Episode 23: Is Your Lab Work Lying to You? And What Your Doctor Might Be Missing

Episode 23: Is Your Lab Work Lying to You? And What Your Doctor Might Be Missing

If you’ve ever gone to your doctor because you can feel something is off, only to be told everything looks fine, this is the conversation you need to hear to know how to advocate for yourself.   Because lab reference ranges are built on population averages, which means they include a lot of people who aren't feeling great either. So, being told everything is "normal" when it's sitting at the high end of the range is very different from it being optimized. And your hormones, thyroid, blood sugar, and nutrient levels can shift significantly in a matter of months during perimenopause. Waiting a full year to catch something that's been dragging you down for six months is too long. Regular labs give you a moving picture, not just a snapshot. A standard panel barely scratches the surface. Here's what we recommend: * Fasting insulin — not just blood sugar or A1C. Insulin resistance can show up years before glucose numbers move. * Ferritin — not just hemoglobin. You can be iron-deficient with "normal" iron levels if ferritin is low. * Vitamin D (25-OH) — most women in midlife are low, and it affects everything from mood to metabolism to immune function. * Full thyroid panel — TSH, Free T3, Free T4, and thyroid antibodies (TPO and TgAb). A TSH alone misses a lot. * Full cholesterol panel — not just total cholesterol, but LDL, HDL, triglycerides, and ideally LDL particle size (small, dense LDL is far more concerning than LDL number alone). This matters especially in perimenopause when estrogen decline directly impacts cardiovascular risk. * hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) — a marker of inflammation that can signal cardiovascular risk and metabolic dysfunction long before other numbers shift. * Homocysteine — linked to cardiovascular health and often overlooked. * DHEA-S and testosterone — yes, women need testosterone, and yes, it tanks in perimenopause. * Estradiol, progesterone, and FSH — especially if you're trying to understand where you are in the hormonal transition. * Cortisol (fasting AM) — because chronic stress and adrenal function matter and affect everything else on this list. Loved this episode? Leave a review, share it with a friend in midlife, and follow along for more real talk on health, fitness, and feeling good in your body at every age. Connect With Us: @marcinevin [https://www.instagram.com/marcinevin/]  @eats_by_dre_nutrition [https://www.instagram.com/eats_by_dre_nutrition/]

Episode 22: Things We've Changed Our Minds About (Fitness Edition)

Some of the things we believed most confidently about fitness we’ve now completely changed our minds about. In this episode, we're getting honest about the fitness myths and half-truths we used to swear by and what we believe now after years of experience, research, and working with real women in midlife.  In this episode, we cover: * The hard truth about weight loss. It’s simple, but not easy. And it is more challenging for some than it is for others, for a multitude of reasons that go beyond “not wanting it enough” * Why lifting weights and walking, as great as they are, aren't the whole picture when it comes to true health and what else needs to be included  * How our thinking around what "healthy" looks like has completely evolved, and why health is no longer something we measure in the mirror * Why more volume in your training doesn't equal more progress, and how we've shifted our approach to get better results with less Loved this episode? Leave a review, share it with a friend in midlife, and follow along for more real talk on health, fitness, and feeling good in your body at every age. Connect With Us: @marcinevin [https://www.instagram.com/marcinevin/]  @eats_by_dre_nutrition [https://www.instagram.com/eats_by_dre_nutrition/]

Episode 21: Things We've Changed Our Minds About (Nutrition Edition)

We've all had that moment where something we swore by for years stopped making sense. In this episode of Midlife Musings, we're getting honest about the nutrition beliefs we used to hold tight and have now changed our minds about.  And now that we’re older, wiser, have more time coaching clients, and have tried new things ourselves, we know that changing your mind isn't a weakness. Being able to do so reflects personal growth.  Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is admit what is no longer working and be willing to think differently. In this episode, we cover: * The nutrition rules we followed for years that we no longer believe in * How our thinking around food tracking has evolved * The truth about cutting out foods you love and why we stopped recommending it * What we got wrong about protein amount and timing * Specifically, how our relationship with food has shifted in perimenopause Loved this episode? Leave a review, share it with a friend in midlife, and follow along for more real talk on health, fitness, and feeling good in your body at every age. Connect With Us: @marcinevin [https://www.instagram.com/marcinevin/]  @eats_by_dre_nutrition [https://www.instagram.com/eats_by_dre_nutrition/]

Episode 20: You Can’t Biohack Your Way Out of a Broken Foundation

Everyone wants the shortcut. The peptide. The hormone therapy. The thing that's going to finally make it all click. But here's the truth, if your foundational habits aren't dialed in first, you're building on a shaky foundation. In this episode, we're talking about what actually needs to be in place before you layer on the advanced stuff, and why your environment, your job, your relationships, your daily surroundings, might be the silent thing sabotaging your results. In this episode, we cover: * Why peptides and HRT are tools, not solutions, and what needs to come first before they'll actually work for you * The non-negotiable foundational habits of nutrition, sleep, strength training, and stress management that no supplement can replace * How to honestly audit your environment and ask the hard question: Is my life set up to support my health, or is it working against me? * The role your relationships play in your results. And what to do if the people around you aren't aligned with the life you're trying to build * Why your job and daily stress load matter more than your macro split * The difference between optimizing and compensating, and which one most women are accidentally doing * How to build a lifestyle that makes healthy habits the path of least resistance, not a daily battle of willpower Connect With Us: @marcinevin [https://www.instagram.com/marcinevin/]  @eats_by_dre_nutrition [https://www.instagram.com/eats_by_dre_nutrition/]

Episode 19: The Hunger Episode: Why it happens and how to handle it?

Hunger can be one of the hardest parts of losing weight in perimenopause. In this week’s episode of Midlife Musings, we’re getting into all of it. Hunger isn't a sign you're doing something wrong. It's a normal response. And when you understand why it happens, you can stop fighting it and start working with your body instead of against it. We discuss everything from the physiology, the mindset, to the practical strategies that make a difference. What we cover: * The evolutionary reason hunger exists and why your body is wired to seek food even when you don't need it * How to think about hunger from a mindset perspective, including why so many women in midlife have a complicated emotional relationship with it and how to start separating physical hunger from habitual, emotional, or conditioned eating. * The practical strategies we use to mitigate hunger and make it easier to stay in a calorie deficit * Prioritizing protein at every meal, because nothing keeps you fuller longer or does more for body composition at this stage of life * Why snacking is doing you no favors * Volume eating and how to build meals that are satisfying without blowing your calories * Fiber and why it's one of the most underrated tools for managing hunger and supporting overall health in perimenopause * Sleep and the very real way that poor sleep drives hunger hormones through the roof * Stress management and the connection between cortisol and cravings that so many women don't realize is happening If you've ever felt like you're hungry all the time or like no matter what you eat, you can never quite feel satisfied, this episode is for you. And if it resonated with you, we'd love it if you left a review or shared it with a friend who needs to hear it. Connect With Us: @marcinevin [https://www.instagram.com/marcinevin/]  @eats_by_dre_nutrition [https://www.instagram.com/eats_by_dre_nutrition/]