The Superwoman Code

Happy Birthday Superwoman! I exit one decade and enter another today, and I've been doing some serious thinking about what lessons and skills I want to bring forward with me.

On today's episode, I lay out my 8 life lessons that I've learnt over the past decade, why being alone is critical for health, why you don't have to do it all right away, why I'm awful at emails (goals to improve here!) and why your mother's experience doesn't have to be your experience.

If you'd like, could you be a doll and screenshot this episode to share it with your friends and followers? I'd be super honoured to share this with more and more amazing Superwomen!

The Goods: Full Shownotes Get On The Clinic Waitlist Subscribe to The Superwoman Code Email List Follow @drashleymargeson on Instagram

Special Thanks ToProduction: Ben Connolly Supported by Cornerstone Naturopathic Inc

Nutrition doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, it can be really simple.

In this episode I tell you the science behind some of those so called "diets", why you should be eating based off the research and not what some instagram post tells you to eat and why the best diet has a little bit of everything and not too much of any one thing.

To top it off... I have 4 Rules To Follow when it comes to eating. They're easy, they're simple and they're laid out in this podcast.

Be super, Superwoman!

Is there a way to bring more heart and soul to the way we work? Can a thriving business be built on love? Can the way women operate save the dying businesses or the last century? Is there room for love? Meet Colette O'Hara, Chief Strategy Officer for the Saltwire Network, Entrepreneur, Hustler, Slower Downer and Believer that Love Really Does Solve All. She is an advocate for independent media, for journalism that's filled with more than just opinions and she is a flurry of activity all through the day. Importantly, meet a woman who I have admired for a number of years as someone who was one of the "cool girls" who knew what she was doing… I just really wanted to be friends with her! Isn't it funny how making friends doesn't really change from the school yard? I have long admired Colette's business sense, but I have also admired her commitment to what journalism and communication can look like. She is a huge believer that the future of news should be about talking with people, not at people; that there is no black and white in media and that we should all be advocating vocally for the needs of ourselves, or others and of the next generation.

She'll be the first to admit she has NO idea what she's doing, but that every conversation, every interaction and every moment should be met with love. And that doesn't mean it's all fine and dandy in Red Balloon land, love is most important when things get hard.

You'll find her with a huge smile on her face, always coming in the door in a mad rush of excitement - gleaming to pick the next person's brain about a hard question.

In short, you're going to learn a LOT in this episode. I learned a lot in this episode.

And if you want to engage with Colette and the @saltwirenetwork team's latest brainwave… head to your local newsstand to pick up a copy of SALT. You won't be disappointed.

Ever hear the saying "work hard, play hard"? How about the saying "work hard, sleep hard". That one might be a better choice.

When it comes to optimizing your health, there is nothing more important than sleep. Don't believe me? Ask your mum how she felt when she couldn't sleep through the night when she hit menopause (don't worry - that's not going to happen to you). Trust me, sleep is critical.

But far too often, we only count number of hours that we're sleeping - not the quality of sleep we are getting. In this episode of The Superwoman Code we jump into la la land and what it means to be getting high quality sleep. I'm going through the research on cortisol and melatonin, what the stages of sleep truly mean and how your hormones affect your ability to hit that deep sleep point for long periods of time.

Turns out, women are 40% more likely then men to experience insomnia, women with PMDD and extreme forms of PMS can cause us to have less sleep time and we actually require longer sleep times than our male counterparts.

Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you hanging on what to do. This episode we explain the research behind melatonin and magnesium (melatonin isn't used for what you think btw), why you need to stop running on adrenaline and how to set yourself up for sleep success by, yes, turning off your phone.

Research:

Sleep in Women Across the Life Span: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6045782/

Sleep & Women's Health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4327930/

https://www.hormone.org/your-health-and-hormones/sleep-and-circadian-rhythm

Do you swell before your period? Rings fit differently, you get bloated and have to find those leggings reserved only for that time of the month? What about literally experiencing aches and pains, joint irritation and headaches? Ever wonder if you were supposed to feel this way or if there was something more? On today's episode we deep dive into the effect that chronic, low-grade inflammation has on your periods. And it turns out, those hormonal shifts that you have before your period starts can be trigger the increase of this tiny little inflammatory molecules known as prostaglandins. These prostaglandins are what have been studied in everything from PMS to PMDD to endometriosis and PCOS... and knowing the effect that these little molecules have is truly a wonder into how we treat and approach the connection between inflammation and our menstrual cycles.

Today I'm not just laying down the science, I'm also chatting about how a few simple changes in your life can reduce your overall inflammatory cascade, what bloodwork you need to have done, and I *may* have touched on why vegan diets maybe aren't the best choice when you experience chronic low grade inflammation... maybe.

Those Omega 3 to Omega 6 Fatty Acid Ratios tho...

Enjoy Superwomen!

RESEARCH:

Prostaglandins and premenstrual syndrome. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 1992 Jan;45(1):33-6. Koshikawa N1, Tatsunuma T, Furuya K, Seki K. PMID: 1546064

Reduced parasympathetic activity during sleep in the symptomatic phase of severe premenstal syndrome. J Psychosom Res. 2008 Jul;65(1):13-22. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.04.008. Epub 2008 Jun 4. Baker FC1, Colrain IM, Trinder J.

Moline ML, Zendell SM. Evaluating and managing premenstrual syndrome. Medscape Womens Health. 2000;5:1–16.

Kendler KS, Karkowski LM, Corey LA, Neale MC. Longitudinal population-based twin study of retrospectively reported premenstrual symptoms and lifetime major depression. Am J Psychiatry. 1998;155:1234–40.

Steege JF, Blumenthal JA. The effects of aerobic exercise on premenstrual symptoms in middle-aged women: a preliminary study. J Psychosom Res. 1993;37:127–33.

Dorothy Spence is a purpose-led, love forward, critical thinking engineer, yoga teacher and master of making connections. As the founder of Purpose Led Business School, she is committed to changing the world from the inside out.

She sat down with us to discuss designing a purpose-led business, living a purpose-filled life and how growth is found in all those messy bits. As the mentor for the Canadian sheEO, she is also involved with growing female-led business from the ground up to solve the world's to-do list. She is all about building a business as a force for good.

Dorothy has also been an integral mentor to me, and was the first person to put the idea of this podcast into my brain. I couldn't think of any better person to chat with about messy lives, designing a purpose-filled life and taking some serious risks.

Today's podcast is also sponsored by Purpose-Led Business school - and you can find out more about the program here:

https://www.thepurposeledbusinessschool.com

http://www.dorothyspence.com/about-the-school

"I've never been asked any of these questions".

I've heard this sentence so many times in my practice I've almost come to expect it. But when it comes to our periods being a defining contributor for our health, sometimes even our doctors don't even know the right questions to ask.

Which is why today's episode lays it all on the line.

Today's episode runs you through the questions I ask each of my patients about their periods. Hopefully you take the information from this and use it to talk with your family doctor, gynecologist, specialist, naturopathic doctor or nurse practitioner about your hormones.

You deserve to have your hormones work for you Superwoman, not against you.

Thanks to our phenomenal sponsors, Cornerstone Naturopathic, The Hormone Optimization Planner and Knix Underwear for your continued support of The Superwoman Code.

Enjoy the episode, Superwomen!

Once in a while, you have the chance to meet someone who truly gives everything they have to everyone around them. For me, that man was Bruce Phinney. He was (and still is) an uncle in every way but by blood.

On December 25th, 2019, we lost Bruce to a rare form of cancer. His story was told by many people at his funeral and one of those stories influenced today's podcast. See, according to Ray Ivany, Bruce had a say/do gap that was virtually non existent. If he said he would do something, he did it… and he did more things than he ever told anyone about.

This say/do gap is something I talk about with many of my patients. Because, when we're talking about burnout, that say/do gap can get wider due to a variety of reasons… you lose motivation, you feel like you don't have enough time, you're exhausted, you feel like you can't say no.

In today's episode, we dive into how to manage your say/do gap, how to come through on the promises you make to yourself and others, and how to tell if your say/do gap is a marker for burnout.

We're also very lucky here at The Superwoman Code to have many great sponsors. Today, I'm linking to the memorial bursary set up in Bruce's name. If you feel so inclined, please visit to learn more about this amazing man and legacy.

https://www2.acadiau.ca/custom/donation/index.php?program=Bruce%20Phinney%20Memorial%20Scholarship

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Anxiety. Depression. Fatigue. Exhaustion. Burnout. Happiness. Excitement.

For us women, our moods can shift depending on our work load, our stressors, our relationships, what podcast we last listened to (hey now! hey now!) and yes - our hormones. Turns out, our hormones aren't only influencing our moods just before our periods, when we can be most down, but they can also be influencing our positive mood as well.

In this podcast we dive into the science behind our moods, how progesterone and estrogen influence our serotonin, how anti-depressants and specific supplements can positively benefit you, how this can affect post partum health and how you can optimize your hormones to support your mood.

SO. MANY. THINGS.

RESEARCH PAPERS:

Prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder in female patients with seasonal affective disorder.

Praschak-Rieder N, Willeit M, Neumeister A, Hilger E, Stastny J, Thierry N, Lenzinger E, Kasper S.

J Affect Disord. 2001 Mar;63(1-3):239-42.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.

Lanza di Scalea T, Pearlstein T.

Med Clin North Am. 2019 Jul;103(4):613-628. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2019.02.007. Review.

A Comprehensive Review of Treatment Options for Premenstrual Syndrome and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.

Maharaj S, Trevino K.

J Psychiatr Pract. 2015 Sep;21(5):334-50. doi: 10.1097/PRA.0000000000000099. Review.

Variance in Mood Symptoms Across Menstrual Cycles: Implications for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.

Lorenz TK, Gesselman AN, Vitzthum VJ.

Women's reproductive health (Philadelphia, Pa.). 2017 Jul 10; 4(2): 77-88

Serotonin regulates brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in select brain regions during acute psychological stress.

Jiang DG, Jin SL, Li GY, Li QQ, Li ZR, Ma HX, Zhuo CJ, Jiang RH, Ye MJ.

Neural Regeneration Research. 2016 Sep; 11(9): 1471-1479

Correlation between postpartum depression and premenstrual dysphoric disorder: Single center study.

Lee YJ, Yi SW, Ju DH, Lee SS, Sohn WS, Kim IJ.

Obstetrics & Gynecology Science. 2015 Sep 22; 58(5): 353-358

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When I first met Katelyn she had reached out to me about being a guest on her podcast (The Creative Hustle) to chat alllllllllllll about how to avoid burnout as a creative entrepreneur. I fangirled, hard, because she was this bubbly, energetic girl boss who I just really wanted to be friends with. Isn't it funny how we don't really grow past kindergarten when it comes to just wanting to be friends with people?

That was 2017, and over the last 2 years our relationship has evolved from a professional working relationship to a friendship I hold close to my heart. Don't believe me? Ask the wine bottles and IV bags that happen to make sure we both survive wedding season without crashing!

As we were getting ready to launch The Superwoman Code, Katelyn was one of the people I reached out to about both being on the show and helping me understand how to make this thing work.

In this episode, we dive deep into what burnout looked like for Katelyn, how she came back from it, what she does for her health, and how she manages a busy company without sacrificing herself to make it happen. For all you brides who are listening in (or brides-to-be!), she shares some of the magic of what makes Elegant Productions one of Atlantic Canada's foremost wedding planning services, why she believes that the "best day of your life" is supposed to come AFTER the wedding and why a strong morning routine is key to her truly having it all.

I'm also going to apologize, because I royally fudged up the sound at the beginning of this episode, but didn't want to ask Katelyn to start over because she was on a roll! It gets fixed around the 13 minute mark. Until then - just turn up your headphones slightly and accept my apology to all of you Superwomen!

To connect more with Katelyn, follow @elegantproductions on instagram and visit them online at www.elegantproductions.ca

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SUPERWOMAN SHOW NOTES: https://www.ashleymargeson.com/podcast