Many women in midlife are told that their only options are prescriptions, hormone therapy, or “just learning to live with it.” But what if healing doesn’t start with another pill—what if it starts with understanding how your whole body works together?

In this episode, Stephanie Shaw is joined by Victoria Maizes, MD, founding executive director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, to explore how women can support healing, energy, and resilience without relying solely on medication. Dr. Maizes brings decades of clinical and academic experience to a conversation that reframes symptoms not as failures, but as signals.

You’ll learn how integrative medicine looks at the whole person—nutrition, movement, stress, sleep, environment, and meaning—rather than isolating symptoms. This approach is especially powerful during menopause, when hormonal shifts can affect energy, weight, mood, and motivation all at once.

Rather than pushing extreme routines or perfection, this episode focuses on practical, sustainable ways to support your body’s natural healing capacity. If you’re exhausted by conflicting advice, tired of “all-or-nothing” health plans, or feeling disconnected from your body’s signals, this conversation offers clarity, compassion, and a grounded path forward.

• Why whole-body healing requires addressing lifestyle, stress, nutrition, and environment—not just symptoms
• How integrative medicine supports energy, metabolism, and vitality during midlife transitions
• The role of food, movement, sleep, and mindset in restoring balance without extreme protocols
• Why women’s bodies often need a different approach to healing during menopause
• How to work with your body’s innate healing ability instead of fighting it

About Our Guest

To learn more about our guest, click here: https://hellohotflash.com/episodes/heal-without-hormones-victoria-maizes

Grief in midlife is different.

When you’re navigating perimenopause and you lose someone you love, the emotional weight doesn’t just sit in your heart—it moves through your body. Sleep changes. Blood sugar swings. Energy drops. Irritability rises. You question your strength. You wonder why you’re not “handling it better.”

In this Tuesday solo episode of Hello Hot Flash, I share personally about losing my last great aunt—the keeper of our family history—and my sister, who fought cancer with courage and strength. And I teach what’s actually happening inside your body when grief and hormonal change collide.

We’ll explore how cortisol, the HPA axis, estrogen shifts, and nervous system dysregulation all interact during seasons of loss. And we’ll look at how faith, lament, and community are not emotional crutches—they are biologically supportive tools that help your body process stress.

This episode will help you stop criticizing yourself about the way you grieve and help you to start understanding your body.

Grief and menopause are both transitions. And both require informed stewardship, not self-judgment.

• What happens to cortisol, blood sugar, sleep, and immunity when you experience grief during perimenopause or post-menopause
• How the HPA axis and fluctuating estrogen can intensify emotional and physical symptoms in midlife
• Why pushing through, staying busy, or “praying harder” can prolong stress physiology instead of resolving it
• How lament, prayer, and safe community relationships help regulate your nervous system
• Practical strategies to support your body, metabolism, and faith during seasons of loss

This is a Tuesday Solo Episode with Stephanie Shaw, host of Hello Hot Flash. Stephanie teaches midlife women how to navigate menopause with science-backed strategy, metabolic clarity, and faith-informed confidence.

To learn more about this episode, click here: https://hellohotflash.com/grief-loss-and-menopause

Listen to the limited-series podcast Christian Women and Menopause: https://hellohotflash.com/christian-women-and-menopause

If you’re eating “healthy,” doing all the right things, and still dealing with stubborn weight, brain fog, fatigue, or digestive issues, your gut—not your willpower—may be the missing link.

In this episode, Stephanie Shaw is joined by board-certified functional health coach Anu Simh, founder of Nine Arms of Wellness, to explore how gut health acts as a command center for hormones, metabolism, inflammation, and energy—especially during perimenopause and menopause.

As estrogen levels decline, the gut microbiome becomes more vulnerable, influencing everything from blood sugar regulation and mood to how energized or depleted you feel after meals. Anu explains why many women feel worse after eating, why restrictive plans often backfire, and how stress, ultra-processed foods, poor sleep, and chronic dieting quietly disrupt gut balance.

Rather than pushing extreme protocols or “all-or-nothing” routines, this conversation offers a more compassionate, sustainable approach to wellness—one that focuses on nourishment, resilience, and understanding how your body actually works in midlife.

If you’re tired of conflicting nutrition advice, overwhelmed by where to start, or frustrated that your body no longer responds the way it used to, this episode will help you stop blaming yourself and start supporting your gut, hormones, and energy with clarity and confidence.

• Why gut health plays a central role in hormone balance, energy, metabolism, and brain function during menopause
• How declining estrogen impacts gut permeability, inflammation, and nutrient absorption
• The difference between probiotics, prebiotics, and fiber—and why all three matter for midlife health
• How stress, poor sleep, alcohol, and ultra-processed foods quietly disrupt the microbiome
• Simple, sustainable ways to support gut health without extreme dieting or perfection

About Our Guest: Anu Simh is a board-certified functional health coach and founder of Nine Arms of Wellness. She specializes in helping busy women improve gut health to support hormones, energy, weight, and brain function. Anu is the author of Microbiome Flourish From Within and trains coaches in a holistic, microbiome-centered approach to wellness.

To learn more about our guest, click here: https://hellohotflash.com/episodes/gut-health-anu-simh

Learn how to feel clear, steady, and in control again: https://hellohotflash.com/assessments

Listen to the limited-series podcast Christian Women and Menopause: https://hellohotflash.com/christian-women-and-menopause

This Episode’s Sponsor is Reverse Health Check out Reverse Health and use promo code HOTFLASH for 10% off: https://www.rgds43jd.com/G1S938/7XDN2/

Show Notes

In this episode of Hello, Hot Flash, we unpack what’s really happening when you feel on edge during perimenopause and post-menopause. You’ll learn how shifting estrogen levels impact your brain, mood, and stress response — and why even small stressors can suddenly feel big. We also talk about the hidden role of blood sugar swings, poor sleep, and nervous system overload in anxiety and emotional reactivity.

Then we layer in something deeper: how faith and science work together. Because understanding the biology of stress is powerful — but inviting God into your reactions is what helps you respond with steadiness instead of impulse.

If you’ve been eating healthy, trying to hold it together, and still wondering why your patience feels thinner than it used to, this conversation will help you stop blaming yourself and start understanding your body.

What You Will Learn

• Why estrogen fluctuations in perimenopause can increase anxiety, irritability, and emotional sensitivity • How blood sugar, sleep loss, and nervous system overload amplify feeling “on edge” • Simple science-backed tools to calm your body before emotions escalate • How to recognize emotional patterns instead of labeling yourself as impatient or dramatic • How faith and practical habits work together to help you respond with steadiness instead of guilt

To listen to this this episode, click here: https://hellohotflash.com/episodes/feeling-on-edge

Additional Resources

• Learn how to feel clear, steady, and in control again: https://hellohotflash.com/assessments
• The limited-series podcast Christian Women and Menopause teaches what the Bible says about stress, anxiety, health, and confidence in midlife. Listen here: https://hellohotflash.com/christian-women-and-menopause
• Hello, Hot Flash Episodes About Sleep: Ep 112, Ep 178, Ep 257

What if menopause wasn’t something to endure—but a story to embrace, reclaim, and even celebrate?

In this powerful and deeply human conversation, storyteller, performer, and cultural icon Satori Shakoor shares her journey from the funk-filled stages of Parliament Funkadelic to the deeply personal, laugh-out-loud honesty of her one-woman film Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale. With warmth, humor, and fearless truth, Satori invites women to step out of silence and into self-expression during midlife.

Through stories of music, identity, aging, and resilience, this episode dismantles shame, challenges outdated narratives about menopause, and replaces them with curiosity, compassion, and courage. If you’ve ever felt confused, exhausted, unseen, or disconnected from your body during this season, this conversation will help you reconnect with your power, your voice, and your story.

What You Will Learn

• Why menopause deserves open conversation, not silence, shame, or dismissal
• How storytelling and humor can help heal emotional, hormonal, and identity shifts in midlife
• The powerful lessons Satori learned from George Clinton about authenticity, confidence, and self-expression
• How reframing aging can restore energy, purpose, and self-trust
• Why embracing your full story—including struggle—can unlock confidence and freedom

Satori Shakoor is a dynamic storyteller, performer, and founder of Detroit’s Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers. A former background singer with George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Satori blends humor, music, and raw honesty to empower women navigating menopause, aging, and identity.

To learn more about our guest, click here:

https://hellohotflash.com/episodes/menopausal-femme-fatale

Learn how to feel clear, steady, and in control again:

https://hellohotflash.com/assessments

Listen to the limited-series podcast Christian Women and Menopause:

https://hellohotflash.com/christian-women-and-menopause

This Episode’s Sponsor is Reverse Health:

Check out Reverse Health and use promo code HOTFLASH for a 10% discount:

https://www.rgds43jd.com/G1S938/7XDN2/

If menopause has turned sleep into a nightly struggle, you’re not imagining it. Midlife insomnia is deeply connected to hormonal shifts, nervous system overload, and rising stress hormones that make rest feel out of reach. This episode offers reassurance, clarity, and practical tools to help you reclaim deeper, more restorative sleep.

We explore why sleep disruption becomes so common during menopause, how declining estrogen and progesterone affect REM sleep, and why poor sleep doesn’t just leave you tired—it impacts metabolism, mood, memory, and long-term health. You’ll also learn why quick fixes like late-night scrolling, snacking, or sleep aids often backfire and worsen the problem.

Blending science with faith, this episode reframes sleep as more than a physical function—it’s a sacred rhythm your body and spirit both need. Through practical strategies and spiritual grounding, you’ll discover how to calm racing thoughts, reduce nighttime cortisol, and create a sleep routine your body can trust again.

This conversation is especially for women who feel exhausted after meals, overwhelmed before bed, discouraged by inconsistency, or stuck in negative self-talk around health and habits. You’ll walk away with permission to stop forcing rest—and start supporting it.

• Why hormonal changes in menopause disrupt REM sleep, increase night sweats, and make falling asleep harder
• How elevated cortisol, inflammation, and poor sleep are linked to weight gain, brain fog, and long-term health risks
• The role of consistent routines, light exposure, meal timing, and sleep environment in restoring circadian rhythm
• Why quick sleep fixes often worsen insomnia and delay melatonin production
• How integrating faith, Scripture, and prayer can calm the nervous system and support deeper, more peaceful rest

Stephanie Shaw is the host of the Hello Hot Flash podcast, where she educates and empowers women navigating midlife and menopause through science-backed health conversations and faith-centered perspectives. She is also the creator of the limited-series podcast Christian Women and Menopause.

Learn how to feel clear, steady, and in control again:

https://hellohotflash.com/assessments

Listen to the limited-series podcast Christian Women and Menopause:

https://hellohotflash.com/christian-women-and-menopause

Reach out to Stephanie: https://hellohotflash.com and scroll to the bottom

Intermittent fasting is often framed as a weight-loss shortcut—but in menopause, it’s far more nuanced than that. For midlife women, fasting can influence blood sugar, inflammation, hormone balance, stress response, and even mental clarity. Done thoughtfully, it can support health. Done aggressively or without context, it can backfire.

In this episode of Hello, Hot Flash, we explore intermittent fasting through both a science-backed and faith-centered lens. You’ll learn how fasting actually works in the body during menopause, which approaches tend to be better tolerated in midlife, and why fasting has historically been used not for control—but for clarity, humility, and alignment.

If you’re eating “healthy” but still struggling with weight, energy crashes, guilt, or confusion about what your body needs now, this episode will help you move away from extremes and toward sustainable rhythms that support both your body and your spirit.

What You Will Learn

• What intermittent fasting is—and why it’s not a diet, cleanse, or quick fix
• How fasting affects insulin, inflammation, metabolism, and cellular repair during menopause
• The most common intermittent fasting methods and how to approach them safely in midlife
• Why cortisol, sleep, and stress regulation matter more than longer fasts for menopausal women
• How fasting can create space for clarity, reflection, and spiritual grounding without shame or pressure

Stephanie Shaw is the host of the Hello Hot Flash podcast, where she educates and empowers women navigating midlife and menopause through science-backed health conversations and faith-centered perspectives. She is also the creator of the limited-series podcast Christian Women and Menopause.

Learn how to feel clear, steady, and in control again:

https://hellohotflash.com/assessments

Listen to the limited-series podcast Christian Women and Menopause:

https://hellohotflash.com/christian-women-and-menopause

If you’ve ever felt like willpower isn’t enough—whether you’re trying to lose weight, stop smoking, or break long-standing habits—this episode offers a completely different approach.

In this conversation, Stephanie Shaw sits down with Rita Black, a clinical hypnotherapist with more than 20 years of experience helping people create lasting change through subconscious reprogramming. Rita explains why traditional dieting, restriction, and “trying harder” often backfire in midlife—and how hypnosis works beneath the surface to realign beliefs, identity, and behavior.

For women navigating hormonal shifts, fatigue, weight resistance, and self-doubt, this episode reframes change as mastery, not punishment. Rita shares why habits like emotional eating, nighttime overeating, or smoking aren’t failures of discipline—but signals from the subconscious mind. When the conscious mind and subconscious beliefs are misaligned, even the healthiest intentions can feel exhausting or impossible to maintain.

You’ll also hear why metabolism, stress, and identity play a powerful role in midlife weight gain—and how hypnosis can help reduce internal resistance, quiet negative self-talk, and restore a sense of control. This episode is especially helpful if you feel overwhelmed, stuck in “all-or-nothing” thinking, or frustrated that what used to work no longer does.

If you’re ready to stop fighting your body and start working with your mind, this episode will shift how you see change—starting from the inside out.

• • Why habits like overeating or smoking are driven by subconscious patterns, not lack of willpower
  • How hypnosis works to realign beliefs, identity, and behavior for lasting change
  • The connection between stress, metabolism, and weight resistance in midlife
  • Why viewing health as mastery—not dieting—leads to more sustainable results
  • How subconscious reframing can reduce self-sabotage and negative self-talk

About Our Guest

Rita Black C.Ht. is a clinical hypnotherapist and leading expert in both the arenas of smoking cessation and weight loss. She is the author of the best selling From Fat to Thin Thinking:Unlock Your Mind for Permanent Weight Loss and the host of the Thin Thinking podcast. To learn more about our guest, click here: https://hellohotflash.com/episodes/stop-smoking-lose-weight

• • • Learn how to feel clear, steady, and in control again. https://hellohotflash.com/assessments
    • The limited-series podcast Christian Women and Menopause teaches what the Bible says about stress, anxiety, health, and confidence in midlife. Listen here: https://hellohotflash.com/christian-women-and-menopause

This episode is sponsored by Reverse Health. Use promo code HOTFLASH for 10% off: https://www.rgds43jd.com/G1S938/7XDN2/