Hormones and Body Image Issues in Perimenopause and Beyond [Podcast Transcript]

Title: Hormones and Body Image Issues in Perimenopause and Beyond 

Podcast Date: April 18, 2025

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Description

Dr. Mikala Albertson joins Heather again today to continue an interesting discussion of how hormones play with our minds and can affect how we feel about our bodies. Today the conversation extends to perimenopause and beyond. Heather and Mikala talk about the pressure from social media influencers to do the "right things" to avoid symptoms of perimenopause and how some of these suggestions could lead us to really harmful places.

They talk about supplements, feeling pressure during this season of life to "do something to fix it" and how there is hope that someday all these hormones will settle down. They also talk about Hormone Replacement Therapy or Menopause Replacement Therapy as Dr. Albertson prefers to call it and the benefits and cautions around it.

They also talk about the great hope there is as we age to finally get past our body image concerns and focus on what's really important. If you are a woman entering her 40s or beyond who has struggled with body image issues, this episode is full of helpful information to encourage you as you age.

Listen to part one of this interview here: https://omny.fm/shows/compared-to-who/how-hormones-affect-your-body-image-all-through-life

Learn more about Mikala Albertson's book on midlife here: Everything I Wish I Could Tell You About Midlife

Listen to Heather's interview with Dr. Albertson about health and weight loss here: https://omny.fm/shows/compared-to-who/doctor-says-weight-loss-may-not-be-your-best-new-y

Learn more about Compared to Who? and how you can get started on a body image freedom or healing journey: https://www.improvebodyimage.com

Transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript is AI-generated and has not been edited for accuracy or clarity.

Heather Creekmore [00:00:01]:

Doctor. Michaela Albertson, thanks for coming back to continue this great conversation on hormones and body image.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:00:08]:

Thank you so much for having me.

Heather Creekmore [00:00:10]:

Okay. So we talked about cycles and, I think start to get a little crazy at midlife. Right? So let's talk about what, let's just start with the basics. So what is going on with my hormones as I reach midlife, as I reach my forties into my fifties, or even for some, I guess, as late thirties? But what what's happening?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:00:34]:

Yeah. Well, I, you know, I kind of like to compare, perimenopause to puberty a little bit. And we talked about about that in the last episode that there's a lot of hormonal chaos going on there. And instead of our ovaries practicing starting working like they are in puberty and having a regular cycle, right, we're sort of practicing not working as well or kind of on their way out a little bit. And so we have a lot of fluctuation and hormonal chaos in this perimenopausal time as well. So there may be cycles that seem pretty normal, and maybe a few in a row even. And then every once in a while, you might have a wacky one in there or even have a skipped period in there. That's kind of one of the first hallmark signs of perimenopause is that the menstrual cycle changes.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:01:28]:

And often what we realize in our later thirties or early forties is we're still having regular monthly cycles, but maybe the time between them has shortened a little bit. Or maybe the cycle is, the actual period can be up a little bit longer or heavier. And so they might still be monthly and regular and mostly predictable, but they are different than what you had in your twenties and thirties.

Heather Creekmore [00:01:54]:

Yeah. I've heard it described as crime scene periods.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:01:58]:

Well, yeah, that's a good way to put it. I have a friend I have a friend, who texted me, a meme of, like, the bloody Carrie

Heather Creekmore [00:02:07]:

from that Stephen King movie where she's just like, this is what's happening over here.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:02:14]:

So it made me laugh. But, yes, that's true. Often really heavy bleeding. And I think that's that's when I would start seeing women in clinic is when they're like, what is going on with my period? Something has to be wrong.

Heather Creekmore [00:02:27]:

Yeah. So okay. The hormones all have different roles. Right? Is it all three of them working together beautifully in unison that helps me feel good? Or is it so let me let me give you my theory and you can tell me where I'm wrong. Okay. So what I've noticed is, estrogen decline has had its impact, for sure with oh goodness. Like, all of a sudden not being able to sleep. And I've been, like, I'm a champion sleeper.

Heather Creekmore [00:03:05]:

Like, the napper, like, sleep was never an issue for me. And then it's like, what? Like, this is not me. I sleep. So that's been a problem. But and then, like, you know, getting the progesterone balance that helped a little bit at first, but then I think as my estrogen started to drop more, that just, like, wasn't enough. But then it feels like testosterone. So, like, the day that I feel good is the day that I, this is, this is probably too embarrassing to share on the show, but I'm just gonna go ahead and share it. Like, I know that my testosterone is like back or up or whatever because I'll wake up in the morning and I'll have like a new chin hair or two.

Heather Creekmore [00:03:48]:

I'll be like, oh, testosterone. There you are. No wonder I feel sick today. So which of these hormones are making me feel better, or is it really just all of them in the right levels?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:04:02]:

I think they all play a role, and I I think we're still learning. So I will say that. I I think there's this belief out there that we, like, know exactly how everything's working. We've got it all figured out and, like, why what aren't they telling us or what, you know. But I think the studies have been lacking and we need more studies for women specifically around this perimenopause time. And so we have some good studies, about estrogen and I think that sometimes the hype of testosterone and other hormones is sort of outpacing what we actually know with science or what we can back up. And so I think there's a lot of anecdotal evidence out there and maybe some truth to that, but we can't definitively say that yet. And so estrogen is the one we talk about the most and I think is kind of the biggest player.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:04:52]:

We have estrogen receptors everywhere. And when we're giving menopausal hormone therapy, we're giving estrogen. The progesterone seems to kind of be the side guy a little bit. It can help a little with mood and with sleep. But the main reason we're giving progesterone when we're doing replacement therapy or hormone therapy is to help protect the uterus because we can't give estrogen by itself. And so does it have effects? Yes. But I think estrogen seems like the main player with a lot of the symptoms that we're experiencing in perimenopause. And then testosterone is really huge for libido.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:05:31]:

And again, I think we're behind on our studies for that and maybe we're being sold some information that sounds promising. There may be some anecdotal evidence out there or some really small scale studies, but right now, testosterone is indicated primarily for libido, even though it's being advertised for some other things. I think the science has a lot of catching up to do.

Heather Creekmore [00:05:53]:

Yeah. Okay. So appreciate everything you just said. And you so let's go two different directions. Direction one, hormone hacking. I mean, that is hashtag hormone hacking everywhere. And I'll be honest, like, I am I am the woman in your book that has the drawer full of supplements. Like, you actually I don't wanna give away that part of your book.

Heather Creekmore [00:06:16]:

It was really good. That, and at first it was like, oh, I don't think I'm gonna be able to talk to her because we just disagree. And then I read what you wrote and I was like, oh, dang. You're right. You are so right. So you really helped me on that front. But but I feel like there is this, Instagram slash YouTube, philosophy that it's I mean, it's the same thing. It's the same as diet culture.

Heather Creekmore [00:06:41]:

Right? It's it's just wellness culture two point o, like, called hormone hacking. It's it's if you do something perfectly, if you just find the right combination of things, then you're gonna hack your hormones, and then you are gonna be amazing. The weight's gonna melt off. That's always the promise. The weight's gonna melt off, and you're just gonna feel fabulous like you did in your twenties. Like, what do you think about all that?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:07:06]:

Hard. I have so much. I could have a whole I could have three hours on that probably, and it's frustrating, I think. And I have been sold it as well, and I have believed a lot of it as well. And, gosh, you guys, I want that to be true. Mhmm. I want what they're selling me. I get that someone sells you something and says, this is it.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:07:26]:

This is the answer. This is what they don't want you to know. And just do this, take this, follow this plan, take these supplements and you're gonna feel great. And I want that. I want that to be true, but it just isn't. And we don't have the science for it. And I think there is a lack of scientific research, especially around perimenopause. And what has happened is marketers and people who want to sell things and make money have jumped on the gap and said, oh, we get we've got something for you.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:08:01]:

And they've decided, like, how can we market this? And really what it is is exploitation, I think. And it is noticing these pain points in women, noticing where we're struggling, noticing how we struggle with body image and our weight and how we're feeling and the fatigue and the brain fog and these changes that are coming insane. How can we make money off that? Not how can we help them? And many people probably have a good heart for it. I'm not saying that people who, you know, they want it to be true too. They want to help you and make a little money on the side. But I do think that the science is important and I do think that we deserve good science and we deserve safety studies and efficacy studies, and we want to put our money and our time and our effort towards something that's going to be actually helpful and productive for us, I think that we deserve that. Yeah. And so it's not that we're withholding those things from you.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:09:00]:

We just want good science for you.

Heather Creekmore [00:09:03]:

And and it feels like I'm just thinking about Instagram ads I see Mhmm. Or YouTube, like, ads slash videos I see. It feels like it's this worked for her, and so this will work for you or me. And I there's this, like, dismissal of bio uniqueness or bio individuality. Right? Like, if I'm not deficient in the thing you're deficient in or if my body isn't, like, running the same way your body is, you know, like, I'm working with thyroid as you and you're not working with like, there's all those differences that are gonna impact like, we can't just follow all the same formula and get the same results. Right?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:09:51]:

That is exactly right. Yes. So you talk a little bit about how marketing, tricks us sometimes. And so we hear a lot of anecdotal evidence. That's what that is when it's like, this worked for my sister and so I started taking it. Now it's working for me. And then you're like, well, that's two people. That's gonna work for me too.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:10:10]:

And what we need are empirical studies and kind of evidence based randomized placebo controlled trials that can be applied to a broader population before we can say, yeah, this is gonna work for most women. Right? And then even on top of that, it takes talking with your doctor about your specific needs and your history, your background, your genetics, your other medical illnesses to see whether it's applicable to you. Yeah.

Heather Creekmore [00:10:43]:

I totally agree. And as I'm listening, I'm thinking, but the problem is we're too desperate. Yeah. Like, working for two people is enough for me because I'm desperate. And I I'm thinking through that desperation. It's like part of it is maybe lack of awareness or understanding. I feel like it's okay for bodies to change. Right? Because back to the marketing, everything tells me my body shouldn't be changing.

Heather Creekmore [00:11:13]:

And so my body's changing, then I'm desperate to stop it. Something's gotta be wrong. I'm doing it's me, me, me. Right? I'm doing something wrong. I'm messing up. I'm failing. So if it worked for her and her sister,

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:11:26]:

it's worth it. Try. Yep. It's worth it.

Heather Creekmore [00:11:28]:

Man, I mean, what, like, what are your thoughts? Like, underneath all that, like, there's something we've gotta wrestle with down there.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:11:36]:

Yeah. Well, two things. I think, I think that mindset shift is hard. Mhmm. And so just like we have learned or are trying to work through the mindset shift that we need to make in diet culture, I think we also need to work on a mindset shift in wellness culture. And that's hard. And I don't think that we get there easily or quickly. And I think we have to just sort of acknowledge those things when we're right in the middle of it.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:12:09]:

You know, how you can kind of pause and just step back for a minute and be like, oh, I think that's diet culture talking. I think we need to do that with some of those other things too. And I like to point out that there are real harms to supplements sometimes or real harms to taking medications for you that aren't indicated and real harms to all natural products sometimes. And so we have this belief that just because it's this natural thing, it's natural, that there wouldn't be side effects to that or that there wouldn't be real harm to it. But wherever there is the potential for a good outcome, there is the potential for a side effect or real harm. And so we have seen the incidence of liver failure rise secondary to supplements. And so I think we think we're not it's no big deal. It's worth a try.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:13:08]:

It worked for her. I'm desperate. I may as well try it. But I do think we have to think about those risks. And is it actually indicated for me? Is it safe? Is it effective? I don't wanna cause other problems, by doing this thing that doesn't have a lot of science behind it. Yeah. So I think that mindset shift is where we have to start. And I'm a physician who's been to medical school and out in practice, and I'm trained in women's health, and I get sucked into those same things sometimes too.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:13:40]:

I want a solution as well. It is very hard to resist, and I think it's actually really hard to read what is good science and what is not because it's really they're they're good at it. They're good at saying, oh, look at this. It's science backed. So science backed is the phrase I think that we hear all the time, and and it doesn't mean a whole lot.

Heather Creekmore [00:14:01]:

Yeah. Well, and, you know, back to, like, diet culture being easy to spot versus wellness culture. Right? Like, it's easy to be anti diet. Right? Christy Harrison's book. Anti diet. Like, okay. People can rally around that. But anti wellness, you can't be anti wellness.

Heather Creekmore [00:14:17]:

I mean, I think Chrissy Harrison's trying. But, like, that just doesn't connect. Right? Because, like, everyone wants to be well. Like, you don't wanna diet, but you wanna be well. And so it's it's really uncomfortable.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:14:29]:

It is uncomfortable. And it's just it's sneaky because wellness culture is actually often diet culture because wellness culture says that to be well, you should probably be thin Yeah. And that most of your problems will be solved Right. If you were just thinner. And so why don't you start this diet plan to be well? And so it is just it's the same thing with different wording. Right. And so I was really opposed to putting wellness in my book, and so I've tried to use words like well-being, like, broader. Like, I want to be well, but what does that actually mean? Right.

Heather Creekmore [00:15:06]:

Right. It's like health.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:15:08]:

Yeah. I don't think it's what wellness culture is selling us.

Heather Creekmore [00:15:11]:

Yeah. I I I totally agree. And and I don't just like one little side note on that. I was just thinking about, like, YouTube, Instagram influencers. Like, I am getting to the point. I think now that I'm 50, I'm like, okay, honey, you're 35. You cannot tell me what it's like. Or men.

Heather Creekmore [00:15:32]:

I'm so sorry. I think that there are fantastic male doctors who probably do understand this fantastically. But, dude, you're a 35 year old guy on Instagram. You're not gonna tell me how to hack my hormones because you have no idea what it's like. So that's my little my little aside there. Yeah.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:15:52]:

It's like, why are you selling me stuff for antiaging when you're like 32 years old? You know, your skin looks great because your skin looks great. You're 32, you know? It's so yeah. I agree. That's so funny.

Heather Creekmore [00:16:06]:

I I saw an ad for something aging and the model, she would have been 20. Yeah. Like, what? It's like someone didn't think the whole way through this, but, okay. So but as it comes to solutions, right, so, you know, so I do have a little bit more of, like, the supplements, like, you know, looking for the natural solution bent to me. And so entering perimenopause, I had heard the scary studies about HRT, and I was like, oh, I don't I don't think I would ever do that. I oh, yeah. And and then I do you know Stephanie Reinold? Doctor Stephanie Reinold? She, she's in this space for a while. She's kind of she's a psychiatrist, but she was talking about food stuff

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:16:54]:

for a while. And I was having breakfast. Should.

Heather Creekmore [00:16:57]:

Yeah. You. I need to connect you to

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:16:58]:

her. I should know her.

Heather Creekmore [00:17:00]:

So we were, having breakfast one time, and she's younger than I am. And she was like, well, when I hit perimenopause, I'm doing HRT. And I was like, what? And I was like, tell me more. And so I started doing research. And then like I said, I think last episode, when I stopped sleeping Yeah. I was like, I need something. Like, I cannot handle this. I need answers.

Heather Creekmore [00:17:23]:

And my doctor had already put me on just some progesterone, just to kind of I think I had shared last episode. I was down to, like, nineteen day cycles, and she's like, let's try this to kinda see if we can get you back to at least the 20 range. And so I'm already on progesterone. I was like, can we talk about HRT? And she's like, Heather, you're already doing hormone. I'm like, oh, I didn't even know that's what it called. I just thought it was progesterone. And so then we talked about estrogen. And in the wellness space, the people I still read, it's like, oh, danger.

Heather Creekmore [00:17:55]:

We are there's enough phytoestrogens in the environment and whatever you do, don't do estrogen. But I started doing some estrogen cream and it's been life changing. Yeah. And and I know it's different for everyone, but but it's an interesting thing for me because I'm like, I am it's it goes back to trusting our bodies. Yeah. Right? And trusting our experience because I I am on it thinking this makes helps me so much. And then reading someone says whatever you do, don't do it. And then, like, kind of like, oh, maybe I shouldn't use it tomorrow.

Heather Creekmore [00:18:30]:

And then, like, no. But they helped me. Right? And I don't I don't know. Help help me make sense of my my confusion.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:18:38]:

Well, I think it's easy to see why women are confused.

Heather Creekmore [00:18:42]:

Yeah.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:18:42]:

I it's easy to see why we get so confused because we are told a whole range of things. And you could listen to some influencers who are like, you need to be on estrogen and progesterone the minute you have your first hot flash because it's doing all these things for you and they're promoting it for prevention. So, you've got one range of people saying, never take it. It's dangerous. You're gonna get cancer from it and then the other who are like, every woman should be on hormones when they're in perimenopause because it's gonna prevent dementia and things. And so, truly, again, like most things, it falls somewhere in the middle. So, the Women's Health Initiative is what I grew up on learning in early in medical school and in residency. And honestly, I was a little afraid of what was called hormone replacement therapy when I was first down in practice because that women's health initiative stopped early because they were finding cancer and things like that.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:19:41]:

It's important to note that that was a huge study, and I think we've heard people say we've debunked it. And that isn't really true either. We actually use a lot of the information from that study still. We use a lot of the statistics and things from that study, but we've sort of reinterpreted the results a little bit. And so it's not completely a bad study, like, oh, that was a mistake. Right? It's not a bad study, but we've reinterpreted the results and we have found that the risk is much less than we thought. And for women who are within ten years of their period and having symptoms, what we now call menopause hormone therapy, is actually quite safe for most women. There are people who still cannot take it.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:20:29]:

And so if you had an estrogen receptor positive breast cancer or something, you may be precluded from that, or there are other risks to consider. So, it's always a conversation to have with your doctor, but I don't think you have to rule it out completely, have the conversation. And it's important to know that you can take it orally, you can take it transdermally, meaning through the skin, You can use a topical vaginal cream. There are so many different forms that you could try, and each one has a little bit different risk profile. So that's important too. I like explaining why we don't call it hormone replacement therapy anymore, and we call it menopause hormone therapy. So I think hormone replacement therapy kind of makes us think that we're replacing hormones back to where they were before we started going through menopause. That like our ovaries are defective.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:21:18]:

They're not doing what they're supposed to do. We're going to replace it back to where it was. Kind of like we do with the thyroid, right? When your thyroid is low, we try to get back to this normal range. But with menopause hormone therapy, they're exactly the same thing. They just have a new name. It's saying you are going through your menopause transition. You may be having some symptoms from that. Things like hot flashes, your irregular periods, night sweats, all of that.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:21:47]:

And we want to give you hormone therapy to help you with those symptoms that you're having in this very inevitable transition. You're gonna go through menopause. Your your hormones are going to be different when you come out the other side, and let's help you with your symptoms during that time. I think that's an important mindset shift that many women need to make.

Heather Creekmore [00:22:10]:

So if I stop in ten years, then will I go through again? Like, how does that work? Because by the time I stop, I won't have anything left. So what happens with

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:22:22]:

that? Typically, no, because we are replacing you with much less than what you had when you were having regular periods in your reproductive years. And so that's kind of the idea. Yeah. It's like we're weaning. We're just helping with those symptoms, and then, yes, you can stop. And deciding when to stop is another conversation to have with your doctor. It's unlikely that you're gonna need to be on something in your later seventies, eighties. The good news is that so many of those symptoms that we experience early on in perimenopause and through those transition years actually do improve.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:23:02]:

Yeah. So there have actually been studies to show the brain fog improves, that fatigue improves. There is kind of a light on the other side. Yeah.

Heather Creekmore [00:23:11]:

I I love that. And I just wanna kinda tie this back to body image issues.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:23:16]:

Mhmm.

Heather Creekmore [00:23:17]:

Because I think for women in perimenopause, right, like, back to what diet culture wellness culture is telling us. If I go into it believing if I would just 20, 30 pounds, 50 pounds, 70 pounds thinner, whatever it is, then I wouldn't have a problem with my sleep or, like, low libido or whatever the case may be. Right? I wouldn't have any of these symptoms if my weight was x to just recognize, you know, or maybe it's just perimenopause. Right?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:23:56]:

Be it's the hormones. I loved when you when you emailed me and said, hey. Do you wanna come back on? I just your little blurb, your sentence that you sent me, I thought, well, that is so beautiful. I think you said something like very real changes that we will live through and grieve even. And then we come back out the other side and sort of realizing that our body's always been a fix it project, and we've been told that it is one, and we've been told that someone has the solution to it. If we would just get it right or we would work harder, we wouldn't be so lazy or whatever it is. Right? It's always like our fault sort of. And so it is natural that in perimenopause we still sort of feel like our body is a fix it project, and again, here come all the supplements and all the compounded hormones and these diet plans and all these things to say, you don't actually have to go through perimenopause.

Heather Creekmore [00:24:53]:

That's that's crazy talk.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:24:55]:

You can just do all these things and you're gonna feel great. You feel like you're 30. And I think to just have, like, a little realism about that and say, these are inevitable changes and there are some really tough ones and it's hard. But don't make it a fix it project. Just like treat your symptoms and be a little more gentle with yourself through this time. And, yes, there are some things we can do to treat specific symptoms or to sort of help our well-being. But it doesn't have to be, you know, if you're not if you're feeling any symptoms, you're doing it wrong. Right? I think that's the mindset shift.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:25:28]:

So I loved how you worded that, and I think there is a little grieving process that goes on. And it's hard. It's hard to be different at 45 than I was when I was 32, and it feels it doesn't feel good. And yet there's so much beauty to it, I think.

Heather Creekmore [00:25:46]:

Yeah. Giving ourself a space to age in a culture that doesn't

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:25:55]:

really Yeah.

Heather Creekmore [00:25:56]:

Esteem aging. Right? It defies, denies, fights aging. And yet, we're all I mean, the alternative is death. So you're Yeah. We're gonna face it or not, but, you're gonna face it if you're if you're still breathing. Yeah. And and I think also, you know, I mean, as a doctor, maybe you can even give some some more words to this, but the fix it project you mentioned. Right? But I think we have this underlying belief, maybe especially as Americans, that, like, optimal health, like, is attainable, like, forever.

Heather Creekmore [00:26:44]:

Right? That if you are doing all the right things, your body will be optimally healthy for you know? And and like you said, it's a formula, but, like, that that optimal health is the baseline that everyone can get to.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:26:59]:

Right. Kind of forgetting about genetics, family history, socioeconomic influence and how you grew up. And I mean, just your current stressors and and just sometimes like really bad luck. I think about sometimes just the way that the culture is. And then you're the woman who gets some I'm so lucky because I'm healthy so far, but like some illness comes to you, a chronic illness, some autoimmune disease or a cancer or just whatever it might be and then to think you did that to yourself. It was something that you did. You weren't eating right or you weren't, you know, following the formula and so, of course, you're sick. It's kind of this weird, you know, I think we all have that idea.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:27:48]:

The reason that person has heart issues is because of this, this, and this.

Heather Creekmore [00:27:54]:

Right.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:27:54]:

Instead of just acknowledging, like, the body is actually a little bit fragile, and there are so many things we can't control. I think we need to offer some grace for that. And if you are someone who struggles with chronic illness, you didn't do anything wrong. Right? And even if there are some things that you could improve, I I don't know. We just kind of equate it with like you're a bad person or something and to already be sick and struggling and not feeling well, and then to feel like there's this fault or shame to it on top of that, it's gotta feel awful.

Heather Creekmore [00:28:32]:

Yeah. I actually was in a conversation, with a group of women not too long ago. And, you know, a woman who had a larger body shared openly with as a church group that she had cancer again. Mhmm. And the people around her were telling her it's her fault because she didn't lose the weight or should shouldn't she try this diet or shouldn't she try that diet? Now we list this she had a history of cancer. She was a refugee Like, come from a war torn country over I mean, like, the stress. Like, it's not like single mom. Like, so much stress that she was carrying so heavy.

Heather Creekmore [00:29:16]:

And to have Christian women speaking into her life, well, she should have just, you know, gone on a diet to not get cancer. Oh, it just broke my heart. I was trying to trying to encourage her, but it is it is so much more complex than the tight culture, wellness culture wants us to believe it is.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:29:38]:

That's true. And I think that's, you know, in in my new book that's out, everything I wish I could tell you about midlife, the subtitle is in the body you actually have.

Heather Creekmore [00:29:49]:

Yeah.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:29:49]:

Because it's the body you have. You didn't choose it. You can't change it. You know, your you the your genetics are your genetics. Your DNA is your DNA. Your family history is your family history. And many of the things that happened to you in years past that you were just sort of you were a passive person in that. There are so many things that that you can't control.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:30:11]:

And so how do we take care of the body we actually have? Yeah. I think that's where we need the mindset shift, and I hope that we can shift it for others as well. I know that, like, that word privilege is kind of one that people cringe at a little bit, but maybe you've talked about the idea of, like, thin privilege before. I think there's health privilege. And to imagine that it's because you've done everything right

Heather Creekmore [00:30:37]:

Mhmm.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:30:37]:

It's because you've been following the formula that you happen to be a healthy person right now. I I gosh. I wish we could change that.

Heather Creekmore [00:30:45]:

Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Okay. Let's end with some hope.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:30:49]:

Okay.

Heather Creekmore [00:30:51]:

So we make it through menopause. You and I aren't there all the way yet, but we're 60, 60 five, 70. And we're adding a little bit before we press record. Like, it does feel like women at those ages maybe tend to just, I don't know, have a little bit more of a carefree attitude around some of these things? Like, what what have you seen?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:31:16]:

I think that what those women are maybe really good at or maybe we finally learn this bit of acceptance, and we sort of learn our own humanity and also come a little bit more face to face with mortality. And we learn to just let go of these things that don't matter or that we don't have a lot of control over, because I do think that women in their later years find a lot of freedom. And there have been studies to show that those are happier years that our most stressed and unhappy years are kind of in this middle time. And then we come out the other end, and I'm sure that there has been some pain and some grieving to get us there and perhaps some loss. I do think there is hope for us. I would love to help women to find that a little bit sooner, and how can we learn to adopt that mindset a little bit sooner so that we don't feel like we have to suffer through perimenopause in this midlife time. Yeah. Well, even before.

Heather Creekmore [00:32:21]:

Right? Because I think Even before. I think, you know, acceptance is one of the stages of grief. Yes. Right? And so, like, one of the things we do in coaching with with body image clients is we talk about grieving this ideal image. Yeah. And I mean, and we could talk about that with a 22 year old. Right? Like, if you can just put to death, I mean, because that's really what it is. Put to death this, like, image that I have gotta be perfect.

Heather Creekmore [00:32:47]:

And that means looking like this and acting like like, this is my perfect life. If you can just put that to death and really just surrendering it to the Lord, like, what do you have for me? Right? Putting it to death requires grieving. Yeah. But then on the other side of that is acceptance. Like, what a way to live with just an open handedness of, okay, god. What do you have for me? And and, like, to your subtitle. Right? In this body I have, what do you have in store for me? Like, what like, I don't wanna spend my life trying to fix my body. I don't wanna, like, waste my life.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:33:21]:

Yeah. I think that would be and maybe. One of my life's great regrets because I do still struggle myself. I come back to it and think, gosh, I gotta stop. You know? I think that's the other thing. So I'm a little bit enmeshed in the recovery movement. My husband is a recovering drug and alcohol addict. He's been clean and sober fifteen years.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:33:41]:

So Al Anon was this big light for me during that time when he was actively using and so much of that terminology, I think, and the idea of letting go. And they use, you know, the idea of a higher power, but, giving it over and just saying, they actually can't control this. And so I speak about control for a chapter in my book and just call it the control filter and really looking at, okay, what are the things here that I can control? And then what are the things that I can't and so those things that we can control are, you know, we can decide to take menopausal hormone therapy or other treatments to help us. So, we don't have to suffer. It's not we're handing it all over. There are some things available to us and there are a lot of things we can't control, and so in those instances, I think acceptance is the best option, right? And I've also learned in the recovery movement that that's not a one and done decision, and that again, you're not doing it wrong. If you find yourself having those thoughts again or seeing an ad or this is the big one for me, going out with a group of friends and sort of looking around and suddenly getting back to that, self critical voice, I think it's, just a realization that, oh, I'm doing it again. I'm doing that thing again.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:35:04]:

I know this. I've been here before and sort of recognizing it and then getting back to that acceptance or having to hand it over again. So, I I do think that, it's okay to have to keep working at that Yeah. A little bit.

Heather Creekmore [00:35:19]:

Yeah. And and to tie a nice big bow on it, especially if that acceptance challenge happens the week before your period starts every month. Right?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:35:28]:

Yes. Yes. And to just acknowledge that that's where you're at. And what is so funny is I think if you ever put words to that with those women, they're like, oh, yeah. Me too. Or, you know, I mean, we're all so much the same and so similar in those thoughts, and we sort of always believe we're the only ones who are a little crazy or thinking like that, or why am I like this? But it's actually all of us.

Heather Creekmore [00:35:54]:

Yep. Agree. Oh, this has been so good. Thank you so much. Doctor Mikaela Alverson, tell us all where we can get your book and where we can connect with you.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:36:07]:

Yes. So everything I wish I could tell you about Midlife, a woman's guide to health in the body you actually have came out in October, and it's available really anywhere books are sold. So you can find it on Amazon. It was, released through Baker Book, or Bethany House Publishing. So if you would go to bakerbookhouse.com, it will be on sale there. They always have it a little cheaper at the publisher. So, really, anywhere you're looking for books, you can order it. And I'm over at mikayla albertson m d dot com.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:36:37]:

I love to write about women's health, but I equally love to talk about all the other parts of midlife that come along with it. And so we are always kind of struggling through those things at the same time. Right? Perimenopause, our bodies, and teenagers, and midlife marriages, and friendships, and all the things. So let's just put words to that, and I'd love to see people over there.

Heather Creekmore [00:37:01]:

Love it. Well, thanks so much for being on the show today.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:37:04]:

Thank you.

Heather Creekmore [00:37:06]:

And thank you for watching or listening today. I hope something today has helped you stop comparing and start living. Bye bye.