The Empowered Midlife Podcast

If you had told us a few years ago that we would pay good money to run eight kilometers, push a sled and do burpee broad jumps, we would have thought you were a little nuts. And yet here we are, just back from our fourth HYROX in Toronto, wearing the t-shirt and the sweatshirt.

Here is the part we want you to hear. We did not start as athletes. We got back into consistent training around three years ago, six weeks into a new gym, when one of the owners asked if we had heard of a race coming to Canada. We went home and googled how to spell it. After a half distance practice run, Nic wanted a refund. Four races later, we have learned more about showing up than we ever expected from a fitness event.

This episode is the story of how we got here, what each race taught us, and why we think you should put something on your calendar before you feel ready for it. You won't feel ready. That is the point.

What we cover (timestamps approximate)

00:00 Welcome to the post race glow. Our fourth HYROX is done, and we explain why this is about so much more than a race.

00:56 What HYROX actually is. Eight kilometers broken into one kilometer at a time, with a station between each one: ski erg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmers carry, sandbag lunges and wall balls.

02:46 Solo or doubles. We have only raced as a duo, which is why everyone on the track is dressed the same.

03:42 How we got here. Kinesiology degrees, exercise that got sporadic after kids, a virtual trainer, a gym that closed, and a new gym six weeks before someone mentioned HYROX.

05:04 August 2024. Googling the spelling, signing up, and a half distance practice run that ended with Nic asking for a refund.

06:41 Race one. The only goals were to finish and not throw up. We paced ourselves, did better than we expected, and realized there was something here.

07:19 Race two. A year of consistent training, the app that shows you your numbers, and five minutes shaved off our time.

08:34 Race three in Ottawa. Celebrating before analyzing, and the race that was hardest on Nic mentally.

10:44 Race four. Mentally our strongest, with more outdoor running behind us.

11:22 What changed in how we fueled, and why we should have done it sooner.

12:27 Why a challenge on the calendar changes how you show up, and why "I'm not ready yet" misses the point.

14:12 Performance goals instead of "skinny jeans." The pull up, the push up, the 5K.

14:53 Fast and strong. Why midlife fitness needs both cardio and strength.

15:55 Being in the room. The finish rate, the people of every shape and size on the track, and why proximity matters in fitness and in business.

17:11 The ripple effect. Our team members who raced with us, and Nic's husband's first race.

18:21 Lesson one: self doubt gets quieter when you keep showing up.

19:53 Lesson two: do things that make you nervous and excited.

21:19 Lesson three: you are stronger than you think.

21:56 Lesson four: who you surround yourself with matters.

22:51 Lesson five: fueling matters as much as training.

23:25 Sign up for something before you feel ready, and why movement is a non negotiable in midlife.

25:00 Rapid fire. Least favorite station, the lowest moment of the last race, and what comes next.

27:41 Closing thoughts. Consistency wins.

Key takeaways

1. Put something on your calendar before you feel ready. Nobody is ready twelve weeks before a race. You become ready by training toward it.
2. Choose a performance goal over an aesthetic one. Pick something your body can't do today, like a pull up, a push up or a 5K, and let consistency get you there.
3. Midlife fitness needs both buckets. Cardio keeps you fast and strength keeps you strong, so don't go all in on only one.
4. Self doubt gets quieter every time you show up. Growth lives just outside your comfort zone, and you are stronger than you think.
5. Surround yourself with people chasing what you want, and fuel your training as seriously as you train.

Closing

If this one stirred something up, you don't have to figure out your own version alone. The Empowered Midlife Hub is reopening soon, and you can join the waitlist here: https://drnicandnat.com/hub-waitlist

Thanks for hanging out with us on this episode of the Empowered Midlife Podcast. Follow along on Instagram at @dr_nic_and_nat and find us at www.drnicandnat.com.

Disclaimer
The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Listening to this podcast does not establish a doctor patient relationship with Dr. Nicole Sandilands ND or Dr. Natalie McCulloch ND. Always consult your qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine, treatment plan, or medications. Opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not replace individualized medical care.

If you've ever looked up from the calendar, the lunches, the aging parents, the career, the household, and thought, who am I outside of all of this, this episode is for you.

We're stepping away from the physical side this week and talking about something more emotional. The quiet way women lose themselves in midlife. Not in one dramatic moment. In small additions of responsibility that pile up over years until purpose and passion get pushed to the very bottom of the list, if they're on the list at all.

We ask about hobbies on our intake form on purpose. And so often the answer is some version of "I don't know what I like anymore." We've been there ourselves. Early motherhood, a growing clinic, young kids, and a season where the goal was just keeping our heads above water.

We talk about the men in our lives who go golf for four and a half hours every week without a second thought, and the moment we realized we had nothing like that in our own calendars. We talk about the guilt that keeps women stuck, the patient who retired and went straight back to work because she didn't know who she was without it, and the thing that finally brought us back to ourselves. Spoiler: it's the reason we get up early, and it eventually turned into racing.

We also get into what this actually requires. Boundaries. Saying no to something so you can say yes to you. Experimenting, even when it's uncomfortable. Nic's squash lessons and Nat's pickleball are proof we're doing it too.

Consider this your permission slip.

In this episode:

(01:01) Who this episode is for, and why we're talking emotional health, not hormones
 (01:13) The quiet way women lose themselves: not one big moment, just years of small additions
 (02:03) Why hobbies are on our intake form, and what patients say when we ask
 (02:28) Losing your sense of play, and the guilt that shows up when you try to lean back into it
 (03:11) The patient who retired, felt lost, went back to work, and realized that wasn't it either
 (04:31) "I don't even know what I like anymore." The sentence we hear constantly
 (05:09) Mom guilt, and the belief that time for you has to come at someone else's expense
 (05:23) Our husbands golf for four and a half hours, unapologetically. Where's that time on our calendar?
 (05:56) The harder question: what would I even do with four and a half hours?
 (06:08) Shoulds vs. wants. Why the laundry always wins if you let it
 (06:26) Nat's rear view mirror exercise: what did you love before you were a mom, before the career, as a little girl?
 (06:50) What kids can teach us about gravitating toward your thing
 (07:38) Our own season of just keeping our heads above water
 (08:07) One off girlfriend nights aren't enough. Why you need something consistent that refills you
 (08:36) "Where do you fit on the family calendar?"
 (09:06) The thing that brought us back: movement, and the early morning decision that made it stick
 (10:37) How training became a hobby, and why racing gave us back our competitive edge
 (11:30) Doing things for pure joy, not shoulds, and letting go of the guilt that keeps us stuck
 (12:01) "I'm a more present mom, a calmer mom, a better mom when I take time for me."
 (12:46) The two things this actually requires: boundaries and saying no
 (13:17) You might have to experiment. Sign up for the class. Try it on
 (14:08) Nic's squash lessons: terrible with a racket, showing up anyway
 (14:57) Nat's pickleball afternoon and the joy of just goofing around
 (15:16) Why hobbies bring community back, especially when kids' activities stop being your social life
 (16:09) The two takeaways: get curious, and drop the guilt
 (17:01) Your permission slip

Key takeaways:

You didn't lose yourself in one moment. It happened quietly, one responsibility at a time. It can come back the same way.
 If you don't know what you like anymore, look backward. What did the little girl version of you love?
 Sporadic moments with friends are lovely. They're not the same as something consistent in your calendar that's just yours.
 Put yourself on the family calendar. Literally.
 Saying yes to you means saying no to something else. Time doesn't magically appear.
 Guilt keeps women stuck. You are a better mom, partner, and human when your cup is full.
 You may have to experiment, and it might feel uncomfortable. Do it anyway.

Connect with us:
 Join the Empowered Midlife Hub
Instagram: @dr_nic_and_nat
Website: www.drnicandnat.com

The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not a substitute for personalized care from your own healthcare provider. Nothing discussed creates a patient provider relationship. Please speak with your physician, nurse practitioner, or qualified healthcare professional about your individual health needs, and never ignore or delay professional advice because of something you heard here.

Disclaimer
The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Listening to this podcast does not establish a doctor patient relationship with Dr. Nicole Sandilands ND or Dr. Natalie McCulloch ND. Always consult your qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine, treatment plan, or medications. Opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not replace individualized medical care.

I know I should be doing all these things for my health, but I'm so tired.

If we had a dollar for every time we heard that in the office, we could retire. And honestly, a couple of years ago it was us saying it. Moms, business owners, partners, wearing every hat, getting to the end of the day with nothing left, then sitting down in the quiet house to numb out with a show and paying for it the next morning.

So this episode is just the two of us, riffing on what we see clinically when a woman in midlife tells us she's exhausted. Not sleepy. Exhausted. The kind where it doesn't matter how much you sleep, you still don't feel restored.

We walk through five hidden reasons. Sleep and the habits and hormone shifts that quietly erode it. Underfueling, which is the one nobody talks about and the one we were both guilty of once we started working from home. Metabolic pieces like blood sugar and thyroid. Nutrient deficiencies, specifically iron, vitamin D, and B12, and why "my levels were low a year ago so I started a supplement" isn't the end of that conversation. And finally, nervous system overload, the peak responsibility years, the constant pinging, and the hustle culture that tells us rest has to be earned.

We also share the framework we move patients through, and why we always start with energy before we ask anyone to change their diet or add a workout. You can't ask a tired woman to overhaul her life. We've been that tired woman.

In this episode:

(00:52) Why energy is the first thing we unlock with patients, before diet, exercise, or anything else
 (01:56) "A couple of years ago, this was you and I." The season that inspired this episode
 (02:59) Sleepy is not the same as fatigued, and why the difference matters
 (03:48) Bedtime procrastination, and why seven to nine hours is the target
 (04:22) The 3 to 5 a.m. wake up where you're alert enough to start your day
 (05:09) Secondary insomnia: pain, bladder, rumination, grief, and afternoon coffee
 (06:23) What estrogen and progesterone actually do for your sleep, and what happens when they shift
 (07:02) The 2020 habit that had Nic brain foggy by 11 a.m. every day
 (07:51) Intermittent fasting and calorie cutting in midlife, and when they stop serving you
 (08:30) "If we're not putting gas in the machine, how do we expect the machine to run?"
 (09:01) Over exercising and under fueling, and why a cardio day and a strength day need different fuel
 (09:47) Blood sugar, insulin resistance, and the simple blood work that shows what's going on
 (10:12) Thyroid function, and why it's rarely just one thing causing your fatigue
 (12:11) Our clinical framework: sleep and nutrients first, then hormones, then diet and exercise, then longevity
 (13:15) Iron: you don't have to be anemic to be low, and the ferritin numbers we actually look for
 (14:14) "How long ago did you start that iron?" Why retesting is not optional
 (14:40) Oral iron vs. IV iron infusions, and who each one is for
 (15:21) Heavy periods, closer periods, and why meat eaters end up low too
 (16:09) Vitamin D: the patients taking it for ten years who are still deficient, and the ones taking too much
 (17:34) B12, absorption, and when injections make sense
 (18:55) Hidden reason number five: nervous system overload in your peak responsibility years
 (20:03) The pinging, the hustle culture, and the feeling of always being behind
 (20:54) The car ride barometer. What Nat listens for when she asks "what's your drive home like?"
 (22:16) Rest is productive. Why your best ideas show up in the shower
 (23:35) Giving yourself permission to just be
 (24:24) "We need you in your fully expressed version of you."

Key takeaways:

Fatigue is not sleepiness. If more sleep doesn't restore you, something else is going on.
 Under fueling is one of the most overlooked causes of low energy in midlife. Sometimes the fix is simply eating breakfast.
 Iron, vitamin D, and B12 should be part of your annual blood work. Test, treat, and retest. Don't assume the supplement is working.
 Ferritin under 100 is worth exploring. Under 50 is not where you want to be. You don't need to be anemic to feel it.
 Your nervous system counts. If you need total silence on the drive home, ask where the calm is missing from the rest of your day.
 Rest is productive. Permission granted.

Connect with us:
 Join the Empowered Midlife Hub.
Instagram: @dr_nic_and_nat
Website: www.drnicandnat.com

The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not a substitute for personalized care from your own healthcare provider. Nothing discussed creates a patient-provider relationship. Please speak with your physician, nurse practitioner, or qualified healthcare professional about your individual health needs, and never ignore or delay professional advice because of something you heard here.

Disclaimer
The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Listening to this podcast does not establish a doctor patient relationship with Dr. Nicole Sandilands ND or Dr. Natalie McCulloch ND. Always consult your qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine, treatment plan, or medications. Opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not replace individualized medical care.

I have no problem falling asleep, but then I'm awake between three and five a.m. If that's you, this episode is the one to start with.

We hear this exact story in the office constantly, and it's one of the most common and most disruptive symptoms of perimenopause. So we're breaking down why it happens, and more importantly, what you can actually do about it.

We walk through the hormonal side first. Estrogen dropping means hot flashes and night sweats that pull you out of deep sleep. Progesterone declining means you lose one of your body's most calming, sedating hormones. And cortisol, our stress hormone, keeps a lot of women tired all day and then wired the second their head hits the pillow, which makes sense when you stack up everything women in their 40s and 50s are carrying compared to their 20s.

Then we get into the stuff that's easy to overlook. Low iron, blood sugar swings, thyroid function, and the behaviors that got a pass in our 20s and 30s but start showing up loud and clear now. Alcohol, screens before bed, eating too close to bedtime, caffeine creeping later into the day. We also talk about wearables, and why seeing your own data can be the thing that finally makes a habit click.

This one is full of small, doable changes, plus a reminder that sleep isn't something to negotiate down. It's one of the non negotiables.

In this episode

(00:54) Why sleep is the number one pillar in our perimenopause framework
 (03:15) Estrogen, hot flashes, and night sweats
 (03:41) The role of declining progesterone
 (04:07) Cortisol, and why tired but wired is so common in this decade
 (05:09) The hidden physiological reasons, iron, blood sugar, thyroid
 (06:43) Alcohol and the 3am wake up
 (07:29) Why wearables like an Aura ring can be an eye opening tool
 (08:53) Screens, blue light, and the book test
 (10:22) When hormone therapy belongs in the conversation, and why it's not a magic fix on its own
 (11:13) Building a nighttime routine like the one you'd build for your kids
 (12:32) Your bedroom environment, and the eye mask that changed everything
 (13:30) Timing your workouts around your sleep
 (14:34) Calming the nervous system before bed
 (14:56) Why seven to nine hours is non negotiable, not a nice to have
 (17:20) The afternoon caffeine cutoff

Key takeaways

Symptoms like the 3am wake up usually have more than one driver. Hormones, iron, blood sugar, and thyroid can all be part of the picture.
 Alcohol, screens, and late meals are the modifiable factors most within your control, and often the ones we ignore.
 A nighttime routine isn't just for kids. Give yourself the hour of wind down you'd give them.
 Sleep is not something to cut corners on in this decade. It's foundational to everything else.

If you're looking for deeper support, education, and community, check out the Empowered Midlife Hub, where women receive ongoing guidance to help them navigate perimenopause and menopause with confidence.

Learn more about the Empowered Midlife Hub

Connect with us
 Instagram: @dr_nic_and_nat
 Website: www.drnicandnat.com

Disclaimer
The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Listening to this podcast does not establish a doctor patient relationship with Dr. Nicole Sandilands ND or Dr. Natalie McCulloch ND. Always consult your qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine, treatment plan, or medications. Opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not replace individualized medical care.

If you've ever laid awake wondering, is this my hormones, is this something else, am I even in perimenopause, this episode is where you start.

Perimenopause has taken over social media, which is great, except it also means a lot of confusing, contradictory information landing in your feed all at once. So we're pulling it all the way back to basics. What perimenopause actually is, why it can start earlier than most women expect, and what's really happening hormonally behind the mood swings, the sleep disruption, and the cycle changes.

We walk through why progesterone is usually the first hormone to shift, why estrogen becomes so erratic, and why every woman's experience through this is different, even between identical twins. We also tackle one of the most common clinical questions we get, can you just test my hormones to know for sure, and why the honest answer is more nuanced than a single blood test.

Then we bring you inside our own clinical framework, the four pillars we walk every patient through, starting with sleep and nutrients, moving into hormone support, and building toward the diet, exercise, and longevity work that actually changes how you feel and how you age.

This episode is the one to send to a friend who says, I don't even know if this is perimenopause or not.

In this episode

(00:54) What perimenopause actually is, and how early it can start
 (02:29) Why suffering through it is optional
 (02:56) The hormone timeline, starting with progesterone
 (03:41) Why erratic estrogen drives so many of the mood symptoms
 (04:48) Cycle changes, often the first obvious sign
 (05:58) Why every woman's experience is different, even for identical twins
 (06:40) Can you test for perimenopause? The honest answer
 (08:56) Our four pillar framework, sleep and nutrients first
 (09:13) Pillar two, hormone support
 (10:58) Pillar three, diet and exercise, and why we save it for later
 (11:32) Pillar four, longevity and the decades ahead
 (13:41) The top three symptoms that bring women into our office
 (14:12) Mood changes, and why this stage carries more risk
 (15:12) Weight gain, muscle loss, and what's really going on
 (17:39) What to do today if you think this might be you

Key takeaways

Perimenopause can start seven to ten years before menopause itself, often in your late 30s.
 There's no single blood test for perimenopause. It's a clinical picture built from your age, cycles, symptoms, and often some labs to rule other things out.
 Symptoms are normal and natural. Suffering through them is optional.
 Tracking your cycles and symptoms gives you and your provider real data to work from.

If you're looking for deeper support, education, and community, check out the Empowered Midlife Hub, where women receive ongoing guidance to help them navigate perimenopause and menopause with confidence.

Learn more about the Empowered Midlife Hub

Connect with us
 Instagram: @dr_nic_and_nat
 Website: www.drnicandnat.com

Disclaimer
The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Listening to this podcast does not establish a doctor patient relationship with Dr. Nicole Sandilands ND or Dr. Natalie McCulloch ND. Always consult your qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine, treatment plan, or medications. Opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not replace individualized medical care.

We get asked this constantly. How did you both become naturopathic doctors, and why on earth did you open a clinic together?

So we're taking you back.

Back to McMaster, where we were both studying kinesiology and thought we'd end up as physiotherapists. Back to the dermatologist's office where Nat asked why her skin was breaking out when her identical twin's wasn't, and was told it was bad luck. Back to the bank meeting where we were told our clinic was a nice idea on paper that would never get funded.

We talk about the science prep year, the MCAT Nic still doesn't want to discuss, the four room clinic we opened with three empty rooms on purpose, and the week our mom worked our front desk before politely finding us a receptionist.

Then we get into 2020, when our fully booked calendars went blank overnight, and the women in their 40s and 50s who reached out first. They weren't just stressed. Something had shifted. That question sent us down a two year deep dive into perimenopause and menopause that changed the entire direction of our clinic.

This one is personal. Thanks for letting us share it.

In this episode

(01:00) Why we both ended up at McMaster for kinesiology, and the physio plan that didn't stick
 (04:00) The presentation that introduced Nat to naturopathic medicine, and the shadowing that sealed it
 (07:00) I have a genetic identical who doesn't have this. The dermatologist answer that started Nat's own health journey
 (09:00) Nic's detour through the MCAT and an osteopathic program in the States, and why seven minute appointments were a dealbreaker
 (11:30) Naturopathic school, and the business education nobody gave us
 (13:00) Our first jobs out of school, and the conversation three months in that changed the plan
 (14:30) The bank meeting where we were told it would never happen
 (15:30) Opening in Pickering with four treatment rooms and two doctors
 (16:30) Why we left rooms empty on purpose
 (17:00) Mom at the front desk, our first hire, and doubling our space
 (19:30) March 2020, full calendars to blank ones, and delivering supplements to doorsteps
 (21:00) The phone call about the women in their 40s and 50s
 (23:00) The two year fellowship, and getting our whole clinical team menopause certified
 (24:45) Why midlife is the moment that decides your aging trajectory

Key takeaways:

-Symptoms are information. Bad luck is not a diagnosis.
-Prevention and lifestyle medicine belong in the same room as prescribing---Naturopathic school covers hormones, but not midlife health in the depth  women need. We went and got it.
-Midlife health isn't about surviving symptoms. It's about which aging trajectory you're on.

If you're looking for deeper support, education, and community, check out the Empowered Midlife Hub, where women receive ongoing guidance to help them navigate perimenopause and menopause with confidence.

Learn more about the Empowered Midlife Hub

Connect with us
 Instagram: @dr_nic_and_nat
 Website: www.drnicandnat.com

Disclaimer
The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Listening to this podcast does not establish a doctor patient relationship with Dr. Nicole Sandilands ND or Dr. Natalie McCulloch ND. Always consult your qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine, treatment plan, or medications. Opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not replace individualized medical care.

Welcome to the Empowered Midlife Podcast Hosted by twin sisters Dr. Nicole Sandilands ND and Dr. Natalie McCulloch ND, naturopathic doctors and Menopause Society Certified Practitioners.After years of working with women in clinical practice, they saw the same pattern again and again: women feeling overwhelmed, dismissed, and told their symptoms were “just part of getting older.”

This podcast was created to change that.

Each week, Dr. Nic & Nat ND break down what’s actually happening in your body during your 40s and 50s and share practical strategies to help you navigate midlife with more clarity and confidence.

Topics include:

• Hormones and perimenopause

• Energy, fatigue, and burnout

• Mood, anxiety, and emotional resilience

• Sleep, metabolism, and brain fog

• Libido, relationships, and confidence

• Habits that support long-term health

With a mix of science, real tools, and sisterly conversation, this podcast is here to help you feel supported and empowered through midlife.

If you’re looking for deeper support, education, and community, you can also explore the Empowered Midlife Hub, where women receive ongoing guidance to help them navigate perimenopause and menopause with confidence.

Learn more about the Empowered Midlife Hub.

Stay Connected

• Follow the podcast so you never miss an episode

• Share it with a friend navigating midlife

• Leave a review to help more women find this resource

Follow on Instagram: @dr_nic_and_nat

Visit our website: www.drnicandnat.com

Disclaimer
The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Listening to this podcast does not establish a doctor patient relationship with Dr. Nicole Sandilands ND or Dr. Natalie McCulloch ND. Always consult your qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine, treatment plan, or medications. Opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not replace individualized medical care.