transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:00] Is there a special lady in your life who has proven to be a little difficult to shop for? Yep, this happens every Mother's Day. It could be your mom, wife, sister, aunt, grandma, mother-in-law, all the amazing women in your life who have helped you become the person you are today. Maybe they have so many interests, it's hard to choose. Maybe they're a little picky, or maybe they already have everything. If this sounds familiar, let Macy's help with your Mother's Day debacle. They have so many crowd-pleasing brands, perhaps Macy's gift card would let them choose what they really want. Or perhaps you use the Macy's gift guide to help narrow things down. Whatever type of mom you're shopping for, Macy's has you covered. They have all the brands she loves, so you're not just guessing, like Valentino, YSL, La Mer, Burberry, Prada, Olaplex, Miu Miu, Shiseido, Clarence and more. Macy's has classic pieces she could wear every day, diamond tennis bracelets from Badly Mishka, Effie Diamond Rings and Macy's diamond pendant necklaces. Plus, Macy's has lovely pieces to complement their assortment from brands like McKenzie Childs, Michael Aram and La Crusay. So, check out Macy's online gift guide for more ideas. Go to macys.com or shop in store.

Speaker 2:
[01:02] It's time for a quickie. PodcastOne presents the Lady Gang, the Hollywood girl posse with Lady Gang Quickie. Here's Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin and Jac Vanek.

Speaker 3:
[01:14] Let's make this quick.

Speaker 1:
[01:19] Welcome to the Lady Gang Quickies presented by Natural Cycles. I am Becca here with Jac and Keltie and we have an extra special guest today that we are chomping at the bit to ask questions to. So Keltie, who do we have?

Speaker 4:
[01:30] Well, listen, I sat across the street or across the table at Emma Greed's podcaster dinner to this woman. Her skin is so good and she's so beautiful that I was like, wait, she's 50s? And then I was like, wait, what's your podcast? She's in Metapause and I was like, I need to know everything about this woman. So today's guest is about to save your sanity, your hormones and possibly your relationships. She is an Emmy-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author and host of the Tamsen Show podcast. She has made it her mission to talk about the thing that literally no one in the world has prepared us for, perimenopause and menopause. No one gave us a handbook, no one taught us about this in school, and she did. Her book, How to Menopause, I have it right here, is that handbook. She's smart, she's real, she's here to tell us what the hell is happening to our bodies. Please welcome Tamsen Fadal. Tamsen, welcome.

Speaker 5:
[02:27] Thank you. I'm going to stay here forever without all those compliments.

Speaker 4:
[02:30] Well, first of all, I want to say-

Speaker 1:
[02:31] You may have to because you have a lot of perimenopausal, menopausal women in front of you.

Speaker 5:
[02:35] I've got you, I've got you.

Speaker 4:
[02:36] The first thing I want to say about Tamsen is, everyone knows that I introduce myself in the full sentence, which is, I'm three-time Emmy award-winning Keltie Knight. I just want to tell you the only person that could probably top that intro is Tamsen. She has 13. 13 Emmys, because before this work, you were that bitch of New York City News, essentially. How long were you? You were at WPIX, is that what you call it?

Speaker 5:
[03:02] Yeah, WPIX. I was, well, first of all, thank you, and congratulations to you, because I know what that takes. I know the time and the energy and the holidays that you miss and all the other stuff that comes with that. I was there, I was 15 years at that one station in New York City. I've been in New York City 20 years doing news. And before that, all different markets like, okay, West Virginia, my family going, where are you going to live now? All these different places, and I ended up in New York. So yeah, it was a long time of TV news.

Speaker 4:
[03:33] And then what happened to you on the news is what informed this work. Tell us that story.

Speaker 5:
[03:40] Yeah, I spent a lot of my life trying to hide my age, especially in that business. I was told early on by a woman who was maybe 10 years old to me that women usually age out of news, so be prepared to have a backup plan. And I'm like, what the hell's a backup plan to this? I don't know how to do anything else. And she said, you know, a lot of time you will see the men age on television and a younger woman will always be sitting next to them. And after that, I noticed it all the time and I'd be like, oh my gosh, I'm going to be aging out soon. So I had been having in my like mid to late 40s, I'd been having weird things happen. I'd be reading a teleprompter where the words are scrolling by and I'd notice a word and I couldn't get it out of my mouth. Like I'd see it and I'd be like, okay, I know that word, but it's not coming to me. Or I would not be able to sleep anymore, which in TV news, like sleep is coveted, right? If you can find a place to shut your eyes, you fall right to sleep. I was gaining weight, but working out the same way and eating better than I ever had. I was anxious all the time and I was really nervous at a job where I felt confident. And so one night it was November. And I remember it so clearly, I was reading the news, we went to commercial and I felt like, I don't know what was going to happen. I felt like I was going to pass out. My heart was racing. I had a sweat broke out everywhere, like under my boobs, my dress, my hair. And I said, if I fell over, somebody catch me. I felt like I was going to pass out. On the set, one of the guys, my coworkers took me off. I went to the bathroom and like went down to the floor to cool my body off, thinking I was going to have, I didn't know if it was a heart attack or what was happening. After 20 minutes, I was fine. I got up about a week or two later, I started going to a couple of different doctors. I went to my endocrinologist, I went to my GP, I went up to the gyno. And in my patient portal, after some blood tests, my gynecologist wrote four words, in menopause, any questions. And that was it. And so all of these weird signs, now I'm going back years, like, oh my gosh, was that, was I in menopause? I didn't even know the word perimenopause then, like we did not talk about that word at all.

Speaker 4:
[05:44] It's truly new, we just made it.

Speaker 5:
[05:45] It's a new, it's new. Well, it's like, it was around apparently.

Speaker 4:
[05:49] It's trending.

Speaker 5:
[05:50] It is. And the funny thing is, is I was talking to a woman and she said, I went in to my doctor and told him that I was in perimenopause. And he said to me, oh, that's just a trend out there right now. I'm like, what? Is that a trend out there right now? So, you know, it's so important for her to have these conversations.

Speaker 4:
[06:08] So, you had, you figured out you're in menopause after you were already in menopause.

Speaker 5:
[06:12] After I was in menopause.

Speaker 4:
[06:13] And you were 49 at the time. But our perimenopause and everything you've learned and you've studied and talked to now everyone in the space, documentaries, Halle Berry is your best friend. Like all of this is happening. When should we, when is it we're just moody bitches who don't understand our bodies? And when is it we can start saying, oh, I think I'm having some perimenopausal symptoms?

Speaker 5:
[06:36] Yeah. I mean, I still think some days I'm a moody bitch that doesn't understand my body, but I don't know if that ever goes away from me, but I will say this. I will say if I look back and I had to inform myself, right? I lost my mom at an early age. I had to inform myself, like, what the hell was all that? I would say if you're in your late thirties, early forties, just to start paying attention, that doesn't mean to be afraid. That doesn't mean to freak out. Doesn't mean that every symptom is perimenopause. But if you are starting to feel some of these things that I'm talking about, and in the book I list like 34 common symptoms of it, but it's anxiety, it's weight in weird places all of a sudden, hair may be dry, skin dry, painful sex, irregular cycles. If you're starting to see some weird things and you're like, I don't feel like myself anymore, the minute that you hear yourself saying those words is the minute I would go in and say, like, I need some kind of baseline to figure out where I am. Because there's no real test that you're not going to go in and be like, hi, doctor, gynecologist, give me a test and they're going to tell me I'm in perimenopause. They're going to say, what are your symptoms? How are things tracking? And then we're going to look at it across the board because perimenopause, and I'm not a doctor, but I've researched enough of this to look at these years, four to 10 years you can be in perimenopause. And then you hit menopause and when you no longer have a cycle. But that was the only area I think we all knew about.

Speaker 3:
[07:57] That's so hard though, because I feel like I've had all of these symptoms my entire life, so I'm like, how do I know if my heart palpitations or my like sweating when I'm sleeping or like whatever is perimenopause and it's not just like me being me?

Speaker 5:
[08:12] Well, it could be hormones though. I mean, that's, you know, we have a continuum of our hormones. And I think a lot of times, like, I feel like I was lied to for so many years. It was like, you're getting your period. Now these are your reproductive years. Oh, and then we don't know what the heck happens to you. But the truth is, is that it's a hormonal continuum, right? So we always have that going on. But I would go and get things tested. I would want to see where I am. If you get blood tests in perimenopause, one day you might be here with your estrogen levels, one day you might be here. It could be all over the board. I think you've got to pay attention to those symptoms and see how they're actually impacting everything. How old do you? I'm going to be 39. 39. OK, so you can start paying attention to things, not panic about things, but just be aware and know that. Because remember, in perimenopause, you can still get pregnant, all those things are still happening. So a lot of times, there's a lot of that overlap that happens during that. I don't think we've talked about it. We've done women such a disservice not showing what this fluctuation can mean.

Speaker 1:
[09:12] I know. I'm so embarrassed that it was really just the last month we interviewed for the Natural Cycles, this thing we're doing with them. This package and Dr. Natalie Crawford talked us through, in really layman's terms, all the phases of our menstrual cycle. I am not kidding, it's like this entire month, I'm like, oh my gosh, if I look back at these weeks where I thought I was in a deep depression, or the weeks that I was just crushing at the gym, or the weeks that I didn't want to touch my husband, the weeks that I did, everything, it's like going back and I'm having these flashbacks and everything times to that exact cycle. Like part of my cycle. And so now I'm like walking through the world being like, today I feel very unmotivated to work and that's because I'm in this phase and I'm okay with that.

Speaker 3:
[09:58] And that's my excuse.

Speaker 4:
[09:59] No, yeah.

Speaker 3:
[10:00] It's so true.

Speaker 4:
[10:01] But Tamsen, I guess in all of this research, I think the very, we asked our Lady Gang Facebook group, I said, you're coming on, what do you wanna know? And Erin said, how do we make anyone take our concerns, questions, requests seriously? And I know a lot of the people you interview on the Tamsen show and stories from this book is just like the medical gaslighting that comes around with women's issues. So what advice would you give to the everyday woman who's going to their gyno, who's like giving you the, you're in menopause, what? Question mark.

Speaker 5:
[10:31] Yeah, I'm so happy you started with that question because it's the most important thing we have to answer, right? At the end of every screening that we do and we've done like over a thousand, the hand goes up and it's like, where do I find somebody that doesn't think I'm like being dramatic? Which it infuriates me in this day and age that we're still putting all the onus on women, but unfortunately we do and we get it. There's a couple of things. There are telehealth companies out there that I think do a really incredible, incredible job because they're dealing with these women every single day. They're not all of a sudden like, oh, what are your symptoms? Let's see what that is. You're a weird one. So, you know, MIDI Health is a big one that I've worked with for a long time because I really believe in them and invested in. The Menopause Society is the certification, they certify these doctors. So, menopause.org is a great place to go if you're looking for somebody in person that you can put your zip code in and they really help in so many ways of helping understand the education behind it. But if you have a doctor right now that you were going to see and you walk in and you do have to have some questions, like I actually put a script in the book and I have, you know, I literally think you have to have a script because it can be intimidating, one. And two, you don't have very much time with your doctor. Most doctors give you like eight minutes and then you're out the door. So, I think you have to be prepared for it. Like here are the symptoms. Will you talk to me about my options? Whether you're doing a hormone therapy, whether you aren't doing hormone therapy, that doesn't matter. It's that you feel comfortable being talked to and then you have to be prepared to fire your doctor. And that sucks because I was with my doctor for 25 years, but the fact that I never heard that word, and it's funny, I ran across about a month ago, I had some old papers and I ran across one from my OB-GYN originally, and it said patient complaints of weight gain and anxiety. And this was like in my mid 40s, about 44 years old, and I went, oh my gosh.

Speaker 4:
[12:25] It was there.

Speaker 5:
[12:26] It was there and I had no idea. So I think what my goal is to really, and what I love about the fact that you're doing this with women is empowering them to not be afraid to ask that question and go in there very bold about it and not be afraid that someone's not going to listen. Because the worst thing you could do is suffer during this time and there's no reason for it.

Speaker 4:
[12:46] We want to thank our friends at Macy's for being a sponsor of the Lady Gang and bringing us cute looks and cute ideas every single month. Guys, well, Becca, it's your mother's day. It's coming, but-

Speaker 1:
[12:58] It's my mother's day.

Speaker 4:
[13:00] It's your day, girl. But more importantly, it's my mother's mother's day. And she just happens to be in town with me right now. And she's just sitting behind me right now. Sheila.

Speaker 3:
[13:09] There she is.

Speaker 4:
[13:10] She's wearing her- I didn't even tell her to. She's wearing her Lady World shirt.

Speaker 3:
[13:14] Of course.

Speaker 4:
[13:15] Okay, so Macy's says everything for Mother's Day, and we got to think about it, guys. It's coming up quick. Do not forget, whether it's your dog mom, your mother-in-law, your mother, everybody needs a present, and they can tell when we sent flowers the day before. Okay, so the three- I'm gonna give mom three categories, and you get to pick, okay, mom? Okay, so from Macy's, they have, first of all, the most amazing beauty set up glam counter. Do you know what I mean? Like, right? Like, what would we get mom? Like, La Mer, like-

Speaker 1:
[13:42] Ugh, La Mer, spoil her rotten.

Speaker 4:
[13:44] Right?

Speaker 3:
[13:45] Or it's- Yeah, something that she wouldn't get herself usually. Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[13:48] Or like a nice perfume, or like a hair oil, or something like that. Okay, that's choice one. Number two, special jewelry any day of the week. So it's like a diamond tennis bracelet, a little stud, a little pendant necklace. Gorgeous. Okay.

Speaker 1:
[14:03] Or- The diamonds at Macy's, I know. I have to say are-

Speaker 4:
[14:07] I know.

Speaker 1:
[14:08] Stunning and affordable. I don't know how they're getting these prices, but they are the best out there. Truly.

Speaker 3:
[14:14] We don't ask questions. We just get them.

Speaker 1:
[14:16] We just buy.

Speaker 4:
[14:17] It really is nice and I like that you go, and when you go in store, they're very helpful.

Speaker 1:
[14:21] Yes.

Speaker 4:
[14:21] They're like, you can look at everything and see. Okay. Or number three, tablescape. A beautiful table. So like some new glasses, a Le Creuset, a Mackenzie Child. That to me feels like we want you to cook for us, which is true. But okay, mom, Sheila, it's your Mother's Day. Choose, beauty counter, jewelry or home item. Absolutely easy.

Speaker 2:
[14:46] I don't want to cook anymore for you.

Speaker 4:
[14:48] No cooking. She doesn't want any plates.

Speaker 3:
[14:50] That's my girl.

Speaker 4:
[14:50] I already have all this stuff. I want the jewelry because I can look at it forever and think of you. Okay, she wants the jewelry. Guys, she's trained us well.

Speaker 3:
[15:00] She has thoughts.

Speaker 4:
[15:01] She has thoughts. The jewelry, she doesn't want the skin stuff, but that's also because I've given her a lot of skin stuff. So she's full up. But like, I do think that's a really nice present to like give someone.

Speaker 1:
[15:11] I agree.

Speaker 3:
[15:12] I mean, and it's something that lasts forever. She could wear it 10, 20 years from now and always think about you and that one Mother's Day.

Speaker 4:
[15:17] I love it.

Speaker 1:
[15:18] Well, and then eventually you get it.

Speaker 3:
[15:20] That's true.

Speaker 4:
[15:20] You're right. It's really a gift for us.

Speaker 3:
[15:22] You can't inherit skincare.

Speaker 4:
[15:24] You can't inherit skincare. You're absolutely right. It's like, you know, okay, well, the diamonds are going to come back to me. So really it's by something you like, you know?

Speaker 3:
[15:31] Exactly.

Speaker 1:
[15:31] Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[15:32] Okay. Well, we love Macy's and guys, if you need help, they have an entire gift guide right on macys.com.

Speaker 1:
[15:38] The gift guide is so good.

Speaker 4:
[15:40] It's a bomb. It's amazing.

Speaker 1:
[15:42] Yeah.

Speaker 4:
[15:42] And thank you for being a part and good luck on Mother's Day.

Speaker 3:
[15:45] Good luck. You got this.

Speaker 1:
[15:46] You're going to nail it.

Speaker 4:
[15:47] Good job, mom. This quickie of Lady Gang is brought to you by Natural Cycles, the first FDA-cleared birth control app that uses your body temperature to help you understand your cycle and either plan or prevent pregnancy. And if you're like me, Natural Cycles is actually helpful because it's not just tracking your period. I don't get a period anymore. And when you're in perimenopause or about to go into menopause or have health stuff, sometimes your period is wackadoodle time and it's all over the place. I have to tell you, since I started wearing my free Natural Cycles tracker, you can also use your Apple Watch or your Oral Ring, I have been tracking my temperature and cycle. And I literally knew why I got up this morning and I was motivated and ready to go. And I was like, I'm in my luteal phase. And I was like, and I'm going to be there for the next four days. So let me plan some workouts. Let me plan some stuff so that when I'm in my other phases and I'm feeling like a dumpster truck, I will understand that. Like, I just think this is so genius and it's really unlocking a way for us to help ourselves. So thank you to Natural Cycles for sponsoring this conversation with Tamsen and helping women actually understand their bodies. Right now, you can get 15% off your yearly subscription and a free NC wearable that you only need to wear when you sleep. It's so easy. Visit naturalcycles.com/lady and get 15% off your yearly subscription and a free wearable. Natural cycles.com/lady. And when you go on the app or the site, you can just put in promo code LadyGang.

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 4:
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Speaker 1:
[19:23] Is there a special lady in your life who has proven to be a little difficult to shop for? Yep, this happens every Mother's Day. It could be your mom, wife, sister, aunt, grandma, mother-in-law, all the amazing women in your life who have helped you become the person you are today. Maybe they have so many interests, it's hard to choose. Maybe they're a little picky or maybe they already have everything. If this sounds familiar, let Macy's help with your Mother's Day debacle. They have so many crowd-pleasing brands. Perhaps Macy's gift card would let them choose what they really want. Or perhaps you use the Macy's gift guide to help narrow things down. Whatever type of mom you're shopping for, Macy's has you covered. They have all the brands she loves so you're not just guessing. They have brands like Valentino, YSL, La Mer, Burberry, Prada, Olaplex, MiuMiu, Shiseido, Clarence and more. Macy's has classic pieces she could wear every day. Diamond tennis bracelets from Badly Mishka, Effie Diamond Rings and Macy's Diamond Pendant Necklaces. Plus, Macy's has lovely pieces to complement their assortment from brands like McKinsey Childs, Michael Aram and La Crusay. So check out Macy's online gift guide for more ideas. Go to macys.com or shop in store. April is when the world wakes up and your calendar starts getting busy. Am I right? Graduations, weddings are approaching and they call for a party. Anniversaries, birthdays, you need to find gifts for, long weekend getaways, big vacations, family gatherings, so much stuff. Good thing Macy's is there to help you get ready. Macy's personal stylist help you to ease your outfit anxiety and turn it into celebratory confidence. And they can help you find the perfect gift too. Book a free session today and get 20% off your purchase with endless combos of shoes, beauty, jewelry, apparel. And you can build your ultimate look from the ground up all in one place. Come into the store and feel the fabrics, try on different fits, play with accessories and see how everything comes together. Need some expert help? Their expert beauty advisors will help you create a perfect makeup look and discover your signature scent for the moment. Plus, do you love fireworks, parades and flowers? This year Macy's is celebrating the 50th anniversary of their 4th of July fireworks show, as well as the 100th Thanksgiving Day parade and the 51st annual flower show. So come be a part of the fun. Remember to shop at macys.com or in store.

Speaker 2:
[21:30] The Lady Gang.

Speaker 4:
[21:31] Okay. I wanted to get into hormone therapy because I'm very interested in what you've learned on this. However, I do want to ask, Jean wrote in the Facebook group and I love it. It's a little bit of the anti-vibe and she goes, are there consequences to just letting it happen? What are the negatives to not taking hormones or supplements and just going through perimenopause and menopause as the world intended?

Speaker 5:
[21:57] Well, and I love that too, because I think we don't talk about that very much. I think that there's a couple of things. There's three parts that I've learned. So when I was growing up, I'm like, all that matters is I'm burning calories and I'm working out and getting above a zone, two or three, right? Now what I realize is that we get older and we're going to live so much longer than, than I think our parents did or anybody. So we're going to have this like 30 to 40 year span out there. And you know the people, when you see somebody older and they're like hunched over or they're frail or they're, you know, they're, they're walking or they don't just feel stable. They don't feel stable necessarily. Bone health, heart health and brain health are those three things that I'm focused on more than anything else. So yes, you can do without hormone therapy, but hormone therapy doesn't mean like, hey, I just want to glide by things a little bit easier. You have estrogen receptors in all parts of your body. So that's why when your estrogen is gone, when your estrogen just kind of plummets, you want to have something that can help protect those parts of your body. And so I originally didn't do hormone therapy because I was so afraid of this study from 2002 that you probably heard from the different doctors you've had on the show, which was something that scared women to death thinking that hormone therapy would cause breast cancer. Those findings had been walked back. Those headlines had been walked back. So we now understand that there are some real benefits that estrogen and progesterone could be helpful with. So I don't want women to ever go around going, oh, I'm taking the easy way out because I'm taking hormone therapy. What you're really doing is help protecting those different body parts.

Speaker 4:
[23:36] Okay. So what is hormone replacement therapy? Because whatever you're bagging is what I'm raking. Because you do not look like a dry crusty weak lady at all. Like you're literally glowy Mick Lowerson. But like is it a patch and like what do you ask for and how do you even know? Because I'm getting targeted ads and I don't know if it's because I have a dry vagina. But like I'm getting targeted ads for like this vaginal cream that's like HRT. And I'm like, do I need a prescription? Can I just get this on the black market? Like what do you?

Speaker 5:
[24:10] Is it funny how our algorithms have all changed now? I mean, my algorithm is like, used to be fashion and like architecture and looking at design. And now it's like, do you want vaginal serum? I'm like, I guess, but yeah, does Net-A-Porter not have anything today? Like what's going on?

Speaker 4:
[24:26] Exactly. I'm like, I'd rather buy a shoe, but okay, fine.

Speaker 5:
[24:31] So you do need a prescription for hormone therapy and hormone therapy can be a combination of estrogen and progesterone. And you might have heard people say progesterone is like this magic pill that helps me sleep. Estrogen is something that helps you not feel so dry everywhere and can be beneficial when it comes to hot flashes. And then there's testosterone that can also be a part of hormone therapy. But what I did is I did hormone therapy first, which was estrogen and progesterone. You have to get a prescription from your doctor. Sometimes it comes in the form of a patch, the estrogen. Sometimes it's a spray, a gel, a cream. There's been a patch shortage of late. We used to do this patch challenge, like, show me your patch. And now there's a patch shortage, which I guess is good in some ways that women are using it. But I'd like to see somebody step up and say, pay attention to women. And then there's testosterone. And testosterone, what I did with testosterone is I started that a year after I started the rest of my hormone therapy. And I did that to help with low libido, or no libido, is essentially what I had. And I was like, well, this sucks. I just got married and I have no libido. So testosterone was something I added to it as well as vaginal estrogen, which helps with dryness and not being miserable and painful sex.

Speaker 4:
[25:49] Wow.

Speaker 5:
[25:50] It's a lot, right? I hear myself say it. I'm like, did I just scare everybody to death?

Speaker 4:
[25:55] Meredith asked a great question, which she said, is there anything that can be done to avoid menopelly?

Speaker 5:
[26:02] Oh, belly fat. Belly fat sucks. You know, a lot of times this happens with the reduction of estrogen. There's no question about it. And it's one of the big things we all notice because it's more of the, oh my God, okay, I can handle hot flashes. I mean, I can't handle sleep, but I can't zip my pants anymore. And my body has like shifted where everything is. So, you know, I used to have like these sleeveless dresses all the time and news. And then I was like, what the hell is happening under my arm and my stomach? You know, a lot of times that is the lack of estrogen that we're talking about. So, I don't know that you can actually prevent it, but I do know that what you can do going forward, if you're dealing with that, is up that protein to another level. And that was something I never paid attention to. I'm so sick of hearing about protein and fiber and all the stuff that you know the whole list. But the truth is that if there's anything I would say that I would add to my diet to help with that, would be the intake of protein. Because it does two things. It protects your bones and it's helping keeping you full longer. But I know that menopause belly is a huge, huge concern and inflammation that comes with it. Just feeling like shit in terms of feeling confident. But I would say that would have been the big change I would have made early on versus restriction. Where I was like, maybe it's my calories. Maybe I have to eat healthier. It was really that I should have up my protein and not restricted.

Speaker 4:
[27:25] That's so interesting.

Speaker 5:
[27:27] Don't be scared, please. I'm scared you guys are scared.

Speaker 4:
[27:29] We're terrified, but that's fine. But don't worry. We have this whole book. And I know I'm screwed, because on page 190, common trigger foods for hot flashes, sugar, number one favorite, fried foods, number two favorite, spicy food, alcohol, aged cheeses, and caffeine. So when you're like, don't be scared, you just absolutely took out my entire diet. But I love that you're like talking about, there's a whole part in here that is supplements, which is, I think is really, really important. But we, I mean, listen, we can follow you. There's so much to get into. But I do want to say, if you were talking to our girl, and we have women all ages, Lady Gang is, you know, 20 to 65, 70, you know, years old. But if we're specifically in perimenopause, what are three takeaways? Like you would say to every girl, hey, whether you're in it or you're not in it, or you think you might be, or you think, you know, here's three things I want you to just pay attention to, or just look at, or think about, that can get you ready for this stage.

Speaker 5:
[28:35] Yeah, I love that because I think that we are overwhelmed with all these to-do lists of hacks and whatever, whatever, whatever. I think the number one thing is you've got to find a healthcare provider that you trust. You really do. Because this way, when you decide you're ready, if you decide you're ready, you go to that person and you can do hormone therapy or talk about other options, right? Whether those are supplements, whether that's just changing nutrition, whether it's a non-hormonal option, which are non-hormonal options. Some people have hot flashes to a point where they're, it's debilitating, like they can't function. Like it's like a lot of them all day long. So that's one place I would start. The second place I would start, if it was a takeaway in me, I would be focused on my sleep a thousand percent for a couple of reasons. You're not going to the gym. You're not gonna eat healthy. You're not going to do all those things if you're freaking exhausted all day long. And I think we all know that as just women with cycles. Like when you're up or down or whatever phase you're in, you're either like eating at three o'clock or eating like crap. So sleep is that like priority that I never prioritized before. And then I guess I would say the third thing is, if I had to look at something in a really big way, I would back up a little bit and throw all those lists aside and just really look at the food. Because at the end of the day, if you can move around with that first, obviously, I think hormone therapy was really great for me. There's no question about it. But if you can figure out ways to make yourself feel good, like alcohol, you know, it was in news and we had late, late nights and a lot of, you know, celebration. But alcohol made me not be able to sleep and inflate my body and it screwed up my sugar levels. So I think that those would be the three things. It would be the sleep, the looking at the food to like, reduce the inflammation part of it. It's not going to take away belly or all that kind of stuff. But I think it's been, it's really helpful. And I think that simplifies things a little bit versus, and then you have to do fiber and then you have to do this and then you have to do that. I think it's too confusing. I really, really do.

Speaker 4:
[30:36] You're amazing.

Speaker 5:
[30:37] You guys are amazing for doing this.

Speaker 4:
[30:39] You guys, if you want more Tamsen, you can follow her at Tamsen Fadal. The Tamsen Show, wherever you get your podcasts is fantastic. And we are actually going to do a giveaway for Tamsen's book in our Substack newsletter this week. So please check out the Substack. You'll be able to apply and get a copy of How to Menopause, which has a whole bunch of stuff on perimenopause as well. It is 400 pages of knowledge. And we really appreciate you. Enjoy your 13 Emmys. Jealous forever. And we weren't here for a long time. We're here for an estrogen filled healthy time. Lady Gang is hosted and produced by Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin, and Jac Vanek with social media support from Colleen Carrera, audio and video editing from Jared Monaco, and additional support from Steve Dellimeter and PodcastOne.