In this brand new episode, I’m joined by Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner Elizabeth Katzman, who works with women who feel like they’re “doing everything right” yet still battling fatigue, bloating, weight gain, anxiety, and hormonal chaos in perimenopause.

Together, we unpack one of the least-discussed contributors to midlife symptoms: the long-term impact of hormonal birth control.

Elizabeth breaks down how birth control affects every system of the female body—from thyroid function to bone density, minerals, gut health, hormone communication, inflammation, and even nervous system regulation. And most importantly, she explains how these effects can linger for years after stopping birth control, often showing up most dramatically in perimenopause.

Whether you were on birth control for two years or twenty, whether you stopped in your 20s or are still on it in your 40s, this episode will help you understand your symptoms in a whole new way.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• Elizabeth’s story and how she became an FDN
• How hormonal birth control actually works inside the body
• The silent, long-term “birth control hangover” that impacts women in midlife
• What Elizabeth sees in her practice when women enter perimenopause after years on birth control
• The difference between stopping birth control young vs. staying on it into your 30s and 40s
• Why birth control is still handed out to women in perimenopause—even when they don’t need contraception
• How to safely support your hormones, thyroid, minerals, gut, and detox pathways after long-term hormonal birth control
• Elizabeth’s raw, unfiltered advice for every woman navigating perimenopause
• How to learn from and work with Elizabeth
  
  

Key Takeaways

1. Hormonal birth control leaves functional imprints on the body—impacting thyroid conversion, bone density, mineral levels, gut permeability, inflammation, and clotting risk.
2. Women often feel the effects most deeply during perimenopause, when the body is already undergoing major hormonal shifts.
3. You can support and heal from the birth control hangover through mineral replenishment, gut repair, liver support, and hormone communication restoration.

🔗 Links & Resources

Learn More From Elizabeth Katzman

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strongchoices1
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@strongchoices1
🌐 Website: https://StrongChoices.com

Connect with Bria:

🌐 Website: https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/
🎧 Listen to past episodes: https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/the-period-whisperer-podcast
📝 Take the 2-Minute Health Debt Quiz: https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/68ab9b1d8bbfc20015513285
📩 Book a Free Discovery Call: https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/hormonebreakthrough

If you’re a high-achieving woman in midlife who wants better health, more energy, deeper relationships, stronger finances, and a career that actually lights you up in 2026, this episode is your roadmap.

Inside this powerful year-end coaching session, Bria breaks down the single most important step you must take right now (yes — in 2025!) to guarantee massive improvement in your health and hormones next year.

This isn’t another “new year, new you” pep talk.

It’s a grounded, research-backed strategy that Bria uses with her clients to help them finally get out of survival mode, stop burning out, and create real, lasting physiological change.

You’ll walk away with:

✔️ A clear, doable action plan to set yourself up for hormone balance in 2026
✔️ The framework Bria uses with her private clients to create predictable results
✔️ A new way to think about your time, energy, boundaries, and daily decisions
✔️ The reason most midlife women stay stuck — and the shift that changes everything
✔️ Why this one step impacts not just your hormones, but your relationships, money, and career growth
✔️ The exact moves to make now so you don’t repeat another year of “trying everything but feeling worse”

If you’re ready to feel better in your body, lighten the mental load, and create the kind of midlife that feels expansive instead of exhausting, hit play.
Your 2026 self will thank you.

Connect with Bria:

🌐 Website: https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/
🎧 Listen to past episodes: https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/the-period-whisperer-podcast
📝 Take the 2-Minute Health Debt Quiz: https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/68ab9b1d8bbfc20015513285
📩 Book a Free Discovery Call: https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/hormonebreakthrough

In this validating episode, I’m joined by fitness and hormone health coach Molly McNamee, founder of MFit Workouts and expert in helping women balance stress hormones so they can finally shed stubborn weight without restrictive diets or punishing workouts.

Together, we break down why the traditional “eat less, move more” approach that may have worked in your 20’s and 30’s is the exact thing sabotaging your metabolism, nervous system, and fat loss in perimenopause—especially if you’re a high-achieving woman juggling stress, responsibilities, and nonstop pressures.

Molly shares how chronic stress, cortisol overload, over-training, under-eating, and nervous system dysregulation all block weight loss in midlife, plus what women can do instead to feel strong, energized, emotionally stable, and metabolically resilient again.

This episode is essential listening for any woman who feels like her body is betraying her—or who’s tired of trying everything and still not seeing results.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• Why “eat less, move more” works when you’re younger… but backfires in perimenopause
• Subtle signs of nervous system dysregulation that show up as weight gain, anxiety, cravings, burnout, and exhaustion
• The truth about HIIT training, fasting, and hustle culture—and who they actually harm
• How to rebuild a fitness routine that supports your hormones instead of stressing them
• Where beginners should start (without overwhelm)
• What Molly does personally to keep her stress and nervous system regulated
• Her unfiltered advice for every woman navigating perimenopause
• How to access Molly’s resources, coaching, and her Cortisol Checklist
  

Key Takeaways

1. Weight loss resistance in perimenopause is often a stress and nervous system issue—not a willpower issue.
2. Chronic overtraining and under-eating spike cortisol, which tells your body to store fat, increase cravings, and slow metabolism.
3. Women in midlife need smarter, gentler, hormone-supportive fitness strategies—not more intensity, restriction, or pressure.

🔗 Links & Resources

Learn more from Molly:

🌐 Website: https://mollymcnamee.com/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mfit.workouts/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsmollyrae
🧪 Cortisol Checklist: https://mollymcnamee.com/cortisol-checklist

Connect with Bria:

🌐 Website: https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/
🎧 Listen to past episodes: https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/the-period-whisperer-podcast
📝 Take the 2-Minute Health Debt Quiz: https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/68ab9b1d8bbfc20015513285
📩 Book a Free Discovery Call: https://www.briatheperiodwhisperer.com/hormonebreakthrough