Angelique Clark - Nutrition to Soar

You don’t have to give up dessert to hit a body composition goal in perimenopause. And no, that doesn’t mean bloating through a “sugar-free” version to get there.

This one’s built the way everything in Peri28 is → adequate protein, fibre, and enough structure that it doesn’t derail your day.

Peri Snicker Slice (makes 12)
🍫12 fresh medjool dates, pitted & pressed flat with a rolling pin between baking paper
🥜100g roasted crunchy peanut butter (Mayvers), spread over dates
🍫30g whey or soy protein crispies, sprinkle over PNB
🥜150g dark chocolate 70–90% (Moser Roth), melted on top
🍫Place in freezer until set.
🥜197 cal / ~5g protein per slice.

No “sugar-free” sweeteners in this recipe on purpose. Not a trend choice → a clinical one.

🦠Emerging research shows non-nutritive sweeteners aren’t neutral on the gut: they interact with gut microbiota and neural circuits that regulate feeding, reducing beneficial bacteria and impairing short-chain fatty acid production. A 2026 Cedars-Sinai study found non-sugar sweeteners produced significant changes to both stool and small intestinal microbiome composition, a plausible mechanism behind the bloating so many women report after “diet” swaps.

🧠It’s not just gut, either. Expecting sugar made an artificially sweetened drink more pleasant and lit up the brain’s reward centre more strongly - the dopaminergic midbrain, the region that processes the perceived nutrient value of sweet flavour. Your brain responds to what it expects to get, not just what it gets. Part of why these products can keep cravings running instead of settling them.

This is the difference between working with a perimenopause dietitian and working with a fat-loss coach cutting your calories and handing you a “guilt-free” treat.

Comment PERI28 to join an evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle program built for perimenopause.

I’m done chasing skinny at the expense of my bones.

I’ve borne witness to so many women under-eating for decades while bashing out 3 aerobics classes a day, like I did.

I get it. It’s a hard bone to stop chewing. But you don’t need to cardio on an empty tank to get rid of your spare tyre. That’s what put you there in the first place.

Your body adapted. Because it had to.
🪫Chronically under-fuelled → your metabolism downregulates to protect you (adaptive thermogenesis)
🏃🏻‍♀️Excess cardio, minimal resistance training → muscle mass declines, and muscle is your biggest lever for insulin sensitivity and resting metabolic rate
🗓️Years of this pattern → by the time perimenopause hits, you’re already metabolically under-resourced, right when oestradiol decline is independently driving visceral fat redistribution

So it looks like “perimenopause broke my metabolism.”

It’s actually two things compounding → a decade of under-fuelling and under-lifting, plus a genuine hormonal shift layered on top.

The fix was never less food. It was more structure. And perhaps revisiting why “thin” means so much to you in the first place.
🍽️Adequate protein, micronutrients, fibre
🏋🏻‍♀️Resistance training
🔋Enough fuel to actually support the body you’re asking to change
👯‍♀️Surrounding yourself with better role models

Comment PERI28 if you want the structure that finally makes sense for this stage and you’re ready to start living the life your body helps you experience.

👎🏻Porridge alone isn’t doing enough for you in perimenopause.

It’s mostly carbohydrate. Low protein, minimal satiety, and it does nothing for the muscle preservation you need after 40.

Found this Woolworths last week → $7 for a 900g tub. Per 100g: 9.4g protein, 133mg calcium, no added sugars, live culture probiotics.

Alone, it’s boring AF. 😂

Learning how to build it into a peri plate is where it earns its place.🪄

This is one ingredients my peri “pancake porridge” → same comfort-food format, actual protein content, micronutrients managed, no blood sugar rollercoaster an hour later.

👩🏻‍🍳Recipe’s in the video.

Peri is protein priority, fibre forward, anti-inflammatory fats → and eating in a way that doesn’t feel like one more thing working against you.

❌This isn’t about cutting out porridge. It’s about building a plate that works for your physiology.

Want the full framework behind this? That’s exactly what we build inside Peri28.

Comment PERI28 to explore more.

Why your belly fat blew up in midlife explained in 60 seconds.⏰

Three things are happening to you at once.

🩸The first is hormonal change. Estrogen drops, and that alone redirects fat storage deep around your organs in your midsection. NOT subcutaneous fat - the fat you can pinch between your skin and muscle.

🎂The second is aging. Separate from menopause, aging is dropping your muscle mass and less muscle means a lower resting metabolic rate. Fewer calories burned just existing, before you’ve done anything.

🏃🏻‍♀️The third is physical activity declining. Also tied to aging, also independent of menopause, less movement means less energy burned through activity.

Three separate mechanisms, all converging on the same outcome: weight gain, concentrated as visceral fat.

👩🏻‍⚕️And visceral fat isn’t cosmetic. It’s linked to four separate health consequences: cardiometabolic disease like type 2 diabetes and fatty liver, increased cancer risk including breast and endometrial cancer, mechanical issues like sleep apnea and osteoarthritis, and worse mental health and menopause symptoms.

This is why “eat less, move more” was never going to be enough here.

The Peri Set Go Belly Fat Challenge is built to target this properly - resistance training to protect muscle mass, structured nutrition to support the metabolic side.

You’ve only got 4 days left to join the Winter Challenge, we kick off July 27.

7 days. That’s all it takes to start.

Comment WINTER and I’ll send you the details.

📚 Hurtado et al., Weight Gain in Midlife Women, Current Obesity Reports, 2024