Women In Wellness: Melissa Hinman On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

You are not a machine.

This sounds simple, but most high-performing women operate like they’re on autopilot; checking boxes, ignoring their need for rest, and expecting their bodies to keep up no matter what. But the truth is we are not robots. We are living, breathing, feeling human beings, and our energy has limits.

Today, more than ever, wellness is at the forefront of societal discussions. From mental health to physical well-being, women are making significant strides in bringing about change, introducing innovative solutions, and setting new standards. Despite facing unique challenges, they break barriers, inspire communities, and are reshaping the very definition of health and wellness. In this series called women in wellness we are talking to women doctors, nurses, nutritionists, therapists, fitness trainers, researchers, health experts, coaches, and other wellness professionals to share their stories and insights. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Melissa Hinman, RN, CHC, CSMC .

Melissa Hinman is a health coach, RN by background, and the founder of Melissa Hinman, LLC, where she helps midlife women ditch survival mode and increase their energy without burnout, crash diets, or guilt. Through her signature SMASH framework, Energy Zones mapping, and practical tools like the Energy Tune-Up Tracker, Melissa guides women to create micro-habit shifts that actually stick. What makes her stand out? She blends science-backed strategy with real-life empathy to support high-performing women who aren’t trying to get back to who they were, but are ready to support who they are now and who they want to be next.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

Thank you so much for having me! I’m truly excited to be part of this conversation. As a midlife woman myself, we women deserve to have our stories heard, not just tucked into the background.

Growing up, I always thought I wanted to become a teacher. My younger sister was subjected to many days of pretend school, pretend tests and pretend grades. (In the end, I’ve become the teacher I’ve always wanted to be, just not in the way I originally envisioned.) As I progressed through high school, I took an applied sciences class where we learned anatomy, disease processes and caregiving tasks. We would complete clinical practice at a long term care facility. I also worked at that same facility as a certified nurse’s aide from age 17 to 20. Healthcare is where I felt I was called to. I graduated from nursing school in 2007 and worked several years in the inpatient setting on a rehabilitation unit (after hip/knee replacements; strokes, heart attacks, etc). That is where I was truly immersed in the process of ‘meeting the patient where they are’ and providing education to both the patients and their family members that fit their needs and resources they had.

In 2016 I accepted a position for a company in their case management department where I currently work full time as a supervisor.

I’m a Registered Nurse by background, but a midlife health coach by choice. For years, I have balanced a demanding corporate healthcare career, motherhood, and all the responsibilities that come with holding life together behind the scenes. Outwardly, I was managing it all but inside I was running on fumes, living in a permanent “yellow light” zone of exhaustion, brain fog, and feeling like I was losing little pieces of myself day by day.

There wasn’t a dramatic energy crash moment; it was more like a slow energy leak that I didn’t know how to plug. Honestly, it’s not something that was openly talked about unless it was with my closest friends. I started to chase the shiny objects (aka shiny object syndrome) hoping for a quick fix. Deep down, I knew there wasn’t one. I took a pause and evaluated items of my day to find where I could proactively tweak some small habits. So how do we proactively prevent getting to the tipping point? By pivoting from being reactive to becoming proactive.

That experience lit a fire in me. I realized midlife women don’t need another extreme plan, a complicated overhaul, the next new shiny thing, or a message that something’s “wrong” with them. They need a simple, empowering way to reconnect with their bodies, their energy, and their real priorities without the feelings of guilt, shame, or ending in burnout.

This is why I created my Energy Tune-Up Tracker, my Smash Week program, and my SMASH Framework. Everything I teach is rooted in small, science-backed shifts that build confidence, clarity, and energy; one micro-habit at a time. My mission is about more than just “fixing problems.” It’s about helping women rebuild a relationship with themselves that’s based on strength, self-trust, and joy, and of course, ENERGY.

Midlife isn’t the beginning of the end, it’s simply a pivot point. I am here to help women smash through the crash and meet the real, thriving version of themselves waiting on the other side.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

This is a great question. Immediately my mind goes to the story of one of my friends from high school. We reconnected over a year ago. She is a mom of four. She owns her own business and had been unintentionally putting herself on the back burner for too long.

She would tell me how she felt like she was hitting a wall every afternoon. She felt guilty for not being as productive in her business as she had hoped each day; yet this was after she spent the whole morning wrangling children, getting them to school or daycare on time, before she jumped into her day’s tasks for work. After asking her some questions, we were able to identify one key element for her to focus on first- The micro-shift of hydrating herself first thing in the morning.

She started using the Energy Tune-Up Tracker and quickly realized she was skipping water most mornings (oops).

Her fix was adding a glass of water right after her coffee. Simple, right? But within a week, she felt way more energized, and even noticed she was less snacky in the afternoons, and she was able to be more present with her children in the evenings because she wasn’t fighting as many migraines. That hit me hard.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to feel better. It’s that no one had explained to her in a way that actually made sense for the life she was living; full of responsibilities, hormonal changes and mental overload.

My friend’s success from her micro-shifts taught me these things:

1. Small awareness shifts, like recognizing your “yellow light” signals, can be more powerful than any grand wellness plan.

2. Validation matters. Women aren’t crazy, broken, or lazy. They’re carrying an invisible load that nobody is talking about, and when you give it a name it? It’s like handing them a permission slip to take their life back in a way that feels aligned with their vision and values.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Absolutely.

I am recovering from a perfection mindset. The ‘all or nothing’ mindset is both exhausting and crippling. This is where I gained true insight of the power of small, micro-shifts for long term success, because taking on “all changes” at once, is a recipe for automatic failure.

You know the saying, “go big or go home?” I call shenanigans. Just because a little is good, does not mean a lot is better. Stop taking on more than what you can handle, especially when what you are currently handling already feels like too much.

What I realized was that midlife women don’t need another complicated to-do list or another reminder of all the ways they’re “falling short.” They need simple shifts. Permission to start small. Validation that what they’re feeling is real and manageable.

The biggest lesson I learned?

Authenticity beats perfection every time.

My work is about micro-habits, energy-first living, and meeting women exactly where they are, not where they think they’re supposed to be. Because Midlife should be your BEST life. It’s a mission I’m proud to wake up to every day.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

Oh, I love this question! Thank you.

When women think about health and wellness, they often think about hitting a goal weight, running a marathon, or mastering a complicated morning routine. But in my world, it’s something much deeper, and much more impactful.

The work I do helps women recognize their personal vision and values. Using their vision and values guides us into what micro-shifts align with how they see their present and future. It’s not about chasing perfection, it’s about helping women reconnect with their bodies, trust their needs, and make small, powerful shifts that honor who they are and the life they’re living right now, because when a woman starts tuning into her energy instead of ignoring it, when she stops hustling for worth and starts showing up for herself, that is when everything changes.

• She shows up differently for her family.
• She brings more patience, more presence, more joy into her relationships.
• She leads by example at work, with her kids, in her community.
• She breaks cycles of burnout, perfectionism, and self-neglect, simply by deciding what matters to her and setting boundaries.

The best outcome of my work isn’t just that women feel better (though that’s a huge win). It’s that they become the energized, self-assured leaders of their own lives. It’s how we change what midlife looks and feels like for generations to come.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1 . You are not a machine.

This sounds simple, but most high-performing women operate like they’re on autopilot; checking boxes, ignoring their need for rest, and expecting their bodies to keep up no matter what. But the truth is we are not robots. We are living, breathing, feeling human beings, and our energy has limits.

2 . If you want to do MORE, think: MORE protein, MORE water, MORE sleep.

Most women hear “do more” and immediately think they need to add more cardio, another supplement, or a stricter plan. But doing more of the right essentials is often where the magic happens. I once worked with a woman who was dragging through her afternoons, convinced she just needed to ‘power through.’ Turns out, she was barely eating 50 grams of protein a day and drinking coffee like it was a food group. We focused on increasing her hydration and adding a protein-rich snack mid-morning. Sometimes, it isn’t about the hustle, it’s about the nourishment.

3 . Listen to what your body is trying to tell you.

One of the biggest shifts you can make is learning to listen to your body’s “yellow lights.” That edgy, restless, brain-foggy zone that shows up before full burnout (aka the Crash and Burn zone or the ‘red zone’). Instead of pushing through, pause, scale back, and ask, “What do I need right now?” Maybe it’s a walk outside. Maybe it’s cutting one thing off your to-do list. Catching it early helps to prevent full crash mode, and makes recovery faster.

4 . Never underestimate the power of a nap.

My motto in college was “sleep is overrated.” But now? I treat a 20-minute nap like a power-up. It’s not about sleeping away the day but restoring enough bandwidth to be more present in it. That nap won’t solve everything, but it can shift you enough to show up for the rest of the day without guilt. Stop treating rest as a reward. It’s the reset that you need: physically, mentally, and emotionally.

5 . If you are ready to start, Start SMALL.

I cannot emphasize this enough. You do not need a life overhaul to feel better. One of my favorite examples is from a Smash Week participant who felt completely overwhelmed and thought she needed a full detox, new workout plan, and productivity system. Instead, we chose one thing: pause before saying ‘yes’ and committing to something. In her case, it was the multitude of birthday party invites and deciding if she truly needed to say ‘yes’ to the majority of them. That one micro-shift opened up capacity for things that felt more aligned, because saying ‘yes’ to something is saying ‘no’ to something else. She trusted herself to reconsider the priority of birthday party attendance and opened her bandwidth for something that felt more aligned. Small tweaks build self-trust. And self-trust builds transformation.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

If I could start a movement, it would be about women recognizing and owning their yellow energy zones.

Here’s what I mean:
We live in a world that glorifies being busy, exhausted, and stretched thin like it’s some badge of honor. Everything is expected ‘on-demand.’ Even online orders are delivered within 24 hours.
Especially for midlife women, the message has always been:
Push harder. Get over it. You’re fine.

Flip the script:

• It’s time to honor the early warning signs of stress, fatigue, and emotional overload before the crash and burnout comes.
• Normalize slowing down before you hit burnout.
• Celebrate small, sustainable wins over massive, unsustainable overhauls.
• Encourage women to trust their energy, their needs, and their bodies without guilt.

When women stop gaslighting themselves into thinking they’re “fine;”, when they start prioritizing real wellness, letting go of perfection, and becoming present in the moment; That’s when everything changes.

Their families feel it.

Their workplaces feel it.

Their communities feel it.

It doesn’t just shift her life, it shakes up the expectation of midlife altogether..

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Small is mighty- because the tiniest shift, repeated with intention, can create the butterfly effect that changes everything.
2. True advocacy lies with yourself- because no one else lives in your body, carries your energy, or feels your challenges the way you do. Speak up.
3. Perfection is an unrealistic standard- because life isn’t meant to be mastered, it’s meant to be lived, adjusted, and experienced with grace, not guilt.
4. Be a real human- because authenticity connects and your messy, honest self is exactly what the world needs more of.
5. You are not alone; because what you’re feeling isn’t failure, it’s being human, and so many women are quietly walking the same path beside you.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

All of those causes are incredibly important, but for me, mental health is the one that hits closest to home, and it’s woven into everything I do.

Midlife women are carrying an invisible load while their own mental health often gets pushed to the very bottom of the list (if it even makes the list at all).

• The silent burnout.
• The brain fog mistaken for laziness.
• The anxiety brushed off as “just hormones” or ‘crazy.”
• The emotional overwhelm that women gaslight themselves into ignoring because everyone else “needs them.”

Mental health isn’t just a side conversation to physical health, It is health.

That’s why my approach is different:
It’s not about “powering through” another diet or productivity hack.
It’s about slowing down, tuning in, and rebuilding trust with yourself through small, realistic changes that support both body and mind.

Because when women feel mentally strong, they show up differently in every facet of their lives: with more patience, more presence, and more peace and grace.
That ripple effect doesn’t just change personal lives, it shifts communities and cultures.

Mental health is foundational, not optional.
I’m here to make sure midlife women know it’s okay to stop pretending they’re fine and start creating the support they deserve.

What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?

I’d love to stay connected with you!

You can find me at melissahinman.com . That is my home base for everything I do, including free resources like the Energy Tune-Up Tracker to help you spot what’s draining your energy (and start feeling better with small, simple shifts).

If you’re a podcast kind of woman, come hang out with me on Smash the Crash, my show for midlife women who are juggling all the things and secretly wondering, “Why am I so freaking tired all the time?” You can find it wherever you listen to podcasts or directly on my site.

And of course, I’m always sharing real-life energy tips, midlife mindset shifts, and plenty of no-pressure encouragement over on Instagram @itsmelissahinman.

Whether you’re looking for a starting point or just need someone to remind you you’re not crazy and you’re not alone, you are welcome into my world ANYTIME.

Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.