Now That the Kids Are Back at School… What Do You Need?

When the house finally goes quiet after the holidays, why do so many of us feel flat instead of free? In this week's episode, I talk about the February slump and reveal what’s really happening under the surface: your nervous system coming down from weeks of festive stress, decisions, and constant caretaking. That “let-down” isn’t failure; it’s physiology, and it’s a window to ask a powerful question—what do I need right now?

Across this conversation, I unpack how midlife hormones—shifting oestrogen and progesterone—change the way you handle stress, sleep, mood, and recovery. If the same daily pressures now feel heavier, there’s a reason. We talk through the compounding effects on muscle and metabolism, why weight can drift to the waist even when habits seem steady, and how strength training plus smarter protein can turn the tide. You’ll hear why spreading protein across breakfast and lunch matters, how progressive overload beats random workouts, and where gentle movement helps regulate your nervous system.

Most importantly, we trade pressure for permission. Instead of doing more,  prioritise support: simpler meal structure, consistent lights-out, clearer boundaries at home, and the courage to ask for help. I share a practical way to reset in early February—choose one lever to pull, not five—so you build capacity without burnout. If you’ve been wrestling with guilt for needing rest, or confusion about why your old routine stopped working, this is a compassionate roadmap to steady energy and sustainable change.

Ready to get specific about what your body needs hormonally, metabolically, and emotionally? Book a free peri-weight loss assessment via the link in the show notes, or DM me on Instagram @the.perimenopause.path. If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a February reset, and leave a quick five-star review—your support helps more women find this conversation.

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.

Transcript

Welcome And Mission

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and Autumn Podcast. I'm an age-defying naturopath and clinical nutritionist and I'm here to bust myths around women's health and ageing so that you can be ageless and autumn in your 40s, 50s, and beyond. The Ageless and Autumn Podcast is dedicated to helping women through perimetapods and metapods 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. This week I'm focusing on a very specific topic for this time of year. I'm recording this in February 2026. And if you're listening to this in February and you've got kids that are finally back at school, I want you to pause for a moment and notice something. Because there's often this quiet shift that happens when the house is a little calmer, the routine is back, perhaps there's a little more space in your day. I know for many people there's really not, but for others there is. And yet, instead of feeling energized or motivated, many women tell me that they feel kind of flat or emotional or a bit lost. So today's episode is about that moment. Because now that everyone else is taken care of, the big question becomes what do you actually need right now? You, yes, you. You know, we don't talk enough about the emotional aftermath of the summer break, the school holidays. And December and January often require women to hold everything together, carry the mental load, organize all the busyness of the festive season, manage everyone else's needs, push through fatigued. And I'm speaking to so many women at the moment that are just so tired, just exhaust, words like exhaustion, fatigue, so tired are coming up all of the time with my clients or my mainly people that I'm doing periweight loss assessments with. And they find that you know, you've gone through all of this kind of busyness. So when the structure returns, the adrenaline drops, right? And that can feel like tiredness, it can feel like a lack of motivation, it can feel like you're, you know, emotional, a bit sensitive, or even a sense of emptiness. And this isn't, you know, failure. It's it's literally your nervous system calming down, exhaling, as it were. And instead of rushing to fill that space with goals and pressure, you know, beginning of the year, some people are still pursuing their new year's resolutions, which is amazing if they are. But you know, instead of to rushing to fill that space, this is actually a powerful moment to listen. Listening to yourself, listening to what you need. And this is a window, okay? A little window of opportunity. February is a pretty unique month physiologically and psychologically, because you're no longer in survival mode, like December, or even November, actually. Um, you're not forcing optimism like January. You may be feeling a little clearer, and clarity creates opportunity if you don't rush past it. And this is where many women either default back to old habits, get into old routines, or the alternative is to finally pause and ask yourself, what do I need right now? What does my body actually need right now? And that question alone is powerful. And it's not one that we as women are really encouraged or in or trained to ask ourselves, what do I need? What does my body actually need right now? And you know, here's something that I see constantly with mums over 40 in particular, uh, is the moment that they have time in their day, in their schedule again, there's guilt. Guilt rears its ugly head, there's guilt for wanting rest. Am I right? There's guilt for wanting things to change, whether that's routines to change, whether that's getting help around the house from members of the family. You know what I'm talking about. There can be guilt for wanting support, asking for support, and guilt for wanting to actually prioritize prioritize your own health and your own needs. But guess what? Here's the truth: looking after yourself at this stage of life when you're likely in perimenopause or even post-menopause, looking after yourself is not indulgent. It's actually preventative. This is such a critical time in a woman's life, and this is where we can make decisions that set us up for a healthy, fun, great quality of life later years, or later years that are full of chronic health problems, frailty, unable to enjoy your normal activities, etc. This is the season where our hormones shift, our muscle mass declines. That's something I particularly really noticed in my 40s was this decline in muscle mass. I've probably got more muscle mass now than I've ever had in my life because of the focus that I've put into it. That you may be noticing, even if you do go to the gym really regularly, that what you're doing at the gym may be not giving you the results that you've gotten in the past. This is also a season where stress accumulates in our 40s, where that drop in estrogen and progesterone can make the um ability to manage stress a little bit harder. What do women say to me? You know, they feel like they're just anxious all of the time. They feel like they are, you know, the stress ores in their life are the same, but they just cannot cope the way they used to be able to cope. That is not something wrong with you. This is hormonal shifts that's causing this. And we can, you know, we can work with this. So stress accumulates and metabolic health can become fragile. This is where we see that weight gain happening, even though you're eating the same, moving the same. This is where we can see that shift to um fat collection around the middle of the body, um, and weight gain happening basically out of nowhere for many women. And ignoring yourself now does not make things easier later. You know, if not now, when? Now is really the best time. It's the only time you've got. Putting these things off can make them more challenging to correct later. Obviously, you can always make corrections, but if you can jump on top of it, particularly when it comes to bone health, particularly when it comes to muscle mass, when it comes to weight management, the sooner you jump on top of it, the better. So ignoring yourself now does not make things easier later. So I'm gonna ask you to have like a gentle reframe. And instead of asking, what should I be doing to correct all this, right? So come on, Susie, tell me what I should be doing. Try asking what would support me right now. Okay, what would support me right now? And that might be something as simple as more structure around meals. It could be having a better sleep routine, maybe it's gentle movement, maybe it's some emotional support, whether that's from a partner, whether that's from other family, friends, maybe a professional. Uh, and also just professional guidance generally about what could support you right now. And this is where real change begins. Not with pressure and trying to do more, but with permission to be supported. That sounds so much nicer, doesn't it? Permission to be supported rather than trying to do more. Do more at the gym, do more in terms of your nutrition, eat more protein. My gosh, I'm hearing so much about that right now. Knowing how much protein your body actually needs rather than the generic advice that's around at the moment makes such a difference in your health and well-being. So as we move through February, I want you to remember this. Now that the kids are back at school or your routines are back in place after holidays, it's okay for you to come back to yourself. You know, it's okay for you to ask, what does my body and mind need right now? What support do I need? And then think about how you're gonna get that support. And if you'd like some help understanding what your body needs right now, whether it's hormonally, metabolically, emotionally, you can book a free period loss assessment with me. The link is in the show notes. In those calls, we get on the Zoom, we get on the video, and we just talk about you, what your needs are, how I might be able to help. And then, you know, I send you some information and you can decide without me there pressuring you on the call. That's not how I operate. I only want people in my programs that want to be there and that are at the right place in their lives to be there. And if you're not in the right place, I will let you know. Um, but yeah, have a look. The link is in the show notes, or you can um follow me on Instagram at the Perimenopause Path, and you can message me there if you want to. Um, but yeah, I feel like at this time of year, February, early February, it is really about resetting after all of the positivity or the forced positivity of January and all the New Year's resolutions. Let's get real about what you want, what your body needs to ensure that your life moving forward looks like the best version of you, looks like living your best life and not just dragging yourself through life. Let's be intentional about what you are doing on a day-to-day basis to make sure that you are really taking great care of yourself. So, next week's episode, we're gonna talk about exactly where to focus where you f when you finally have time again, without trying to do everything at once, because that gets a bit overwhelming, right? So until then, take a breath, take care of you, and I will see you next week for another new episode. Thanks so much for joining me on the Ageless and Awesome Podcast. If you would liked 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 the Perimetopause Park. I would love to connect with you.