At 47 years old, Joanna Ferguson found herself in a relentless struggle with her weight. Despite breezing through her twenties and thirties with ease, she now faced an uphill battle where her efforts seemed fruitless.

In an attempt to regain control, Joanna practically lived at the gym, working out tirelessly. Yet, after months of intense exercise, the results were nowhere to be seen.

Instead of shedding pounds, the scale continued to climb, culminating at her peak weight of 80.5 kilograms.

“I was maintaining a healthy diet, exercising vigorously, and burning off 500 calories every day, yet the weight wouldn’t come off,” Joanna, a mother of two from Perth, shared with the Daily Mail, adding that she also began experiencing 4 a.m. night sweats.

Her fitness routine was rigorous—spending six to seven days a week at the gym, engaging in extensive cardio sessions, lifting weights, and meticulously monitoring her diet—but frustratingly, these efforts yielded no visible reward.

‘I was at the gym six to seven days a week, doing endless cardio and lifting weights and watching what I was eating. But there was no payoff. 

‘I would say “I need to lose weight”, and my friends would tell me “no you don’t, you look great.” But I didn’t feel great.’

Jo also noticed a change in her mood as she felt grumpy, fatigued and bloated. 

Before: At her heaviest, Joanna Ferguson (pictured) was 80.5kg and felt uncomfortable in her body. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t lose weight

‘My GP said it was due to perimenopause. It’s the missing piece in the weight gain conversation yet no one talks about it, even though every woman goes through it,’ she said.

In June last year, Jo went to her GP for blood tests, which showed she had worryingly low iron levels. 

‘The doctor said “your iron levels are so low it’s like you’re the walking dead. I don’t know how you’re functioning.” She urged me to go and get an iron infusion which I did.’

Around the same time, a couple of Joanna’s friends began using Ozempic, dropping kilos at a rapid pace. 

But what Jo saw up close completely turned her off trying the medication herself. 

‘I noticed they lost a lot of muscle mass which worried me because I know it’s important to build muscle, especially as we get older, for bone density. So I decided to stay away from it,’ she said. 

‘I know that for me, I just want to make sure that I’m taking preventative measures to stay healthy as I get older.’

Last August, Jo met up with a close friend and vented about her health issues. The conversation soon turned to menopause – what they called ‘the big M’.

After: Rather than turning to Ozempic, Jo chose meal replacement shakes – and to her surprise, it worked

‘She said to me, “you could embrace it or you could try these MyPause Health shakes I’ve been on”,’ Jo said.

‘I wasn’t expecting anything, to be honest. I usually get bored of the taste of protein shakes. I thought I’d give it a month and see how I go,’ she said.

To her surprise, she noticed a difference ‘straight away’ after having the shakes twice a day for breakfast and lunch.

She focused on protein-rich dinners – steak, chicken, and tuna – paired with vegetables. 

‘The weight was coming off steadily and my energy was back. I was losing 1kg–1.5kg every week and was only on it for a month.’

Jo says she’s never enjoyed counting calories and the shakes allow her to stay on track without obsessively logging everything she eats.

Jo also discovered less is more in the gym. She now completes four 45-minute weight training sessions per week and includes gentle cardio such as incline walking.  

In the first month of her new regime, Jo lost 6kg, then shed another 4kg the following month – a loss of 10kg in as many weeks. 

Staying slim in her twenties and thirties was effortless, but after 40 things changed (Jo pictured in her twenties)

The night sweats that woke her before 4am disappeared, her sleep improved, and that constant ‘Christmas dinner’ bloating finally eased.

‘All the symptoms I had vanished. It didn’t happen overnight but the shakes really helped. I was working out harder before and not having any success,’ she said.

She wasn’t just lighter – her head was clearer, her mood lifted, and she felt an ‘overwhelming energy to just power through my day’.

Blood tests confirmed her chronically low iron had reached healthy levels, and she suddenly had energy to perform better at work and throw herself into being a busy mum. 

To maintain her results, Jo now has one shake a day in the morning, instead of two, and her weight remains steady at 70kg. 

She isn’t chasing a number on the scale or trying to rewind the clock to her 20s. She is comfortable with her weight and happy her worst perimenopause symptoms have subsided. 

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