Episodes

  • 40: Your Pelvic Floor Is the Missing Piece in Your Perimenopause Care with Marlene Handler Part 1

    40: Your Pelvic Floor Is the Missing Piece in Your Perimenopause Care with Marlene Handler Part 1
    Jul 29 2026

    In this episode of Mornings with Megan, we are talking about one of the most overlooked pieces of perimenopause care: the pelvic floor.

    Leaking, painful sex, prolapse, constipation. These are being dismissed in seven-minute appointments across the country. Women are being sent to three different specialists, and told it is just part of getting older. It is not. Most of it is treatable. Much of it is preventable. And there is an entire specialty dedicated to helping you with exactly this.

    My guest is Marlene Handler, a licensed pelvic floor occupational therapist and founder of The Lifted Lotus in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. After being dismissed by a well-known OB-GYN in New York City despite being a healthcare provider herself, Marlene went back to school to specialize in pelvic floor rehabilitation. She came out the other side without pelvic pain, without leaking, with a sex life she loves, and she now helps other women do the same.

    This is Part 1. In the Perimenopause Matrix, the Regulate pillar is about how your nervous system holds tension and stress in the body. The Connect pillar is about intimacy, pleasure, and sexual health. The pelvic floor sits at the center of both, and this episode is everything I wish someone had told me sooner.

    We cover:

    • What the pelvic floor actually is and what it governs across bladder, bowel, sexual health, arousal, and even lymphatic flow
    • Why the OT lens is different from the PT lens, and why the biopsychosocial framework changes the care women receive
    • How perimenopause care has become fragmented across specialists who are not connecting the dots and not referring to pelvic floor therapy
    • Why leaking, painful sex, and prolapse have been normalized for generations and what it costs women who keep grinning and bearing it
    • The shame that keeps women from making that first phone call, and how Marlene uses her own story to meet her clients where they are

    Part 2 drops next week. We are getting into what actually happens in a first pelvic floor therapy session, how to navigate insurance, and three things Marlene wants every woman to do for her pelvic floor this week.

    If any of this is landing for you, you do not have to live with it.

    👉 Full show notes


    About the Perimenopause Matrix:
    The Matrix is my framework for navigating perimenopause across 6 pillars: Fuel, Move, Recharge, Regulate, Connect, and Clean. But this episode isn't about optimizing all 6 - it's about choosing the ONE that matters most in YOUR current reality.


    🧬 Ready to stop guessing?

    I help women interpret their labs so they can make nutrition decisions based on data, not diet trends.

    👉 Book your personalized Lab Review here

    🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download the free Perimenopause Decoder . It helps you understand what's happening during perimenopause so you can make decisions from a place of clarity, not chaos.


    📱 CONNECT WITH ME:

    Website⁠
    ⁠Instagram⁠
    ⁠LinkedIn⁠
    Facebook ⁠
    Youtube

    You're not crazy. You're not broken. You're not alone. And you absolutely deserve to feel like yourself again.

    Listen to Mornings with Megan Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday!

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    21 mins
  • 39: What the Scale Isn't Telling You: Strength Training with Noelle McKenzie (Part 2)

    39: What the Scale Isn't Telling You: Strength Training with Noelle McKenzie (Part 2)
    Jul 22 2026

    What the Scale Isn't Telling You: Strength Training with Noelle McKenzie (Part 2)

    Part of the Move and Regulate Pillars of the Perimenopause Matrix™

    If you have ever felt frustrated that the number on your scale will not move, even though your pants fit differently and you feel stronger, this episode is going to change how you think about that number completely.

    This is part two of my conversation with Noelle McKenzie, co-founder of Leading Edge Personal Trainers. We get into research out of the SWAN study, the largest long-term study on women in midlife, and why insulin resistance rises through the menopause transition independent of age or weight. Noelle breaks down exactly how building muscle helps your body handle that shift.

    We get into:

    • Why hot flashes are linked to rising insulin resistance, independent of weight
    • How muscle acts as your body's own defense system for blood sugar
    • Why the scale can stay the same or go up while body composition improves
    • What training for the life you want, not the body you want to see actually means
    • Why runners and cardio lovers need strength training for bone density
    • How to know the difference between a normal off day and a sign something needs attention


    This episode is part of the Move and Regulate pillars of the Perimenopause Matrix, a six-pillar framework for understanding and navigating perimenopause.

    If you have not listened to part one yet, start there first. It covers muscle as a metabolic organ, why bulking up overnight is basically impossible, and how progressive overload actually works.


    Connect with Noelle: leadingedgeny.com | @bodybynoelle | @leadingedgeny


    ⁠👉 Full Episode Show Notes⁠


    Subscribe and leave a review. It helps other women in perimenopause find the show.


    About the Perimenopause Matrix:
    The Matrix is my framework for navigating perimenopause across 6 pillars: Fuel, Move, Recharge, Regulate, Connect, and Clean. But this episode isn't about optimizing all 6 - it's about choosing the ONE that matters most in YOUR current reality.

    🧬 Ready to stop guessing?

    I help women interpret their labs so they can make nutrition decisions based on data, not diet trends.

    👉 Book your personalized Lab Review here

    🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download the free Perimenopause Decoder . It helps you understand what's happening during perimenopause so you can make decisions from a place of clarity, not chaos.


    📱 CONNECT WITH ME:

    Website⁠
    ⁠Instagram⁠
    ⁠LinkedIn⁠
    Facebook ⁠
    Youtube


    You're not crazy. You're not broken. You're not alone. And you absolutely deserve to feel like yourself again.


    Listen to Mornings with Megan Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday!


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    23 mins
  • 38: Podcast Muscle Is Your Retirement Plan: Strength Training with Noelle McKenzie (Part 1)

    38: Podcast Muscle Is Your Retirement Plan: Strength Training with Noelle McKenzie (Part 1)
    Jul 15 2026

    Muscle Is Your Retirement Plan: Strength Training with Noelle McKenzie (Part 1)

    Part of the Move Pillar of the Perimenopause Matrix™

    If you have ever been afraid that lifting weights will make you bulky, or you have been doing the same workout for years without seeing changes in your strength, this episode is for you.

    In this episode, I sit down with Noelle McKenzie, co-founder of Leading Edge Personal Trainers, to talk about strength training in perimenopause and midlife. This is part one of a two-part conversation covering why muscle is called the longevity organ, why you cannot accidentally build significant muscle, how to know when it is time to increase your weight, and why fueling your body matters as much as the workout itself.

    We get into:

    • Why muscle is the longevity organ, and what it does for metabolic health, blood sugar, and bone density
    • Why bulking up overnight is simply not possible
    • The exact signs that tell you it is time to increase your weight or reps
    • What a mesocycle is and how long to stick with the same program
    • The real difference between getting stronger and building muscle
    • Why appetite alone is not a reliable guide for how much to eat

    This episode is part of the Move pillar of the Perimenopause Matrix, a six-pillar framework for understanding and navigating perimenopause.

    Connect with Noelle: leadingedgeny.com | @bodybynoelle | @leadingedgeny

    Subscribe and leave a review. It helps other women in perimenopause find the show.

    👉 Full Episode Show Notes


    About the Perimenopause Matrix:
    The Matrix is my framework for navigating perimenopause across 6 pillars: Fuel, Move, Recharge, Regulate, Connect, and Clean. But this episode isn't about optimizing all 6 - it's about choosing the ONE that matters most in YOUR current reality.


    🧬 Ready to stop guessing?

    I help women interpret their labs so they can make nutrition decisions based on data, not diet trends.

    👉 Book your personalized Lab Review here


    🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download the free Perimenopause Decoder . It helps you understand what's happening during perimenopause so you can make decisions from a place of clarity, not chaos.


    📱 CONNECT WITH ME:

    Website⁠
    ⁠Instagram⁠
    ⁠LinkedIn⁠
    Facebook ⁠
    Youtube


    You're not crazy. You're not broken. You're not alone. And you absolutely deserve to feel like yourself again.


    Listen to Mornings with Megan Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday!

    Apple
    Spotify
    Amazon
    Youtube
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    25 mins
  • 37: The Real Reason You Wake Up at 2am Part 2

    37: The Real Reason You Wake Up at 2am Part 2
    Jul 8 2026

    In this episode of Mornings with Megan, we are getting into the 2 a.m. wakeup and what is actually driving the sleep disruption so many women experience in perimenopause and midlife.

    This is part two of my conversation with Morgana Lakatos-Hayward, certified perimenopause health coach, bestselling author, and founder of This Isn't a Diet. If you haven't listened to Episode 36 yet, start there.

    What we cover:

    • Why sleep belongs at the top of the priority list, above nutrition and exercise
    • The cortisol and blood sugar mechanism behind 2 a.m. wakeups, and why it is so often mistaken for anxiety
    • What deep sleep is doing for the brain, hormones, and metabolism, and why protecting it is non-negotiable
    • Morning routine anchors for blood sugar and cortisol regulation
    • The 90-Day Shed framework and why three full cycles matter for sustainable results
    • What both of us would say to our younger selves about the years spent trying to figure it out alone


    👉 Full Episode Show Notes


    This episode connects to the Recharge and Regulate pillars of the Perimenopause Matrix, because sleep and nervous system regulation are not separate from the weight and hormone conversation. They are the foundation of it.


    Connect with Morgana:

    Instagram: @shedwithmorgana

    DM her the word PODCAST for 30% off the 90-Day Shed program.


    About the Perimenopause Matrix:
    The Matrix is my framework for navigating perimenopause across 6 pillars: Fuel, Move, Recharge, Regulate, Connect, and Clean. But this episode isn't about optimizing all 6 - it's about choosing the ONE that matters most in YOUR current reality.


    🧬 Ready to stop guessing?

    I help women interpret their labs so they can make nutrition decisions based on data, not diet trends.

    👉 Book your personalized Lab Review here

    🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download the free Perimenopause Decoder . It helps you understand what's happening during perimenopause so you can make decisions from a place of clarity, not chaos.


    📱 CONNECT WITH ME:

    Website⁠
    ⁠Instagram⁠
    ⁠LinkedIn⁠
    Facebook ⁠
    Youtube

    You're not crazy. You're not broken. You're not alone. And you absolutely deserve to feel like yourself again.

    Listen to Mornings with Megan Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday!

    Apple
    Spotify
    Amazon
    Youtube
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    28 mins
  • 36: Why Eating Less Is Making It Harder to Lose Weight Part 1

    36: Why Eating Less Is Making It Harder to Lose Weight Part 1
    Jul 1 2026

    In this episode of Mornings with Megan, we are talking about one of the most common and frustrating experiences in perimenopause: doing everything right and still watching your body change.

    I sat down with Morgana Lakatos-Hayward, certified perimenopause health coach, bestselling author, and founder of This Isn't a Diet, to dig into the real biology of why midlife weight loss is so different, and why the thing most of us reach for first, eating less, is often making it harder.

    What we cover:

    • Why eat less, move more was designed for male biology and backfires for women in midlife
    • The diet culture loop and why women keep cycling through the next thing
    • What restriction actually does to the female body hormonally
    • The three main drivers of stubborn belly fat in perimenopause: insulin, estrogen fluctuation, and chronic high cortisol
    • Why nervous system regulation belongs in the weight loss conversation
    • Practical tools for vagal tone, boundaries, and getting the body into a safety response


    👉 Full Episode Show Notes


    This episode connects to the Fuel and Regulate pillars of the Perimenopause Matrix, the framework I use with all of my clients to address root causes rather than symptoms.

    Part two drops next Wednesday. We go deep on sleep, the 2 a.m. wakeup, and exactly what cortisol and blood sugar are doing in the middle of the night.

    Connect with Morgana:

    Instagram: @shedwithmorgana

    DM her the word PODCAST for 30% off the 90-Day Shed program.


    About the Perimenopause Matrix:
    The Matrix is my framework for navigating perimenopause across 6 pillars: Fuel, Move, Recharge, Regulate, Connect, and Clean. But this episode isn't about optimizing all 6 - it's about choosing the ONE that matters most in YOUR current reality.


    🧬 Ready to stop guessing?

    I help women interpret their labs so they can make nutrition decisions based on data, not diet trends.

    👉 Book your personalized Lab Review here


    🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download the free Perimenopause Decoder . It helps you understand what's happening during perimenopause so you can make decisions from a place of clarity, not chaos.


    📱 CONNECT WITH ME:

    Website⁠
    ⁠Instagram⁠
    ⁠LinkedIn⁠
    Facebook ⁠
    Youtube

    You're not crazy. You're not broken. You're not alone. And you absolutely deserve to feel like yourself again.

    Listen to Mornings with Megan Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday!

    Apple
    Spotify
    Amazon
    Youtube
    Show More Show Less
    18 mins
  • 35: Put the List Down for a Second: A Summer Permission Slip for the Woman Who Keeps Forgetting to Put Herself On It

    35: Put the List Down for a Second: A Summer Permission Slip for the Woman Who Keeps Forgetting to Put Herself On It
    Jun 24 2026

    This one is a solo episode, and it is a little different.

    No research roundup. No guest. Just me, pulling up a chair and actually seeing you for a minute before the summer disappears.

    Before we fly through the next three months, I want to ask you something: what have you done this year that you feel good about? Not what's left on the list. What's already here.

    In this episode we cover:

    • Why summer is genuinely hard for women in perimenopause, from navigating food sensitivities at someone else's cookout to the very real shift in how our bodies handle alcohol
    • Why your body is not broken. Perimenopause changes the way you metabolize alcohol, respond to sugar, and handle certain foods. That is information, not failure.
    • The permission slip you didn't know you needed: to say no, leave early, bring your own food, skip the wine, and feel whatever you are actually feeling this summer
    • The Recharge pillar of the Perimenopause Matrix in its simplest form: five minutes that belong to no one else
    • Why you are lovable right now, not once you fix the sleep, nail the protein, figure out the hormones, or get it all together

    ⁠👉 Full Episode Show Notes⁠


    "You are not a project. You are not a before picture. You are lovable right now, exactly as you are, in the middle of the mess."

    This is the episode for the woman who is doing great and has no idea.

    New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one.


    About the Perimenopause Matrix:The Matrix is my framework for navigating perimenopause across 6 pillars: Fuel, Move, Recharge, Regulate, Connect, and Clean. But this episode isn't about optimizing all 6 - it's about choosing the ONE that matters most in YOUR current reality.


    🧬 Ready to stop guessing?

    I help women interpret their labs so they can make nutrition decisions based on data, not diet trends.


    👉 Book your personalized Lab Review here

    🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download the free Perimenopause Decoder . It helps you understand what's happening during perimenopause so you can make decisions from a place of clarity, not chaos.


    📱 CONNECT WITH ME:

    Website⁠⁠

    Instagram⁠⁠

    LinkedIn⁠

    Facebook ⁠

    Youtube

    You're not crazy. You're not broken. You're not alone. And you absolutely deserve to feel like yourself again.

    Listen to Mornings with Megan Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday!

    Apple

    Spotify

    Amazon

    Youtube
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    10 mins
  • 34: Overwhelmed in Perimenopause? Here Is Exactly Where to Start

    34: Overwhelmed in Perimenopause? Here Is Exactly Where to Start
    Jun 17 2026
    If you have ever searched "what to do about perimenopause" and closed the tab more overwhelmed than when you opened it, this episode is for you.I am breaking down exactly where I start with every single client, and it is not a 12-step plan. It is two pillars of the Perimenopause Matrix that, when you get them moving, shift everything else.But before we get into the how, we need to talk about the story we have been told about menopause. In Japan, it is considered a renewal. In India, social liberation. In China, a second spring. In the West, we got loss. A systematic review of 13 studies found that women with negative attitudes toward menopause actually experience more symptoms during perimenopause. The story you carry matters, and we are rewriting it.Then we get practical. This episode covers the Recharge pillar (sleep) and the Fuel pillar (blood sugar): why they are the most foundational pieces of the Matrix, how they feed each other when they are going wrong, and what one small change this week actually looks like.What we cover:Why your cultural narrative about menopause affects your symptom experience, and the research behind itThe six pillars of the Perimenopause Matrix and why Recharge and Fuel come firstThe metabolic chain reaction that starts with one bad night of sleepHow estrogen fluctuations in perimenopause change how your body handles food and blood sugarHow to set a bedtime (yes, a bedtime) and use it as a hormonal health toolWhat a protein and fiber breakfast actually looks like in real life👉 ⁠Full Episode Show Notes⁠Episodes mentioned:Ep. 20 Reading Your Body: What a CGM Teaches You About Metabolic Health in Perimenopause7: Why You Can’t Walk Straight (And Other Sleep Deprivation Stories)Ep. 16 Why “Normal” Labs Don’t Mean You’re Fine: Metabolic Health in Perimenopause Part 1Ep. 22 Moving Smarter in Perimenopause: The Full Framework Part 1Ep. 23 The Missing Piece for Women Who Already Work Out: Why Resistance Training Changes Everything Part 2Ep. 24 The Thing Killing as Many Women as Breast Cancer That Nobody Is Talking About Part 3⁠Breakfast Personality Quiz⁠About the Perimenopause Matrix:The Matrix is my framework for navigating perimenopause across 6 pillars: Fuel, Move, Recharge, Regulate, Connect, and Clean. But this episode isn't about optimizing all 6 - it's about choosing the ONE that matters most in YOUR current reality.🧬 Ready to stop guessing?I help women interpret their labs so they can make nutrition decisions based on data, not diet trends.👉 Book your personalized Lab Review here🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download the free Perimenopause Decoder . It helps you understand what's happening during perimenopause so you can make decisions from a place of clarity, not chaos.📱 CONNECT WITH ME:Website⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠Facebook ⁠YoutubeYou're not crazy. You're not broken. You're not alone. And you absolutely deserve to feel like yourself again.Listen to Mornings with Megan Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday!AppleSpotifyAmazonYoutube#perimenopause #perimenopausematrix #perimenopausesymptoms #hormonehealth #sleepandmenopause #bloodsugarbalance #womenover40 #morningswithmegan #insulinresistance #howtosleepbetter
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    14 mins
  • 33: What Actually Moves Your Cholesterol (And Why It's Probably Not Saturated Fat) Part 2

    33: What Actually Moves Your Cholesterol (And Why It's Probably Not Saturated Fat) Part 2
    Jun 10 2026
    Last week I told you that the 6% saturated fat guideline is not what it appears to be. This week we get into the part that actually matters: what does the research say really moves your cholesterol numbers?This episode lives in the Fuel pillar of the Perimenopause Matrix. Fuel is about how your body uses energy, and for a lot of women in perimenopause, the lipid picture is one of the first places the Fuel pillar starts to signal.I put every major lever side by side with real numbers: saturated fat restriction, psyllium fiber, oat beta-glucan, and statins. I walk through the two key trials in detail, including one where the same dietary change caused a 54-point LDL drop in some people and a 30-point rise in others. I explain why LDL-C and ApoB do not always tell the same story, and why that gap matters for 20 to 30% of women. And I share my own experiment, including the part where doing everything right made my LDL go up by over 30 points.What you will learn:The LDL-C versus ApoB distinction and why it changes how you read your lipid panelHow the RISSCI-1 and GET-READI trials actually performed, including the findings that rarely get mentionedHow fiber, exercise, and saturated fat restriction compare head to headWhat the Fuel pillar framework tells us about lipid management in perimenopauseHow to run a clean personal experiment to find out how your body actually respondsThis is Part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to Episode 32 first.👉 ⁠Full Episode Show Notes⁠About the Perimenopause Matrix:The Matrix is my framework for navigating perimenopause across 6 pillars: Fuel, Move, Recharge, Regulate, Connect, and Clean. But this episode isn't about optimizing all 6 - it's about choosing the ONE that matters most in YOUR current reality.🧬 Ready to stop guessing?I help women interpret their labs so they can make nutrition decisions based on data, not diet trends.👉 Book your personalized Lab Review here🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download the free Perimenopause Decoder . It helps you understand what's happening during perimenopause so you can make decisions from a place of clarity, not chaos.📱 CONNECT WITH ME:Website⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠Facebook ⁠YoutubeYou're not crazy. You're not broken. You're not alone. And you absolutely deserve to feel like yourself again.Listen to Mornings with Megan Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday!AppleSpotifyAmazonYoutube
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    20 mins