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At 49, this week’s guest Sarah Max is the oldest rider in the Life Time Grand Prix, the biggest, hardest gravel and mountain bike race series on the planet. That was something Sarah didn’t always want to talk about. She didn’t want to be defined by her age and didn’t always love the attention it attracted. But she’s realized that while her age isn’t her “brand,” it is part of her story–and an important part that inspires others and helps them see their own potential. And it most certainly doesn’t get in her way, as she embraces the challenges and opportunities of the professional cycling life while also working full time as the Managing Editor at Morgan Stanley Research and being the mom of twin college-age girls. Sarah Max’s professional cycling highlights include a 3rd place finish at 2019 Unbound (formerly DK200), 2nd place in the notoriously competitive Belgian Waffle Ride in Southern California in 2019 and 6th in 2023, 4th at Steamboat Gravel in 2022, and 13th overall in the Life Time Grand Prix series last year. She started her editorial career covering investing and personal finance as a staff writer for Money Magazine and, later, as a senior writer for CNNMoney. With the mountains calling, Sarah moved to Bend, Oregon where she worked as a contributing editor to Barron's and contributing writer to publications including Entrepreneur, The New York Times, Time Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal before taking her current job at Morgan Stanley.Resourceshttps://www.lifetimegrandprix.com/Register for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Women’s brains are finally getting the research attention they deserve! While we sort out the role hormones play in our current and future cognitive health, it’s important to remember that estrogen is just one player in a lifelong host of factors impacting your brain, including education, intellectual engagement, diet and nutrition, exercise and fitness, hearing loss, head injuries, sleep, stress levels, community, purpose, and much more! Hormones are part of the picture, but don’t outweigh everything else. There are many actions we can take to improve cognitive function and brain health, whether or not we also use hormone therapy. We dive into it all this week with neuroscientist Dr. Sarah McKay.Dr. Sarah McKay is an Oxford University-educated neuroscientist and educator. She is the director of The Neuroscience Academy and author of The Women’s Brain Book: The Neuroscience of Health, Hormones and Happiness. Dr. McKay teaches coaches, therapists, teachers and other professionals how to thoughtfully apply insights and tools from neuroscience to their work. You can learn more about her and buy her book at drsarahmckay.comResourcesMenopause impacts human brain structure, connectivity, energy metabolism, and amyloid‑beta deposition study here.Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of menopause hormone therapy on risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia study here. Sex-specific associations of serum cortisol with brain biomarkers of Alzheimer’s risk study here.Hormone Replacement Therapy Could Ward off Alzheimer’s Among At-Risk Women research hereTrends in Intracranial and Cerebral Volumes of Framingham Heart Study Participants Born 1930 to 1970 study here. Register for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Cultural messages glorify youth as the best time of our lives. But that’s not what this week’s guest, Caroline Paul found while researching her wonderful book Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age. Instead, she found active, adventurous women praising their postmenopausal lives and the enjoyment they found in the now. For this project, Caroline spoke with women around the country about their aging journeys and the activities that have changed their lives – including BASE jumping, wing-walking, flying, swimming, orienteering, walking, scuba diving, boogie boarding and BMX riding – and examined the different ways that activity and the outdoors can help you age better and make you happier as well as improve your spirit, mind, body, and heart. We talked about all that and more this week.Caroline Paul is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Gutsy Girl: Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure and Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology, which has been translated into fifteen languages. She is also the author of the memoir Fighting Fire, the middle-grade book You Are Mighty: A Guide to Changing the World, and the novel East Wind, Rain. Her TED Talk, “To Raise Brave Girls, Encourage Adventure,” has been viewed over 2 million times. A longtime member of the Writers Grotto, she lives in San Francisco. You can learn all about her and Tough Broad at www.carolinepaul.comRegister for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Women’s ultrarunning is on fire right now with powerhouses like recent Barkley Marathons finisher Jasmin Paris, 40, and Lululemon FURTHER 6-day record smasher Camille Herron, 42, showing the world what midlife women can do. This week, we sat down with ultrarunning legend Pam Reed, who broke ground for women in the sport decades ago, winning races like Badwater 135 outright in 2002 and 2003, and talking about menopause at a time when athletes rarely uttered the word. Now 63, Pam is still blazing trails, most recently finishing the Hardrock 100, Badwater 135, and Western States Endurance Run–that’s 337.5 miles total–in a span of 22 days. We talk all about how she gets it done, the hurdles she’s faced, and what the future holds.Pam Reed has been a prolific ultrarunner since she entered the sport in 1992. She quickly excelled and won on the track, road, and trails. She is most well-known for her back-to-back Badwater 135 overall wins in 2002 and 2003. Over her career, she has at least 30 ultra wins, including 13 wins in races of 100 miles or more. In 2021, she became the 19th known person in the world to achieve 100 100-mile finishes with at least 45 podiums in those 100-milers. She has finished 65 full Ironmans, including 10 at Kona, Hawaii. In 2005, Pam authored the book, The Extra Mile: One Woman’s Personal Journey to Ultra-Running Greatness. She was also the race director for the Tucson Marathon for 28 years.ResourcesFollow Pam at Tor des GéantsRegister for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Your metabolism is broken. You need to stop eating carbs. All weight gain is bad! If you’re a woman in menopause, you’ve been on the receiving end of a steady stream of overwhelmingly negative messages about your midlife body. Many of them are simply not true. That’s why we wanted to have a more nuanced conversation about the body composition changes many of us experience during this time of life. And this week’s guest, midlife health and nutrition specialist Val Schonberg was just the woman to have it with. This week, Val walks us through a lot of the myths, misunderstandings, and maybe even outright misinformation swirling around menopause metabolism, and much, much more.Val Schonberg RDN, CSSD, is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition science from the University of Minnesota. She is Board Certified as a Specialist in Sports Dietetics, a Certified Menopause Practitioner with The Menopause Society, and a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Val owns a private practice in Atlanta, Georgia where she specializes in midlife health and menopause, recreational and professional sports nutrition, all types of eating disorders and helping individuals break free from dieting and disordered eating. She is the consulting dietitian for Emory Sports Medicine, Orthopedics, Atlanta Ballet, and the Atlanta Dream Women’s NBA team. Val is passionate about providing nutrition care to populations vulnerable to disordered eating and promoting positive nutrition messages that help people make informed decisions about their health and live a life where they are at peace in their relationship with food and their body. You can learn more about her at valschonberg.com.Resources:Sex Differences in the Association of Body Composition and Cardiovascular Mortality hereThe effect of menopause on the relation between weight gain and mortality among women hereRegister for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Wear and tear on our active joints is inevitable, and the menopause transition can make them more vulnerable. But there are some simple, and often overlooked, ways to support our joint health that include proper nutrition, recovery, strength and mobility practices, footwear and more, which can help us stay active and pain free through and beyond menopause. This week we break it all down with sports medicine physician Dr. Ashley Austin.Ashley V. Austin, MD, is Assistant Attending Physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery. She graduated cum laude from the University of Evansville where she played Division I basketball and was an all-conference offensive and defensive player. Dr. Austin completed her family medicine residency at the University of Virginia and completed a fellowship in primary care sports medicine at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA). After fellowship, she remained on faculty at the University of Washington as an Assistant Professor. She also served as the Co-Director of Musculoskeletal Anatomy and Physiology for the School of Medicine and Faculty Liaison for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Austin has covered sports at all levels including high school, National Ski Patrol, the WNBA and MLB. Her hobbies include high-altitude mountaineering and hiking, playing tennis, basketball, and soccer, snowboarding, and learning to surf. You can learn more about her and her work at www.hss.edu.Register for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Women’s sexuality, especially older women’s, is often overlooked or dismissed by the medical system. When men get procedures that may impact their erections, they’re informed. When women get treatments that may affect their ability to have an orgasm? Crickets. Too few women’s doctors talk about women’s sexual satisfaction, including how well their clitoris is responding or if they’re having orgasms. That’s got to change. It’s normal to want to be sexual and experience sexual pleasure throughout your life. We don’t question it for men. We shouldn’t for women either. This week we dig into all of that and more (including how it’s high time to change how menopause itself is defined) with sexual medicine and menopause expert Dr. Lauren Streicher. Lauren Streicher, MD is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, the founding medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause, and the current Medical Advisor at Midi Health Care. She is a certified menopause practitioner of The Menopause Society (formerly NAMS), the host of Dr. Streicher’s Inside Information: THE Menopause Podcast, and the author of four best-selling books on women’s health, as well as the upcoming title, Put the O Back in Mojo, available for pre-order now. You can learn more about her and her work at www.drstreicher.comResourcesDr. Streicher’s Inside Information: THE Menopause Podcast hereHit Play Not Pause: Sex Solutions with Dr. Lauren Streicher hereMenopause editorial: Is it time to rethink how menopause is defined? hereThe State of the Union on Sex after 60 Kinsey Institute Survey with Cosmopolitan hereRegister for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then...

From being burned as witches to being barred from attending medical school, from being dismissed as hysterical to well, just being dismissed, from being shamed to being sexualized, the medical system has a long, sordid history in how it treats women and women’s health. And those toxic roots still poison the waters we have to navigate to this day. If you’ve ever wondered why we’re so far off the back with regards to our understanding of women’s health and wellness and treatment, this week’s guest Dr. Elizabeth Comen, author of All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women’s Bodies and Why It Matters Today has some answers. Prepare to have your head explode as we dig into it in this episode.Elizabeth Comen, MD, has dedicated her medical career to saving the lives of women. An award-winning, internationally sought-after clinician and physician-scientist, Dr. Comen works as a medical oncologist with a specialty in breast cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and is an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. She earned her BA in the history of science from Harvard College and her MD from Harvard Medical School, then completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital and her fellowship in oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She lives in New York City with her family. You can learn more about her and her work and buy her book at www.drelizabethcomen.comResourcesAll in Her Head at AmazonCover photo credit: Deborah Feingold PhotographyRegister for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

We wrap up heart health awareness month with one topic that comes up a whole lot in our community–cholesterol. We hear from scores of athletic, active women who have had perfectly fine lipid levels their whole lives only to see them shoot up, often dramatically, at menopause. If you’re one, you’re not alone. This week we take a deep dive into all things lipids, including what they are, what influences them, and what to do about them, with cardiologist and lipid and women’s health specialist Dr. Samia Mora. Samia Mora, MD, MHS, is a cardiologist and molecular epidemiologist conducting translational research in the prevention of cardiometabolic disease, with a focus on lipid and inflammatory mechanisms of cardiovascular disease. She is the Director of the Center for Lipid Metabolomics and Director of the Biorepository, Divisions of Preventive and Cardiovascular Medicine at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Mora is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. You can learn more about her and her work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. ResourcesRethinking Menopausal Hormone Therapy: For Whom, What, When, and How Long? hereNAMS 2022 Hormone Therapy Position Statement here7 Countries Study hereRegister for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

For years, hot flashes and night sweats (aka vasomotor symptoms) were considered just a “bothersome” part of being a menopausal woman: we were to wear layers, buy a fan, and soldier on. Then researchers started making some troubling connections between vasomotor symptoms and chronic disease. This week’s guest, Dr. Rebecca Thurston, is one of those investigators whose work shows that women with severe and/or persistent vasomotor symptoms have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and changes in the brain that are linked to dementia. We dig into those findings and many more during this week’s episode.Rebecca C. Thurston, PhD, FABMR, FAPS, is recognized nationally as a leader in the field of women’s health, particularly in the areas of menopause, trauma, cardiovascular disease, and brain aging in women. Her innovative research focuses on menopause, cardiovascular disease, and dementia risk in women, three prevalent and inter-related health issues that can have a profound impact on women's lives. She is Pittsburgh Foundation Chair in Women's Health and Dementia and Professor of Psychiatry, Epidemiology, Psychology, and Clinical and Translational Science, at the University of Pittsburgh. She also serves as Director of Women's Biobehavioral Health Program at the University of Pittsburgh as well as Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Research Training Program at the University of Pittsburgh. You can learn more about her and her work at UPMC.com Resources:Trajectories of Sleep Over Midlife and Incident Cardiovascular Disease Events in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation hereTrauma and its implications for women's cardiovascular health during the menopause transition: Lessons from MsHeart/MsBrain and SWAN studies hereMenopausal Vasomotor Symptoms and White Matter Hyperintensities in Midlife Women hereMenopausal Vasomotor Symptoms and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease Events in SWAN hereCognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia hereBrief behavioral treatment for insomnia hereRegister for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take

Whether you run, lift, or ride (and especially if you ride), an otherwise great workout can be wrecked by a painful vulva. And lots of issues can crop up during and beyond the menopause transition that can cause pain, discomfort, and even damage to your vulva and vaginal tissues. We address them all this week with Rochelle Bernstein, MD, of Purely Menopause, who focuses her OB/GYN practice on women’s sexual health and menopausal medicine.Dr. Rochelle Bernstein is an expert in menopausal medicine and women's sexual health, as well as an avid skier, hiker, and mountain biker. She is a member of The Menopause Society and the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH). She is board certified and is a fellow of the American Congress of OB/Gyn (ACOG) and the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL). She established Purely Menopause to empower women with the knowledge, tools, and confidence necessary to lead healthy, happy lives. You can learn more about her and her work at www.purelymenopause.comRegister for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Mirna Valerio, aka the Mirnavator, has never shied away from adversity. As a Black woman in a larger body who is also an ultrarunner, she’s endured her share of harassment and ridicule, both online and in real life. But despite some people trying to put her down, she’s devoted her life to lifting others up, showing those like herself what’s possible, which, for her, includes 11 marathons, 15 50K+ ultras, and a best-selling memoir, A Beautiful Work in Progress. Now, Mirna is facing another challenge we’re all familiar with, perimenopause. This week we talk all about what she’s experiencing, how it’s impacting her running, and what she’s doing to take care of herself through this chapter of her journey.Mirna Valerio is an ultramarathoner, cyclist, skier, DEI professional, and author of the memoir, A Beautiful Work in Progress. She began running in high school, recommitted to the sport after a health scare in 2008 and started her blog Fatgirlrunning—about her experiences as a plus-sized woman in a world of thinner endurance athletes— while training for her first marathon. Mirna has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Runner’s World, on NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in the viral documentary short, REI Presents The Mirnavator. She’s written for Women’s Running, Self, Outside, and Runner's World. In 2018 she was chosen as a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, and since then has appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show, Access Daily, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. Mirna is one of the Lululemon ambassadors participating in FURTHER, an initiative to show how far women can go when they’re supported with resources and product innovations typically reserved for men. The initiative will culminate in the six-day FURTHER ultramarathon that begins on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2024. You can learn more about her and her work at themirnavator.comResourcesLearn more about Lululemon’s FURTHER initiative hereRegister for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

As women who’ve grown up steeped in diet culture, we often give away our agency to books, apps, and strict food rules rather than trusting ourselves to know what to eat and what our bodies need. During menopause, when our bodies are changing, we can doubledown on those rules, making life harder. This week we talk about ditching diets and restrictive rules and using our knowledge and intuition to find food freedom and a whole lot more joy with Intuitive Eating Coach Pam Moore. Pam Moore is a journalist and an occupational therapist-turned-award-winning intuitive eating coach. Her writing has appeared in outlets including The Washington Post, Runner's World, SELF, and many others. Also a certified personal trainer, six-time marathoner, and two-time Ironman finisher, Pam is the creator of the Real Nourished newsletter, where she shares evidence-based tips to help women detach their weight from their worth, and the Real Fit podcast, featuring conversations with women athletes about body image, "enoughness", and more. Learn more about her and her work at pam-moore.com.Register for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

As active, athletic women, we know ourselves better than anyone. We know our pace, our power, and our mindset for training and competing. Perimenopause can make all of that change out of the blue. It can rob us of our confidence and knock us off our game, just when we feel like we’re really hitting our stride. Elite cyclist and coach Jill Patterson, 42, lived that reality for months, wondering if she had just “aged out” of her sport before discovering that the muscle and power loss, low motivation, mood swings, fatigue, and sudden aches and pains were in fact perimenopause. This week, we talk about her experience going into the menopause transition and how she got her power, mojo, and competitive edge back.After graduating college, Jill Patterson moved to Japan to teach English. She ended up staying 10 years, picked up road cycling, and was recruited to race on a Japanese women’s road racing team. After returning to the US 8 years ago, she continued to explore cycling in all forms, including Gran Fondo, criteriums, gravel, mountain bike, and cyclocross. Today she is a full time cycling coach for athletes from all over the world. Jill continues to race and has achieved many notable wins including the 2018 GFNY World Championship, the 2021 Wedu Segment Challenge, and the 2022 and 2023 USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championship titles. You can learn more about her at @jillpattersoncycling on Instagram and at jillpattersoncycling.com.Register for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

The New York Times recently called Ozempic a “new match for menopausal weight gain”. But is it? These drugs can be a godsend for those who need them. But there's a lot we need to understand. How do they work? How well do they work? Who benefits from them? What are their risks? What impact do they have on muscle, bone, and performance? How do they affect training and racing? We dig into all of that and more this week with endocrinologist and Ironman triathlete Dr. Jody Dushay who has been researching these drugs for more than a decade. Jody Dushay, M.D., MMSc, is an endocrinologist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is also the founder and director of Well Powered, a comprehensive wellness and weight management program. Dr Dushay has studied the effect of pharmacotherapies and dietary interventions on body weight for years, including a large single-site study examining the effects of a glucagon-like peptide receptor agonist on body weight in obese women without diabetes. As a triathlete, she has qualified for Kona 3 times and came in 2nd in her age group at the 2020 Ironman World Championship in St George. You can learn more about her and her work at wellpowered.org.Resources:Dr. Jody Dushay’s research:Short-term exenatide treatment leads to significant weight loss in a subset of obese women without diabetesWeight Loss Outcomes Among Early High Responders to Exenatide Treatment: A Randomized, Placebo Controlled Study in Overweight and Obese WomenRegister for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Most women don’t expect menopause symptoms to start until age 50. Neither do many of their healthcare providers. That’s a problem because, as this week’s guest Nina Coslov’s research shows, women can actually start experiencing symptoms associated with menopause during their late reproductive years before their periods become noticeably irregular and they’re officially in perimenopause. Yet when they seek care, they’re often told they’re “too young for menopause” because they still have regular cycles. This week, Coslov talks about her research on the late reproductive stage in a woman’s life as well as womenlivingbetter.org, the organization she started to help women get the menopausal information they need before they’re suffering and not knowing where to turn.Nina Coslov created Women Living Better (womenlivingbetter.org) to provide anticipatory guidance about perimenopause. Intent on better characterizing the path to menopause, she focuses on education and research, and along with her partners, has published six papers in peer-reviewed journals. Nina was the lead author on “Symptom experience during the late reproductive stage and the menopause transition: observations from the Women Living Better survey,” published in the journal Menopause. She authored the chapter “Women’s Voices: The Lived Experience of the Path to Menopause” in Each Women’s Menopause: An evidenced Based Resource. Nina received the 2021 Media Award from the North American Menopause Society. Prior to Women Living Better, Nina worked in the biotech industry and before that was a management consultant. Nina has an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a BA from Williams College. ResourcesMenopause Journal study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34313615/Women Living Better Instagram https://www.instagram.com/womenlivingbetter/Perimenopause care resources: https://womenlivingbetter.org/published-research-health-care-for-perimenopause/https://womenlivingbetter.org/hormonal-changes/Register for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

As we roll into a brand new year filled with goals and aspirations, this week’s guest, fan-favorite Peloton Cycling instructor Christine D’Ercole would like to remind us that we are bigger than a smaller pair of pants, and the most powerful thing anyone can say to us is what we say to ourselves, and we have agency in that conversation. Now 52, Christine has started using her enormous platform to share her experiences with the menopause transition and to defy and rewrite the story that we’ve been told about what menopause means when it comes to what we’re capable of and how we see ourselves. When she’s not putting power into her pedals, she’s helping women empower themselves by changing their self talk and helps guide them with her signature mantra:  I Am  I Can I Will I Do. We cover Christine’s menopause experience, her body image battles, and how she uses self talk in her own life and you can too. You can learn more about her and her work at christinedercole.com.Christine D’Ercole is a speaker, writer, decorated competitive cyclist, and original Peloton Cycling Instructor who inspires thousands daily with her work on and off the bike. She is also the founder of WORDSHOP: a workshop in self-talk that is a practical and profound tool for change, centered on the four prompts that make up the root of all our self-talk: I am... I can... I will... and I do. Over the past ten years she has provided wordshops for major corporations, youth organizations and Employee Resource Groups. When she is not writing or speaking, Christine is racing her bike at Velodromes across the country. She is a Masters World Champion, holds 15 National titles, and is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.Check out her CDE Menopause Playlist here on SpotifyRegister for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

This episode originally dropped on May 24, 2023. I’m too old. Nothing works for me. My best days are behind me. I just have to live with (fill in the blank). I’ll never feel better. When we’re really going through it, it can be easy to slip into a personal cave of limiting beliefs that can conspire to keep us there in the cold and dark. But where do these beliefs come from? Are they even true? What would we do if we didn’t have them? This week we take a deep dive into the menopause mindset with body-mind coach Cara Bradley, who helps us find our strengths to slice through the limiting beliefs that hold us back so we can feel and perform our best.Cara Bradley is a former pro skater and leading authority of mental fitness and menopause mindsets. She shares her signature body-mind training with Fortune 500 companies, pro and college sports teams, and top wellness brands. Cara is the author of On The Verge: Wake Up, Show Up, and Shine, the founder of Verge Yoga Center, and the host of the Daily Whispers podcast. In 2020, Cara was named a “Top 12 Most Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement” by Mindful Magazine. You can learn more about Cara and her work at carabradley.net And check her out on TikTok @menopausemindset. 

This episode originally dropped on April 5, 2023.What does it mean to be fit? Deadlifting your body weight? Running a 10K? Doing an Ironman? Most of our notions about fitness spotlight the big thing we want to do while glossing over all the smaller, equally important, but less “sexy” stuff like joint mobility, breathing practices, balance, and nutrition it takes to get you there strong and injury-free. Kind of like wanting to climb Mount Everest without spending any time at Base Camp. This week’s guest, Juliet Starrett, co-author of the new book Built to Move is all about the Base Camp, especially in midlife and menopause. We dive into Juliet’s personal story (including a hippo attack!) as well as the vital signs and foundations menopausal women need to tune into so they can be strong, able, and pain-free for the rest of their active lives.  Juliet Starrett is an entrepreneur, attorney, author, and podcaster. She is the former co-founder and CEO of San Francisco CrossFit, one of the first 50 CrossFit affiliates. Juliet is the co-author of the Wall Street Journal Bestseller, Deskbound and co-host of The Ready State Podcast. Before turning her attention to The Ready State and San Francisco CrossFit full time, Juliet was a professional whitewater paddler, winning 3 World Championship and 5 National titles. Her latest book, co-authored with her husband and mobility pioneer, Dr. Kelly Starrett is Built to Move: The Ten Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully. You can learn more about her, The Ready State, and Built to Move at thereadystate.com ResourcesBuilt to Move: thereadystate.com/product/built-to-move/Juliet’s blog on preparing for menopause: thereadystate.com/blogs/how-i-am-preparing-for-menopause/Register for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

As active women, we’re so used to our bodies being considered “other” or “less than” in health and fitness media, we barely notice it. Our bouncing breasts are a problem. Our wide hips are a problem. Our periods, boy oh boy, big problem. And when we hit perimenopause and menopause? Well, until very recently nobody even bothered talking about us…especially exercise physiology researchers, who, as this week’s guest Christine Yu discovered, have largely overlooked athletic and active menopausal women. This week we flip the script and make women’s bodies the norm as we dive in on what we know and the research we need to answer the questions we have. Christine Yu is the author of Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes, in which she explains the latest research and celebrates the researchers, athletes, and advocates pushing back against the status quo and proposing better solutions to improve the active and athletic lives of women and girls. Yu is an award-winning journalist whose work focuses on the intersection of sports science and women athletes. Her writing has appeared in Outside, The Washington Post, Runner’s World, and other publications. She’s a lifelong athlete and yoga teacher who loves running, surfing, and skiing. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can learn more about her and her work at christinemyu.comResources:Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes. Pick up a copy here. Register for the Feisty Summer STRONG Course: https://www.womensperformance.com/strong Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause Feisty Media: @feisty_media Selene: @fitchick3 Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099 Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition:Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1 Leave your questions for Selene:https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t:https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy Support our Partners:Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/