Midlife Advice | Perimenopause, Hormones and Midlife Women’s Health

Most midlife women don’t burn out because they’re doing something wrong. They burn out because they don’t know how to stop pushing. Why does rest feel so uncomfortable for so many capable, high-functioning midlife women? In this short solo episode, health coach and podcast host Jessica Long gets honest about burnout, nervous system conditioning, and why stepping back can feel scarier than staying...

This episode explores how midlife women can use the Enneagram to plan a more aligned year at work and at home, instead of bracing for the Sunday Scaries every week. Leadership coach and Enneagram facilitator Ali Dunn returns to the podcast to help midlife women plan a year that actually fits—without forcing goals, burning everything down, or fantasizing about moving to Fiji (tempting though it may...

Eating less and exercising more does not help with weight gain in perimenopause. It can actually backfire. Here’s what works instead. In this episode, I talk with registered dietitian and holistic nutritionist Betsy Markle about why traditional dieting stops working in perimenopause and what actually supports metabolism during midlife. We unpack why the old “calories in calories out” advice fails...

Did you accomplish a lot this year but still feel oddly unfulfilled? This episode will help you understand why and what to do next. In this solo episode, I share some of my favorite end-of-year and New Year reflection prompts for midlife women who are done moving through life on auto-pilot and ready to get honest about what it takes to live life “awake.” ✨ Get the full list of end-of-year and new...

A short and sweet check-in on slowing down, protecting your bandwidth, and savoring the holiday week instead of letting it blur. In this episode, I’m sharing a few small, meaningful ways I’m protecting my energy and sanity during the holiday week — in case it inspires you to do the same.  This is about slowing down enough to actually feel this season and not miss the joy because you’re on auto-pil...

If midlife has you thinking, “Why don’t I feel like myself anymore?” —this episode is for you. After 50 episodes of interviewing doctors, coaches, healers, and badass midlife women (plus sharing plenty of my own solo reflections), I’ve noticed the same themes rise to the surface again and again. Today, I’m pulling together the most important lessons from the first 50 episodes to help you feel less...

The holidays are here — which means parties, pressure, family expectations, and enough sugar to take down a small village. If you’re a midlife woman who’s finally feeling good again thanks to protein, strength training, better sleep, and smarter nutrition… the holidays can feel like a threat to your hard-won progress. Good news: you can stay true to your healthy habits and have fun. In this episod...

Raise your hand (or glass?) if gift giving, cards, décor, hosting, and family expectations around the holidays STRESS. YOU. OUT. I see you.  In this episode, world-renowned organizing expert and bestselling author Shira Gill shares minimalist strategies that help busy midlife women simplify the holidays without sacrificing joy. We cover: ✔️Why we keep buying things we don’t need — and how to break...

This one’s special — because you helped create it. In honor of Thanksgiving, I asked listeners to share what they’re feeling most grateful for in midlife. And your answers were so good! They’re honest, hilarious, heartfelt, and full of that signature midlife “F-it” energy we all know and love. Today’s episode is a crowdsourced roundup of what real women 40+ are grateful for right now — from better...

If you’ve been thinking, “I just don’t feel like myself anymore,” this episode is for you. Dr. Prudence Hall breaks down why perimenopause can flip your mood, energy, sleep, libido, and identity upside down—and what you can actually do about it. We dig into the hormonal shifts behind the fog, the labs that matter, the truth about birth control pills and hormonal IUDs in perimenopause, and how bioi...

The podcast has a new name! Welcome to Midlife Advice , where smart and sassy women over 40 come to figure out all things midlife — from hormones to careers, relationships, and everything in between. In this episode, Jessica shares why she decided to change the name from Belong Wellness to Midlife Advice and how you can be featured in an upcoming episode. If you’ve ever struggled to launch somethi...

Is midlife going exactly as you expected it would? Yeah… me neither.  And it certainly didn’t for Teyonna Bowman. At 35, she was a young mom who thought she was doing everything right — eating healthy, staying active, raising her kids — until she found a lump in her breast that changed everything. After surviving breast cancer twice and enduring chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone-blocking treatm...

My midlife mom friends—If you’ve ever needed a vacation after your family vacation, this one’s for you. In this playful mini-sode, I reflect on my recent family “vacation,” and how I’m getting closer to dropping the quotes. I talk five-hour flights with no iPads, the magic of kids’ clubs, Yoto players, hotel spas, and share tips (and a few silly wins) for traveling with little kids while keeping y...

Turns out, those ‘I’m past my prime’ thoughts aren’t harmless—they can literally change your hormones, heart, and health. 😱 Functional nutritionist and narrative-medicine practitioner (yes, we will cover what that means) Andrea Nakayama explains how age beliefs influence inflammation, cortisol, heart health, memory, recovery, and even longevity. If you’re a midlife woman trying to feel your best...

What if the hardest thing to do in yoga isn’t on the mat — it’s staying calm when your kid rolls their eyes for the fiftieth time that day? In this episode, I talk with Sarah Ezrin , yoga teacher and author of The Yoga of Parenting , about how the ancient principles of yoga can help us survive — and even savor — the chaos of raising humans as midlife women. Sarah says parenting is the most advance...

Have you ever noticed that just when life starts to feel really good…you start waiting for the other shoe to drop? Or worse, you pick a fight or find a way to mess things up? That’s not random—it’s what psychologists call the Upper Limits Problem , and it’s one of the sneakiest ways we sabotage our own joy. In this episode, I talk with award-winning author Tamar Hurwitz-Fleming , whose book How to...

Bag of chips. Pint of ice cream. Pick your favorite vice. Ever caught yourself thinking, “I’m not even hungry—so why am I eating this?” In this episode, I’m joined by Tricia Nelson, founder of Heal Your Hunger and author of Heal Your Hunger: 7 Simple Steps to End Emotional Eating Now . After losing 50 pounds and healing her own relationship with food, Tricia has devoted decades to helping women un...

Most women are told there are only a handful of options when it comes to hormone therapy for perimenopause and menopause. But what if that’s not the full story? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Peter Koshland , a UCSF-trained pharmacist and founder of Koshland Pharm, San Francisco’s only PCAB-accredited compounding pharmacy. Peter pulls back the curtain on what compounding really is, how safet...

In today’s minisode, I’m answering one of the most common questions I get: “So… do you love podcasting?” The short answer? Yes! I love the challenge of learning a new industry, diving into conversations with inspiring midlife women, and spreading science-based information. But I also want to keep it real — it’s not all rainbows and unicorns. Podcasting is a ton of work, and doing it solo while jug...

If you’ve hit your 40s and suddenly feel like your body got swapped out for someone else’s…I’m right there with you. For many midlife women, uninvited menopause belly fat shows up overnight, brain fog makes you lose your train of thought mid-sentence, and you’re wide awake at 3am pondering disasters that will probably never happen.  In this episode, I’m joined by Barbara Sobel , a board-certified...

In this episode, I’m sharing five foods I used to eat all the time that just don’t have a place in my life anymore. And no, this isn’t about demonizing food or creating rules. It’s about noticing how my choices have shifted as I’ve moved through midlife and perimenopause, and celebrating the small but powerful changes that support my hormone health and energy now. You’ll hear me talk about: ✔️Why...

Perimenopause doesn’t have to feel like the end of your fire. In Ayurveda, this stage of life is actually called your Golden Goddess era . In this episode, Jessica talks with Heather Grzych, Ayurvedic doctor-level practitioner, bestselling author of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility , and former president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association. Heather explains how Ayurveda sees midlife as a...

When Julie Parana had a hysterectomy at 42, she expected relief from years of pain—which she got. What she did not expect was the immediate launch into menopause a decade earlier than planned. Even with her ovaries intact, Julie found herself dealing with symptoms like brain fog, forgetfulness, and sleep struggles that were affecting her work. But, it wasn’t until the hot flashes showed up that sh...

In this episode, I’m joined by Heather Nelson to discuss her very personal story that sheds light on a topic that feels like a black box to many of us—surrogacy.  Heather is a mother, wife, business coach and podcaster who became a surrogate five years ago. Now at 43 and navigating perimenopause, she’s preparing to do it again.   Her story offers a rare, honest look at the emotional and logistical...

If you are a midlife woman trying to eat more protein—but you’re tired of people telling you to eat 100 grams a day, and you’re even more tired of eating chicken—then this episode’s for you.  I’m breaking down how to personalize your protein intake without bloating, burnout or boredom. I also share 5 protein recipes I make on repeat, including muffins, smoothies, and energy bites my kids devour. I...