, but honestly, it was refreshing because I was roasting.

Movement: Over 17,000 steps in total.

Food: Started with coffee instead of my usual hot water and lemon (I know, I know…). After my walk, I had a late breakfast at 11:15am – Homespun Quinoa Crunch (25g) with pecans, cranberries, full-fat Greek yoghurt, blueberries, and flax seeds. It was so delicious it felt like dessert.
Then… I demolished a whole bag of IronMaxx Protein Tortilla Chips from Lidl. I love them too much – and this is exactly why I usually don’t keep them in the house! School girl error.
The afternoon was spent shopping, so dinner was a bit of a flop – stir-fried chicken thrown over spinach with hummus and sauerkraut. Didn’t love it. Also had a free Butler’s chocolate (couldn’t resist once I remembered it was there) and a tablespoon of peanut butter for extra protein.
Very thirsty after being out all day, so I mixed an LMNT raspberry salt sachet into sparkling water, which hit the spot. Nearly opened a bottle of white wine but resisted.

Feelings: A little frustrated with myself for the crisps and chocolate slip-up. It’s only Day 5 and already reaching for “treats,” but honestly, it’s just because they were in front of me. Weekends are always my weak spot. So happy I didn’t open the wine. I’m home alone for 10 days and I would have ended up having a glass a night. Life has been so busy socially this summer which is brilliant but I need a break from alcohol.

Reflections: Breakfast was amazing – the old me would have had triple the portion, so progress is happening. Dinner, on the other hand, was uninspired and boring. Lights out by 10pm again, same as yesterday.

Weight: Down 0.25kg – small, but moving in the right direction.

Supplements: None today.

Day 6 – Sunday 24th August

Sleep: 6 hrs 56 mins. Woke at 5:37am ready to get up. Love when that happens — it feels like I’ve hacked life. Extra chuffed that I resisted opening wine last night. Small victories, big smugness. 🍷

Exercise: Coffee run = 9km power walk in glorious sunshine. Came home glowing (read: sweating).

Movement: Just under 15,000 steps. My Samsung watch deserves a nap.

Food:

Started with hot water and lemon, then coffee (because obviously).
After my walk I was meant to hold out till 1pm for food, being all “16:8 disciplined”… but I caved. And honestly? No regrets. Had the most delicious brunch: smoked salmon, capers, green olives, sauerkraut, an apple, and homemade guacamole. Honestly, food is therapy for me — when it’s delicious and nourishing, I swear my serotonin levels shoot straight through the roof.
Dinner was a big bowl of Carleigh Bodrug’s “Marry Me Chickpeas” (which I adore), with added chicken because protein is queen. Portion control is… let’s say, not my strongest talent. Maybe it’s childhood conditioning (5 brothers = mountain-sized plates)… or maybe that’s just my excuse 😅.
Instead of rice or pasta, I served it with stir-fried broccoli and courgette.
Dessert: blueberries, Greek yoghurt, flax seeds. Later… peanut butter and roasted nuts. Yep, definitely a calorific day. But weekends just scream relax and treat yourself, don’t they?

Electrolytes: My usual LMNT sachet. Totally didn’t need it (the food already had loads of salt) and ended up feeling bloated. I knew better. Did it anyway. Classic me. 🤦‍♀️

Feelings: Still buzzing with pride over the alcohol resistance. Loving these sunny power walks.

Reflections: In the past, weight would have flown off me at this pace. Now it’s sloooow and steady. Bloody menopause. At least the scales are inching down.

Weight: -0.3kg. Small win, but I’ll take it.

Supplements:

2 x Wild Atlantic fish oils (best brand EVER)
2 x fabÜ Glow capsules
2 x Viridian Biotin (because my hair is finer than angel dust)
Mamoosh herbs for hormone support

Day 7 – Monday 25th August

Sleep: 8 hrs 37 mins. Woke only when my alarm went off at 7am – very unlike me! I felt glued to the bed but pushed myself to get up and do my usual morning ritual: oil pulling, the Big 6 lymphatic routine, a cold shower, and then out the door for my power walk. The gorgeous sunshine definitely helped draw me out.

Exercise: A strong 10km power walk in the morning, and later an even stronger 9km evening walk with a friend.

Movement: Just under 25,000 steps in total – feeling proud of that!

Food:

Breakfast: My favourite quinoa crunch with apple, blueberries, flaxseeds, and Greek natural yoghurt – absolutely delicious.
Dinner: A generous (probably too generous!) portion of my homemade Marry Me Chickpeas with chicken, served with steamed broccoli and raw courgette.
Dessert: Blueberries, Greek yoghurt, and flax seeds.
Hydration: Hit my water targets and had my usual LMNT electrolytes sachet – much needed today with all the sweating.

Feelings: I definitely packed in a lot of movement today. After my evening walk, I wound down with a bit of Netflix as I was buzzing with energy. Interestingly, I stayed wide awake until 11:30pm – a big change for me, as I’m normally struggling to keep my eyes open past 10pm!

Reflections: Energy is really good, and not feeling like I need to do a Yoga Nidra during the day which is a big win for me. Having a tablespoon of peanut butter every day to get protein up which is known to be quite inflammatory. I always ensure it is pure peanuts with no oil added. Didn’t need it today though as ate lots of chicken in my dinner.

Weight: -0.1kg. Progress feels very slow, but it’s moving.