The Moment a Gym Video Tried to Ruin My Mood… and Failed

This week, something small — something ordinary — tried to derail my confidence.

I was at the gym doing squat jumps with two 12.5kg dumbbells (which is no small feat). I felt powerful. I felt energised. I felt proud of myself. It was one of those sessions where everything clicks — even though I was only a few days away from my period and feeling that familiar pre-bleed bloating that never helps with body image.

Still, I felt good in the moment. So I propped up my phone and hit record.

Later, when I watched the video back, everything shifted.

Instead of seeing strength, grit and a woman working hard, my eyes zoomed straight to how I looked — the angles, the movement, the bits that always feel more noticeable when I’m bloated. And then came the whispers:

“You don’t look great there.”

“Is that how you move now?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t post that…”

It’s wild how quickly we can go from confident to critical — especially during perimenopause, when our bodies change, fluctuate and sometimes feel unfamiliar.

Perimenopause body confidence is a journey full of moments like this.

But then something clicked.

I reminded myself:

This body has carried two babies.

This body is navigating perimenopause and the hormonal shifts that come with it.

This body is a few days before a period — of course it feels a bit different.

And this body just lifted 25kg and jumped with it, repeatedly.

This body is strong, capable and doing incredible things.

I watched the same video again but with kinder eyes. Eyes that noticed power instead of flaws. Eyes that appreciated what my body does, not just how it looks.

That shift changed everything.

The next time you find yourself critiquing your appearance — especially during those pre-period days when bloating and discomfort can cloud how you see yourself — pause and ask:

“What did my body do for me today?”

Because the answer is almost always: more than you give it credit for.