Well & Worthy Life | A Podcast for Midlife Women

This community has had such a positive response to conversations with my friend, Jenn aka the Sober Sis that we're taking it back to one of the first episodes with her. The conversation helps you explore your relationship with alcohol, recognize when it's unhealthy, and how to work towards changing your mindset and lifestyle. Jenn talks about how the stigma of sobriety often puts pressure on women to drink socially and the way in which alcohol consumption can affect us both physically and mentally. We also discuss the importance of understanding the root cause of your relationship with alcohol before you can quit successfully.

• How do you get to the root cause of your relationship with alcohol?
• How does alcohol consumption affect us physically and mentally?
• What is a healthy approach to alcohol that will bring lasting results?

• Explore your relationship with alcohol and join Jenn's 21-day Reset
• Listen to our previous episodes on the topic of alcohol:
  • Can you drink in moderation
  • Alcohol and weight loss
  • The connection between alcohol and menopause
• Follow Jenn on Instagram for daily inspiration

[3:34] I'm really grateful that God pointed me in this direction, although it was a very unlikely direction and not something that I ever really thought that I would be so vocal about and so passionate about sharing.

[6:07] There I was in my thirties navigating being a mom, being married, working, and socializing around something that really instantly made me feel relaxed, made me feel a part of things, and it made me feel like a grownup in this new world that I was in.

[11:18] There were nights where I thought, "nope I'm going to be good tonight" and I used willpower. I white-knuckled it with a deprivation mindset, so I was miserable, but I wasn't drinking. I thought it was a win but really all it did was make me want it more when I went back to it the next day or two or three.

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With all of the misinformation out there about hormone replacement therapy, or as Dr. Ana calls it, hormone replenishment therapy, I thought it was a good idea to have her back to continue educating us! She has worked with thousands of women one-on-one to help them understand and improve their health and manage their hormones. Dr. Ana is committed to supporting women so they can thrive physically, emotionally, sexually, and even spiritually as they go through the natural and inevitable life shift of menopause.

• What's the difference between progesterone vs progestins

• How did Dr. Ana come to learn so much about hormone replenishment?

• What are the symptoms of progesterone deficiency?

• What are Dr. Ana's thoughts on pellets and testosterone replacement?

• What is the best way to measure hormones?

• What are some good ways to increase oxytocin?

• Is it too late to start hormones?

• Check out Dr. Ana's Menopause kit. It provides nourishing, replenishing, evidence-based ingredients for whole-body menopause relief.
• Order her books to continue to learn from her expertise.

[2:48] I talk about hormone replenishment, not hormone replacement. We want to support our body's natural hormone production as much as possible.

[5:09] It takes more than hormones to fix your hormones.

[7:44] The longer we keep our ovarian function working, the better, healthier longevity we have. That is key.

[13:01] I think it's the little changes that trigger you and motivate you. The hardest thing to do is to change, but we have to rewire because the past is comfortable. Those habits are comfortable and we have to change them.

[20:05] We want to empower our body to take care of itself, and there's a fine art to it.

[30:29] I've seen so many women struggle when they're not feeling well and we've got to get to the root cause. Number one, we have to have hope. We have to know that we have many purposes and we can improve our physiology.

Go to Dr. Ana's website to find all the information you need about her podcast and products mentioned in the episode, and to find her social channels so you can continue to engage with her.

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Melanie is your girl if you want to know how to create healthy and sustainable eating habits! She has taught me many tips and tricks over the years on making quick and easy nutrient-dense meals which is why we created Balance Eating Method. We discovered too many women struggle to get the nourishment they need to live energized and whole from the inside out. In this episode, we invite each listener to join the conversation as we, two best friends, chat about our health journeys and share why we do what we do for women coming up after us.

• Why does alcohol affect us differently as we get older?
• Is it too late to change, even if we're in our 40s, 50s, and 60s and beyond?
• What is it like to be on the Balance Method calls?
• How will the Balance Eating Method help me create healthy and sustainable eating habits?

• Are you looking to give going alcohol-free a try? Check out Sober Sis' 21-day challenge.

• Get on the waitlist for one of the Balance groups

  • Balance Wellness Method
  • Balance Eating Method
  • Balance Movement Method
  • Balance Bundle (all 3 courses)

[2:34] Every time I'm on the phone with you, I leave better. I've learned something. I've been encouraged. Maybe you're doing something that I was slacking on, like going on a daily walk, and Deanna's walking and talking and I think, "you know what? I need to move today because Deanna is my encourager."

[3:51] What I do is try to be better this year as opposed to last year. What can I let go of that didn't serve me in 2022?

[12:38] We were talking on our Zoom call about community and how important community is with like-minded women, and that's exactly why we created the Balance Wellness Method, Balance Eating Method, and Balance Movement Method because there aren't any programs out there for women our age.

[15:22] I can tell you I feel better now in my fifties probably as good as I felt in my twenties, if not better.

[32:02] Start learning to say no more. You can make time to better yourself, you just have to learn to say no to the things that are not the best for you.

• Check out her website
• Follow her on Instagram
• Listen to previous episodes with Melanie
  • Meet your Balance Wellness Method Coaches
  • Staying Balanced Through the Holidays
  • Lessons From a Plant-Based Diet

Emotional eating is a common struggle that can lead to negative consequences such as weight gain and decreased self-esteem. With years of firsthand experience in the world of food obsession, our guest, Hunter, has the tools you need to find freedom and hope. As a certified emotional eating coach, she has supported many individuals in the journey to overcome emotional eating, lose weight and stop thinking about food so they can be free to live fully.

• What can you do when you want to lose weight but don't know how to break your patterns?

• How to know if you need to work with an emotional eating coach.

• The number one thing most people have trouble with when it comes to emotional eating and how to break that habit.

• Check out the book, It Was Me All Along by Andy Mitchell, which Deanna recommends in the episode.
• Find the support you're looking for and book a 20-minute discovery call with Hunter.
• Download Hunter's four-step guide to overcome emotional eating and stay on track with a healthy eating program.

[10:35] Stopping your thoughts about food may not be a quick fix, but there are steps you can take. It's everything from what you can do physically when you're feeding your body to help those cravings, what you can do to deal with your emotions, and what you can do mentally for mindset change.

[13:47] Do I want to be thin and fit into all my clothes? Of course. But my biggest thing is to have the energy to do all the things I love to do and play with my granddaughter. If I am not nourishing my body the right way, then I can't.

[16:44] It used to be that we did these things in secret and we didn't have people to talk to. Now that's the biggest message I want to get to people - you are not alone, you've not done anything with food that I have not either done before or had a best friend do.

[22:27] I think slow is so much better than a quick loss because slow is more sustainable.

• Check out her website
• Follow her on Instagram

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Tired of starting the new year strong only to lose momentum after a few weeks? Deanna is breaking down a simple technique to help make lasting change. Following her insight is bound to help us find success in 2023 and keep us motivated way beyond January.

• Why does the all-or-nothing approach set us up for failure?
• How does a positive mindset impact success?
• Where to find a group of like-minded women to support you on your health journey.

Find success in 2023 by giving yourself the gift of balance with the Balance Wellness Bundle. Get all 3 of our signature programs to improve your overall health, nutrition & fitness in midlife!

In the bundle are the Balance Wellness Method, Balance Eating Method, and Balance Movement Method. Click the links for a detailed breakdown of each program.

[1:54] The problem is that "all in" would only last a little while because it wasn't sustainable.

[2:52] We all know what we need to do. We know we need to eat well. We know we need to move more. We know we need to sleep well but we get so overwhelmed. And what happens when we become overwhelmed, we quit.

[5:36] The correct mindset is to do small things consistently and know your why so that when things don't go according to plan, you'll get right back into those small things.

[8:20] Saying, "never" when it comes to what we consume is not a positive mindset. It only makes me want it more and makes me feel more deprived.

[11:29] The unique thing about all of the balance programs is that we help each individual create something that's going to fit into their lifestyle. Because there's not a one size fits all.

Find her on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube

The question many midlife women are asking is, "what's the truth about hormone replacement therapy?" With all the conflicting information we hear, I wanted to talk to an expert on the topic, Dr. Felice Gersh. She is a board-certified OBGYN and integrative medicine doctor. As an expert in menopause, PCOS, hormones, fasting, and the unique needs of women I knew Dr. Gersh was the woman to talk to!

She and I have a joint mission to help women who, universally, must go through this transition into menopause to live high-quality lives. I know you'll learn so much from this episode!

• What's the truth about hormone replacement therapy and where did it go wrong to make people so nervous about it?
• Can women who are already in the middle of menopause benefit from hormone therapy?
• What role does estradiol play in the body?
• Why hasn't the word got out about the value of hormone therapy?
• Is it recommended to get on hormones during perimenopause and if so, what type of hormones?
• How safe and effective are pellets?

Take control of your menopause journey with help from Dr. Gersh's book, Menopause: 50 Things You Need to Know

[7:26] The message that got delivered to all doctors and the entire society was, hormones are bad for women. Not, if you give conjugated equine estrogens orally from horse urine, which contains stuff that never would be in the human body.

[15:46] I think that hormones will help women anytime however if you are further out in menopause, you're not going to get the same degree of prevention as if you do it early on because you can't reverse end-stage disease.

[20:57] They found that if estradiol was applied to wounds, they would heal faster because the estrogen in the form of estradiol is about life.

[24:49] Once you accept that estrogen is the hormone of life and that when you lose estrogen because your ovaries are now aged out of that, you don't only lose the ability to be fertile and have babies, you lose the ability to properly regulate every organ system in your body.

[53:47] If the goal is quality of life and overall body health, then hormones must be given in a way that's physiologic.

Follow her on Youtube, Instagram Learn more about her and her work on her website

Give yourself the gift of wellness with The Balance Bundle! Recapture that youthful version of YOU in 2023 to feel re-energized and ready to live life fully! Save NOW when you grab your spot for the New Year! Get all 3 of our signature programs to improve your overall health, nutrition & fitness in midlife!

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Cynthia Thurlow is on answering questions about intermittent fasting from the Well & Worthy Life community. Most of us at this point have heard about intermittent fasting, and may even be incorporating it into our lifestyle, but sometimes we have inaccurate information.

• The biggest mistakes women are making with intermittent fasting?
• What breaks a fast?
• Could your morning coffee be breaking your fast?
• The truth about 24-hour+ fasting, is it helpful?
• What is metabolic flexibility?
• Is eating or grazing during our eating window a good approach?
• Why is a sleep routine so important to weight loss?
• Why creatine is helpful for women in perimenopause and menopause.

• Dive deeper to answer questions about intermittent fasting with Cynthia's book, Intermittent Fasting Transformation
• Reflect on anything you may need to eliminate from your diet in middle age to help support your health.

[6:02] If you're having fatty coffees, that's technically going to break your fast.

[13:53] 78% of the population is metabolically inflexible.

[20:45] Starting your meal with bread is probably the worst decision you can do.

[25:29] Figuring out what works for you in middle age is sometimes an elimination of things that you like.

[33:09] We lose magnesium during stress, we have magnesium-depleted soil, so I don't care if you eat all organic, you are not getting enough magnesium in your life.

[38:52] The first thing that happened when I started taking creatine, I was able to increase my weights at the gym. It's really important to understand that strength training helps maintain muscles which maintains insulin sensitivity, which maintains metabolic flexibility.

• Tune into her podcast, Everyday Wellness
• Keep up with what she's doing on her website
• Follow her on Instagram to have more questions about intermittent fasting answered.
• Go back and listen to our previous episode, What Women Need to Know About Intermittent Fasting During Perimenopause

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Returning guest, Kassie Dewitt is on today talking all about pelvic floor health and why creating healthy pelvic floor habits matters for menopausal women! I never really thought too much about this until recently while I was in perimenopause and I had lower back pain. I went to a pelvic floor therapist in Birmingham and that's when I started learning the importance of caring for my pelvic floor. Following Kassie on Instagram is always teaching me things I didn't know before as well.

Kassie is a doctor of occupational therapy with a specialty in pelvic floor rehabilitation and pelvic floor function. As with many of my guests, her mess became her message when at 16 she started having pelvic floor dysfunction. Her personal journey in finding alternative ways to find pelvic floor health.

Some signs and symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction are leaking bladder, unexplainable lower back pain, painful intercourse, frequent need to go to the bathroom, difficulty urinating or having bowel movements or feeling like your bowel movements are not complete.

If you have issues with leaking urine, Kassie has an incredible course for that called Urine Good Company. It is an 11 module self-paced online course. In it, you learn how to master appropriate bladder habits and routines. Kassie teaches you how to control the urgency and frequency by being the boss of your bladder. She is offering $100 off the course to the Well & Worthy Life listeners so be sure to check that out!

• Follow her on Instagram for daily tips on pelvic floor health and nutrition
• Join her course, Urine Good Company, for support with leaky bladder issues. Use code for $100 off
• Grab her Pelvic Floor 101 guide.
• Listen to our previous episode with Kassie, Protecting Your Pelvic Floor

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In the pursuit of finding ways to support her son's ADHD and anxiety, Ashley learned about Micro Current Neurofeedback from the school counselor. After doing the research, Ashley and her husband were open to giving it a try. After one session, her son was sleeping better and was showing more flexibility in thinking skills and going with the flow. This was enough to convince them that there was something powerful about this method!

If you're like me, you're wondering what Micro Current Neurofeedback is. Simply put, it's a way to help balance your brain. Electrodes are applied to nudge the central nervous system to lay down new neural pathways and create healthier brainwaves. It gives your nervous system a little nudge because it can get out of whack from trauma, chronic stress, illness, etc.

What does Micro Current Neurofeedback have to do with midlife women? You'll want to listen in to hear some pretty amazing results that Ashley is seeing with some of her clients. This is another great tool to have in your toolbox as you go through life looking to find optimal health. I know I'll be continuing this form of therapy!

If you're in the Birmingham, Alabama area you can connect with Ashley and give Micro Current Neurofeedback a try. You can reach Ashley via her website to have a free consultation or to book an appointment. You can also follow her on Instagram at bhmmcn.

For listeners outside of Alabama, use this site to find someone in your area.

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It's easy to be grateful when life is good but how to be grateful when life is hard is another story! We always have a choice in the way we see our circumstances. We can either see them in a negative light or a positive one. Research has shown that the way we view our life will directly affect our journey.

So how can we foster more gratitude in our lives when we're bent towards pessimism or walking through challenging times? The key is mindset. When we set our thoughts on gratitude and have our eyes open to the ways our experiences are teaching and expanding us, it changes us from within.

In this episode, find out why I'm grateful for:

• my 2 divorces
• losing my parents
• going through the menopause journey
• my connection to God

Mindset is the key how to be grateful in any circumstance. One way to shift your mindset toward gratitude is to make it a daily practice. Give this 2-minute daily challenge a try - write down 3 things every day that you are grateful for and watch how it shifts your whole perspective.

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