This is an edit extract of an article that was originally published on Lani Finau's Substack, Oestrogen, Oat Milk & Other Musings . You can subscribe, here .

If you knew that next week a storm was going to knock the tree in your front yard right on top of your car, would you still park in your usual spot?

What if your favourite perfume was due to be discontinued forever, surely you'd stock up in advance?

I know I would.

Listen to the hosts of Mamamia's Well podcast on perimenopause. Post continues below.

The point I am trying to make is, as women, we are obsessed with preparation. Literally, infatuated with it.

We're constantly trying to predict everything so that we can prepare and control the outcome. I'm actually convinced every single woman is at least 27% 'Type A' personality when it comes to preparation alone.

So riddle me this: why is the one thing we're guaranteed to go through as women something that we actively choose to ignore until it is actually a problem?

Yes, ladies, I'm talking about the M word.

Menopause is defined as the permanent cessation of your period for 12 months.

In theory, it should be the day we are all counting down for (hello, no more itchy pads??). Well, sort of. Unless we need it for LBL, which we probably will.

Nonetheless, I'll bring it back to menopause.

The pause of menstruation.

But it's not quite as simple as that, is it?

This friend of ours that visits monthly doesn't go quietly. No. Like the toddler in a tiara she is; she kicks, screams, shouts and cries on her way out. Letting everyone, and I mean everyone, know about it.

Enter: perimenopause. That 3–5-year period (give or take) before menopause where we get all those delightful signs and symptoms.

Hot flashes, night sweats, spotting, irregular bleeds, irritability, brain fog, vaginal dryness, low libido, weight changes and just generally feeling like we're one wrong look away from punching someone in the face. Usually a man on the street, or a husband. Whoever's closest.

So, if from the moment we're born we know this period of time is coming — why do we ignore it until it's too late?

Everyday, in clinic, I see women in this perimenopausal phase asking me what they can eat, drink, take, swallow, shot, and sniff to feel better.

And the one answer I wish I could tell them is this; they should have come and seen me when they were 25. Not 50.

It's sad, but it's true.

It's also the epitome of that TikTok trend at the moment; "Things I wish I could say as a [insert area of expertise here] if I wasn't afraid of hurting your feelings."

Well, here it is, people. This is what I was afraid to say that would hurt your feelings:

MENOPAUSE SUPPORT STARTS IN YOUR 20S.

Wow. I do feel better.

If you're already knee-deep in peri and spiralling because I've said that, don't worry. I promise there is a thing or two you can supplement that helps manage the symptoms. I've supported hundreds of women through this phase of their life with simple diet and lifestyle tweaks that make a whole world of difference.

But that's not what this article is about.

It is about getting the younger generations to realise preparation starts now. So, if that's you in your 20s or 30s reading this. Hi!! Hello!!! We need to chat.

I have some things below I would love you to start doing (ASAP) so that you don't have such a hard time in perimenopause down the track.

Let's start with understanding your menstrual cycle.

When I talk about the menstrual cycle, I explain it as a nice little choreographed dance.

The main dancers are oestrogen, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH). For the most part, through your menstruating years, they know what to do and when to do it. A seemingly well-oiled machine performing the same routine over and over and over again.

When oestrogen and progesterone are low, this signals your monthly period to release. When oestrogen rises, it causes the uterine lining to grow, so a fertilised egg can potentially implant. This rise also causes cervical mucus to thin. That way it is easier for the sperm to get through (yes, the egg whites analogy is true). If no egg is fertilised, progesterone goes from its peak to its trough. And so, the cycle begins again.

However, in perimenopause, all of a sudden your hormones have decided to hell with your choreography. They are going freestyle. And let me tell you, it's not a pretty sight.

Previously, it was largely the decline in oestrogen that took the blame for causing all those less-than-ideal signs and symptoms of perimenopause — but it is now understood it's more to do with the rapid fluctuations of all these hormones wreaking havoc on the body. Not to mention, the role serotonin (happiness hormone) and cortisol (stress hormone) also play in this series of events. Particularly when it comes to central adiposity, which I would argue is the thing that distresses women the most I see in clinic.

This is a pretty much a word-for-word example of the most commonly asked question I get in clinic for women in perimenopause:

"Why, all of a sudden, after eating the same thing for the last 20 years, do I suddenly hold all of it around my midsection? I swear I look at food and put on weight."

Sound familiar?

Don't worry, it's not you – I promise. It's your hormones.

But what if you could prevent such things from happening?

Everything you can do in your 20s that may help support your menopausal symptoms.

These are the 7 things I recommend you do now to set yourself up for menopausal success in the future.

Eat regularly.

We're talking three balanced meals and 1–2 snacks a day (or 4–6 smaller meals if that's more your speed). Not only does eating lower cortisol, it also directly impacts how our hormones are functioning. The body likes consistency. It likes to know when things are happening. Eating in a regular pattern is the baseline for that.

Make breakfast your largest meal.

You've all heard it before, and yet, I would estimate 80% of the women I work with either skip brekkie or count coffee as a viable morning "meal". I'm sorry, my loves. This. Won't. Cut. It.

Not only does eating a protein-packed breakfast lower cravings throughout the day and set hormones up for stability, you are also most insulin sensitive in the morning, up until around 2-3pm. Meaning, your body processes glucose (from carbs) better.

You could eat the same meal in the morning and again at night and get a higher post-meal glucose spike in the meal you ate after 2-3pm, purely because of this insulin fact. So, please, eat your big meals in the morning!

Consume a high protein diet.

Providing you don't have kidney problems, the going rate is around 1.6g of protein per kilogram of body weight, per day to support muscle protein synthesis (where your body uses protein to build muscle).

Of course, if body weight is higher (BMI above 30), it's important to use adjusted body weight here to help keep all the macronutrients balanced.

Consume a high fibre diet.

Oh fibre, how I love your poop-inducing goodness.

As a nutritionist, if there's one thing I talk about as much as food — it's poop. So my boundaries are pretty low here. For those that don't know, 83% of Aussies don't eat the suggested amount of fibre. No matter how you slice it, that's a lot.

Aim for at least 35g of fibre a day. Minimum. Just trust me on that. Fibre is a prebiotic that helps gut health (super important for, well, everything — brain, mood, immunity, you name it), but also hormone clearance. Which, as you can imagine, is a particularly important pathway — especially in perimenopause.

Go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day.

I know sleep is BORING. I am the first person to admit this.

As you are probably starting to gather from this article, your body likes consistency. It also knows what time it is (thanks to our internal body clock that aligns as best it can with daylight).

So step one; go to sleep at the same time. Step two; go to bed earlier if you want to enter true deep sleep — aiming for less than 1hr difference between your sleep and wake times each day.

The later you go to bed, the shorter your deep sleep window is. And we need deep sleep, especially when it comes to setting our hormones and metabolism up for success.

Do strength training or resistance exercise at least 2 times a week.

Now, I'm not an exercise physiologist, but what I can tell you is we need to use our muscles regularly. Australia's physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines recommend adults do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.

Why? Protein and strength training builds muscle.

Muscle is around five times more metabolically active than fat (helping you burn more calories at rest). Strength training also plays an important role in slowing bone loss, and can even go as far as to build bone. With osteoporosis such an issue in menopausal women, supporting this as early as possible is the way to go.

Get off your damn phone and leave it at home.

(Except if you're reading this on your phone, finish the article, then yes, get off your damn phone).

What these little devices are doing is serving as an opportunity to distract you as often as possible at any given point. This means we are no longer fully present, ever.

Every time you get a notification, that little dopamine rush happens which keeps you in the loop of phone addiction. You also aren't able to control what you see when you open your phone. Sometimes, it's a cute kitten video. Otherwise, it's footage of warfare. That's a whole lot of Russian roulette to be playing with yourself at every hour of every day which definitely impacts your mental wellbeing.

And if there's one thing you should know, it's anything that impacts the mind impacts the body. Including your hormones.

Start with micro-separations from your phone and go from there. Going to the toilet? Don't take your phone. Cooking in the kitchen? Leave your phone in the bedroom. Receive a work text over the weekend? Chuck your phone in the nearest body of water — and don't fetch it out to put in rice.

Taking our phone everywhere for "safety" is the lie we tell ourselves. This is addiction. And it is making us stressed, anxious and over-stimulated — all things that become even harder to manage in perimenopause when mood and emotions are all over the place. So leave your phone at home, okay.

There you have it. 7 things to start doing now that you'll thank yourself for in the future.

Listen to this episode of Well, on women experiencing menopause in their 20s. Post continues below.

Start small. Pick one thing to focus on first. Build from there.

Please note everything in this article is for educational purposes only. This is not medical advice. Please consult with your doctor or healthcare professional before making changes to your health and wellness routine to ensure those changes are right for you.

This article was originally published on Lani Finau's Substack, Oestrogen, Oat Milk & Other Musings . You can subscribe, here .

Lani Finau is a Clinical Nutritionist (BHSc), speaker and one of Sydney's leading teen and women's health experts. For consults, events and more find her on Instagram at @by_lani or online at www.by-lani.com .

Feature image: Supplied.