Biohacking Without Bro Science: A Woman’s Guide
Because the future of ageing doesn’t have to wear cargo shorts or quote Joe Rogan
Biohacking isn’t a word I love. It feels tech-bro-ish, Silicon Valley-ish, “just fast for 72 hours and lift heavy” kind of ish. But many of the concepts beneath the hype are actually useful and I do like the idea of biohacking. If you strip out the noise, the narcissism, and the nonsense.
So today we’re reclaiming the term and redesigning it to fit a woman’s life, one that’s often urban, complex, and hormonal.
What is biohacking?
At its best, biohacking is about making small, data-informed changes to how we eat, sleep, move, think, and rest, so we can live longer, sharper, and stronger.
In many ways, what I do here with Shenmag lines up with that, even though it’s not biohacking per se.
At its worst? It’s the Wild West of wellness, where self-proclaimed experts sell 80 EUR mushroom powders and preach keto without understanding oestrogen, or even thinking oestrogen.
Biohacking for women over 45 needs a new framework. One that’s:
Rooted in female biology (not extrapolated from male mice),
Respectful of perimenopausal and menopausal shifts,
Backed by actual evidence,
Sustainable and flexible,
Designed for the long game, not the next bio-optimised reel.
Let’s start there.
Why “bro science” doesn’t work for women
Let me remind you of something shocking:
Most exercise and sport science research still skews heavily toward male participants. As of 2023, women remain significantly under-represented, particularly those in midlife and beyond, leaving major gaps in our understanding of how female bodies respond to training, nutrition, and recovery across different life stages.1
And that’s just in exercise science. Nutrition, sleep, stress, all still suffer from the same bias: most data comes from young, healthy men. Or male rodents.
What does that mean for you?
It means much of the advice you come across, like skip breakfast to spike testosterone, lift heavy, eat more protein (yes, eat like a tonne of it daily), just “hustle harder”, is based on bodies that aren’t yours. And on lifestyles most of us neither live nor aspire to: those of younger men whose full-time job is optimising themselves and selling the products they promote through podcasts, blogs, and performance-driven content.
We metabolise differently.
We respond to fasting differently.
Our cortisol curves are not the same.
Our bodies shift dramatically in our 40s and 50s, and again postmenopause.
The real hack is knowing what to ignore.
Five Biohacks That Do Work for Women
These are low-cost, high-impact shifts I teach my clients and use myself. Think of them as upgrades, but with no ice baths or red light therapy required.
1. Nourish your brain, not just your belly
Midlife is a critical window for brain health. Oestrogen plays a protective role in cognition and mitochondrial function, so when levels decline, so does metabolic efficiency, especially in the brain.
What to do:
Prioritise choline-rich foods (eggs, leafy greens, fish).
Support mitochondria with magnesium, B vitamins, and omega-3s.
Reduce ultra-processed foods that spike insulin and dull cognition.
Eat enough. Undereating in midlife is one of the most common anti-hacks I see, and I’m guilty as charged (I’m also still very much a work in progress myself when it comes to nutrition).
Remember: Your brain needs fat, glucose, and protein.
It’s not about restriction. It’s about precision.
2. Time your meals, not your life
Intermittent fasting can be powerful, if done with respect for your biology.
What works for a 28-year-old man with stable testosterone can backfire for a 48-year-old woman navigating cortisol spikes and sleep disturbances.
What to do:
Try a gentle time-restricted eating window (12 hours fast/12 hours feeding window or 14 hours fast/10 hours feeding window), starting with a late breakfast and an early dinner.
Avoid fasting on high-stress or poor-sleep days, just skip it if your body tells you to.
Never fast through symptoms (dizziness, brain fog, irritability = a red flag).
In short: fasting is a tool, not a punishment. Use it wisely.
3. Strength training over steps
Yes, walking is wonderful (and necessary). But muscle is your metabolic reserve.
From 40 onwards, women lose muscle mass at a rapid pace unless it’s deliberately rebuilt. Strength training boosts insulin sensitivity, bone density, mental focus, and even collagen production.
What to do:
Complete a weight training twice a week.
Focus on major muscle groups (legs, back, chest).
Don’t fear protein but don’t overdo it either. Aim for 1.2–1.6g/kg of body weight daily.
Strength is not optional. It’s your scaffolding for the decades to come.
4. Sync with your nervous system
This is the anti-hack that changes everything: regulate your nervous system and your food, sleep, and energy habits become easier.
We cannot out-supplement dysregulation. A hypervigilant, overstimulated body will crave sugar, probably overeat, skip sleep, and reject calm.
What to do:
Start your day with natural light before screen.
Use breathwork or gentle movement to down-regulate cortisol spikes.
Avoid overtraining or intense workouts late in the day.
5. Track what matters (but don’t obsess)
You don’t need to strap yourself to five devices and pee on ketone strips daily. But some metrics are worth watching.
What to do:
Track your sleep quality (not just duration).
Note energy patterns across the month, even postmenopause, women have rhythm.
Watch blood sugar responses to key foods, especially at breakfast.
Tech tip: Choose tools that give you clarity, not control. You’re not a lab rat, you’re the scientist and CEO of your own life.
What we’re really hacking
Most of the women I work with aren’t looking for a six-pack or to overhaul their whole lifestyle.
They’re looking for:
A clear mind
A strong, responsive body
More energy for who and what they care about
The freedom to age with purpose and joy
Biohacking, at its best, offers a map. But you are not a machine. You are a woman entering her most powerful decade, emotionally, intellectually, and metabolically.
Shenmag Digest: Last Week’s Top Takeaways
Missed a post? Catch up on last week’s best insights on pro-ageing strategies, brain health, and thriving in your Third Act:
Emotional Eating Isn’t a Food or Willpower Problem, It’s a Nervous System Signal
Unlock CraveShift™, your free AI-powered reset tool for navigating emotional eating with clarity and calm
Tuesday, June 17Midlife Ennui: When Life Feels “Fine”… but You Don’t
Reclaim authorship of your life in midlife
Friday, June 20
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