Transforming 45

What happens when the dream you worked for no longer fits—and the woman in the mirror begins to change too?

In this episode of Transforming 45, Lisa sits down with Sway Brows founder Tanny Diep to talk about failure, burnout, beauty, business and the courage to reinvent yourself more than once. Tanny shares how being kicked out of college, selling door-to-door, working in fashion and completing an unexpected yoga teacher training shaped the artist, educator and entrepreneur she is today.

The conversation goes far beyond permanent makeup. Lisa and Tanny explore the vulnerability of changing faces, the difference between beauty as performance and beauty as self-expression, and why confidence cannot be researched or perfectly planned—it has to be built through action

You are allowed to change the dream. This conversation offers room to reconsider work, beauty and success as your life changes, then begin with a small action that feels useful to you.

About Tanny Diep:

Tanny Diep is the founder of Sway Brows, a beauty entrepreneur, permanent makeup artist, educator and marketing mentor helping beauty professionals build profitable, scalable brands. After growing a multi-service beauty business specializing in permanent makeup for brows, lip blush, eyeliner and plasma skin rejuvenation, she now teaches artists to master both their craft and their marketing through training, coaching and practical business strategy.

Connect with Tanny:

Training and coaching: www.swaybrows.com

Services studio: www.swayinked.com

PMU supplies: www.theswaystore.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swaybrows/

Connect with Lisa:

Website: https://liberatedmenopause.ca

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lboate/

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Come find me at the National Menopause Show, October 17–18, 2026, at the International Centre in Mississauga. I’ll be recording Transforming 45 from the show floor. Use TRANSFORM45 for 15% off tickets: https://nationalmenopauseshow.com/

Have you really lost your libido, or were you never given the space, language or permission to discover your desire in the first place?

In this honest conversation, Lisa sits down with psychologist and sexual-health researcher Dr. Lori Brotto, author of Better Sex Through Mindfulness. Together, they unpack the myths women have inherited about desire and how exhaustion, stress, pain, medication and relationship context can shape our sexual lives.

We talk about knowing your body, what menopause can change, preparing for conversations with a healthcare practitioner, and what to say when your concerns are dismissed. We also explore how partners can talk about sex without making one person responsible for fixing everything.

Maybe pleasure in midlife begins with getting curious about who we are now. Sexual health is health, and this conversation gives us language for something many of us have carried quietly.

What listeners will take away:

Chapters:

00:00 Did we lose desire—or never get to know it?

01:33 What sexual desire actually is

03:13 Have I ever felt desire in my own skin?

06:33 What “I’ve lost my libido” can mean

08:34 Sex education, agency and inherited stories

12:38 Knowing your body and what feels good

15:10 Hormones, menopause and sexual comfort

17:38 Why a blood test cannot tell the whole story

18:58 Shame, self-discovery and support

22:32 Midlife women and the demand for better healthcare

27:22 Preparing to talk to your healthcare provider

28:42 Sexual health is health

30:15 Responding when your concerns are dismissed

31:53 Alcohol, sleep and arousal

33:40 Talking with a partner about timing and sex

35:53 How partners’ bodies and roles can change too

38:22 A first step toward sexual self-awareness

40:22 How to begin the conversation with your partner

41:08 What Lisa is taking away

CONNECT WITH LORI

Website and books: https://www.loribrotto.com/

Research lab: https://brottolab.med.ubc.ca/

CONNECT WITH LISA

https://liberatedmenopause.ca/

Instagram: @lboate

Transforming 45 is a space for honest conversations about midlife transformation.

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JOIN ME AT THE NATIONAL MENOPAUSE SHOW

Come for honest conversations, practical information and a whole lot of midlife connection.

When: Oct 17, 2026–Oct 18, 2026 | 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Where: The International Centre, Hall 5, Mississauga, Ontario.

I’ll be podcasting from the show floor, including a live conversation with Jessica Holmes on Saturday. Come say hello!

Use my code TRANSFORM45 for 15% off your tickets.

Tickets: National Menopause Show tickets

What happens when you’ve done everything “right”—and still find yourself asking, Who am I now?

Around her 50th birthday, Jennifer Arthurton faced divorce, unemployment, an empty nest and illness. The checklist she’d followed no longer offered an answer for what came next.

In this episode of Transforming 45, Jennifer and Lisa Boate talk honestly about the grief and anger that can come with a changing identity, the energy it takes to perform a perfect life, and the small questions that can bring you back to yourself.

Jennifer shares how writing opened a door to creativity she hadn’t recognised, why stillness was so uncomfortable, and how she learned to ask harder questions without taking responsibility for everyone else’s reaction.

You’ll hear about:

Chapters:

00:00 Who am I now? Introducing Jennifer Arthurton

01:40 The corporate checklist and the “good girl” script

04:37 Divorce, empty nest and the grief behind starting over

08:04 Finding an identity beyond your roles

10:41 Discovering creativity and Old Chicks Know Sh*t

13:56 The energy cost of performing a perfect life

19:15 Learning to stop—and making room for stillness

23:23 Practising self-trust through small choices

25:24 Lisa’s personal experience of stillness and memory

28:25 What do I want? Questions and boundaries

30:44 People-pleasing and asking difficult questions

32:17 Community, collaboration and being fully expressed

38:36 Jennifer’s personal perspective on menopause and purpose

41:11 Trusting yourself in your next chapter

About Jennifer

Jennifer Arthurton is the founder of Old Chicks Know Sh*t, a platform, podcast and community supporting women navigating midlife and their next chapter. In the conversation, she also discusses her Maven Collective community.

CONNECT WITH JENNIFER

Instagram: @oldchicksknowshit

Facebook: Jennifer on Facebook

Website: Old Chicks Know Sh*t

Podcast: Old Chicks Know Sh*t Podcast

CONNECT WITH LISA

Website: Liberated Menopause Consulting & Coaching

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @lboate

Facebook: Lisa on Facebook

Facebook community: Join Lisa’s community

Follow Transforming 45 in your listening app so the next conversation is easy to find. If this episode makes you think of someone, send it to her.

Personal experiences and perspectives are shared in this episode; they do not establish causes of illness or replace individual healthcare advice.

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https://nationalmenopauseshow.com/buy-tickets/

Use code TRANSFORM45.

Has your body changed in perimenopause or menopause and suddenly your clothes don’t feel like you anymore?

Heather Bolt, founder of Dotty Clothing, joins Lisa Boate for a funny, honest conversation about midlife fashion, changing bodies, body confidence and what happens when we stop trying to dress the woman we used to be.

We talk about the messages Gen X women inherited about our bodies, the ridiculous rules around dressing “age appropriately,” sensory and body changes in midlife, colour, comfort, visibility and why getting dressed can be a surprisingly powerful part of reclaiming your identity.

Because the goal isn’t to get your old body back.

It’s to dress the body you have now in a way that makes you feel like yourself.

And sometimes, as Heather puts it, we need to remember who the hell we are.

In this episode:

• How perimenopause and menopause can change the way clothes feel and fit

• Why “age appropriate” style rules deserve to be questioned

• Body confidence after 40 and 50

• The messages Gen X women learned about taking up space

• Dressing for the body you have instead of waiting for your body to change

• Using colour, comfort and personal style to reconnect with yourself

• Why midlife can be the moment we stop disappearing

00:00 How to Dress a Changing Midlife Body

00:47 How Clothes Change How We Feel

02:34 “I’m 56. It’s My Time to Shine”

03:51 Who Decided What’s Age Appropriate?

05:10 Dressing for Perimenopause & Menopause Body Changes

08:25 Let Go of Clothes That Make You Feel Like Garbage

14:00 Fashion, Body Confidence & Taking Up Space

24:00 What Gen X Learned About Women’s Bodies

34:00 Colour, Visibility & Midlife Style

39:48 Why Midlife Women Are Done Disappearing

44:07 Remember Who the Hell You Are

47:30 Dress for How You Want to Feel

Connect with Heather:

Dotty: https://www.dotty.ca/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dottyclothing/

Connect with Lisa:

Website: liberatedmenopause.ca

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @lboate

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Transforming45

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“It’s not a problem that you can’t keep it together enough. It’s a problem that you have too much to keep together.” — Dr. Michelle Jacobson

What happens when a leading menopause specialist and a seasoned business builder decide that “this is just how it is” is no longer an acceptable answer?

In this episode, Lisa sits down with Dr. Michelle Jacobson and Jenn Patterson, co-founders of Coven Health, to explore why women’s healthcare so often feels fragmented—and what becomes possible when care is evidence-informed, collaborative and built around the whole woman.

They talk honestly about perimenopause, migraine, iron deficiency, anxiety, rage, libido, medical dismissal and the impossible pressure to keep everything together. They also unpack why individualized care matters, why a patient must have agency in every treatment plan, and how better education now could change the experience of the next generation.

In this epsiode:

Chapters:

00:00 Meet Dr. Michelle Jacobson and Jenn Patterson

01:37 Building a Better Model for Women’s Healthcare

04:12 Jenn’s Journey from Patient to Co-Founder

07:10 Why Women Struggle to Find the Right Care

08:56 Public Healthcare, Private Clinics and the Missing Nuance

12:17 Closing the Gaps in Women’s Healthcare

14:29 What’s Missing from the Menopause Conversation

19:20 Migraines, Anxiety and Early Perimenopause

20:14 Menopause Rage—and the Power Inside It

25:25 Why Women Feel They Must Keep It All Together

28:44 What We’re Teaching the Next Generation

30:13 Supporting Women Earlier in Their Lives

31:59 The Menopause Education Gap

37:39 What Patient-Centred Care Actually Looks Like

43:33 Why the Name Coven?

47:14 Final Thoughts and Where to Find Coven

Dr. Michelle Jacobson is an OB-GYN and menopause specialist whose work focuses on evidence-informed, individualized women’s healthcare. Jenn Patterson is an entrepreneur, business leader and CEO of Coven Health. Together, they are building a collaborative model designed to help women feel heard, informed and supported across midlife and beyond.

Website: https://www.covenhealth.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/covenhealth/

Connect with Lisa:

Website: https://liberatedmenopause.ca

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lboate/

And come connect with Coven in person at The National Menopause Show!

📍 International Centre, Hall 5

📅 October 17 & 18, 2026

🎟️ Use code TRANSFORM45 for 15% off your tickets.

Gather your own coven and come join us.

This episode is for education and conversation only. It does not replace individualized medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Speak with a qualified healthcare professional about your own symptoms and care.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join me at this year’s National Menopause Show, October 17 and 18 at the International Centre in Mississauga. Go to https://nationalmenopauseshow.com/ and use code TRANSFORM45.

For years, Jessica Holmes built a career playing other people. Now, in midlife, she is discovering the freedom of becoming more fully herself.

In this episode of Transforming 45, Lisa and Jessica talk about the pressure Gen X women inherited to do everything, the fear of having a professional “best-before date,” and the identity shift that arrives when children leave home. Jessica shares the phrase guiding her life now: “I travel at the pace of my own well-being.”

Together, they explore why boundaries are not the same as abandoning community, how self-kindness changes with age, and why workplace well-being cannot be used as a bandage for unsafe systems. There is also a giant sun hat, a rebellious braless dog walk and a reminder that midlife liberation can be both meaningful and gloriously ridiculous.

If this episode connected with you, share it with the woman who needs permission to stop racing a clock she never chose.

Jessica Holmes is a celebrated Canadian comedian, speaker, author and mental health advocate. She has opened for Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld and Oprah Winfrey; performed with Just for Laughs and The Second City; and starred in The Holmes Show and Royal Canadian Air Farce. Her book, Depression The Comedy: A Tale of Perseverance, uses humour and honesty to explore resilience, mental health and joy.

Website: https://jessicaholmes.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happyfunholmes/

00:45 – Meet Jessica Holmes: comedy, mental health and finding funny when life goes off-book

03:30 – From playing other people to learning to play yourself

04:23 – Empty-nest identity and having something hopeful to move toward

06:49 – The invisible backpack of work, motherhood and pressure

09:51 – Ageism and the myth of a professional best-before date

13:30 – “I travel at the pace of my own well-being”

18:08 – Comparison, rejection and running your own race

20:17 – The self-kindness that can arrive with age

21:20 – Practising no without over-explaining

24:18 – Self-care, service and community are not opposites

27:58 – UV clothing and the everyday rebellion of dressing for yourself

31:44 – What midlife parents can model for young adults

34:48 – Achievement, money and what actually supports well-being

38:13 – Psychological safety must come from leadership

42:55 – Why workplace well-being cannot be a bandage

44:05 – What makes Jessica feel most alive

Learn more about Lisa and Liberated Menopause:

https://liberatedmenopause.ca

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Together, they unpack the modern midlife experience through the lens of nervous system health, depletion, minerals, emotional overwhelm, identity shifts, connection, and what happens when women stop abandoning themselves.

This conversation moves beyond surface-level wellness trends and into the deeper questions so many women are asking right now:

Why am I exhausted? Why doesn’t my body feel like mine anymore? Why do I still feel depleted even after “doing all the things”?

Expect a spicy, thought-provoking conversation about modern health culture, human connection, nervous systems, emotional load, and how we move from survival mode into possibility.

Episodes of Transforming 45 drop every Thursday on all listening platforms and YouTube.

Chapters:

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What if aging isn't something that simply happens to us?

This week's conversation completely shifted how I think about longevity.

Not because it promised magic supplements or miracle cures.

Because it reminded me that the goal isn't living longer.

It's protecting the years we're living.

If you've ever wondered…

✨ Should I take supplements?

✨ Does intermittent fasting really work?

✨ What happens to our bodies during menopause?

✨ How do I know what's real?

...this conversation is for you.

Chapters:

02:39 Why Do We Age?

08:25 Why Aging Sneaks Up on Gen X

10:00 What Menopause Has to Do With Aging

12:06 When Should You Seek Menopause Treatment?

13:19 The 7 Biological Causes of Aging

18:58 Mitochondria, Energy & Aging

20:01 Why Sleep Changes As We Age

21:07 Estrogen's Effect Throughout the Body

23:40 Inflammation and the Aging Immune System

27:07 Glucose, Insulin Resistance & Aging

29:25 Lifespan vs Healthspan

33:50 Which Supplements Actually Have Evidence?

40:03 Where Do You Start?

42:15 Exercise, Bones & Women's Longevity

52:58 What Quality of Life Do You Want?

Connect with Dr. Kaufmann:

Connect with Lisa:

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In this fierce, funny and deeply cathartic conversation, Lisa sits down with the award-winning filmmaker, photographer and musician behind MENOPUNKS—a documentary, podcast and growing movement using punk-rock rebellion to challenge menopause misinformation and demand hormonal justice.

Alicia shares her own path from medical dismissal to becoming “hormonally radicalized,” why music remains one of Gen X’s most powerful languages, and what happens when midlife rage is channeled into creativity, community and action. Lisa and Alicia also unpack the cultural fallout from decades of fear surrounding hormone therapy, the stories Alicia is hearing from iconic musicians, and the electric energy of Menopunkapalooza.

This episode is for anyone who has wondered whether the problem was their body—or a system that never gave them the information, care and choices they deserved.

Content note: This conversation contains strong language and discussion of medical dismissal, cancer, dementia, reproductive rights and political systems. It shares lived experience and advocacy perspectives and is not personal medical advice. Speak with a qualified healthcare professional about your individual circumstances.

What we talk about:

Chapters:

About Alicia and the MENOPUNKS team: https://www.menopunks.com/about-1

Alicia J. Rose: https://www.aliciajrose.com/bio

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menopunks/

Email: [email protected]

Podcast, merch, documentary updates and donations are available through the MENOPUNKS website.

The Estrogen Dilemma - Historical Article

Connect with Lisa:

Lisa Boate | Menopause Consultant, Coach and host of Transforming 45

Website: https://liberatedmenopause.ca/

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lboate/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join me at the National Menopause Show, October 17–18 at the International Centre in Mississauga! Get your tickets at nationalmenopauseshow.com and use code TRANSFORM45 at checkout.

What happens when you stop trying to hold it all together… and start laughing instead?

This week, Lisa sits down with Kara Murray—aka MediocreMom76—former teacher turned viral content creator and now stand-up comedian.

Kara built a massive audience by telling the truth about motherhood, menopause, and the absolute chaos of midlife—and people felt it.

In this episode, we explore what happens when you stop striving for perfection and start embracing “good enough.”

About Kara Murray

Kara Murray (MediocreMom76) is a former teacher turned social media personality and emerging stand-up comedian. She shares honest, hilarious takes on

motherhood, menopause, and midlife identity, building a community through truth and humour.

Instagram: @mediocremom76

Merch Shop: https://mediocremom76.com/

Connect with Lisa

Website: https://www.liberatedmenopause.ca/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lboate/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leaninfindyourwayhome/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/245092311417467 Email: [email protected]

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