Hit Play Not Pause

Iron is one of the most-requested topics in the Hit Play Not Pause community, and it's one of the most confusing. Sports dietitian Kristen Arnold, who works with pro teams and everyday athletes, returns to explain what iron does and why you can have symptoms from low iron long before you're anemic. She also covers how our needs change after menopause and how new ferritin thresholds from the American Society of Hematology reset the old, far-too-low targets. We get into the full iron panel, hepcidin, heme vs. non-heme foods, every-other-day supplementing, when an IV makes sense, and why altitude calls for a bigger buffer. We also look at what the popular Iron Protocol gets right and where it goes beyond the evidence.

Kristen Arnold, MS, RDN, CSSD, is a board-certified sports dietitian, cycling coach, and retired professional athlete. She has practiced sports dietetics since 2015 through her private practice, Sports Nutrition for Women, where she and her team of qualified, compassionate practitioners work with athletes and teams ranging from recreational to professional and Olympic-level. Kristen’s work centers on empowering active women across the lifespan through evidence-based sports nutrition education and individualized coaching. She has worked with hundreds of athletes and teams and currently serves as a team nutritionist for EF Pro Cycling, a UCI WorldTour team. She is also a first author on peer-reviewed research examining targeted nutrition strategies to support the health of postmenopausal women. Kristen regularly speaks on podcasts and contributes to publications on sports nutrition, with a particular focus on women’s health, endurance performance, and nutrition across the lifespan.

Resources:

New guidelines for iron deficiency

https://livefeisty.com/training/ Use code HPNP50 to get $50 off.

Courses and Coaching: https://livefeisty.com/courses/

Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-40/

Follow Us on Instagram:

Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause

Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099

Support our Partners:

Hettas: Shop Hettas at https://alnk.to/h6KsEBr

Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

Previnex: Get 15% off your order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

As an Olympic cyclist and speed skater with scores of medals, Clara Hughes thought she knew how to breathe. Then came menopause, along with a catastrophic knee injury, COVID, and months stuck in stillness. All of it broke open what she'd spent a lifetime outrunning. In this conversation about her new memoir, Learning to Breathe, Clara opens up about her dark journey through the menopause transition, being offered antidepressants instead of hormone therapy, finally getting care from a women's health specialist, and how somatic therapy, psychedelic-assisted therapy, breathwork, and long days on trail helped her face childhood trauma she had pushed down for decades. We also cover why menopause can feel like a betrayal to athletes, how her relationship with movement has changed from punishment to love, and the two questions she hopes every woman will ask herself.

Six-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes became the only athlete to win multiple medals in both the Summer and Winter Games. She is a member of the Order of Manitoba and an officer of the Order of Canada, has received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, and was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Clara was Canada’s flag bearer for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. She was the founding spokesperson for Bell Canada’s Let’s Talk initiative, a campaign dedicated to breaking down the stigma of mental health. In 2014, she was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross, which recognizes those whose outstanding personal commitment has brought honour to Canada. In 2022, she was named an Olympian for Life in recognition of her making the world a better place by promoting the Olympic Values at every stage of her life. Clara lives with her husband, Peter, on Vancouver Island, and continues to enjoy bike touring and hiking.

Resources

Learning to Breathe by Clara Hughes

https://livefeisty.com/training/ Use code HPNP50 to get $50 off.

Courses and Coaching: https://livefeisty.com/courses/

Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-40/

Follow Us on Instagram:

Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause

Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099

Support our Partners:

Hettas: Shop Hettas at https://alnk.to/h6KsEBr

Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

Previnex: Get 15% off your order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So, this week breast oncologist and lifestyle medicine physician Dr. Amy Comander returns to explain what comes after a diagnosis: why breast cancer isn't one disease, how treatment decisions get made, and why cancer guidelines tell oncologists to talk about exercise. We cover training through treatment (including when to postpone the race), how chemo and aromatase inhibitors can bring on "menopause 2.0," and the non-hormonal options for hot flashes and aching joints. We also get into the harder question of hormone therapy after hormone-sensitive breast cancer, why "estrogen doesn't cause breast cancer" leaves a lot out, and what the research on vaginal estrogen, Duavee, and women with BRCA mutations shows so far.

Amy Comander, MD, DipABLM, FACLM, MSCP, is a breast oncologist and Medical Director of the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute in Waltham. She also directs the Cancer Institute's Lifestyle Medicine Program and is an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. With Dr. Beth Frates, she launched the PAVING the Path to Wellness program for breast cancer survivors and co-authored "PAVING Your Path Through Breast Cancer and Beyond." She was the first oncologist to serve on the Board of Directors of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and the first oncologist named a Fellow of the College. She's also a marathoner who has run 13 consecutive Boston Marathons.

Resources

Link to the PAVING workbook

Menopausal hormone therapy for breast cancer patients: what is the current evidence? Here

Menopausal Hormone Therapy After Breast Cancer: Personalization, Not Prohibition Here

Menopausal hormone therapy and the risk of breast cancer in women with a pathogenic variant in BRCA1 or BRCA2 Here

https://livefeisty.com/training/ Use code HPNP50 to get $50 off.

Courses and Coaching: https://livefeisty.com/courses/

Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-40/

Follow Us on Instagram:

Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause

Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099

Support our Partners:

Hettas: Shop Hettas at https://alnk.to/h6KsEBr

Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

Previnex: Get 15% off your order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

It's been three years since Leka Fineman last joined the show — and in that time she won the CrossFit Games at 56, retired from competition, took up surfing for the first time in her 50s, started menopause hormone therapy (including testosterone), and lost her partner to cancer just seven months ago. Leka pulls back the curtain on the “identity grief” she experienced after working so hard to meet her goals and so hard to take care of her partner that she no longer knew who she was when it was all over. Physically and emotionally drained, Leka looked past her usual pursuits and turned to yoga, equine therapy, and a community of surfer women to pull her through. She shares what her hormone therapy journey has looked like, how she fuels and trains now compared to her competitive days, and how turning 60 this October is inspiring her to quiet her mind, connect with her inner self, and embrace what comes next.

Leka Fineman is a health, wellness, and mindset coach, CrossFit Games champion, and lifelong athlete based in Southern California. A three-time CrossFit competitor turned five-time CrossFit Games athlete, she won the world title at age 56 before retiring from competition to focus on coaching, surfing, and yoga. Leka works with clients on strength, nutrition, and mindset — building personalized plans that help people identify their motivation and values, and using meditation, visualization, and breathwork to help them show up from a strong, calm center in any part of life. Since stepping away from competitive CrossFit, she's become an avid surfer, a certified yoga teacher, and an equine-therapy volunteer, and she continues to coach women on strength training, hormone health, and midlife reinvention. Learn more about Leka and her coaching at lekafineman.com.

https://livefeisty.com/training/ Use code HPNP50 to get $50 off.

Courses and Coaching: https://livefeisty.com/courses/

Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-40/

Follow Us on Instagram:

Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause

Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099

Support our Partners:

Hettas: Shop Hettas at https://alnk.to/h6KsEBr

Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

Previnex: Get 15% off your order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

When people go on GLP-1 medications, part of the treatment plan is to encourage them to exercise. But what about all the already active–even athletic–women who are layering them onto serious training? That’s less clear…and far less researched. Performance nutritionist Heidi Skolnik, author of the new book Your GLP-1 Game Plan, returns to break down how these medications really work, the side effects you may be prepared for (as well as some important ones nobody warns you about), and how to protect your muscles and bones and build a fueling strategy that actually works. We also get into hydration, supplements, eating-disorder red flags, and whether serious performance and GLP-1s can coexist. This one is filled with real talk, no shame, and no easy answers.

Considered a thought leader in nutrition, Heidi Skolnik, MS, CDN, is a NY Times best-selling co author, part of The Women’s Sports Medicine Center at Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC and oversees the Performance Nutrition program at The Juilliard School. She started the Performance Nutrition program at the School of American Ballet and worked as team nutritionist for the WNBA NY Liberty, NBA Knicks, NFL Giants and MLB Mets. Heidi sits on the medical advisory board of the National Menopause Foundation and The NYRR (New York Road Runners) and sat on the board of The National Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation for 10 years. Heidi has earned two Master’s degrees (exercise physiology and human nutrition) and is a Fellow with the American College of Sports Medicine. Heidi began her career in corporate fitness and wellness at Morgan Stanley for the Sports Training Institute. As a realist, Heidi believes M&M’s can fit into a healthy eating style along with red peppers, red meat, broccoli, and fresh fruit. You can learn more about her work and get the book at www.heidiskolnik.com

https://livefeisty.com/training/ Use code HPNP50 to get $50 off.

Courses and Coaching: https://livefeisty.com/courses/

Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-40/

Follow Us on Instagram:

Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause

Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099

Support our Partners:

Hettas: Shop Hettas at https://alnk.to/h6KsEBr

Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

Previnex: Get 15% off your order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Today's menopause conversation is dominated by hormone therapy, which leaves many women who can't use it feeling left out and worried about their current and future health and well-being. This week's guests, Drs. Rebecca Dunsmoor-Su and Amy Voedisch — co-authors of Estrogen, Interrupted and hosts of the OvaryActive podcast — are here to bring some evidence-backed hope. Because no HT doesn't mean "sorry, you'll just have to suffer." Together we map out who actually shouldn't use hormone therapy versus outdated "rules" that no longer apply. The doctors break down the new NK3/NK1 "candy neuron" blockers Veozah and Lynkuet, the underrated combo drug Duavee, why vaginal estrogen is nearly contraindication-free, and how CBT, clinical hypnosis, and old-school options like gabapentin fit into the non-hormonal toolbox. Plus: bone health, DEXA scan timing, and why perimenopause — not menopause — is often the hardest stretch. Check out their book Estrogen, Interrupted and their podcast OvaryActive to learn more.

Dr. Rebecca Dunsmoor-Su is a board-certified OB-GYN and Menopause Society-certified practitioner. She is the chief medical officer at Gennev, a telemedicine platform specializing in perimenopause and menopause, medical director at Seattle Clinical Research Center, and an associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington State University. She holds a Masters of Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Amy Voedisch is a board certified OB-GYN and certified menopause practitioner through The Menopause Society. She is an associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University and board-certified in Complex Family Planning. She holds a Masters of Epidemiology and Clinical Research from Stanford University.

https://livefeisty.com/training/ Use code HPNP50 to get $50 off.

Courses and Coaching: https://livefeisty.com/courses/

Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-40/

Follow Us on Instagram:

Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause

Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099

Support our Partners:

Hettas: Shop Hettas at https://alnk.to/h6KsEBr

Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

Previnex: Get 15% off your order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Anxiety, rage, depression, 3am wake-ups, fear that freezes you in your tracks — psychiatrist Dr. Allie Sharma joins us this week to explain why perimenopause is a real window of mental health risk. We unpack how shifting and declining estrogen and progesterone levels drive mood, sleep, and anxiety changes (and why anxiety is often the first symptom, even before hot flashes), plus how hormone therapy, medication, testosterone, acupuncture, and CBT can help, often in combination. We close with a guided breathing and full body-scan exercise to help calm the nerves during this often emotionally-fraught time.

Dr. Allie Sharma (Sonali Sharma, MD) is a Cornell-trained, board-certified adult psychiatrist who ran a private Manhattan practice for over a decade. She's currently Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Being Health, a Women's Health Advisor for menopause care startup Evernow, and an advisor to Kenneth Cole's Mental Health Coalition, following a role as Associate Medical Director at Cityblock Health. Her background spans emergency and student psychiatry at Columbia, mental health work with NYC's homeless population, and global public health leadership, including advising post-conflict countries and the World Health Organization (Libya, Ethiopia, mhGAP guidelines) and directing a ThriveNYC workforce initiative. She earned her MD from Weill Cornell, trained at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and UCSF, and holds a master's from the London School of Economics. She is a mother of two and lives in Brooklyn, NY. You can learn more about her and her work at sonalisharmamd.com and Beinghealth.co.

https://livefeisty.com/training/ Use code HPNP50 to get $50 off.

Courses and Coaching: https://livefeisty.com/courses/

Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-40/

Follow Us on Instagram:

Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause

Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099

Support our Partners:

Hettas: Shop Hettas at https://alnk.to/h6KsEBr

Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

Previnex: Get 15% off your order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Anyone who's played a full 18 holes of golf knows you need to reset, refuel, and refocus before heading into the back nine. Well, midlife works the same way, says this week's guest, OG Peloton instructor Jenn Sherman, who calls this stage of life her "Back Nine Era." Jenn opens up about her perimenopause-to-menopause journey and what it was like navigating it on camera, in front of a Peloton community that's watched her age in real time. We also dig into how her training has shifted — ditching calorie counting, embracing strength training, taking plenty of daily walks, and leaving the BS behind. Jenn also explains why she's not on hormone therapy but encourages every woman to talk to her doctor about it, and why joy, connection, and recovery matter just as much as any training plan at this stage of life.

Jenn Sherman is Peloton’s original cycling instructor and a trusted voice for women navigating midlife. A former stay-at-home mom who didn’t become a spin instructor until her early 40s, and didn’t join Peloton until age 45, Jenn’s career is a testament to reinvention at every stage of life. As Jenn began sharing more openly about the physical, mental, and emotional changes she experienced in her 50s, she recognized a growing need for honest conversations about this stage of life. That led to the creation of The Back Nine Era, a lifestyle platform and mindset shift focused on longevity, strength, cognitive health, fueling the body in midlife, and the power of human connection. Jenn continues to teach at Peloton while building The Back Nine Era as a space for women who want to live fully, move confidently, and approach the next decades of life with intention, strength, and clarity. You can follow her on Instagram at pelotonjenn and her collaboration with her best friend Sunny at sunnyandjenn.

https://livefeisty.com/training/ Use code HPNP50 to get $50 off.

Courses and Coaching: https://livefeisty.com/courses/

Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-40/

Follow Us on Instagram:

Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause

Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099

Support our Partners:

Hettas: Shop Hettas at https://alnk.to/h6KsEBr

Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

Previnex: Get 15% off your order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Recent research shows that between 40 and 60% of women either change or quit their sport due to bladder leaks. That’s 100% too many in our book. So this week we sat down with Dr. Lauren Siff, a double board-certified urogynecologist to demystify one of women's health's most under-discussed issues: urinary leakage. We break down the differences between stress and urge incontinence, why athletes and active women are prone to leaking, and how the menopausal transition can worsen the situation through declining estrogen, shifting vaginal pH, and rising UTI risk. Dr. Siff walks us through the full range of solutions, from pelvic floor exercises and support devices to Botox, bladder stimulators, and the game-changing role of vaginal estrogen, plus how to know when it's time to seek care. Her message is loud and clear in this one: no matter how small or severe the symptoms, there's help available — and you never have to stop doing what you love.

Dr. Siff is a double board-certified urogynecologist and Chief of Gynecology and Urogynecology for the Central Virginia VA Health Care System and Associate Professor at VCU School of Medicine and VCU Institute of Engineering. A dedicated innovator and surgical educator — with a Distinguished Educator certificate from the Cleveland Clinic and founder of SurgicalEd VR, which uses VR and haptic technology to improve the quality, safety, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility of surgical training. She also serves board and committee roles with the Society for Gynecologic Surgeons, American Urogynecologic Society, and American Association of GYN Laparoscopists. She is Central Virginia Site Lead for the National VA Women's Health Research Network, and chairman of the U.S. National Surgery Office's Surgical Advisory Board for GYN. Philanthropically, she directs surgeon training for Global Surgical Expedition, driven by a mission to democratize access to surgical training and vital surgical procedures worldwide.

https://livefeisty.com/training/ Use code HPNP50 to get $50 off.

Courses and Coaching: https://livefeisty.com/courses/

Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-40/

Follow Us on Instagram:

Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause

Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099

Support our Partners:

Hettas: Shop Hettas at https://alnk.to/h6KsEBr

Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

Previnex: Get 15% off your order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

People often think of weight loss drugs like GLP-1 and related agonists (e.g., Wegovy and Mounjaro) as “medications”--which they are, but they work because they mimic our own natural gut hormones to lower blood sugar, slow digestion, blunt appetite, and ultimately reduce weight. In that way, they’re weight health hormone replacement therapies much like estrogen and progesterone are sex hormone replacement therapies, says this week’s guest best-selling dietitian Ashley Koff, RD. We dig into weight-health hormones (GLP-1, GIP, PYY, CCK) that regulate appetite and metabolism, why digestion and hydration have to be optimized before nutrition even enters the picture, and how GLP-1 medications and hormone replacement therapy can work together in perimenopause and menopause. Plus: Ashley's own story of Everesting Mount Rainier at 52.

Ashley Koff, RD, is the USA Today bestselling author of Your Best Shot (HarperOne). With more than 25 years as a practitioner and educator, she's helped redefine the conversation from weight loss to weight health — a science-based framework focused on metabolic function and hormonal regulation. She's been named one of CNN's Top 100 Health Makers and "Hollywood's Leading Dietitian" by InStyle. You can learn more about her and her work at her practice, The Better Nutrition Program.

https://livefeisty.com/training/ Use code HPNP50 to get $50 off.

Courses and Coaching: https://livefeisty.com/courses/

Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-40/

Follow Us on Instagram:

Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause

Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099

Support our Partners:

Hettas: Shop Hettas at https://alnk.to/h6KsEBr

Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/

Previnex: Get 15% off your order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr