The M³ Model

Dr Jane McKay Rx - Movement, Mindset, Metabolism

The M³ Model combines support in 3 core pillars of health: Movement, Mindset, and Metabolism. This is because health and well-being aren’t driven by one factor alone.

For example, if your goal is to boost energy and reduce brain fog, your plan might combine exercise snacks, nutrition strategies, targeted supplementation and sleep hygiene. Within this framework, you’ll still have the flexibility to prioritise what matters most to you. Every step is collaborative, with your preferences guiding the process.

The 3M Pillars

Movement Rx: Body recomp, get physically stronger and lose fat mass

Some women are already active and are looking to enhance their existing training programmes. Others (most) find it hard to motivate themselves and are understandably overwhelmed with conflicting advice. Couple that with intimidating images of gyms and social media’s flaunting of perfect bodies (which let’s face it, sets a false bar and disempowers most of us) and it’s no wonder most women give up before they start. I'm sensitive to how women may feel and work with you via Movement Rx to create bespoke fitness and movement plans, tailored to your personal circumstances. This could be short exercise ‘snacks’ to do in the comfort of your own home, or more advanced strength, HIIT, SIT and cardio for those who are more experienced. Either way, fitness plans draw on cutting edge science to optimise strength development, an essential component to addressing menopause related health concerns. This does NOT mean that you will ‘bulk up’; it means that by following protocols you will increase your lean body mass, raise your metabolic rate, improve your blood glucose control, burn more fat and improve your body composition.

Mindset Rx: Overcome barriers to success, reduce menopausal anxiety and built habits that last

Most of the time when health programmes don’t work, it’s because our psychology gets in the way. We don’t learn new habits overnight and overcoming bad habits isn’t easy. Throw in brain fog, low energy and quite possibly some shrinking self-belief, and we can be defeated before we even start.

That’s where Mindset Rx comes in; I recognise that we need to ‘buy-into’ new habits and will help you do this using a variety of techniques. I believe that superficial strategies (e.g. ‘just think positively’) can be disempowering and even toxic. As such, I use a scaffolded approach to support understanding of core mental blocks before using performance psychology techniques. Examples of the Mindset Rx include:

Real time stress management techniques
Supplements and protocols to support mindset including energy levels, brain fog, memory, stress resilience and sleep hygiene advice
Understanding root causes and managing fear of failure, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, self-doubt and criticism, all of which can ramp up in the peri- and menopausal years
Understanding how anxiety messes with your performance and how to control it
Motivation, confidence-building and habit setting

Metabolism Rx: Reduce brain fog, lose weight and enhance your metabolic health

Metabolism is just a fancy way of referring to how your body turns food into energy. Small hormone changes can have a big impact on this process, affecting weight, energy, mood and long-term health. Metabolic changes caused by slower metabolism, muscle loss and changes in how we store fat make us more vulnerable to metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

This is why metabolism is a priority area, which I address through nutrition and movement protocols. Here we cut through all the noise and get straight to the nutrition advice that optimises midlife, body composition and gut microbiome health. This includes science-based nutrition education to help you navigate the impossible world of food choices and tips on how to enhance protein intake and avoid insulin-stimulating foods. Simple techniques to support insulin sensitivity and weight loss, alongside game changer recipes (should you wish) can also be shared. This is not all depressing stuff; food is to be enjoyed, and you might be surprised at how you can have your cake (i.e. support your menopausal body and brain) and eat it (i.e. still enjoy treats without having to commit to a tasteless diet).