Women of a Certain Stage

In this episode, Lauren sits down with Deidre — health coach, radio host, community builder, and chronic pain warrior — for a warm, honest, and deeply inspiring conversation about navigating endometriosis, surgical menopause, and a Functional Neurological Disorder diagnosis, all while building a life and career she loves in the Scottish Highlands.
Deidre shares the raw reality of spending nearly seven years fighting to be believed by the medical system, despite arriving in Scotland with an existing endometriosis diagnosis. She opens up about the hysterectomy that pushed her into early menopause, the devastating mental health impact that followed, and the moment she realised she needed to find a new way forward.
Together, Lauren and Deidre explore how lived experience can become a powerful coaching superpower, why women's health continues to be dismissed and underfunded, and how pacing, joy, and community can be genuinely life-changing tools for people living with chronic pain and invisible illness.
We also hear about Deidre's brilliant creations — the Wellon (a wellness triathlon she pioneered in Scotland), her Friday Dance lives, and her Keep Well radio slot — proof that even on the hardest days, it's possible to bring light to others.
And if you've ever talked yourself out of starting something because someone else is already doing it — this episode is for you.

00:00 Introduction
01:15 How Lauren and Deidre first connected
02:22 Moving from Michigan to Scotland — a tacky romance novel
04:46 Deidre's background: theatre, special needs teaching & coaching
05:45 Living with endometriosis — fighting to be believed
06:57 Hysterectomy, early menopause & the mental health impact
08:20 The state of endometriosis care in Scotland today
10:23 Why women's health research has been left behind
11:00 The Wellon — a wellness triathlon like no other
14:17 The Friday Dance & Keep Well on local radio
17:35 Retiring from teaching & diving into coaching
19:27 What coaching really means — and how it overlaps with teaching
20:15 Deidre's chronic pain coaching program & the four pillars
22:40 Shifting towards wellbeing — joy, events & community
23:02 Why there is always room for more menopause coaches
27:09 Year three of the Wellon — what's coming
29:44 What's next: website refresh, 14-day cleanse & retreats
32:03 Top tip for anyone living with chronic pain 35:42 The invisibility of chronic illness — and how to talk about it 35:51 Deidre's favourite thing about living in Scotland

Connect with Deidre:
Website | www.freedomcoaching.live
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/deidre.christensonmain
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/deidre-christenson-main-ab4365207
Instagram | https://instagram.com/deidrechristensonmain
Email | [email protected]

Connect with Lauren:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenchiren/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themenopausecoach/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomenOfACertainStage
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@womenofacertainstage
Twitter/X: https://x.com/LaurenChiren

About Women of a Certain Stage
We are committed to transforming the menopause experience — both for individuals and the organisations that support them. Our mission is to empower people through education, advocacy, and expert-led training, ensuring menopause is no longer a barrier to confidence, health, or career success.
Find out more: https://www.womenofacertainstage.com/

In this episode, Lauren sits down with Melanie — menopause coach, personal trainer, and former corporate sales manager — for an honest, energising conversation about movement, menopause, and reclaiming your confidence.
Melanie shares her deeply personal journey: seven years of being dismissed by doctors, hitting rock bottom at 46, and finally finding the support and focus she needed — including rediscovering her love of running after debilitating joint pain she didn't realise was a menopause symptom.
Together, Lauren and Melanie unpack why common exercise approaches can actually work against women during perimenopause and menopause, and why shifting your mindset from exercise to movement can be the game-changer you didn't know you needed.
They explore the real barriers women face — time, energy, bladder weakness, injury, and lost confidence — and offer practical, accessible strategies for every fitness level, whether you're a lifelong athlete who needs to adapt, or someone who hasn't moved in years and doesn't know where to start.
Melanie also shares what's behind her newly developed fitness app and 12-week progressive strength program, designed specifically for menopausal women — no gym required.
In this episode, we cover:
Why "pushing through" during menopause can lead to injury — and what to do instead
The surprising menopause symptom that stopped Melanie from running
Why strength training is non-negotiable at this life stage
HIIT, low-intensity movement, yoga, and walking — what works and when
Bladder weakness and impact exercise — the honest conversation we need to have
How 10 air squats an hour can match the benefits of a 30-minute walk
The power of community and connection in navigating menopause
Why workplaces need to step up for menopausal women

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction 00:37 Melanie's Journey After Qualifying as a Menopause Coach
02:09 Finding Focus: The Corporate Side of Menopause Support
03:53 Melanie's Background in Male-Dominated Industries
05:17 Rebuilding Confidence and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
07:40 How Lauren and Melanie First Connected
08:22 Seven Years of Being Dismissed by Doctors
09:51 Discovering Lauren's Course and Saying Yes
11:27 Key Takeaways from the Menopause Coach Programme
15:11 Melanie's Running Story: Joint Pain, HRT, and Getting Back Outside
17:58 Introduction to Melanie's Fitness App and Online Programmes
19:08 Why Movement (Not Exercise) Matters in Menopause
20:57 HIIT Explained: What It Is and Why It Helps
22:51 Bladder Weakness and Impact Exercise — The Honest Truth
24:07 Pelvic Floor Health: Seeking the Right Support
25:04 Lauren's Marathon Mistake During Perimenopause
25:48 Low-Intensity Training and Listening to Your Body
26:13 The Power of 10 Squats an Hour
27:34 Yoga, Flexibility, and Long-Term Health
28:19 Adapting Your Training as Your Body Changes
29:05 Starting From Scratch: Simple Movements for Every Woman
30:14 Dance in Your Kitchen — Movement Can Be Joyful
30:41 What Melanie Is Working On Now
31:00 Making Menopause Support Accessible to All Women
31:48 A Word for the Partners Standing Beside Menopausal Women
Connect with Lauren Chiren
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenchiren/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themenopausecoach/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomenOfACertainStage
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@womenofacertainstage
Twitter/X: https://x.com/LaurenChiren
About Women of a Certain Stage
We are committed to transforming the menopause experience — for individuals and the organisations that support them. Our mission is to empower people through education, advocacy, and expert-led training, ensuring menopause is no longer a barrier to confidence, health, or career success.
Find out more: https://www.womenofacertainstage.com/

When Alcohol Meets Menopause: One Woman's 30-Day Experiment That Changed Everything
In this episode, I sit down with Claire for a raw and refreshingly honest conversation about the powerful — and often overlooked — connection between alcohol and menopause. Together, we unpack how so many women mistake perimenopause symptoms for the effects of drinking, and how that confusion can keep us stuck, unwell, and searching for answers in all the wrong places.
We explore how giving up alcohol for just 30 days can unlock a chain reaction of clarity, healing, and self-discovery — and why the wine o'clock habit is rarely about the wine at all. We also dive into the booming alcohol-free market, the role of gut health, and why there is not a single menopausal symptom that isn't impacted by alcohol.
Importantly, we shine a light on the courage it takes to change — whether that means setting new boundaries with friends, having honest conversations with partners and children, or simply trusting yourself when the doctors keep telling you everything is fine.
And for anyone who has ever felt judged for ordering sparkling water at a girls' night out… this one is for you.

00:00 Introduction
01:31 Claire's Story: When 30 Days Became Seven Years
03:02 The Decision to Take a Break from Alcohol
07:14 What Those Emails Revealed About Alcohol and the Body
09:03 Noticing the Changes: Clarity, Energy, and Brighter Eyes
10:14 Shifting Friendships and Social Pressure
13:33 Boundaries, Menopause, and the People Around Us
15:02 Making the Connection Between Alcohol and Perimenopause
17:08 The Birth of Mindful Sips — and Menopause Dawn
21:19 What to Say to Someone Just Joining the Dots
23:10 Talking to Our Children About Menopause
25:54 The Alcohol-Free Market: How Far It's Come
29:13 Stepping Stones or a New Way of Living?
32:05 Five Years From Now: Claire's Vision
34:29 What the Menopause Coach Diploma Really Gave Her

Connect with Claire: Menopause Dawn | (coming soon) Mindful Sips | (coming soon)

FREEBIE: Grab my 12 Week Core Program, ABS ON FIRE https://www.amandathebe.com/abs-on-fire/
Menopause Resources https://amandathebe.com/meno-resource/

Meet your host Lauren Chiren
Lauren Chiren is a leading voice in menopause awareness and workplace inclusion, dedicated to ensuring no one navigates menopause alone.
As the Founder and CEO of Women of a Certain Stage, she works with organisations worldwide to create menopause-savvy and supportive environments.
With a background in psychology, sports therapy, and nutrition, and an extensive suite of coaching certifications, Lauren is on a mission to train 20,000 Menopause Coaches and Champions, equipping them with the tools to support individuals and workplaces through this transformative life stage.
Join her as she breaks the silence, challenges the stigma, and empowers people to thrive at midlife and beyond.

About Women of a Certain Stage
We are committed to transforming the menopause experience — both for individuals and the organisations that support them.
Our mission is to empower people through education, advocacy, and expert-led training, ensuring menopause is no longer a barrier to confidence, health, or career success.
Join us and our global network of professionals dedicated to breaking the stigma, improving workplace culture, and ensuring no one navigates menopause alone.
Find out more here: https://www.womenofacertainstage.com/

Connect with Lauren
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenchiren/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themenopausecoach/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomenOfACertainStage
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@womenofacertainstage
Twitter/X: https://x.com/LaurenChiren

In this episode, I sit down with Emma Trueman for a candid and deeply personal conversation about navigating perimenopause while maintaining a senior career in the technology and professional services sector. Together, we unpack the confusion and frustration that often accompany symptoms like extreme sleep deprivation and debilitating brain fog—and why Emma decided to move from being a mental health advocate to a certified menopause coach.
We explore how Emma integrated menopause awareness into her corporate role, including a successful workplace panel that reached over 400 people. We discuss the importance of formal education and "chemistry checks" in coaching, and how lifestyle choices like movement and nutrition remain key pillars of her wellbeing.
Importantly, we shine a light on the power of community—how connecting with others, even at 1:00 AM from Australia, can empower women to navigate this stage with confidence. We also talk about the cultural and lifestyle differences between the UK and Australia and how they impact the menopause experience.
Episode Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction and Reflections on Sydney
01:15 – Creating Workplace Awareness and Symptom Tracking
02:26 – Emma’s Background: Tech Career and Mental Health Advocacy
03:36 – Personal Experience: Navigating Sleep, Hot Flushes, and HRT
05:50 – Overcoming Hesitation: Starting Testosterone and Managing Brain Fog
06:52 – Career Evolution: From E-commerce to AI Solutions
08:56 – The Future: How AI Can Support Menopause Health
10:56 – Why Formal Coaching Credentials and "Chemistry Checks" Matter
12:52 – Global Community: Attending 1:00 AM Classes from Australia
15:19 – Key Program Takeaways: Experts, Tapping, and Business Building
19:18 – Advocacy in Action: Gym Talks and the 400-Person Workplace Panel
22:42 – Cultural Perspectives: Lifestyle Differences Between the UK and Australia
24:54 – Future Projects and Closing Thoughts

Meet your host Lauren Chiren
Lauren Chiren is a leading voice in menopause awareness and workplace inclusion, dedicated to ensuring no one navigates menopause alone. As the Founder and CEO of Women of a Certain Stage, she works with organisations worldwide to create menopause-savvy and supportive environments. With a background in psychology, sports therapy, and nutrition, and an extensive suite of coaching certifications, Lauren is on a mission to train 20,000 Menopause Coaches and Champions, equipping them with the tools to support individuals and workplaces through this transformative life stage. Join her as she breaks the silence, challenges the stigma, and empowers people to thrive at midlife and beyond.
About Women of a Certain Stage
We are committed to transforming the menopause experience—both for individuals and the organisations that support them. Our mission is to empower people through education, advocacy, and expert-led training, ensuring menopause is no longer a barrier to confidence, health, or career success. Join us and our global network of professionals dedicated to breaking the stigma, improving workplace culture, and ensuring no one navigates menopause alone.
Find out more here: https://www.womenofacertainstage.com/

Connect with Lauren
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenchiren/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themenopausecoach/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomenOfACertainStage
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@womenofacertainstage
Twitter/X: https://x.com/LaurenChiren

In this episode, Lauren sits down with Alice, a nutritional therapist and newly qualified menopause coach based near Brighton, whose life changed dramatically when her mother was diagnosed with dementia in 2020. That experience — combined with her own perimenopause journey — ignited a deep commitment to longevity, brain health, and helping women age well.
Alice brings a unique dual perspective to her work: blending evidence-based nutrition with menopause coaching to offer a whole-body approach to this life stage. She's also a six-time marathon runner training for her first ultra, and a passionate Park Run ambassador — and she's proof that you can completely reinvent your career at 50.
What We Discuss
Alice's path to menopause coaching Alice's route to this work was anything but linear. When her mother was diagnosed with dementia in 2020, she became a carer almost overnight — and her priorities shifted completely. She left a demanding corporate job at 50, retrained in nutrition, and then discovered the Menopause Coach Diploma. She describes it as everything clicking into place.
The dementia diagnosis that changed everything Watching her mother's quality of life at 83 — sharp wit intact, but no longer knowing who Alice is — gave Alice a visceral motivation to help people age well. She's not talking about skin; she's talking about brain health, physical function, and being able to tie your own shoelaces. Running became her lifeline through the grief of caring, and she's since completed six marathons and signed up for her first ultra.
Why nutrition and menopause go hand in hand Alice merges her nutritional therapy practice with her menopause coaching, seeing them as one whole package. She's cautious about the noise online — supplementation trends, influencer-backed products — and emphasises the importance of evidence-based advice. Her approach is collaborative and client-led: food diaries, macronutrient analysis, and even supermarket trips and cooking together at home.
The supplement question Alice's view has evolved: with a genuinely balanced diet, most people can get what they need from food. The one exception she backs wholeheartedly is Vitamin D, particularly in the UK. Her word for good nutrition? Curiosity — being willing to try new things and add to your plate, rather than overhaul it.
Budget-friendly nutrition tips Alice's top three tips for eating well on a tight budget: embrace frozen food (often more nutritious than fresh, especially out of season), prioritise fibre by swapping beige processed food for whole grains, and make the most of tinned food — always choose water over syrup. She also champions using vegetable peelings for stock and making batch soups from leftover veg at the end of the week.
The reset cleanse in the Menopause Plan as someone with a nutrition background, Alice appreciated the logic of the reset — cutting back on dairy, alcohol, processed food, and red meat as a blank canvas to work from. It also introduced her to rice milk, which she now has on her porridge every morning.
What drew her to the diploma Alice first spotted Lauren on LinkedIn and attended a free workplace-focused webinar. What set this programme apart was how personal it felt — Lauren's clear investment in every cohort member succeeding, the ongoing community after graduation, and the sense of having colleagues again after going it alone. The group chat has become her go-to for questions, ideas, and support.
Key takeaways from being coached Boundaries came up as a major personal theme — moving from a structured office environment to working from home with family interruptions made this live and relevant. Alice also took away the power of silence in coaching: allowing pauses rather than rushing to fill them opened people up in ways she hadn't expected.
The power of saying things out loud In a spontaneous moment mid-episode, Alice discovers Lauren is running the Brighton Marathon — and Lauren admits she'd been on the verge of pulling out. Just having that conversation out loud shifts the decision. It becomes a live example of what coaching actually does.
Her plans going forward Alice is working with practice clients, plans to expand into workplace menopause education, and is developing a couples-focused strand of her work. She'll soft-launch her full coaching offering once she's ready, growing largely through word of mouth.
Key Takeaways
What we eat in midlife directly affects brain health and how we age — starting now matters
Frozen and tinned food are underrated, affordable, and genuinely nutritious — don't overlook them
Moving away from beige, ultra-processed food and towards whole grains and colour is the single most accessible shift most people can make
Most nutritional needs can be met through a balanced diet — but Vitamin D supplementation is backed by the evidence, particularly in the UK
The power of a coach isn't just in the advice — it's in creating the space for someone to say something out loud, hear themselves, and move forward
Community — whether through a cohort, Park Run, or a workplace — is not a nice-to-have; it's essential for wellbeing
Guest: Alice
Alice is a nutritional therapist and certified menopause coach based near Brighton on the UK's south coast. After leaving a high-pressured corporate career to care for her mother, she retrained in nutrition and went on to complete the Menopause Coach Diploma. She works face-to-face and online, is planning to take menopause education into workplaces, and has a special focus on couples and longevity. She's also a core member of her local Park Run community — you'll find her cheering at Mile 20 of the Brighton Marathon.
Concerned about your brain health in midlife? A great first step is tracking your symptoms and speaking to a healthcare professional. For support with nutrition or menopause coaching, visit womenscoachingschool.com.