Cortisol Coach

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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Hormone Imbalance, Menopause, and Cortisol | Why You Feel Terrible and What to Do About It with Dr. Anna Cabeca

Your labs are normal. Eat less. Walk more. Have a nice day.

If you have heard those words and walked out of a doctor’s office feeling completely unseen, this episode is for you.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Dr. Anna Cabeca, triple board certified OBGYN, bestselling author, and one of the most sought after voices in women’s hormone health in the world, for a conversation that is going to change the way you think about cortisol, menopause, and what your body is actually capable of.

Dr. Anna knows firsthand that your diagnosis is not your destiny. At 39, she was told she would never conceive again after failing six rounds of infertility treatments and being diagnosed with early menopause. She went on a healing journey around the world and naturally reversed early menopause, conceiving the child she was told she would never have at 41 years old.

Today she helps women understand the powerful connection between cortisol, oxytocin, and hormonal health, and why the keto green approach is changing the way women heal through perimenopause and menopause.

Christine also shares her own powerful moment. The day she met Dr. Anna was the same day she found out she was in mid menopause. And what Dr. Anna shared with her that day changed everything.

Optimal is not the same as normal. And you deserve optimal.

In this episode you will hear:

How cortisol and oxytocin are always in opposition and what that means for your health

Why the keto green approach works specifically for women in perimenopause and menopause

What alkalinity has to do with hormones and why most women have never heard this

How Dr. Anna naturally reversed early menopause and conceived at 41

Why your labs being normal does not mean you are optimal

What functional lab testing reveals that standard labs miss

How to advocate for yourself when your doctor dismisses you

Why dysregulated hormones are spiritual warfare and what God designed your body for

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In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Dr. Tabatha Barber — triple board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, menopause, and functional medicine, and founder of Fast to Faith — for one of the most powerful and prophetic conversations this show has ever had.

Dr. Tabatha's story is extraordinary. She built a medical career to prove everyone wrong — driving herself into Hashimoto's, depression, IBS, weight gain, and a back injury that two surgeons said required spinal fusion. And it was not until God stopped her cold and said — you left me in the delivery room and never brought me on the journey — that everything changed.

Today she helps women heal their hormones, gut, and metabolism by addressing root causes — not just symptoms — through her signature Fast to Faith framework that integrates fasting, neuroscience, and biblical truth.

This episode is not just about hormones. It is about what happens when you stop trying to carry your health journey alone and finally invite Jesus in.

Because your body is not broken. Your approach is.

In this episode you will hear:

Join Dr. Tabatha's FREE Masterclass — From Stuck to Free:

👉 https://masterclass.fasttofaith.com/fromstucktofree

FREE Guide to Intermittent Fasting the Faithful Way:

👉 https://fasttofaith.com/intermittent-fasting-guide/

FREE Balancing Your Hormones Naturally Guide:

👉 https://drtabatha.com/free-hormone-guide/

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Why Rest Is Not Lazy- The Cortisol and Nervous System Connection Every Woman Over 40 Needs to Hear

You were not designed to keep going until you break. But somewhere along the way — between the to-do lists, the kids, the career, the hustle culture, and the guilt — rest became something you had to earn.

And your cortisol has been paying the price ever since.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Carli Reiners — mental health counselor, life coach, founder of Rural & Well, and two-time stroke survivor — for a conversation about the one thing most high-functioning women refuse to give themselves permission to do.

Rest.

Carli knows the cost of ignoring this firsthand. She was the woman who had it all together on the outside — president of this, checking every box, always in motion — and exhausted at 16 years old. The striving followed her into adulthood, into motherhood, into her career. Until her body said no — twice.

Today she helps women understand that rest is not laziness. It is not a reward. It is not something you earn after you finish everything on your list. Rest is the very thing your nervous system needs to lower cortisol, regulate your body, and allow you to become everything God created you to be.

This episode is for the woman who cannot sit down and watch a movie with her family without feeling guilty. The woman who has not taken a deep breath in she does not know how long. The woman who is running on empty and calling it strength.

Friend — you are worthy of rest. And this episode is going to give you permission to finally receive it.

In this episode you will hear:

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