Food, Shame, Weight and Hormones: Into and Through Menopause

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For many women, midlife brings bewildering changes to metabolism, weight distribution, and relationships with food—shifts that can't be addressed with the simple solutions that worked in our twenties.

Nutritionist and cooking instructor Heather Carey joins Mary to unpack the complex truth about food, weight, and wellness through perimenopause and beyond. Drawing from her professional expertise and personal journey, Heather reveals how our early relationships with food often set patterns that follow us for decades—and how midlife offers a unique opportunity to heal these relationships while nurturing our changing bodies.

The conversation dives deep into why traditional dieting approaches fail women in midlife, why estrogen changes redistribute weight around our midsection (no, you're not imagining it!), and the critical importance of strength training as we age. They explore how sleep disruption, stress, and hormonal fluctuations create the perfect storm for weight management challenges, while offering practical strategies for making healthy, delicious food a sustainable part of life.

Both women share candid experiences with thyroid issues, emotional eating, and the frustration of watching formerly effective weight management strategies stop working. Their honest dialogue cuts through the noise of supplement marketing and trendy diets, offering instead a foundation of nutritional wisdom, body acceptance, and practical cooking approaches that actually work for busy women.

Whether you're struggling with unexplained weight gain, considering hormone replacement therapy, or simply trying to navigate the countless contradictory messages about midlife nutrition, this episode provides clarity, compassion, and actionable advice. Listen for specific insights on how caffeine, alcohol, and sugar affect the menopausal body, and discover why making peace with food might be the most powerful health choice you can make.

You can find Heather HERE.

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Heather's Podcast, Real Food Stories

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