Maximizing Hormones, Physique & Running Through Perimenopause

What happens when the treatment offered to quiet your symptoms also quiets the hormonal signals you are trying to understand and working hard to support?
In this episode, Louise Valentine, a leading functional health and fitness expert for perimenopausal active women and recreational runners, shares why she decided not to use birth control as a way to manage perimenopause symptoms. As an example of things to consider, she walks through her complicated health history, including periods of underfueling, overtraining, gut issues, hormone challenges, and the difficulty of navigating fragmented women’s healthcare.
Louise explains why she wants to address root cause factors first, such as gut health imbalances, stress, cortisol regulation, and adjusting nutrition, lifestyle, and training. She clarifies why hormone suppression therapy is not the right next step for her. You will learn the importance of tracking symptoms, asking questions about testing and scans, and understanding that what works for one woman may not work for another.
Ready to become an informed participant and fierce advocate in your own care? The bottomline is: Symptoms can provide useful information about our body's individual needs, and women deserve conversations that consider their individual health history, goals, and options rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all or outdated approaches.
RESOURCES + LINKS
Learn & level up with my free nutrition guide & award-winning 1:1 Academy to thrive through perimenopause with less stress: https://www.breakingthroughwellness.com
Check out my FullScript here where you can see curated supplement picks, by topic, to address your concerns & save 25% off!  A small portion of EACH sale goes back to support BTW.  Thank you!
Learn, laugh & level up with a Breaking Through Wellness masterclass here.
Link to check out Function Health & save $25 off comprehensive, proactive blood work using code “LVALENTINE11”  here.  $25 goes back to support BTW with each new sign up! Thank you!
Take advantage of our podcast listener discount & save 20% off Kion’s science-backed clean products. Code "LOUISE" saves on all future orders: https://www.getkion.com/pages/maximizing 
Episode Highlights:
(0:00) Intro
(2:46) Why Louise declined birth control
(5:14) Her complicated hormone and health history
(8:32) How fueling can affect female hormones
(11:08) Rebuilding hormone health naturally
(13:33) Challenges with fragmented healthcare
(15:30) Stress, cortisol, and hormone production
(18:28) Why she is delaying HRT
(19:13) Being offered hormone suppression therapy
(20:06) Birth control for symptom management
(23:55) When hormone suppression may have a place
(24:22) Why symptoms can provide useful data
(28:45) Navigating gaps in women’s healthcare
(32:32) Advocating for further testing and scans
(34:37) Stress, DHEA, and hormone health
(36:45) Outro

Tune in weekly to "Maximizing Hormones, Physique, and Running Through Perimenopause" for our simple female-specific science-based revolution. Let's unlock our best with less stress!

I'd love to connect!
Email 💬  support@breakingthroughwellness.com  
Please note if you want to be a podcast guest, there is a fee and interview process. This is safe space and curated Community exclusively for women who love to feel, look and run our best without B.S. noise, endless pills, extreme diets or misleading fads.

Waiting until life gets easier may be the very thing keeping you stuck. In this short episode, Louise Valentine shares a simple reminder for women navigating perimenopause, changing hormones, fitness struggles, and the pressures of midlife: there is no perfect time. There is only a decision.
Louise, one of the world’s leading integrative health practitioners, explains how she sees women delay getting support even when their symptoms, lab trends, or daily energy suggest something needs attention. She shares why understanding the full picture, health history, stress, nutrition, training, hormones, and lifestyle, can help create a more personalized path forward instead of relying on endless supplements or quick fixes.
She also opens up about her own challenges, continued functional medicine training, and why she chose to keep learning even during a difficult season of life. Louise emphasizes the importance of community, individualized support, and recognizing that needing help, including medical support when appropriate, is not a failure.
The takeaway is simple: lean in, learn from what is not working, make adjustments, and keep moving forward.
RESOURCES + LINKS
Learn & level up with my free nutrition guide & award-winning 1:1 Academy to thrive through perimenopause with less stress: https://www.breakingthroughwellness.com
Link to check out Function Health & save $25 off comprehensive, proactive blood work using code “LVALENTINE11”  here.  $25 goes back to support BTW with each new sign up! Thank you!
Take advantage of our podcast listener discount & save 20% off Kion’s science-backed clean products. Code "LOUISE" saves on all future orders: https://www.getkion.com/pages/maximizing 
Check out my FullScript here where you can see curated supplement picks, by topic, to address your concerns & save 25% off!  A small portion of EACH sale goes back to support BTW.  Thank you!
Learn, laugh & level up with a Breaking Through Wellness masterclass here.
Episode Highlights:
(0:00) Intro
(3:01) Why these bonus episodes matter
(4:13) Readiness is a decision
(5:21) Looking deeper for root causes
(9:12) Connecting your complete health history
(13:36) Stop waiting for perfect timing
(15:23) Louise’s own health decision
(17:19) Why community matters in midlife
(20:34) Lifestyle before endless supplements
(24:22) Adapting support to real life
(27:23) Needing medication is not failure
(30:13) Lean in, learn, and level up
(31:38) Outro

Tune in weekly to "Maximizing Hormones, Physique, and Running Through Perimenopause" for our simple female-specific science-based revolution. Let's unlock our best with less stress!

I'd love to connect!
Email 💬  support@breakingthroughwellness.com  
Please note if you want to be a podcast guest, there is a fee and interview process. This is safe space and curated Community exclusively for women who love to feel, look and run our best without B.S. noise, endless pills, extreme diets or misleading fads.

As our hormones and female physiology change, running a bit less and more strategic is essential to feel stronger, healthier, and even faster.
Louise Valentine, a leading expert for perimenopausal active women and runners, sits down with Jen to look back on their four-month training cycle and share what happened when they reduced running mileage, focused more on the Breaking Through Wellness female-specific strength training and fitness methods, and stopped forcing their bodies to keep up with demanding race goals.
One of their biggest lessons was once again learning to recognize a bioindividual “stress tipping point”, a science-backed theory that Louise teaches us to thrive through perimenopause. For example, more training is not always better, especially when sleep, recovery, hormones, hunger, mood, and body composition start to suffer. Louise shares how stepping away from half-marathon training helped improve her sleep, libido, strength, physique, recovery, and hormone markers while still allowing her to run faster. Jen also discovered that shorter runs brought her faster physique changes, more joy, improved energy, and made training easier to fit into her busy family life.
They also discuss excessive cardio, hunger hormones, female-specific strength training, ditching social media pressure, and the empowering freedom that comes from changing goals without feeling like you failed.
The takeaway is simple: your healthiest and most effective training plan looks a lot different in midlife as your hormones and female physiology change.
RESOURCES + LINKS
Learn & level up with my free nutrition guide & award-winning 1:1 Academy to thrive through perimenopause with less stress: https://www.breakingthroughwellness.com
Blog post mentioned in this episode, “Trying to find your sweet spot with running & fitness in perimenopause? This is for you!“ is found here.
Previous podcast episode #133 on choosing to shift training goals mid-training plan: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/maximizing-hormones-physique-running-through-perimenopause/id1716725195?i=1000767715477
Link to check out Function Health & save $25 off comprehensive, proactive blood work using code “LVALENTINE11”  here.  $25 goes back to support BTW with each new sign up! Thank you!
Take advantage of our podcast listener discount & save 20% off Kion’s science-backed clean products. Code "LOUISE" saves on all future orders: https://www.getkion.com/pages/maximizing 
Check out my FullScript here where you can see curated supplement picks, by topic, to address your concerns & save 25% off!  A small portion of EACH sale goes back to support BTW.  Thank you!
Learn, laugh & level up with a Breaking Through Wellness masterclass here.
Episode Highlights:
(0:00) Intro
(3:31) Why they changed their training approach
(5:31) Understanding your stress tipping point
(7:08) Choosing health over race performance
(8:39) When long runs stopped working
(10:28) Finding your joyful running distance
(12:18) High mileage and hormone health
(14:00) Health, happiness, or harder training
(19:27) Finding balance between running and strength
(22:32) Leptin, hunger, and excessive cardio
(25:25) What happened after running less
(29:17) Hormone improvements after changing training
(32:19) Is the half marathon worth it?
(35:26) More training balance, more family time
(38:44) Life after stepping away from social media
(41:07) Choosing family over outside pressure
(47:32) Freedom from having a race scheduled
(50:09) Outro

Tune in weekly to "Maximizing Hormones, Physique, and Running Through Perimenopause" for our simple female-specific science-based revolution. Let's unlock our best with less stress!

I'd love to connect!
Email 💬  support@breakingthroughwellness.com  
Please note if you want to be a podcast guest, there is a fee and interview process. This is safe space and curated Community exclusively for women who love to feel, look and run our best without B.S. noise, endless pills, extreme diets or misleading fads.

At Breaking Through Wellness, taking more strategic care of yourself also means making more room for joy-filled experiences with the people you love. In fact, it may be the most important factor in thriving through perimenopause with optimal health, hormones, fitness, and holistic happiness!
In this episode, Louise Valentine, a leading functional women's health, exercise physiologist, and female-specific fitness expert, shares a personal look at how health, changing hormones, fitness, relationships, and stress all intersect during perimenopause. After noticing how demanding this season of life has become for herself and her clients, she realized that reconnecting with her husband needed to become a top priority, not something left for when life finally slowed down.
Louise shares why she and clients in her private practice are making intentional connection part of their wellness goals, including planning regular date nights and finding simple ways to bring back fun, conversation, and intimacy. She also walks through how she approached an adventurous weekend getaway, including hacks for alcohol, nutrient timing, and fun meals out, while still supporting her best training, recovery, and overall health.
The conversation goes deeper as Louise opens up about family stress, resilience, changing priorities, and the importance of having a strong community around you when life feels heavy.
The takeaway is simple: wellness is bigger than workouts and nutrition. Sometimes feeling your best also means protecting your relationships, making space for joy, and remembering what matters most.
RESOURCES + LINKS
Learn & level up with my free nutrition guide & award-winning 1:1 Academy to thrive through perimenopause with less stress: https://www.breakingthroughwellness.com
Take advantage of our podcast listener discount & save 20% off Kion’s science-backed clean products. Code "LOUISE" saves on all future orders: https://www.getkion.com/pages/maximizing 
Check out my FullScript here where you can see curated supplement picks, by topic, to address your concerns & save 25% off!  A small portion of EACH sale goes back to support BTW.  Thank you!
Learn, laugh & level up with a Breaking Through Wellness masterclass here.
Link to check out Function Health & save $25 off comprehensive, proactive blood work using code “LVALENTINE11”  here.  $25 goes back to support BTW with each new sign up! Thank you!
Episode Highlights:
(0:00) Intro
(3:30) Why Louise is running less
(7:15) Reconnecting with your spouse
(9:35) Focusing on what matters most
(11:08) The monthly date night challenge
(15:04) Navigating a healthy date night
(18:02) Fueling before drinking alcohol
(20:24) Creating space for real connection
(26:17) Hormones, alcohol, and recovery
(29:25) Facing a high-stress season
(33:29) Protecting relationships through hard seasons
(38:36) Finding your own date-night style
(40:25) Outro

Tune in weekly to "Maximizing Hormones, Physique, and Running Through Perimenopause" for our simple female-specific science-based revolution. Let's unlock our best with less stress!

I'd love to connect!
Email 💬  support@breakingthroughwellness.com  
Please note if you want to be a podcast guest, there is a fee and interview process. This is safe space and curated Community exclusively for women who love to feel, look and run our best without B.S. noise, endless pills, extreme diets or misleading fads.

Feeling better in perimenopause has less to do with doing more and more to do with finally giving your female body what it needs.
In this episode, Louise Valentine, one of the world’s leading health, fitness and performance experts for ambitious active women who love to run, sits down with Stacey, a health education specialist and longtime runner, to share her journey from restrictive dieting, excessive fasting, poor sleep, headaches, injuries, and frustrating hormonal symptoms to a much simpler approach to health and performance. Stacey explains how learning when and how to fuel with her female physiology changed the way she sleeps, runs, recovers, and feels day to day.
They discuss why more cardio and longer workouts are not always better, especially as women move through perimenopause, and why strategic strength training, female-specific fueling, and recovery can make a bigger difference.
Stacey also shares how she stopped letting the scale dictate her progress and began focusing more on strength, energy, fewer injuries, and overall well-being.
Her biggest lessons are refreshingly simple: be patient, stay consistent, keep things flexible, and stop expecting overnight results.
RESOURCES + LINKS
Learn & level up with my free nutrition guide & award-winning 1:1 Academy to thrive through perimenopause with less stress: https://www.breakingthroughwellness.com
Take advantage of our podcast listener discount & save 20% off Kion’s science-backed clean products, like Kion Aminos mentioned in this episode. Code "LOUISE" saves on all future orders: https://www.getkion.com/pages/maximizing 
Check out my FullScript here where you can see my curated supplement picks, by topic, to address your concerns & save 25% off!  A small portion of EACH sale goes back to support BTW.  Thank you!
Learn, laugh & level up with a Breaking Through Wellness masterclass here.
Link to check out Function Health & save $25 off comprehensive, proactive blood work using code “LVALENTINE11”  here.  $25 goes back to support BTW with each new sign up! Thank you!
Episode Highlights:
(0:00) Intro
(3:09) Stacey’s perimenopause success story
(9:46) Feeling stuck with hormonal symptoms
(15:25) How nutrition changed sleep and headaches
(22:05) Why less running can be more
(31:00) Simple tools that made a difference
(44:26) Improving physical and mental health
(47:31) Looking beyond the number on the scale
(53:26) Why women need different strategies
(55:39) Turning overwhelm into sustainable habits
(1:00:04) Building consistency for long-term results
(1:04:56) Patience, simplicity, and Stacey’s final advice
(1:08:29) Outro

Tune in weekly to "Maximizing Hormones, Physique, and Running Through Perimenopause" for our simple female-specific science-based revolution. Let's unlock our best with less stress!

I'd love to connect!
Email 💬  support@breakingthroughwellness.com  
Please note if you want to be a podcast guest, there is a fee and interview process. This is safe space and curated Community exclusively for women who love to feel, look and run our best without B.S. noise, endless pills, extreme diets or misleading fads.