#1: Menopause and midlife health with Michelle Bridges
Wellness goddess Michelle Bridges chats with Alex Brooks about what midlife health really means to her, including the importance of eating protein, strength training and how to deal with different perimenopause symptoms.
From The Biggest Loser to 12 week body transformations, Michelle Bridges has been transforming and helping people become healthier versions of themselves for decades.
Michelle Bridges started teaching fitness classes at the age of 14, hit our TV screens on The Biggest Loser in her 30s and had her first child at the age of 45.
She’s always been a hard worker, but acknowledges how difficult it is for women to fit everything in. Growing up as the youngest daughter of a single mum in an era where kids weren’t allowed to get in the way of work, she knew from the start that she wanted to raise her son Axel differently. So she’s worked doubly hard to be a present parent; being there for school pick ups, sporting events and even coaching Axel’s soccer league at one point (lucky kids!).
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Michelle says she was flippant about her fertility and feels blessed to have been able to get pregnant at 44, an age when she was likely experiencing perimenopause. The trainer says she knew remarkably little about perimenopause and menopause, until she began diagnosing her own symptoms after she experienced brain fog and problems sleeping.
She talks to The Midlife Shift about what midlife wellness really means to her, including the importance of eating protein, strength training and how to deal with different perimenopause symptoms. Michelle also explains how she manages diet, nutrition and supplements – including a rundown on those she takes herself – before diving into the money lessons she wishes she’d learned earlier.
Michelle explains how her upbringing geared her towards financial independence later on – she now contributes regularly to a self-managed superannuation scheme. She then shares her hopes for retirement and how she plans to spend it all on physio, personal training and fitness to stay as well as she can for as long as she can.
Find Michelle here
Citro is here to help
- Mastering menopause - a Citro guide
- Could delaying menopause help women live longer?
- How to exercise during menopause and beyond
- Hello muscles: 10 benefits of strength training
- 8 habits that slow ageing by up to 6 years
- Get a grip: your hands may hold the secret to healthy ageing
- Ageing is inevitable, weakness is not - how to foster strength
Further reading on the issues we touched on in this episode
- Menopause and cholesterol
- Vitamin D and perimenopause
- Menopause and protein
- Vitamin B6 toxicity
- Creatine for women’s health
- Jean Hailies website
- Debunking the myths about HRT/MHT
- MHT added to the PBS from 1 March 2025
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