Better Me with BodyByBree
Better Me with BodyByBree
Navigating Hormonal Changes with Katy Whalen
When Katie Whalen shared her fertility journey, it struck a chord with me, and I knew we had to bring her wisdom to our listeners. This episode is a treasure trove of insights for women braving the waves of perimenopause and menopause. Together with Katy, founder of Joi Women's Wellness, we unwrap the intricacies of hormonal health, and why it's more than just a medical issue – it's the heart of our well-being.
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Struggling with mood swings or finding it harder to bounce back as you age? You're not alone, and there's a world of support waiting for you in our latest conversation. We'll guide you through understanding hormone fluctuations and their disruptive symptoms, while also breaking down the misconceptions surrounding hormone replacement therapy. Katie brings a light to the often-shadowed discussions about testosterone's role in women's health and the transformative effects it can have when balanced correctly.
This isn't just talk – it's a call to action for women to embrace their health journey armed with knowledge and personalized strategies. We cover the impactful roles of nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle in maintaining not just bodily health, but emotional resilience as well. By the end of our discussion, you'll feel empowered to take charge of your wellness, recognizing that the path to thriving during these transformative years is paved with informed choices and proactive care. Join us, and let's navigate the complex world of hormone health together.
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Are you looking for a space where you will learn to improve your mental strength, emotional health and heal your insecurities from the inside out? Take the first step to living a more meaningful life with the Better Me with Body by Brie podcast. I'm your host, brie. I'm a certified personal trainer, entrepreneur and mother of three. I've helped empower thousands of women to take action through fitness, nutrition, meditation, personal development and aligning thoughts with action. This podcast is for those who are ready to feel inspired and motivated to live a more purposeful life. Let's grow together. Did you know?
Speaker 1:Perimenopause starts around the age of 39 and can last 10 years until you actually hit menopause? A lot of women around 40 years old feel off and not like themselves, but they don't know why. In today's podcast, I'm talking all about how to navigate the hormonal shifts that our bodies go through from perimenopause to menopause, and how to empower you to take control of your health. You don't have to accept feeling anxious, depressed, experiencing weight gain or brain fog. I interview Katie Whalen, founder of Joy Women's Wellness, and she helps you understand what's going on in your body so you can be proactive in your hormone health and not just survive, but thrive. Can be proactive in your hormone health and not just survive but thrive. Hi Katie, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2:How are you, good? I'm so excited to be here. Brie, how are you?
Speaker 1:I'm excited because I just got my blood drawn and I literally just got off of the call and I can't wait to tell you all about it because it was so eyeopening, so helpful and I'm like everyone needs to know this information.
Speaker 2:So what you're doing is life-changing.
Speaker 1:I love it, I'm so excited.
Speaker 2:I love how we lined that up. That does not happen often, so I'm so excited to hear how it went and what's going on with you.
Speaker 1:I know it was perfect. Well, first, for my clients and my listeners that don't really know what you do and who you are, let's give them a little bit of a background of who you are.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I founded a company called Joy Women's Wellness and the bottom line is that we really just want women to feel better. It's that simple. I went through a really rough journey of my own with fertility. I ended up having a bunch of miscarriages, doing IVF, lots of drugs, and then I finally had my two babies and by that I actually had them, naturally, of course. So I really just wanted to waste all that IVF money. But by the time I had my second baby I was in my early forties and I basically just was a mess.
Speaker 2:It was. That was a really hard process for me. So I didn't like who I saw in the mirror. I didn't feel good. I had tremendous brain fog, didn't think I would ever be able to like go back to work again, low, very low energy, and for me I felt like that was.
Speaker 2:That was really a point in my life where I was. I had to make a decision Like do I want to do something about this, or is this? You know, the new me? And I felt very lucky because my husband was always in healthcare and he had actually been through some hormonal stuff himself before me. So he had actually started a company, our brother company, called Blokes, which is for men, and what I did is I went through that process after my journey and so I got a big lab done, I figured out what was going on, I tried different therapies and after I was done with that process I was very amazed at how good I was able to look and feel again, and I knew I wouldn't have gotten there without that help. So for me I just felt like this is a light bulb moment and I felt horrible that we were only serving men and I was like this is not okay. I know there are so many other women out there who are struggling like I did, and that's when I started Joy.
Speaker 1:So cool and seeing the process from beginning to end and how you you do that process was really cool to experience firsthand. So, um, just to give them a little bit of a background, you drop blood and then you look at the results and then you go over the results with the people and then you give them options, correct. Yes, Okay, here's how to help optimize your health, correct.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's one pathway, and one pathway that I highly recommend, and this is for people who it could just be for someone who's like, hey, I just want to see what's going on because I'm curious, I like data, maybe I'm a biohacker, or it is also just for people who's like something's off and I don't know what it is, I can't pinpoint it, and so, either way, I think a lab, a deep dive lab, is a great tool to help us figure it out, and so one thing that's different about us is that we do believe in going deeper, so we do comprehensive labs, and unfortunately, they're not something that goes through the normal insurance model. Insurance is not very interested in looking at proactively a bunch of markers, but that's what we do, and so we will either send someone to your house or we'll send you to a lab core request, and we're actually just launching some at-home finger prick tests, um, this month, so that's an option as well.
Speaker 1:Cool, okay. Well, what I really liked about you guys was that it was kind of a mix between cause I love holistic, the holistic route, but you know, if you're muscle testing and stuff like you can't, you can't see, you need to have the data from your blood draw, but then if you were to go to your doctor's office, they're not looking at you know your GLP one numbers and they're not looking at your insulin resistance and all of these markers that you were looking at was so in depth and like your vitamin D. You know, okay, if your vitamin D is off, then this is how we can adjust to help your testosterone levels. And I loved that it was. It felt very holistic, like let's see what we can do with your own natural body and then, if we need to bring in, you know, a little more, we can. But it's like the perfect balance. It was so great. I just loved it. So that's so nice to hear.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:So my question for you, let's kind of start from the beginning. So let's talk about what happens in a woman's body through her kind of horm. Why is it important to get your hormones checked? Why do we need to do this blood work? Why do we need to figure out these levels? So let's start with what hormonal shifts we see. Do you know about the ages that you see these shifts and when you want to start paying attention?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean basically as women, as females, we go through hormonal shifts throughout our entire life. So we are, you know, that's, it's just what it is. It's what we go through. We are warriors and you know. I think just educating yourself about the different periods and knowing how to support yourself is just extremely helpful in you know your day-to-day life and just having a vital life.
Speaker 2:So what we focus on is menopause and specifically the 10 years before menopause, which is called perimenopause, you know, because menopause is simply you're not cycling anymore, you're not making any hormones, your ovaries have said goodbye. So perimenopause is the 10 years leading up to that where women have a lot of different shifts and symptoms and issues and they may not even know why. They just maybe go. Well, something's changed. What I've been doing isn't working for me anymore and a lot of times that is your little hormones in the background changing.
Speaker 2:So we really focus on figuring out what's going on and helping you choose how to support your body. And from my viewpoint, I am very much all about empowering the woman, educating you and then helping you choose. Ultimately, it's up to you. You know how you want to deal with it, but you don't have to do a lab to know what's going on in these hormonal shifts. Like, I am not going to say diagnose you in perimenopause off of a lab. What we use them for is just to kind of see the whole picture and see what other things you can adjust to support your body in that time.
Speaker 1:Okay, so a couple of questions. What are the ages that you typically see women who are perimenopause?
Speaker 2:So. So menopause is the average age is 51. Okay, and then perimenopause is up to the 10 years before that, so forties is is generally a perimenopause, but we see a lot of gals in their mid to upper thirties as well, just because I think our modern lifestyles are shifting, how, how our hormones react.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, and I feel like it would be helpful to see, maybe after you have a baby too, like I just got done having my last baby and I'm like, okay, I want to feel my best now, like I'm not going to be going through these crazy swings, I'm ready to like figure out how to make sure that my hormones are on par, and so I love that aspect that maybe you could start there.
Speaker 1:And then I love I mean, my sister just hit 40, and she said those words, word for word everything I've done in the past is not working. I don't know what's going on with my body. I feel off. I don't know what it is, though, and it's I feel off. I don't know what it is, though, and I feel like I'm in someone else's body, and this is like very odd, and so I love that you're helping with that. So, let's say, if they are perimenopause, are there things they can do to help with symptoms, and what are the symptoms of perimenopause?
Speaker 2:Yes, the first thing, first of all. That's just like the perfect description. That's what I hear so often. The first thing that happens is usually our progesterone declines, and our progesterone is our calming hormone, so it helps with mood, anxiety, sleep. So you'll see a lot of people that are waking up in the middle of the night and that, of course, affects so many things. When you can't sleep, see a lot of anxiety. The really sad thing is that women in their 40s and 50s get put on double the amount of SSRIs than women in their 20s and 30s.
Speaker 2:And it's sad, it tells you a lot about what's going on, and so, for me, I'm always like, before you fill that script, like, look at your hormones, because there could be some other things you could do to support it, whether it's lifestyle changes, you know, stress relieving things, you know, limiting your caffeine, your alcohol, all those kind of things, or replacing your hormones, which is also a big part of what we do. Because I will tell you that, once we lose our hormones, there is nothing that will. There's no supplement, there's no workout, there's no magic potion that will do the things for us that our hormones do.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's everything. Hormones play a huge role. So if you're perimenopause, you can feel you said tired, have anxiety because the progesterone drops. What else can they feel?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the interesting thing too is, estrogen and progesterone are like yin and yang, so progesterone will antagonize estrogen, so when your progesterone goes down, your estrogen can actually go up.
Speaker 1:Um, so sometimes you'll become more emotional?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, estrogen, for sure can. Can do that, and also why some women have heavier or more painful periods. Um breast tenderness, um, uh, lots of I mean lots of. That's why I guess a term that you'll hear is estrogen dominant.
Speaker 2:So a way to balance that is to raise your progesterone Okay, so that we so usually progesterone declines. Estrogen will go up at first and then in the back half. So when you're closer to menopause, that's when your estrogen will start to decline as well on the way down to your ovaries not working. And then testosterone isn't talked about a lot. It's not as affected during perimenopause, but just in general. We're seeing lower and lower levels of testosterone in women and a lot of that has to do with just lifestyle stuff. You know, birth control will lower your testosterone. Antibiotics there's lots of endocrine disruptors that we're dealing with in our modern world. So those are the three hormones we like to look at. A lot is estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.
Speaker 1:Okay, so aside from trying to lower stress, what, let's say we'll focus on perimenopause and then we'll go into menopause Are there things that women can do naturally to try to lower some of these quote unquote side effects from being in perimenopause?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean there's all kinds of like supplements that can help, you know, try to support you during that time. You know, like DHEA will help lower or increase testosterone. Selenium will help with the thyroid. A lot of times in this process because everything's connected, women's we see a lot of issues with thyroid your active thyroid not being converted as well or your inactive thyroid not being converted as well to active thyroid hormone. So there's all kinds of supplements, lifestyle stuff, you know, mindful mental health things that you can do. I've honestly, like you probably are very well versed in all this stuff because this is what you do, but that all really helps.
Speaker 2:I mean, like I said, unfortunately cutting out alcohol and caffeine really helps too. I've I've had to do that, I've had to do some of those hard things myself, but it all really does matter and it all does help.
Speaker 1:Well, and even if it's not perimenopause, when my hormones were really off after having my third baby, um, I had to do exactly what you're saying. I had to look, my cortisol levels were through the roof and then my estrogen levels were really high. So I was like storing fat in my stomach, which I never do. That's not my body type, so I was like something's off. This is weird, Um and no matter how.
Speaker 1:And then the interesting part is then, because my body was holding on, I was eating less and less to try to counteract it, but which that was actually stressing my body out even more. So then it was holding. It was just such a, it was such a mess, and so I had like a protocol that I had to do and I had to go to bed before 10 o'clock. So that.
Speaker 1:I could get eight hours of sleep. I couldn't do HIIT workouts. I started doing very low impact workouts that would not raise my cortisol. I started eating way higher fats, um, and I started eating more. I almost doubled my carb count, but they, they were healthy carbs, but like my body needed to not be in a stressed out state, yes, and I started meditating and I started really starting my mornings off meditating and it took probably six months and my body all of a sudden just let go, like it was like okay, like even my face was puffy, like my face was just like inflamed and water.
Speaker 2:And it was so hormonal.
Speaker 1:And then, once I did all of those things and got on supplements, I had, um, you know, adrenal support and the supplements, my body, it worked, it worked and it was like a natural way to help, you know, help me feel better. So I do, I agree, I I feel like there are so many things that we can do, um, to help naturally. So what are some things that? Or, I guess, are the menopause symptoms the same as perimenopause symptoms or do they get worse? What does that look like? Or what can women expect?
Speaker 2:I think the perimenopausal years are a little bit more wild because their hormones are still, you're still making them and they're fluctuating. So that's a little bit different for everybody, and they can, you know. Your, everyone's protocols will be a little bit different. Menopause is literally when you aren't making those hormones anymore. You're not making progesterone, you're not making estrogen, and so that is just you. You, a woman, needs to decide are you going to replace some of those hormones with hormone replacement or are you going to, you know, go through it naturally, which you know each will have a different outcome.
Speaker 1:What did you do? Well, you're not there yet, Are you? You're in Perry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm in Perry, but I am definitely on hormone replacement therapy. What the first thing I actually did to start feeling better? Well, my lab showed my thyroid was off and so I did do some thyroid hormone. But then the next thing I did was got on testosterone, because my testosterone was really low and, and you know, I didn't even know women at that point could take testosterone and it really was life changing for me because I I was able to feel so much better in the gym and feel like I was getting stronger and keeping more muscle and being more motivated.
Speaker 2:Testosterone is actually also a very good anti-inflammatory, so it helped lift some of my brain fog and by doing that and getting to a more optimal testosterone level I was able to get off my thyroid meds. So my thyroid started working better and we kind of see that a lot, where someone comes in and says, oh, I think my thyroid's off, and then it's like actually it's your testosterone levels or vice versa, because you know, obviously everything is connected and one thing will affect the other. So I am a big believer in hormone replacement therapy because of just going through it and listening to the doctors and our medical advisors. I also, after testosterone, about six months later I got on progesterone because my anxiety was like nuts through the roof and I couldn't sleep and it was affecting my life.
Speaker 2:I remember at the time we had decided to sell our home and I was hoping to live in Mexico or Costa Rica for a while with the kids. I was imagining them learning Spanish and us kind of having a simple lifestyle for a while. So we were traveling around there looking for someplace to live and I just remember like every step of the way like feeling like something bad was going to happen, like I couldn't get in a plane, I couldn't like sleep at night. It was just like I was so worried about everything. And the night I took my first progesterone capsule before bed. It was like a big sigh of relief, like oh, I'm okay, you're okay, and so that's been a game changer for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that sounds life-changing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it really was.
Speaker 1:I did see a video about how women are so anxious during this time. So that makes sense because it's the drop in progesterone. So, yeah, that's fascinating. Okay, I have so many questions for you.
Speaker 2:So when I did my labs, Okay, I have so many questions for you. So when I did my, labs.
Speaker 1:What I thought was interesting, which maybe some of our listeners can relate to, I was like telling him I just feel sleepy all the time. I feel like I don't have energy and I've done all the things, naturally, that I can do. I eat very healthy whole foods. I eat every three hours. I eat right when I wake up, I eat, you know, higher fats, like I'm doing all the things I know to do, and I just always feel like, even right now, it's like one o'clock and it's hitting, like I'm like starting to feel the you know, and I'm like what, what am I doing wrong? And it was cool that he could see that my testosterone levels were super low.
Speaker 1:And he's like. That will make you very tired and so it was just having answers like okay, my testosterone is very low and he said that there are natural ways that you can raise it with the DHEA or DHA. What was it?
Speaker 2:DHEA is basically a precursor to testosterone, so a lot of women will try to supplement with that to raise it, and that can work for some women for sure. You know what I think is funny, though DHEA is a hormone as well, it's. I think that there's a perception out there that testosterone because it's a controlled substance right now which I also think is very silly and there's no FDA-approved use in women it's a hormone just like DHEA is a hormone, just like your thyroid medication is a hormone. We have so many different kinds of hormones For some reason, some of them you could take as a supplement over the counter and some you can't like testosterone you have to get doctor prescribed. But like they're all hormones, so you might feel like taking DHEA over the counter is safer and less scary, and that is totally fine if that is your viewpoint. But I will say, try it first and hopefully it works. If that doesn't help enough, come back and revisit, because testosterone shouldn't be as scary or, as put in this category of being so unnatural as it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think there is definitely a stigma around taking it, even you saying that I'm like I'm, I'm scared Like I'm. Before you said that when I did my consult I was scared like, oh no, I'll just do this supplement first and see if I can Cause. It's scary for women to take testosterone because they don't really know how it's going to react in the body. Are there side effects? Is it going to make me grow hair places that I don't want to grow hair you know, so maybe you can speak to that a little bit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I think it's kind of crazy. I mean, first of all, like the amount of hormones that we take when we do HRT is it's tiny. So you know, I inject my testosterone, which also probably sounds scary to people. You could take it in a cream too, or you can take a trochee or a capsule, but it's like it's literally like this tiniest little insulin needle and it's the first dot on the insulin needle. It's a small amount. That what's in our HRT is actually one fifth of the amount of hormones that's in our birth control. So the amount we take is very small. That is shocking.
Speaker 1:It is shocking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you don't need a lot, and so we're not giving any woman testosterone to turn them into a bodybuilder or turn them into a man. I don't look like I'm a woman.
Speaker 1:You know I'm like.
Speaker 2:I'm a woman, um, so the amounts that you take are very small, but but what it can do for you is is pretty profound. I you know, it reduces inflammation in your body, it lifts your brain fog, it gives you more energy, more motivation, helps your sex drive. Um, I've had women. Um, I've had women. Funny enough, I did a podcast here in Nashville.
Speaker 2:This woman was 38, and she didn't know much about hormones or anything. And she's like I feel good. And then, like a month later, she texted me. She's like you know what? I want to get a test, just because maybe something's a little off, but I'm fine. So we got her a test. We went over the results. She's like ah well, I don't know, should I try this or not? And then I was like I'm not going to sell you. You're like you do what you want. She's like I mean, I'm either all in or I'm not, and I'm like it's up to you. She got on testosterone and then a month after that, she was like holy crap, she's like thank you, thank you, thank you. She's like I didn't know I could feel this good. And it's crazy stories like that, where I'm like let's not be, it's not something I'm trying to like throw around and say everyone should be on but let's not be so scared.
Speaker 2:if it's something that you're deficient in and if you are literally having the symptoms, then you know. I think the worst that can happen is you can say no, it's not for me, and you can get off it.
Speaker 1:It's not like a it's not like you're removing the stigma, right, and I think a lot of women just don't know, they just don't have the knowledge.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I love that you're talking about that. What? What else is maybe one of the hormone replacement or the therapies that you do that you see a lot of women benefiting from?
Speaker 2:The progesterone, like I said, is a lot of people in perimenopause. They're low on that. So that can help, you know, with your mood and your sleep, which affects everything else, and that's just a simple capsule that you take at night. You know, I personally haven't had to go on estrogen yet because that's, you know, closer to menopause. But I can tell you that when women lose the estrogen, their ovaries aren't making estrogen anymore. It's kind of crazy what happens Like. Basically, we age very quickly. Um, from a vanity perspective, we'll lose 30% of the collagen in our skin within the first five years of losing our estrogen.
Speaker 2:It's a big deal, but from an inside perspective, which is obviously, you know, more important, we'll lose the flexibility in our bones. So estrogen is very protective for our bones. It helps them move so that when they move they don't break as easy. It's also very protective for our brains. It helps keep away degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia. And then it's also very protective of our heart our blood vessels, keeps those flexible and open as well. It can reduce our risk for cardiac events, which is actually the number one cause of death in women.
Speaker 2:So estrogen is the protective. I almost think of it as like our lubricant for everything.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, so I'm learning so much, so my next question is do you ever deal with fertility or no? Do you kind of just specialize in the perimenopause and the menopause?
Speaker 2:You know, I think that we I think we more specialize in perimenopause and menopause, but what we do for younger gals, um, is really work on what can you do for from a lifestyle perspective, and that's where the labs come in. Do from a lifestyle perspective, and that's where the labs come in. That's where, like, hey, you're low in this, try this, try this supplement. You know there's a lot of gals that come with, like, pcos and thyroid issues. Diabetes can cause a lot of hormonal imbalances as well, and so for all of those people really an underlying theme is poor metabolic health, insulin sensitivity or insensitivity. A lot of those things kind of come down to that. So it's really focusing on diet and really focusing on lifestyle and, you know, eating foods that'll help you have a better, you know, blood sugar balance. So that's really important.
Speaker 2:For the younger gals who are having symptoms or issues or also just trying to conceive, I can tell you, you know, when I went through my fertility journey, I did a couple of egg retrievals and the first one I did I got 17 follicles, got 14 eggs out in the procedure and none of them were viable and it was. It was heartbreaking, as I'm sure, sure so many women, you know, also know. But then the second time I did it, I waited and I got on a a protocol that was like 35 vitamins a day, which I hated. But for four months I did that and then I did another retrieval and I got the same 17, then 14, and then three were viable. So I felt like really figuring out how I needed to support myself more in a natural way really helped. Success there.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, and I was going to ask how nutrition plays a role, and I tell people like, if you only focused on three things for anti-aging, it would be fiber, protein and lifting. Like that's what I always tell people like the muscle. What you just said is increasing your RMR and your metabolic rate.
Speaker 1:Muscle what you just said is increasing your RMR and your metabolic rate. Muscle yes, right. And then the fiber and the protein, like those three things I feel for women who are aging, who are entering perimenopause or menopause. If they focus on those three things, they could completely change their body, because I feel most women are not lifting nearly enough or properly and they don't realize the importance of fiber and protein and so they're low in it and they try to just eat as little as possible and I'm like that's not going to help your resting metabolic rate.
Speaker 1:That's going to actually slow it down to a snail's pace, like the goal is muscle and if you do that you have to have the protein and the fiber. So I love that you're teaching women that. I love that you couple the hormone replacement therapy with healthy lifestyle choices as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, it's all interconnected and there is so much you could do. And to me, that's always the goal. I'm always trying to improve that and that will never stop. And building muscle, I mean, it's also kind of fun too to feel stronger, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Oh, so fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's the best. I told your I forget his name Shoot, oh, jc JC. I told him he's like what are your goals? I'm like I just want to be strong. I want to be so strong. I love lifting Like. I want to feel amazing. I want to have lots of energy. I want to be strong.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you're absolutely right, you will age better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it shapes you Like if all you did was focus on that and like optimizing your health to get strong and to have this muscle. You're going to look how you want to look because it's going to burn fat. It's going to lean you out. You're going to look how you want to look because it's going to burn fat. It's going to lean you out. It's going to get rid of the you know fat on your stomach Like. It's going to help balance your hormones. It's going to help with insulin resistance.
Speaker 2:It's so funny.
Speaker 1:People always want like a magic pill and I'm like muscle is the magic pill.
Speaker 2:Oh, I like that. I might have to use that as well as the magic pill.
Speaker 1:Yeah. But I mean, and then let's say you have these healthy habits, then let's get the. You know, if your hormones are off, like let's have ways to optimize your hard work, you know. And so I love that you're removing the stigma around maybe testosterone or having progesterone or estrogen, and I love that you're empowering women to take their health into their own hands instead of just letting it happen to them, cause I remember watching my mom go through it I hope she doesn't hear this Cause we always joke about it now but like we were scared of her, like she was scary when she was going through menopause and we're it's a joke now Cause we're always like, oh, she's back, okay, all right, but it was two full years of being.
Speaker 1:Like I'm scared to like even talk to you because it was just it was hard, it was emotional and rage and yeah, and even Adam's like we called the even with his mom, he's like we called those the dark years, like when my mom was going through menopause, and I like sad. There's gotta be a better way and you are helping people have a better way so that they can take control. I just love it.
Speaker 2:I mean, we laugh about it. It's kind of funny. But it's also not funny Like we shouldn't have to have dark years of rage.
Speaker 1:Right and I told um, I told one of my friends I was at this little get together right before this and I was like, oh yeah, I'm doing a podcast on, you know, on hormones and blood work and getting tested. And she actually, I go, do you do that? Because I loved that. They came to my house and I was telling her all about it, telling her about your joy, wellness. I told everybody at my little brunch this morning and she said, actually I'm really good at that. I get my blood work done every six months and I'm very good at making sure that I'm watching my levels. And she said I have had almost zero symptoms of my menopause.
Speaker 1:And she's like I don't have hot flashes, I don't have like the shifts. I feel like I've been able to manage my weight and I'm like good for you for just empowering yourself and being proactive.
Speaker 2:That's amazing, yeah, and also amazing that people are talking about it now, because that's the other goal. I remember being young and thinking menopause was something I'll do when I'm really old and then I'll deal with it then, but I'm like it's not that far away, unfortunately. I'll deal with it then, but I'm like it's not that far away, unfortunately. And the thing is, I don't want to be really old at 50. Like I want to live a healthier, more vital life and really increase my health span so that, you know, I mean, I had my babies at 40.
Speaker 2:So like I want to be a young, vital mom and you know, live a good life and not sit around on my rocking chair feeling like I can't move.
Speaker 1:Right, right, well, and I love how you talk about I didn't realize that perimenopause was 10 whole years before that. So I love that you're educating women to start sooner so that they have the 10 years leading up Like cause in my mind, like a couple of years ago, I same thing. I'm like oh, I don't have to worry about it till I'm 50, but, no, like you need to worry about it now. Like 38, 40, like, start being proactive.
Speaker 2:You honestly really do. Because one thing I can tell you is um, the sooner you start the better, because it will help you age better and it will help prevent diseases. But once you have had damage, it won't reverse it. So you know, if you have a woman who is 60 to 10 years past menopause, she can still get on some hormone therapy and start really small and see how how it feels for her, but it's not going to reverse the 10 years of damage that, um, she wasn't, she didn't have any hormones.
Speaker 1:See, people don't know that. That's so good to know. Okay, let's tell people the process of what you do, how they can find you, um, and what their options are if they want to work with Joy Women's Wellness.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we do telemedicine so we try to be accessible to most. We are in all 50 states in the US, so we'll have you first start online by picking a lab, and we have a $99 hormone lab that will come with the follow-up. We have a couple more in-depth panels hormone lab that will come with the follow-up. We have a couple more in-depth panels. The second one, for 249, is hormone complete thyroid panel, which is super important metabolic panel and then last one is a comprehensive for 599, where it's like the works everything in your body. So those are the options and, like I said, we could send someone to your home. That's an extra $100 to get someone to your home, or we'll send you to a LabCorp request, draw a station and then we'll kind of just go over the results when they're ready and you'll get to kind of go through all your symptoms and your goals and we'll help create a plan for you, whether that's lifestyle changes, supplements, hormones, peptides, anything.
Speaker 1:Oh, I forgot to talk about that because I, with my neck injury, I found I just got my MRI results and I have a slipped disc and it's resting on a nerve. And I was talking to shoot JC I cannot remember his name. I was talking to JC and he said oh no, we have peptides that can help with the like recovery of your neck, and so I'm really excited I'm going to do it.
Speaker 2:I'm super excited, oh good. Oh I didn't even know you had an injury. For sure We'll send you some.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I, um, I was just excited because he's like try this, cause I was told I need surgery. And he's like wait, wait, I needed surgery too and try this first, cause I didn't need surgery after. So, it was really an answer to prayer. I'm like, okay, I've been struggling with this for six months. I've been like, really I don't want to do surgery, and so I'm really excited to try it.
Speaker 2:Oh good, I'm going to follow up with him and make sure you get what you need. Then You're so cute.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you for being on. Where can my clients and our listeners find you?
Speaker 2:Our website is choosejoyco and joy is spelled J-O-I and then, as always, I love it when people come hang out with us on Instagram. I'm in their DMs a lot and that is Joy. Women's Wellness J-O-I Women's Wellness.
Speaker 1:Okay, awesome. Thank you so much, katie. This has been so helpful, and I have a lot of women that I train that are either perimenopause or menopause and they have all of these questions, so I'm really glad we could answer them.
Speaker 2:So thank you so much. I love this.
Speaker 1:All right, have a great day. Thank you for joining us in today's episode. If you liked the content and want to hear more, remember to hit that subscribe button and write a review. As a small business owner, I appreciate it more than you know. If you are looking for a program to help with self-confidence to lose weight, get in shape and work on your mental, physical and emotional health, check out my training programs on wwwbodybybreecom. My team and I help to hold you accountable through the Body by Bree app, where you log in to see all your workouts, custom meal plan made specifically for you and your needs, and communication through the messenger. You are never alone when you're on the Body by Breed training program. Click the link in the show notes to get more information on how to transform your life from the inside out.
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