Women are more at risk for anxiety, depression and other mood disorders. Meeka shares why this might occur and how our biology has an impact.

• Statistically speaking, women tend to struggle with depression more than men. Meeka shares the reasons behind this and speaks further on how hormones affect the female brain.

• Estrogen is a big part of this dynamic. The female brain really likes estrogen and appetite, mood, sleep, sex drive and pain levels, can be affected by a fluctuation in it.

• There is a difference between the diagnosis of anxiety, and living anxiously. Meeka shares how we are using the word anxiety and how this looks different.

• We have to get everything done! And if we don’t do it, it won’t get done! Meeka shares how this over functioning could be a coping tool and is serving a purpose in mood regulation.                                                                                                                                                                           

So You Know She Is Legit…

Meeka is a Licensed Specialist in Clinical Social Work that has been considered the pioneer in the Kansas City area in advocating for those pregnancy and postpartum related depression and anxiety. And she was the first to establish a specialty practice in 2008. She strongly believes in the power of story to teach others about the struggles families face. She often uses her personal story and the collected stories of families that she has worked with since 2003. It helps others to see perinatal issues through the lens of both mother and professional. Her style is to infuse her work with warmth and humor. And her goal is to engage clients and the community with her candid approach. Most importantly she aims to leave people informed and inspired.

Her work and advocacy for families have been featured in:

Parents Magazine, Adoptive Families Magazine, The Kansas City Star, M Magazine, Fit Pregnancy and National Public Radio.

To Connect with Meeka:

www.centimano.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centimanocounseling/

Aj Mendez shares how “Crazy is her super POWER” on PHIT for a Queen podcast:

1. So excited to share how Turning crazy into a superpower book is now a TV series.

You can find AJ and her superpowers at:

• http://theajmendez.com/

So you know she is legit:

New York Times Bestselling Author, Former Wrestling Champion

AJ Mendez is the New York Times Bestselling author of Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules. She is a mental health advocate and animal rights activist, currently serving as an ambassador for the nonprofit organizations NAMI, The JED Foundation, The ASPCA, and Girls Make Games. A former professional wrestler with the WWE under the ring name AJ Lee, she has won three championships and numerous awards, as well as inspired a generation of young girls to wear sensible shoes. AJ has been made into several video game characters and action figures, all with substantially exaggerated body measurements. In her spare time, she enjoys comic books, video games, and internet videos of unusual animal friendships. She is currently working with the producers of the Genius franchise to turn Crazy is My Superpower into a TV series, which she will write and executive produce. Follow AJ on Twitter and Instagram at @TheAJMendez .

Katherine Hughey is a former fitness competitor and recovered eating disorder athlete, who gets real about the dark side of the fitness industry and how she is changing these messages!

• Katherine discusses how gyms and the fitness industry has in a way, lost its mission. The stereotypes that the fitness industry is encouraging is a barrier to living a healthy lifestyle

So you know she’s legit:

Katherine Hughey is a former fitness competitor and recovered eating disorder athlete. As an ACE certified Group Fitness instructor and ACE certified Personal Trainer, Katherine works with patient care teams to integrate health-focused and body-positive solutions into lifestyle plans that stress the importance of intuitive exercise. She is committed to the increased recognition of exercise professionals for their distinct roles in medical, health, fitness, and sports performance fields. Most recently, Katherine served as the Executive Director of the Coalition for the Registration of Exercise Professionals (CREP). Katherine is a certified BODYCOMBAT, BODYPUMP, CXWORX, SPRINT, and GRIT Les Mills, instructor.

Katherine and Tr1be Fitness Check Out:

http://www.tr1befitness.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TR1BEFitness/

Twitter @tr1befitness

Beth Jessop shares why she created "Sports Moms United" and her passion for youth athletics.

1. The mission is to raise physically fit, & mentally fit young athletes.

Where you can find Beth and Sports Moms United

http://www.sportsmomsunited.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sportsmomunited/

[email protected]

Beth Jessop shares why she created "Sports Moms United" and her passion for youth athletics.

1. The mission is to raise physically fit, & mentally fit young athletes.

Where you can find Beth and Sports Moms United

http://www.sportsmomsunited.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sportsmomunited/

[email protected]

 Jill Puelo shares her journey as an ultramarathoner who struggled with amenorrhea, overtraining syndrome, and her journey to find the balanced relationship with exercise.

• Jill shares the journey of her struggle of being diagnosed with hypothalamic amenorrhea as an ultramarathoner. She went to her OB who said: “you’re a skinny runner, what do you expect?” Losing your period is an indicator of something being wrong!

• Loss of a period in an athlete is also an indicator of overtraining syndrome. There is a difference between overreaching and overtraining.

• Jill’s athletic identity was definitely impacted when she had to take a break from her sport. She shares more about this important topic of identity.

So You Know She Is Legit…

Jill is a former collegiate soccer player, triathlete, marathoner, and ultrarunner who went through almost five years of amenorrhea before finally addressing her issues to get healthy. Shocked at just how much she didn't know about hormones and menstrual health for athletes, she decided to share her research and wisdom on both Hypothalamic Amenorrhea and Overtraining Syndrome through her YouTube channel. Her passion for counseling others even led her to go back to school to Harvard University's Extension School where she is pursuing a Master's Degree in Psychology in order to fully support athletes in their path to health.

To Connect with Jill:

https://www.acaseofthejills.com/

Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLJCTCfdzeZ8Sdc-RvT7aZg 

Facebook: @acaseofthejills

 Shannon Miller, Most Decorated Olympic Gymnast in American History speaks about athletic identity, transition out of sport, and her battle with ovarian cancer that led her to become a women’s health advocate.

• One of the things that was most difficult for Shannon when retiring from gymnastics was that she missed the structure and support that was naturally in place with the sport. She shares what was helpful for her in that transition.

So You Know She Is Legit...

Shannon Miller remains the Most Decorated Olympic Gymnast in American History

with 7 Olympic medals. (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze) She is the only female athlete to be

inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame – Twice! (Individual (2006) and Team

(2008))

Shannon has won an astounding 59 International and 49 National competition

medals. Over half of these have been gold. She is the first US gymnast to win 2 World

All-Around Titles. Her tally of five medals (2 silver, 3 bronze) at the 1992 Olympics

was the most medals won by a US athlete in any sport. At the ’96 Games, she led the

“Magnificent Seven” to the US Women’s first ever Team Gold and for the first time

for any American gymnast, she captured Gold on the Balance Beam.

After retiring from Olympic competition, Shannon received her undergraduate

degrees in marketing and entrepreneurship from the University of Houston and her

law degree from Boston College.

Shannon remains a part of the gymnastics and Olympic communities as an analyst

and commentator. Now retired from competition, Shannon has moved from Olympic

athlete to advocate for the health and wellness of women and children.                 

Shannon launched her company Shannon Miller Lifestyle: Health and Fitness for

Women in July 2010. She continues to travel the country as a highly sought-after

motivational speaker and advocate for the health and wellness of women and

children.

To connect with Shannon Miller and hear more of her story go to:

Shannon Miller Lifestyle http://shannonmiller.com

Twitter/Instagram: @ShannonMiller96

Facebook/YouTube: @ShannonMillerOfficial

Jen Brickey shares why she believes” Females should be training females.”

• Discusses why the female population is underserved in many areas: conditioning, injury prevention, mental skills.

Where you can learn more about Jen & her Women’s basketball performance center

http://www.womensbasketballperformance.com/about/

http://www.femaleathletesummit.com/

How you know she is legit:

I am the creator of The Women’s Basketball Summit and The Complete Women’s Basketball Strength and Conditioning Program. Currently, I am the head strength and conditioning coach at Concord Academy in Concord, Mass and the head coach and owner of Fusion Workouts, a kettlebell and sports performance gym in Newton, Mass

Throughout my coaching and training career, I have held numerous certifications:

• NSCA-CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist)

I attended Hofstra University in Long Island, NY on a full athletic scholarship where I received my bachelor of science in exercise science.

I had a pretty good high school and college basketball career, here are a few basketball accomplishments:

At Hofstra University: 1999-2003

• First-team all-conference (CAA) senior year, 2003

High School at Nashua High School: 1996-1999

• 2X New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year in 97 and 99

Dr. Shufelt blows our minds with information on the research that is going on around hormones levels and cardiovascular health. Our menstrual cycle is an indicator of our overall health and we need to be paying more attention to our cycles!

• Our menstrual cycle is a strong indicator of our overall health, but we are not talking about it. Dr. Shufelt discusses more about low estrogen levels and how it can impact our health and specifically heart health.

So you know she’s legit:

Dr. Chrisandra Shufelt is the Director of the Women’s Hormone and Menopause Program at the Barbara Streisand Women’s Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. She is also Associate Professor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Dr. Shufelt earned her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Irvine and her medical degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). She completed her internal medicine residency in Santa Barbara and a Women's Heart Disease and Health Fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Shufelt received a master's degree in epidemiology and biostatistics from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Shufelt is a women’s health expert and board certified in internal medicine with advanced training in preventive cardiology and women's health. She has several leadership roles in the American College of Physicians, the North American Menopause Society and is a certified menopause practitioner. Her research is NIH-funded and focuses on premenopausal women with amenorrhea due to low estrogen and the impact of hormones on the immune system and heart disease. She has over 100 publications in the area of women’s health and is involved in several large studies including the Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation, the Women’s Health Initiative and the Los Angeles Atherosclerosis Study.

To Find out more about Dr. Shufelt’s work and ongoing research:

https://giving.cedars-sinai.edu/barbra-streisand-womens-heart-center/our-leadership/chrisandra-shufelt

 Bobbi-Sue shares her experience of jumping into the male-dominated world of sports law and why she decided to start a podcast called Leveling the Playing Field. The podcast came about as a result of Bobbi-Sue’s passion for supporting women in business and leadership roles, especially in sports. Because we can’t be, what we can’t see!

• The world of sport and law is predominantly male-dominated, Bobbi-Sue discusses joining that world and working in the sport law industry.

So You Know She Is Legit…

Bobbi-Sue Doyle-Hazard is the host of Leveling The Playing Field, a podcast featuring women who work in sport. The podcast came about as result of Bobbi-Sue’s passion for supporting women in business and leadership roles, especially in sports. On Leveling The Playing Field, Bobbi-Sue conducts casual, conversational interviews with women who are making their marks on the industry.

In her day job, she is the Assistant General Counsel for a professional sports organization. A graduate of the UMass Sport Management undergraduate program and Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law, Bobbi-Sue’s career path was anything but a straight line. She began her legal career as the first in-house counsel for a small family of life sciences companies and then moved on to a telecom company prior to her finding her way into the sports industry.

She is a strong advocate for mental health wellness and breaking the stigma surrounding mental illness, having personally lived with diagnosed depression and anxiety since she was a child. As such, she’s not afraid to broach these and other difficult topics with her guests.

You can follow the podcast on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram at @LTPFPod or via the website LTPFPod.com. You can follow Bobbi-Sue on Twitter at @bobbisue.

Check out Bobbi-Sue’s Podcast

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/leveling-the-playing-field/id1268177924?mt=2