What Actually Happens to Your Body After 40?
Oct 21, 2026
Have you ever thought, why do I feel so drained all the time? Mentally and physically...
In your 20s, you could stay out late, get hardly any sleep, skip breakfast and somehow still function.
Then life got fuller.
Kids. Work. Relationships. A house to run. A never-ending list of people who need something from you.
And now we've reached midlife. For many of us, that also means navigating the wonderful world of perimenopause. π
Suddenly, you're not sleeping properly. You're tired. Your body aches. Your brain feels foggy. Your periods are changing. And things you used to cope with suddenly feel like a lot.
And intimacy with your husband at the end of the day?
You couldn't think of anything worse!
You'd rather put on a face mask, watch your C-drama on Netflix and fantasise about the ridiculously good-looking lead character instead. π
Sound familiar?
And of course, you're wondering, is this really what perimenopause is like? It's a mine field!
The answer? Yes, it could be.
Perimenopause is the transition leading up to menopause. During this time, the way your ovaries work begins to change and hormones such as estrogen and progesterone become less predictable, declining and fluctuating like that crazy Green Goblin rollercoaster at Movie World.
But here's the part I really want women to understand.
It isn't always just your hormones.
Your hormones are changing, yes. But at the same time, your body is ageing and life may be asking more of you than ever.
The long-running Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) found that during the menopause transition, women's rate of fat gain doubled while lean mass began to decline.
Interestingly, the overall rate of weight gain didn't suddenly increase.
So, if your body feels different but the scales haven't changed much, you're not imagining it.
The scales don't always tell us what's changing underneath.
What else is happening during this transition of never-ending surprises we have to navigate? Sleep is a BIG one! A 2024 review of more than 29,000 women found that around half experienced poor sleep during the menopause transition.
Then there's the part we don't talk about enough.
L.I.F.E.
Children. Work. Relationships. Ageing parents. Eating on the run. Trying to exercise. Trying to keep everyone happy.
It's a lot!
And of course, I like to remind women that....our health doesn't work in separate little boxes.
Sleep affects how we feel and function. Stress can make menopause symptoms harder to manage. Losing muscle matters for our strength and long-term health. And as we age, supporting our bone and heart health becomes increasingly important.
Everything is connected.
And this is where I like to share a useful analogy. Think of midlife... as an ocean.
We're all moving through the same waters of ageing and the menopause transition, but we're not all in the same boat.
Your boat might be carrying teenagers, a demanding job and five hours' sleep.
Another woman's might be carrying relationship stress, ageing parents and years of putting herself last.
Same ocean. Different boat. Different load. Different needs.
And that's exactly why individualised support matters.
There isn't one diet, exercise plan, supplement or menopause checklist that's right for every woman.
What you need depends on what's happening in your body and your life.
I learnt this myself in my early 40s.
I realised I couldn't keep pushing my body the way I did at 25 and expect it to respond in the same way.
Annoying? Absolutely!!!
But instead of asking, “Why can't my body cope anymore?” I started asking:
“What does my body need from me now?”
That changed the way I looked at my health.
Because what we do through our 40s, 50s and 60s matters. Maintaining muscle, supporting our bone and heart health, eating well, sleeping well and allowing enough recovery isn't about trying to stop ageing.
It's about ageing well.
So today, I want to teach you a simpler way to start.
Before you buy another supplement, start another diet or squeeze in another workout, ask yourself:
What is taking the most out of me right now?
Is it your sleep? Stress? Nutrition? Doing too much? Never properly recovering?
Then ask yourself:
What would make the biggest difference right now?
Not ten things.
One thing.
This is the thinking behind my SIMPLIFY Framework.
Because feeling better shouldn't mean adding another complicated health plan to an already full life.
It's about understanding your needs, supporting you, and finding what can actually work in your real life.
Less noise. Less overwhelm. A simpler way forward.
And if you're thinking, Chia, I honestly don't know what I need, that's exactly what my complimentary 30-minute Clarity Call is for.
We'll look at what's going on in your body and your life, what you want to improve and where it makes sense to focus first.
So you can stop guessing, simplify what you're doing and leave with a clearer idea of your next step.
Your body is changing. Supporting it doesn't need to be complicated. Let's have a chat, I'd love to connect with you! xx
