Tag: perimenopause

Hormones, Menopause, and More with Dr Marcia Harris

July 22, 2025 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

#183 – Hormones, Menopause, and More with Dr Marcia Harris

In this enlightening episode of Fit Strong Women Over 50, Jill and Chris sit down with Dr. Marcia Harris, a trailblazer in women’s health and hormone optimization. With over four decades of clinical experience, Dr. Harris shares her wisdom, compassion, and science-backed insights to help women better understand the powerful (and often misunderstood) transition of midlife.

Dr. Harris breaks down what’s really happening during perimenopause and menopause, debunks the most persistent myths, and explores the emotional and physical shifts women experience. The conversation dives into hormone therapy, including what “bioidentical hormones” really mean and how symptoms and lab results both play a role in determining the best course of care.

She also sheds light on midlife fatigue, adrenal health, and the critical role lifestyle plays in balancing hormones, improving energy, and managing stress. With practical tips and empowering stories from her patients, Dr. Harris helps women see this stage of life not as a decline—but as a powerful new beginning.

We discuss:

Why perimenopause is often overlooked—and what you need to know
The most common myths about menopause (and what’s actually true)
What bioidentical hormones are and how they differ from traditional hormone therapy
The truth about adrenal fatigue and why midlife exhaustion is so common
How stress, nutrition, sleep, and movement affect hormonal balance
What one lifestyle change can make the biggest difference
Inspiring real-life stories of women who reclaimed their energy and vitality

Resources & Links:

Visit Dr. Marcia Harris’s website: www.drmarciaharris.com

Our podcast continues to be among the top podcasts for women over 50, especially in the health and fitness categories. See our ranking in the top 2% of all podcasts here.

Podcast Partner – Adriane Berg

If you like listening to our podcast, check out the AGELESS Traveler podcast hosted by Adriane Berg. It’s the best resource for the 60+ active traveler who wants to Never Stop Traveling. Adriane talks about various destinations, health and wellness travel, luxury travel for less, solo, grandparent and volunteer
tours.

Adriane helps you lead a very good life, that’s for sure. To listen to her podcast, visit the website: agelesstraveler.com

Nutrition Mechanic Dina Griffin - 119 BE

Nutrition Mechanic with Dina Griffin

November 22, 2022 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Episode 119 – Nutrition Mechanic with Dina Griffin

In episode 119, Jill and Chris speak with Dina Griffin, a Sports Performance Dietitian with a passion for optimizing women’s health and providing personalized nutrition to endurance athletes.

Dina Griffin, MS, RDN, CSSD is the Owner and Founder of The Nutrition Mechanic, a nutrition coaching and resource company based out of Boulder, Colorado. As a Sport and Performance Dietitian, Dina works with all levels of adult endurance athletes to optimize health, vitality, and performance. She blends science-based and evidence-informed strategies along with “real life” considerations to devise personalized and sustainable nutrition plans.

Dina has a particular passion for working with women’s health, peri- and post-menopause, masters and ultra athletes, and supporting individuals who have a metabolic condition.

Dina is also the co-host of the Inside Sports Nutrition podcast, which covers a wide array of topics on all things related to “real life” sports nutrition.

“Consider a variety of things: How fast do you eat? What do you eat? Quality of the food? How much? Timing of the food.”

Some of the tips she mentioned: Prioritize vegetables for fiber rich foods. You’ll need a combo of nutrition and exercise to maximize metabolic efficiency. It’s the pattern of nutrition changes that affect it more than the exercise. Focus on food that is protein rich, with non-starchy complex carbs and healthy fats. The more you can stabilize your blood sugar curve, the more your fat stores become available.

We discussed:

peri and post menopause
how nutritional needs vary for women over 50
nutrition for female endurance athletes
how much protein to eat based on your body size
metabolic efficiency
testing for women over 50 available at her website
supplements
recipes and food plans

Links:

Website https://nutritionmechanic.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mechanicdina/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nutritionmechanic
Podcast https://insidesportsnutrition.com/

Hormone Health and Menopause with Karen Martel

April 26, 2022 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Hormone Health and Menopause – Episode 105

In episode 105 Jill and Chris speak with Karen Martel, a Certified Hormone Specialist & Transformational Nutrition Coach and women’s weight loss expert.

Karen is the host of the top-rated women’s health podcast The Other Side of Weight Loss where she helps women to unlock the mysteries of female fat loss and hormone imbalance.

After struggling with her own health issues, Karen was determined to bring her knowledge to others with a bold new approach to women’s hormone health and weight management. Karen’s passion lies in helping women balance and optimize their hormones in peri and post menopause and breakthrough weight loss resistance.

She sheds light on many hormone health and menopause issues that may not be fully understood.

In this episode we discuss:

Thyroid hormones – T3, T4 and metabolism
Estrogen, DHEA, Progrestrone, Testosterone
Lymph nodes
Which hormones affect weight loss
The safety of taking bio-identical hormones

Links:

Karen’s Podcast: The Other Side of Weight Loss
Website: www.KarenMartel.com
Instagram

Athletes and Menopause with Pam Semanik

October 12, 2021 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

Episode 92 – Athletes and Menopause

In Episode 92, Jill and Chris talk with Pam Semanik, a coach who specializes in creating training programs for Masters Women athletes.

She is a coach at Stelleri Performance Training, an endurance coaching group based in Northeast Ohio. For over 7 years, Pam has been coaching athletes to achieve their goals in running, cycling, and Multisport events, as well as in maintaining and improving general fitness.

Pam specializes in coaching athletes who are in the menopause transition and post-menopausal athletes who want to compete at their highest level. She is passionate about helping other Masters women understand what it takes to maintain and improve performance, health, and fitness as they ‘age up’, and plans to do the same herself.

We discussed during this episode:

Changes that happen to a woman’s physiology at menopause that negatively impact athletic performance
Training adaptations for peri and post menopausal athletes
The role of the parasympathetic nervous system in recovery
The role of HIIT and strength training for masters athletes
Why time trials may be the best way to accomplish training objectives
“Fast After 50: How to Race Strong for the Rest of Your Life” by Joe Friel. This book talks about the changes associated with aging, how it affects athletes, and recommendations for overcoming limitations associated with age-related changes.
Dr. Stacy T. Sims: Co-author of “ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life”, a book written specifically for women athletes that considers the differences between men and women in terms of athletic training, performance, nutrition, etc. Also talks in general terms about menopause and how it affects active women.
Dr. Sims also has an online class called “Menopause for Athletes”, that Pam highly recommends (although it is a bit pricey and heavy on the science) for anyone who wants to dig in deeper. Pam uses this course to help build out training plans for Masters Women athletes – putting the science into practice. Dr. Sims courses and other info are all accessible through her website: https://www.drstacysims.com/

Link to Pam’s coaching website Sterlleri Performance Training.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamstelleri/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stelleritraining/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/64659577