Menopause, a major hormonal transition for women, has not gotten the attention it deserves… until now. Enter Dr. Mary Claire Haver, a board-certified ob-gyn, a certified Culinary Medicine Specialist in medicine nutrition, a Menopause Society Certified Practicioner and the founder of Mary Claire Wellness, a private medical practice that focuses on women in midlife. Dr. Haver has taken the internet by storm with her advice for women on how to navigate the path through hormonal change with...

The things in the hearts of my clients never cease to amaze and inspire me. They want to travel, They want to shift careers, They want to deepen relationships (and maybe start some new ones), They want to create, They want to advocate for the causes they care about, … and so many other things. In other words, they have so much life to live and express. AND… Their biggest barrier to actually doing these things is, of course, themselves. By midlife, we have had a lot of opportunities...

Sleep is where so much of the magic that keeps us healthy takes place and there are so many reasons we struggle to get enough good quality sleep at midlife. Enter Dr. Leigha Saunders who specializes in helping women sleep better so they can spend more time on what matters to them MOST. With over a decade of experience in women’s health, Leigha’s innovative approach to solving sleep struggles intertwines hormone health and nervous system regulation to focus on the deeper reasons so many of us...

One of the most common things I coach midlife women on in my coaching practice is integrity pain, the very real discomfort that shows up mentally, emotionally and even physically, when we are not living as truly authentic and fully expressed humans. There is no shortage of things that cause integrity pain, of course, but in this episode of the Grace & Grit podcast I challenge you to consider how suppression rather than expression may be causing YOU integrity pain. Maybe you struggle...

Losing hormones at midlife can make life challenging in so many ways AND… There are a lot of things we can do to minimize suffering as we transition through pre and post-menopause, which is precisely what we are exploring on this episode of the Grace & Grit podcast. My dear friend and functional diagnostic practitioner, Laini Gray, joins me to discuss: What biochemistry is and why it matters to the quality of the aging process. Some of the most notable biochemical shifts we experience...

Attention, ladies! It’s time to rethink our approach to health and wellness if we want to age power-fully. Our bodies undergo profound changes as we cross the midlife threshold, with the departure of crucial hormones like estrogen and progesterone making us less resilient to stress. Ignoring this reality makes the pursuit of powerful aging an uphill battle. Join me in this episode of the Grace & Grit podcast, where I help you to consider: The physiological shifts that demand our...

Let’s face it—getting older isn’t a negotiable part of life. You’ve got some serious control over how that aging journey unfolds. You could make it a bit of a downer, trudging through the years… OR you could make it a power-filled experience. (let’s do that!) Today’s episode marks the start of a 4-part series on Power-FULL Aging, and we’re digging into why change, especially during midlife, is an invitation to level up. Whether you’re switching up your job, refreshing your relationships,...

To say that most women I have coached over the years have “a complicated relationship with their bodies” would be a massive understatement. In fact, it is a rarity that I work with a woman who has a healthy relationship with her body. What is a healthy relationship with the body? Well, that is precisely the topic of this week’s podcast episode. In this episode, specifically, I cover: Body beliefs and how they impact every dimension of your life. How to edit the story you are telling...

I have been traveling in the health and wellness space for nearly 30 years (yep! I got my first job as a fitness trainer when I was 18, and I just celebrated my 47th birthday). The wellness industry is the ONLY field I have ever worked in, AND I am fairly certain this industry would not even exist if more professionals were teaching the REAL work of behavior change. You can buy an endless supply of programs promising to change your life, but at the end of the day, there is really only 1...

She’s Baaaacck… Nervous system expert Irene Lyon that is. If you have been a long-time listener of the Grace & Grit podcast, you are probably familiar with Irene Lyon. She does the MASSIVELY important work of helping people to better understand how their nervous system works AND develop skills that allow them to more easily regulate their nervous systems. I repeatedly invite Irene back to the show because while I teach a lot of skills to my own clients to help them better manage...

The years between 40-65 can be wildly disorienting.  Not only are midlife women dealing with a changing hormonal landscape but the landscape of life is changing dramatically, as well. In essence, there are a lot of “microstressors” at play in this phase of life that can add up to some serious breakdown mentally, physically and emotionally if one does not learn skills that can help unpack some of this stress. In this episode of the Grace & Grit podcast, I invite you to consider the toll...

If there were only 1 lifestyle change a client could make to improve her health and well-being, I would focus on sleep. Why? Because sleep is where the magic of health takes place. While we sleep, our brains cache out, our systems detox, our hormones recalibrate, our tissues repair, and our immune system is fortified. AND… sleep can be really freaking difficult when you are in the perimenopausal or postmenopausal years. In fact, this is a topic I seem to spend A LOT of time coaching...

Are you living your life by default or by design? Relatively or proactively? Your answer carries significant consequences for your overall well-being and happiness. Reactions have a place, certainly. What an awesome thing it is that the human brain can react in ways that help us improve our lives, sometimes even save our lives. That being said, the human brain can just as easily react in ways that hurt us. How the human brain reacts largely depends on our practices, which is why you must...

Pausing to look back at the road you have traveled… this day, this week, this year… is such a power-filled practice. Why? Because it shows you how you have been showing up in your life and how you might want to navigate the journey forward a little differently. In this episode of the Grace & Grit Podcast, I share with you 5 of my biggest takeaways from the past year and how I am using that to propel my life forward in 2024. Have a listen and, if it helps you in some small (or big)...

Self-imposed limitations aren’t always a bad thing. Establishing limits for yourself can actually be a kindness; a form of self-respect and even self-care. This episode of the Grace & Grit podcast explores: The dark and bright side to self-imposed limitations. Why you owe it to yourself to set limits on how you spend resources like time, energy and mental bandwidth. Constraint as a form of self-respect and even self-love. How to say “no” in a world that is begging you to say “yes” to...

“Shoulding” all over yourself is never good for your mental and emotional health and the holiday season is ripe with expectations around how you “should” be spending them. So, this episode of the Grace & Grit podcast invites you to consider how you want to spend the holiday season this year even though what you discover may go against the grain of tradition and family expectations. Topics explored in this episode include: Extending yourself the grace of making decisions that protect...

Years ago I watched a documentary called Biggest Little Farm, which tracked the rumbles and rises of a couple who purchased a desolate farm in California and restored it to a thriving ecosystem. The film was such a powerful reminder that nature does not heal by focusing on one thing, but rather by tending to the wellness of MANY things. Midlife wellness is an ecosystem of sorts too, composed of a multitude of ever-changing layers. It is not enough to address one part of this ecosystem to...

Truth be told, I was super resistant to hosting a retreat for my clients despite the many requests I had received to organize one over the years. I am SO glad I relented and, in this week’s episode of the Grace & Grit Podcast, I share some of the biggest revelations that came from bringing 16 clients together for 4 days on a 3000-acre ranch here in Montana. More specifically, in this episode, I share: Why it took me 20 years to finally say YES to hosting a retreat, How I knew it was...

Constantly reacting to your emotional landscape can create a lot of unintended damage in your life. AND… if you have spent a lifetime allowing your emotions to run wild, it can be oh-so-hard to NOT react. In this episode of the Grace & Grit podcast, I introduce one of the most powerful exercises I have ever learned to manage my own emotional landscape when I am feeling particularly reactive. I have taught this simple practice to hundreds of clients over the years and it has been equally...

In the realm of midlife, we encounter a myriad of transitions. These shifts encompass changes in careers, relationships, living environments, and even our own biology. They present the midlife woman with a unique opportunity to engage in a powerful dance with transformation. In this captivating episode of the Grace & Grit podcast, we unravel the profound potential concealed within the liminal space of midlife. More than just acknowledging its existence, we equip our listeners with...

If your confidence is feeling flatter than a pancake on a Sunday morning, DO NOT miss this podcast episode. I work with women every day who are feeling a bit (or very) stagnant in their lives, so I teach them (or sometimes reteach them) 4 key practices to reignite their personal power (aka confidence). Even better, I have created a companion guide that walks you through each practice so you can reignite your own confidence in 24 hours or less. (Check out the podcast so you can find out how...

The state of your nervous system is a very big deal. Why? Because your nervous system governs literally every system in the human body and massively influences how you show up in the world. More conversations around nervous system health are being had thanks to people like Irene Lyon, my guest in this week’s episode of the Grace & Grit podcast. Irene and I have talked extensively on this show about the workings of the nervous system and even the impact nervous system regulation has on...

This episode is part of the Grace & Grit Summer Remix Series which started with episode 330. This series will reintroduce episodes that have previously been published as reminders that self-development is not a one-and-done job but rather an ongoing practice. Enjoy! Some health coaches heavily focus on nutrition, others on fitness, and others on mindfulness. While the work that I do as a coach addresses all of these things in depth, the thing I am MOST passionate about teaching clients...

This episode is part of the Grace & Grit Summer Remix Series which started with episode 330. This series will reintroduce episodes that have previously been published as reminders that self-development is not a one-and-done job but rather an ongoing practice. Enjoy! Most women I work with have spent a lifetime trying to prove or earn their worth, but worthiness is not something you need to hustle for. Worthiness is baked into your humanity. That being said, worth does need to be...