So we're going to be talking about how to support your body with

the right tools: fasting, sleep, stress care, movement, nourishment, and mindset.

And these things can really shift us from a place of chaos to balance and hormone harmony.

The really encouraging news is that when we support our body with the right tools, this shift can happen quickly.

[music] Welcome to The Fasting Method podcast.

This is Coach Terri Lance and I am joined today by Coach Amy Medley.

Amy, how are you doing today?

Hey, Terri, I'm doing great.

It's great to be here.

It's great to have you back.

And I knew when we last spoke we would get to come back together again and talk about another step in this process.

So today we're going to talk about how to create hormonal harmony for menopause and beyond.

So buckle in folks, this is going to be a great one.

So, Amy, where would you like to start with this?

I lean to you as our in-house expert on this.

And so I'm just curious, what do you think we need to know first as we get started in this?

So as a coach here at The Fasting Method, I work with so many women in the stages of menopause and beyond, and I really hear the same pain points over

and over: the stubborn belly fat, sleepless nights, brain fog, joint pain and stiffness, anxiety, sugar cravings, low libido.

And also this kind of deep feeling of losing their spark, or one woman described it as feeling invisible in her own life.

So it's not just the physical aspects of menopause, but also the mindset as well.

So we're going to be talking about how to support your

body with the right tools: fasting, sleep, stress care, movement, nourishment and mindset.

And these things can really shift us from a place of chaos to balance and hormone harmony.

The really encouraging news is that, when we support our body with the right tools, this shift can happen quickly, as I mentioned.

So what I want to talk about is a simple framework to help women at this stage of life feel strong, clear, and energized again.

Wouldn't that be beautiful?

I love it.

I love it.

And I'm guessing many of our listeners can relate to all of those kind of symptoms and experiences that you described, and I think everyone is eager to find some ways to balance things out and feel better.

So in the kind of pillars that you describe, what's the first one that we should be maybe exploring and figuring out how it works for us?

Yeah.

Well, I think my first pillar is fasting.

But before we get there, I want to just give everybody kind of a quick foundation about what is happening hormonally at menopause and beyond.

So menopause is really just that point in time where you stop cycling.

For the average woman, it's around age 51.

And at that point estrogen and progesterone has dropped, and then they really begin to flatline.

Low estrogen really leads to more insulin resistance, more inflammation, more symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and then changes to mood and cognition.

And when you add in and layer in the low progesterone that you're experiencing, progesterone really removes a calming GABA supportive influence.

So many women notice an increase in anxiety and restlessness, and especially sleeplessness.

That low-progesterone state is really expressed in like your lower sleep quality.

And then testosterone often declines as well, and that will affect libido and muscle maintenance.

But here's the big hormone shift.

Cortisol, our stress hormone, really tends to take center stage at this point.

And so this whole combination of this new hormonal array, that can look like belly fat, tougher weight loss, mood shifts, joint pain and poor sleep.

But the hopeful part of this new hormonal realignment is that in post-menopause, hormones are pretty stable.

You're not getting those big monthly swings, the wild swings of estrogen, that you had during perimenopause.

So the good news is women often respond more predictably to structured strategies like fasting and circadian-aligned routines.

What do I mean by circadian-aligned routines?

It just means the light that we're exposed to, our meals, our movements, and our sleep, that kind of drives our body clock.

So getting morning light earlier, eating windows can really help, consistent bedtime, and dim light in the evenings.

All of those circadian-aligned routines can really move the needle at this point as well.

I love it.

So kind of getting back to that idea of six pillars of hormone harmony.

And because we are here at The Fasting Method, fasting is my number one pillar.

Fasting is incredibly effective in this stage of life.

We see it help with insulin resistance, visceral fat, inflammation, lipids, energy, and mental clarity.

Women at this stage can tend to find that longer fasts or overnight fasts become easier.

They may not have been so easy at other stages of life in perimenopause, but because of this hormonal array, you can often do those 36 to 48-hour fasts, two to three consistent fasts a week pretty easily.

And then extended fasts tend to be a little bit easier to do (with the right support) for deeper autophagy, which is important at this stage of life as well.

I think why it works so much better, again, it's that hormonal flatline, more predictable fasting response.

I have seen in Community group meetings here at The Fasting Method that many women at this stage of life, once they build up The Fasting Method, you know, starting with the gentle approach with TRE and 24 hours, but going to that overnight fast, many women report steadier energy, smoother appetite, and clearer thinking at this stage because I think they can more quickly become fat adapted.

Is that what you're seeing in your practice with clients as well, Terri?

Absolutely with my clients, and, as you said, with Community members.

And I think many are surprised because, again, they're coming off a period of time, maybe years, where sleep was inconsistent and they were struggling.

And suddenly, energy level is better, sleep feels better, cortisol is not as intense, causing some of that interruption in the hormonal balance.

And so definitely I find them often surprised because they think, "Once I get to those longer ones, things are just going to get harder for me," and they actually find that they feel better.

Yeah.

And I think that noticing your stress and sleep and really taking that into consideration (which we're going to be talking about next), but when stress and sleep is high, you have to remember that your body heals at this speed of safety.

And fasting should feel like support, not suffering.

So during those times when stress and sleep are high, even though it may be easier to fast longer, it doesn't mean that you always have to.

So falling back on good time-restricted eating during those really stressful times, and as you say, Coach Terri, turning back the fasting dial can often be really helpful as well.

So noticing your stress and sleep.

I talked about the circadian rhythm and kind of making sure you're living in accordance with circadian rhythm.

So if you are turning back the fasting dial and integrating three meals, two meals, one meal, TRE, try to match your eating windows with the daylight.

So possibly turning meals earlier so that they're eaten in the daylight can really help to reset that circadian cycle.

And just a quick safety note for women at this stage of life and you're thinking about starting fasting and listening to us.

If you're on glucose or blood pressure lowering meds, it's important that you work with your clinician before doing some of these longer, overnight fasts that we're talking about.

It's a great safety reminder., just so that everyone's kind of on a similar page in how you're navigating this.

That's great.

Yeah.

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[music] So pillar number two is sleep restoration and practicals that can really help because sleep-- well, let me just preface this is that poor sleep raises cortisol.

It destabilizes blood sugar and makes fasting much harder.

And as I mentioned, you know, at the top of the podcast, as I was explaining how hormones are shifting, lower estrogen and progesterone can make sleep more difficult, but there are some strategies that can help.

So I am a big believer of closing the kitchen down at least three hours before bed.

I think that can really reduce any acid reflux issues and those blood sugar dips that may wake you up.

Really experimenting with eating earlier and aligning your eating meal earlier in the day.

So experiment with that.

Build a wind down ritual.

Dim lights, a warm shower or Epsom salt baths.

Herbal teas like camomile, valerian, passionflower - they're all really calming.

Doing some quiet reading with an actual book rather than a tablet.

Anything that gives blue light in your eyes can be really disruptive of melatonin production.

So really turning down any screens.

And then consider magnesium glycinate in the evening.

It's a very popular supplement here at The Fasting Method.

Making sure, especially on your fasting days, that you have plenty of hydration and electrolytes to prevent any night cramps or weight gain.

And then at this stage of life, if daytime sleepiness is present, you know, really be screened for sleep apnea.

If you are treated for sleep apnea, weight loss often improves

and vice versa: weight loss often improves sleep apnea.

So I have a couple of little side bars that I want to talk about.

It's a little bit off the sleep but kind of connected.

Alcohol.

So a lot of ladies, you know, including myself, enjoy a glass of wine every now and then, but I think it's really important to understand that post menopause alcohol hits harder now.

The nervous system is more reactive, and alcohol, although it may help you fall asleep, really fragments sleep.

It suppresses REM.

It can raise, actually raise nighttime cortisol, which can be an issue for a lot of folks at this stage of life.

It worsens hot flashes.

It contributes to those blood sugar dips and impairs fat burning.

If you're wearing a continuous glucose monitor, just notice your morning blood sugar when you have that nightly glass of wine.

So I really recommend a short alcohol holiday.

Take two to four weeks.

It can often be a game changer for sleep and your weight.

And then you can kind of reassess at that point.

Many women that I have worked with over the years, they use coffee to power through the day and wine to shut it down.

So if you're using wine to shut it down and you kind of drink coffee till it's time for a wine, that is really a habit to take a look at.

Caffeine spikes cortisol.

It can worsen anxiety, palpitations, hot flashes, and it really can irritate the gut.

I know a lot of you are probably using black coffee as a fasting aid, which is fine, but know that the half life of the caffeine in coffee really lengthens with age, so your afternoon coffee can still be in your system at bedtime.

So in addition to your alcohol holiday, think about a one-to-two-week reset where you might do half caff coffee or herbal swaps like rooibos or dandelion teas.

Set a caffeine curfew and notice how fasting and early dinners really naturally reduce the need for those stimulants and sedatives.

I think that's really brilliant, Amy, because I think some of us don't kind of put that in our conscious awareness, but we know I'm kind of keeping myself going with this, and then I kind of knock myself out with this.

And it's obviously socially acceptable on both ends, you know?

And to me, it reminds me a lot of the emotional and mindset things that I try and help people work on.

It's really about addressing the actual need, that if you need energy, let's look at why you need energy.

How are you fueling your body?

How are other things working in your body?

If you need to be sedated to go to sleep, let's look at what is kind of creating that versus let's get this system going that revs you up and then knocks you out.

Let's try and work on how do you get more consistent energy at the right times, like you said, with that circadian alignment.

Yeah, it's really looking at that root cause rather than slapping a bandaid on the problem.

And it's so important to just test removing it for a little bit and notice how you feel.

And knowing that when sleep improves everything else is going to click.

So my pillar number three is nervous system and cortisol regulation.

As I mentioned, at this stage of life, cortisol is often running the show and the body won't release fat easily, so we really have to create safety in the system.

And there's some really simple habits that will help with our nervous system regulation, and they're simple and enjoyable and easy and free.

Going out in the morning light just for a few minutes first thing in your day, whether it's to go take a walk to the mailbox, or just go outside and maybeyou sip your-- I always like warm water and lemon with a little salt to start my day.

So now that the weather is nice, I will sit outside on my deck for those first few morning and kind of sun gaze.

Taking a few breaths before bites.

So this is where you kind of-- you know, you're going to be eating on your eating days anyway, so stack a habit of taking three to four slow breaths before meals, this is really turning your vagus nerve on.

Grounding.

Barefoot on the grass when the weather is nice.

Doing one of Coach Jamie's meditations here in the Community.

Doing some journaling.

And then I love the word warmth for this stage of life.

So really think about how can you warm things up?

Whether, you know, you put on a pair of fuzzy socks, take a blanket, maybe put on a weighted blanket.

These are all signals to our nervous system that it's safe to rest.

I tell my clients that-- you know, they're always asking, "What's the best fasting aid?" But sometimes the best fasting aid is just a 4/7/8 breath.

You know, inhale for four, hold for seven, and then that long exhale of eight counts really helps to put us into that parasympathetic nervous system.

So sometimes the best fasting aid is just that eight second exhale.

I think especially, Amy, because-- and I know sometimes it's hunger driven, but for a lot of us that desire to have something while we're fasting isn't a physiological need for food, it's a physiological need for calm.

And so this is an example of going for the calm, not for the fasting aid or the food or whatever it is, but recognize, yes, your mind needs, your body needs a calming right now.

What are the various mechanisms you can use to do that?

I love that you highlighted that.

Yeah, and really think about it being a toolbox.

You know, having those tools in your toolbox to calm you down.

One of my other favorite ways to do that is just to make a really wonderful cup of tea.

Actually, I was a little nervous before this podcast, so I made this beautiful tea.

It's called A Quiet Mind from Saratoga Tea Company and it has ashwagandha and camomile.

It's just a beautiful loose tea.

I have a pretty teapot, and it really gives me an opportunity to pause because the tea has to steep, the water has to boil.

And just that little ritual in my day really provides a lot of calm, and is better for me overall than reaching for some carbage to try to calm my nerves.

I love that.

Very cool.

Yeah, so pillar number four is movement to build muscle and stability.

I really think that building muscle is the fountain of youth, especially for women after menopause.

Sarcopenia, which is kind of the medical term for muscle loss as we age, sarcopenia accelerates, but we can rebuild, and muscle is truly our metabolic ally.

I was saying this in one of my Community meetings where we were talking about postmenopausal health, that I just don't think that you can get around strength training if your body is able to, even if it's just using your own body weights or some resistance bands.

You know, you don't have to use free weights or go to the gym, but some type of strength training two or three times a week, combined with daily walking and mobility, whether that's yoga or just some gentle stretching for our joints and to maintain balance.

And I think you're really getting yourself moving to build that muscle and stability.

It equals better insulin sensitivity, bone density, posture, but also adds to that mindset piece that I had mentioned, that spark and that feeling strong again in your body.

We talk a lot at The Fasting Method about fat loss.

And fat loss is great, but muscle preservation with fat loss is really the long-term win.

I also find that doing things with body weight or resistance bands or whatever, it's kind of surprising how much that can get the heart rate moving a little bit, get the respiration moving.

And so it's also-- it's breathwork.

Now, obviously it's not the same breathwork that you were just describing, but it's got so many benefits to it.

And I love that you mentioned too, based on what people can do.

Like I have clients who do chair yoga or they use resistance bands because they're waiting to have surgery on their knees.

So they're using resistance bands from a seated position.

They're still using muscles, and again, helping with that insulin sensitivity, and cortisol, and all of these things.

So I just want to really encourage people to look at this pillar number four, not as something that they scratch out if they currently have some type of a mobility challenge that might make you think, "Yeah, I can't be a runner." We're not asking you to be a runner.

So many ways to get movement, and, as you said, building muscle, using muscles.

Yeah.

And find something that you enjoy, that brings you pleasure, because that's what's going to make adding movement into your day more sustainable.

So pillar number five is nourishing nutrition.

If you think about food as information, post-menopausal biology is like alcohol.

It's less forgiving with sugar and refined carbs and seed oils.

What you were able to eat and live well with when you were 35, probably you're going to have to change some things.

I really like to tell my clients to keep it simple.

Protein-forward meals, add lots of colorful, anti-inflammatory vegetables, fibrous vegetables, you know, if your gut can tolerate them.

Healthy fats like ghee and avocado and olive oil.

If you eat meat, tallow and duck fat.

You know, those can be really satiating fats.

Butter.

They're wonderful again for satiation and hormone production.

Our hormones need cholesterol, it's the building blocks, so do not shy away from healthy fats.

And then keep carbs really strategic.

Leafy greens, fibrous vegetables, and avocado are your friends.

And depending on your carb tolerance, you can experiment with adding other types of complex carbohydrates like root vegetables or low-glycemic fruits.

But, you know, really keeping simple, whole foods as kind of the mainstay of your meals.

And then fiber for estrogen clearance.

And I know it's kind of funny that I'm mentioning estrogen because, well, at this point of life, estrogen is low.

But even after menopause, you're still making estrogen from your adrenals and peripheral tissues like fat tissue.

You want to metabolize estrogen and clear it well so it doesn't recirculate.

So you really need to aim for a good bit of fiber.

I'm going to say, you know, 25 to 35g a day of fiber, but you don't want to eat that all at once.

It's something that you want to work your way up to, increase it gradually.

Include flax seed.

Flax seed is great for estrogen metabolism.

Chia seed, which is a fasting aid here at The Fasting Method, is a great source of fiber.

Cruciferous vegetables, leafy greens, avocado.

And consider a gentle psyllium if you need that.

When you're adding all of that fiber, stay on top of hydration and electrolytes.

Fiber without water can constipate you, but low carb and low fiber can too.

So really be mindful of the hydration as well.

I love the way you address the nutrition, because I think oftentimes people think that they're going to have to do something that's really rigid.

And the way you talk about it is just so nurturing and, like you described it as, nourishing.

Finding the foods that really nourish your body, nourish you mentally, physically, but also help with these things, like that don't cause inflammation and help with that hormonal balancing.

Yeah.

And you know, I'm not here to really talk about any specific dietary approach.

You know, we support lots of dietary approaches here at The Fasting Method.

But, you know, if you've been eating like a carnivore diet for a long time and you're just not feeling well-- carnivore is great.

It's a great elimination diet, and it works well for many people until it doesn't work anymore, and you may have to switch things up.

And so experimenting with your diet, really being in touch with how food makes you feel emotionally and physically, is such an important part of this process.

Absolutely.

And pillar number six...

[laughs] This has to be your favorite one.

It is!

[laughs] So, you know, mindset and identity work.

I hear this a lot - "I don't recognize myself anymore," and, "Nothing works anymore," "I just feel invisible." This isn't about white-knuckling and willpower.

It's about identity and belonging to yourself again.

And what we explore in coaching and our coaching programs is really reclaiming your WHY.

You know, why is it that you want to increase that spark and that vitality?

Do you want energy to travel, play with your grandkids?

There's a wonderful Community member that loves to hike, and she wants to hike pain free.

She's well into post-menopause and really an inspiration to me.

Do you want to be able to move more?

Do you want to feel confident at work or is it to protect brain health?

Or maybe it's a combination of many of those, but really knowing that you, at this point in life, can absolutely reclaim your WHY.

And I love that your focus is on what's important to you.

You know, this is a values driven thing to be geared toward.

It's not just, "I want to follow someone's set of rules." I want to follow what's important to me.

I'm going to do things that are going to require me to change things in my habits and things.

It has to be because you value what it provides in your life, or what it removes for you from your life.

So I love that you've really focused on that values part of that.

I think it's also an opportunity in life where you can really rewrite the story.

I hear a lot of women feel like they're broken, that they don't have a lot more to give because they just-- their cup is so empty, they don't feel well, and, you know, although that you're probably not going to feel or get back to who you were at 35, but it's about becoming the healthiest version of who you are now and replacing that idea of, "I'm broken," and rewriting that story to something like, "I'm in a new chapter and I can learn what works for me now." It's an important shift that I think you need to make in your mindset.

Absolutely.

And then I think it can be overwhelming.

We've kind of gone through the six pillars and it can feel like, oh gosh, I don't know if I can really tackle all of this right now with just feeling so crummy and having such low energy.

I want you to focus on this idea of a micro wins mindset.

You just focus on one or two things that you've taken away that you feel like you can put into play from this podcast.

You know, maybe it's the earlier dinner, or one set of bodyweight squats, or your lights out on time and reading a book instead of watching TV at night.

And then, as those habits stack, you'll start really seeing some progress and build momentum.

And that stackable proof that you can do it, you can really begin to trust yourself that you can make it happen for yourself.

The other thing that I really encourage clients to do, too, is to do a little work around your future-self practice.

You know, what would you look like, what would life look like six months from now if you choose to do some of these little micro habits?

What could be different for you?

And it needs to be more than just, you know, lose weight.

I encourage you to identify some new metrics beyond the scale.

You know, maybe you use an Oura ring and you are going to start tracking your sleep score, or you might track, you know, how many reps of an exercise that you can do, or your energy by the afternoon, or your joint comfort, or maybe your mood steadiness, or brain clarity.

So, you know, I really encourage you to think of this journey beyond the number on the scale and look for, as we say at The Fasting Method, your non-scale victories or your NSVs.

I think that's so important because, unfortunately, we have all often been trained to kind of really focus on that number as being the important factor, and there's so much more to this journey.

I always try to reiterate to people in this healing journey, in this weight-loss journey, getting to the number does nothing for keeping you at the number.

But everything you've been talking about in this whole episode is what gets you there and keeps you there, and that you feel good while you're there.

It's not just, "I'm going to do whatever it takes to get to this magical, mythical number," but, "I want to feel good." And I think you have such a nice approach to this, Amy, and that it really is all about quality of life, not just that number, not just reaching goal, but enhancing the quality of your life.

So thinking of that future self, instead of thinking the old way.

I think people used to think, "As I age, how will life get harder and worse?

What abilities will I lose?

What will I start to miss out on?" The way you just framed it is, "What's going to keep feeling better?

What am I going to open myself up to?

What things will I get to enjoy?" And I think that's such a winning mindset to be in in this journey.

Yeah.

And know that you haven't missed your chance.

And when you align these pillars - the fasting, the sleep, the self-care, the movement, the nourishment, the mindset - with this new season of life, the body really is resilient and it remembers how to heal, and life starts to feel like yours again.

Very good.

Well, Amy, I think you have gotten through all six of the pillars, so that was great.

And I think they all fit together so well.

And you've really given a nice roadmap for people to be exploring in this phase of their journey.

So I will look forward to seeing you again, and we'll come back in a month or so with another hormonal-based topic that we get to talk about.

Or maybe there's something else that we'll talk about, but I look forward to getting to talk with you again soon.

Thanks, Coach Terri.

Absolutely.

All right, everyone.

Well, we'll be back again with another episode next week.

So everyone, take good care and we will see you soon.

Bye bye.