Cortisol Coach

Menopause Weight Gain After 50: Why What Worked in Your 40s Stops Working with Natalie Jill

Apply to be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast:

https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine’s Favorite Supplements:

https://itschristinemarie.com

You are doing the same workouts, eating the same way, and holding the same mindset that has always worked for you, but your body is responding like a stranger. The weight keeps creeping up, your energy is not what it used to be, and everyone keeps telling you it is just hormones or just getting older. And somewhere along the way, you’ve started wondering if this is simply what life after 40 is supposed to look like.

What if there isn’t just one thing going on? What if your hormones, thyroid, gut health, cortisol, and overall toxic load are all part of the same bigger picture? This episode is going to challenge the way you think about menopause weight gain and what your body may actually be asking for.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Natalie Jill, the Midlife Health Detective and Fat Loss Expert, creator of Total Body Thrive and The 7 Day Jump Start, host of the top rated podcast Midlife Conversations, and bestselling author with a community of more than 3 million followers. Natalie has helped more than 250,000 women transform their health, and she is known for turning complicated topics into honest girlfriend to girlfriend conversations.

Natalie is a licensed master’s sports nutritionist and fat loss expert who spent her entire 40s believing nothing really changes as you age. She thought she had it all figured out. Then 50 hit. She started getting injured again and again, gained 20 pounds without changing a single thing, and learned her blood sugar was climbing. She did what so many of us do. She tightened up her diet, worked out harder, and added hormone therapy, and still nothing moved.

That is when she stopped guessing and started doing detective work.

What makes this conversation so powerful is that Natalie doesn’t hand you one magic fix. She walks through the three phase order of operations she now uses with the women she coaches. First you upgrade your belief set. Then you uncomplicate your nutrition. Then you do the detective work one area at a time, looking at things like thyroid, gut health, cortisol, and toxic load. She also explains what she calls one thing itis, the habit so many of us have of believing a single fix is going to solve everything.

And this is where the conversation gets personal. Christine first saw Natalie speak in person at Dr. Anna’s event and has wanted her on the show ever since. She shares that she did extensive testing before starting hormone therapy about four months ago, and the two of them talk about why hormone therapy can be a helpful tool but is rarely the whole answer.

Natalie also gives you three simple words you can use today when you feel overwhelmed and stuck: decide, vision, and action. And yes, she has a very clear answer on cardio versus lifting, and why walking still counts.

Today, Natalie says she is the healthiest, strongest, and fittest she has ever been at 55, and she is the first to tell you she is still peeling back layers. Her story is a reminder that when your body stops responding the way it used to, it doesn’t mean you are broken. It may simply mean there is more to uncover.

Whether you are navigating menopause weight gain, brain fog, inflammation, stubborn blood sugar, or the frustration of doing all the right things and not getting the results you used to, this conversation will give you a different perspective on what your body might need next.

In this episode you will hear:

Why what worked in your 40s may stop working after 50

How Natalie went from believing nothing changes with age to gaining weight, getting injured, and facing rising blood sugar

Why menopause weight gain, brain fog, and low energy are rarely about just one thing

What Natalie’s upgrade, uncomplicate, and detective work order of operations looks like

How thyroid health, gut health, cortisol, and toxic load can all play a part in stubborn weight and inflammation

Why Natalie asks what is feeding the problem instead of chasing one single number

What one thing itis is and why so many women get stuck in it

Why hormone therapy is one tool in the toolbox and not the whole answer

How Christine approached testing before starting hormone therapy

How decide, vision, and action can change the way you show up for your health

Why lifting for muscle matters so much for longevity and why walking still counts

Connect with Natalie Jill:

Website: https://www.nataliejill.com

Total Body Thrive: https://totalbodythrive.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliejillfit

Podcast: Midlife Conversations (search it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify)

Connect with Christine:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cortisol_coach

To be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast: https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine’s Favorite Supplements: https://itschristinemarie.com

If this episode blessed you:

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This episode shares Natalie’s personal experiences and educational perspectives. Natalie is not a medical doctor, and this conversation is not a substitute for individualized medical advice or a recommendation to change any prescribed treatment.

Apply to be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast:

https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine's Favorite Supplements:

https://itschristinemarie.com

You are exhausted, your digestion is unpredictable, and you feel like your body is working against you. You've tried changing your diet, taking supplements, and searching for answers, but you still don't understand why you don't feel like yourself. And somewhere along the way, you've started wondering if you're ever going to feel better.

What if there isn't just one thing contributing to how you feel? What if understanding your gut health, chronic stress, cortisol, and nervous system could help you start looking at your health differently? This episode is going to challenge the way you think about healing your body.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Dane Johnson, Board Certified Functional Nutritionist and founder of Crohn's Colitis Lifestyle. At just 26 years old, Dane was fighting for his life after years of battling severe Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. He had lost 60 pounds, was experiencing up to 30 bloody bowel movements a day, and was facing the possibility of having his colon removed. 

Today, Dane is in remission and has dedicated more than a decade to helping people navigate Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, and ongoing digestive health challenges. Through Crohn's Colitis Lifestyle, he developed the SHIELD Method, an approach that considers supplements, herbs, imagination, exercise, lifestyle, and diet as part of an individualized plan.

What makes this conversation so powerful is that Dane doesn't just share what happened to him. He explains how his experience changed the way he thinks about the body and why he believes there are often multiple contributing factors behind ongoing health struggles.

He talks about the relationship between gut health, chronic stress, cortisol, and the nervous system. He also discusses digestion, the microbiome, environmental exposures, and why he believes looking beyond individual symptoms is so important when you're trying to understand what's happening in your body.

And this is where the conversation becomes especially personal.

Christine shares her own experience with IBS, chronic migraines, and years of struggling to understand why she felt the way she did. Together, they discuss what it's like to keep searching for answers when you're exhausted from trying to figure everything out.

One of the most meaningful parts of this episode is Dane's experience with faith. He opens up about the role prayer and surrender played in his journey and how his relationship with God began changing the way he approached his health and his life.

Dane also explains why he doesn't believe there's one magic supplement, one perfect diet, or one approach that works for everyone. Instead, he talks about creating a personalized daily blueprint and learning which habits are helping you and which ones may be making things harder.

His story is a reminder of just how much can change when you begin asking different questions, taking an active role in your health, and refusing to believe that your most difficult season has to be the end of your story.

Whether you're navigating Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, chronic stress, exhaustion, or ongoing digestive issues, this conversation will give you a different perspective on what it means to rebuild your health.

And perhaps most importantly, it's a conversation about faith, perseverance, and finding hope when you need it most.

How Dane Johnson went from a successful acting and modeling career to fighting for his life with severe Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

What happened during his hospitalization, the treatments he experienced, and how he eventually reached remission

Why Dane believes there is rarely just one contributing factor behind chronic digestive health challenges

How chronic stress, cortisol, and the nervous system may influence gut health and digestion

Why Dane looks at the microbiome, environmental exposures, digestion, and daily lifestyle habits when working with clients

What the SHIELD Method stands for and how Dane approaches supplements, herbs, imagination, exercise, lifestyle, and diet

Why there is no single diet, supplement, or daily routine that works for everyone

How to begin creating a personalized daily blueprint when you're overwhelmed and don't know where to start

How Christine's personal experience with IBS and chronic migraines connects to the conversation about gut health and chronic stress

The role faith, prayer, surrender, and mindset played in Dane's personal journey

Why Dane believes some of the most difficult experiences in life can lead us toward a greater purpose

Website: https://crohnscolitislifestyle.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danejohnson1/

Crohn's Colitis Lifestyle Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crohnscolitis_lifestyle/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@crohnscolitislifestyle

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@crohnscolitislifestyle

Watch Dane's Personal Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ1gucsIcbA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cortisol_coach

To be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast: https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine's Favorite Supplements: https://itschristinemarie.com

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It takes 60 seconds and helps other women discover the Cortisol Coach Podcast.

Follow the Cortisol Coach Podcast so you never miss an episode.

Share this episode with one woman who has been struggling with her health and needs encouragement to keep looking for answers.

Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease remission, ulcerative colitis remission, Dane Johnson, Crohn's Colitis Lifestyle, SHIELD Method, gut health and cortisol, gut health and chronic stress, how to improve gut health, chronic digestive problems, IBS and cortisol, IBS symptoms in women, gut brain connection, nervous system and digestion, chronic stress symptoms, high cortisol symptoms in women, why am I always exhausted, brain fog and gut health, digestive issues after 40, gut health women over 40, inflammatory bowel disease, IBD and stress, Crohn's disease recovery story, ulcerative colitis recovery story, functional nutrition, functional nutritionist Dane Johnson, gut microbiome health, root causes of digestive issues, healing your body, how to support your body naturally, nutrition and gut health, faith and healing, prayer and healing, chronic illness and faith, cortisol coach podcast, Christine Marie podcast, Cortisol Coach Christine Marie

This episode shares Dane's personal experiences and educational perspectives. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are serious medical conditions. This conversation is not a substitute for individualized medical advice or a recommendation to discontinue prescribed treatment.

Chronic Fatigue, Brain Fog, and Inflammation | Why Autoimmune Disease Is on the Rise in Women Over 40 with Dr. Leland Stillman

Apply to be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast:

https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine's Favorite Supplements:

https://itschristinemarie.com

You are exhausted, your brain is foggy, and your body feels like it is working against you — but nobody can tell you why. Your labs come back normal. Your doctor says you are fine. And yet you know something is deeply wrong.

Friend, you are not imagining it. You are not broken. And you are not alone. Research now shows that women are nearly three times more likely than men to develop an autoimmune condition and the numbers are rising every year. This episode is going to tell you why.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Dr. Leland Stillman, a physician specializing in integrative and functional medicine who earned his medical degree from the University of Virginia and completed his residency at Maine Medical Center before walking away from conventional medicine entirely. Not because he gave up on medicine, but because he refused to give up on his patients. He built his entire practice around one question. What is actually causing this?

Today he works with patients around the world helping them reverse chronic fatigue, autoimmune disease, brain fog, and metabolic dysfunction — the kind of chronic illness that conventional medicine keeps calling normal. He is also the author of the brand new book The End of Autoimmunity, which explains why autoimmune disease is on the rise in our generation and gives women a real, practical framework for restoring their health naturally.

What makes this conversation so powerful is that Dr. Stillman connects the dots between chronic stress, cortisol, inflammation, environmental toxins, and nutrient deficiencies to explain why so many women over 40 are watching their health decline despite doing everything right. He also explains what happens when your body simply does not have the bandwidth to heal itself, when your brain fog is so severe that you cannot think clearly enough to even figure out what is wrong. He has a name for that, a reason for it, and most importantly a path out of it.

One of the most memorable moments in this episode is when Dr. Stillman describes a patient who used to make a to-do list and only ever finish the first item. After working with Dr. Stillman he started finishing everything. That is what healing bandwidth looks like in real life. And that is what is possible for you too.

Your symptoms are not in your head. They are signals. And this episode is going to help you finally listen to them.

In this episode you will hear:

Why autoimmune disease is on the rise and what is actually driving it in women over 40

How chronic stress and cortisol accelerate autoimmune disease, inflammation, and metabolic breakdown

Why conventional labs miss so much of what is actually happening in your body

What root cause medicine looks like and how Dr. Stillman approaches a new patient

How nutrient deficiencies, environmental toxins, and light exposure affect your immune system and hormones

Why brain fog and overwhelm may be a bandwidth problem and not a character flaw

How giving your body the right inputs restores your capacity to heal, think clearly, and solve problems

What The End of Autoimmunity covers and why Dr. Stillman wrote it for women like you

Get the Book — The End of Autoimmunity by Dr. Leland Stillman:

Paperback:

Hardcover:

Shop the full Stillman Wellness store:

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Connect with Christine:

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Why Weight Loss Gets Harder After 40: Cortisol, Perimenopause, Menopause and Health Debt with Bria Gadd

Apply to be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast:

https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine's Favorite Supplements:

https://itschristinemarie.com

You are doing all the same things that used to work.

Same effort. Same discipline. Completely different results.

Your leggings are tighter. Your sleep is a mess. Your anxiety is higher than it has been in years. And you are so exhausted that your kids notice.

And you have been told to just try harder.

Friend, trying harder is not the answer. And this episode is going to tell you why.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Bria Gadd, a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, holistic health coach, certified personal trainer, and host of the top 1% wellness podcast The Period Whisperer.

Bria spent over 15 years in the fitness and nutrition world helping women lose weight and get their energy back. Then at 37 she hit the same wall her clients were hitting. Same effort. Totally different outcome. Instead of telling herself to just try harder, she went and built an actual strategy for what the female body needs in perimenopause and menopause.

She has been featured on Fox News and Women's Health, and today she is bringing one of the most important concepts you have never heard to this show.

Health debt.

Health debt is what happens when the energy demand being placed on your body becomes greater than the energy supply your body has available. And for women in perimenopause and menopause, that gap is widening every single day without most of us even realizing it.

This episode also holds one of the most personal moments Christine has shared on this show. Her daughter recently told her that all she remembered about her growing up was how tired she always was. If you have children still at home or even if yours are grown you are going to feel that one.

Because choosing to take care of yourself is not selfish. It is the most generous thing you can do for the people who need you most.

Be more in your life. Not just less on a scale.

In this episode you will hear:

What health debt is and how to know if your body is in it

Why weight loss gets harder after 40 and what is actually happening in your body during perimenopause and menopause

How cortisol, sleep, hormones, and metabolism are all connected

Why eating less and exercising harder can make everything worse when your body is already overwhelmed

How eating consistently supports your hormones and energy levels

Why walking and restorative movement can be more powerful than intense workouts right now

What functional lab testing reveals that standard labs miss

Why rest, pleasure, connection, and purpose are not luxuries they are medicine

When your body is actually ready for strength training and building muscle

How investing in your health changes your marriage, your motherhood, and what your children believe is normal

Your body is not working against you. It is trying to protect you with the energy it has available.

Start Your 7-Day Trial of Midlife Mojo:

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Connect with Christine:

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Cortisol, Genetics, and Functional Testing | What Your DNA Is Telling You About Your Health with Dr. Sam Shay

Apply to be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast:

https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine's Favorite Supplements:

https://itschristinemarie.com

You have tried every protocol.

Every wellness approach. Every health strategy on your feed.

And you are still exhausted. Still gaining weight. Still wondering why nothing is working the way it should.

What if the answer has been written in your DNA this whole time?

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Dr. Sam Shay, a functional medicine doctor with over 25 years of experience, founder of Fit Genes USA, and one of the most sought after voices in personalized genetics and functional lab testing. Dr. Sam has appeared on more than 200 podcasts, summits, and stages and his whole mission is taking the complicated science of your genetics and making it actually make sense for real life.

This episode covers cortisol in a way you have never heard before. Dr. Sam explains cortisol as the body's fire department. You want it there, but you do not want it raging and spraying water all over your house every single week just in case there might be a fire. That chronic, relentless activation is exactly what is making your body inflamed and unable to function the way it was designed to.

But the most powerful part of this conversation is what Dr. Sam shares about genetics and the shame that drops off your shoulders when you finally understand why your body does what it does. Why you cannot stop craving sugar. Why alcohol hits you differently. Why stress wrecks you faster than the people around you. It is not a willpower problem. It is a genetic reality. And once you know it, you can build your life around it without guilt.

Christine shares her own revelation about alcohol and her own body and how much faster healing became once she stopped fighting her own biology.

Your symptoms are not character flaws. They are data.

In this episode you will hear:

Why cortisol is like the fire department and what happens when it never turns off

What a cortisol awakening response test is and why it tells you more than a standard four point test

How your genetics determine how you respond to stress, sugar, alcohol, and inflammation

Why your struggles with food and cravings may be written into your DNA and why that removes the shame

What a personal genetic blueprint actually looks like and how it changes everything

The six functional lab tests Dr. Sam says expose what is really happening inside your body

Why controlling your environment is more powerful than controlling your willpower

How to get your own genetic blueprint through Fit Genes USA

Get Dr. Sam's Free Masterclass — 6 Game-Changing Tests That Expose What's Really Happening Inside Your Body:

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Connect with Christine:

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Thyroid, Weight Gain, and Fatigue | Why Your Labs Are Normal But You Feel Terrible with Dr. Amie Hornaman

Apply to be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast:

https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine's Favorite Supplements:

https://itschristinemarie.com

Your labs are normal.

Your doctor says everything is fine.

But you cannot get out of bed. Your hair is falling out. You have gained 20 pounds and you are doing everything right.

You are not imagining it. And this episode is going to tell you exactly why.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Dr. Amie Hornaman, known as America's number one thyroid expert, founder of the Advanced Thyroid and Hormone Clinic, host of The Thyroid Fixer Podcast, founder of Fixxr supplements, and bestselling author of The Thyroid Fix. Dr. Amie is a functional health practitioner who has become one of the most recognized and unapologetically outspoken voices challenging the conventional approach to thyroid care and she treats patients not just across the US but in the UK and Australia too.

Her personal story is one your listener is going to recognize immediately. Dr. Amie was a competitive figure athlete, eating chicken and broccoli, working out twice a day, tracking every macro when her scale started going up anyway. Six doctors told her she was normal. The seventh finally diagnosed hypothyroidism, handed her a prescription, and sent her home. Nothing changed.

So she fixed it herself. And then she dedicated her career to making sure no other woman had to go through six doctors to get a real answer.

One of the most powerful moments in this conversation is when Dr. Amie shares a message she received the morning of this recording. A patient texted her before and after photos and left her a voice message saying:

You saved my life. And you saved my marriage.

Because that is what getting your thyroid right actually does. It is not just about the weight. It is about your relationships, your career, your ability to show up as a mom, a wife, a friend. The trickle effects of an undiagnosed or undertreated thyroid condition are enormous. And most women have been told to just accept them as part of getting older.

There is no memo that says after 40 you throw in the towel. You can feel your absolute best. Dr. Amie has seen it happen over and over again.

In this episode you will hear:

Why six doctors told Dr. Amie her labs were normal when she had hypothyroidism

What a complete thyroid panel actually looks like versus what most doctors run

Why TSH alone is not enough to tell the full story of your thyroid health

The connection between cortisol, stress, and thyroid dysfunction

Why your symptoms are gifts your body is giving you — and what to do with them

How to advocate for yourself when your doctor dismisses your symptoms as normal aging

What thyroid optimization actually feels like and why it changes everything

Why getting personalized treatment is the only way to truly get optimized

Take Dr. Amie's Free Thyroid Assessment:

Get the FREE 7-Day Thyroid Healing Kickstarter:

Thyroid and Hormone Testing plus Consult:

Get the Book — The Thyroid Fix:

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Stewardship, Discipline, Community, and Faith | Reframing Fitness with Ashton Gregory of Iron Forge Reignite

Apply to be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast:

https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine's Favorite Supplements:

https://itschristinemarie.com

You have tried every program. Every diet. Every fitness trend on your feed.

And somewhere along the way it became about how you look instead of what your body was actually made for.

There is a different way to think about this.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Ashton Gregory, co-founder of Iron Forge Reignite, a Christian gym in North Fort Worth, Texas built on one unshakable conviction. The body is a temple, and we are called to steward it.

Ashton grew up in South Mississippi, one of the most obese states in the country, but even surrounded by a culture that normalized the opposite, she found fitness early and never let it go. Sports, running, triathlons, even a bikini competition. Through every season she became fascinated not just with training the body, but truly understanding it. She earned her degree in Exercise Science, went back to school for Physical Therapy, and spent over 14 years as a licensed PTA in outpatient care while personal training clients on the side.

When the Lord brought her husband Chris into her life and led them to Texas, they both carried the same dream, owning a gym one day. At the end of 2025, God started opening doors, and Iron Forge Reignite became the result. This is not a gym built on vanity or aesthetics. It is built on four pillars, stewardship, discipline, community, and faith, and Ashton and Chris are unapologetic about never separating any of it.

One of the most powerful parts of this conversation goes beneath the surface of fitness altogether. Ashton shares why most resistance to taking care of the body is not really about the body at all. It is about identity. About seeing yourself the way God already sees you, chosen, beautiful, and worthy, before you ever step foot in a gym.

In this episode you will hear:

What the four pillars of Iron Forge Reignite actually mean and how they show up every day

How Ashton's journey from athlete to physical therapist to gym owner shaped her view of fitness

Why First Timothy 4:8 is one of the most misquoted verses in fitness culture

Why resistance to self care is rooted in identity, not laziness or lack of discipline

How seeing yourself as chosen and beautifully made changes your relationship with your body

What it looked like for Ashton and Chris to wait on God's timing before opening their gym

How to connect with Iron Forge Reignite if you are local to Fort Worth, and how to access their free fasting guide if you are not

Visit Iron Forge Reignite (3 free workouts for new visitors):

Get the Free Unshakable Fasting Manual:

Connect with Ashton Gregory and Iron Forge Reignite:

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Chronic Stress, High Cortisol, and Spiritual Warfare | Why Your Health Struggles Are Bigger Than Science with Tori Jensen

Apply to be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast:

https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine's Favorite Supplements:

https://itschristinemarie.com

You have tried everything.

The diets. The supplements. The advice from every wellness account on your feed.

And it still feels impossible to actually get healthy and stay healthy.

There is a reason for that. And it is bigger than science.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Tori Jensen, a registered dietitian and registered nurse with 15 years of clinical experience for a conversation that goes straight to the hill Christine says she will die on. Chronic stress and high cortisol in women's bodies right now is not just physical. It is spiritual warfare.

Tori knows this firsthand. A lifelong athlete and former collegiate soccer player, she built a career in nursing and nutrition before COVID reshaped everything about how she saw her work and her faith. When the vaccine mandate came down in California, she felt God make it unmistakably clear that it was not for her and she stood on that conviction even when it cost her job.

What followed was not bitterness. It was boldness. Tori shares how surrendering areas of her life she never expected to surrender opened a clarity and a peace she had not known before and how that same obedience is available to every woman listening.

This episode will encourage you to believe there is so much more available to you than what feels possible right now.

In this episode you will hear:

Why Christine believes chronic stress and high cortisol in women is rooted in spiritual warfare

Tori's journey from college athlete to registered dietitian to registered nurse

What happened when the COVID vaccine mandate came down and how Tori navigated that decision through faith

How being fired for her convictions ultimately deepened her boldness and her walk with God

Why praying the scary prayer is one of the most powerful things you can do

What it means to surrender areas of your life you never expected to surrender

How simple, consistent lifestyle habits fortify your body and your immune system

Why God has something better for you than whatever you are using as your pacifier right now

Connect with Tori Jensen:

Connect with Christine:

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Nervous System Healing, Trauma, and Faith | Why You Keep Getting Stuck and How to Break Free with Heather Shriver Burns

Apply to be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast:

https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine's Favorite Supplements:

https://itschristinemarie.com

You have a good prayer life.

You are doing all the right things.

And you are still stuck.

You keep finding yourself in the same patterns. The same cycles. The same places you have been a hundred times before. And you cannot figure out why.

It is not your faith that is the problem. It is your nervous system.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with someone who has had a profound and deeply personal impact on her life. Heather Shriver Burns is a master coach, spiritual director, and founder of Seek First Sisterhood. For the past decade she has coached ambitious women of faith from stay at home moms to eight figure business owners helping them break the internal patterns keeping them from freedom, peace, and joy. Her work blends neuroscience, nervous system restoration, story work, and Kingdom principles to help women align their body, soul, and spirit and build a life that feels as good as it looks.

But Heather is not just a guest on this show.

She was Christine's personal coach for many years. Christine earned one of her certifications through Heather. And she is the coach who helped Christine step into healing her nervous system and trauma.

Heather's own story is extraordinary. A teacher turned corporate executive who stumbled into network marketing and built an eight figure business — only to lose it overnight at 27 weeks pregnant with her third child. That experience sent her searching. Not just for mindset tools but for something deeper. She discovered neuroscience. Then nervous system work. Then trauma healing. And the Holy Spirit connected every single piece to Scripture in a way that no pastor had ever shown her before.

Today she helps women understand that science and Scripture have always been saying the same thing. They just speak different languages.

This episode is for the woman who has read every book, done the work, knows the Word — and still cannot figure out why she keeps ending up in the same place.

You do not need more information. You need to understand why what you already know does not feel true for you.

In this episode you will hear:

Why nervous system dysregulation keeps women stuck no matter how much mindset work they do

The connection between trauma, cortisol, and the patterns that keep repeating in your life

Why healing happens in layers and why God in His kindness does not show us everything at once

How neuroscience and Scripture are saying the exact same thing in different languages

What Heather lost overnight at 27 weeks pregnant and how that loss became her calling

Why you do not need another Bible verse — you need to understand why the ones you already know do not feel true for you

What nervous system restoration actually looks like in practice

How Christine's own healing journey led to everything the Cortisol Coach Podcast stands for today

Work with Heather Shriver Burns:

Seek First CEO Academy for entrepreneurs ready to go deep into brain science, nervous system healing, and Kingdom principles

One on one coaching for the woman ready for intimate transformational work

Connect with Heather Shriver Burns:

Connect with Christine:

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Hormones, Weight, and Longevity | Root Cause Medicine for Women in Perimenopause and Menopause with Dr. Hart and Dr. Fashho of Eviva

Apply to be a guest on the Cortisol Coach Podcast:

https://podcast.itschristinemarie.com

Find Christine's Favorite Supplements:

https://itschristinemarie.com

You have a good doctor.

She runs your labs. She listens. She cares.

And you still leave every appointment feeling like something is being missed.

You are not wrong. And this episode is going to tell you why.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Dr. Abigail Hart and Dr. Charise Fashho — the co-founders of Eviva Total Wellness, both double board certified OB/GYNs and Obesity Medicine physicians, and Dr. Fashho holds additional certification as a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner — for a conversation about what happens when two highly trained physicians decide that good is not good enough for the women they serve.

Together they co-founded Eviva Total Wellness — a practice dedicated to hormone health, weight wellness, and longevity medicine — built for the woman who always knew there had to be more.

Dr. Hart had every credential. A chief residency. A career in gynecologic oncology. A lifelong commitment to fitness and health. And then came her breast cancer diagnosis in 2023. She was fit. She was active. She did everything right. And she still got sick. That experience sent her down a path of root cause research and cellular medicine that transformed her understanding of what women actually need.

Dr. Fashho met Dr. Hart on the labor wards — two OB/GYNs navigating one of the most demanding jobs in medicine while simultaneously trying to figure out their own health. Motherhood shifted her perspective completely. She started asking the question that medical training had never taught her to ask.

Why.

Christine also shares her own powerful moment — discovering that her social anxiety diagnosis was actually a serotonin deficiency revealed through genetic testing. And the reminder that lands throughout this entire conversation:

If you strip everything away, all you have is your health.

In this episode you will hear:

What led two board certified OB/GYNs to go beyond their training and build something new

What root cause and cellular medicine reveals that standard lab work misses

The truth about estrogen dominance and why so many women have it without knowing

What the MTHFR mutation is and why it matters for your hormones, mood, and metabolism

Why Christine's social anxiety diagnosis was actually a serotonin deficiency and how genetic testing revealed it

The functional testing Dr. Hart and Dr. Fashho run that most physicians never order

Why metabolic and cellular medicine is the missing piece for women who do everything right and still feel terrible

What Eviva Total Wellness is building and why it exists for women like you

Connect with Dr. Abigail Hart and Dr. Charise Fashho:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eviva.md

Connect with Christine:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cortisol_coach

If this episode blessed you:

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