Links to Dr Hayley D Quinn Resources
Reclaim Your Time and Energy: 6 Key Boundaries for Women Business Owners
Download here, completely FREE! https://drhayleydquinn.com/resources/
Book now available: https://drhayleydquinn.com/product/book/
Join Time To Thrive In Person Retreat https://drhayleydquinn.myflodesk.com/retreat
Link to podcast mailing list: https://drhayleydquinn.com/podcast/
Group Coaching Waitlist: https://drhayleydquinn.myflodesk.com/timetothrivewaitlist
Join Time To Thrive In Person Retreat https://drhayleydquinn.myflodesk.com/retreat
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drhayleydquinn
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedIn.com/in/dr-hayley-d-quinn-43386533
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drhayleydquinn
Links to Sarah Gray’s Resources
@the_nutrition_pharmacist (IG and FB)
https://thenutritionpharmacist.com/perimenopause-book
This transcript is computer generated and may contain errors and not be an exact representation of the audio
Hi this is Welcome to Self® and I’m your host, Dr Hayley D Quinn, the anti-burnout business coach. I’m a speaker, author, former clinical psychologist and a late identified auDHDer.
Welcome to Self ® is a podcast for business owners like you who want success but not at the cost of your well-being. This is about transforming self and transforming business. I’ll be here to remind you that you’re human first and as well as being a business owner, you have different roles in your life that need your attention and to manage those well, you need to take care of yourself in the best way possible.
Here you’ll learn about practices that’ll help you navigate not just your business but your non-work life as well and you’ll realise that you’re not alone in the ways you struggle. You’ll have your curiosity piqued on various topics as I chat with wonderful guests and bring you solo bite-sized episodes.
I’m here for service-based business owners and entrepreneurs like you, to help you increase your self-care and compassion, change your relationship with yourself and your business, and elevate your business to a new level so you can live the full and meaningful life you desire.
This is a place of nourishment, growth and helpful information. A place where you can learn ways to assist you and your business to thrive.
We’ll talk all things mindset, strategy and well-being and I’m so excited you’re here. If you haven’t already, go and hit subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.
So, let’s get started
Dr Hayley D Quinn: Hi, and welcome to another episode. Today, I’m chatting with Sarah Gray. Sarah is one of Australia’s leading dual-qualified and registered health professionals in pharmacy and nutrition, holding a Bachelor of Pharmacy and a Master of Human Nutrition. She is also a certified menopause practitioner.
With over 25 years’ experience in the health and wellness industry, Sarah’s holistic approach focuses on supplements and science-based solutions for perimenopause and menopause. She has developed a proven framework for implementing science-based solutions to manage symptoms. In October 2025, Sarah published her debut book, It’s Not You, It’s Perimenopause: Science-based solutions to help women thrive in Midlife.
As a trusted thought leader, Sarah has appeared on Channel 10’s My Market Kitchen and is a recognised voice across radio, print, digital media, and podcasts. Welcome, Sarah, and thanks so much for joining us.
Sarah Gray: Thank you so much, Hayley. It’s lovely to be with you today.
Dr Hayley D Quinn: Can you start by telling us what led you to specialising in perimenopause and menopause, and of course, writing your book?
Sarah Gray: Absolutely. I think going through this phase of life makes you really want to learn more about it, which is one of the things that sparked the interest. But to tell the story of how it evolved: I am a pharmacist and nutritionist, and I have an online clinic. The local gym I used to live near would send lots of clients my way, and many of them were women aged between 30 and 50.
99% of the time, the consultation would be around: “I really want to lose this midline weight that is piling on, and I’m not sure why.”
Now, as a nutritionist, I don’t love talking about weight loss as the primary goal. It requires a mindset shift. If you have a bigger goal—like wanting to be healthier to run around with your kids, or to be stronger and fall less in older age—that is a better goal. The weight loss then becomes just part of your health journey.
As I delved more into that, I found through blood tests and symptoms that most of these women were experiencing hormonal changes—perimenopause. That motivated me to train more in that space. It wasn’t just physical changes; there was low mood, stress, and it was a tumultuous time. Many women were entering the clinic in tears. I thought, “What can I do to better equip myself to help these women live happier lives?”
Dr Hayley D Quinn: Fantastic. I love that you mentioned shifting the overarching goal from weight loss to health and wellbeing. We have so much messaging, particularly as women, about looking a particular way. But we really want to focus on long-term health, don’t we? Because how we look is going to change again and again as we age.
Sarah Gray: 100%. When I go to the gym or go for a run, I’m thinking about my post-menopause phase. I want to be strong. I want to be able to walk for as long as I can, lift things, carry my groceries, and be mobile. Thinking about it that way makes it less stressful to worry about what I look like today. It’s more about “how healthy is my body to live a longer lifespan?”
Dr Hayley D Quinn: Absolutely. I am in the menopause phase now. I went through it quite a long time ago, and the conversations weren’t being had back then. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which to this day I am really unsure was accurate. I think I was in perimenopause. I wish I’d had your book back then! It would have been so helpful.
I think there is a lot of misunderstanding where people say, “Oh no, I’m not in perimenopause, I don’t really have symptoms.” But it starts much earlier than we think, doesn’t it?
Sarah Gray: For sure. And there is almost a fear, too. I see women who say, “I don’t think I have symptoms yet; I’m waiting until I get a few more before I go to the doctor.” But things like joint pain, muscle pain, low mood, or dizziness can indicate early phases of perimenopause.
Sometimes we feel fearful because we feel we are losing our identity as a woman. But with the normalisation of information, we can learn that it’s just another phase of life. We learnt about puberty and sex ed at school, but nothing about this. When you understand it, you don’t have to fear it.
Dr Hayley D Quinn: Why do you think these conversations are so important, especially for women in business?
Sarah Gray: Women are high performance. But this period of life is often the “sandwich generation.” When you’re having these symptoms, you’re usually at the peak of your career. You might have kids, aging parents, and you’re driving everyone around. Suddenly, you’ve got brain fog. You can’t concentrate like you used to. You’re tired, frustrated with colleagues, not motivated, or losing your identity.
I want to say: all those things aren’t going to happen to you all at once! Everyone has a varying set of symptoms.
But it is important because surveys show that thousands of women are leaving the workplace early, retiring early, or taking sick leave because they don’t feel safe telling their employer what is happening. The one that blows my mind is that women report their work efficiency is reduced. Interestingly, this is often self-reported.
My advice is to think about how you are perceived by others. We are hard on ourselves. You might think a task took too long, but you’re probably still faster than other people! Ask your colleagues how you are performing to validate that, because we put a lot of pressure on ourselves.
Dr Hayley D Quinn: I love that the compassion piece comes in there. We need to look through this lens compassionately and not shame ourselves for a natural process. What do you see as some of the biggest challenges women have during this season?
Sarah Gray: One would be the sense of identity and self. Thinking, “I don’t enjoy my work anymore,” or “I feel like I’m out of my own skin.” Many women change careers or have a “second act” in this phase. There are changes happening in your brain, so you may not be thinking the way you normally would.
If you are suffering, don’t do it in silence. There is research from Professor Susan Pinker in her book The Village Effect that shows the power of community. If you lean into that community and talk about it, you feel more normal.
Also, if you are overwhelmed, just sit back and remember: this is a part of your health. It’s not normal to feel that way all the time, and there are things you can do with nutrition, lifestyle, and medications to help you bridge that 4 to 8 years.
Dr Hayley D Quinn: We are social beings; it’s part of our DNA to be connected. But there is so much information out there on Instagram and TikTok. I’m a big believer in getting a good health team around you because generic advice doesn’t work for everybody. What advice would you give to people who are bombarded with information on supplements or HRT?
Sarah Gray: I love this question; it is the reason I wrote my book. I have a character in the book called Sophia who is overwhelmed by the next supplement or miracle cure.
My advice: Start with a blank page. Audit your social media and check the credibility of the people you follow.
I also have an analogy about baking a cake. Everyone’s cake ingredients are unique. Just because an influencer is making a smoothie with creatine, ashwagandha, and magnesium doesn’t mean you need it. You build up what you need across nutrition, supplements, lifestyle changes (like exercise and mindfulness), and maybe medications. But your recipe will be different from your best friend’s or your neighbour’s.
Dr Hayley D Quinn: It’s interesting seeing people in community groups asking for health advice from neighbours. It’s great to share common humanity, but neighbours aren’t necessarily the people to ask about specific medical protocols. Why do you think people stop going to qualified professionals?
Sarah Gray: I think it comes down to cost. Not necessarily the cost of the practitioner, but the money they have spent before they get to you. I often speak to people who say, “I’ve spent $2,000, seen all these people, bought all these supplements, and I still don’t feel better.” It becomes overwhelming to invest more.
Also, people want a silver bullet. They want to hear that magnesium cured their friend, so it will cure them instantly.
Dr Hayley D Quinn: People are vulnerable in transition phases. If you can find someone qualified and specialised, the value of that actually gets you to a custom solution quicker and costs less in the long term.
Sarah Gray: Definitely. And health is a two-way relationship. If you don’t connect with a practitioner, you don’t have to keep seeing them. You need good rapport. If you’ve seen someone for 3 to 6 months and noticed no changes, think about switching.
Dr Hayley D Quinn: I work with a lot of neurodivergent women. I am identified Autistic/ADHD myself, which came after menopause. I found that my coping strategies worked well until perimenopause, and then those things became much harder to maintain. Do you have any recommendations around that?
Sarah Gray: While I don’t have specific training in that, anecdotally I see many clients who get diagnoses around this time. It’s almost like the hormonal changes put you at a different baseline, and you have to readjust.
I always recommend speaking to a psychologist or GP. I think everybody should have a really good GP and a really good psychologist. Nutrition and pharmacy sit around that, but without the psychology support, it’s hard to overcome the behavioural or mindset hurdles.
Dr Hayley D Quinn: Absolutely. I want to ask you the question I ask all my guests. If you could meet your 80-year-old self today, and she walked into your room now, what do you think she would say to you?
Sarah Gray: She would say: “Stop and smell the roses a little bit more. Stop and enjoy moments. Be present.”
I’m actually visualizing her coming in—maybe because I just watched the movie Nona’s! I have an Italian background and cooking is my love language. She has an apron on, and she is telling me to stop and cook a little more. Life is about living, not just getting things done.
Dr Hayley D Quinn: I love that. We were just talking about how everyone rushes to get things done by January, then February… let’s all slow down.
Sarah, it’s been a pleasure. If people want to find out more about your work or buy your book, where is the best place?
Sarah Gray: You can find me at The Nutrition Pharmacist on Instagram or my website. I love sharing evidence-based facts and free checklists. You can purchase the book on my website, Booktopia, Amazon, or usual retailers.
Dr Hayley D Quinn: I’ll put those details in the show notes. Thank you for tuning in. I hope you got a lot from this episode. Go well and go gently with yourselves. Bye.
Thanks for sharing this time with me today, I hope it’s been helpful and supportive.
If there’s been something in this episode that you have found helpful, I encourage you to share it with your business besties so they can benefit too. Shares, ratings and reviews really help to increase awareness and reach of the podcast, meaning more people can benefit from the information. I really appreciate you taking the time.
If you’d like to know about the ways we can work together, check out my website at drhayleydquinn.com, I’ll pop the link in the show notes, and you can also join my mailing list from there and be kept up to date with all that is happening.
I do need to say (because you know legal stuff), this podcast is solely for the purpose of education and entertainment. This podcast is not intended as a substitute for individual advice or advice of health professionals or other qualified professionals.
OK now we’ve got that formal stuff out of the way, I love hearing from listeners so don’t be shy, reach out and let me know your thoughts on the episode or what else you’d like to hear about. I wish you well in your relationship with yourself and your business and may you go well and go gently and remember if you thrive your business will too!