You're Not Crazy! It's Perimenopause with Jenny Smith

Jenny shares a very personal health journey she’s been walking through this year. After feeling stressed, exhausted, and unlike herself, she found herself considering an option she never thought she would… GLP-1. But before making a decision, she took a step back and considered the pros and cons. She shares the decision that felt right for her. If you've been struggling with cravings, stubborn wei...

Jenny is joined by fellow Functional Medicine Health Coach Heidi Vance from Zero Longevity Science for an honest conversation about metabolic health, intermittent fasting, protein, and what really matters for women over 40. Jenny and Heidi cut through the confusion around trends like BMI, GLP-1 medications, and fasting to discuss what actually supports long-term health and why small, consistent ha...

Jenny sits down with voice teacher, mindset coach, and former Broadway performer Erin Stewart for an encouraging conversation about self-doubt, confidence, and what it means to truly find your voice in midlife. Together, they explore why so many women over 40 struggle with their inner critic, how fear and perfectionism can keep us playing small, and why learning to speak to ourselves with more com...

Jenny dives into a topic that many women overlook, but can have a major impact on our overall health: hydration. She shares personal stories about both of her children experiencing serious dehydration that led to emergency room visits, highlighting how easy it is to underestimate the body's need for water. Jenny explains why hydration becomes even more important during perimenopause and menopause....

In this episode, Jenny sits down with Enneagram coach Angie Alchemist to explore how the nine Enneagram personality types influence motivation, habits, self-care, people-pleasing, burnout, and the way women approach their health in midlife. Together, they unpack why the issue often isn't a lack of willpower at all, and why understanding yourself may be the missing piece. Angie breaks down each Enn...

In this episode, Jenny shares her experience from a solo wellness retreat and how learning to slow down became one of the biggest lessons she took away from the experience. She opens up about stress, emotional exhaustion, people-pleasing, and how many women are constantly stuck in “go mode” while ignoring what their bodies are trying to tell them. She explains why managing stress becomes even more...

In this episode, Jenny sits down with certified personal trainer and women’s strength coach Adelade LaFontaine to talk about why strength training becomes even more important in our 40s and 50s. They discuss the biggest fitness mistakes women over 40 make, why cardio alone isn’t enough anymore, and how building muscle supports metabolism, hormones, bone health, energy, and longevity.  Adelade also...

In this episode, Jenny breaks down the truth about intermittent fasting for women over 40. While fasting can be a powerful tool for weight loss, energy, and metabolic health, Jenny explains why it often feels different, and sometimes worse, during perimenopause. She walks listeners through what intermittent fasting really is (and what it’s not), how it supports blood sugar balance and fat burning,...

In this episode, Jenny discusses why sleep can feel so much harder during perimenopause and why sleep is critical in this stage of life. She shares a personal story from one of the most difficult seasons of her life and how it opened her eyes to the serious impact sleep deprivation can have on mood, focus, decision-making, and overall health. She also breaks down what happens during the different...

In this episode, Jenny explores the often-overlooked connection between food, mood, and hormones in perimenopause. She shares how childhood conditioning, relationship with food, and long-held beliefs about food may be shaping the way women eat today. She also introduces her simple Balanced Plate Method and explains how nourishing the body using this method can support more energy, calmer moods, an...

In this episode, Jenny shares the moment everything changed for her: sitting in a doctor’s office, feeling anxious and overwhelmed, and being offered a quick solution that didn’t address her symptoms. If you’ve been feeling like something is off but can’t get real answers, this episode connects the dots between perimenopause symptoms, anxiety, and hormone imbalance. She talks about how a functiona...

In this episode, Jenny shares a powerful personal story that reveals how easy it is to overlook what’s really going on in your body, especially when life feels stressful and overwhelming. What seemed like “normal” reactions to a difficult season turned out to be something much deeper, and it’s a story so many women will recognize in their own lives today. She connects the dots between thyroid heal...

In this episode, Jenny tackles a question so many women are asking: Should I have my hormones tested? She breaks down why the answer isn’t as simple as you might think, and why you don’t necessarily need labs to know you’re in perimenopause. She also shares when testing can be helpful, and why timing and context matter more than most women realize. Jenny also uncovers what’s often missing from sta...

In this episode, Jenny breaks down the role of testosterone in women’s health and why this often-overlooked hormone matters during the menopause transition. She explains what testosterone does in the female body, including its impact on motivation, muscle strength, libido, confidence, and cognitive sharpness, and how symptoms can show up when levels are too low or too high. Jenny also discusses co...

In this episode of You’re Not Crazy, It’s Perimenopause , we’re talking all about estrogen, your body’s primary growth and protection hormone, and what it looks like when it’s low, when it’s high, and when it’s balanced. If you’ve been dealing with anxiety, mood swings, brain fog, low energy, or just not feeling like yourself, this will help you understand what’s really going on during perimenopau...

If you’re a woman over 40 dealing with anxiety, poor sleep, mood swings, or feeling constantly on edge, low progesterone during perimenopause could be the missing piece. In this episode, Jenny breaks down what progesterone actually does in the body and why it’s often the first hormone to decline in perimenopause. You’ll learn the common symptoms of low progesterone (like anxiety, insomnia, and irr...

In this episode, Jenny explains why the strategies that worked in your 20s and 30s, like pushing through stress, skipping meals, or running on little sleep, often stop working in your 40s. As you enter perimenopause, fluctuating hormones such as progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone begin to affect your mood, sleep, stress tolerance, energy, and body composition.  Jenny breaks down what’s happe...

In this episode of You’re Not Crazy, It’s Perimenopause, Jenny Smith gets real about a topic many women feel ashamed to talk about: the sudden anger, irritability, and even moments of despair that can show up during the menopause transition. Jenny shares a personal story from a season marked by intense stress, disrupted relationships, and coping with alcohol, and how looking back helped her unders...

Perimenopause can begin up to 10 years before menopause, yet many women don’t realize that’s what they’re experiencing. In this episode, Jenny explains what perimenopause really is, the hormonal shifts behind common symptoms, and how to recognize the early signs, from anxiety, poor sleep, and mood swings to cycle changes, fatigue, and weight gain. Jenny also shares why stress becomes harder to man...

In this first episode of You’re Not Crazy, It’s Perimenopause , Jenny shares her personal experience that led her to this work. In her early 40s, she began feeling exhausted, anxious, and unlike herself, but no one could explain why. She was told to “eat better and exercise,” yet she knew something deeper was going on. After being misdiagnosed and struggling for answers, Jenny discovered functiona...

Welcome to You’re Not Crazy, It’s Perimenopause — a real-talk podcast for women over 40 navigating anxiety, mood swings, stress, and the emotional and physical changes of perimenopause. Hosted by board-certified Functional Medicine Health Coach Jenny Smith, this podcast helps women understand their hormones and midlife health so they can start feeling like themselves again. Each week, listeners ga...