Menopause Medicine Has Changed: What Women Need to Know Now

In this episode, you're gonna hear me with Dr. Sharon Stills, one of my favorites when it comes to the space for menopause, menopause answers, menopause testing that we need, and then the menopause interpretation. But in this episode, I'm really talking a little bit about an update with her, and we'll link to previous episodes where she's been a guest, as well as a YouTube video of me sitting down with her as a patient, me as a patient of her going through a consultation of a wet urine test. And if you've never heard of that, good. I'm in good company because I had never heard of it either. But there's a big difference between result interpretation from wet urine tests versus the very much more common anyway. And familiar DUTCH or dried urine test. We're gonna dive into this episode and here we go. You're in perimenopause, menopause, or postmenopause, and you're not slowing down. You're just getting started. But the old rules don't apply anymore. The workouts that worked before, they're working against you now. The advice you've been given, incomplete at best. I'm Debra Atkinson, and I'm the founder of Flipping 50, the pioneer in fitness for women in midlife. For more than 40 years, I've been in the trenches with women just like you, and for the last 12, right here on this podcast, and, and the founder of Flipping 50: The Stronger Way app and membership. Welcome to Flipping 50: The Stronger Way, where science meets strength, where you'll find the tools, research, and real talk to build the body and the life you want in your second half. Each week you'll get evidence-based exercise and nutrition strategies, conversations with leading experts, and honest answers to the questions your doctor didn't get answers to in medical school and doesn't have time to answer in an appointment. This is your show. Let's get stronger. Hey, welcome or welcome back. If you have just been around the block and you've been here loyally, I thank you, thank you. If this episode, by the way, is helpful, in advance, I'm gonna ask a favor. Would you please share it? Share it with one to three friends. We need to be having conversations like this openly with our friends about hormones, about what are you doing? What are your thoughts? What does your doctor say? Because it's the best way for us to learn what is the basically what we're doing today—the state of the union on hormones. Because things have changed recently. We're talking about menopause out front. We have certain functional plus Western-trained physicians out there who are maybe offering the best of both worlds. We have functional or naturopathic docs who are out there, and I wanna really unpack so much of it and really what is the status of how is medicine changing for us? Because we know as of this year, it sincerely is. My guest today is a returning guest, Dr. Sharon Stills. She's a naturopathic medical doctor providing comprehensive healthcare therapeutic and diagnostic services to patients worldwide. She combines her conventional medical training, data-driven science, cutting-edge diagnostic tools, and a deep knowledge of natural healing to effectively identify and treat health concerns ranging from allergies to end-stage cancer and everything in between. She is the owner of a brand new, and this was so new, it wasn't quite open before I left and moved from the Scottsdale, Phoenix area. So I was so sad. I was just here in Iowa where I am now, in heat and humidity, by the way, September 1st, when I was expecting fall. However, I digress. And I didn't get to see the clinic open and kind of fully operating. But my intention is within the next 90 days, I'm going back, going to visit, planning to have a full Balloon spa day. So for those of you who like that idea, stay tuned and/or respond to me about a retreat in Scottsdale in 2027 because we are including some spa experiences at Dr. Still's clinic. So if the idea appeals to you and that's the kind of luxury while we are Also including dirty on the trails kind of stuff, as we do. This is for you. Last, before I jump into questions here, I want to let you know, I— my voice— I have my very sexy deep voice on. I am sorry, I am not sick. I choked on coffee earlier, and so I think you're hearing this deep voice that probably sounds a bit like I have a cold coming on. because of it. Is that not the universe's way of saying probably you shouldn't be drinking coffee? I don't know. But here we go. The questions that I wanna ask Sharon kind of in update means that hopefully we'll have a few more answers today from her about the State of the Union. So first, new and exciting for Dr. Stills is A new space, you know, and I feel like the last time I talked to Dr. Stills, I was so busy. I'm not sure if we got together. We usually get together in March for birthdays in Scottsdale before I left, but it's been a while and it may have been her last summit, one of the annual things that she does. I feel like I need to bring a housewarming gift to the new clinic and come see you. You obviously are so vested in supporting women. You've made it your spa, your clinic, a destination as much as a medical boutique for them. And you aren't 30. It says a lot about your conviction and your kind of State of the Union about women, what they want and need and seek during menopause or beyond. If you had to make a State of Menopause Medicine Union address, what would you say?

Hi, Deb. Yes. Oh my gosh, a lot has happened since the last time we talked. Our Lasting Wellness Center, a space for midlife women to address midlife matters because midlife actually matters, is open. We're not fully full-blown open, but we are pretty dang close. In January, we're going to have our grand opening. And I am not 30 anymore, and I just signed a 10-year lease and opened this big thing to really— I'm a big believer in practicing what I preach. Oops, let me turn off my email. There we go. So I am a big believer in practicing what I preach, and as someone who's gonna be 58 and a half, the— on day 2 of the summit, uh, and be wearing my half birthday crown. I, you know, this really is my sacred second act, and I really believe that 65 and retirement is— that's so passé. That's so 1930, right? Like, we are stepping into our wisdom, into our power. And as long as we're supporting our physical body, then there's no reason we can't keep going till we're 100. I always say we go till 100, and then 100 to 120, we get a hammock, we get a rocking chair, and we kind of just chillax. That's the way I look at it. So basically, my State of the Union about menopause— oh gosh. I mean, it's still in the dark ages. There's still a ton of misinformation out there, which just infuriates me to no end. And it doesn't have to be so complicated. There doesn't have to be so much fear. And there are new voices in the space. And so, you know, especially from like an MD perspective that move things forward, but still get so many things wrong and still think you can't have estrogen with cancer or history of cancer and still think that pharmaceutical hormones are the way to go rather than looking to compounded hormones, which are much cleaner and don't have harmful ingredients like the pharmaceuticals do, for example. You can get compounded progesterone, or you can get Prometrium, which is a bioidentical pharmaceutical progesterone complete with rancid peanut oil and artificially colored capsules. So I think that, you know, we're moving, and sometimes it's a lateral move, but we are moving in the right direction. I think more women are asking more questions. And need to keep asking questions and need to tune into themselves and need to get proper bioidentical hormone replacement. And you know that is surrounded then by proper. Of course, I'm talking to you, but you know proper movement. Like you can't just take hormones and not move your body. You can't take hormones and not. prioritize sleep or purpose or connection or joy or nervous system regulation. You know, you have to prioritize all these things. You have to prioritize hydration and diet and your gut microbiome and your lymphatic flow and your fascia and your dental history and cleaning up your mouth and toxins and all these things and replacing micronutrients and detoxifying. It's— A lot of work to be in a human body, but when you when you do it, it pays off because then you can be 58 and a half and running this huge 7,000 square foot clinic. So I think there's a lot of oh if you just take minerals or you just detox your body or you just balance your gut, you know that that you don't need hormones, and that is such a misservice. That's still coming from fear. Often that's coming from people who can't prescribe hormones, so just be mindful of that. But we we can all play in the sandbox, but ultimately the root cause of menopause is lack of hormones, is hormone cessation. So why wouldn't you want to replace your hormones? So I think that's you know a message I really try to. to get across very clearly. But on the flip side, flipping 50, menopause is an exciting time. It's a time to really step into your power. I was giving a live talk here in town the other day and just talking with a podcast host about— it's a little hard to put into words, and I'm not usually at a lack for words, but The wisdom that comes with aging. I think also the, the sanity that comes with getting off the roller coaster of hormones when you're cycling, if your hormones were out of balance like so many of ours were or is. So— or are. But that there's great beauty in the privilege and the honor of aging. There, there's great beauty in your, your life's experiences, even when they're a struggle. And that I'm pro-aging because anti-aging is ridiculous. You can't be against something that's happening anyway. So like, why try to swim upstream against the waves when you could be floating in a nice little tube and just relaxing and chillaxing and floating downstream? So I think it's an important time. I think that you have to understand that your GP or your primary or your OB-GYN, as much as they should be able to be your person and get you through this period, your endocrinologist, they most likely are not going to be. You know, there are rare doctors out there who get it, but the mainstream is still giving women birth control pills, is still giving antidepressants. Is still not looking at the whole gestalt of everything that's going on in your body.

This year, the lifting of the black box label on hormones changed a lot of minds about hormones. It's getting more attention. It's getting women to say, huh, maybe what I learned in the past is not all I need to learn now. Maybe it wasn't true, and maybe it's not too late. So you've been doing more Hormones for women for a very long time compared to other docs. What's the good, bad, and truth about what we'll see with physician education about hormones, increasing access to them, all those things?

So yes, the, the lifting of the black box label on hormones, um, is amazing, right? I mean, it didn't really affect me or my practice or my patients because I never paid attention to it because I knew it was ridiculous. And so, you know, in some ways it's great. And yes, we celebrate it. But there's also like, so now you have access to vaginal estrogen that comes complete with sodium lauryl sulfate and parabens, you know, known toxins that can be carcinogenic in the body. And so there's still a ways to go. But yes, it's definitely And, you know, I think when you live in a bubble like I do or you do, like we see all these things. But I was talking to someone the other day and I was like, well, you know, all the nervous system regulation techniques you see on your, on your Instagram feed. And they were like, huh, what are you talking about? So I have to remind myself that I do live in this world. And so I live in a bubble and have access to a lot of information because I Literally eat, breathe, and live this 24/7. So, you know, for someone who doesn't have any idea to to have that black blot the the black box label lifted, it is huge because then it at least opens the conversation of oh wow, maybe there is some safety. Maybe I don't need to be petrified of hormones that my body innately makes and that. You know, if you were pregnant, your body made an extreme amount of, and you ended up with a baby, not with cancer. So I think it opens the conversation. The question always is, you know, who are you having the conversation with? And is it a valid conversation? Which is why I host this summit to, to have this conversation with as many women as possible.

What if a woman comes to you and says, I don't feel well, I'm not rested after sleep, I've gained weight that I can't lose. I can't concentrate. What do you look at first? And by the way, I'm asking for a lot of women in our community, as well as our broader audience. If you're a listener right now, this is for you. Because even doing all the things and maybe pushing through exercise, you're feeling this way.

When a woman comes to me who's perimenopausal or menopausal, And doesn't feel good. Concentration, sleep, weight, the whole gamut. The first thing I do as what I have termed myself a hormone forward doctor is I address their hormones because more often than not, it takes care of their symptomatic complaints. Now that doesn't mean I stop and I go, okay, see you later. You're you're sleeping now or. The five pounds came off. I still though then go and investigate all the other areas of health because hormones exist in a terrain, and you want to put hormones into a healthy terrain. But more often than not, when we're at this point, the body's so deficient in hormones that just giving the hormones, the body's like hallelujah, and improvement happens. Sometimes across the board with all the complaints women walk in with. And I'm not talking in like a year. I'm talking in sometimes overnight, sometimes in a week. Certainly in 4 weeks we see major change. And then there are some women who it takes a little longer or they have some— as their body's getting used to the hormones, they have some bleeding or bloating or they have a little weight gain or something. And that just means we have some deeper work to do quicker on their terrain. But rather than, you know, the party line, oh, well, you have brain fog because you have toxins, or you have brain fog because you're missing a mineral. Like, no, you have brain fog because your body's used to running on hormones. And now, you know, you stopped it. You forgot to stop at the hormone gas station. And so it's much more likely. Now, that's not always In a 25-year-old woman, right? We're going to look at different things. And of course, brain fog can be from low thyroid, from low adrenals, from blood sugar dysregulation, from stress. I mean, we we are not at a loss for the gazillion things that can be causing symptoms. But again, in this state of our life, and even if they're on hormones, just because you're on hormones doesn't mean you're on the right. Type of hormones, doesn't mean you're on the right doses, doesn't mean you're on the right administration route, doesn't mean you're being monitored. So that's why we have patients fly in from all over, because even if they're on hormones, you know, almost 10 out of 10— I mean, there's been a few, but for the most part, we always need to be tweaking things. We always find there's room for improvement. And that's In their symptoms and their experience, as well as on paper, and how their metabolism looks, and how they're optimized, and so on and so forth. So it's it's a good doctor day when your patient feels great and their lab levels look great. First and foremost, I'm always about my patients feeling great. But with hormones, the the labs need to look good because you can. metabolize down the wrong pathway, and it can lead to more inflammation. You can be recirculating hormones if your gut microbiome is out of whack. You, you can be in a more estrogen-dominant state if you don't have your levels optimized in relationship with your progesterone and your testosterone and so forth. So it's really important to look at both.

A woman is, you know, probably stuck in her area for some of us, and yet for others, not so much. You're so very well traveled that it opens up the world to you for education and opportunities. And maybe the pandemic did that a little bit for women as well, but you have learned so many modalities and techniques that aren't widely known or used. And what makes something new and noteworthy get to your radar that someone who maybe is in a local area with the physician she's seen for years hasn't seen?

So yes, I love traveling the world to learn modalities and techniques. Um, what's something new and noteworthy At the clinic? Oh my gosh, we have like 60 different things there. I always kid around, you know, I'm a woman, I like to shop. And what I like, you know, some women like to shop for shoes, I like to shop for medical toys. So, um, we are doing full body platelet regeneration through TrueDose. We're doing EBOO with Hemalumen for chronic illness. I, I am obsessed with these 2 things, both personally and for patients. And from a hormonal perspective, we just brought in from Italy the Echolite REMS bone scan, which I'm super excited about. It's a non-radiation scan for your bones. Unlike DEXA, it doesn't, it doesn't radiate you and it doesn't just tell you your bone density. It actually tells you your bone quality. And you may be familiar with a TBS, which is a trabecular bone score that you can do attached to a DEXA at certain scans— at certain scanning centers where they offer DEXA. But that is not as accurate as our fragility score, which is going right in with ultrasound waves and getting direct measurements. So this is top of the line, gold standard. And it can really empower you because when you go get a DEXA and you're told you have osteopenia and you're heading towards osteoporosis, that's scary. But we can do an Echolite REMS on you and you could be a little osteopenic, but then we see your fragility score is so strong, you have good quality bone, and your risk of fracture is so small. And so it definitely is empowering. I mean, we still want to, you know, do what we can. To keep your masks up, obviously. But I'm super excited about that. We're also doing so when a new patient comes, we like them to do a computerized regulation thermography, which is from Germany, and that is to look at the you know it's it scans for breast health. It's the only diagnostic machine that's reproducible that I know of that can evaluate your lymphatic system. system and look at organ function way before something would get picked up on, say, an MRI or a CT scan or X-ray. So we love to do CRT scanning. We love to do the bone, the Echolite, REMS. We love to do heart rate variability. We have a machine from Russia. So we've got Germany, we've got Italy, we've got Russia. That really looks deeply at the health of your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system. If you're on my threads, then, you know, nervous system regulation is all the craze now. And I've been screaming about this for 25 years because I've been doing these heart rate variability tests for 25 years. And we know that chronic illness almost always has a sympathetic overdrive or a deregulation of the parasympathetic tone. And so this is a way, again, reproducibly and scientifically to measure that. Rather than just relying like on a ring that may or may not be accurate on your finger. Uh, so those are some of the things I'm really excited about our Zen garden. We have rakes and you can go in feet in the sand and meditate and rake. That's what I like to do. So, so many cool things we've got going on there.

One of the biggest shifts in awareness for adults over 40 is the value of Muscle, muscle strength, muscle quality. And as a physician, how much do you see, or can you say that you see a correlation between an active resistance-trained midlife woman and her labs compared to a woman who is not doing resistance training? Is resistance training something that you, quote unquote, prescribe or recommend to midlife women now? Has it always been? And why or why not?

Oh, I mean, so this is your area of expertise. But yes, I mean, there's no comparison in a woman who understands the value of her muscle, of her strength, of the quality of who is training, And, you know, I mean, resistance training has such an impact on blood glucose regulation and your weight and your mood and your immune function and your flexibility and your flow in your lymph and your fascia. And so, you know, there's— it's like the mind-body, right? Like you can't separate it, and you should not separate hormones and movement. They they have to be occurring in the same body at the same time for optimal health. Like I used to always say the myth of the magic bullet. Like there's no magic bullet. There's no magic pill I'm going to give you to make you feel better. And after 25 years of working with women in menopause. Well, hormones are like the closest thing I've found to a magic bullet because I literally can prescribe, put a woman on hormones, and overnight, like, she feels 100% better and pain goes away and sleep goes away and mood and all these things. I had a patient say to me the other day, she's like, I gained like 5 pounds on the hormones, but I am not an emotional basket case anymore, and I now regularly, daily have moments of joy. And I was like, hands down, that is the best thing I have ever heard. And yes, we're going to work on the 5 pounds, but this is the power of properly prescribed hormones. So they, they, they're like the closest thing, but they're still not a magic bullet if you aren't doing the other things. And so being in shape, training, moving your body, it's undeniable. It has to be part of your healthcare prescription. And so yes, I prescribe all the time for women to go watch you on YouTube or Instagram and to check out your programs because All the things I just said, like we have to be moving, we have to be active. And I think it's important. And I'm not just saying this because you're interviewing me, but— and you're my friend and you have a cute grandbaby and I'm the godmother to your dog. But I'm saying it because I think it's really important because How a midlife woman, a menopausal perimenopausal woman, needs to exercise is so different. I mean, I've learned so much from you because I was a cardiovascular junkie. So it's so different, and you need to be educated about this and trained on how to do this by someone who specializes in it. Right? You know what's good for your 25-year-old self? Like throw that out the window. That's not good. That's not what you need to be doing now, movement-wise, diet-wise, etc., at this stage of the game. And I see too many women who try and go it alone and they end up hurting themselves. So it's really, really important, at least to get started, right, that you have someone like you, Deb, who can really guide them. So, um, I mean Exercise is medicine. You know, breathing is medicine. Meditation is medicine. Sleep is medicine. Dance is medicine. Hugs are medicine. Like, this is, this is the good stuff. So I have no problem writing on my prescription pad, like, you need to go work out. You need to learn how to build muscle. That is your— That is your, your gold, your retirement account for it from your— I guess it would be like your health savings account, right? Muscle is your HSA.

As someone who's been serving women for years, and by the way, how many years? What most recently has given you an aha moment?

I have been serving women for— holy gluten-free macaroni— well, 25 years. Practicing 4 years in med school, 4 years before that doing oriental medicine and colonics and iridology and massage and oriental medicine. But I really didn't get into serving women until I opened up my first medical practice in 2002. And it really was just something That came to me. I think the greatest things in life and a good lesson is, you know, what's yours is going to find you whether you go seeking it or not. And to be of service to women was just— I was planning on being a pediatrician. And then what ended up coming to me was patients dealing with cancer and women in menopause dealing with lack of hormones. And And this was in the early 2000s, and menopause wasn't even on my radar. I was in my early 30s, suffering horribly with hormones, no less. But so from working with and treating menopausal women, I healed my own hormonal issues because I'm a big fan of practicing what I preach. So, um, my most recent aha moment. I, I— you stumped me. Ah, you stumped me. Um, so many of these things I've just— it's like, it's nice to see these things coming mainstream because I've been talking about the nervous system and the power of sleep and all of these things and movement. And, you know, personally, like If I don't move my body, you know, I can easily go to depression. And not like crying depression, just like flatlined. I don't, you know, just like apathetic depression, I guess. So when I say exercise is medicine, I mean it. I mean, I think that I'm always learning. I'm always growing. You know, Even if something is bioidentical, doesn't mean it's healthy. So this was a aha—not a good aha—but like they're putting parabens in the nasal oxytocin spray. We cannot have that. So we reformulated and switched to an oral oxytocin, which works just as well. But you know, knowing that like you've always got to be. You've always got to be watching and surveilling.

Is there something you've changed your mind about the way that you support midlife women from your earlier years? What you, what you thought was right and maybe science or practice outcomes changed your mind?

I mean, sure, right? I mean, I am not the doctor I was 25 years ago. I'm constantly growing and learning and doing what I can. And as I grow and as I'm here, I think I understand at least the psyche and the persona and the energetics of aging much better than I ever did when I was in my 30s. In my 30s, I had this whole tribe of menopausal woman, and I was just kind of like, you know, helping them. And now I'm like, I am standing shoulder to shoulder with them. And so, you know, it's, it's a journey. I'm constantly finding new testing, new products, new tools, new sequencing. When, when you're as passionate about— I am— as medicine and helping women. It just— the learning never, never ends. Dr. Ben and I just spent like 3 hours watching videos on a Sunday, honing in on some thermography trainings and things. So there's a lot going on behind the scenes that you don't realize that goes into our practice and our education.

And last, or almost last, there's always another question. I know that you own your own building, you see patients, you're a hands-on Bubby, and you host this big summit annually, which is no light lift, any of these things. Why is this so important to you? What is the one thing that you hope women who attend your annual summit— and we'll share a link, by the way— what do you hope that women will come away with?

I think it's 2 things. One is always so hard. So one is hormones. You've got to have your hormones dialed in. You've got to have them properly prescribed. An estradiol patch and a Prometrium pill is not the answer for most women to get them optimized and feeling their best safely. So hormones, hormones, hormones, like location, location, location in real estate. But the second and equally important Is who are you? How are you doing things? What are you doing? And where are you finding the joy? Because this life is a gift. It's fleeting. It goes so fast. My eldest granddaughter, who I was just— feel like she was just born, is going to be 7. My youngest granddaughter is going to be I'm going to be 60 soon. Like, it goes fast. The days, the weeks, the months. I can't believe it's the fall already. I didn't even finish my gratitude board for New Year's, right? Like, it's, you know, and what's most important in life is, you know, finding joy, enjoying what you're doing. If you wake up and you see the sun and you put your feet on the ground and you drink your lemon water and then you meditate and then you journal and then you tap and you do it this energy, and it's just like, check, check, check. And you're not stopping and breathing and in the moment and embracing gratitude that you can, that your arms are supporting you, they are lifting that weight, your legs are working. I think we spend so much time sweating the small stuff and not focusing on the small stuff because the little mundane everyday moments in our lives are truly the most profound things. And so I think If you can take that attitude and get your balanced hormones, get your hormones balanced, then I've done a good job here in helping to educate you.

And where can listeners join to hear you interview your vetted guests?

Um, listeners can join in. You can sign up for the summit starting September 1st with Deb's link, and I'm sure she'll drop that below for you. It's a free summit. Um, sign up on September 1st, you get free downloads, you get access, I think early access to watch some of the videos and get ebooks that you can start reading through. And then September 12th through 16th is when the summit goes live. There's over 40 interviews and you can pick and choose. And then of course, with Deb's link there, for a small fee, you can purchase a membership with Dr. Talks, and then you can own the summit and all the summits and have your own library and You know, because maybe I'm interviewing someone and talking about nutrition and your nutrition's dialed in, but then down the road you feel like it needs a revisit. You can go revisit that interview. So it is nice to have the library. Lasting Wellness Center, the name of my clinic, 7,000 square feet in sunny Scottsdale. And we'll be doing lots of live education after the summit. We host a 10-week live course where you can get some of your testing done, and then in a group, we'll go over it with you to educate you, not to be your doctors, but to educate you. You can come see us if that is something you want to do. We are taking new patients. That's myself and Dr. Ben, who is not only my son, but he's amazing. So many women fly and see him. And honestly, at first I was like, oh my God, how's that gonna go? Because he is not a 58-and-a-half-year-old menopausal woman. He is an almost 37-year-old guy, but he just gets it. He's such a good doctor, and his, his menopausal women, they just adore him. They love him. I do too. But so it, it really works out well. So we're here to be of service. We're here to help educate in any way we possibly can. And I thank you, Deb, for, for spreading the word and for being a part of the summit, an important part of the summit. I always learn something when I interview you. So sending everyone love and hugs, and we'll see you at the summit.

By the way, the summit dates open up as of September 11th. We're going to start opening things up. So if you are listening and you're here, you can learn more and join free at flipping50.com/menopausemedicine26. That's flipping50.com/menopausemedicine26, no spaces between those words. And it'll be in the show notes just in case you weren't sure. So you can go and click to it from any device. If you're listening on mobile, do it right now. It's free. And yet, I know it's been oversaid and overdone, but priceless. This is one Not to miss. And one hesitation I have, by the way, everybody listening, as a podcast host, as someone who shares blogs, information, and often appear on summits myself, there's 2 things. There's a good and the bad. There is, it's so easy to get into your hands and to your ears as this is, but it's also— A risk, I think, that we all take in getting more information and the information obesity, the infobesity that we can all get. And sometimes we go from this to that to the other thing, and now we have conflicting information because there should be a diversity in the opinions that we listen to. So we almost ask for it. We're almost begging for, hmm, conflict here or there between the idea. But what I encourage you to do is Good health starts in the gut, and I think so does your intuition. If there is an idea that resonates with you, maybe that's the first place that you go. And I would encourage you, the second piece in taking action is if there is an idea that doesn't appeal to you at all, pay attention to that one too, because it may be something that you've rejected, an idea or a concept that you've rejected for a long time. Deserves a second glance if what you've been doing has not gotten you where you wanted. And I say that almost out loud to say it to myself. There are ways that we started doing things when I started in fitness in 1984, we no longer think are the best possible thing. And so I've changed dramatically. And sometimes... Irrecognizable in ways that I've changed. You know, I loved endurance exercise. I trained for triathlon and a sprint distance that might take, you know, 45 minutes to complete, or maybe more for some of us who are a little slower. I get my money's worth, you know, to very quickly realized I am good at endurance exercise. I am built for endurance more than for speed. Doesn't mean I can ignore my need for speed and power now. And that's what I'm getting at. I barely do endurance of any kind. If it is, it's a low level, going for a hike. And that's relative, by the way. So a long hike could be high intensity. But I want you to reconsider the way that I'm finding that I get fit, Fastest or improve my fitness, get back to my fitness fastest is short bouts of more powerful, more powerful strength, but fewer reps, fewer of anything except for quality. So in this, I want you to be willing to take a good look at your own needs too and register. I'll see you there. And I know you hear me regularly, or I hope you do, in your ear. What I'd love for you to do is to get the benefit of not only Dr. Sharon Stills, but she's also co-hosting with her son, who's also a doctor, but also Dr. Laura Frontiero. And she is one of my favorite docs. I share her with you frequently in regard to gut health. I've put her in front of our audience and they have— so many have been helped by cleaning up the gut because the gut is the source of everything. Good health, brain health, energy, and your intuition. So go with it. I'll see you at flipping50.com/menopausemedicine26. The information shared on Flipping 50 the Stronger Way is for educational and informational purposes only and not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or qualified healthcare provider before beginning any exercise program, making changes to your diet, or adjusting any medications or supplements. Individual results may vary. Debra Atkinson and Flipping 50 are not responsible for any injury or adverse outcomes resulting from information presented on this podcast.