High Performance Health

By Angela Foster

The High-Performance Health Podcast is all about optimising your body, mind and lifestyle for high performance.

Packed full of actionable insights, strategies, bio hacks, lifestyle hacks, minds... more

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How many episodes does High Performance Health have?

The podcast currently has 618 episodes available.

Best of High Performance Health

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: Belly Fat Masterclass: How Women Can Lose Visceral Fat in Midlife
If you're training hard, eating well, and still watching your waist thicken, I want you to hear this: you are not lazy, and your metabolism is not broken. Something else is going on, and once you see it, belly fat stops feeling like a mystery you can't crack. So I called in four people I trust most on this, Ben Azadi, Dr Sarah Berry, Cynthia Thurlow, and Mary Claire Haver. Together we get into why cortisol parks fat right around your middle, how losing estrogen quietly reroutes fat from your hips to your belly, and why the exact same meal spikes your blood sugar far more after menopause than it did before. We go deep on the pieces most women never get told about, the muscle you're losing, the gut and estrobolome shifts, and the insulin exposure that makes this fat feel so stubborn. Then I hand you the fix. My five levers, in the order that actually works, from breaking up long sitting to resistance training, smart HIIT, whole-food carbs, and protecting your sleep and stress. And I tell you honestly where fasted training helps and where it just becomes another way to punish yourself. If you're a busy woman over 40 who's done with "eat less, move more" and wants to know which lever your body needs first, this one's for you. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN - Does cortisol cause belly fat in women over 40? - Why does fat move to your belly during menopause? - Is menopause belly fat caused by a slow metabolism? - What is visceral fat and why is it dangerous? - Can you gain visceral fat even if the scale doesn't move? - Why do post-menopausal women have higher blood sugar spikes? - How does insulin resistance drive stubborn belly fat? - Does the gut microbiome affect body composition in midlife? - How does breaking up sitting improve insulin sensitivity? - Does resistance training help you lose belly fat after 40? - Does HIIT reduce abdominal fat in women? - Does fasted training help burn visceral fat? TIMESTAMPS - 00:00 Why Cortisol Drives Stubborn Belly Fat In Women Over 35 - 03:00 Insulin Resistance, Estrogen Loss And Why Menopause Moves Fat To Your Belly - 09:44 How Muscle Loss And Your Gut Control Midlife Body Composition - 16:11 Why Menopause Belly Fat Is Dangerous And How To Shift Visceral Fat - 17:59 The 5 Levers To Lose Midlife Belly Fat Without A Broken MetabolismVALUABLE RESOURCES Timeline - Support your mitochondrial health: Timeline Mitopure delivers Urolithin A at the clinically studied dose to support cellular renewal and energy production, helping counter the natural decline in mitochondrial function that comes with age. 👉 Get 20% off Mitopure when you visit http://timeline.com/ANGELA and use code ANGELA. Want to go deeper? Start here: Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it. 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/ 🌸Reset your hormones, restore your energy, and reconnect with your body in just 21 days. 👉 https://www.highperformance-health.com 💌 Fresh Start Sunday Newsletter Your weekly 3-minute guide to creating the healthiest, most vibrant version of you. Each Sunday, get one simple habit to boost energy, balance hormones, and enhance longevity - joined by 25,000+ women worldwide. 👉 https://angelafosterperformance.com/ 🥗The Ultimate Guide to Creatine for Women - 👉 https://academy.angelafosterperformance.com/creatine-guide ⚡️ 10 Habits that Helped me reverse my Biological Age by 25 years in Perimenopause - 👉 https://academy.angelafosterperformance.com/10-habits-optin-page 👩‍💼 About Me: Angela Foster is a corporate lawyer turned health and performance coach, keynote speaker, and creator of the BioSyncing:registered: Method. Host of the High Performance Health Podcast with 500+ episodes featuring world-leading experts in longevity, hormones, neuroscience, and female performance science. The most accomplished women have everything handled on the outside, but their hormones, energy, and nervous system are quietly paying the price. The old playbook stops working in midlife. This channel is designed to help high-performing women optimise energy, hormones, cognitive performance, and longevity using science-backed strategies built around female biology. Angela’s personal mission is to help 1 million ambitious women perform better, age slower, and never have to choose between success and their health. If you want to be part of that mission, make sure you subscribe and share the channel with a woman you care about. Follow me for daily health and performance tips: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelasfoster/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaFosterPerformance #AngelaFoster #HighPerformanceHealth #Women'sHealth #Menopause #Perimenopause #StrengthTraining #Longevity #MuscleBuilding #HealthyAgeing
August 24, 202631min
Number 2: Why Women Over 40 Can't Lose Belly Fat (And Why More Exercise Makes It Worse) | Dr. Erin Kinney
Naturopathic doctor and author of The Cortisol Cure, Dr. Erin Kinney, explains why cortisol isn't the villain we think it is, but a "fix it" hormone you earn through rest and spend through everything else. She unpacks why decades of overspending leave midlife women with a depleted account, why that stubborn belly fat took years to build via insulin resistance, and why the instinct to push harder with more cardio and fewer calories only drains you further. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - Why cortisol is your "fix it" hormone, not just a stress villain - Why your midlife belly fat took years to build, and why you need cortisol to lose it - How the body robs your sex hormones, then floods you with tired-but-wired adrenaline - Why pushing harder with more cardio and fewer calories backfires - How to tell your account is overdrawn, from morning fatigue to crashing after workouts - Why building muscle, not cardio, is the top lever for flipping insulin resistance - Which everyday activities are secretly a spend versus a deposit - Which adaptogens and nutrients refill the account, and why carbs matter more than you think TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - The Cortisol Bank Account: Why Midlife Leaves You Overdrawn When You Need It Most 08:00 - Why Your Belly Fat Took Years to Build: Insulin Resistance, Low Cortisol & Why You Can't Burn It 16:11 - HRT, Thyroid & the Signs Your Account Has Hit Zero: Fatigue, Caffeine and Crashing After Workouts 20:24 - Why More Cardio Is a Mistake: Building Muscle to Flip Insulin Resistance & Your Two Nervous System Muscles 28:36 - Adaptogens & the Brain's Off Button: Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, Magnesium and What Actually Calms You Down 38:26 - Morning Workouts, Carbs Without Fear & Learning to Work With Your Seasons 44:05 - Training Your Nervous System: HRV, Meditation as a Skill and Going to Bed Before Midnight VALUABLE RESOURCES - Dr. Erin Kinney's new book: The Cortisol Cure A different way to think about stress, built around the cortisol bank account, with a Cortisol Debt Assessment to score where your account stands. - Take the Cortisol Debt Score assessment: https://www.drerinkinney.com/the-cortisol-debt-score - Follow Dr Erin Kinney on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkinney - Subscribe to Dr Kinney on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrKinney A BIG thank you to our sponsor who make the show possible: AlgaeCal Plus - supports bone density in midlife. It’s plant-based calcium from ocean algae and one of the only supplements clinically shown to increase bone mineral density when used consistently. 👉 https://checkout.algaecal.com/ANGELA for your exclusive 10% discount (discount automatically applied at checkout). ABOUT THE GUEST Dr. Erin Kinney is a naturopathic doctor, speaker, and author of The Cortisol Cure. She helps high-achieving women understand and rebalance their stress physiology through her cortisol bank account framework, treating patients in clinical practice and reaching a wider audience through her book, her Cortisol Cure community, and The Dr Kinney Show podcast. Want to go deeper? Start here: Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what's actually happening in your body, and how to fix it 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com 🌸Reset your hormones, restore your energy, and reconnect with your body in just 21 days👉 https://www.highperformance-health.com 💌 Fresh Start Sundays Newsletter Your weekly 3-minute guide to creating the healthiest, most vibrant version of you. Each Monday, get one simple habit to boost energy, balance hormones, and enhance longevity - joined by 25,000+ women worldwide. 👉 https://angelafosterperformance.com/ 🥗 The Ultimate Guide to Creatine for Women 👉 https://academy.angelafosterperformance.com/creatine-guide ⚡ 10 Habits That Helped Me Reverse My Biological Age by 25 Years During Perimenopause 👉 https://academy.angelafosterperformance.com/10-habits-optin-page 👩‍💼 About Angela Foster Angela Foster is a corporate lawyer turned health and performance coach, keynote speaker, and creator of the BioSyncing® Method. She is the host of the High Performance Health Podcast, featuring over 500 conversations with world-leading experts in longevity, hormones, neuroscience, nutrition, and female performance. Angela's mission is to help one million ambitious women optimise their hormones, energy, cognitive performance, and longevity, so they never have to choose between success and their health. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who would benefit from it. Follow me for daily health and performance tips: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelasfoster Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaFosterPerformance #AngelaFoster #HighPerformanceHealth #Women'sHealth #Menopause #Perimenopause #Cortisol #StressManagement #Longevity #HealthyAgeing
September 06, 202655min
Number 3: Menopause Weight Gain & How to Lose It | Dr Federica Amati
ZOE nutritionist Dr. Federica Amati explains why basal metabolic rate barely changes in perimenopause, but postprandial metabolism does, glucose, fat, insulin, and inflammation stay elevated longer after meals, partly via gut microbiome shifts. She unpacks why "thin" can mask sarcopenic obesity, why calorie labels carry ~20% error, why a nutrient-dense breakfast curbs cravings, and why a 70,000-woman ZOE study saw a 35% symptom drop from diet changes alone. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - Why basal metabolic rate isn't the problem in perimenopause, but postprandial metabolism is - What's actually driving new midsection fat storage as estrogen declines - Why calorie counting fails as a long-term strategy, from label error to the food matrix effect - How satiety hormones like GLP-1, PYY, and GIP shift after menopause, and why breakfast is the highest-leverage meal of the day - Why looking thin doesn't mean you're metabolically healthy, and what sarcopenic obesity reveals about muscle as an organ - What HRT actually changes about your metabolism, muscle mass, and visceral fat, and what it doesn't - How a 70,000-woman study found a 35% drop in menopause symptoms from diet changes alone, and why brain fog improved most TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Intro 08:00 – Inside ZOE's Age-Matched Study: Why Postprandial Metabolism Shifts After Menopause 16:00 – Same Meal, Different Response: Satiety Hormones, Carb Cravings & Why Under-Eating Backfires 25:00 – Weight Set Point, Calorie Quality & the Sarcopenic Obesity Trap 34:00 – Why Calorie Counting Fails: Label Error, Nutrient Absorption & the Food Matrix Effect 40:00 – The 70,000-Woman Study: A 35% Symptom Drop From Diet Alone (and Why Breakfast Matters Most) 45:00 – What HRT Actually Does (and Doesn't Do) for Metabolism, Muscle & Visceral Fat 52:00 – Building Your Metabolic Buffer Before Menopause in an Obesogenic World VALUABLE RESOURCES Dr Federica Amati's new book: The Appetite ResetHow appetite really works, what GLP-1 medications are actually doing in the body, and how to eat to support your natural appetite signals, on medication or not.👉https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/482823/the-appetite-reset-by-amati-dr-federica/9780241833209 Follow Dr Federica Amati on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.fede.amati/ ABOUT THE GUEST Dr Federica Amati is a medical scientist, Association for Nutrition registered nutritionist, and Head Nutritionist at Zoe, where she leads research on nutrition, gut health and disease prevention across the life course. She holds a PhD in Clinical Medicine Research from Imperial College London, where she also teaches, alongside a Master's in Public Health and a background spanning pharmacology and clinical nutrition. She runs a clinical practice with Well Founded Health, a concierge medical company. Want to go deeper? Start here: 💌 Fresh Start Sundays NewsletterYour weekly 3-minute guide to creating the healthiest, most vibrant version of you.Each Monday, get one simple habit to boost energy, balance hormones, and enhance longevity - joined by 25,000+ women worldwide.👉 https://angelafosterperformance.com/ 🌸 The 21-Day Hormone ResetDoing everything right but still don't feel like yourself? The 21-Day Hormone Reset helps you understand your hormones, restore your energy, and start working with your body instead of against it.👉 https://www.highperformance-health.com/ 🥗 The Ultimate Guide to Creatine for Women👉 https://academy.angelafosterperformance.com/ ⚡ 10 Habits That Helped Me Reverse My Biological Age by 25 Years During Perimenopause👉 https://academy.angelafosterperformance.com/ About Angela Foster Angela Foster is a corporate lawyer turned health and performance coach, keynote speaker, and creator of the BioSyncing® Method. She is the host of the High Performance Health Podcast, featuring over 500 conversations with world-leading experts in longevity, hormones, neuroscience, nutrition, and female performance. Angela's mission is to help one million ambitious women optimise their hormones, energy, cognitive performance, and longevity—so they never have to choose between success and their health. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who would benefit from it. Follow Angela for daily health and performance tips: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelasfoster/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaFosterPerformance/
August 31, 202659min
Number 4: Do Women Over 40 Need to Lift Heavy to Protect Their Bones?
In this episode, Angela speaks with Eric Helms about what the evidence actually says. Eric explains why progressive overload matters more than simply lifting the heaviest weight possible, how women can build muscle effectively across a wide range of rep ranges, and how to structure resistance training for both long-term health and body composition. They also unpack training frequency, sets per muscle group, proximity to failure and why the best programme is ultimately one you can recover from and consistently follow. KEY TAKEAWAYS You Don’t Have to Lift Extremely Heavy — Bone health doesn’t require maximal lifting. Progressive Overload Matters — Keep increasing the challenge as you get stronger. A Wide Rep Range Works — Muscle can be built effectively across roughly 6–20 reps. Train Close to Failure — Aim to finish most sets around 1–3 reps from failure. Start With 6–12 Sets — Aim for around 6–12 sets per muscle group each week. Frequency Can Be Flexible — Training each muscle 1–3 times per week can work. More Isn’t Always Better — Extra training delivers diminishing returns. Want to go deeper? Start here: Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it. 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/ 🌸Reset your hormones, restore your energy, and reconnect with your body in just 21 days. 👉 https://www.highperformance-health.com 💌 Fresh Start Sunday Newsletter Your weekly 3-minute guide to creating the healthiest, most vibrant version of you. Each Sunday, get one simple habit to boost energy, balance hormones, and enhance longevity - joined by 25,000+ women worldwide. 👉 https://angelafosterperformance.com/ 🥗The Ultimate Guide to Creatine for Women - 👉 https://academy.angelafosterperformance.com/creatine-guide ⚡️ 10 Habits that Helped me reverse my Biological Age by 25 years in Perimenopause - 👉 https://academy.angelafosterperformance.com/10-habits-optin-page 👩‍💼 About Me: Angela Foster is a corporate lawyer turned health and performance coach, keynote speaker, and creator of the BioSyncing:registered: Method. Host of the High Performance Health Podcast with 500+ episodes featuring world-leading experts in longevity, hormones, neuroscience, and female performance science. The most accomplished women have everything handled on the outside, but their hormones, energy, and nervous system are quietly paying the price. The old playbook stops working in midlife. This channel is designed to help high-performing women optimise energy, hormones, cognitive performance, and longevity using science-backed strategies built around female biology. Angela’s personal mission is to help 1 million ambitious women perform better, age slower, and never have to choose between success and their health. If you want to be part of that mission, make sure you subscribe and share the channel with a woman you care about. Follow me for daily health and performance tips: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelasfoster/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaFosterPerformance #angelaFoster #HighPerformanceHealth #WomensHealth #Longevity
September 18, 202620min
Number 5: From 60 to 134 HRV: The Habits Behind Peak Human Performance with Dr Kristen Holmes
She more than doubled her HRV in under a decade, and the behaviour that moved it most was not training, supplements or sleep duration, but going to bed and waking at the same time. This week I sat down with Global Head of Human Performance at WHOOP and author of Aligned, Dr Kristen Holmes, to unpack why sleep-wake consistency is the foundation of a resilient nervous system in midlife. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN - Why is sleep-wake consistency a stronger predictor of mortality and disease than how long you sleep? - How does the contrast between your day and your night affect the severity of menopause symptoms? - What is the physiological sigh, and why did it outperform other anxiety-reducing techniques in the research? - Can you really raise your HRV, and how much of it is genetic rather than modifiable? - Why does eating late at night suppress both sleep quality and overnight recovery? - Why do unresolved trauma and an outcome-driven identity keep your nervous system stuck in fight or flight? TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The One Behaviour That Steadies a Midlife Nervous System 09:12 Why Day and Night Contrast Predicts Milder Menopause Symptoms 17:21 The Physiological Sigh, Winter Light and Why Late Meals Wreck Recovery 26:44 Data or Intuition: Using Your Numbers Without Becoming Obsessed 34:54 The Five Habits Behind a Doubled HRV 44:11 Falling Asleep at the Wheel: The Crash That Rebuilt Her Life 52:30 Unresolved Trauma, Fear and an Identity Wrapped Around Outcomes 01:00:53 Living by Your Values When Willpower Runs Out VALUABLE RESOURCES Aligned: The Data-driven Guide to Performance, Recovery, and Human Potential by Dr Kristen Holmes: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/468591/aligned-by-holmes-kristen/9781529146981 Explore Dr Kristen's work: https://drkristenholmes.com/ Track your recovery with WHOOP: https://www.whoop.com/ A BIG thank you to our sponsor who makes the show possible: • MitoQ - Support your cells at the source with MitoQ NAD+ Dual Action, designed to boost NAD levels and help your cells actually use them for steady energy and sharper focus 👉 https://www.mitoq.com and use code ANGELA for 10% off your first order. ABOUT THE GUEST Dr Kristen Holmes is Global Head of Human Performance and Principal Scientist at WHOOP, where she studies how sleep, circadian alignment and recovery shape performance. A former US National Field Hockey Team player and one of the most successful coaches in Ivy League history, she holds a PhD and is the author of Aligned, a data-driven guide to recovery and human potential. Want to go deeper? Start here: Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it. 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/ 🌸Reset your hormones, restore your energy, and reconnect with your body in just 21 days. 👉 https://www.highperformance-health.com 💌 Fresh Start Sunday Newsletter Your weekly 3-minute guide to creating the healthiest, most vibrant version of you. Each Sunday, get one simple habit to boost energy, balance hormones, and enhance longevity - joined by 25,000+ women worldwide. 👉 https://angelafosterperformance.com/ 🥗The Ultimate Guide to Creatine for Women - 👉 https://academy.angelafosterperformance.com/creatine-guide ⚡️ 10 Habits that Helped me reverse my Biological Age by 25 years in Perimenopause - 👉 https://academy.angelafosterperformance.com/10-habits-optin-page ▶️ Watch Next: Why Women Over 40 Can't Lose Belly Fat (And Why More Exercise Makes It Worse) | Dr. Erin Kinney https://youtu.be/Mi5F3U2gHR8 Dr. Robin Berzin: Why Perimenopausal Women Start HRT Too Late and When the Research Says to Start https://youtu.be/KCyc2-aY0kg 👩‍💼 About Me: Angela Foster is a corporate lawyer turned health and performance coach, keynote speaker, and creator of the BioSyncing:registered: Method. Host of the High Performance Health Podcast with 500+ episodes featuring world-leading experts in longevity, hormones, neuroscience, and female performance science. The most accomplished women have everything handled on the outside, but their hormones, energy, and nervous system are quietly paying the price. The old playbook stops working in midlife. This channel is designed to help high-performing women optimise energy, hormones, cognitive performance, and longevity using science-backed strategies built around female biology. Angela’s personal mission is to help 1 million ambitious women perform better, age slower, and never have to choose between success and their health. If you want to be part of that mission, make sure you subscribe and share the channel with a woman you care about. Follow me for daily health and performance tips: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelasfoster/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaFosterPerformance #angelaFoster #HighPerformanceHealth #WomensHealth #Longevity
September 13, 20261h 3min