The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

I was sitting in my studio in Dallas with four women who had just spent five months inside my Magic Menopause Certification, and every one of them got emotional before we even started recording.
That tells you something about what this season of life actually does to a woman who thought she had it handled.
As a triple board-certified OB/GYN and the creator of the Keto-Green method and the Magic Menopause Coach Certification, I sat down with graduating coaches Chelsea, Song, Tara, and Jamie for a live, unscripted panel on everything nobody warns you about before perimenopause hits.
 In this episode, you'll hear:
- Why declining progesterone and DHEA between ages 35 and 55 quietly drive insulin resistance and weight gain that shows up out of nowhere
- Why fibroids don't have to mean an automatic hysterectomy, and what a natural starting point can look like instead
- Why perimenopause symptoms get dismissed as "normal" in a standard OB/GYN visit, and why that isn't good enough
- Why this conversation belongs in mother-daughter relationships, starting as early as a daughter's first period 
- How to reclaim vaginal and sexual health without shame
- What it actually means to become the CEO of your own health
This is the conversation I wish someone had handed me twenty years ago. Peace is possible on the other side of this transition. So is feeling like yourself again.
Learn more about the Magic Menopause program at magicmenopause.com, subscribe if you're watching on YouTube, and comment your one word for this season of your life. I read every one. 
Key Timestamps
00:00 — Why I brought four coaches into one room
04:00 — Fibroids, hysterectomy, and the missing third option 05:25 — The 30-day cycle nobody could explain
18:30 — Why the weight shows up even when nothing else changed
22:00 — The conversation that needs to start with our daughters 
47:35 — Peeling back the shame around vaginal and sexual health
52:30 — Becoming the CEO of your own health
Memorable Quotes
"I didn't realize that until I crossed the line into menopause. And I was devastated."
"You go to that doctor's appointment and you're the doctor. If your doctor won't partner with you, that's not your doctor." 
-CONNECT WITH DR. ANNA-
Website: http://drannacabeca.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegirlfrienddoctor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegirlfrienddoctor/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thegirlfrienddoctor
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thegirlfrienddoctor/
* Always seek the advice of your own physician or qualified health professional before starting any treatment or plans. Information found here and results are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional and are not intended as medical advice. *

Grab your Mighty Maca and get cozy. In this episode of The Girlfriend Doctor Podcast, Dr. Anna Cabeca sits down with the very first graduates of her Magic Menopause Hormone Restoration Coaching Certification, Emily, Ann, Amy and Angela. Four women, four completely different paths into menopause, and one shared mission, making sure no woman has to go through this alone.
We're talking surgical menopause, the myths that keep women suffering in silence, the postpartum "mini menopause" nobody warns you about, and what it actually takes to feel like yourself again.
Key Timestamps
0:00  Welcome back and meet the first Magic Menopause coaches
01:51 Emily's story, from burnout to becoming every woman's advocate
04:41 Ann's story, a fertility journey that led her to integrative medicine
09:06 Amy's story, surviving sudden surgical menopause
13:29 Angela's story, how coaching became a matter of life and death
18:55 Busting the biggest menopause myths
21:37 Emily's postpartum "mini menopause" story
25:58 The truth about hormones and cancer risk
27:40 Girlfriend to girlfriend, words of encouragement
33:01 Menopause in the workplace
35:35 Where to find each coach
39:11 Closing thoughts and what's next
Ready to turn your own story into your life's work? The Magic Menopause Certified Coach program trains practitioners, health professionals and passionate advocates to guide women through perimenopause and menopause with real clinical grounding and coaching skill behind it.
Learn more here: https://magicmenopause.com/pages/magic-menopause-certified-coach
Subscribe for new episodes every week, and share this one with a friend who needs to hear it today.
Memorable Quotes
"Menopause is natural. Suffering is optional." — Angela

"It's the difference between common and normal." — Emily

"Hormones are not the enemy." — Amy

"You're not broken." — Dr. Anna Cabeca

Connect With Dr. Anna
Website: Dranna.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegirlfrienddoctor/  
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thegirlfrienddoctor  
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drannacabeca
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegirlfrienddoctor

You leave your doctor's office with "everything looks normal" ringing in your ears, but your body is telling you something else. This week Dr. Anna talks with nurse practitioner Dr. Efrat LaMandre, aka Dr. E, about medical gaslighting, why "you're fine" often means "I ran out of tools," and how to advocate for yourself without burning every bridge with your doctor.
You'll learn:
The difference between "normal" and "optimal," and why it matters

What "pre-disease" is and why most providers aren't equipped for it

How to describe your symptoms so your doctor actually listens

Why one provider can't be your whole healthcare team

How to trust your own intuition instead of talking yourself out of it

If you've ever been told you're fine and known you're not, this one's for you.
Connect with Dr. E: 
TikTok: tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre  
Instagram: instagram.com/drefratlamandre   
Facebook: facebook.com/drefratlamandre 
YouTube: youtube.com/@DrEfratLaMandre  
Website: drefratlamandre.com  
LinkedIn: efratlamandre 
Podcast: drefratlamandre.com/e-podcasts 
Connect with Dr. Anna:
Website: dranna.com
Instagram: instagram.com/thegirlfrienddoctor   
YouTube: youtube.com/@thegirlfrienddoctor  
TikTok: tiktok.com/@drannacabeca 
Facebook: facebook.com/thegirlfrienddoctor 
#MedicalGaslighting #WomensHealth #Perimenopause #Menopause #PatientAdvocacy #FunctionalMedicine

Have you done everything right and still watched the scale refuse to move? I sat down with fitness industry veteran Chalene Johnson, who built her career telling women exactly how to lose weight, and then walked straight into that same wall herself in perimenopause.
Her hormone panel came back "dialed in." She was still doing every workout, every macro track, every habit that used to work. The weight stayed anyway, until she found the piece nobody had pointed her toward, the link between cortisol, insulin resistance, and a metabolism that stops cooperating no matter how hard you push.
We get into the stress inventory that changed her day almost overnight, why she traded daily cardio for heavy strength training, her honest concerns about GLP-1s, and the Harvard longevity data that convinced her friendship matters more for a long healthy life than anything you'll find in a gym.
Timestamps:
0:00 — Doing everything right and still gaining weight in perimenopause

4:36 — How the fitness industry sets women up to fail on purpose

12:00 — Hormones "dialed in," weight still not moving

13:14 — The cortisol and insulin resistance connection nobody explained to her

13:57 — The stress inventory exercise that changed her days

23:39 — Why she traded cardio for heavy strength training

25:48 — The identical twin study on muscle, memory, and cognition

27:55 — Her honest concerns about GLP-1s and rapid weight loss

33:49 — Why community predicts longevity more than diet or exercise

36:03 — Rapid fire: supplements, sunlight, and energy vampires

42:08 — Camp Be More and where to find Chalene

Memorable Quotes:
"I have my hormones dialed in, but when I was working with an integrative medical doctor who would look at my panel, she's like, 'Your cortisol is through the roof.'"
— Chalene Johnson
"The machine needs for you to not succeed so that you believe, okay, something else is going to work for me."
— Chalene Johnson
"We can't heal a body we hate."
— Dr. Anna Cabeca
Key Takeaways:
A "perfect" hormone panel doesn't rule out cortisol and insulin resistance quietly driving weight gain underneath it

Writing out every stressor and circling only what you control turns "reduce your stress" into something actually doable

Lower body strength training, not cardio, was the single habit Chalene says moved the needle most for her body and brain

The identical twin study she references found more lower body muscle correlated with better memory and cognition at 50 and beyond

Rapid weight loss without addressing muscle and detoxification support can cost you the two things that matter most for longevity

Community, not diet or exercise, was the strongest predictor of quality of life and lifespan in the longest running Harvard longevity study

Vitamin D from sunlight and magnesium are the two non negotiables in Chalene's own daily routine

FAQ
Why do I keep gaining weight in perimenopause even though my hormones are balanced? 
For many women, hormone balance is only part of the picture. Cortisol and insulin resistance can quietly drive weight gain even when a hormone panel looks well managed. Addressing stress load and metabolic health alongside hormones is often the missing piece.
Does stress actually cause weight gain, or is that oversimplified? Chronic stress raises cortisol, and elevated cortisol is linked to increased insulin resistance and a slower metabolic rate. This isn't about willpower. It's a physiological chain that can work against weight loss efforts regardless of diet and exercise habits.
Is strength training better than cardio for women in midlife? Strength training, particularly lower body work with adequate weight, supports muscle retention, bone density, and metabolic health in ways cardio alone doesn't. Many experts recommend prioritizing strength training first, then layering in cardio.
What is Camp Be More? Camp Be More is a live event created by Shelene Johnson for women, focused on connection, aging on your own terms, and building community with other women navigating midlife.
How much strength training do I need to see results? Shelene recommends starting with two days a week focused on the lower body if daily training feels overwhelming. Consistency matters more than volume when you're starting out.
 
Connect with Chalene Johnson
Website: https://chalene.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chalene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chalenejohnson/?hl=en
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chalenejohnson
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@chalenejohnson
Connect with Dr. Anna
Website: http://drannacabeca.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegirlfrienddoctor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegirlfrienddoctor/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thegirlfrienddoctor
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thegirlfrienddoctor/

She shut down. Walked out of the room. And you spent the next three days replaying the one sentence that did it.
That right there is a trigger talking to a trigger. And it's exactly what my guest today spends her career untangling.
Tressa Yonekawa holds a graduate degree in cognitive neuroscience for communication. Twenty five years in, she's used it with corporate leaders, celebrity clients, and couples who feel more like roommates than lovers.
We get into her own near drowning at four years old, the voice she heard underwater that redirected her entire life, and how her father's war trauma and a chaotic childhood taught her to read the patterns hiding underneath a fight.
Here's what you'll walk away with.
The exact phrase that stops a fight before it starts ("I have a story that...")

Why "we're not having sex anymore" is almost never actually about sex

Her four layer Trust Pyramid: presence, emotional safety, curiosity, then trust

The one question most couples have never asked each other, and what happens when they finally do

How she navigated her own divorce with grace instead of a courtroom fight

Gorgeous, if you have ever gone quiet mid conversation because you didn't have the words, this one is for you.
Watch the full conversation now and tell me in the comments which tool you're trying first.
And if you're ready to take your health, relationships, and vitality to the next level, join me at my upcoming Vitality Event! Learn more and reserve your spot here: https://drannacabeca.com/pages/f-vitality-experience 
Key Timestamps 
00:00 — Meet Tressa and her background in cognitive neuroscience

04:00 — The near drowning at four and the voice underwater

10:00 — How childhood patterns show up in adult relationships

16:00 — The "I have a story that..." tool for defusing triggers 

22:00 — Why sexless marriages are rarely about sex

28:00 — The Trust Pyramid explained

36:00 — Her own divorce and the elegant exit

42:00 — First steps for a woman feeling discontent in her relationship

48:00 — Where to find Tressa and how to send in your questions

Memorable Quotes
"What looks like anger is almost always fear based." — Tressa Yonekawa
"Talking to somebody else's trigger creates harm." — Tressa Yonekawa
"There's always hope, healing, and a body you love to live in." — Dr. Anna Cabeca
 
Connect With Guest 
Website: https://tressayonekawa.com/  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tressa.yonekawa/  
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TressaYonekawa  
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tressayonekawa  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tressayonekawa/ 
 
Connect With Dr. Anna 
Website: Dranna.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegirlfrienddoctor/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thegirlfrienddoctor
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drannacabeca 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegirlfrienddoctor