Ep 168 The Self-Care Lie You've Been Told (And What Actually Fills Your Cup in Midlife)

Epigenetics for women: have you ever caught your reflection and wondered if your mother's health story is already written into you? Your genes are the hardware. How they get expressed is up to you. Welcome to Thriving in Midlife: The Women's Guide to Wellness, Longevity & Hormones After 40. This is your trusted space to cut through the noise, ditch the overwhelm, and finally feel extraordinary in your body, mind, and life. I'm your host, Kellie Lupsha, longevity strategist, speaker, and founder of The Activated Women's Circle, and I'm delighted to be your guide to vitality. In this episode, I break down the science of turning your genes on and off in plain language, and why perimenopause and menopause are the most important window to do it. If last week's conversation with Erin Tocci got you thinking about your own healing, this is the science underneath it. In this episode, you'll learn: Why identical twins drift apart as they age, and why genetics explains under 10% of how long we live What NRF2 is, the master switch in every cell that turns on your own antioxidants How to protect and build your mitochondria so low energy and brain fog stop feeling like "just age" What hormesis is, and why a little good stress helps your body heal while chronic stress wears it down What an 8-week lifestyle study found about lowering biological age

Welcome to "Thriving in Midlife" The Women’s Guide to Wellness, Longevity & Hormones After 40. This is your trusted space to cut through the noise, ditch the overwhelm, and finally feel extraordinary in your body, mind, and life. Are you ready to stop pushing through life and start living it with intention, energy, and ease? Then let's get started. I'm your host, Kellie Lupsha, a high-performance health coach, who is delighted to be your guide to vitality. What happens when a health diagnosis completely changes the way you see your life? In this powerful episode, I sits down with Erin Tocci, a mother of three who was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2022 and later discovered metastatic disease. Erin shares the journey that transformed how she approaches her health, her environment, her relationships, her nervous system, and the way she lives each day. Rather than focusing on a quick fix, Erin talks about becoming intentional about the many small choices that can support overall wellness, from sleep and nervous system regulation to movement, rest, boundaries, and creating a healthier home environment. Most importantly, Erin shares the mindset that helped her navigate an incredibly difficult season and why she believes we can become active participants in our own health journey.

Welcome to "Thriving in Midlife" The Women’s Guide to Wellness, Longevity & Hormones After 40. This is your trusted space to cut through the noise, ditch the overwhelm, and finally feel extraordinary in your body, mind, and life. Are you ready to stop pushing through life and start living it with intention, energy, and ease? Then let's get started. I'm your host, Kellie Lupsha, a high-performance health coach, who is delighted to be your guide to vitality. Testosterone is often discussed as a hormone connected primarily to men, libido, or sexual function. But what if there is a much bigger conversation we need to have about testosterone and women’s health? In this conversation, we explore why testosterone may play an important role in the body, how it connects with other hormones, and why muscle and strength training deserve more attention during midlife. We also talk about testosterone testing, the difference between total and free testosterone, different delivery methods, and why individualized monitoring matters. Then we take the conversation a step further and explore peptides and growth hormone signaling as another pathway being discussed by some practitioners. What You’ll Learn * Why Testosterone Matters for Women. We explore why testosterone deserves to be part of the broader conversation around women’s health, including its relationship with the brain, muscles, bones, heart, energy, and overall well-being. *The Connection Between Muscle and Testosterone. Strength training is a major part of this conversation. We discuss how working larger muscle groups can create signals that support the body’s natural hormone pathways and why every woman can find some form of resistance training that fits her abilities. * Why More Testosterone Is Not Always Better. More is not automatically better when it comes to hormones. We discuss the importance of individualized dosing, monitoring, and working with an appropriate healthcare professional when considering hormone therapy. * Total Testosterone vs. Free Testosterone. We break down the difference between total and free testosterone and why looking beyond one number may provide more context when evaluating how testosterone is being produced and utilized in the body. *Testosterone, Health Span, and Longevity. We connect the testosterone conversation to the bigger picture of health span versus lifespan and explore why maintaining strength, mobility, hormone balance, and overall health may matter as we move through midlife and beyond. Key Takeaways “The body is built by design, and it’s beautiful by design.”“Muscle is the best bang for your buck when it comes to overall health and longevity.” -Kellie Lupsha The more testosterone we use, the stronger everything gets.”“Instead of looking for an outside source, get the muscle going and see what your body can make.” Heidi My product recommendations My “Shop My” link: https://shopmy.us/shop/kellielupsha?tab=latest

Welcome to "Thriving in Midlife" The Women’s Guide to Wellness, Longevity & Hormones After 40. This is your trusted space to cut through the noise, ditch the overwhelm, and finally feel extraordinary in your body, mind, and life. Are you ready to stop pushing through life and start living it with intention, energy, and ease? Then let's get started. I'm your host, Kellie Lupsha, a high-performance health coach, who is delighted to be your guide to vitality. In this episode, Dr. Heidi and I explore what happens when you take personal responsibility for your health and begin looking at the systems underneath your symptoms. From energy and mitochondria to stress, hormones, metabolism, movement, and recovery, Kellie and Heidi explain why your body may be working against you and what can happen when you start giving it the signals it needs to thrive. This isn't about perfection or completely overhauling your life overnight. It's about getting activated, taking the next right step, and building momentum. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: Why personal responsibility is the foundation of lasting change and why motivation alone isn't enough to create momentum. Why chasing symptoms can keep you stuck and how looking at the systems underneath your symptoms can reveal a different path forward. How stress and a dysregulated nervous system can affect your metabolism, energy, sleep, and overall ability to move forward. Why your mitochondria are central to your energy and metabolic health, and how food, movement, sleep, recovery, and stress send signals to your cells. Why doing more isn't always the answer, and why you can't out-supplement, out-hormone, or out-workout an underactivated system.

Welcome to "Thriving in Midlife" The Women’s Guide to Wellness, Longevity & Hormones After 40. This is your trusted space to cut through the noise, ditch the overwhelm, and finally feel extraordinary in your body, mind, and life. Are you ready to stop pushing through life and start living it with intention, energy, and ease? Then let's get started. I'm your host, Kellie Lupsha, a high-performance health coach, who is delighted to be your guide to vitality. In Part One, we talked about your responsibility to generate energy through rest, boundaries, nervous system support, and intentional choices. Now, in Part Two, we’re going deeper into what is happening inside your body at a biological and cellular level. Kellie breaks down three key areas that influence how your body creates, stores, and uses energy: blood sugar, muscle, and mitochondria. If you want more energy, better metabolic health, and a stronger body for your future self, this conversation gives you practical areas to start focusing on today. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: Why blood sugar is more than a disease-prevention conversation and how it affects your daily energy, fuel, and metabolic health. How your first meal of the day can influence your blood sugar throughout the day, including why prioritizing protein and healthy fats matters. Why muscle is your energy bank and an organ of longevity, especially as women naturally lose muscle as they age. How strength training can help protect and build your muscle reserve, and why you don't need hours in the gym to make it count. What your mitochondria have to do with your energy at the cellular level and why protecting your cellular environment matters.