I was sitting in my studio room in Dallas with four women who had just spent five months inside my Magic Menopause Certification, and every one of them got emotional before we even started recording.
That tells you something about what this season of life actually does to a woman who thought she had it handled.
Listen to part 1 of my conversation with the Magic Menopause Certified coaches here if you missed it.
If you've ever stood on a scale and thought "I haven't changed anything, so why is this happening," this one is for you.
Table of Contents
Key Timestamps
- 00:00 — Why I brought four coaches into one room
- 04:00 — Fibroids, hysterectomy, and the missing third option
- 05:25 — The 30-day cycle nobody could explain
- 18:30 — Why the weight shows up even when nothing else changed
- 22:00 — The conversation that needs to start with our daughters
- 47:35 — Peeling back the shame around vaginal and sexual health
- 52:30 — Becoming the CEO of your own health
The Coaches on the Panel
Four women, four very different reasons for walking into this work.
Chelsea — Raleigh, NC. Helps women support fibroid health naturally and was blindsided by her own transition into menopause.
Song — Plano/Dallas, TX. A busy mom of three who spent years being told her symptoms were "normal."
Tara — Dallas, TX, part of the Carpathia team.
Jamie — Part of my own team, and one of the most trusted voices inside the Girlfriend Doctor Club.
Why I Brought Four Coaches Into One Room
This episode was recorded live, in front of an audience, on the day these four women graduated from my five-month Magic Menopause Coach Certification. I wanted them in one room together because the questions I get most from you, about weight, hormones, shame, and confidence, are questions these coaches have lived through themselves before they ever coached another woman through it.
Fibroids, Hysterectomy, and the Missing Third Option
Chelsea's entry into this work started with fibroids. For most women, the options handed to them are surgery or a hysterectomy, full stop, even in cases that are nowhere near life-threatening.
Chelsea built her practice around a third option: supporting fibroid health naturally, at every age, without jumping straight to the operating table. That same "there has to be another way" instinct is what carried her into menopause work once her own toolbox stopped working for her.
The 30-Day Cycle Nobody Could Explain
Song's cycle started and didn't stop. Thirty days of bleeding. Her OB/GYN ran labs, everything came back "normal," and the advice was birth control or "just be mindful of your iron count."
That wasn't good enough for a busy mom of three managing bloating, mood swings, and digestive issues nobody had a name for. Nobody had told her that what she was living through had a name: perimenopause.
Why the Weight Shows Up Even When Nothing Else Changed
This is the one every woman in that audience leaned forward for.
Between the ages of 35 and 55, progesterone and other reproductive hormones decline. So does DHEA, the adrenal hormone your body uses to help maintain muscle and bone.
As those levels drop, metabolic rate tends to follow, while insulin and cortisol tend to rise, contributing to insulin resistance.
That combination shows up as stubborn weight gain that has nothing to do with willpower.
There's also a genetic piece. Women with a PCOS or diabetes diagnosis often carry what I call "warrior genes," bodies built for longer fasting intervals and lean, high-output living, not the sedentary, processed-food environment most of us live in now. That's part of why the Keto-Green approach to nutrition, built around ketosis and alkalinity rather than a standard keto diet, matters more for women than it does for men.
The Conversation That Needs to Start With Our Daughters
One question from the live audience changed the whole direction of this panel: what if this conversation started before perimenopause, with our daughters?
Girls as young as eleven experience their own metabolic shift and weight changes as their periods begin, and too many are handed birth control as the first and only answer, sometimes for reasons that have nothing to do with sex. A mother-daughter conversation about hormones, using simple tools like urine test strips to help a daughter understand her own body, can change the entire trajectory of how she relates to it for life.
Peeling Back the Shame Around Vaginal and Sexual Health
So many women describe feeling "shut off from the waist down," disconnected from a part of their body they've stopped talking about entirely, sometimes after years of discomfort or recurring urinary tract infections following intimacy.
The coaches were direct about what actually helps: peel back the layers. Look at lifestyle, stress, joy, and whether past experiences are quietly driving the shame. Vaginal health deserves the same intentional care women give their skin. Nothing about this season of life should make a woman feel like her body has failed her.
Becoming the CEO of Your Own Health
The panel closed on one idea: ownership.
Walking into a doctor's appointment as a partner in the conversation, not a passenger. Walking away from relationships and doctors that don't serve this season of life, without apology. Reframing "healthcare" as an investment, physical wealth, sexual wealth, emotional wealth, the same way you'd invest in anything else that matters.
One coach's word for it: peace. Another's: empowered. Both true at the same time.
FAQ
What causes weight gain during perimenopause and menopause?
Declining progesterone and DHEA between roughly ages 35 and 55 can lower metabolic rate while insulin and cortisol tend to rise, a combination that contributes to insulin resistance and stubborn weight gain, even without other lifestyle changes.
What are "warrior genes," and why do they matter for menopause?
It's a term used to describe genetic patterns, often seen in women with PCOS or a family history of diabetes, that were built for longer fasting intervals and lean, active living. In a modern, sedentary, processed-food environment, these same genes can make weight and blood sugar management more challenging, which is part of why an intentional nutrition approach matters.
Do fibroids always require surgery or a hysterectomy?
Not necessarily. While some cases do require medical intervention, many women can work with a coach or practitioner to support fibroid health naturally as a starting point, particularly for younger women where a hysterectomy isn't medically necessary.
At what age should the conversation about hormones start with daughters?
As early as a daughter's first period. Girls can experience their own metabolic and weight shifts starting around age eleven, and an early, informed conversation can change how she relates to her body for the rest of her life.
What is a Magic Menopause Certified Coach?
A Magic Menopause Certified Coach completes Dr. Anna Cabeca's five-month Magic Menopause program, covering the science-based and integrative approaches to help women thrive before, during, and after menopause.
What to Do Next
If any part of this recap felt like it was written about you, that's the point. This is exactly the work covered inside the Magic Menopause program.
Learn more and sign up at magicmenopause.com →
Then come back and tell me in the comments which part hit home.
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube
Connect with Dr. Anna
Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This content is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
