Hello hello — welcome back to Midlife Mayhem.

Quick update first:

🔥 Muscle Month is back on.

This is my favourite program to coach because we build muscle properly. And after today’s topic, you’ll understand why that matters more than ever.

Think of your skeleton like a savings account.

You do most of your depositing before age 20.

👉 Up to 90% of adult bone mass is built by 18–20.

Bones respond to load.

Lift. Jump. Sprint. Carry.

Muscle pulls on bone — and bone gets stronger.

No load? No signal.

Childhood and teenage years are the aggressive investment phase.

Modern kids:

Move less

Sit more

Scroll more

Bones don’t respond to scrolling.

If little gets deposited early, withdrawals later become dangerous.

Especially for women.

When estrogen drops:

Bone breakdown speeds up

Rebuilding slows

10–20% bone loss can happen within 5–7 years post-menopause

Layer in:

Low muscle

Chronic dieting

Low protein

Vitamin D deficiency

High cortisol

Sedentary habits

And bone loss accelerates.

GLP-1 medications reduce appetite and body weight.

They work.

But physiology doesn’t care about marketing.

Lose weight rapidly → reduce skeletal load → reduce bone stimulus.

Add:

Low protein

Low calories

Muscle loss

No resistance training

Now you’re accelerating bone loss.

Is it inevitable? No.

But it requires intention.

And most people aren’t being coached on this.

We already have drugs like:

Prolia

Fosamax

And new osteoporosis drugs are in development.

Why?

Aging population.

I am not anti-medicine.

I am anti-ignorance.

Awareness changes behaviour.

Build muscle.

Nobody builds muscle by accident.

Gyms are full of people who never change because they have no strategy.

Muscle building is a skill.

And muscle protects bone.

Bone isn’t cosmetic.

Hip fractures in older adults dramatically increase mortality within a year.

This is about:

Mobility

Strength

Longevity

Quality of life

Your bone bank is a 40-year project.

You can’t go back to 14.

But you can start now.

If you want to:

Build muscle properly

Protect your bones

Train with strategy

Stop guessing

Join me.

📅 March 29 – April 25

Muscle does not happen by accident.

And neither does strength in midlife.

See you inside. 💪🦴

🔴 Red Light Therapy — The Bit Nobody Explains Properly

Red light therapy is not one thing.

People hear “red light” and assume a face mask, a mat, a sauna, and a $3,000 panel are all just different price points of the same thing.

They’re not.

They are doing different jobs in the body.

And if you don’t understand that, you either overspend…

So here’s what actually matters.

When we talk about red light therapy, we’re really talking about specific wavelengths of light interacting with your mitochondria — your cellular batteries.

That part is the same.

What changes?

This stays relatively superficial.

It’s brilliant for:

✨ Collagen stimulation

✨ Skin texture

✨ Wound healing

✨ Post-procedure recovery

That’s why face masks work.

They’re not nonsense.

But red light alone doesn’t reach muscle tissue in any meaningful way.

This goes much deeper.

Now you’re influencing:

💪 Muscle recovery

🦵 Joint irritation

🧠 Nervous system regulation

😴 Sleep quality

🙂 Mood stability

This is where things become systemic.

If your goal is skin?

If your goal is recovery, inflammation reduction, deeper sleep, better resilience?

Different again.

Saunas use heat.

Heat improves circulation and sweating.

Helpful? Yes.

Sauna = heat adaptation

Completely different mechanisms.

A small mask treats a small area.

And mitochondria don’t live just in your face.

If you want:

Better sleep

Whole-body recovery

Nervous system calming

Systemic inflammation reduction

Surface area exposure matters.

This is why Kevin and I ended up with the larger setup.

What started as scar support turned into something much bigger.

Yes, his healing was remarkable.

But what surprised us most?

The sleep.

That’s not magic.

That’s improved cellular energy and lower inflammatory load.

Red light therapy is a support tool.

It enhances recovery.

But it does not replace intelligent training.

If you’re not:

Stimulating muscle properly

Eating adequate protein

Managing recovery between sessions

No amount of light will create the body you want.

We start March 29.

This is not random workouts.

Inside Muscle Month we cover:

How muscle actually builds in midlife

How to stimulate it properly

How to protect your joints

How to recover intelligently

How to create a body that gets stronger — without the bulk

Red light can support recovery.

Muscle changes your metabolism.

If you want to build the foundation properly:

👉 www.musclemonth.com

Let’s build the body that doesn’t need constant fixing.

Joanne 💪

Today we’re talking about:

Why women mysteriously stop growing leg hair as they age

Why your estrogen patch might feel like it “stopped working”

And why Taco Bell Supreme has sent my client to the ER every single time she eats it

This is not a shock-value episode.

At some point — usually late 30s or 40s — many women notice:

No stubble

No sandpaper phase

Weeks go by… and nothing grows

It feels convenient.

Leg hair growth is driven by androgens (testosterone + DHT)

As ovarian and adrenal hormone output declines, the signal weakens

Hair follicles are signal-dependent, not loyal

Growth slows → hair gets finer → follicles go quiet

This process is called follicular miniaturization.

Same biology as scalp hair thinning — just a very different emotional reaction.

Hair growth is a non-essential function.

When your body stops prioritizing hair growth, it’s often signaling:

Lower thyroid output

Reduced circulation

Insulin resistance

Hormonal downshifts

Which is exactly why “I lift weights and eat protein” is not enough to build muscle in midlife.

(Yes — Muscle Month teaches exactly that. More on timing below.)

This came up within an hour of recording.

You start HRT → feel great → months later → bloodwork drops → symptoms creep back → “My patch isn’t working anymore.”

Here’s the truth:

Hormones are keys.

If the lock stops responding, it doesn’t matter how many keys you send.

Active decision-makers

Highly responsive to variation

Easily bored by repetition

When you place your estrogen patch in the same spot over and over, receptors can:

Downregulate

Reduce absorption efficiency

Become less responsive locally

Rotate thoughtfully:

Lower abdomen → opposite side

Upper outer glute → opposite side

Change regions every 2–3 months

This respects receptor biology, not just convenience — and many women see steadier bloodwork as a result.

This one’s funny… until it isn’t.

My client:

Eats Taco Bell Supreme

Vomits violently

Ends up in the ER

Repeats the cycle

This is not food poisoning.

Processed meats, cheese sauces, tomatoes, seasoning blends

Common trigger in midlife, estrogen-dominant women

Worse with gut permeability issues

Symptoms can include:

Nausea

Vomiting

Dizziness

Rapid heart rate

ER-level reactions

(If wine suddenly wrecks you now — same category.)

Soybean oil, canola oil, stabilizers

Increase gut permeability

Let things into the bloodstream that don’t belong there

Your immune system sees that and hits the panic button.

Even without celiac:

Gluten increases zonulin

Zonulin loosens gut lining

Onion/garlic powders + spices irritate an already inflamed gut

This can trigger mast cell activation and full-body reactions.

Estrogen slows bile release

High-fat meals require strong bile flow

Sluggish bile → nausea → vomiting

So no — it’s not Taco Bell.

They all point to the same truth:

Midlife isn’t about being fragile —

You can’t ignore:

Receptor biology

Gut health

Hormonal context

Metabolic signals

And you definitely can’t eat like a 22-year-old with a bulletproof liver anymore.

Muscle Month has been postponed.

Not because I don’t love it — but because it requires:

Me at home

My full gym

My full attention

And I refuse to run programs half-present and stressed.

👉 New target start: end of March

(You now have extra time to decide if building muscle properly — not accidentally losing it — matters to you.)

New website: joannelee.com

Supplements are live on the site

Programs are always rotating — check what’s open

You can always email me: [email protected]

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider Muscle Month. I simply can’t do topics like this true justice in a short podcast. Muscle Month is where I teach the actual physiology behind muscle building, fat loss, and long-term health—properly, in context, and without fear-based nonsense.

It was only a few years ago that we lived through the protein panic.

Fear-based documentaries told us protein was going to kill us and that we should avoid it at all costs. Films like Forks Over Knives painted protein—especially animal protein—as inflammatory, cancer-causing, and reckless.

At the same time, I was in a constant verbal battle with would-be clients asking me to write “new” vegan diets while also wanting to build muscle.

(Yes. Build muscle… while eating leaves.)

It was a fun time to coach.

But seriously—people became genuinely terrified of protein.

No explanation. No accountability. Just a hard pivot.

So if you feel confused, cautious, or unsure who to believe—you’re not wrong. You’re watching what happens when badly handled science gets turned into marketing.

This episode breaks down the three biochemical villains that were used to scare people away from protein:

TMAO

IGF-1

mTOR

Here’s what actually matters.

The scary headline:

“Red meat increases TMAO, and TMAO increases heart disease risk.”

What was conveniently skipped:

TMAO production depends heavily on gut bacteria and fiber

Fish contains ~66× more TMAO than red meat, yet is consistently linked with better cardiovascular outcomes

So no—TMAO is not a simple “protein = danger” equation.

Soluble fiber (can reduce TMAO production ~60%)

Cruciferous vegetables & sprouts

Resveratrol, garlic, berberine

B vitamins, probiotics, vitamin D

Translation: protein wasn’t the issue.

IGF-1 supports:

connective tissue

heart tissue

brain health

The fear came from animal studies suggesting lower IGF-1 may relate to longevity—without explaining that centenarians typically have normal IGF-1 but reduced sensitivity to it.

Key facts that got lost:

Resistance training raises IGF-1

Adequate protein supports IGF-1

Fasting naturally lowers IGF-1

Translation: IGF-1 isn’t something to eliminate. It’s something to cycle and balance.

mTOR is the pathway required for:

muscle protein synthesis

repair and recovery

Protein (especially leucine) and resistance training help activate it.

Yes—chronically elevated mTOR without balance can be problematic.

Your natural counterbalance is AMPK, activated by:

exercise

fasting

glycogen depletion

You’re meant to move between these pathways.

Translation: mTOR isn’t the enemy. Misuse is.

A small amount of real science was:

oversimplified

taken out of context

weaponized with fear

And in many cases, the loudest voices had financial incentives tied to plant-based products.

Protein was never the problem.

The real issues were always the unsexy ones:

ultra-processed food

lack of fiber

inactivity

metabolic imbalance

If this episode made you think “Oh… that explains a lot”, Muscle Month is where I teach this properly—with structure, timing, and application.

You’ll learn how to:

eat enough protein without fear

trigger muscle-building pathways correctly

stay lean while building strength

stop trying harder and start getting results

👉 Join here: musclemonth.com (or joannelee.com)

It won’t be back for a long time

In today’s episode, Joanne dives into two simple, misunderstood products — one for skin and one for muscle — and explains why what something does matters far more than where it comes from.

This is a practical, science-backed conversation about cellular biology, not marketing hype.

MUSCLE MONTH STARTS IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS!  www.musclemonth.com

Joanne shares her personal experience using niacinamide powder as part of her nightly skincare routine — a product that costs less than $10 and has quietly delivered some of the best skin results she’s had.

In this segment, you’ll learn:

What niacinamide (vitamin B3) actually is

Why it’s a cellular support nutrient, not a cosmetic trick

Its role in NAD⁺ production, cellular energy, DNA repair, and inflammation control

Why niacinamide improves:

Skin barrier strength

Hydration retention

Redness and reactivity

Texture and overall resilience (over time, not overnight)

Joanne also explains why she prefers niacinamide in powder form, including:

Greater stability

No unnecessary fillers

Fresh activation every time it’s mixed into a serum

Complete control over dose

She discusses her experience using niacinamide from The Ordinary, a company known for simple, single-ingredient products without inflated pricing or marketing noise.

Find it on Amazon for under $7 https://a.co/d/aWfMIJr

A listener question sparks the second half of the episode:

If complete proteins come from animals, how can a plant-based amino acid supplement be high quality?

Joanne breaks this down clearly and practically.

You’ll learn:

The difference between whole proteins and isolated amino acids

Why plants are considered “incomplete” at the food level — but not at the amino acid level

How amino acid supplements are produced using fermentation and purification

Why once isolated, amino acids are chemically identical regardless of source

Why muscle tissue does not care about labels, only:

Total essential amino acids

Leucine content

Proper ratios

mTOR activation

Muscle protein synthesis

This segment is especially relevant for:

Midlife adults

People with gut sensitivities

Those struggling to hit protein targets

Anyone losing weight and trying to preserve muscle

Whether it’s skincare or nutrition, the mistake is the same:

People judge the source instead of understanding the biology.

Cells respond to:

Vitamins they recognize

Amino acids they can use

Not branding, not buzzwords, not price tags.

AMINO ACIDS for under $20 https://a.co/d/1TpEODX

If this episode resonated, Muscle Month is where these concepts are taught in depth and applied correctly.

🗓 February 16 – March 14

If you want to:

Preserve muscle during weight loss

Understand leucine, mTOR, and protein strategy

Stop guessing and start training with intention

👉 Learn more and join here:

Supplements & education

YouTube videos on amino acids, muscle, and metabolism

In today’s episode I cover two topics that came up in real conversations this week: energy drinks (especially in teens/20s) and a key Muscle Month training concept most people get wrong.

A client told me her doctor is seeing more gallbladder issues in young people, plus signs of gut lining irritation — and energy drinks keep showing up in the pattern.

This isn’t fear-based content. It’s education.

Why energy drinks hit hard:

They’re not “just coffee” — caffeine can be coming from multiple sources, and people often stack it with coffee, pre-workout, and sometimes ADHD meds.

If they’re sugar-based: blood sugar spike → crash → cravings → repeat.

If they’re “zero sugar”: some sweeteners may affect tight junctions / gut barrier over time, especially with a low-fiber, processed diet.

Add in acidity + carbonation and you’ve got a perfect recipe for reflux, nausea, bloating, and ‘my stomach is always off.’

The real problem: it becomes a daily habit replacing sleep, breakfast, hydration, and real food — aka borrowed energy.

Nope — and the “muscle is muscle” line is oversimplified.

In Muscle Month, I explain how muscle fiber tendencies and fatigue patterns often differ, which changes:

pacing

rest times

exercise sequencing

how you build muscle efficiently (without grinding yourself into dust)

If you want to actually learn how muscle is built (and train in a way that works for your body), join me:

➡️ www.musclemonth.com

Questions?  [email protected]

Coaching?  www.joannelee.com

In this episode of Midlife Mayhem, I’m talking about thyroid and testosterone — two topics I’ve covered before, but ones that came up for me personally this week in a way that highlights just how misunderstood midlife physiology still is.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism over 15 years ago, and for me it was never just about weight. It showed up as fatigue, cold intolerance, Raynaud’s, dry skin and hair, brain fog, constipation — the kind of symptoms that slowly chip away at quality of life. The frustrating part is that the older we get, the more likely these issues are dismissed as “normal aging.” They aren’t.

What came up in my recent labs was something many people don’t expect: I needed less thyroid medication, not more. That goes against the narrative most women are told — that once you’re on thyroid meds, you’re on them for life and the dose only ever increases. But when you understand that most thyroid hormone activation happens in the liver, it starts to make sense. If conversion improves and metabolic stress decreases, needing less can actually be a sign that the system is working more efficiently.

That conversation naturally led into testosterone — another hormone surrounded by fear and outdated advice for women. Hormones don’t act in isolation. As estrogen and progesterone decline in midlife, women often tolerate and benefit from higher testosterone levels than they would have earlier in life. That support matters for muscle, insulin sensitivity, bone density, energy, confidence, and recovery — all of which feed directly back into metabolic and thyroid health.

I also spend time clarifying why SLU-PP-332 has become one of my core metabolic tools in midlife. Despite being associated with an “estrogen-related receptor,” it is not hormonal and does not raise or lower estrogen or interfere with HRT. Instead, it works on metabolic pathways that regulate mitochondrial function, fat oxidation, and muscular endurance — the very systems that tend to decline with age, even when nutrition and training are solid.

What makes SLU-PP-332 especially useful in midlife is that it doesn’t suppress appetite, force rapid weight loss, or override physiology. It improves metabolic efficiency — helping the body access fat for fuel more easily, supporting energy output, improving endurance, and making training feel productive again. In other words, it helps the body behave more like it did when it was metabolically flexible, rather than fighting against it.

This episode isn’t about quick fixes or chasing numbers on a lab sheet. It’s about understanding how the system actually works, challenging outdated conversations, and choosing tools that support your whole body — muscle, metabolism, energy, and long-term health — not just one symptom.

Products discussed: www.joanneleestore.com

Episode Theme: Stop Obsessing Over Details — Create the Right Environment

This episode was recorded fresh off my first Peak Week coaching call of the year, and something really stood out:

This episode is about simplifying results by focusing on conditions, not perfection.

Results don’t come from obsessing over tiny details.

When the environment is right, you get flexibility.

In Peak Week, people asked:

“What if my chicken is slightly over?”

“What if I don’t measure oil exactly?”

“Can I swap this food for that food?”

Short answer: I don’t care.

Because:

Fat loss is driven by environment, not precision

Muscle gain is driven by stimulus, not gimmicks

Progress stalls when people confuse accuracy with effectiveness

Environment = the conditions that make a result inevitable.

Examples:

Fat loss environment:

Low insulin state

High protein

Calorie deficit

Movement supports the process

Muscle-building environment:

Progressive overload

Adequate protein

Recovery and sleep

Aging well environment:

Low inflammation

Consistent movement

Food quality + hydration

Details matter after the environment is correct — not before.

You can obsess over:

foot position

wrist angle

bar choice

Or you can:

lift safely

overload the muscle

force adaptation

Same rule applies to nutrition, habits, work, and relationships.

Lipolysis = stored fat leaving the fat cell and entering the bloodstream

You are either in lipolysis or you’re not

This is an environment, not a calorie trick

They help create lipolysis by:

slowing stomach emptying

reducing appetite

lowering insulin response

That part works.

But then comes the fork in the road.

Once fat is released, two paths exist:

Resistance training

Adequate protein

Muscle is protected

Metabolic rate stays higher

Results are sustainable

No movement

Low protein

Severe restriction

Metabolic rate downshifts

Weight loss slows, stalls, or rebounds

Same environment.

This is why some people “lose weight but don’t like the result.”

Most people were never taught:

what metabolism actually is

how muscle protects metabolic rate

why restriction without movement backfires

why stalls happen around weeks 4–6

Lack of results ≠ lack of discipline

Victory Vault starts January 25

This is a 2-week coaching container where we:

identify what you actually want to achieve in 2026

define the environment required

choose 3 small commitments (not forever — just 2 weeks)

create a written agreement you write for yourself

This isn’t motivation.

👉 Join Victory Vault:

If this episode even slightly resonated, this is exactly how I coach — live, in depth, and focused on understanding, not blind compliance.

👉 View my full 2026 coaching schedule:

Whatever you’re trying to change this year:

Stop obsessing over details

Stop chasing perfection

Start asking one better question:

“What environment do I need to create for this to work?”

Once that’s right, everything gets easier.

Everything is now in one place:

👉 https://www.joannelee.com

You’ll find:

My full program schedule

90-Day Elite 1:1 Coaching

Perfect Ten — a 10-month immersive mentorship, limited to 10 women only

🔐 Coming up next:

This New Year episode covers two topics that hit hard in midlife: food sensitivities (why they show up, why they worsen, and what to do about them) — and why change is harder when there’s no obvious consequence.

Food sensitivities aren’t the same as allergies. They’re often delayed, more subtle, and can show up as:

bloating, joint pain, skin flare-ups

brain fog, fatigue, headaches, inflammation

The big idea: it’s rarely “one bad food.” More commonly, it’s the terrain — especially a compromised gut lining (leaky gut). When digestion isn’t breaking food down properly and the gut barrier becomes more permeable, the immune system starts reacting to things it normally wouldn’t… which is why people sometimes feel like they’re reacting to everything.

We also talk about why this gets louder in midlife:

estrogen and progesterone decline affects gut barrier integrity, immune regulation, and inflammation control

stress + poor sleep + processed food damage accumulate over time

midlife doesn’t always start the problem — it removes the buffers that used to keep it quieter

HRT doesn’t “cure” food sensitivities, but it can improve the environment:

better gut barrier support

reduced inflammation signaling

calmer nervous system (which matters for digestion)

improved repair and recovery capacity

I also share a real client example where food sensitivity testing improved significantly after dialling in HRT.

Some behaviors change easily when there’s an obvious consequence.

So the real question becomes:

Because the cost isn’t always external — it’s internal:

self-trust

self-respect

liking who you are when no one’s watching

That’s the work that creates real follow-through — and it’s exactly what we do inside The Victory Vault.

📅 January 26 – February 7

A two-week live coaching program focused on identity, follow-through, and becoming the person who succeeds — not the person who starts again.

👉 Details at https://www.yourvictoryvault.com

I am just fine-tuning all the pages of my new website but it is live www.joannelee.com on there you will find the online coaching schedule for 2026, the one on one 90 Day Coaching Program and the 10 month Mentorship Program - A Perfect Ten

The products mentioned in this podcast can also be found at www.joanneleestore.com and the video version of this podcast on YouTube @ joanneleecornish

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In this episode, we break down energy properly — not as a vague feeling, but as a biological process.

Because “I’m tired” can mean a lot of different things… and treating them all the same is where people get stuck.

Why feeling tired is not the same as having low cellular energy

How the brain regulates fatigue based on stress, sleep, hormones, inflammation, and emotional load

Why caffeine can make you feel energetic without fixing the real issue

What ATP actually is — and why it matters for everything

The real role of the mitochondria (not just “battery packs”)

How mitochondria decide:

Whether you burn or store fat

How you adapt to stress and exercise

How resilient your metabolism really is

Why mitochondrial health responds to demand, not supplements alone

Why sleep quality and circadian rhythm matter more than most protocols

How resistance training + steady Zone 2 movement signal mitochondrial growth

Why overeating and poor food quality quietly sabotage energy in midlife

How midlife changes the rules — without making results harder

The role of B vitamins in energy metabolism

Why B12 shots can be powerful for absorption issues and age-related decline

Why feeling better on B12 doesn’t mean your mitochondria were “broken”

When B12 supports the system — and when it’s masking something else

What it means to be a mitochondrial-derived peptide

How MOTS-c supports:

Metabolic flexibility

Glucose handling

Insulin sensitivity

AMPK (fat-burning, cellular cleanup)

Why it’s often called an “exercise-mimicking” peptide

The real-world issue: dose, cost, and compliance

Why NAD+ matters for mitochondrial energy production

The problem with simply adding more NAD+

How NNMT drains NAD+ with age

Why 5-Amino-1MQ works by protecting your own NAD+

Why energy improvements can be dramatic — and sustainable

Why this approach works with the body instead of chasing stimulation

Feeling tired = a brain signal

Low cellular energy = a capacity issue

Why no peptide, vitamin, or injection overrides personal responsibility

And why — when the foundations are in place — results can show up fast

Available at: www.joanneleestore.com

5-Amino-1MQ

SLU-PP-332

(As always: do your own research and understand why you’re using what you’re using.)

🔐 Victory Vault

Starts January 26

Identity, mindset, follow-through

Becoming the person who succeeds — not just starting again

🔗 Full program schedule: www.joannelee2026.com

All programs are designed to work in progression, covering body composition, metabolism, hormones, and behavior from A–Z.

Group coaching programs (run once per year)

Elite 90-Day 1:1 coaching

Perfect 10 — a 10-month immersive mentorship for women only

📧 Contact: [email protected]