What The Peri? - With Kirsten Cooke cover art

What The Peri? - With Kirsten Cooke

What The Peri? - With Kirsten Cooke

Written by: Kirsten Cooke
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You're not going crazy. You're not broken. And no — it's not "just stress."


Somewhere in your 40s or 50s, your body starts doing things nobody warned you about — the weight that won't shift, the broken sleep, the brain fog, the anxiety from nowhere, the feeling that you've lost yourself. And when you finally go looking for answers, too often you're dismissed, brushed off, or sent away still confused.


What the Peri? is the podcast for women navigating perimenopause and menopause who are done being dismissed and just need someone to make it all make sense. Each episode cuts through the noise, the myths and the medical gaslighting — with honest conversations, real science, and plain-English answers about your hormones, your symptoms, and what actually helps.


I'm Kirsten Cooke — a personal trainer, women's health coach, perimenopause and menopause coach, and mum of four. I'm not talking to you from the outside looking in; I'm walking this road myself. These are the conversations I wish someone had sat me down and had with me years ago.


You are not imagining it. It is not your fault. And you are not alone.


The change you didn't ask for. The conversations you need.


Follow now so you don't miss an episode.

© 2026 What The Peri? - With Kirsten Cooke Exercise & Fitness Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Hygiene & Healthy Living
Episodes
  • One Drink, Full Hangover in Perimenopause — Why Alcohol Hits Harder Now (Ep 13)

    One Drink, Full Hangover in Perimenopause — Why Alcohol Hits Harder Now (Ep 13)
    Oct 15 2026
    (Ep 13) Picture a girlfriend's fiftieth — a long table in her backyard, fairy lights in the trees, and a bucket of ice with the bubbles already chilling. You've barely put your handbag down before somebody presses a glass of prosecco into your hand. And when you say no thanks, there's that little pause, the raised eyebrow, the "go on, just one", and someone joking that you must be pregnant. Suddenly you're explaining yourself, when all you did was say no to a drink.I rarely drink any more, because my body can't tolerate it now. These days, even one drink leaves my skin flushed, a headache settling in, nausea for the rest of the night, horrible sleep, and a proper hangover the next morning. It's just not worth it to me. That won't be everyone's story — but I know a lot of women who used to enjoy a few drinks and can't tolerate it at all now, in perimenopause.So this week I'm paying the promise I made back in the weight episode and giving alcohol its own episode — why so many of us drink, why it can feel like the thing getting you through perimenopause, what it's doing in your body now, and what helps.One promise before you start: I'm not here to judge. I'm here to give you the facts, so you can make empowered choices for your health during this phase of life.In this episode:→ The pressure to drink — the glass in your hand before you've sat down, the top-ups you never asked for, and how hard it can be to say no in a culture built around a drink→ Why women drink — to relax, to fit in, a bit of Dutch courage, to cope with stress — and how easily it happens→ Why a drink can feel like it's getting you through perimenopause — what a UK study of women aged forty to sixty-five found about drinking to cope→ The cycle — why the drink that takes the edge off tonight makes tomorrow harder, and why that relief is a bit of an illusion→ Hangxiety — the racing heart and dread the morning after, and what's going on in your brain as the alcohol wears off→ Why one drink hits harder now — what changes in your body and your liver, and what menopause doctors are seeing in their clinics→ Hot flushes, sleep and your brain — the link with night sweats, the nightcap as a false friend, and what regular drinking does to your grey matter→ Breast cancer, Group 1 and the red wine myth — what the category really means, the other half of the HRT sentence from Episode 3, and why nobody can tell you a drink protects your heart any more→ What helps — alcohol-free swaps, what to say when someone pushes a drink on you, a different way to end the day, and where to get supportYOUR ALCOHOL TOOLKIT — where to start this week:Notice when you reach for a drink, and what job it's doing for you · Try two weeks alcohol-free, or with far fewer drinks, and watch your sleep, your hot flushes, your mood and your mornings · Plan your next social occasion before you get there — choose your alcohol-free drink and your one line · A drink in your hand stops most of the offers · Cutting back? Decide your number before you go, eat first, alternate with water, and have alcohol-free days in your week · You don't owe anyone an explanation — "I'm good, thanks" is enough · Change the six o'clock ritual — a walk, a shower, a cup of tea, a call with a friend · If it's perimenopause symptoms you're numbing, talk to your GP — they can be treated · Worried you're relying on it? Talk to your GP, or call the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline, free and 24/7, on 1800 250 015 · If you've been drinking heavily every day, talk to your GP before you stop suddenlySmall changes stack. You don't have to fix it all at once — you just have to start.If one drink now leaves you flushed, foggy and hungover, or the evening glass has quietly become the thing getting you through — please consider that you might simply be a woman whose body has changed, in a culture that hands her a drink at every turn. You deserve the facts, and the freedom to choose what's right for you.---Ready to work with me? The Peri Protocol is my personalised coaching program for women in perimenopause and menopause. Apply here → www.kirstencookecoaching.com/applyGrab your free guide — download your free What the Peri? guide → www.kirstencookecoaching.com/free-guideCome say hi 🌸 Follow along on Instagram and Facebook @kirstencookecoaching — I'd love to hear what resonated with you.---Research referenced:Davies et al. (2025). Women's alcohol use in mid-life: identifying associations between menopause symptoms, drinking behaviour, and mental healthRothman R, Aitken B (2025). Why do some people get 'hangxiety' after a night of drinking and others don't? — Swinburne University of Technology, The ConversationKwon R, Chang Y, Kim Y et al. (2022). Alcohol consumption patterns and risk of early-onset vasomotor symptoms in premenopausal women — NutrientsDaviet R, Aydogan G, Jagannathan K et al. (2022). Associations between alcohol ...
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    29 mins
  • Perimenopause & Your Pelvic Floor — Leaking, Urgency & What Actually Helps (Ep 12)

    Perimenopause & Your Pelvic Floor — Leaking, Urgency & What Actually Helps (Ep 12)
    Oct 9 2026
    (Ep 12) You're at a concert with your oldest friends, and when the chorus hits you jump, just once — and you feel it. You tell your friend you just peed a little, tie your jacket round your waist, and spend the rest of the night swaying very carefully. Or you do what one of my friends and her girlfriends did: tie the jackets on, keep dancing, and deal with it at home, all of them in black. And it isn't only concerts. It's the sneeze in the line at the grocery store, the big laugh with a friend, and the trampoline you can't get on with your kids.I've been there myself. If I laughed too hard, I'd just about pee my pants — and lots of Pilates has made a real difference. I also get frequent mini UTIs, so I'm talking with my hormone doctor right now about starting vaginal oestrogen.So this week I'm paying last week's promise and talking about your pelvic floor and your bladder — what changes through perimenopause, why so many of us plan our day around the nearest toilet, and the long list of things that help.One promise before you start: this is very common, but it isn't something you have to put up with quietly.In this episode:→ What this is like to live with — knowing where every toilet is, the pad in your handbag, the black leggings, the rush when your key hits the front door, and the Bounce party you sit out→ The other side of it — how sharing it with your girlfriends can turn it into a running joke, and why that takes so much of the sting out→ What your pelvic floor actually is, and the two very different kinds of bladder trouble — leaking with a laugh, sneeze or jump, and the sudden "I have to go now"→ The good news about leaking — what a large study of women in their forties and early fifties found, and why it's mostly about your muscles and the pressure on them→ Where your hormones do come into it — urgency, stinging, needing to go more often and more UTIs, plus a quick look at the vaginal changes we'll cover properly in the Sexual Health episode→ Pelvic floor exercises that work — how to find the muscles, the mistake to avoid on the toilet, and why Dr Kelly Casperson, a urologist who works with women through perimenopause and menopause, says they aren't right for everyone→ Pilates, weights and the jumping — why reformer can be the way back into resistance training if you leak, and how to brace for a heavy lift without pushing down→ Your bladder habits — what's normal, the bladder diary, what to do when the urge hits, and a fair test for your coffee→ UTIs — why they turn up more often at this stage, where cranberry fits, and when to see your GPYOUR PELVIC FLOOR TOOLKIT — where to start this week:Find your pelvic floor by imagining you're stopping the flow of wee and holding in wind at the same time · Squeeze and lift, hold for a few seconds, then let it go completely · Do them every day · If you're leaking, or you've tried them before and nothing changed, see a pelvic floor physio · On heavy lifts, take a quick breath into your belly and brace all the way around your middle — never push down · If you leak or feel heaviness, lift your pelvic floor before the effort, breathe out as you go, and go a little lighter for now · Leave out the jumping for now if it brings on leaks, and build back up · Wee roughly every two to four hours during the day, and ideally no more than once a night · When the urge hits, stop, squeeze, breathe and walk calmly · If urgency is your main issue, try a fortnight with less coffee · If UTIs keep coming back, try cranberry tablets and talk to your GP · The National Continence Helpline is free: 1800 33 00 66Small changes stack. You don't have to fix it all at once — you just have to start.If you've been crossing your legs before every sneeze, sitting out the trampoline, or reaching for the black leggings without thinking about why — please consider that you might simply be a woman who was never told how much can be done about it. You deserve to dance until the last song, jump with your kids, and laugh until you cry without crossing your legs first.————————————————————Ready to work with me? The Peri Protocol is my personalised coaching program for women in perimenopause and menopause. Apply here → www.kirstencookecoaching.com/applyGrab your free guide — download your free What the Peri? guide → www.kirstencookecoaching.com/free-guideCome say hi 🌸 Follow along on Instagram and Facebook @kirstencookecoaching — I'd love to hear what resonated with you.————————————————————Research referenced:Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Fact Sheets (2023) — urinary incontinence across the menopause transition. swanstudy.orgChristmas MM, Iyer S, Daisy C, Maristany S, Letko J, Hickey M (2023). Menopause hormone therapy and urinary symptoms: a systematic review — MenopauseDumoulin C, Cacciari LP, Hay-Smith EJC (2018). Pelvic ...
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    32 mins
  • Perimenopause & Supplements - What's Actually Worth Your Money (Ep 11)

    Perimenopause & Supplements - What's Actually Worth Your Money (Ep 11)
    Oct 2 2026
    (Ep 11) You're standing in the vitamin aisle at the chemist with a basket on your arm, stopped in front of a wall of bottles. Some of them say women's on the front. Some of them say menopause. Some have the word hormone printed somewhere on the label. And every one of them looks like it might be the thing that's been missing. Then you get home, open the cupboard, and there they are — the bottles you've already bought. Half of one, a third of another, and one you took for a fortnight before it slid to the back and got forgotten. You paid good money for every one of them. And if somebody asked you today whether any of them did anything, you couldn't honestly tell them.I've been in health and fitness for nearly thirty years, and over that time I've watched supplement fads come and go. Something is everywhere for a year or two, and then it quietly drops off the shelves and something new takes its place. But one has stood the test of time the whole way through, and that one is creatine. The first time I tried it, years ago, it didn't suit me. I did a loading phase — a big dose every day for a short stretch — and I felt four to five kilos heavier from all the water it pulled into my muscles. So I stopped. These days I take about five to seven grams a day, every day, with no water retention at all. Same powder, different dose.So this week I'm paying last week's promise and doing supplements — but only the ones I think are worth your money, how much of each, and how to buy them well. Food first, every time, and supplements for the gaps that food on its own isn't filling. And creatine gets the most time, because outside of HRT, I believe it's the strongest supplement there is.One promise before you start: this isn't an episode about things to feel guilty for buying.In this episode:→ The wall of bottles — why the supplement aisle is one of the most confusing places to stand at this stage of life, and why it stings when nothing seems to change→ Food first — why variety matters so much, how much of what Australians eat is now ultra-processed, and where the gaps open up→ What creatine actually is and how it works — the flat-battery explanation, why it isn't a hormone or a steroid, and the loading phase explained→ Three doses for three purposes — the everyday dose for muscle and strength, the higher dose for your bones that only works alongside training, and the short-term dose for your brain in the rough patches→ Buying creatine well — what Dr Darren Candow, the researcher I trust most on creatine, says to look for on the label, and why it's one of the cheaper things you can buy→ Vitamin D — why so many of us are low, what indoor lives, winter and daily sunscreen have to do with it, and its partner, calcium→ Omega-3 — why farmed salmon isn't quite what it used to be, which fish to reach for in Australia, and the plant-based option if you're vegan or vegetarian→ Iron — why heavy periods matter, why you test before you take it, and how a coffee can cut what you absorb by about half→ A quick round-up — magnesium, the natural options for hot flushes, and the cheapest pre-workout there is, which is probably already in your kitchenYOUR SUPPLEMENT TOOLKIT — where to start this week:Start creatine — plain creatine monohydrate powder, three to five grams a day, every day · Over fifty, around seven to eight grams · Look for Creapure on the label, and make sure it's been independently tested · Don't load — your everyday dose fills your muscles in about four weeks · The bone dose, eight to twelve grams, only works alongside training · Around twenty grams for a few days in a rough patch, then straight back to your everyday dose · Mostly indoors, wearing SPF thirty or fifty every day, or it's winter where you live? Consider vitamin D, about 1,000 to 2,000 IU a day with a meal that has a bit of fat in it · Look to your plate first for calcium · Oily fish two or three times a week, or a good marine-source omega-3, or algal oil if you're vegan or vegetarian · If your periods are heavy, get your iron checked, and if you need iron, take it with vitamin C, well away from your coffee or teaSmall changes stack. You don't have to fix it all at once — you just have to start.If your cupboard is full of half-finished bottles, please consider that you might simply be a woman who was trying to look after herself, and was never told which ones were worth it. There's nothing silly about that. You don't need a longer list. You need a shorter one, with the reasons attached.---Ready to work with me? The Peri Protocol is my personalised coaching program for women in perimenopause and menopause. Apply here → www.kirstencookecoaching.com/applyGrab your free guide — download your free What the Peri? guide → www.kirstencookecoaching.com/free-guideCome say hi 🌸 Follow along on Instagram and Facebook @kirstencookecoaching — I'd love to hear what resonated with you.---Research ...
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    35 mins
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