Financial wellness looks a lot different in middle age... If my spouse passed away unexpectedly, would I know what to do? How should we think about investing? What questions should we be asking when it comes to estate planning? Laura Combs, Executive Managing Director at Mercer Advisors, joins us to talk about what women can do to take charge of their financial health. Laura walks us through a few ways to think about things like trusts, estate planning, inheritance, life transitions, and more.

Episode 16: Marriage and “Intimacy”

We’re talking about sex, baby. It’s super important to “check under the hood” in our long-term relationships, whether we’re married or not, but it’s hard to know what that looks like. Reproductive psychiatrist Dr. Nicole Cirino joins us for an open conversation on sex in middle age. Listen in as we discuss common sexual concerns, the role hormones play in sexual wellness, and how stress affects us in the bedroom. Learn what’s normal, what’s not, and when to check with a doctor. Dr. Cirino leaves us with her top three tips for sex-cess in middle age.

Heart disease is the #1 cause of death for women in the United States, yet an estimated 80% of these cases are preventable. How can we assess our risks and change our lifestyles to keep our hearts healthy? Pioneering cardiologist Dr. Nieca Goldberg answers all of our questions: How does menopause affect our hearts? How much are heart issues dictated by genetics versus lifestyle? When should we see a heart specialist? We discuss everything from cholesterol and blood pressure, to heart attacks and statins, to cardio versus strength training. Dr. Goldberg signs off with her top three tips for women to maintain healthy hearts as we age.

Sugar consumption has grown exponentially over the past two decades, and with it comes much higher rates of things like diabetes and heart disease. In this episode we speak with Dr. Courtney Peterson, Associate Professor of Nutrition at Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health, about sugar and cardiometabolic health. Listen in as we discuss how our bodies’ response to sugar changes as we age, how intermittent fasting can help us regulate blood sugar, and how to reduce our consumption of things like sugar, ultra-processed foods, and microplastics.

Friends, it’s time to get down and dirty here on Side Project. In this episode, we talk to gastroenterologist Bincy Abraham to learn how we can care for our microbiomes as we age. How much fiber should we actually be getting, what’s the deal with colonoscopies, and on a scale of 1-10, just how bad is the Standard American Diet for our gastro health? We’re asking about everything from bowel movements and probiotics to caffeine and wine. Join us!

We’re bombarded with information and forced to multitask so often that it can be difficult to focus on just one thing when we have the opportunity. In this episode, we talk to counselor and Dharma teacher Erin Selover to learn strategies to help us quiet the noise. Learn how you can build a meditation practice by starting with just a few minutes here and there – on the bus, in the bathtub, or even at the dentist’s office. It’s time to stop the inner critics and focus on inner kindness and self-compassion.

Few of us take the time to even consider our feet, much less proactively care for them. Yet things like foot health, walking speed, and balance are an accurate predictor of our own mortality. In episode 11 we talk to podiatrist Emily Splichal about the various ways we can improve our foot health. Dr. Emily offers tips, exercises, and favorite products and treatments to help us maintain our foot fitness, plus thoughts on the shoe brands we should wear – and avoid. Learn more and subscribe at SideProjectHQ.com.

We set off to create ten episodes to address all the middle-aged things our friends are talking about. Now we’re wrapping up our Side Project experiment by talking through our favorite learnings and take-aways. Listen as we parse through the discussions and arrive at our conclusions about wellness, women’s health, and the changes we’re committed to as we age. Learn more and subscribe at SideProjectHQ.com.