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Have you noticed that your belly seems to be getting bigger, even though you're eating healthy and trying to stay active? Maybe you're following Trim Healthy Mama, watching your carbs, getting your walks in, and wondering why your body doesn't seem to respond the way it used to.

And then you hear another woman talking about testosterone. She's feeling stronger, building muscle, and finally seeing changes in her body. Now you're wondering, "Wait a minute. Could testosterone help me lose this stubborn belly fat?"

It's a good question, especially when you're navigating hormone imbalance after 40 and trying to figure out why the things that worked in your 30s aren't giving you the same results in your 40s, 50s, or 60s.

Friend, I want you to understand something about testosterone that often gets overlooked. Yes, it plays a role in women's health, including muscle function. But if your goal is to lose stubborn belly fat and build a stronger bod...

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Have you ever wondered what in the world happened to your body? One minute, you're sleeping just fine, your periods are predictable, and you have enough energy to get through your day. Then suddenly, you're waking up at 3 a.m., dragging yourself out of bed, feeling irritated over the smallest things, and watching that stubborn belly fat creep up even though you're trying to eat healthy and exercise.

Maybe you're following Trim Healthy Mama, doing your best to stay on plan, and wondering why everything seems so much harder than it used to. You've probably started Googling low progesterone symptoms or hormone imbalance, trying to figure out why you're feeling so different.

Friend, I want you to understand what's happening because the hormonal changes of perimenopause can affect your sleep, mood, energy, and ability to stay consistent with the habits that help you lose weight and build muscle.

During perimenopause, your hormones estrogen and ...

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Have you looked in the mirror lately and thought, "What in the world is happening to my stomach?" Your jeans are getting tighter, your waistline looks thicker, and that stubborn belly fat seems to have shown up out of nowhere!

Maybe the scale hasn't even changed that much. You're still following Trim Healthy Mama, trying to eat well, and getting in your workouts. But your body looks different, and what used to work just isn't working anymore.

Friend, I hear this from women over 40 ALL the time, and I experienced it myself. One of the most frustrating things about perimenopause weight gain is feeling like you're doing everything you know to do, but your body isn't responding.

You start wondering if you need to eat less, exercise more, get stricter with your food choices, or completely change what you're doing. And before long, you're overwhelmed with all the things you think you need to fix.

But there's something happening inside your body...

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Have you ever looked down at your belly and thought, Where in the world did that come from?

Maybe you're eating pretty much the same way you've always eaten. You're trying to exercise, watching your portions, and doing your best to follow Trim Healthy Mama. But the scale keeps creeping up, your jeans feel tighter around the middle, and you're beginning to wonder if your hormones are working against you.

And then someone suggests hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Wait a minute. If you're already dealing with perimenopause weight gain, hormonal imbalance, and stubborn belly fat, could adding hormones actually make things worse?

Ladies, this is a question I hear all the time, and it's one worth digging into.

Today, we're going to look at what the research says about HRT and weight gain, why your body may be storing more fat around your middle, and what you can do to support fat loss and build lasting muscle during menopause.

Because I want y...

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Have you ever looked at your stomach and thought, “Wait a minute. I haven’t even gained that much weight. Why does my body look so different?” Maybe the scale is only up five pounds—or maybe it hasn’t changed much at all—but your jeans are tighter around the waist and you’re noticing more softness through your middle.

If you’re in your 40s, 50s or beyond, there is a very real reason this can happen. One of the big players is estrogen.

As estrogen begins fluctuating during perimenopause and eventually settles at a lower level after menopause, we can see changes in body composition and where our bodies prefer to store fat. That means belly fat after 40 isn’t always as simple as, “Well, I must be eating too much.”

Understanding this doesn’t mean we blame everything on our hormones and throw our hands in the air. It means we learn what’s happening so we can stop throwing random solutions at our bodies and start using strategies that actually make...

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The Menopause Makeover Podcast Blog | Coach Kris Honeycutt

You’re tired, your hair seems thinner, your body feels puffy, and you cannot lose weight the way you used to. Then your doctor checks your thyroid on blood work and tells you everything looks normal. So now what? Is this hormone imbalance, a thyroid issue, or simply another part of menopause you are expected to live with?

This is exactly why I invited Jessica Myers, Chief Experience Officer at Kiaora, back to The Menopause Makeover Podcast. We had already talked about sex hormones, but this time we turned our attention to the thyroid - a small gland that can have a big influence on energy, temperature regulation, digestion, mood, and metabolism.

This conversation is personal for me. Years ago, I looked healthy from the outside, but I spent close to a decade in a health crisis without clear answers. Finding an integrative practitioner who diagnosed Hashimoto’s disease became an impo...

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Bladder leaks after 40 can feel embarrassing, frustrating, and incredibly isolating. When hormone imbalance, stress incontinence, urge incontinence, and other bladder symptoms begin happening at the same time, you may find yourself planning workouts, errands, travel, and even social activities around the nearest bathroom.

For years, I managed my symptoms instead of fully addressing them. I wore panty liners, changed how I exercised, emptied my bladder before leaving the house, and tried to laugh off moments that were not actually funny.

I told myself this was probably part of having babies and getting older.

But bladder leaks are not something we should automatically accept as normal after 40. In this very personal episode of The Menopause Makeover Podcast, I shared my experience five days after pelvic floor reconstruction and bladder sling surgery.

I want to talk honestly about hormone imbalance, incontinence and treatment, pelvic organ pr...

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Midlife can feel like one long maintenance appointment.

Between hormone imbalance, changing skin, stubborn belly fat, gray hair, fatigue, sleep struggles, and trying to stay consistent with weight loss, it can start to feel like taking care of yourself has become a full-time job. You may walk into the bathroom to brush your teeth and suddenly notice five more things that apparently need your attention.

That happened to me recently.

I walked into my bathroom, looked in the mirror, and noticed my eyebrows. Then I noticed my hair. Then I started thinking about the lip wax I had been putting off, the gray roots, the peach fuzz, the skincare, and all the other things that seem to come with being a woman in midlife.

For a split second, I got mad.

I thought, “When did I become a full-time maintenance project?”

Maybe you have wondered the same thing.

Why Does Midlife Feel So High Maintenance?

When we were younger, getting ready could be p...

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If you've been eating less, exercising more, and wondering why the scale isn't moving, you're not alone. In fact, this is one of the most common frustrations I hear from women in perimenopause and menopause. Many women come to me feeling discouraged because they're working harder than ever, yet their belly fat seems to be growing instead of shrinking.

The truth is, your problem probably isn't a lack of willpower. For years, women have been told that if they simply ate less and exercised more, weight loss would follow. While that advice may have worked in your twenties and thirties, midlife changes the equation. Your body is operating under a different set of hormonal conditions, and it requires a different strategy.

Why Weight Loss Feels Different After 40

One of the biggest mindset shifts women need to make in midlife is understanding that their bodies are not broken. What you're experiencing is real. As estrogen begins to fluctuate an...

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Before we dive into today's conversation, I want to introduce you to my guest, Jessica Meyers.

Jessica serves as Kiaora's Chief Patient Experience Officer and is passionate about helping women feel their best through every season of life. She has spent years studying the powerful relationship between estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone and how these hormones influence everything from energy and mood to sleep, weight, and overall well-being.

Working alongside Kiaora founders Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison, as well as Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kay Chandler, Jessica helped develop Kiaora's patient-centered approach to hormone optimization. Through that work, she has walked alongside countless women as they navigate perimenopause, menopause, and the often confusing journey of hormone imbalance.

What makes Jessica's perspective especially valuable is that she isn't just sharing information she's learned—she's sharing a journey she's lived. ...