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Health & Fitness

Hit Play Not Pause

Hit Play Not Pause

Perimenopause and menopause hit active women differently. We have a different lifestyle and different goals. And we know our bodies. Whether you run and hike or do CrossFit and ski (or a little of everything!), you’ve had a way of eating and exercising that worked…until the menopause transition, when it all goes out the window as body composition changes, fatigue, body aches, sleepless nights, hot flashes, brain fog, mood swings, and low mojo blindside you out of the blue—despite doing everything right. Your doctor may (or may not) help with hormone replacement therapy. But what about all the active stuff you love? You’re already exercising and eating well. What you want is to feel and perform like you used to. That doesn’t mean fasting, swearing off carbs for life, or just slowing down. It means adjusting your nutrition, training, recovery, and mindset to work with your changing physiology as you hit this phase of life. And we’re here for it.

At Hit Play Not Pause, we know the potential of women in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond, because we talk to elite athletes and everyday active women who are still hitting personal bests along with world-renowned sports dietitians, researchers, medical and menopause specialists to help you understand what’s happening under the hood during the menopause transition and more importantly, what you can do about it—from hormone therapy to heavy lifting and everything in between—to feel and perform your best.

Host Selene Yeager is a health and science journalist with 30 years’ experience and more than two dozen books to her name. She also lives an active life as a former Ironman triathlete and professional mountain bike racer who still rides, runs, paddles, hikes, lifts, and through her work at Feisty Menopause helps others do the same.

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  • 313 episodes
  • Updated Wednesday

Episodes313

Newest first
  • May 5, 2021 · 1 hr 1 min

    Train Smart & Avoid Injury with Claire Callaghan B.Pty MSc (Episode 30)

    It’s hard to chase big goals and live your best life when you’re getting sidelined by injuries, which is a struggle many women face during the menopause transition. Research is only beginning to uncover how our sex hormones keep our muscles and connective tissues healthy and resilient and how the menopausal transition can increase the risk for plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis and so many other painful “itises.” This week’s guest, physiotherapist Claire Callaghan, B.Pty MSc, specializes in just that--helping you be pain free and achieve your goals, whatever they may be. Claire has been a Chartered Physiotherapist for over 25 years. Her primary focus is on the physical health and wellbeing of women and their families. She has a particular interest in how the musculoskeletal adapts and changes over the course of women’s lives, and in particular menopausal health. In her clinical work, she supports active women across many sports with management of aches, pains and injuries and maintenance of physical activity and exercise. You can learn more about her and her work at https://www.clairecallaghan.com. **Support the Podcast** InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

  • Apr 28, 2021 · 1 hr 6 min

    Fine Tune Your Fueling with Dina Griffin, RDN (Episode 29)

    Does your diet make you feel good? How’s your energy? Are you performing and recovering well? How do you really feel? If we’re honest, many of us don’t even really know. Spending so many years on the high carb, low carb, no carb, low fat, high fat, keto, paleo, intermittent fasting Merry-Go-Round, it can be easy to lose sight of how you’re actually feeling and performing. And that’s before you throw the quest for weight loss--and what we think we “need” to weigh--into the picture. Ultimately, many of us end up fueling an idea, not a body. This week, longtime sports dietitian and endurance athlete Dina Griffin digs into all of these issues, as well as many others like fat burning, metabolic flexibility, power to weight and more. Dina Griffin, RDN, CSSD, CISSN is the Owner and Founder of The Nutrition Mechanic, a nutrition coaching company based out of Boulder, Colorado. She works with all levels of adult endurance athletes to optimize health and vitality. She blends science-based and evidence-informed strategies along with “real life” considerations to devise personalized nutrition plans. She has a particular passion for working with women’s health, peri- and post-menopause, masters athletes, ultra athletes, and supporting individuals who have a metabolic condition. You can learn more about her and her services at www.nutritionmechanic.com. **Support the Podcast** InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

  • Apr 21, 2021 · 59 min

    Life Starts Now with Tania Dalton (Episode 28)

    How many times have you pushed back a big goal until you got “fitter” or “leaner”? How many times have you looked at an exciting challenge and thought, “That’s not for me.”? Tania Dalton spent most of her pre-menopausal life battling with body image issues, disordered eating, and crises of confidence, which kept her on the sidelines instead of engaging in the sports and activities she was otherwise eager to try. Now at 52, Tania is taking on those challenges full steam ahead, training for her first ever full Ironman triathlon. At this point in her menopause journey, she is also finally, truly happy with the body she is in. She shares her journey to get to this point on this week’s show. Tania is a personal trainer, healthy aging coach, and one of the original Menopause Feisties. You can learn more about her and follow her journey at https://taniadalton.com/ **Support the Podcast** InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

  • Apr 14, 2021 · 1 hr 6 min

    Guts & Glory with Stasi Kasianchuk, RDN (Episode 27)

    Gut health means more than just good digestion—though that’s certainly an important part of it! Your gut microbiome also impacts your overall health, body composition, and athletic performance. It’s also changing all the time and the menopausal transition definitely alters it…and not necessarily for the better. That’s why it’s especially important to build a diverse, healthy gut microbiome through the menopausal transition and beyond. This week’s guest, sports dietitian and clinical exercise physiologist Stasi Kasianchuk RDN, is an expert in all things “guts and glory” and offers great advice for nurturing your healthiest, richest gut microbiome. Stasi works specifically with peri and postmenopausal women as the director of Health Coaching at Gennev.com, an online medical and health resource for menopausal women. You can learn more about her work and gut microbiome testing through her private practice at enrichhealthconsulting.com **Support the Podcast** InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

  • Apr 7, 2021 · 1 hr 16 min

    Reach New Heights with Nancy Feagin and Maggie Odette (Episode 26)

    The hormonal havoc of menopause can leave us with higher anxiety, less muscle, and a decline in power—all things that are unhelpful for sport in general, but especially if you’re scaling a vertical rock formation a dizzying distance from the ground. This week’s guests, Nancy Feagin and Maggie Odette, both badass rock climbers in their fifties, are not only overcoming the obstacles that menopause can bring to stay in the game, but are actually achieving some of their best climbs ever. They share their journey and best practices on the show this week. Nancy is a climbing legend. She’s been in movies and documentaries and has literally done it all: ice climbing, traditional climbing, sport climbing, bouldering, and mountaineering, including Summiting Everest in 2001 as the 11th American woman. She was also one of two in the first all female team to climb the Nose of El Capitan (Yosemite National Park) in a day, and she climbed her first 5.14 (aka super elite) sport climb at the age of 52. Maggie took up climbing in 1998 and has dedicated herself to consistent improvement. At the age of 44, she claimed her first 5.14a. She quit her job, married her climbing partner and started living on the road with him climbing full time. In 2019, at the age of 49, Maggie redpointed (free-climbing a route in one go from the ground to the finish after practicing it) her first 5.14b, T-Rex, in the Pipe Dream cave of Maple Canyon, UT. She climbed her two hardest routes to date at ages 49 and 50. You can follow Maggie’s adventures at https://gravitychronicles.com/ You can learn more about the blood flow restriction training they reference in the show at https://www.camp4humanperformance.com/, which is owned by strength and conditioning specialist Dr. Tyler Nelson.

  • Mar 31, 2021 · 1 hr 1 min

    Screw Diet Culture with Intuitive Eating’s Evelyn Tribole, RDN (Episode 25)

    Diets do not work. More than 30 years of diet culture has proven that point. Yet, we’re still bombarded day in and day out with books, websites, and fitspo pros promising rapid weight loss and making everyone feel bad about their bodies. Menopausal women are currently a popular target for many of these quick fixes and diet traps. Enough already. This week’s guest Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S has been pushing back against diet culture since 1995, instead offering a systematic approach to tune into yourself and nourish your mind, body and soul with food without all the baggage and stress that many of us associate with eating. No more counting, tracking, and angsting over what should be a natural, enjoyable activity. That’s as liberating as it gets. Evelyn is the author of 9 books and co-author of the best-selling Intuitive Eating, a mind-body self-care eating framework with 10 principles, which has given rise to over 125 studies to date showing benefit. Her brand new book is Intuitive Eating for Every Day: 365 Daily Practices & Inspirations to Rediscover the Pleasures of Eating. You can learn more about Evelyn and buy her new book at evelyntribole.com **Support the Podcast** InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

  • Mar 24, 2021 · 1 hr 5 min

    Keep Your Active Heart Healthy with Dr. Tamanna Singh (Episode 24)

    Everyone knows chest pain is a symptom of heart trouble. What too many people still don’t know is that women are more likely than men to experience other symptoms like nausea or vomiting, unexplained shortness of breath, profound inexplicable fatigue, jaw or back pain, or no symptoms at all. American Heart Association data from two million people shows that not only are women’s symptoms recognized less readily, but also they are less likely to receive the same preventative care as men, and they get lifesaving procedures less frequently and later during the course of a heart attack than men. When it comes to exercise, our hearts even remodel differently than men’s. Yet many doctors don’t recognize these important differences. Is your head exploding yet? This week’s guest, clinical cardiologist (and long distance runner and cyclist), Tamanna Singh, M.D., helps us cut through the confusion. Tamanna is a sports cardiologist with a specialty interest in female athletes. She is Co-Director of the Sports Cardiology Center at Cleveland Clinic and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. Her research interests include comparing the effects of a plant-based diet vs. an all-inclusive diet on heart health and defining the ideal diet for optimal athletic performance and cardiovascular risk reduction. You can learn more about her at https://my.clevelandclinic.org/staff/23916-tamanna-singh You can find the cardiovascular disease risk calculator here: http://tools.acc.org/ASCVD-Risk-Estimator-Plus/#!/calculate/estimate/ **Support the Podcast** InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

  • Mar 17, 2021 · 1 hr 7 min

    Ease Your Aches & Pains with The Ready State’s Dr. Kelly Starrett (Episode 23)

    Tight hips, achy knees, weak glutes, grouchy back, stiff ankles...the list of aches, pains, and niggles that pop up seemingly out of nowhere can feel overwhelming, especially once we hit the menopausal transition and our hormones aren’t keeping our muscles and connective tissues as resilient and supple as they once were. This week’s guest, Dr. Kelly Starrett of The Ready State offers insights and advice for regaining (and retaining) the healthy, pain-free mobility your body was meant to have so you are ready for ache-free action. Kelly is a coach, a doctor of physical therapy, a two-time New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, and is the co-founder along with his wife Juliet of The Ready State, the world's most comprehensive collection of guided movement, mechanics, and mobility instructional videos. His clients include professional athletes in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB. He also works with Olympic gold-medalists, Tour de France cyclists, world and national record-holding Olympic lifting and power athletes, CrossFit Games medalists, ballet dancers, military personnel, and competitive age-division athletes. You can learn more about his work at TheReadyState.com. **Support the Podcast** InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

  • Mar 10, 2021 · 1 hr

    Healing Moves with Yoga Therapist Carol Krucoff (Episode 22)

    Yoga is more than something you do--that one or two classes a week where you attempt a full pigeon pose. It’s a way you live--a strengthening of the tether that connects your mind, body, and soul. Practiced daily, it can improve every aspect of your physical and mental well being, especially when you need that help most, like during menopausal and midlife years. This week’s guest, Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT, shares how yoga quite literally saved her life and how she applies what she’s learned to help others. Krucoff works as a yoga therapist at Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, North Carolina and has written numerous books, including Yoga Sparks: 108 Easy Practices for Stress Relief in a Minute or Less and Relax into Yoga for Chronic Pain. You can learn more about her work at https://healingmoves.com/ Learn more about the Feisty Womxn's Performance Summit at womxnsperformancesummit.com **Support the Podcast** InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com

  • Mar 3, 2021 · 54 min

    Stoke Your Motivation with Dr. Lisa Lewis (Episode 21)

    Dragging yourself through the motions more often than not these days? You’re not alone. The brain chemistry changes that occur during menopausal years can cause your mojo, motivation, and mental game to go MIA. But don’t despair. This week’s guest, psychologist Dr. Lisa Lewis is here to help you get your groove back. Spoiler alert: If you care that you’re not motivated, you’re actually motivated. You just need a little help accessing it from another angle. And she’s here to show you how. Dr. Lewis has a background in sport and exercise psychology and is especially well versed in the topic of motivation and all the many forms it takes—yes there’s way more than one—and how athletes and active women can find the one that works for them at any given time. You can learn more about her work at https://drlewisconsulting.com/ Register for the Feisty Womxn's Performance Summit at womxnsperformancesummit.com **Support the Podcast** Use the code FeistyMenopause at nuunlife.com & nuuncanada.com

  • Feb 24, 2021 · 1 hr 16 min

    Save Your Sleep with Sleep Evangelist Dr. Sophie Bostock (Episode 20)

    Menopause and midlife can send dueling wrecking balls straight into your sleep architecture, leaving you tossing and turning unable to get to sleep, waking up with racing thoughts at 3 a.m., and generally depriving you of the rest and regeneration you need. This week’s guest, Dr. Sophie Bostock, the sleep scientist—and self-proclaimed sleep evangelist—is here to help you pick up the pieces of your broken sleep and get a good night’s rest. Dr. Bostock has recently spent 5 years working on Sleepio, an award-winning digital sleep improvement program. She also has published sleep research in collaboration with the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute in Oxford and other international researchers showing the impacts of better sleep on mental health and performance. She has developed a systematic approach to improving sleep hygiene and getting your circadian rhythms back in sync so you can enjoy sound, uninterrupted sleep. You can learn more about her work at: https://www.thesleepscientist.com/about

  • Feb 17, 2021 · 1 hr 2 min

    Become a Fat Burning Machine with Gale Bernhardt (Episode 19)

    As active women, we use carbs to fuel our training and racing. But there’s a limit to how many are good for our health (as well as performance), especially as we hit menopause and become more insulin resistant. This week’s guest, coach Gale Bernhardt has been on a mission to help her athletes dial in their nutrition and training to be better fat burners while also having the metabolic flexibility to use those sugars when they need them. That plan includes eating a diet filled with whole food fats and carbohydrates, as well as a healthy dose of special sprint sessions she calls Miracle Intervals that every menopausal athlete should try. Gale has been working with athletes since 1974 and is a two-time Olympic cycling and triathlon coach. She is the author of several training books, including Bicycling for Women and is the co-author of Become a Fat-Burning Machine. You can find out more about her work at https://galebernhardt.com/ and check out some Miracle Intervals at https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/all-out-miracle-intervals-to-improve-average-power-for-endurance-events/ **Support the Podcast** Use the code FeistyMenopause at https://nuun.life/feisty-podcast for 30% off your entire order

  • Feb 10, 2021 · 1 hr 13 min

    Strong Starts in the Mind with Lisbeth Darsh (Episode 18)

    What keeps you going when the curtains start to fall at mile 19 of a marathon? How do you get up and charge again 3 days into a 6 day stage race? What makes the difference between picking up a kettlebell or a bottle of wine at the end of a long, hard, tiring day? Mental strength. The muscle between your ears is what keeps you going when the going gets hard. The opposite is true, too. When life is kicking your ass, being physically strong helps you muster the mental strength you need to persevere. This week’s guest Lisbeth Darsh, author of Strong Starts in the Mind talks all about mental strength, how to build it, and how to use it, especially when menopause knocks you back on your heels. Lisbeth is a former CrossFit executive and aircraft maintenance officer on fighter jets in the U.S. Air Force. Today, she is a proponent of Street Parking, a new workout system that makes CrossFit type training more accessible to people without access to a gym or a lot of equipment. You can learn more about her at https://wordswithlisbeth.com/ and more about Street Parking at https://streetparking.com/ Hit Play Not Pause is proud to be supported by Nuun Hydration in 2021! Show your support and use the code FeistyMenopause at nuunlife.com for 30% off all of Nuun's amazing products.

  • Feb 3, 2021 · 1 hr 1 min

    Going Big & Staying Balanced with Lynda Rowan (Episode 17)

    Chasing big athletic goals can supercharge your life. But how do you chase and accomplish those goals without dropping the ball on everything else, especially as you’re also trying to navigate all the changes that menopause and midlife can bring? This week’s guest, long time endurance athlete and coach Lynda Rowan is here to help. As a dual citizen of both Australia and the U.S., Lynda has competed in Sprint, Olympic, 70.3 and Ironman triathlons and has represented both countries at ITU World Age Group Championships. She has been coaching sport for 30 years and knows what it takes to get it all done. We talk about how to balance endurance and intensity; how to fit in strength training; how to properly rest and recover, and most importantly, how to do it all without coming undone. Hit Play Not Pause is proud to be supported by Nuun Hydration in 2021! Show your support and use the code FeistyMenopause at nuunlife.com for 30% off all of Nuun's amazing products.

  • Jan 27, 2021 · 58 min

    Sex Solutions with Dr. Lauren Streicher (Episode 16)

    Time for “the talk.” Seriously, we get sex ed when we go through puberty to know what to expect. But then we hit the other end of the hormonal spectrum and...crickets. Loss of libido and painful sex are real issues during menopausal years and, all too often, women suffer in silence. Issues like vaginal dryness don’t just hurt your sex life (though that’s bad enough!), they also just plain hurt when you’re trying to live an active life. None of that is particularly conducive to feeling and performing your best. This week’s guest Dr. Lauren Streicher, author of Sex Rx- Hormones Health and Your Best Sex Ever, is one of the top authorities on the topic of menopause and sexual health. Dr. Streicher is the founder and medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Menopause and the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Health, which includes programs on Sexual Medicine and Vulvar and Vaginal Health. She’s been featured on Oprah, Good Morning America, Nightline, 20/20, Today, and the Meredith Vieira Show, just to name a few. She dishes out straight talk on sex solutions to help improve your “SexAbility” through menopause and the rest of your life. You can learn more about her and check out her work at DrStreicher.com

  • Jan 20, 2021 · 1 hr 6 min

    Breaking Down Body Image & Eating Disorders with Dr. Christy Greenleaf (Episode 15)

    The words we say to ourselves. The way we look at ourselves. The way we fuel, or often don’t fuel, ourselves. They’re a product of so many things--culture, society, ingrained images and messages. And too often they hurt our health, performance, and general well being. Exercising, playing sports, and being active can help, but they also can be the source of some of these issues, or make them worse. And when we hit our menopausal years and our bodies start taking on a life of their own, seemingly no matter what we do? We can go straight into a tailspin. This week’s guest, Dr. Christy Greenleaf, of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, is here to help. Christy’s research focuses on the psychosocial aspects of weight, physical activity, body image, and disordered eating. As a lifelong figure skater, she knows a thing or two about all these issues on a very personal, as well as professional, level. We dig in on strategies to break the cycle of body shame, disordered eating, and negative self talk for good. You can find out more about her at https://uwm.edu/healthsciences/directory/greenleaf-christy/

  • Jan 13, 2021 · 1 hr 5 min

    Overcoming the Mental Agony of Injury with Heidi Armstrong (Episode 14)

    Injuries don’t just hurt physically. They can rock you emotionally, as they keep you away from the activity you love, isolate you from your training buddies, and do a number on your self image, especially as we get into our menopausal years and injuries can pop up with increasing frequency. Your doctor or PT help with the physical stuff. But what about the rest? That’s where this week’s guest Heidi Armstrong, founder of The Injured Athlete’s Toolbox comes in. Heidi has more than 10 years of experience dealing with her own injuries following a devastating mountain bike crash, and has conducted hundreds of hours of research with athletes dealing with their own. She is also one of a few experts in the world who helps athletes—many of whom are perimenopausal or menopausal—overcome the mental fallout of injury, regain their confidence, and stop the emotional rollercoaster. You can find out more about her and her services at https://injuredathletestoolbox.com/

  • Jan 6, 2021 · 51 min

    Time to Shine with Kacy Duke (Episode 13)

    Ready to create your menopause adventure? Yes, adventure. Now is the time to shine, says this week’s guest, wellness coach and fitness trainer Kacy Duke, who teaches people how to use the right mindset, motivation, and movement to reach their goals. Named one of New York City’s best trainers, Kacy has been the personal trainer to a long list of A-listers including Gwen Stefani, Kate Beckinsale, Julianna Moore, Dakota Johnson, Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington, and Lenny Kravitz, just to name a few. Now at 65 years of age, she’s growing her business with a health and fitness subscription service called Age Defying Physique, because, as she says, we shouldn’t deny our age—it’s a privilege to live a long life—but we can definitely defy what people think we can do at any given age. Kacy talks about her own journey through menopause and how she helps women navigate this huge transition in their lives, including improving body image and mindset to live proud and out loud. Consider this your pep talk for 2021.

  • Dec 30, 2020 · 1 hr 2 min

    **REBROADCAST** Joy Goals with Kristen Dieffenbach (Episode 9)

    Missing your usual mojo and motivation? Wrestling with body image issues? Want a little help setting meaningful goals that go beyond how fast you can run a 5K? You are not alone! This week, exercise scientist and mental performance expert Dr. Kristen Dieffenbach addresses these topics and more as we take a deep dive into the competitive psyche during menopause and how to cope with the psychological challenges that come at this time of life.Kristen is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant with the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. She is also a Peaks Coaching Group master coach; a USA Cycling Power-certified coach; a USA Track and Field coach, and works as the director of the Center for Applied Coaching and Sport Science at West Virginia University. You can find more about her work at https://appliedcoaching.wvu.edu/faculty/kristen-dieffenbach

  • Dec 23, 2020 · 58 min

    **REBROADCAST** Happy Vaginas with Dr. Mary Jane Minkin (Episode 4)

    Mary Jane is clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale University School of Medicine. She has been a North American Menopause Society Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP) since 2002, and has been in private practice in New Haven, Connecticut for more than 35 years. Mary Jane has won myriad awards for excellence in her field and is an authority on all things related to hormone therapy, which she addresses in detail during this show. She’s super informative, straight shooting, an avid exerciser herself, and often hilarious. Be sure to head over to our Feisty Menopause Facebook or Instagram page to check out the photo on the show tile on. Mary Jane is posing in front of a row of some very interesting old gynaecological instruments… made of glass. For a deeper dive on all things women’s health, check her out at http://madameovary.com/