Name has been changed to protect patient privacy, and her personal photos are not used. Her story is shared with her consent.
There is a version of perimenopause advice that leaves women more tired than when they started. Do this intense workout. Take these ten supplements. Follow this strict plan. For a while you push through it, and then a long day, a bad night’s sleep, or a wave of low mood makes the whole thing collapse, and you are left feeling like you failed at your own health.
For more on this, read our guide on Menopause & Depression. You did not fail. The plan was never built for a real life. This is the story of one woman who had been through that cycle and wanted something different: not a dramatic overhaul, but a way of living that she could actually keep.
Who Jayanthi Is
Jayanthi is 48, an Indian woman living in the UAE. Like a lot of women in this stage, she had reached the point where her body was clearly changing, her energy, her weight, her mood no longer behaving the way they used to, and she wanted to do something about it.
She had already tried. She had explored other programs, and most of them leaned the same way: intense fitness routines, long lists of supplements, plans that demanded a great deal and fit a real life poorly. None of it felt sustainable. What she was looking for was the opposite. Something practical, holistic, and easy enough to fold into an ordinary day, guidance she could follow without turning her whole life upside down.
Because Menolia works entirely online, none of the distance mattered. Her consultations happened over video call, her reports could be reviewed digitally, and the follow-ups reached her through her phone wherever she was. This is the part women often do not expect: you do not have to be in the same city, or even the same country, to be properly supported through this stage.
Where She Was Starting From
Perimenopause is the years-long transition before menopause, when hormone levels begin to fluctuate and then decline. It rarely announces itself politely. It shows up as weight that settles more easily and shifts less willingly, energy that dips through the day, sleep that turns lighter, and a mood that can feel harder to steady than it used to.
Jayanthi was living in the middle of that. And layered on top of the physical changes was the quieter part that women mention less often: the knock to confidence. When your body stops responding the way it always has, and the plans you try do not hold, it is easy to start doubting yourself. She was carrying some of that too.
So we did not start with a punishing regimen. We started with what she actually needed, which was a plan simple enough to trust and steady enough to keep.
The Plan We Built Around Her Life
The whole approach was designed to be doable. Not impressive on paper, doable in practice.
A balanced-plate approach. Instead of counting, restricting, or following a rigid menu, Jayanthi learned a simple way to build a balanced plate: enough protein, the right proportion of vegetables and whole carbohydrates, and portions that supported gradual change rather than forcing it. It travelled with her, worked with her own food, and did not demand special ingredients.
Mindful lifestyle changes. Rather than an all-or-nothing overhaul, we layered in small, sustainable habits: more mindful eating, steadier routines through the day, hydration, and gentle, consistent movement instead of the intense workouts that had worn her out before. In this stage, how you exercise matters more than how hard you push.
Wellness sessions for the mind. This is the part that mattered to her most. Alongside the nutrition, Jayanthi had wellness sessions with our wellness coach, Shobhna, focused on the emotional side of this transition, staying calm through mood swings, managing stress, and being kinder to herself. Perimenopause is not only a physical shift, and support for the mood changes that come with it can be as important as anything on the plate.
None of it was dramatic. There was no detox, no supplement stack, no regimen she could not sustain. That was the entire point.
If this is the season you are in, message Dr. Suganya directly on WhatsApp. Tell her what is going on with your energy, your weight, your mood, or your sleep, and she will read it herself and tell you whether a conversation with our team would help, wherever in the world you are.
Talk to Dr. Suganya on WhatsApp
How She Responded
The change Jayanthi described was not only about a number on a scale, though that moved too. It was about how she felt.
Her eating steadied, and she came to understand balanced nutrition in a way that no longer felt like a diet. Her weight began to ease down.
But the part she kept coming back to was the mental shift. In her own words, her experience had been “very positive, both in terms of weight management and mental well-being,” and she felt “mentally stronger and more confident than before.” The regular follow-ups, the encouragement, and the practical suggestions, she said, helped her “stay motivated and accountable.”
The wellness sessions landed especially well. After one of them, she wrote to say the guidance had been “truly motivating” and that she would rework her day so she stayed engaged with her own wellbeing, calling it “a very valuable and positive experience.”
For Jayanthi, the journey had become about more than weight management. It was about building sustainable habits, a calmer relationship with her own health, and the feeling of being supported at every step, rather than handed a plan and left alone with it.
Why This Story Matters for Perimenopause
Jayanthi’s journey illustrates a few things we see again and again at Menolia.
Sustainable beats intense, every time. The plans that demand the most are usually the first to collapse, because they were never built for a real life with real demands. The changes that last are the ones that are gentle enough to keep on a hard day. If you have burned out on strict fitness or supplement plans before, that is not a personal failing, it is a sign the approach did not fit. A sustainable way of eating through perimenopause and weight that eases down slowly will always outlast a crash.
The mind is part of the picture, not a side note. Perimenopause affects mood, confidence, and stress tolerance, sometimes as much as it affects weight or sleep. Supporting the emotional side is not a luxury add-on. For many women it is what makes the physical changes possible to sustain. If low mood, anxiety, or stress that hits harder than it used to is part of your experience, you are not imagining it, and it deserves real support for mood in this stage.
Distance is not a barrier anymore. Jayanthi did all of this from the UAE, over video call and her phone. Women navigating this transition away from home, without their usual doctors or family support, often feel they have to manage it alone. They do not. Care that is genuinely online reaches you wherever you are.
Weight was only part of what changed for her. What she really got back was confidence, steadiness, and the quiet reassurance of feeling supported. In this season of life, that is the outcome that matters most.
How Dr. Suganya Works With You
Dr. Suganya Venkat is an OB-GYN with over 15 years of clinical experience. She holds a DNB in OB-GYN from GKNM Hospital, Coimbatore, an MD in Pathology from CMC Vellore, and an MBBS with 5 gold medals from SRMC.
She consults online, across India and for Indian women living abroad, so there is no travel beyond a video call, and your reports can be reviewed digitally. She works alongside your existing doctor, not in place of them. What our team adds is the layer around your medical care: nutrition, movement, sleep, stress, and emotional wellbeing, built around the life you actually live.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jayanthi’s story real?
Yes. Jayanthi is a real woman in our program, and the details and outcomes are from her actual journey. Her name has been changed and her personal photographs are not used, at her request. Her story is shared with her consent.
Can Menolia help if I live outside India?
Yes. Menolia is fully online. Jayanthi did her entire program from the UAE, with consultations over video call, reports reviewed digitally, and follow-ups through her phone. Many Indian women going through this transition abroad feel cut off from familiar care, and online guidance is designed exactly for that.
I have tried intense workouts and supplements and nothing stuck. What is different here?
The difference is that the plan is built to be sustainable, not impressive. Instead of an overhaul you have to force, you get a simple balanced-plate approach, small mindful changes, movement you can actually keep up, and support for the emotional side. Plans fail when they do not fit a real life. This one is designed to fit yours.
Is perimenopause really affecting my mood and confidence, or is it just me?
It is not just you. As hormones fluctuate through perimenopause, mood swings, irritability, low mood, and a dip in confidence are common and real. Addressing them is a genuine part of care, which is why wellness and emotional support sat right alongside nutrition in Jayanthi’s plan.
Is this only about weight loss?
No. Weight was one part of Jayanthi’s journey, and it did ease down, but the bigger change was in how she felt: steadier, more confident, and better supported. For many women in perimenopause, energy, mood, and a calmer relationship with their body matter as much as the number on the scale.
How do I start a conversation with Dr. Suganya?
Send a WhatsApp message to +91 9940270499 describing what you are experiencing in a few lines. Dr. Suganya reads these herself and will tell you whether a consultation with our team is the right next step, wherever you live.
If Jayanthi’s Story Sounds Like Yours
You do not need a crisis to ask for help. Weight that resists your usual efforts, energy that fades by afternoon, a mood that is harder to steady, or simply being tired of plans that never last, these are all reasons enough to reach out. So is being far from home and unsure where to turn.
If any part of this felt like your own life right now, that is reason enough to start a conversation.
Message Dr. Suganya on WhatsApp
She will read your message herself and tell you what the right next step is for you.
More real journeys from this stage of life: Raagini’s story and Chellammal’s story.
