Hey everyone, this is Lewis Howes and I am so excited to invite you to the summit of Greatness 2024 happening at the iconic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. This is more than just an event. It's a powerful experience designed to ignite your passion, boost your growth, and connect you with a community of other inspiring achievers. Join us Friday, September 13 and Saturday, September 14 for two days packed with inspiration and transformation from some of the most incredible speakers on the planet. Don't miss out on this chance to elevate your life, unlock your potential, and be part of something truly special. Make sure to get your tickets right now and step into greatness with us at the summit of Greatness 2024. Head over to lewishows.com tickets and get your tickets today and I will see you there.

This is going to happen to 100% of us who live long enough. This is not optional and it is going to rock her world. So I think education is everything.

As an OB GYN, when you started entering menopause, did you think that you were prepared and educated?

Not at all. I got 1 hour of menopause in medical school. Every clinician who touches a woman should have required menopause training.

Board certified Ob gyn menopause expert surname.

Is Doctor Mary Claire Haver. Doctor Haver's new book is called the New Menopause. The wonderful doctor Mary Claire Haver.

It seems like the medical world has failed women.

I would have to agree with you. In my training, there was this underscore of women tend to somaticize their symptoms, meaning it's all in her head, basically, and called WW. Right, the WW. The whiny woman. The WW was a term used by my upper level residents. 85% of women will go and talk to their doctor and mention the cliche symptoms of menopause. Right. Only 10% right now is the offered treatment and it's usually an antidepressant. No one's coming to save them.

Wow.

Strong, over skinny nutrition, over calories. And educate yourself about what's coming, because sleeping. You know, I realized, wait, when was my last period? This is a hot flash, you know, like, I'm in menopause. Like, I literally could not figure it out for months in myself. And so I always thought I would treat hormone therapy like an epidural and in labor, like, we'll see how I do. You know, if I'm a good girl and I'm strong, I won't need it, right?You know, if I could take the pain, of course. I got an epidural at 3 cm, which is very early. Cause I was over skinny.Nutrition over calories. And educate yourself about what's coming. Cause it's coming.What is the biggest risk women have in their twenties and thirties about trying to stay thin and skinny versus strong and healthy?So it's hard for them to see it. They're 20, right? And they feel good and they look great. They feel like they look great because the clothes are, you know, and. But what they're not seeing is we peak our muscle mass and our bone density at about age 30.Wow.And that musculoskeletal unit is tied together, and so you have to, wherever that line is for you. We start losing muscle and bone mass after age 30, and menopause accelerates that. When we lose estrogen and testosterone, like math, we start losing it really fast.How much harder is it for you to gain muscle now?Oh, my God, it is so hard. I mean, it's literally every day I'm, like, looking at my plate, and I'm like, protein, plants, fiber, you know, I'm not even caring about calories. And I'm totally changed the way I move my body. Really weightlifting. I mean, I used to, like, work out, like, you know, in Zumba last year, a couple years ago with the eight pound weights, I never got any heavier. I wasn't trying to be stronger. I just, you know, and now I'm, like, trying to bench press my weight, you know, and do all these things because I sit there in the gym, and it's all about me staying out of the nursing home when I get older. And that muscle mass determines your basal metabolic rate, determines your resilience to insulin resistance. Like, it's everything.Yeah. Doctor Gabrielle line has been a big proponent of promoting muscle.She's where I learned all this stuff.Yeah. And just really, like, she changed my life. The number one factor of aging, I think, is, like, a lack of muscle or just like. Or of death. I can't remember what it is, but.Like, one of the major, greatest predictors. Yeah.A lack of muscle. And mostly because you fall and you can't get up or you can't function after you break something. And the muscle will prevent that from happening and keep you stronger and healthier.So what I tell my patients is osteoporosis is real, and 50% of women will have an osteoporotic fracture before they die. Okay. If you fall and break your hip, your chance of death in one year is 30% with surgery.Why is that?If it's decline, you can't get out of bed. It's like the beginning of the end. And then if you don't have. If you're not healthy enough to have the surgery, 79% will die in one year.Wow.Because you're bedridden. And so. And that year is horrible, marked with decline. Now, some people, it's not everyone. Some people can recover from a hip fracture, but, man, if you're over 60, 65, and you have a hip fracture, it is really a bell ringer for a very bad outcome for you. But this is preventable, and it can start in your thirties. Like, that's what I'm telling the younger patients. Like, get to the gym, start lifting weights. Focus on your vitamin D. Make sure you're getting good dietary calcium. Do everything you can to get strong muscle and bones. Eat enough protein. Thank you, doctor Lyon. And focus on that is going to keep you healthy and strong and also probably help you lose the fat. But you know what? Curves are beautiful, and we all have different shapes and sizes, and subcutaneous fat does not necessarily mean that you're not healthy. Yeah, it's the visceral fact, right? Exactly.Okay, so movement and then one more.What would be so stress reduction? And my menopausal patients are finding that easier now, really? Because they are realizing that no one's coming to save them and it's time to start prioritizing themselves. And that can look different for different people. But in menopause, women are really like, okay, this is it. If I don't do this, like, they are really putting up boundaries. It's fun to watch, really. They're like, it's my time. I'm done.Wow.Feed yourself. Make your own food. Take care of that. I got to take care of me. So it's really, really awesome for me to see them. Like, mom's changing this, and, like, you can make your own dinner.Yeah, yeah.You know, like, I'm meditating. Leave me alone. So. But what that stress reduction looks like can be boundaries, can be meditation, can be journaling, can be a phone call, can be hanging out with a girlfriend, can be, you know, whatever. But, like, find that.Okay, those are great. I think you gave me five different tools that women could do during this menopause phase to make it more enjoyable, make it less stressful. it? Is this available now for women or.No, no, it's all experimental right now. But there's. Oviva is one of the company, Daisy Robinson. And then there's what? I can't think of the name of the company right now, but there's two. I know because I've been on panels with them, and I just sit there, oh, my God, that's amazing. So, like, for my daughters, who are 23 and 20, it might be possible. It might be possible. I mean, my 23 year old, who's going to be a doctor, she's first year med. Well, now second year med student, she's like, mom, menopause really should be an option. Like, I should not go through all these things, you know, like, I might get on hormone therapy in Perry and just skate on through.What is the most interesting thing you've learned in the last year while working on your book and working with women who have gone through all these different.Complicated, you know, that I totally misjudged the women of our age. I totally bought into the line that this is the end and that, you know, I just wasn't going to be as much of a person. Menopause scared the hell out of me. And I felt, when I finally realized I was menopausal, I felt old. I felt like it was the end. I felt, you know, and how wrong that was and how I am killing it right now.Let's go.You know, I am like, let's go. And I'm bringing my daughters and I'm bringing other physicians and I'm bringing, you know, I'm just trying this. No, I'm saying, no, I'm not accepting what the status quo, the old menopause, because this should be the best time of our life.Wow. All right. I like that.Yeah.That's exciting.Yeah.Wow. What are you most excited about in your life?I just love my kids, my family, you know, that I don't worry about paying for college, and, you know, I'm not worried. And now I can help out my nieces and nephews. Like, that level of stability that I didn't grow up with. You know, my parents went bankrupt when I was a kid, and just kind of living through that would, which made me who I am, but I don't want to repeat that for my kids. It's like, how do you create just enough hardship for your kids who are resilient, not give them every. Just enough to be successful, but not enough to do nothing. So I'm always walking that line with them, but. And just really, like, celebrating. My siblings and I have lost three brothers, two to cancer, you know, one to the HIV and hepatitis, and just, life is short, and you gotta smell the roses and do the things and climb the mountains and do the travel, and if I don't take care of myself, I'm not gonna be able to fulfill all those goals. And there's so much cancer in my family. Like, two brothers, five aunts on one side, you know, like multiple, multiple, multiple cousins.Like, I've got a gene. There's something not okay. And, like, it is my job to take care of myself.Wow.And if I don't, like, eat the foods and do the work and live the life and do the stress reduction, and, you know, then I'm not going to get that option that I really, really want.I mean, what? I mean, I've heard you talk about the loss of your three brothers, so you've lost, right? What is that? How do you navigate being a mom when you lost three siblings in your current family, but then you have kids?Yeah.How do you just navigate life with the loss but also the love that you have?So you lose them one at a time, so it's not like you wake up and they're gone. So I was a little girl. I was nine when Jeff died, and it really kind of redefined our family. Mom was pregnant with number seven. I have. There's eight of us. And then she had another baby two years later, and then she had hysterectomy, and there was no more kids. So, you know, watching them watch me grieve was really hard. And because I was so close to my brother Bob when he died in 2015, and he was like, you know, he had the same partner for 35 years that he and Randy came for, like, every mother's day and Easter and, you know, decorate, and he's just so talented, and so he'd do all these wonderful, special things with my daughters, and you know, dress them up and make them fancy things. And so that was a tough loss. And then when Jude died, you know, Jude got sick. Right after Bob died, he was diagnosed with cancer. And, you know, it was Covid. And we were sneaking over the state line to go see him and try to take care of him.And, you know, his travel was embargoed and for good reasons, but, you know, just trying to, like, spend time with him and take care. And then in the end, I was able to do his end of life care, too. So for the last week or so, and it just really, you know, they were older with Jude, and watching them, like, celebrate the wins is really cool. And we have, like, a little thing in the kitchen where all the boys, we have the little church cards, you know, from their. With their pictures. And then my dad died, like, nine months after. But he was old and, you know, still. And he had a broken heart, so.Broken heart from.Well, he buried three of his kids.You know, think he died of a broken heart.You know, he just kind of, like, once Jude died, I just saw him just kind of go quickly, and that was a blessing that he didn't have this long, drawn out, you know, horrible thing. But, you know, now here's my mom. She's been alone without my dad since 2021. She's buried three kids. She now has dementia. And she just. It's really hard.It's hard for her.Yeah. And so me just openly talking to my kids about my feelings about that and, like, what I'm doing in my life to try to prevent. Not that you can't guarantee everything, but, like, I'm just trying to limit their to live as long as you want, but it's your last day, okay? And you get to create and do everything you want in the light and life from this moment until that last day. But for whatever reason, on the last day, you have to take all of your work with you. So this conversation is gone. The books you write, anything you create from this moment on is gone, okay? But you get to leave behind three lessons to the world. And this is all we would have to be remembered of you, be reminded of you, is these three lessons, or I like to call three truths. What would those truths be for you?It's never too late. Die with the family you create, and love is always the way. Okay?I want to acknowledge you, doctor Marie Claire, for being a powerful voice for women who struggle, suffer and feel maybe like life is starting to be over at a season of their life. And for you to jump in, to dive in, to give clarity around this, to research this and be a personal example on how life can just begin during menopause or after menopause and not start to end, it looks like you're thriving, you're doing your best work right now. You're happiest, you're healthiest, you're educating yourself about your nutrition, your body, more than ever now.Yeah.So to me it looks like life is just beginning rather than starting to end.I just told one of my friends and she's in her thirties, I was like, my life began at 50. She's like, I'm so proud of you. Da da da. And I was like, my life began at 50.That's cool.Not that I didn't love my life before, but sure, sure, start at 50.That's exciting. Well, I acknowledge you for being this model of the world. So thank you for helping so many people. My final question, Doctor Marie Claire, what's your definition of greatness?Oh man. That you leave more in the world than you. You leave more behind that you took.I hope today's episode inspired you on your journey towards great. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today's show with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our greatness plus channel on Apple Podcast. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend. Leave us a review over on Apple Podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels. I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better. And if you want more inspiration from our world class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life, then make sure to sign up for the greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox. Over@greatness.com. newsletter and if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy and you matter. Now it's time to go out there and do something great.

sleeping. You know, I realized, wait, when was my last period? This is a hot flash, you know, like, I'm in menopause. Like, I literally could not figure it out for months in myself. And so I always thought I would treat hormone therapy like an epidural and in labor, like, we'll see how I do. You know, if I'm a good girl and I'm strong, I won't need it, right?

You know, if I could take the pain, of course. I got an epidural at 3 cm, which is very early. Cause I was over skinny.Nutrition over calories. And educate yourself about what's coming. Cause it's coming.What is the biggest risk women have in their twenties and thirties about trying to stay thin and skinny versus strong and healthy?So it's hard for them to see it. They're 20, right? And they feel good and they look great. They feel like they look great because the clothes are, you know, and. But what they're not seeing is we peak our muscle mass and our bone density at about age 30.Wow.And that musculoskeletal unit is tied together, and so you have to, wherever that line is for you. We start losing muscle and bone mass after age 30, and menopause accelerates that. When we lose estrogen and testosterone, like math, we start losing it really fast.How much harder is it for you to gain muscle now?Oh, my God, it is so hard. I mean, it's literally every day I'm, like, looking at my plate, and I'm like, protein, plants, fiber, you know, I'm not even caring about calories. And I'm totally changed the way I move my body. Really weightlifting. I mean, I used to, like, work out, like, you know, in Zumba last year, a couple years ago with the eight pound weights, I never got any heavier. I wasn't trying to be stronger. I just, you know, and now I'm, like, trying to bench press my weight, you know, and do all these things because I sit there in the gym, and it's all about me staying out of the nursing home when I get older. And that muscle mass determines your basal metabolic rate, determines your resilience to insulin resistance. Like, it's everything.Yeah. Doctor Gabrielle line has been a big proponent of promoting muscle.She's where I learned all this stuff.Yeah. And just really, like, she changed my life. The number one factor of aging, I think, is, like, a lack of muscle or just like. Or of death. I can't remember what it is, but.Like, one of the major, greatest predictors. Yeah.A lack of muscle. And mostly because you fall and you can't get up or you can't function after you break something. And the muscle will prevent that from happening and keep you stronger and healthier.So what I tell my patients is osteoporosis is real, and 50% of women will have an osteoporotic fracture before they die. Okay. If you fall and break your hip, your chance of death in one year is 30% with surgery.Why is that?If it's decline, you can't get out of bed. It's like the beginning of the end. And then if you don't have. If you're not healthy enough to have the surgery, 79% will die in one year.Wow.Because you're bedridden. And so. And that year is horrible, marked with decline. Now, some people, it's not everyone. Some people can recover from a hip fracture, but, man, if you're over 60, 65, and you have a hip fracture, it is really a bell ringer for a very bad outcome for you. But this is preventable, and it can start in your thirties. Like, that's what I'm telling the younger patients. Like, get to the gym, start lifting weights. Focus on your vitamin D. Make sure you're getting good dietary calcium. Do everything you can to get strong muscle and bones. Eat enough protein. Thank you, doctor Lyon. And focus on that is going to keep you healthy and strong and also probably help you lose the fat. But you know what? Curves are beautiful, and we all have different shapes and sizes, and subcutaneous fat does not necessarily mean that you're not healthy. Yeah, it's the visceral fact, right? Exactly.Okay, so movement and then one more.What would be so stress reduction? And my menopausal patients are finding that easier now, really? Because they are realizing that no one's coming to save them and it's time to start prioritizing themselves. And that can look different for different people. But in menopause, women are really like, okay, this is it. If I don't do this, like, they are really putting up boundaries. It's fun to watch, really. They're like, it's my time. I'm done.Wow.Feed yourself. Make your own food. Take care of that. I got to take care of me. So it's really, really awesome for me to see them. Like, mom's changing this, and, like, you can make your own dinner.Yeah, yeah.You know, like, I'm meditating. Leave me alone. So. But what that stress reduction looks like can be boundaries, can be meditation, can be journaling, can be a phone call, can be hanging out with a girlfriend, can be, you know, whatever. But, like, find that.Okay, those are great. I think you gave me five different tools that women could do during this menopause phase to make it more enjoyable, make it less stressful. it? Is this available now for women or.No, no, it's all experimental right now. But there's. Oviva is one of the company, Daisy Robinson. And then there's what? I can't think of the name of the company right now, but there's two. I know because I've been on panels with them, and I just sit there, oh, my God, that's amazing. So, like, for my daughters, who are 23 and 20, it might be possible. It might be possible. I mean, my 23 year old, who's going to be a doctor, she's first year med. Well, now second year med student, she's like, mom, menopause really should be an option. Like, I should not go through all these things, you know, like, I might get on hormone therapy in Perry and just skate on through.What is the most interesting thing you've learned in the last year while working on your book and working with women who have gone through all these different.Complicated, you know, that I totally misjudged the women of our age. I totally bought into the line that this is the end and that, you know, I just wasn't going to be as much of a person. Menopause scared the hell out of me. And I felt, when I finally realized I was menopausal, I felt old. I felt like it was the end. I felt, you know, and how wrong that was and how I am killing it right now.Let's go.You know, I am like, let's go. And I'm bringing my daughters and I'm bringing other physicians and I'm bringing, you know, I'm just trying this. No, I'm saying, no, I'm not accepting what the status quo, the old menopause, because this should be the best time of our life.Wow. All right. I like that.Yeah.That's exciting.Yeah.Wow. What are you most excited about in your life?I just love my kids, my family, you know, that I don't worry about paying for college, and, you know, I'm not worried. And now I can help out my nieces and nephews. Like, that level of stability that I didn't grow up with. You know, my parents went bankrupt when I was a kid, and just kind of living through that would, which made me who I am, but I don't want to repeat that for my kids. It's like, how do you create just enough hardship for your kids who are resilient, not give them every. Just enough to be successful, but not enough to do nothing. So I'm always walking that line with them, but. And just really, like, celebrating. My siblings and I have lost three brothers, two to cancer, you know, one to the HIV and hepatitis, and just, life is short, and you gotta smell the roses and do the things and climb the mountains and do the travel, and if I don't take care of myself, I'm not gonna be able to fulfill all those goals. And there's so much cancer in my family. Like, two brothers, five aunts on one side, you know, like multiple, multiple, multiple cousins.Like, I've got a gene. There's something not okay. And, like, it is my job to take care of myself.Wow.And if I don't, like, eat the foods and do the work and live the life and do the stress reduction, and, you know, then I'm not going to get that option that I really, really want.I mean, what? I mean, I've heard you talk about the loss of your three brothers, so you've lost, right? What is that? How do you navigate being a mom when you lost three siblings in your current family, but then you have kids?Yeah.How do you just navigate life with the loss but also the love that you have?So you lose them one at a time, so it's not like you wake up and they're gone. So I was a little girl. I was nine when Jeff died, and it really kind of redefined our family. Mom was pregnant with number seven. I have. There's eight of us. And then she had another baby two years later, and then she had hysterectomy, and there was no more kids. So, you know, watching them watch me grieve was really hard. And because I was so close to my brother Bob when he died in 2015, and he was like, you know, he had the same partner for 35 years that he and Randy came for, like, every mother's day and Easter and, you know, decorate, and he's just so talented, and so he'd do all these wonderful, special things with my daughters, and you know, dress them up and make them fancy things. And so that was a tough loss. And then when Jude died, you know, Jude got sick. Right after Bob died, he was diagnosed with cancer. And, you know, it was Covid. And we were sneaking over the state line to go see him and try to take care of him.And, you know, his travel was embargoed and for good reasons, but, you know, just trying to, like, spend time with him and take care. And then in the end, I was able to do his end of life care, too. So for the last week or so, and it just really, you know, they were older with Jude, and watching them, like, celebrate the wins is really cool. And we have, like, a little thing in the kitchen where all the boys, we have the little church cards, you know, from their. With their pictures. And then my dad died, like, nine months after. But he was old and, you know, still. And he had a broken heart, so.Broken heart from.Well, he buried three of his kids.You know, think he died of a broken heart.You know, he just kind of, like, once Jude died, I just saw him just kind of go quickly, and that was a blessing that he didn't have this long, drawn out, you know, horrible thing. But, you know, now here's my mom. She's been alone without my dad since 2021. She's buried three kids. She now has dementia. And she just. It's really hard.It's hard for her.Yeah. And so me just openly talking to my kids about my feelings about that and, like, what I'm doing in my life to try to prevent. Not that you can't guarantee everything, but, like, I'm just trying to limit their to live as long as you want, but it's your last day, okay? And you get to create and do everything you want in the light and life from this moment until that last day. But for whatever reason, on the last day, you have to take all of your work with you. So this conversation is gone. The books you write, anything you create from this moment on is gone, okay? But you get to leave behind three lessons to the world. And this is all we would have to be remembered of you, be reminded of you, is these three lessons, or I like to call three truths. What would those truths be for you?It's never too late. Die with the family you create, and love is always the way. Okay?I want to acknowledge you, doctor Marie Claire, for being a powerful voice for women who struggle, suffer and feel maybe like life is starting to be over at a season of their life. And for you to jump in, to dive in, to give clarity around this, to research this and be a personal example on how life can just begin during menopause or after menopause and not start to end, it looks like you're thriving, you're doing your best work right now. You're happiest, you're healthiest, you're educating yourself about your nutrition, your body, more than ever now.Yeah.So to me it looks like life is just beginning rather than starting to end.I just told one of my friends and she's in her thirties, I was like, my life began at 50. She's like, I'm so proud of you. Da da da. And I was like, my life began at 50.That's cool.Not that I didn't love my life before, but sure, sure, start at 50.That's exciting. Well, I acknowledge you for being this model of the world. So thank you for helping so many people. My final question, Doctor Marie Claire, what's your definition of greatness?Oh man. That you leave more in the world than you. You leave more behind that you took.I hope today's episode inspired you on your journey towards great. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today's show with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our greatness plus channel on Apple Podcast. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend. Leave us a review over on Apple Podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels. I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better. And if you want more inspiration from our world class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life, then make sure to sign up for the greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox. Over@greatness.com. newsletter and if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy and you matter. Now it's time to go out there and do something great.

over skinny.

Nutrition over calories. And educate yourself about what's coming. Cause it's coming.

What is the biggest risk women have in their twenties and thirties about trying to stay thin and skinny versus strong and healthy?

So it's hard for them to see it. They're 20, right? And they feel good and they look great. They feel like they look great because the clothes are, you know, and. But what they're not seeing is we peak our muscle mass and our bone density at about age 30.

Wow.

And that musculoskeletal unit is tied together, and so you have to, wherever that line is for you. We start losing muscle and bone mass after age 30, and menopause accelerates that. When we lose estrogen and testosterone, like math, we start losing it really fast.

How much harder is it for you to gain muscle now?

Oh, my God, it is so hard. I mean, it's literally every day I'm, like, looking at my plate, and I'm like, protein, plants, fiber, you know, I'm not even caring about calories. And I'm totally changed the way I move my body. Really weightlifting. I mean, I used to, like, work out, like, you know, in Zumba last year, a couple years ago with the eight pound weights, I never got any heavier. I wasn't trying to be stronger. I just, you know, and now I'm, like, trying to bench press my weight, you know, and do all these things because I sit there in the gym, and it's all about me staying out of the nursing home when I get older. And that muscle mass determines your basal metabolic rate, determines your resilience to insulin resistance. Like, it's everything.

Yeah. Doctor Gabrielle line has been a big proponent of promoting muscle.

She's where I learned all this stuff.

Yeah. And just really, like, she changed my life. The number one factor of aging, I think, is, like, a lack of muscle or just like. Or of death. I can't remember what it is, but.

Like, one of the major, greatest predictors. Yeah.

A lack of muscle. And mostly because you fall and you can't get up or you can't function after you break something. And the muscle will prevent that from happening and keep you stronger and healthier.

So what I tell my patients is osteoporosis is real, and 50% of women will have an osteoporotic fracture before they die. Okay. If you fall and break your hip, your chance of death in one year is 30% with surgery.

Why is that?

If it's decline, you can't get out of bed. It's like the beginning of the end. And then if you don't have. If you're not healthy enough to have the surgery, 79% will die in one year.

Wow.

Because you're bedridden. And so. And that year is horrible, marked with decline. Now, some people, it's not everyone. Some people can recover from a hip fracture, but, man, if you're over 60, 65, and you have a hip fracture, it is really a bell ringer for a very bad outcome for you. But this is preventable, and it can start in your thirties. Like, that's what I'm telling the younger patients. Like, get to the gym, start lifting weights. Focus on your vitamin D. Make sure you're getting good dietary calcium. Do everything you can to get strong muscle and bones. Eat enough protein. Thank you, doctor Lyon. And focus on that is going to keep you healthy and strong and also probably help you lose the fat. But you know what? Curves are beautiful, and we all have different shapes and sizes, and subcutaneous fat does not necessarily mean that you're not healthy. Yeah, it's the visceral fact, right? Exactly.

Okay, so movement and then one more.

What would be so stress reduction? And my menopausal patients are finding that easier now, really? Because they are realizing that no one's coming to save them and it's time to start prioritizing themselves. And that can look different for different people. But in menopause, women are really like, okay, this is it. If I don't do this, like, they are really putting up boundaries. It's fun to watch, really. They're like, it's my time. I'm done.

Wow.

Feed yourself. Make your own food. Take care of that. I got to take care of me. So it's really, really awesome for me to see them. Like, mom's changing this, and, like, you can make your own dinner.

Yeah, yeah.

You know, like, I'm meditating. Leave me alone. So. But what that stress reduction looks like can be boundaries, can be meditation, can be journaling, can be a phone call, can be hanging out with a girlfriend, can be, you know, whatever. But, like, find that.

Okay, those are great. I think you gave me five different tools that women could do during this menopause phase to make it more enjoyable, make it less stressful. it? Is this available now for women or.No, no, it's all experimental right now. But there's. Oviva is one of the company, Daisy Robinson. And then there's what? I can't think of the name of the company right now, but there's two. I know because I've been on panels with them, and I just sit there, oh, my God, that's amazing. So, like, for my daughters, who are 23 and 20, it might be possible. It might be possible. I mean, my 23 year old, who's going to be a doctor, she's first year med. Well, now second year med student, she's like, mom, menopause really should be an option. Like, I should not go through all these things, you know, like, I might get on hormone therapy in Perry and just skate on through.What is the most interesting thing you've learned in the last year while working on your book and working with women who have gone through all these different.Complicated, you know, that I totally misjudged the women of our age. I totally bought into the line that this is the end and that, you know, I just wasn't going to be as much of a person. Menopause scared the hell out of me. And I felt, when I finally realized I was menopausal, I felt old. I felt like it was the end. I felt, you know, and how wrong that was and how I am killing it right now.Let's go.You know, I am like, let's go. And I'm bringing my daughters and I'm bringing other physicians and I'm bringing, you know, I'm just trying this. No, I'm saying, no, I'm not accepting what the status quo, the old menopause, because this should be the best time of our life.Wow. All right. I like that.Yeah.That's exciting.Yeah.Wow. What are you most excited about in your life?I just love my kids, my family, you know, that I don't worry about paying for college, and, you know, I'm not worried. And now I can help out my nieces and nephews. Like, that level of stability that I didn't grow up with. You know, my parents went bankrupt when I was a kid, and just kind of living through that would, which made me who I am, but I don't want to repeat that for my kids. It's like, how do you create just enough hardship for your kids who are resilient, not give them every. Just enough to be successful, but not enough to do nothing. So I'm always walking that line with them, but. And just really, like, celebrating. My siblings and I have lost three brothers, two to cancer, you know, one to the HIV and hepatitis, and just, life is short, and you gotta smell the roses and do the things and climb the mountains and do the travel, and if I don't take care of myself, I'm not gonna be able to fulfill all those goals. And there's so much cancer in my family. Like, two brothers, five aunts on one side, you know, like multiple, multiple, multiple cousins.Like, I've got a gene. There's something not okay. And, like, it is my job to take care of myself.Wow.And if I don't, like, eat the foods and do the work and live the life and do the stress reduction, and, you know, then I'm not going to get that option that I really, really want.I mean, what? I mean, I've heard you talk about the loss of your three brothers, so you've lost, right? What is that? How do you navigate being a mom when you lost three siblings in your current family, but then you have kids?Yeah.How do you just navigate life with the loss but also the love that you have?So you lose them one at a time, so it's not like you wake up and they're gone. So I was a little girl. I was nine when Jeff died, and it really kind of redefined our family. Mom was pregnant with number seven. I have. There's eight of us. And then she had another baby two years later, and then she had hysterectomy, and there was no more kids. So, you know, watching them watch me grieve was really hard. And because I was so close to my brother Bob when he died in 2015, and he was like, you know, he had the same partner for 35 years that he and Randy came for, like, every mother's day and Easter and, you know, decorate, and he's just so talented, and so he'd do all these wonderful, special things with my daughters, and you know, dress them up and make them fancy things. And so that was a tough loss. And then when Jude died, you know, Jude got sick. Right after Bob died, he was diagnosed with cancer. And, you know, it was Covid. And we were sneaking over the state line to go see him and try to take care of him.And, you know, his travel was embargoed and for good reasons, but, you know, just trying to, like, spend time with him and take care. And then in the end, I was able to do his end of life care, too. So for the last week or so, and it just really, you know, they were older with Jude, and watching them, like, celebrate the wins is really cool. And we have, like, a little thing in the kitchen where all the boys, we have the little church cards, you know, from their. With their pictures. And then my dad died, like, nine months after. But he was old and, you know, still. And he had a broken heart, so.Broken heart from.Well, he buried three of his kids.You know, think he died of a broken heart.You know, he just kind of, like, once Jude died, I just saw him just kind of go quickly, and that was a blessing that he didn't have this long, drawn out, you know, horrible thing. But, you know, now here's my mom. She's been alone without my dad since 2021. She's buried three kids. She now has dementia. And she just. It's really hard.It's hard for her.Yeah. And so me just openly talking to my kids about my feelings about that and, like, what I'm doing in my life to try to prevent. Not that you can't guarantee everything, but, like, I'm just trying to limit their to live as long as you want, but it's your last day, okay? And you get to create and do everything you want in the light and life from this moment until that last day. But for whatever reason, on the last day, you have to take all of your work with you. So this conversation is gone. The books you write, anything you create from this moment on is gone, okay? But you get to leave behind three lessons to the world. And this is all we would have to be remembered of you, be reminded of you, is these three lessons, or I like to call three truths. What would those truths be for you?It's never too late. Die with the family you create, and love is always the way. Okay?I want to acknowledge you, doctor Marie Claire, for being a powerful voice for women who struggle, suffer and feel maybe like life is starting to be over at a season of their life. And for you to jump in, to dive in, to give clarity around this, to research this and be a personal example on how life can just begin during menopause or after menopause and not start to end, it looks like you're thriving, you're doing your best work right now. You're happiest, you're healthiest, you're educating yourself about your nutrition, your body, more than ever now.Yeah.So to me it looks like life is just beginning rather than starting to end.I just told one of my friends and she's in her thirties, I was like, my life began at 50. She's like, I'm so proud of you. Da da da. And I was like, my life began at 50.That's cool.Not that I didn't love my life before, but sure, sure, start at 50.That's exciting. Well, I acknowledge you for being this model of the world. So thank you for helping so many people. My final question, Doctor Marie Claire, what's your definition of greatness?Oh man. That you leave more in the world than you. You leave more behind that you took.I hope today's episode inspired you on your journey towards great. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today's show with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our greatness plus channel on Apple Podcast. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend. Leave us a review over on Apple Podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels. I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better. And if you want more inspiration from our world class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life, then make sure to sign up for the greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox. Over@greatness.com. newsletter and if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy and you matter. Now it's time to go out there and do something great.

it? Is this available now for women or.

No, no, it's all experimental right now. But there's. Oviva is one of the company, Daisy Robinson. And then there's what? I can't think of the name of the company right now, but there's two. I know because I've been on panels with them, and I just sit there, oh, my God, that's amazing. So, like, for my daughters, who are 23 and 20, it might be possible. It might be possible. I mean, my 23 year old, who's going to be a doctor, she's first year med. Well, now second year med student, she's like, mom, menopause really should be an option. Like, I should not go through all these things, you know, like, I might get on hormone therapy in Perry and just skate on through.

What is the most interesting thing you've learned in the last year while working on your book and working with women who have gone through all these different.

Complicated, you know, that I totally misjudged the women of our age. I totally bought into the line that this is the end and that, you know, I just wasn't going to be as much of a person. Menopause scared the hell out of me. And I felt, when I finally realized I was menopausal, I felt old. I felt like it was the end. I felt, you know, and how wrong that was and how I am killing it right now.

Let's go.

You know, I am like, let's go. And I'm bringing my daughters and I'm bringing other physicians and I'm bringing, you know, I'm just trying this. No, I'm saying, no, I'm not accepting what the status quo, the old menopause, because this should be the best time of our life.

Wow. All right. I like that.

Yeah.

That's exciting.

Yeah.

Wow. What are you most excited about in your life?

I just love my kids, my family, you know, that I don't worry about paying for college, and, you know, I'm not worried. And now I can help out my nieces and nephews. Like, that level of stability that I didn't grow up with. You know, my parents went bankrupt when I was a kid, and just kind of living through that would, which made me who I am, but I don't want to repeat that for my kids. It's like, how do you create just enough hardship for your kids who are resilient, not give them every. Just enough to be successful, but not enough to do nothing. So I'm always walking that line with them, but. And just really, like, celebrating. My siblings and I have lost three brothers, two to cancer, you know, one to the HIV and hepatitis, and just, life is short, and you gotta smell the roses and do the things and climb the mountains and do the travel, and if I don't take care of myself, I'm not gonna be able to fulfill all those goals. And there's so much cancer in my family. Like, two brothers, five aunts on one side, you know, like multiple, multiple, multiple cousins.

Like, I've got a gene. There's something not okay. And, like, it is my job to take care of myself.

Wow.

And if I don't, like, eat the foods and do the work and live the life and do the stress reduction, and, you know, then I'm not going to get that option that I really, really want.

I mean, what? I mean, I've heard you talk about the loss of your three brothers, so you've lost, right? What is that? How do you navigate being a mom when you lost three siblings in your current family, but then you have kids?

Yeah.

How do you just navigate life with the loss but also the love that you have?

So you lose them one at a time, so it's not like you wake up and they're gone. So I was a little girl. I was nine when Jeff died, and it really kind of redefined our family. Mom was pregnant with number seven. I have. There's eight of us. And then she had another baby two years later, and then she had hysterectomy, and there was no more kids. So, you know, watching them watch me grieve was really hard. And because I was so close to my brother Bob when he died in 2015, and he was like, you know, he had the same partner for 35 years that he and Randy came for, like, every mother's day and Easter and, you know, decorate, and he's just so talented, and so he'd do all these wonderful, special things with my daughters, and you know, dress them up and make them fancy things. And so that was a tough loss. And then when Jude died, you know, Jude got sick. Right after Bob died, he was diagnosed with cancer. And, you know, it was Covid. And we were sneaking over the state line to go see him and try to take care of him.

And, you know, his travel was embargoed and for good reasons, but, you know, just trying to, like, spend time with him and take care. And then in the end, I was able to do his end of life care, too. So for the last week or so, and it just really, you know, they were older with Jude, and watching them, like, celebrate the wins is really cool. And we have, like, a little thing in the kitchen where all the boys, we have the little church cards, you know, from their. With their pictures. And then my dad died, like, nine months after. But he was old and, you know, still. And he had a broken heart, so.

Broken heart from.

Well, he buried three of his kids.

You know, think he died of a broken heart.

You know, he just kind of, like, once Jude died, I just saw him just kind of go quickly, and that was a blessing that he didn't have this long, drawn out, you know, horrible thing. But, you know, now here's my mom. She's been alone without my dad since 2021. She's buried three kids. She now has dementia. And she just. It's really hard.

It's hard for her.

Yeah. And so me just openly talking to my kids about my feelings about that and, like, what I'm doing in my life to try to prevent. Not that you can't guarantee everything, but, like, I'm just trying to limit their to live as long as you want, but it's your last day, okay? And you get to create and do everything you want in the light and life from this moment until that last day. But for whatever reason, on the last day, you have to take all of your work with you. So this conversation is gone. The books you write, anything you create from this moment on is gone, okay? But you get to leave behind three lessons to the world. And this is all we would have to be remembered of you, be reminded of you, is these three lessons, or I like to call three truths. What would those truths be for you?It's never too late. Die with the family you create, and love is always the way. Okay?I want to acknowledge you, doctor Marie Claire, for being a powerful voice for women who struggle, suffer and feel maybe like life is starting to be over at a season of their life. And for you to jump in, to dive in, to give clarity around this, to research this and be a personal example on how life can just begin during menopause or after menopause and not start to end, it looks like you're thriving, you're doing your best work right now. You're happiest, you're healthiest, you're educating yourself about your nutrition, your body, more than ever now.Yeah.So to me it looks like life is just beginning rather than starting to end.I just told one of my friends and she's in her thirties, I was like, my life began at 50. She's like, I'm so proud of you. Da da da. And I was like, my life began at 50.That's cool.Not that I didn't love my life before, but sure, sure, start at 50.That's exciting. Well, I acknowledge you for being this model of the world. So thank you for helping so many people. My final question, Doctor Marie Claire, what's your definition of greatness?Oh man. That you leave more in the world than you. You leave more behind that you took.I hope today's episode inspired you on your journey towards great. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today's show with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our greatness plus channel on Apple Podcast. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend. Leave us a review over on Apple Podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels. I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better. And if you want more inspiration from our world class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life, then make sure to sign up for the greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox. Over@greatness.com. newsletter and if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy and you matter. Now it's time to go out there and do something great.

to live as long as you want, but it's your last day, okay? And you get to create and do everything you want in the light and life from this moment until that last day. But for whatever reason, on the last day, you have to take all of your work with you. So this conversation is gone. The books you write, anything you create from this moment on is gone, okay? But you get to leave behind three lessons to the world. And this is all we would have to be remembered of you, be reminded of you, is these three lessons, or I like to call three truths. What would those truths be for you?

It's never too late. Die with the family you create, and love is always the way. Okay?

I want to acknowledge you, doctor Marie Claire, for being a powerful voice for women who struggle, suffer and feel maybe like life is starting to be over at a season of their life. And for you to jump in, to dive in, to give clarity around this, to research this and be a personal example on how life can just begin during menopause or after menopause and not start to end, it looks like you're thriving, you're doing your best work right now. You're happiest, you're healthiest, you're educating yourself about your nutrition, your body, more than ever now.

Yeah.

So to me it looks like life is just beginning rather than starting to end.

I just told one of my friends and she's in her thirties, I was like, my life began at 50. She's like, I'm so proud of you. Da da da. And I was like, my life began at 50.

That's cool.

Not that I didn't love my life before, but sure, sure, start at 50.

That's exciting. Well, I acknowledge you for being this model of the world. So thank you for helping so many people. My final question, Doctor Marie Claire, what's your definition of greatness?

Oh man. That you leave more in the world than you. You leave more behind that you took.

I hope today's episode inspired you on your journey towards great. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today's show with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our greatness plus channel on Apple Podcast. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend. Leave us a review over on Apple Podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels. I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better. And if you want more inspiration from our world class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life, then make sure to sign up for the greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox. Over@greatness.com. newsletter and if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy and you matter. Now it's time to go out there and do something great.