118. What I Track as a Women’s Health Coach Over 40: What Actually Matters
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Are you tracking the right things for your health or just the things that create more stress?
In this episode, I’m sharing exactly what I track as a women’s health coach over 40, what I intentionally ignore, and how focusing on the right health data can help you make better decisions about your nutrition, workouts, hormones, and overall well-being.
- The health metrics I actually track each week (and why)
- How to use data without becoming obsessive
- Why trends matter more than one-off numbers
- How tracking the right things can help you make smarter health decisions
Ready to stop guessing about your health & hormones?
The Perimenopause Method is my 12-week personalized coaching program for women 40+ ready to stop guessing, get a clear plan tailored to their needs, and start feeling like themselves again. Learn more + apply HERE.
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Free resources:
👉Mini Training: Why You’re Exhausted, Moody & Gaining Weight After 40 (And What Actually Matters)
👉HRT Crash Course: What Every Woman 40+ Needs to Know Before Starting Hormone Therapy
Today I thought I’d do something a little different and share exactly what I track for my own health as a 43-year-old women’s health coach.
But before I get into it: more data isn’t always better. In fact, too much tracking can become stressful, overwhelming, and often, a distraction from what actually moves the needle.
The goal isn’t to track everything.
It’s to track the things that help you make better decisions.
Think about your finances. Most people track their income, their spending, and their investments. You wouldn’t just blindly spend money and hope everything works out – hopefully not.
Your health is no different.
Certain numbers and patterns can tell you where you’re headed and help you make smarter decisions about your nutrition, exercise, hormones, supplements, sleep…all of it.
So today I want to walk you through what I personally pay attention to, what I don’t put too much emphasis on, and hopefully help you simplify your own health journey.
Let’s start with something I intentionally don’t track.
I do not weigh myself every day – and I don’t recommend most women do.
Especially in perimenopause.
Your weight can fluctuate two, three, five…sometimes even more pounds depending on your hormones, your menstrual cycle, how much sodium you ate yesterday, if you’re focusing on progressive overload in your workouts, and building muscle, whether you’ve pooped, stress, travel…there are so many variables.
I know this firsthand. The week before my period, I usually retain quite a bit of water. If I stepped on the scale every morning during that week, it wouldn’t be a great idea.
The same goes for some of those body fat scales that you can buy and use at home – you know, the ones all the influencers push.
Those numbers are heavily influenced by hydration and water retention. They’re simply not accurate enough to make meaningful decisions day to day.
Now if seeing those metrics motivates you – great.
But for a lot of women, they create unnecessary stress and end up derailing progress more than helping it.
So let’s talk about what I actually do track.
The first is my daily movement.
I wear a Fitbit Inspire on my wrist. I replaced my old Oura Ring because it was crapping out and truthfully, I didn’t want to spend the $500 for another one that would only last a couple years. But I prefer my Fitbit.
I’ll link to it in the show notes, but you don’t need one.
You could use a simple pedometer if you want.
The point isn’t the gadget; the point is knowing whether you’re actually moving enough.
Most of us spend a lot of time sitting.
Working.
Driving.
Watching TV.
So I like having a general idea of how active I am each day and making sure I’m moving my body consistently.
The next thing I track is my strength training.
And this is one of the most important things women over 40 should pay attention to.
I’m not tracking how long my workout was – I don’t care if it took me 45 minutes or an hour.
What I care about is: am I getting stronger? Am I seeing visible muscle on my body?
Am I increasing the weight over time?
Am I able to do another rep?
Is my form improving?
That’s called progressive overload – and it’s how we build and maintain muscle.
Muscle is incredibly important in midlife.
It supports your metabolism, helps regulate blood sugar, improves bone health, and really allows you to stay active as you age.
So if you’re strength training but have been using the same exact dumbbells for years…your body has no reason to adapt.
Tracking your progress is far more valuable than simply checking the box that you exercised.
The next thing I track is my nutrition.
A lot of women don’t like to hear this and it’s not about counting every calorie forever.
But I do think tracking your food, even for a couple of weeks can be incredibly eye-opening.
Most women have absolutely no idea how much they’re eating.
Or how little protein they’re getting.
Or how little fiber they’re consuming.
Or how inconsistent their eating really is.
Tracking gives you information – data – that’s all it is.
Maybe you’re eating far less than you thought.
Maybe you’re eating a lot more than you realized.
Maybe your protein intake is only half of what your body needs.
And you’re overeating fat and getting more calories than you thought.
Once you have that information, you can make an informed plan.
Whether that’s maintaining your calories, starting a small calorie deficit for fat loss, or maybe you need a slight calorie surplus, because your goal is to build muscle.
But without data, you’re just guessing and quite frankly, wasting time.
Say you have zero interest or bandwidth to do this right now, then I would recommend at least keeping an eye on your protein intake – because it really is one of the biggest nutritional gaps I see in women over 40.
The next thing I track how much water I’m drinking.
The amount of people who do not drink enough water is staggering,
I aim for about half my body weight in ounces most days.
Sometimes more if I’ve exercised a lot, spent time outside, or it’s really hot.
Hydration impacts your energy, digestion, workouts, detoxification, and even hunger.
Yet so many women start the day with coffee, maybe another coffee, maybe a matcha…
But they never actually drink enough water.
It’s such a simple habit, but it makes a big difference.
Next is sleep.
I’m not obsessing over my sleep score.
But I do pay attention to patterns.
How many hours am I sleeping?
Do I feel rested when I wake up most days?
How is my energy throughout the day?
Am I waking up several times during the night?
Is it taking me awhile to fall asleep or am I passing out within a minute of laying down?
Those patterns matter.
Because if you’re exhausted every day, your workouts suffer, your cravings increase, your recovery isn’t as good, and everything feels harder.
And side note: if you’re someone who snores, wakes up gasping for air, or never feels rested no matter how much sleep you get, you may need to dig a little deeper and rule out sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea becomes more common in midlife and it’s worth discussing with your healthcare provider. We give clients resources on this because sleep is that important.
The next thing I track is my menstrual cycle.
Even though my cycles aren’t perfectly predictable anymore because…hello, perimenopause…
I still track them.
Not because I care if it’s exactly 28 days.
Again, it’s about patterns.
When do I feel my best?
When do I feel more bloated?
When is my energy lower?
When is it time to do my monthly breast self-exam?
Like I mentioned earlier, the week leading up to my period is when I retain the most water.
So instead of panicking that I’ve suddenly gained five pounds…
I already know what’s happening.
During that week, I make sure I’m hydrating properly, taking more magnesium, incorporating some more lymphatic work, whether that’s self manual lymphatic drainage massage, my vibration plate, or dry brushing.
I also pay closer attention to my sodium intake and making sure I get enough potassium-rich foods.
And finally, I pay attention to trends in my lab work.
Not one isolated result.
Trends over time; things like:
- my thyroid
- iron markers.
- blood sugar trends
- vitamin D
- inflammation
- hormones
- cardiovascular health
In The Perimenopause Method, we help you get the right blood work whether it’s through your provider or you buy our panels.
And we go even deeper by looking at micronutrient testing, so we can personalize recommendations based on what’s actually happening in your body – instead of guessing.
That’s really where individualized coaching becomes valuable.
Because the right strategy for one woman isn’t necessarily the right strategy for another.
So if you’re listening to this and thinking, “Okay…where do I even start?”
You do not need to track everything right away.
But maybe this week you simply track your daily steps.
Or your protein, water or sleep.
Pick one or two things that give you useful information.
And remember, the purpose of tracking isn’t to collect data for the sake of collecting data.
It’s to gather information that helps you make better decisions.
So if tracking something helps you improve your health, keep doing it.
If it only creates anxiety and doesn’t change your behavior, it’s probably not worth your energy.
And if you’re looking for someone to help you interpret all of those health trends—your hormones, thyroid, blood work, nutrition, and create a personalized plan instead of piecing everything together yourself—that’s exactly what we do inside The Perimenopause Method. We are open for August enrollment.
You can learn more in the show notes.
Thanks so much for listening and I’ll see you next week.
Claudia Petrilli is the host of Perimenopause Simplified podcast and an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach helping high-achieving women 40+ navigate perimenopause with clarity and confidence. After being dismissed by doctors in her 20s over debilitating periods and unexplained health issues, she took her health into her own hands and never looked back. When perimenopause brought a new wave of symptoms in her late 30s, she used that same evidence-based approach to feel like herself again.
She’s the creator of The Perimenopause Method, her signature coaching program, where she helps women rebuild the foundations — nutrition, movement, sleep, and stress — that actually support their hormones through this transition, while also teaching them to self-advocate and make informed choices about their care. Because you don’t have to just get through midlife, you can thrive in it.
