Want to feel younger In Menopause? It's Never Too Late
I Tried Tons of Diets But This Changed Everything
Three years ago, I sat down with the Vegan Linked YouTube channel for a conversation I still think about. We talked about how I came to a whole food plant-based life, what I help my clients do, and what's truly possible for any woman willing to make a few changes to her dietary choices and lifestyle habits.
In my 40s, I felt stuck, like I was aging rapidly and hopeless that there wasn’t a better way. When I changed what I ate, that changed everything (for the better) in my life. At 50+ years of age now, I feel young and vibrant and hopeful for a healthy future. You’ll see it at the heart of the interview – it’s foundational to everything I do for my clients. Here, you can read some highlights below, and then I invite you to watch the videoin its entirety.
I hope it inspires you!
How to feel younger in menopause
Watch this video interview and hear how I, as a 40-something mom (now 50-something), changed my dietary choices and reclaimed my health!
Hear how it changed my life, my family’s life and the lives of my clients!
My Roundabout Road to Plant-Based Living
I didn't arrive here gracefully. Before 2015, I tried it all: carnivore, Paleo, counting points at Weight Watchers, South Beach, P90X, miracle shakes, calorie restriction. Argh. I got thin on one of those programs and was completely miserable, standing in my own kitchen eating pickles because they were "free." A year of Paleo left my GI tract unhappy and a quiet voice told me something was missing. Nothing was sustainable. Nothing felt right.
Then my parents in Florida sent me the film Forks Over Knives. I watched it, and I couldn't unsee what I'd seen. It was a light-switch moment. From there, I read everything I could get my hands on, purged my pantry, fridge, and freezer, and changed the way our whole family ate. That one decision rippled out further than I ever imagined.
What I Stand For: Science Research
I keep it simple, and I'll say it the same way I said it three years ago: eat beans, greens, grains, fruits, veggies, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices. That's it. No fads, no fasting-then-raw-then-FODMAP whiplash. Just real, whole plants, consistently.
I also believe in eating well, not eating less. I love food and I eat a lot of it, joyfully and guilt-free, because I trust what I'm putting in my body. Food is love. It's grandma's spaghetti sauce. It's connection. We don't have to give that up, we just learn to make it nourish us better.
The research backs up that simple approach. Whole food plant-based eating patterns are linked to lower risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and coronary heart disease, and to meaningful improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar (Tuso et al., 2017, The Permanente Journal). For women navigating midlife, that matters: a 2023 meta-analysis found vegetarian patterns significantly improved LDL cholesterol, HbA1c, and body weight, even beyond standard medical therapy (Wang et al., 2023, JAMA Network Open).
What I Help Clients Do: The “Coach Approach”
Here's the part I care about most. As a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, I don't hand you a rigid meal plan and walk away. I start with a question: what do you like to eat? Then we take the recipes and restaurant orders you already love and ask, together, how can we make this plant-based while keeping the flavors you enjoy? When food still tastes like what you love, you keep eating that way.
I also teach the why. When you understand how a plate of food is nourishing you, eating well stops being a box to check and becomes a choice connected to your real reasons: playing with grandkids, traveling, getting off a medication, feeling lighter and more energetic. That understanding is empowering, and it's what makes the change last.
Real Support Makes It Stick
This is the heart of why I do this work. So often I watch someone "try" plant-based eating, struggle through the first hard weeks, and quit, convinced it didn't work. But they never gave their body time to adjust, and they never had anyone trained to walk them through the obstacles, the setbacks, the family dynamics at the dinner table.
That's the gap I fill. Most physicians receive only a few hours of nutrition education and don't have the time to coach you through daily change, which is exactly why a board-certified coach who also has specialization in plant-based nutrition and cooking belongs on your care team.
Health coaching grounded in real psychology-based behavior-change skills has been shown to improve dietary adherence and clinical outcomes like blood pressure, kidney function and A1c, just to name a few. The American College of Lifestyle Medicine puts it plainly: “coaching is the science and the art of behavior change, and it improves outcomes for chronic conditions” (American College of Lifestyle Medicine, 2023).
When you choose support, look for credentials. Many people call themselves health coaches without formal training. Ask where someone studied and how they were educated. You deserve a guide who actually knows how to help you overcome the hard parts, not just cheer from the sidelines or give you a checklist to follow.
What's Possible for You
I'll leave you with what I told Vegan Linked at the end: try it. It's worth trying. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." What's within you is powerful. The tortoise wins the race. One percent better today, one percent better tomorrow.
You don't have to do it perfectly, and you don't have to do it alone. That's exactly what I'm here for.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
Get support to feel younger
Learning from someone who’s ‘been there, done that’ and tried everything that didn’t work is so powerful! I will teach you what foods to select that give you the biggest bang for your health buck!
I’ll give you tips that work for YOUR unique lifestyle and preferences. And I’ll be there to help you when life gets in the way, triggers tempt you and your will power tanks.
Check out my Resources and Services to find what’s your next best step.
Your Next best Step
You don't have to figure this out alone. Here are four simple ways to start today:
Cook with me. Grab my plant-based cookbook and put a few simple, flavorful meals on your table this week — no overwhelm, no guesswork. Just easy.
Coach with me. Join the Second Youth Wellness Method - it’s a 12-week program that’s less than the cost of a daily latte for that same timeframe (plus you get lifetime access!). For about the price of one coffee a day for 45 days, you get a trained guide in your corner to help you through the obstacles, the setbacks, and the "what do I even eat?" moments — so this time, the change actually sticks. Wanting more personalized support? Get private coaching and feel connected and not confused or overwhelmed anymore!
Check out my Favorites & Resources. Like I said in the video interview, making simple changes can mean so much when done consistently and over time. Getting the right kind of information, tools and support is paramount to success! Don’t keep trying to do it on your own, or ‘banging your shin on the coffee table’ like I said in the video.
Get FREEBIES! Everyone LOVES free things! So sign up to get my periodic emails and as a thank you, you’ll get a FREE resource that I use myself all the time!
“Your second youth starts with small, supported steps. Let’s take it together.”
This post is for education and encouragement and is not medical advice. Talk with your healthcare provider before making significant changes to your diet, especially if you take medication for a chronic condition. This page contains affiliate links Thank you for your support.
