My Journey: From Struggle to Strength 

 I've always loved the gym. Lifting weights became my escape when I was just 14 years old—a way to cope with a childhood that was anything but easy. In many ways, lifting saved me, both mentally and physically.

At 18, I joined the Army, thriving in its structure and the physical challenge it provided. But despite my love for fitness, I always struggled with body image. No matter how strong I was, I never truly felt strong enough—or good enough.

After having four children and stepping away from fitness for a while, that struggle only deepened. When I finally found my way back, it wasn’t just passion that drove me—it was obsession. I pushed myself hard, chasing an unrealistic ideal, convinced that if I just worked more and harder, I could control the way my body looked.

Then perimenopause hit. And my body? It refused to play along.

Suddenly, the strategies that once worked stopped working. My waistline expanded even though I was eating clean and training consistently. I felt like a stranger in my own skin. No matter what I did, my body wasn’t responding the way it used to. Frustration turned to exhaustion. I spiraled into depression and, honestly, I gave in to what I now call the Perimenopausaurus Rex (P-Rex) phase—where everything just felt… off.

Here I was, a lifetime athlete with certifications in health, fitness, and sports nutrition, yet I still felt powerless in this new phase of life. That realization forced me to take a hard look at what was really happening. And in doing so, I learned two crucial lessons:

1️⃣ My impossible standards and harsh self-judgment were only driving my cortisol through the roof—sabotaging my own progress.
2️⃣ I was training like my 30-year-old self when my almost 49-year-old body needed something entirely different.

I had a choice: stay stuck in frustration or shift my mindset, my goals, and—most importantly—my approach.

So I changed everything.

I learned how to work with my body instead of fighting against it. I embraced strategies that supported my hormones rather than punishing myself for what wasn’t working. I prioritized strength, energy, and well-being over perfection. And in doing so, I found my balance.

✔️ My energy came back.
✔️ My muscle tone returned.
✔️ My body composition changed without the brutal obsession.
✔️ I redefined what strong and healthy meant to me.
✔️ I learned to respect my body rather than constantly trying to force it into submission.

And the best part? I finally let go of the old, rigid standard of what my body should look like and instead embraced what it could do. Strength, wisdom, and grace took precedence over chasing abs.

But I didn’t stop there.

I knew I wasn’t alone in this struggle. So I made it my mission to help other women navigate this phase of life with the same knowledge, strategies, and mindset shifts that changed everything for me.

Because we don’t have to fight our bodies. We just have to understand them.

And when we do? We reclaim our power.