Our next guest quotes Socrates who says "The years wrinkle your skin, but lack of enthusiasm wrinkles your soul". We love that thought and BELIEVE it! We are 100% certain that little things like finding joy in your life everyday and moving your body will keep you young! And our guest today, Annie Gaudreault shares with us her expertise and wisdom for how to do just THAT.

As a nutritionist and health coach, Annie founded VEEV Health & Wellness to support the needs of smart and successful individuals, giving them the confidence to do what they want to do, with the energy that they need. Annie is an endurance athlete with 12 marathons and 3 Ironman® triathlons under her belt, and practices what she preaches.

Before she was a nutritionist and health coach, Annie had a 25+ year career as a brand consultant working with executives of Fortune 500 companies and this gave her a solid background to serve the wellness needs of those living busy lives.Now, she focuses on guiding women through menopause by creating a healthy lifestyle from a holistic standpoint. Just like us, Annie believes midlife is a pivotal time for a woman to reinvent herself, overcome limiting beliefs and finally come into her own!

She supports her clients with strategies like setting a goal for something that they never have done before (a new hobby, a 10k run, etc) and creating a TO BE list as opposed to a TO DO list. She challenges her clients to put themselves into uncomfortable, yet achievable situations, as a way to gain confidence and grow some wings. 

In this episode, Annie teaches us: 

1. The symptoms of menopause is your body's way of providing you data and information that something is out of balance. It is a call to change and an opportunity for us to listen, acknowledge and take action.
2. Menopause is a natural and unique experience for each individual woman. Many doctors gaslight women into believing there is nothing they can do about their symptoms.
3. The either positive or negative beliefs you have about aging can add (or subtract) 7 year to your life.
4. As we age and our estrogen drops, we are much more susceptible to stress and our cortisol levels are more easily triggered. By increasing our cardio, we are putting more stress on our bodies and our body's natural reaction is to retain weight...not lose it. So, don't overdo the cardio. Instead, do strength and resistance exercises.
5. In midlife, we need to increase our intake of protein. We should have 70-80 grams of protein or more daily. Start your day with a protein rich breakfast. And, ladies, life is too short to feel guilty! Eat healthy 80% of the time and give yourself some grace to enjoy life the rest of the time!

To find more of Annie:

Website | Veev Health and Wellness

Instagram | @veev_wellness

And speaking of gaining confidence and growing some wings...now is your time, baby girl! We are here to support you on your midlife journey. Visit our website dearmidlife.com to gain access to our community where you will find an instant group of girlfriends who are there to HEAR you and support you. Thank you to our VERY FIRST FOUNDING MEMBER, Rhonda Osborn! We can't wait to take this journey with you! And don't forget to follow us on Facebook or Instagram! We can wait to meet you in the middle!