BETTER! with Dr. Stephanie Estima | Strength, Body Composition & Perimenopause cover art

BETTER! with Dr. Stephanie Estima | Strength, Body Composition & Perimenopause

BETTER! with Dr. Stephanie Estima | Strength, Body Composition & Perimenopause

Written by: Dr. Stephanie Estima Perimenopause & Women's Fitness Expert
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Most women are told that feeling exhausted, gaining weight, losing muscle, and watching their body change after 40 is just what happens. Dr. Stephanie Estima is here to tell you that's the wrong map. BETTER is the podcast for women in perimenopause and menopause who want to build real strength, understand their hormones, and take body composition seriously — without the diet culture nonsense and without the fear. Dr. Stephanie is a chiropractor, brain health expert, and one of the few voices in the menopause space who leads with fitness, muscle, and what your body is actually capable of. Each week she brings the world's leading researchers, clinicians, and practitioners into conversation — then translates the science into something you can use on Monday morning. Topics include strength training in perimenopause, body composition after 40, HRT and hormonal health, bone density, metabolic health, injury prevention, sleep, nutrition, and the kind of training that actually works when your body is changing. This is not a podcast about surviving menopause. It's about building the strongest, most capable version of yourself — at the exact moment most women are told to expect less.2019 - 2026 All Rights Reserved Alternative & Complementary Medicine Exercise & Fitness Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Hygiene & Healthy Living
Episodes
  • Perimenopause Doesn't Cause ADHD, It Unmasks It: Reclaim Your Brain with Dr. Jolene Brighten

    Perimenopause Doesn't Cause ADHD, It Unmasks It: Reclaim Your Brain with Dr. Jolene Brighten
    Oct 5 2026

    Were you ever told you were "so smart, but" on a report card? So smart, but too chatty. So smart, but not living up to your potential. Dr. Jolene Brighten, naturopathic endocrinologist and author of the forthcoming ADHD and Women, unpacks why ADHD in women looks nothing like the stereotype, and why so many women aren't diagnosed until their late 30s or 40s, often only after their own child gets diagnosed first.

    If you've ever felt like the strategies that used to work for you have quietly stopped working, this episode might give you language for something you've been carrying alone for a long time.

    🎤 TOPICS COVERED

    • ADHD in women: symptoms, diagnosis, and why it's missed for decades
    • Why ADHD looks different in women versus men
    • Perimenopause and ADHD: why symptoms get worse in midlife
    • The five hormonal stages that worsen ADHD (puberty, pregnancy/postpartum, perimenopause, postmenopause, premenstrual phase)
    • Executive dysfunction explained: time blindness, task paralysis, and emotional dysregulation
    • ADHD masking in women: people-pleasing, perfectionism, and burnout
    • Estrogen, progesterone, and the ADHD brain: how hormones affect dopamine and focus
    • PMDD and ADHD: the connection between your cycle and your symptoms
    • Progesterone sensitivity and hormone replacement therapy for ADHD women
    • PCOS, PMOS, and the androgen-ADHD connection
    • ADHD and genetics: is ADHD hereditary
    • Nutrition for ADHD: gut health, protein, and the three foods Dr. Brighten recommends weekly
    • Exercise and the ADHD brain: lactate, BDNF, and why movement improves focus
    • Best workouts for ADHD: strength training, sprints, and mobility work
    • Creatine, saffron, bacopa, and other supplements for ADHD
    • Sleep and ADHD: delayed sleep phase syndrome and the default mode network
    • Late-diagnosed ADHD in women: why so many women are diagnosed in their late 30s and 40s

    📎 RESOURCES MENTIONED can be found at https://drstephanieestima.com/podcasts/ep489

    📦 OUR SPONSORS

    PIQUE LIFE - Experience Transformative Results. Start your daily ritual today and elevate your morning and evening routine at https://piquelife.com/better

    TIMELINE - Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a great price when you go to https://timelinenutrition.com/better with code BETTER.

    BERKELEY LIFE - Restore your nitric oxide and get your pre-menopausal self back. Go to https://berkeleylife.com and use code BETTER20 to save.

    JUST THRIVE HEALTH - Just Thrive's spore-based probiotics are the ones I trust. Take the Feel Better Challenge and save on your first order at https://justthrivehealth.com/better with code BETTER.

    ****************************
    P.S. When you're ready, here are two ways Dr. Stephanie can help you:

    Subscribe: The Mini Pause — My weekly newsletter packed with the most actionable, evidence-based tools for women 40+ to thrive in midlife.

    Build Muscle: LIFT — My progressive strength training program designed for women in midlife. Form-focused, joint-friendly, and built for real results.


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 hr and 23 mins
  • Hypermobile? Yes, You Can Strength Train (Here's How to Do It Safely)

    Hypermobile? Yes, You Can Strength Train (Here's How to Do It Safely)
    Sep 28 2026
    If you can touch your thumb to your forearm, your elbows bend backward when you lock them out, or you've spent your life being called "double-jointed" like it's a party trick — this episode is your explainer.Dr. Stephanie walks through what hypermobility actually is, the three-tier spectrum from simple joint laxity to Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder to hEDS, and why the standard fitness advice (more stretching, more mobility work, taking it easy) is often exactly backwards for this population. The real issue was never flexibility — it's instability.Dr. Stephanie also explains safe strength training when your passive stabilizers can’t protect your end range, why controlled range is better than maximum range, and the specific training variables (tempo, isometrics, balance work) that build the neuromuscular control hypermobile bodies lack. She also covers nutrition considerations (protein, vitamin C, collagen timing) and recovery pacing, and reframes the idea that losing muscle while hypermobile makes you safer.TOPICS COVEREDWhat hypermobility is and how it's screened (the Beighton score)The three tiers: joint hypermobility, Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD), and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS)Why hypermobility itself isn't the problem — instability isPassive stabilizers vs. active stabilizers, explainedWhy estrogen increases ligament laxity (and why women are more affected than men)Proprioceptive deficits: why hypermobile joints don't send a clear "too far" warning signalWhy strength training is a primary treatment strategy, not a nice-to-haveTraining in controlled range (about 80-90% of passive range) instead of maximum rangePractical cueing for squats, presses, and overhead workControlled eccentrics, isometrics, and balance/proprioceptive trainingWhy passive static stretching is generally counterproductive for this populationJoint-by-joint programming (why shoulders and hips need the most attention)Nutrition: protein targets, vitamin C, and collagen peptide timingRecovery: pacing over pushing, sleep, and how to tell soreness from a warning signWhy chasing "skinny" is especially risky for hypermobile women in midlifeRESOURCES MENTIONED https://drstephanieestima.com/podcasts/ep488OUR SPONSORSALGAECALListeners can try AlgaeCal Collagen and get a specail discount off their first purchase through our special offer. Go to: https://drstephanieestima.com/algaecalONESKINFor a limited time, try their new OS-01 FACE RICH CREAM using code BETTER at https://oneskin.co/BETTEROXFORD HEALTHSPANA whole-food spermidine supplement that supports cell renewal and healthy aging. Save at https://OxfordHealthspan.com/DrStephanie with code DrStephanie.BIOPTIMIZERSYour digestion can take a hit in midlife, but you don't have to suffer. Learn how enzymes can help at https://bioptimizers.com/better and use code BETTER to get 10% off your order. BEARABYFind a more natural way to support deeper, calmer sleep. Go to https://bearaby.com and use code BETTER10 on any Bearaby weighted blanket purchase. ****************************P.S. When you're ready, here are two ways Dr. Stephanie can help you:Subscribe: The Mini Pause — My weekly newsletter packed with the most actionable, evidence-based tools for women 40+ to thrive in midlife.Build Muscle: LIFT — My progressive strength training program designed for women in midlife. Form-focused, joint-friendly, and built for real results. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    34 mins
  • No Time for the Gym? How to Rack Up Movement Minutes and Protect Your Bone Density with Katy Bowman

    No Time for the Gym? How to Rack Up Movement Minutes and Protect Your Bone Density with Katy Bowman
    Sep 21 2026
    What if the guilt you feel for skipping the gym is based on a flawed concept? Biomechanist Katy Bowman challenges the notion that exercise is merely a modern, recent way to meet our body’s movement needs. She introduces her ”movement diet” framework, which includes movement calories (volume), movement macronutrients (walking, carrying, climbing, hand use, big-body work, active rest), and movement micronutrients (joint work often overlooked).Katy also encourages playing cards on the floor instead of the couch, sprinting with your kids at the park instead of on a track, why bunions and hallux valgus develop from years of subtle gait compensation, not "just aging," and why fixing the small stuff often matters more than adding another workout. Remember your bones and joints don’t distinguish between loads from a barbell and carrying groceries; they only care that the load occurred.If this episode has you wanting more than an hour with Katy, she's leading an in-person retreat, Dynamic Aging: Movement Through Menopause & Beyond, October 2–4 2026. https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/retreat/presenter/katy-bowman/dynamic-aging/🎤 TOPICS COVEREDExercise vs. physical activity vs. movement (the three circles)Fitting movement into an exhausted eveningThe movement diet: macros, micros, and why movement is a nutrientThe Movement Pyramid, bottom to topShould you push through pain, or back off?Why "it's just age” is usually a movement-pattern problemDriving, automatic transmissions, and the pelvic floor connectionHadza activity levels vs. modern sedentary lifeFinding movement inside a "fixed" daily scheduleKaty's own movement diet, and "Night Bitch"What bone actually needs: a biomechanist's view on bone density"Loads, not modes": Katy's rowing routine and the vitamin D/tofu analogyReframing sprinting: racing your kids at the parkMovement snacks and redesigning your environment"Convenience isn't saving you time — it's saving you movement"Feet, bunions, and how gait patterns formNot "over the hill": choosing uphill in midlife📎 RESOURCES MENTIONED https://drstephanieestima.com/podcasts/ep487📦 OUR SPONSORSJUST THRIVE HEALTH - Your gut runs the show — take the Feel Better Challenge and save on your first order at https://justthrivehealth.com/better with code BETTER.SUNLIGHTEN - Boost recovery, heart health, and balance with sauna therapy. Go to https://get.sunlighten.com/DRSTEPHANIE and use code DRSTEPHANIE for a special discount.TIMELINE - Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a great price when you go to https://timelinenutrition.com/better with code BETTER.PIQUE LIFE - Experience Transformative Results. Start your daily ritual today and elevate your morning and evening routine at https://piquelife.com/better ****************************P.S. When you're ready, here are two ways Dr. Stephanie can help you:Subscribe: The Mini Pause — My weekly newsletter packed with the most actionable, evidence-based tools for women 40+ to thrive in midlife.Build Muscle: LIFT — My progressive strength training program designed for women in midlife. Form-focused, joint-friendly, and built for real results. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 hr and 24 mins
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