The Elevated Woman's Podcast

Did you know women make testosterone too, and that it starts quietly declining in your 20s? Maybe you used to juggle work, kids, and everything in between without thinking twice. Now you're exhausted in a way sleep doesn't fix, you don't feel like yourself, and you can't remember the last time you actually wanted to have sex. If that's you, you're not alone, and most women have never even heard th...

You didn't hear a noise, but you still woke up in the middle of the night, staring at the ceiling and wondering why you can't go back to sleep. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Somewhere between 40 and over half of women in the menopause transition deal with insomnia, and most are quietly fixing the wrong thing. In this episode, Dr. Ade Akindipe, DNP, breaks down what's actually driving...

You've finally found something that works. The scale is moving. Your appetite feels more manageable. But then you notice something: why do you feel weaker instead of stronger? In this episode, Dr. Ade Akindipe, DNP, is having an honest conversation about GLP-1 medications, including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound, and what midlife women need to know beyond the number on the scale. GLP-1 m...

For over 20 years, hormone therapy carried a black box warning that kept millions of women away from it, even the ones who could have benefited most. In this episode, Dr. Ade Akindipe, DNP, breaks down what actually changed with hormone therapy research and FDA guidance, why the original warning was based on a study that never should have applied to most menopausal women, and what hormone therapy...

If you're eating well, exercising consistently, and still can't lose the weight around your middle — cortisol may be the reason. In this episode, Dr. Ade Akindipe, DNP, explains why chronically elevated cortisol drives fat storage around your organs and midsection, worsens insulin resistance, disrupts your sleep, and shifts your mood in ways that don't feel like you. You'll learn: Why visceral fat...

Have you ever been told your thyroid is fine, but you still feel exhausted, can't lose weight, your hair is falling out, and your brain just won't cooperate? You were not wrong about your body. This might be the most mismanaged area of women's health in conventional medicine, and today we're getting into all of it. Most thyroid testing stops at TSH, which is only one piece of a much bigger picture...

Have you been showing up to your workouts consistently and still not seeing results? The scale won't budge. You're exhausted after every session. And somewhere along the way, someone told you the answer was just more cardio. It wasn't. If you have insulin resistance or PMOS, the way your body responds to exercise is different. And the workout plan most women are following wasn't built for that. In...

Have you ever done everything "right" with food and still felt stuck? Still gaining weight, still crashing in the afternoon, still craving sugar by 3 pm, still puffy and inflamed. If that's you, this episode is going to make a lot of things click. A lot of the advice women with insulin resistance get about food is well-meaning but completely wrong for their biology. Eat less. Move more. Cut carbs....

Have you ever been told your labs are “normal,” but you still feel exhausted, gain weight easily, struggle with cravings, and know something is off? If so, this episode is for you. Last episode, we talked about PMOS (Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome) and why it is about so much more than ovarian cysts. In this episode, I’m taking the next step and showing you the labs that actually tell th...

Have you been told you have PCOS, but still feel like no one has explained what is actually happening in your body? In this episode, I’m breaking down the shift from PCOS to PMOS, and why this new name better reflects what many women have been experiencing for years. This is not just about ovarian cysts. It is about hormones, insulin resistance, metabolism, inflammation, and the long-term health r...

Have you lost the same 20 pounds over and over again… only to gain it back every single time? If you feel stuck in the cycle of dieting, regaining weight, starting over on Monday, and wondering why your body fights you harder every time, this episode is for you. In this episode, we’re talking about the real metabolic effects of yo-yo dieting and why repeated crash dieting changes far more than jus...

Do you feel tired, bloated, and stuck… even though your weight hasn’t really changed? If your doctor says everything looks “normal” but your energy is low, your cravings are high, and your waistline is slowly expanding, this episode will help you understand what’s really going on. In this episode, we’re talking about a group of women that often gets overlooked: those who look “healthy” on paper bu...

What if the scale is the least helpful way to measure your health after 40? In this episode, I break down why metabolic health matters more than just weight loss, especially in perimenopause and menopause. Many women are doing all the “right” things and still feel tired, inflamed, stuck, and frustrated with their bodies. That is often because the scale is only telling part of the story. We talk ab...

Why does metabolism suddenly feel different in your 40s even if your diet and exercise haven’t changed? In this episode, I break down one of the most misunderstood hormones in women’s health: estrogen . Most women associate estrogen with reproduction, hot flashes, or mood swings. But estrogen actually plays a much larger role in your body, especially when it comes to metabolism, blood sugar regula...

Are you losing weight on a GLP-1 but secretly worried about muscle loss, fatigue, or gaining it all back when you stop? GLP-1 medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide can be powerful tools for midlife weight loss, especially during perimenopause when estrogen declines and insulin resistance rises. But they are not magic. And if you don’t protect your metabolism while using them, you may uninte...

What if your neck pain, stiffness, or poor sleep during perimenopause isn’t just “getting older”… but your nervous system asking for support? In this episode, I sit down with Anchorage-based chiropractor Dr. Aimee Burgess , founder of Gentle Roots Chiropractic, to explore how midlife hormonal shifts show up physically in the body. We talk about the physical changes women experience during midlife,...

Why do so many midlife women do everything “right” and still feel stuck? In today’s episode, I share the story of a woman I saw in clinic who had lost 80 pounds, tried keto, exercised consistently, and taken the medications — yet she was still inflamed, exhausted, and confused about why her body would not respond the way it used to. What became clear wasn’t a lack of discipline. It was a hormone s...

What happens when your body changes, but your leadership responsibilities grow? In this episode, I sit down with executive stylist and image consultant Monique Ross , founder of MDOTROSS , to talk about the often unspoken reality many midlife women face. Your body is shifting, your role is expanding, and suddenly the clothes that once worked no longer feel aligned. We explore how style, confidence...

If weight loss feels harder after 40, this episode is not about pushing harder or finding another plan. It is about what has to happen before weight loss can even begin to feel possible. Most women do not fail because they lack effort. They fail because they skip the most important step: discovery. When your body is exhausted, inflamed, under-fueled, or chronically stressed, no plan will work the...

What if the reason results feel slow has nothing to do with discipline and everything to do with missing feedback? Midlife bodies respond differently, and faster results come from understanding what your body is telling you, not from doing more or trying harder. Most women are not stuck because they lack willpower. They are stuck because they are making decisions about food, fasting, workouts, and...

In this episode, I’m breaking down what’s really happening when you’ve been cutting calories, skipping meals, or fasting longer, and the scale still will not move. Metabolic adaptation is your body’s protective response to prolonged under-eating. Your resting metabolic rate can slow, hunger hormones shift, cortisol rises, thyroid signaling can downshift, and you can end up feeling tired, bloated,...

If you’re fasting but feel tired, bloated, anxious, or stuck with your weight, this episode will help you understand why. Fasting isn’t the problem. Fasting without understanding your midlife physiology is. In this episode, I break down how fasting actually works in a woman’s body after 40, why long or aggressive fasts often backfire, and how to use fasting as a supportive tool instead of a source...

GLP-1 medications are everywhere, especially with oral options becoming more available. Many midlife women are being offered these medications without clear guidance on hormones, muscle, metabolism, or what happens when the medication stops. 💡 In this episode, we cover: • The difference between oral and injectable GLP-1 medications • Why midlife women respond differently than younger bodies • How...

As we close out 2025 and look ahead to a new year, many women are setting big intentions for their health. More energy. Weight loss. Feeling comfortable in their body again. In this episode, I want to gently challenge the idea that the answer is another plan. If your labs are “normal” but you still feel bloated, exhausted, foggy, or stuck with your weight, your body may be whispering before it scr...

If you’re working out more than ever but seeing less progress, this episode will change how you think about midlife fitness. In this episode, I break down why the workouts that worked in your 20s stop working after 40, and how hormonal shifts change your recovery, stress response, and metabolism. You’ll learn why pushing harder often backfires in midlife and how to train in a way that supports you...