What actually changes when you start a GLP-1?

In Part 2 of our GLP-1 conversation, Jess shares her experience starting Zepbound (tirzepatide) after years of navigating PCOS, insulin resistance, prediabetes, and recurrent precancerous endometrial changes — and why deciding to try medication was a lot more complicated than simply wanting to lose weight.

We talk about the surprisingly complicated process of accessing GLP-1 medications, what Jess has noticed since starting Zepbound, and how things like food noise, hunger, fullness, alcohol, carbonation, and cravings can feel different.

Then we get into the messier, more nuanced stuff: inflammation, blood sugar, stress, sleep, diet culture, restriction, hunger cues, protein, fiber, muscle loss, hair loss, and learning to listen to your body when its signals may not feel the way they used to.

We also talk about the tension between intentional weight loss and trying not to fall back into restrictive or disordered patterns — because changing your body and taking care of your body aren't always as psychologically simple as they sound.

And, naturally, an intelligent conversation about fiber and constipation eventually turns into a detailed discussion of the Bristol Stool Chart. Because apparently this is who we are. 💩😂

CHAPTERS
00:00 🌪️ Welcome to the Chaos
00:47 💉 Jess’s GLP-1 Journey
05:49 🩺 Choosing a GLP-1 & Navigating Access
09:07 ✨ What Jess Has Noticed So Far
19:08 🔥 Inflammation, Sugar, & Food Choices
25:52 🧠 Hunger Cues, Restriction, & Finding Balance
31:57 🤔 Concerns: Muscle Loss, Hair Loss, & Side Effects
39:07 💩 Poop, Constipation, & the Bristol Stool Chart
45:51 🤏 Teeny Gripe, Tiny Delight
47:48 💜 Stay Curious. Stay Compassionate. Stay Loca.

⚠️ CONTENT NOTE: This episode includes discussion of weight, weight loss, body image, dieting and restriction, disordered eating patterns, medication side effects, and other health-related topics. Please take care of yourself while listening and skip anything that isn’t helpful for you.

🩺 DISCLAIMER: Living Luteal Loca is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We’re sharing our own experiences and perspectives, and GLP-1 medications are not right for everyone. Talk with a qualified healthcare professional about your individual health and treatment options.

🎵 Music: “Posy” — licensed through Soundstripe via Riverside

💜 Stay curious. Stay compassionate. Stay loca.

Is taking a GLP-1 the “easy way out”? And what actually changes when you start one?

In Part 1 of our GLP-1 conversation, Katie gets candid about what led her to try semaglutide after years of living in a bigger body, navigating insulin resistance, and wrestling with the idea that she should be able to do this without medication.

We talk about weight without pretending the scale tells the whole story, the surprisingly big shift in “food noise,” and what it’s like to relearn your body’s hunger cues when they suddenly don’t sound the way they used to.

Then we put on our science hats (briefly-ish 😅) to break down semaglutide vs. tirzepatide, Ozempic vs. Wegovy, Mounjaro vs. Zepbound, GLP-1 and GIP receptors, insulin and glucagon, and why these medications can affect far more than just how full your stomach feels.

We also get into the complicated stuff: dopamine, reward, mental health, body image, and the disordered eating thoughts that can show up even when you’re trying to approach weight and health from a compassionate place.

And this is only Part 1. In Part 2, Jess shares her own GLP-1 experience, and we get into side effects, food and alcohol changes, nutrition, GI adventures, and—because this is Living Luteal Loca—eventually, poop. 💩

⚠️ CONTENT NOTE: This episode includes conversations about weight, weight loss, body size, food noise, disordered eating thoughts, and mental health. Please take care of yourself however you need to while listening.

00:00 🌪️ Welcome to the Chaos
02:33 🌙 Cycle Season Check-In
06:06 🥂 What’s in Your Chalice?
10:39 💉 Let’s Talk About GLP-1s
11:23 🤔 Why Katie Started a GLP-1
17:03 ⚖️ Is This the “Easy Way Out”?
22:00 🔇 Food Noise & New Hunger Cues
23:28 🧬 Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, & How GLP-1s Work
29:18 🧠 GLP-1s, Dopamine, & Disordered Eating

We love you, but we’re not your doctors. We’re sharing our own experiences with GLP-1 medications and our understanding of the information available to us—not giving individualized medical advice.

Living Luteal Loca is for education and entertainment and isn’t a substitute for individualized medical or mental health care. Please work with your own healthcare team for advice specific to you.

🎵 Music: “Posy” — licensed through Soundstripe via Riverside

What if your inner critic isn’t just being an asshole? What if, underneath all that criticism, it’s actually trying to protect you?

In Part 2 of our conversation about the inner critic, we’re digging into when that voice gets louder—and what might be happening underneath it. We talk about the times our critics tend to show up most, from the luteal phase and “high-def week” to stress, new situations, big events, and the pressure to have everything figured out.

Then we try a deceptively simple question: Would you say that to someone you love? Because apparently telling your friends they haven’t earned rest yet sounds a little different than saying it to yourself. 🙃

We also get into faith, fear, and the messages we grew up with about taking thoughts captive, spiritual attacks, anxiety, and what it can look like to revisit those ideas as adults. There’s room here for faith, biology, personal responsibility, curiosity, and the reality that each of us gets to make sense of those pieces in our own way.

Finally, we explore what the inner critic may actually be trying to protect, how old wounds and grief can shape that protective voice, and why meeting ourselves with compassion may get us somewhere criticism never could. We talk about reconnecting with younger versions of ourselves, the people we were before we learned to be so damn hard on ourselves, and remembering that our worth doesn’t disappear when we screw up, rest, take up space, or exist in a body that doesn’t meet someone else’s expectations.

And because apparently we needed an emotional palate cleanser after all that, we debut Teeny Gripe, Tiny Delight—featuring bug bites, hearing aids, butterflies, baby bunnies, and a jingle Katie is very proud of. 😂

CHAPTERS

00:00 👋 Opening
00:33 🍂 When the Critic Gets Louder
05:43 💜 Would You Say That to Someone You Love?
10:59 🙏 Faith, Fear, & Taking Thoughts Captive
18:54 🛡️ What Is the Critic Protecting?
21:36 🫶 From Self-Criticism to Self-Compassion
28:58 ✨ Teeny Gripe, Tiny Delight
33:06 👋 Closing

RESOURCES MENTIONED

🧠 Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine

🧠 Curious About Your Own Saboteurs? Take the Free Assessment

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE

Some links may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Living Luteal Loca! 💜

A QUICK NOTE

Living Luteal Loca is for education and entertainment and isn’t a substitute for individualized medical or mental health care. Please work with your own healthcare team for advice specific to you.

🎵 Music: “Posy” — licensed through Soundstripe via Riverside

Why are we sometimes so much harder on ourselves than we would ever be on someone else?

In Part 1 of our conversation about the inner critic, we’re getting curious about that running commentary in our heads: what it sounds like, where it comes from, and what it might be trying to do for us.

We talk about Sage vs. Saboteur, Wise Mind, toxic positivity, and the difference between useful self-reflection and criticism that slides into shame. Then we get personal about what our own inner critics actually say—from “I’m not good enough” and “I’m taking up too much space” to perfectionism, anxiety, people-pleasing, and the fear of disappointing other people.

We also dig into shame vs. embarrassment, vulnerability, and why having safe people who can see the messy parts of us—and still love us—can change the way we relate to that critical voice.

And we’re not done. 👀 In Part 2, we’ll talk about when the inner critic gets louder, what it may actually be trying to protect us from, and how we can start moving from self-criticism toward self-compassion.

CHAPTERS

00:00 👋 Opening
00:51 🥂 What’s in Your Chalice?
02:54 🍂 Cycle Season Check-In
05:24 🧠 What Is Your Inner Critic?
09:16 🧙‍♀️ Sage, Saboteur, & Wise Mind
15:17 🗣️ What Our Inner Critics Say
18:10 😳 Shame, Embarrassment, & the Inner Critic
30:21 🤝 Vulnerability, Safety, & Being Seen

RESOURCES MENTIONED

🧠 Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine

🎧 The Power of Vulnerability by Brené Brown

💜 Curious About Your Own Saboteurs? Take the Free Assessment

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE

Some links may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Living Luteal Loca! 💜

A QUICK NOTE

Living Luteal Loca is for education and entertainment and isn’t a substitute for individualized medical or mental health care. Please work with your own healthcare team for advice specific to you.

🎵 Music: “Posy” — licensed through Soundstripe via Riverside

What actually helps when your hormones are making life harder?

In this episode, we’re getting personal about the things that have challenged us most in our own women’s health journeys—and the things that have actually made a difference.

Mandi and Katie talk about living with PMDD, the impact it can have on relationships and mental health, and what changed when they finally understood the cyclical pattern behind what they were experiencing. We talk SSRIs, HRT, cycle tracking, cycle syncing, boundaries, and learning that the feelings showing up during the luteal phase aren’t automatically invalid just because hormones are involved.

Then Jess shares her experience with PCOS, insulin resistance, missed periods, and discovering precancerous endometrial changes despite feeling completely fine. We get into the care that followed—including a D&C, hormonal IUD, medication, movement, nutrition, and the importance of finding a provider willing to actually investigate what’s going on.

Somewhere along the way, a conversation about vitamin D naturally devolves into perineum sunning because apparently this is who we are. ☀️🍑

Underneath all three stories is one idea we keep coming back to: What if “I’m broken” becomes “I’m curious”?

Understanding what our bodies are doing doesn’t fix everything—but it can give us language, options, agency, and a whole lot less shame.

Content note: This episode includes a brief, non-graphic discussion of suicidal ideation in the context of PMDD and mental health.

00:00 👋 Welcome to the Chaos
01:31 🌸 Cycle Season Check-In
04:20 🥂 What’s in Your Chalice?
06:54 💜 When Hormones Get Hard: What Actually Helped
07:20 🌙 Mandi: PMDD, Relationships, & Finding Answers
13:31 🧠 Katie: PMDD, Mental Health, & Cycle Syncing
19:55 🩺 Jess: PCOS, Precancer, & Finding What Helps
26:55 ✨ From “I’m Broken” to Curious
29:30 ☀️🍑 Wait… Perineum Sunning?!
31:21 🛒 What’s in Your Cart?
36:23 💜 Stay Curious, Stay Compassionate, & Stay Loca

💌 Dear Loca
Have a question, story, or topic you want us to talk about? Write to us at: mailto:DearLoca@livinglutealloca.com

🐚 Find Jess’s shell creations:
Shirley’s Shell Shop on Etsy — https://www.etsy.com/shop/ShirleyShellShop

We’re sharing our own experiences and what has helped us—not giving individualized medical advice. Talk with your own healthcare provider about what makes sense for you.

Living Luteal Loca is a podcast about hormones, health, relationships, and all the weird stuff nobody properly prepared us for. We don’t have it all figured out. We have questions, opinions, Google Scholar, and apparently microphones.

Stay curious. Stay compassionate. Stay loca. 💜

What if PCOS isn’t really about ovarian cysts at all? 👀

In Episode 002, we’re talking PCOS (or… PMOS?) — what it can look like, why your cycle may not follow the usual script, and how hormones, metabolism, insulin resistance, and mental health can all get tangled together.

Jess shares her own 20-year road to a PCOS diagnosis, Katie nerds out about cycles, ovulation, and insulin resistance, and Mandi brings the mental health perspective — including why understanding what’s happening in your body can be so validating. 💜

Plus: cycle seasons 🌸☀️🍂❄️, the infamous Texas-shaped period stain 🤠, what’s in our carts 🛒, bras, seashells, and a completely necessary discussion about which Disney princess each of us would be. 😂

✨ Stay curious. Stay compassionate. Stay Loca.

🌸 DEAR LOCA

Questions? Episode ideas? Something helpful — or hard — from your own experience? We want to hear it.

💌 DearLoca@livinglutealloca.com

💜 FIND US

🌐 Website: https://livinglutealloca.com
🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: https://pod.link/6797364789
📸 Instagram: @LivingLutealLoca
▶️ YouTube: Living Luteal Loca

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 👋 Welcome Back!
02:17 🥤 What's in Your Chalice?
05:22 🌸 Cycle Season Check-In
11:25 🌱 Your Cycle Through the Seasons
16:12 🔄 PCOS, PMOS & Jessica's Diagnosis
20:11 📋 How PMOS Is Diagnosed
23:03 🍩 Insulin Resistance Explained
30:02 🧠 Hormones, Mental Health & Your Cycle
42:13 🤝 We Get to Be That for Each Other
44:19 🛒 What's In Your Cart?
49:53 👑 Disney Princess Energy

⚕️ A LITTLE FINE PRINT

Living Luteal Loca is for education, conversation, and entertainment. Nothing shared on this podcast is intended to diagnose or treat any condition or replace individualized medical or mental health care. We’ll share research, professional perspectives, personal experiences, things that have helped us, things that absolutely have not, and plenty of questions along the way. Take what’s useful, stay curious, and make the decisions that are right for you with your own healthcare team when appropriate.

🎵 Music: “Posy” — licensed through Soundstripe via Riverside

#LivingLutealLoca #PCOS #Hormones #WomensHealth #InsulinResistance #HormoneHealth

Twenty years ago, three friends found each other during late-night shifts, spinning desk chairs, and questionable amounts of workplace dancing. Somehow, we ended up here. 💜

In Episode 001, meet Jess, Mandi & Katie and hear how we went from late-night IT shifts and a disco ball 🪩 to reconnecting over hormones, mental health, insulin resistance — and, naturally, fiber 💩.

We’re talking about what each of us brings to Living Luteal Loca, why we started this podcast, and the kind of curious, compassionate, judgment-free space we hope to create here.

✨ Stay curious. Stay compassionate. Stay Loca.

🌸 DEAR LOCA

Questions? Episode ideas? Something helpful — or hard — from your own experience? We want to hear it.

💌 DearLoca@livinglutealloca.com

💜 FIND US

🌐 Website: https://livinglutealloca.com
🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: https://pod.link/6797364789
📸 Instagram: @LivingLutealLoca
▶️ YouTube: Living Luteal Loca

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:06 👋 How We Met
04:50 ✨ Meet the Locas
09:23 🌸 How Living Luteal Loca Started
14:07 🔎 What We Each Bring
18:38 💜 What We Want This to Be
23:43 🌈 What We Don’t Want This to Be

⚕️ A LITTLE FINE PRINT

Living Luteal Loca is for education, conversation, and entertainment. Nothing shared on this podcast is intended to diagnose or treat any condition or replace individualized medical or mental health care. We’ll share research, professional perspectives, personal experiences, things that have helped us, things that absolutely have not, and plenty of questions along the way. Take what’s useful, stay curious, and make the decisions that are right for you with your own healthcare team when appropriate.

🎵 Music: “Posy” — licensed through Soundstripe via Riverside

#LivingLutealLoca #WomensHealth #Hormones #MentalHealth #PMDD #Perimenopause

Welcome to Living Luteal Loca! We're Katie, Jessica, and Mandi—three friends with different backgrounds but one shared curiosity: hormones and how they shape our lives.

Each week, we explore the science, the stories, and the everyday reality of living in a female body. From periods and PMDD to PCOS, perimenopause, metabolism, mental health, GLP-1s, relationships, and everything in between, we're here to ask thoughtful questions, share what we're learning, and have honest conversations without pretending we have all the answers.

If you've ever wondered, "Is this normal?" or wished someone would talk about women's health with both curiosity and compassion, you're in the right place.

✨ Stay curious. Stay compassionate. Stay Loca.