At 49, menopause and women's health coach Sahir Ahmed-Evans is on a mission to redefine strength in midlife.
After overcoming severe endometriosis, medical menopause and burnout, Sahir helps women go from surviving to truly thriving – and she is on a mission to change how society sees menopause, reframing it not as an ending, but as a powerful new beginning.
Here she shares her advice for becoming your best self in midlife.
1. Stop keeping health and wellness worries to yourself
You're not 'being dramatic'. You're not 'just getting older'. That fatigue, pain, anxiety or burnout you're feeling? It deserves to be heard. So many women suffer in silence because they feel they should live with discomfort and downplay their symptoms. Speak up. Ask questions. Advocate for yourself. Your health is your wealth.
So many of us feel embarrassed, even ashamed, to talk about our health struggles and symptoms. But recently sharing my endometriosis journey in Bupa's Health Stories campaign was deeply healing for me. Midlife is not the time to shrink; it's the time to take up space in every room, including the doctor's office. When you feel strong, energised, and well, everything in your life transforms.
2. Stop putting yourself last
You've spent decades giving to your family, your work, and your community. But here's the truth: martyrdom is not giving you anything. It's time to put yourself at the top of your priority list without guilt.
Investing in your health and prioritising your wellness will not only benefit you, but those around you. Your wellness and your needs are not negotiable. Reclaim your mornings, your movement, your meals, your mindset. The most empowering thing a woman can do in midlife? Choose herself, fully, unapologetically, and every single day. Midlife and menopause are the times to reclaim yourself and your life.
3. Stop slowing down (unless you want to)
Midlife doesn't mean you're winding down; in fact, it's the exact opposite. It can be the moment you fire up. This is the time to build strength, learn new things and say yes to bold adventures. I didn't start doing pull-ups and handstands until my forties, in medical menopause.
Now approaching my fifties, I'm stronger than I've ever been. Menopause and aging aren't a signal to stop – they're an invitation to start living on your own terms. To rediscover who you are and who you were always meant to be. Step out of your comfort zone and watch your resilience and confidence rise.
4. Stop saying you’re 'too busy' for yourself
Busy is a badge too many women wear to cover up burnout. If you’re too busy for rest, movement, joy, or your own health, you're too busy, full stop.
Midlife is the perfect time to establish your boundaries, say no more and notice how liberating that feels.
Make room for what nourishes you, your body, mind and soul. Spend time alone with your thoughts and figure out what makes you feel joy and smile, then do more of those things. Your time is precious, protect it like your life depends on it, because it does.
5. Stop apologising for changing
Menopause is a transformation, deeply personal and individual to each and every one of us, affecting not only our hormones but our body, emotions, brain, every system in our bodies. With that comes a shift in identity and that's not a bad thing.
It's a time to reflect, rediscover and redefine who we are. So, don't apologise for needing space, setting boundaries, or evolving. You're allowed to want more, to dream again, to take a new direction. Change doesn't mean you’re losing yourself, it means you’re meeting the woman you were always meant to be.