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Eating less is the fastest way to gain fat around the middle in perimenopause. Ange Clark explains what to add before you take anything away. In this episode I sit down with Angelique Clark, advanced sports dietitian and exercise physiologist, to answer the questions you have been sending me about weight gain in perimenopause. Ange explains why declining estrogen shifts fat to our middle, how much protein we actually need, and what a day of eating looks like for muscle, gut health and steady energy. We also bust the biggest midlife weight loss myths and cover her first three steps for a busy woman who feels stuck. Key Topics Covered - Ask what you need to add before you remove anything. More protein, more fibre and more resistance training do more than another calorie cut. - Ask what you need to add before you remove anything. More protein, more fibre and more resistance training do more than another calorie cut. -Four ingredients or less is a quick supermarket test. A protein label on an ultra processed food does not make it a protein food. -Stress and sleep come before another diet. White space in the calendar, breathwork and screens off in the evening often shift more than food changes do. Timestamps Why Eating Less Backfires In Perimenopause (00:00) Insulin Resistance And Why Cutting Carbs Backfires (09:24) Protein Labels, Bread And The 4 Ingredient Rule (19:01 ) Gut Health, Fibre And Belly Fat (25:53) How Much Protein Women Need And DEXA Scans (35:21) Plant Protein And A Perimenopause Day Of Eating (45:34) Intermittent Fasting In Midlife (53:30) Myths: Lifting Heavy, Cardio, Abs And Protein (59:23) 3 First Steps For A Busy Woman Who Feels Stuck (1:06:20) Body Dissatisfaction And A Digital Detox (1:12:21) Join Thrive after 40, starting 9th November. Learn the protein and nutrition requirements your body needs in perimenopause and post menopause, and how to build a plate that keeps you full for hours. Grab your place → https://bit.ly/4hxbWHA Angelique Clark is an Accredited Dietitian, Nutritionist and Exercise Physiologist, a Perimenopause Nutrition Specialist and Advanced Physique Sports Dietitian. She helps women in their 40s and 50s understand what is happening to their body in perimenopause and use it to build better body composition, preserve muscle and bone, reduce visceral fat, and improve their quality of life. Her approach is clinical, structured, and evidence-based, grounded in science rather than trends, and built for real life and sustainable results. Website: https://www.angeliqueclark.com.au/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angeliqueclark_nutrition/ Free midlife macro calculator: https://www.angeliqueclark.com.au/midlife-macronutrient-calculator Peri Set Go 7 Day Belly Fat Challenge The Peri28 Program (online group nutrition and lifestyle program) The Peri Lean Method (1:1 Coaching) Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast,  Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community. Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/ If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067

Why does that evening glass feel so hard to give up?  I explore the stress and nervous system patterns behind drinking to switch off, and share practical ways to start changing the habit. For 29 years, alcohol was my way to unwind. Then, in my 40s, I found myself waking at 3 a.m., feeling anxious and watching my life get smaller. In this solo episode, I share why I look beyond the evening glass when helping women change their relationship with alcohol. We cover the build-up of daily stress, how drinking becomes linked with relief, and why I start with what happens in the morning. From phone-free time and a protein-rich breakfast to calming breaks and alternative evening rituals, this is about understanding what you need from that drink and finding other ways to meet that need.  Key Topics Covered: - Why your evening wine can feel like the only way to switch off. - How daily stress can build from the moment you wake up. - The connection between your nervous system, stress and alcohol cravings. - Building a personal list of ways to unwind without alcohol. Timestamps My Experience With Grey Area Drinking (00:00) Why You Crave Wine in the Evening (02:05) Changing Your Evening Habit Starts in the Morning (03:00) Taking Calming Breaks Throughout the Day (03:45) Finding Other Ways to Unwind Without Alcohol (05:20) Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia’s leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven’t already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community. Explore Reset, my app designed by women, for women, to help you change your drinking habits. Find out more through my website: https://sarahrusbatch.com/  Join my free Facebook group, Women’s Wellbeing Collective, a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don’t always say out loud and connect with others going through the same:https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067 And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here:https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze

Lift heavy or lose the fight against aging is the default advice for midlife women, and it leaves too many of them injured or on the sidelines. There is another way to build muscle, and it takes 20 minutes and light dumbbells. In this episode I sit down with Ashley Selman, a strength coach of more than 30 years and the founder of Seli Strength, to talk about blood flow restriction training. Ashley explains why heavy lifting gets harder as our estrogen declines, and how light weights with BFR bands build muscle in 15 to 20 minutes. We cover the results of her six month study with midlife women, and exactly what week one looks like if you have not been in a gym for years. Key Takeaways -Professional cuffs are an investment at around 500 dollars, though they come with a 30 day money back guarantee. Wrapping straps or belts around your limbs is not the same thing and is not safe. - A 2025 meta-analysis of adults over 50 found BFR matched heavy lifting for bone mineral density. Adding gentle impact work builds the bone architecture that density alone does not cover. -You do not need to understand the science to do this. You need to learn what your burn feels like and what band pressure gets you there. - Consistency beats intensity. The women in the study trained two more days a week than before, simply because the workouts were short and did not leave them in pain. Timestamps Why Lift Heavy Advice Fails Midlife Women (00:00) What Is BFR Training And Is It Safe (06:30) How Light Weights Hit Type 2 Fibres (11:57) Fast Results And Why BFR Is Not Mainstream (15:17) What A Full BFR Week Looks Like (23:06) 4.5 Inches Off Her Waist In 6 Months (33:07) Bone Density Results And Your First Week (37:36) How To Mix BFR With Heavy Lifting (46:23) Band Cost And The 30 Day Guarantee (50:06) Free Workout Plan And Why 6 Minutes Works (55:05) Join Thrive after 40, starting 9th November. Learn the protein and nutrition requirements your body needs in perimenopause and post menopause, and how to build a plate that keeps you full for hours. Grab your place → https://bit.ly/4hxbWHA Ashley Selman, known to her clients as Coach Seli, has spent more than 30 years as a strength coach, working with elite athletes, university programs at Stanford and Oregon, and women in midlife who want to stay strong for life. She is the founder of Evolution Trainers in Mountain View, California, voted the number one health club in Silicon Valley, and holds a master’s degree in sport psychology. After chronic pain and a hip replacement ended her own heavy lifting, she found blood flow restriction training and built Seli Strength, a virtual BFR program for women in midlife. Around 500 women have now been through her program, and her six month study showed gains in strength and muscle, better heart health and a significant drop in pain. Website: https://www.selistrength.com/join Get the bands for $100 off and the first 30 days free!Instagram: https://instagram.com/selistrength *** If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven’t already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community.

Taking 30 days off alcohol in midlife rarely feels the way social media promises. Boredom, flatness and broken sleep often come first, and none of it means you're doing it wrong.In this video I share the five most unexpected things women discover in their first 30 days without wine, from the 5 to 7pm boredom to the friend who suddenly goes quiet. I explain why your brain can feel flat once alcohol stops lighting up your dopamine reward centre, and why sedation is not the same as restorative sleep. Most importantly, I explain why all of it settles.Key Topics Covered- Why boredom hits hardest between 5 and 7pm when you stop drinking, and why taking alcohol out means adding something in, like an evening walk, a class or a hobby.- Feeling flat after quitting alcohol: how years of drinking dysregulate your dopamine receptors, and why it evens out with time.- What to do when friends get weird about you not drinking, and why talking to your closest friends first helps.- Why sleep without alcohol can get worse before it gets better, and how to ride the emotional rollercoaster of the early weeks.Timestamps What Happens When You Stop Drinking For 30 Days (00:00) Thing 1: Boredom Between 5 And 7pm (00:40) Thing 2: Feeling Flat After You Stop Drinking (02:01) Thing 3: When Friends Get Weird About You Not Drinking (02:44) Thing 4: Why Sleep Gets Worse Before It Gets Better (03:37) Thing 5: Feeling Emotional Over Nothing (04:40) Free Support To Change Your Drinking (05:20)Also Watch My Previous Episodes:- Seven Signs You Are a Grey Area Drinker- Six Reasons Successful Women Are Quietly Quitting Alcohol- Three Reasons Women Cannot Metabolise Alcohol as Effectively as Men***Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit?Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine.Get your free guide → https://bit.ly/4qOiGUw***Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community.Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze

Nobody walks into a marriage planning to leave it, yet so many midlife women are quietly asking whether to stay or go. Your body often knows the answer first. In this episode I sit down with Betsy Pake, certified master coach and founder of The Navigate Method, to unpack the question so many midlife women are asking: should I stay or should I go? We talk about why women are choosing peace over partnership, the purgatory of indecision, and how an unhappy marriage so often sits underneath a woman's drinking. Betsy shares her Mirror, Mend or Move method and how to tell a hard season from a marriage that is not coming back. This conversation won't tell you whether to stay or leave, but it will give you the clarity to decide for yourself. Key Takeaways -If he only wants to work on the marriage once you are ready to leave, look at why. It is often because he doesn't want his own life to change, not because of your unhappiness. -Find a witness. Saying out loud how bad things really helps you see what is real when your brain has been minimizing it for years. -Surrender sounds like "I don't know what I'm going to do, but it's not this." From there, ask what would need to change for you to feel whole again. -The women who rebuild best after divorce own it: this isn't what I wanted, but it's what I have, and it's the best thing for me. Timestamps Why Women Initiate Most Divorces After 55 (00:00) The Purgatory Of Indecision In Your Marriage (03:49) Doing It All And Still Not Feeling Seen (06:25) Is Your Marriage The Reason You Drink? (10:07) How Women Shrink To Save A Marriage (13:04) He's A Good Man, So Why Am I Unhappy? (25:23) How To Know If Your Marriage Is Over (27:10) Can A Roommate Marriage Be Saved? (29:50) Your Body Knows Before Your Brain Does (32:15) Breaking Free From Good Wife Shame (38:08) Mirror, Mend Or Move: The 3 Door Method (43:25) Should I Leave? You Already Know The Answer (49:51) Can You Trust Divorce Decisions In Perimenopause? (53:53) What Life After Midlife Divorce Really Looks Like (01:00:10) Numbing Marriage Unhappiness With Alcohol (01:03:34) Find Betsy Pake And The Art Of Living Big (01:07:49) 5 Foods to Swap The five foods stealing your energy and adding visceral fat in midlife, plus what to eat instead. Five simple swaps, big difference in how you feel.Get your free guide → ⁠https://programs.sarahrusbatch.com/free-guide-5-food⁠ Prefer Instagram? DM me the word FOODS and I'll send it straight to you.👉 ⁠https://www.instagram.com/sarahrusbatch/ *** Betsy Pake is a certified master coach, speaker, and founder of The Navigate Method, a coaching program that helps women chart a new path in, or out of, their marriage. Drawing on her own experience of leaving a marriage and rebuilding her life, she helps women heal old patterns, calm their nervous systems, and trust their own decisions. She is trauma informed, trained in NLP, and hosts The Art of Living Big podcast.  Website: https://betsypake.com Instagram: @betsypake The Art of Living Big podcast https://betsypake.com/art-living-big/ The Navigate Method, her 10-week program with curriculum, nervous system tools, community coaching and one-on-one support https://betsypake.com/navigate/ Program details and ways to work with Betsy at https://betsypake.com  *** Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/ If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don’t always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women’s Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067

Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit? Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine. Get your free guide → https://bit.ly/4qOiGUw The women quitting alcohol are not at rock bottom and they do not call themselves alcoholics. They are running businesses and raising teenagers, and they have simply reached the point where drinking no longer works for them. In this episode I share the six reasons successful women are quietly quitting alcohol, and what they get back when they do. I explain the tipping point most of us reach in midlife, the research on sleep, cortisol and next day anxiety, and what our drinking quietly models to our daughters. I also talk about the hours we reclaim and the cognitive edge that shows up once alcohol is out of the equation. Key Takeaways -Alcohol cuts sleep quality by up to 40 percent, even on one or two drinks.  -Hangover anxiety is real, caused by a cortisol spike once the alcohol wears off.  -Mothers drinking more than 14 units a week raise their daughters' risk of alcohol use disorder.  -Women who quit alcohol in midlife report clearer skin, sharper focus and their evenings back.  Timestamps: Why Successful Women Are Quitting Alcohol (00:00) The Drinking Tipping Point In Midlife (00:58) Why Alcohol Stops Working After 40 (02:12) Reason One: Alcohol And Sleep Quality (02:58) How Alcohol Destroys REM Sleep (03:43) Reason Two: Hangover Anxiety And Cortisol (05:05) Reason Three: Skin, Collagen And Glow (05:45) Reason Four: What Your Daughters Learn (06:20) Reason Five: Reclaiming Your Evenings (07:12) Reason Six: Focus, Clarity And Confidence (07:56) Also Watch My Previous Episodes: - Seven Signs You Are a Grey Area Drinker: https://youtu.be/Q7i68xjrKVo - Three Reasons Women Cannot Metabolize Alcohol as Effectively as Men: https://youtu.be/6JuvFGhth7U *** Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia’s leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven’t already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community. *** Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/ If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don’t always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women’s Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067 And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze

Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit? Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine. Get your free guide → https://bit.ly/4qOiGUw Perimenopause is not a medical condition and you are not broken. Dr Lara Briden explains what is really happening to your hormones after 40, and why alcohol makes all of it harder. In this episode I sit down with Dr Lara Briden, naturopathic doctor and author of Period Repair Manual, Hormone Repair Manual and Metabolism Repair for Women. Lara reframes perimenopause as a second puberty and pushes back on the fear-based messaging filling our feeds. We cover alcohol as the bigger hidden hormone disruptor, the iron deficiency being mislabelled as brain fog, what the pill really does to a teenage cycle, and why insulin resistance locks women out of their own energy stores. This is the kind of knowledge that lets you walk into your doctor's office and advocate for yourself. Key Topics Covered - Why periods go chaotic after 40, and what ovulation winding down really looks like. - Perimenopause as second puberty, not a medical condition, with many symptoms temporary. - The iron deficiency hiding behind brain fog, and why heavy bleeding needs full iron studies. - Alcohol as the bigger hormone disruptor, raising estrogen and steepening the drops. - What the pill does to a teenage cycle, and the twelve years it takes to mature ovulation. - Hormonal IUDs and heavy periods, the real wins, the androgen side effects, and keeping your uterus. - The rethink around endometriosis, and why experts want to stop cutting young women open. Timestamps Dr Lara Briden On Chaotic Perimenopause Periods (00:00) Second Puberty, Low Iron And Brain Fog (04:37) Estrogen Swings, Alcohol And Fear Marketing (12:00) What The Pill Does To Teen Cycles (20:32) Pill Bleeds, Hormonal IUDs And Real Periods (25:29) Should You Get Endometriosis Surgery? (32:25) PCOS Should Be Renamed PMOS (38:45) How To Treat High Androgens Naturally (44:53) How Insulin Resistance Starts In Midlife (50:36) Why Midlife Weight Loss Advice Fails (57:40) Rapid Fire Hormone Questions Answered (01:01:36) Dr Lara Briden is a naturopathic doctor with more than 25 years in women's health and the author of Period Repair Manual, Hormone Repair Manual and Metabolism Repair for Women, published in Australia and New Zealand as The Metabolism Reset. A former evolutionary biologist, she now consults from Christchurch, New Zealand, treating women with PCOS, PMS, endometriosis and perimenopause. Website: https://www.larabriden.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larabriden/ Podcast: https://www.larabriden.com/podcast/ Resources and references for Lara Briden’s books Hormone Repair Manual, Period Repair Manual, and Metabolism Repair for Women. https://www.larabriden.com/resources/ *** Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia’s leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. *** Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/ If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don’t always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women’s Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067 And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze

Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit? Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine. Get your free guide → https://bit.ly/4qOiGUw If you cannot bounce back from two glasses of wine the way you did in your twenties, you are not imagining it. There are three biological reasons women process alcohol less effectively than men, and all three get stronger as we age. In this solo episode I walk you through the three reasons women cannot metabolise alcohol as effectively as men. I cover the body composition difference, the enzyme we produce less of than men and less again as we age, and the hormonal piece almost no one talks about. I also share what I learnt in my menopause coach training about shrinking liver volume in midlife, and the health risks that arrive faster for women. Then I give you the three tips I use with the twelve thousand women I have supported through my alcohol reset challenges. I was a grey area drinker for twenty-nine years, so none of this comes from a place of judgement. Key Topics Covered -Less water and more body fat, and why a man dilutes the very same drink far more effectively than you do. - The enzyme that clears alcohol, and why men produce more of it than women do from the start. - Why aging stacks the odds, as we make less of that enzyme every decade that passes. - The harms that arrive faster for women, from liver disease and stroke to addiction and breast cancer. - Oestrogen and where you are in your cycle, and why two glasses can feel like nothing one week and floor you the next. - The shrinking midlife liver, and what that means for the organ doing most of the work. - Adding something in when you take alcohol out, because a break with no plan for stress and fun rarely holds. - Awareness first, then thirty days of data, tracking sleep, mood, energy and anxiety so the decision is yours. *** Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia’s leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven’t already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community. *** Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/ If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don’t always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women’s Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067 And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze

Feeling like alcohol has quietly become your default way to unwind, reward yourself, or take the edge off? Join my October Reset Challenge, a supportive, guided reset to help you break the daily drinking habit, reconnect with yourself, and prove you can feel good without the glass of wine. Join the October Reset → https://bit.ly/4gJyKSY What does it really take to walk out of the "sober closet" and let go of the shame we carry around drinking? In this episode of Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, I sit down with sobriety coach Jen Hirst to trace her journey from hidden, high-functioning drinking to lasting recovery, and to talk about the tools that actually work. Jen shares how her drinking escalated from teenage experimentation to using alcohol to numb heartbreak, anxiety and the weight of perfectionism, and how wedding stress pushed her to rock bottom. She walks us through the secrecy, the failed attempts at moderation and recovery, the mouthwash and dangerous substitutes, the two DWIs, hospitalisation and detox, and the day she finally surrendered. We talk about how alcohol fuels anxiety, how perimenopause and hormones shape our vulnerability, and the practical tools that ease cravings and stress, from breathwork, walking and affirmations to protein, blood-sugar stabilisation and her bedtime "protein pudding" trick for those 3am wake-ups. Key Topics Covered How Jen's drinking escalated from teenage experimentation to hidden, high-functioning dependence Why perfectionism, heartbreak and wedding stress fuelled the drinking What "coming out of the sober closet" meant, and how sharing her story dissolved shame How alcohol worsens anxiety, and the role of perimenopause and hormones in midlife Why blood-sugar stabilisation and a bedtime protein snack ease 3am wake-ups The warning signs of cross addiction and why moderation so often fails Jen Hirst is a sobriety coach who has been alcohol-free since 24 April 2013. After years of hidden, high-functioning drinking that escalated to job loss, two DWIs, hospitalisation and detox, she surrendered and rebuilt her life, then publicly "came out of the sober closet" on 7 September 2017. Website: https://www.jenhirst.com/  Timestamps: Getting sober and breaking out of the sober closet with coach Jen Hirst (00:00) Using alcohol to self medicate heartbreak, anxiety and wedding stress (04:23) Hiding drinking in marriage and early failed attempts to get sober (09:17) Two DWIs, hospitalisation and detox as the drinking spirals (14:12) Surrendering to sobriety and rebuilding life after rock bottom (18:29) How alcohol worsens anxiety and how perimenopause affects cravings (22:11) Building an early sobriety toolkit to handle cravings (28:07) Overcoming shame, labels and alcohol culture around drinking (31:59) How sharing your sobriety story kills shame (37:04) Why moderation fails and how alcohol changes brain chemistry (45:08) How protein and blood sugar balance reduce alcohol cravings (52:04) Cross addiction warning signs to watch for in sobriety (58:53) Regulating your nervous system without alcohol (01:05:00) *** Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine. Get your free guide → https://sarahrusbatch.com/free-guide-100-things-to-do-instead-of-drinking?utm_source=sbw&utm_medium=ep28&utm_campaign=100+things&utm_content=list+building  Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/  If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067  And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze

Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit? Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine. Get your free guide → https://bit.ly/4qOiGUw Most women who recognize themselves in this episode do not identify as alcoholics, and that is exactly why the term grey area drinking exists. It is the space between the every now and then drinker and physical dependency, and it is where a whole generation of midlife women are quietly living. In this solo episode I explain what grey area drinking actually is and walk you through the seven signs that you are sitting in it. I was a grey area drinker for twenty-nine years and I now work with women aged forty to seventy, so I know how normal this looks from the outside and how loud it feels on the inside. I cover the rules we make and break, how alcohol arrives as a solution long before it ever looks like a problem, and why alcohol hits women so much harder through perimenopause and beyond. If you have ever silently asked yourself am I drinking too much, this one is for you. Key Topics Covered - What grey area drinking really means and where you sit on the one to ten scale. - The drinking rules we keep breaking and the counting, justifying and rewarding that keep us stuck. - Why alcohol-free breaks like dry January never seem to stick. - How alcohol affects midlife women differently, from 3am wakeups to anxiety and rising tolerance.  Timestamps: Not An Alcoholic? You Could Be A Grey Area Drinker (00:00) What Is Grey Area Drinking?(00:35) The 1-10 Scale For High Functioning Drinkers(01:20) Sign 1 Counting And Justifying Your Drinks(02:18) Sign 2 You Keep Breaking Your Own Drinking Rules(02:34) Sign 3 Wine Has Become Your Reward(04:33) Sign 4 Your Dry January Never Sticks(05:57) Sign 5 You Keep Asking Am I Drinking Too Much(06:38) Sign 6 Alcohol Takes More Than It Gives(07:37) How Alcohol Hits Women Harder In Perimenopause(08:00) Sign 7 Rising Tolerance And Getting Defensive(09:00) The First Step To Changing How You Drink(10:16) *** Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia’s leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven’t already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community. *** Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/ If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don’t always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women’s Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067 And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze

Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit? Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine. Get your free guide → https://bit.ly/4qOiGUw Your brain is knackered by 5pm because you've been stuck in middle gear all day, and that exhaustion is exactly why the wine starts calling. In this episode I sit down with Dr. Tommy Wood, neuroscientist and author of The Stimulated Mind, to unpack the three cognitive gears (high, middle, low) and why constant task switching leaves midlife women depleted and reaching for a drink. We cover what a real low gear brain break looks like, why so many of us have lost the ability to rest, and the link between perimenopause, brain health and dementia risk in women. We finish on the most hopeful message of all: it's never too late to protect your brain. Key Topics Covered - The three brain gears (high, middle, low) and how each feels day to day - Why middle gear quietly exhausts you, since the brain can't truly multitask - The 5pm wine trigger, and why alcohol is the fast but costly off switch - What a real low gear break looks like (green space, breathwork, one thing at a time) - Time blocking and why feeling out of control drives poor cognitive outcomes - Perimenopause and the brain: verbal memory, estrogen, and vasomotor symptoms - Why dementia risk is higher in women, and the factors behind the gap - Why it's never too late, with evidence people in their late 60s still improve Dr. Tommy Wood is a neuroscientist and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience at the University of Washington, where his research focuses on brain health across the lifespan. He holds an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, a medical degree from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of Oslo. Alongside his academic work he is a performance consultant to elite athletes, including Formula 1 drivers, through Hintsa Performance. He is the author of The Stimulated Mind: Future-Proof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age, and co-hosts the Better Brain Fitness podcast with neurologist Josh Turknett. Website: https://www.drtommywood.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtommywood The Better Brain Fitness podcast, co-hosted with Dr. Josh Turknett, available at https://www.betterbrain.fitness/ and on regular podcast platforms The Stimulated Mind: Future-Proof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age: https://www.amazon.com/Stimulated-Mind-Future-Proof-Brain-Dementia/dp/0593797817 Timestamps The Three Gears Of Your Brain (00:00) What High Gear Focused Work Really Means (02:24) Low Gear And Why Rest Matters (04:33) How Your Phone Kills Rest Time (06:37) The Midlife Woman's Mental Overload (11:21) Why You Reach For Wine At 5pm (12:40) Quick Brain Breaks That Actually Work (15:34) Music Breathwork And Calming Your Brain (21:49) How Time Blocking Regains Control (23:11) How Perimenopause Changes Your Brain (29:48) Does MHT Help Your Brain (34:21) Why Women Get Dementia More Than Men (38:40) Does Stress Raise Your Dementia Risk (45:07) What Alzheimer's Actually Does To The Brain (52:17) The Best Exercise For Your Brain (55:17) Start With One Small Change (58:20) Why It Is Never Too Late (01:00:21) *** Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/ If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don’t always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women’s Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067 And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze

Feeling like alcohol has quietly become your default way to unwind, reward yourself, or take the edge off? Join my October Reset Challenge, a supportive, guided reset to help you break the daily drinking habit, reconnect with yourself, and prove you can feel good without the glass of wine. Join the October Reset → https://bit.ly/4gJyKSY Is sugar addiction real, and why do so many women swap alcohol for sugar the moment they stop drinking? In this episode of Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, I sit down with clinical psychologist Dr. Jen Unwin, a leading expert on sugar and ultra-processed food addiction, to answer exactly that. We unpack why sugar is the hardest addiction to quit, how it wires the brain's reward pathways from childhood, and why willpower was never the problem. Jen walks us through her CRAVED self-assessment for spotting food addiction, explains food noise, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and the damage of decades of low-fat diet culture, and shares the practical steps to break the sugar cycle for good. From trigger foods and protein-rich breakfasts to sleep, exercise, hormones and HRT in midlife. Key Topics Covered Why sugar is the hardest addiction to break, and how childhood exposure wires the brain for it Why women who quit alcohol so often swap it for sugar and secret pantry binges The CRAVED framework: a simple 6-point test to know if you have a food addiction How ultra-processed "triple threat" foods (salt, sugar, fat) override your natural off switch Why being overfed but undernourished drives cravings, and how protein and fat switch them off Practical steps to quit sugar: clear trigger foods, rebuild breakfast, protect sleep and exercise Dr. Jen Unwin is a consultant clinical health psychologist with over 30 years in the NHS and a leading voice on ultra-processed food and sugar addiction. With her GP husband Dr. David Unwin, she pioneered drug-free type 2 diabetes remission programs featured in the BBC's "The Truth About Carbs". A food addict in recovery herself, she co-founded the Collaborative Health Community, co-created the CRAVED screening tool, and wrote "Fork in the Road: A Hopeful Guide to Food Freedom". Website: https://www.the-chc.org/X: https://x.com/drjenunwin Timestamps: Sugar addiction and whether it's actually real (00:00) Why sugar is the hardest addiction to quit (01:38) Why sugar is the first gateway drug (08:16) Hidden sugar in foods marketed as healthy (13:00) How the CRAVED test screens for food addiction (18:19) Food noise and how GLP-1 weight loss drugs affect cravings (29:28)How low fat diet culture failed women (32:12) How nutrient dense eating kills sugar cravings (36:35) How to quit sugar and where to start (44:13) How to identify your sugar trigger foods (47:45) Handling social pressure and finding support quitting sugar (51:53 )The hidden self care load women carry (57:52) How hormones and HRT affect sugar cravings (59:31) Food rules Q&A in a rapid fire round (01:05:57 ) What life after quitting sugar looks like (01:11:57) Final takeaways on quitting sugar for good (01:14:39) *** Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine. Get your free guide → https://sarahrusbatch.com/free-guide-100-things-to-do-instead-of-drinking?utm_source=sbw&utm_medium=ep28&utm_campaign=100+things&utm_content=list+building  Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/ If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067 And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze

By 5pm the kids are screaming, you've had 77,000 tabs open in your brain all day, and a voice says you deserve a glass of wine. That voice isn't weakness, it's your brain reaching for the fastest exit it knows. I take you deep into what's actually happening in your body when stress hits, and why alcohol keeps showing up as the solution even when you know it isn't serving you. I walk you through nervous system 101, the fight or flight trap so many of us are living in, and the biology of GABA and why perimenopause leaves us more depleted and reaching for wine. Then I share my seven favourite tools for handling stress without alcohol, the exact practices that helped me and the thousands of women I've supported. Whether you're sober, curious, newly alcohol-free, or just want better strategies for managing stress, this one is for you. What We Cover: - Understanding the fight or flight stress response and why so many women are living there for years rather than hours. - The open tabs and middle gear phenomenon, the chronic low-grade activation that keeps you wired but tired all day long. - Why alcohol works as a GABA agonist in the short term and quietly makes you more deficient over time. - The perimenopause and GABA connection that leaves women naturally more anxious and reaching for a drink to cope. - How drinking raises your baseline cortisol and creates the next-day anxiety loop most women never connect to alcohol. - Seven practical tools including low gear breaks, walking, breathwork, alcohol-free rituals, the "of course" exercise, shaking to discharge adrenaline, and calming hands-on activities. Timestamps Nervous System 101 (00:00) The 5pm Wine Trap (04:46) Living In Middle Gear (09:34) Why We Seek Oblivion (15:16) How Alcohol Hijacks GABA (17:42) Alcohol Borrows Calm From Tomorrow (23:05) The Research On Women And Anxiety (28:38) Rewiring The Stress Loop (32:12) Seven Tools For Stress Without Wine (34:38) Your Personal Toolkit (51:44) *** Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast,  Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community. *** Feeling like alcohol has quietly become your default way to unwind, reward yourself, or take the edge off? Join my October Reset Challenge, a supportive, guided reset to help you break the daily drinking habit, reconnect with yourself, and prove you can feel good without the glass of wine. Join the October Reset → ⁠ https://bit.ly/4gJyKSY Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit? Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine. Get your free guide → https://sarahrusbatch.com/free-guide-100-things-to-do-instead-of-drinking?utm_source=sbw&utm_medium=ep28&utm_campaign=100+things&utm_content=list+building Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/ If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067 And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze

Ageing isn't decline, it's the beginning of something incredible, and the choices you make today are quietly building the woman you'll be at 80. I sat down with gerontologist and biohacker Zora Benhamou, host of the Hack My Age podcast, who has interviewed more than 200 women across 50 countries about how they experience menopause. We got into why so many of us reach for alcohol in perimenopause without realising it's a short-lived fix for a real hormonal shift, and why removing it changes almost everything. Zora walked me through the three phases of the menopause transition, the levers that protect our long-term health, and why building your 80-year-old self starts decades before you get there. This one is packed with practical, hopeful information about movement, bones, nutrition, and taking your health into your own hands. Zora Benhamou is a gerontologist and biohacker on a mission to disrupt menopause stigma and ageist stereotypes. She holds a Master of Gerontology from the University of Southern California, has traveled to over 50 countries interviewing women about their menopause experience, and hosts the Hack My Age podcast. She is the author of the Longevity Master Plan and the cookbook Eating For Longevity. Connect with Zora Benhamou: Website: https://hackmyage.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/hackmyage Free menopause guide at https://hackmyage.com/biohacking-menopause-101/ Other resources: Free book: Fracture Proof Your Bones by Dr. John Neustadt https://www.nbihealth.com/fractureproof/ The list of 103 symptoms of menopause https://wearemorphus.com/blogs/signs-and-symptoms Timestamps What Menopause Looks Like in 50 Countries (00:00) The 3 Stages of Menopause Explained (03:06) 103 Menopause Symptoms Doctors Never Mention (05:19) Why Women Turn to Alcohol in Perimenopause (09:47) How Quitting Alcohol Transforms Menopause Symptoms (16:10) How to Build Your 80-Year-Old Self Now (20:04) Exercise: The Biggest Longevity Lever for Women (24:28) How Alcohol and Smoking Destroy Bone Density (30:28) What Your DEXA Scan T-Score Really Means (36:19) REMS: A Better Way to Test Bone Health (40:19) How Much Protein Do Women Actually Need (43:57) The Truth About Fasting for Women Over 50 (49:50) How to Silence Food Noise in Your Head (54:53) The Bone Supplement Most Women Get Wrong (01:03:26) Rapid Fire: Habits, Sleep Hacks and Biohacks (01:09:38) The One Thing to Start Doing Today (01:13:43) *** Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast,  Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community. *** Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit? Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine. Get your free guide → https://sarahrusbatch.com/free-guide-100-things-to-do-instead-of-drinking Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/ If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067 And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze

You woke up on the bedroom floor swearing this was the last time, and by Friday you were hovering over that party invite knowing exactly how the night would end. This is the episode about the moment you finally step off the merry-go-round. I sit down with my dear friend Victoria Vanstone, host of the award-winning Sober Awkward podcast. Vic shares the raw truth of her journey from binge-drinking party girl to eight years alcohol-free, including the "one hangover too far" that changed everything and the therapy visualisation that finally set her free. Timestamps Introduction (00:00) The Morning Everything Changed (01:56) Why "I Can't Do This Anymore" Hits Home (04:11) Parenting Present, Not Hungover (09:10) How Mummy Wine Culture Targeted Us (14:23) Alcohol Is Addictive By Design (24:23) The Merry-Go-Round That Set Her Free (28:22) Losing The Party Girl Identity (30:09) The Rejection That Started It All (38:49) The Coping Strategy That Stopped Working (49:55) Finding Joy In The Simple Life (54:26) Why Sober Retreats Change Everything (59:00) Final Words For The Woman Questioning (01:04:50) Victoria Vanstone is the host of Sober Awkward, the award-winning comedy podcast that follows two former party animals navigating life without booze, now with more than 7 million downloads. She started writing the day she gave up alcohol and became a much-loved over-sharer through her blog Drunk Mummy Sober Mummy. She is the author of the memoir A Thousand Wasted Sundays and Mumming: A Year of Trying and Failing to Be a Better Parent, and she is now on a mission to help others break free from normalised social binge drinking. Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/sober-awkward/id1565657975 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drunkmummysobermummy/ If Vic's story resonated with you, grab her memoir A Thousand Wasted Sundays 👉https://a.co/d/080IDnnV Check out her sober retreats over at 👉https://www.soberawkward.com/ *** Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast,  Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community.  Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit? Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine. Get your free guide → https://sarahrusbatch.com/free-guide-100-things-to-do-instead-of-drinking Follow along and see the behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/sarahrusbatch/ Join my latest Alcohol Free Challenge here - https://programs.sarahrusbatch.com/alcohol-reset-challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=organic%20social&utm_campaign=april+reset+challenge&utm_content=promotional and find out more about my other programs here - https://sarahrusbatch.com/ If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don’t always say out loud and connect with others going through the same as you, join my free Facebook group, Women’s Wellbeing Collective here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067 And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here - https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze