Beyond the Thyroid

Weight Loss Strategies for Perimenopause and Menopause with Dr. Heather Awad

• Dana Gibbs • Season 1 • Episode 32

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Beyond the Thyroid – Episode 32:  Weight Loss Strategies for Perimenopause and Menopause with Dr. Heather Awad

Struggling with weight gain in midlife? You’re not alone—and you’re not doing anything wrong.

In this episode of Beyond the Thyroid, Dr. Dana Gibbs sits down with Dr. Heather Awad, a family physician turned weight loss coach for professional women in midlife. Together, they explore the real reasons behind weight gain in perimenopause and menopause—and what actually works for sustainable, hormone-friendly weight loss.

You’ll learn:

  • Why mindset shifts matter more than you think
  • How insulin resistance and hormonal shifts affect metabolism
  • The truth about protein, fiber, and supplements in midlife nutrition
  • The role of intermittent fasting and strategic meal planning
  • How coaching and community support long-term success

Dr. Awad also shares insights from her own journey, highlighting why self-compassion and education can be powerful tools in reclaiming your health and confidence.

🩺 Learn more about Dr. Heather Awad:


📑 Join the The Thyroid Clarity Checkup Priority List! 

📲 Follow Dr. Dana Gibbs on the Goodself App!

🩺 Interested in a Discovery Call with Dr. Dana? Click here!

📺 Watch on YouTube


Episode Highlights:
00:00 – Introduction to the Episode
02:18 – Meet Dr. Heather Awad
03:14 – Dr. Heather's Personal Weight Loss Journey
04:53 – Understanding Menopausal Weight Gain
08:53 – The Role of Coaching in Weight Loss
11:38 – The Thought Model Explained
17:50 – Setting and Achieving Weight Loss Goals
21:21 – Science Behind Weight Loss
22:33 – Understanding Insulin Resistance and Eating Habits
23:13 – Intermittent Fasting and Meal Planning
24:52 – The Importance of Protein in Your Diet
26:58 – Navigating Protein Supplements and Smoothies
28:36 – Incorporating Fiber and Seeds into Your Meals
32:09 – The Role of Supplements in Midlife Health
35:08 – Hormone Replacement Therapy: What You Need to Know
38:34 – Connecting with Dr. Heather Awad
39:53 – Exploring New Weight Loss Medications
42:50 – Conclusion and Final Thoughts

✨ Start with mindset, support your hormones, and eat with intention. Tune in now!

Let's connect! 🔔
Facebook - Consultants In Metabolism
Instagram - @danagibbsms
LinkedIn - Dana Gibbs MD
Tiktok - @dana.gibbs.md

✉️ Email Dr. Gibbs at drgibbs@DanaGibbsMD.com or visit https://www.danagibbsmd.com/ for more information.


Thank you so much for listening! Tune in on the next episode.


The medical information provided in this episode is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical questions or concerns.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_3_05-28-2025_105630

This is Beyond the Thyroid, and this is Dr. Gibbs. Today I have a guest episode for you with Dr. Heather Awadd. So our topic is going to be weight loss in perimenopause and menopause. And we got really deep in the weeds on why is it that menopausal women or perimenopausal women all of a sudden start gaining weight and can't seem to stop. We talk a little bit about both of our personal journeys and then go pretty deep into the science of what is going on in menopausal weight loss. We also talk about the thought model and how how you think about yourself and how you think about your weight really is very strongly influential in how successful you will be at designing an eating plan that is right for you. We also go into some specifics about things that are important and necessary in order to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and a weight that you like being at. So without further ado, let's go ahead and get into this.

You're listening to the Beyond the Thyroid podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Dana Gibbs. I'm an ENT surgeon and hormone specialist. For years, I struggled with my own unrecognized thyroid problems before and even after I was regularly performing thyroid surgeries. Then, one day, I learned something that turned my health around and opened my eyes to the limits of mainstream medicine in treating more subtle thyroid abnormalities. I spent the next 20 years fine tuning my hormone expertise in disorders like Hashimoto's disease, perimenopause, and stress related illness. Come join me as I share this new approach to hormones that empowers you to take control of your own thyroid and hormone imbalances. Let's dive in.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

hello. Good morning and welcome back to Beyond the Thyroid. Today I have a special guest for you guys, and this is gonna be fun because Dr. Heather Awadd is a family doctor and a certified life coach. She helps professional women in the menopause transition time, lose weight for the last time so they can live in the body they want. And she is also a member of the Menopause Society. That's so exciting'cause I took that test and got Menopause certified last fall. She has her own podcast, the Vibrant Menopause Podcast, where she discusses weight loss and midlife health topics that matter. So welcome to the show, Dr. Heather. It's so nice to have you here.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Thanks so much for having me.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

So I wanna just start by asking you, so you're a family doctor. You live in Minnesota.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm. Yes.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

just, just curious what decided you to make that transition from full-time family medicine to offering something that's really kind of off the beaten path?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Sure, sure. Well, I was rounding in nursing homes during COVID, and when we all got vaccinated, I thought, you know, it's just a good time right now to look at my life and think about what I want. And then at that same time, I was going on my own weight loss journey. So I, you know, it's a little bit of a vulnerable story, but I'm, you know, it was in my. Mid forties and started just gaining weight without changing anything that I had eaten. I was eating exactly the same. Pretty healthy. Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

So

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

And then just starts going up and up and it just kept going up. You know, I hit that, I hit that level that I was never supposed to go above. I was, you know, I went to a level where I was like, this is frankly unhealthy. All the things that I tried after babies did not work. I tried some actual diets that made me feel terrible, like keto. I just felt terrible. So and then I actually went to an app-based program on my phone and worked super hard for six months. You know, grinding down, getting the weight off. And then there was no maintenance plan there. It was calorie counting and restriction forever, so I bounced back to an even higher weight and I thought, I'm 50. My body is broken, and so many people have that same experience. Right. I'm 50. My body is broken.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

thinking about what you're saying.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Holy cow. Parallel universe here.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yes. It's such a common experience.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

just, it's so darn common.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

And I thought, you know, if this is happening to everyone, there's gotta be an answer.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I dug into hormone changes and of course when our estrogen and all the other, you know, hormones change with menopause, this goes throughout our whole body. So this is a, you know, something that. Affects digestive hormones as well. So then I found that we get this bump in insulin resistance at that time.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

because it's a bump, we really notice it, right? Like all of a sudden I'm fine and then all of a sudden the weight just is going up. Or people will tell me.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

like, whoa, what the

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

In a week, I just gained 10 pounds and yeah, so,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I thought, but we know how to lose weight for insulin resistance. So I dug into that research and I thought, oh, this is the key. Then I was also getting some coaching at the time because I was rethinking my life and my career and everything,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

and it turned out I, I was a big emotional eater. I ate my.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Oh,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I ate my uncomfortable feelings. I ate my frustrations, I ate my stress, I ate my good feelings to amp up a better, a better moment. And so through coaching I learned how to not do that anymore as well. And then I thought, this is it. I've cracked the science part, the biology part, and with the coaching, I know how to make it easy for people and simple for people. And so I thought this could be my next act. I can have my own business and bring this to menopausal women who a lot of'em were like me, are super busy professionals, have been pretty good and pretty fine, and then all of a sudden the weight goes up and up. So that's, that's my work now.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah, Noelle, that is, that has totally been my experience too, and it's just, when I look back. I don't even really know when I started into perimenopause. I mean, I can remember I mean, I'm 59 and when I had my baby when I was 44, so clearly I wasn't in menopause then.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I mean by, by the time she was 3 I had had a frozen shoulder.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Ah, Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

and you know, there was a lot of other emotional upheaval going on in my life and now I'm like, hmm, I wonder if that was perimenopause or not,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

So, you know, and so for me, the weight gain did not start until I ended up having a hysterectomy.'cause I

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Okay,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

GYN and he was like, oh, here, go on these pellets. They're wonderful. At the time I didn't know anything.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

sure.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I was like, oh, sure pellets. That's great. You don't have to do anything. You just go every three months. Well, I ended up having to have a hysterectomy probably because of the levels and the fluctuations that you get when you take pellets, which Are not really so good for you.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

right.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

and then once I had that hysterectomy, it was like, okay. What the heck? Just,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

you know, because that's like, boom, you're in menopause. That's, that's it. That's the last, so it was like, oh wow, what do I do now? And you know, luckily I had started in on the hormone thing, but I had never had to struggle with weight

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

ever.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I mean, I'm an emotional not eater.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Okay.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

When I stress, I forget to eat. I'm

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Ah,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I'm just ready to go to bed, you

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

So I was, I was not an emotional eater, and now I find myself, it's just like, why am I having a struggle? Why am I having to buy new clothes?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Right, right.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

going on

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

here? But anyway, so your audience, if I remember right, your audience is mostly professionals

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

physicians. A lot of physicians.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

of physicians. Yep.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

And is it about coaching that's different than just going to a weight loss clinic where

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Sure,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

medicine?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

sure. I would say we deal with all the different aspects of it of what goes on with weight gain and weight loss. You know, a lot of people will come tell me, I want to, I wanna lose the weight so that I will feel better about myself. And when you go to a weight loss center, maybe not a weight loss clinic.'cause there are a lot of doctors who are, are versed in this work as well. But they'll say, okay, yeah, we'll help you lose weight so you can feel better about yourself. And with coaching, I tell people this is a parallel track. We're going to actually start feeling better about ourselves now and we're gonna lose the weight now and we're gonna do these together. So within a month people are noticing they're losing a bunch of weight. And they like themselves and they talk kindly to themselves. You know, you and I have done some of this positive intelligence work and,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

so this you know, this is important work to make friends with yourself at the beginning. It actually makes weight loss easier because if we're mean to ourselves all the way down, eventually you get tired of hearing that voice, which also makes you get tired of your weight loss journey. If you're nice to yourself all the way down, you're thinking, well. Okay, what should I do now? And you're talking to yourself as a friend. You're talking about to yourself as someone who cares about you, and you're thinking, well, I can think about how I wanna nourish myself, how I wanna show up at this event that I'm not sure about the food. All that is very helpful for changing that. And then also when just looking at things like people who have been socialized as women and girls, you know, have a higher level of people pleasing than some other folks. Although I think all humans have some of it because we're tribal, you know, from the times we lived in caves and had to stay together. But that people pleasing part. I think that women at the menopause transition start looking at that anyway, it's that whole you know, I don't have any more fucks left to give. And you can edit that out if that that's not there. But that's a meno, that's a menopause thing, right? And so you start to look at,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

this, this is for over 21. They

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

good, good.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

or not.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

So you start expanding that area of your life where you get to choose what you want. And part of it is choosing what you want to eat. I choose what I put in my mouth. The people whose house I'm at, don't choose it. The people who put on the event do not choose it. My spouse does not choose it. My partner, my kids, none of these people choose what I eat. And so there's kind of that agency that you can get from coaching as well. So those are kind of the things that I think are especially helpful.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

So is this is this the thought model? Do you use the thought model?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I do and,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Okay.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I, I sure.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

what that is?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

So this is the thought model comes from the Life Coach school, from Brooke Castillo, but is also based on cognitive behavioral therapy. So there's a lot of good neuroscience on this idea that what we think causes how we feel and then that affects what we do. The think, feel, do. So what you can use that for, in coaching, we always start where we are right now and think forward. We don't look at the past so much. It's in coaching. We're really looking at what do I wanna do now and what I wanna do coming up. So sometimes what we'll do is you can choose how you wanna feel in a situation and then you choose the thought that you wanna thank on purpose. So for instance, we just had a holiday weekend and I was coaching with some alumni in my group, some alums.'cause they, they get continuous support

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

they were saying, I got this weekend and I'm gonna be at the cabin and there's gonna be snacks everywhere, just sitting out, you know? And I said, well, how do you wanna feel? Do you wanna feel calm and centered? Do you wanna feel very you know, very focused. Like I had someone on the call who's like, I'm actively losing weight right now. I wanna feel super focused. So we thought, well, what thought do you wanna think on purpose as a mantra that will give you that feeling? So for her it was, the snacks are not gonna derail me. I'm actively losing. So she thought that over and over that was her plan to think that when she, when she faced, you know, the, the counters full of snacks

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

but if she had wanted to just feel calm and peaceful, it would've been a different thought. You know, so you get to, you can take the feeling you want and choose a mantra basically that will help you feel that way, and then that will help you take the actions that you want. So I assume that this person was very successful over the weekend facing, you know, the bag of chips and being like, not this weekend. I am actively losing. This is not gonna take me down.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah. So that's, that's how I like to use it.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

that's very cool. Yeah. You know, coaching and the thought model that you're talking about, when I first heard about it, I was basically in shock

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

heard about it. It's like, wait, you mean all these mean thoughts that I think about myself are not true?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yes,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

how, you know, before I heard that. It never occurred to me that my mind make up not true things

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yes.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

To motivate that, that I had been using for years, not true things about myself, to motivate myself to do things I didn't actually really wanna do,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

that, but that were necessary. And, and then once I figured that out, it was also very hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that being kind to myself was actually a better way to get motivated

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Than being mean to myself. know what I

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yeah. You know, I heard a great

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

something you think about?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yes.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

you coach people

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes. And I love the analogy for the thoughts in our heads of like, if you think about a couple of teachers you had in high school, the mean one that like really in the AP class it got you all, you know, you gotta do this and this and this to get to the test and it was a miserable experience, but there were also those people who were inspiring and look at how great this is. And I love what you're doing. I love what you thought about that and, and inspired you forward to do well on the AP test. Kind of pulled you along with this inspirational and caring voice. And we have both those voices in our head. So we don't need the mean, we don't need the mean voice. It's a thought loop. And, and we can try to shrink that and call on, you know, the wiser mind, the kind mind that is our friend.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yeah. Letting go. Letting go of the the mean thoughts that I think about myself, that I use to get through all my education, my training, you know, starting a business. All the things that I have done over my life, that was very tough for me.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

and you know, looking back and realizing, you know, what, those, those were survival techniques

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

and that being upset and angry that I have a mean voice in my head doesn't it get smaller.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Right, right.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

so, it's so interesting. It's so interesting how our brains work. But

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

So, so you help people use that model to change how they think about

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

A lot of it.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

eating and meal planning and food and,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

mostly about themselves because then,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Okay.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

we can customize everything to fit their lives, their work schedules, their family schedules. When do they wanna eat? Do they wanna do mindful eating, where they wait until they're hungry and then they eat? Or do they wanna eat at exactly 5:30 before their teenager has to be driven to a sport in the evening or they have a meeting at 11:45, that's a lunch meeting. How do we make that all work? And if you can work with yourself as a friend, then that stuff gets easy.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

gets really easy. It's like, oh, this is simple. I just do this and this and this, and we experiment and we figure out what we like. And I really work on permanent weight loss, so I'm constantly asking people, what do you wanna do? Did you like that or did you not like it? Well, if you didn't like it, let's do something different. If you like that, you know, can you see yourself doing that long term? Do you like it like at that level? There's a lot of joy. I mean, the people in my group, my group this winter, I would say, I want you to get what you want. And they look at me like, that's crazy. I can have what I want. Yes, you can have what you want, you know?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes, but I want chocolate cake.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Well, you can have chocolate cake, just not every day.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Just not all the time. Right,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

so are there specific ways that you help people set and think about their weight loss goals

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Sure, sure. So mostly I just ask them what they want to do and, and I feel like people can have what they want and some people will pick a very moderate goal. Some people will pick a pretty big goal. I do look at BMIs. BMI is not like the be all, end all. It's not perfect. It's not even, you know, in some ways very helpful. But it will tell me if someone's going for too thin or if someone is if they're staying really in an unhealthy weight range, then I offer people, let's go there and see how you feel then.'cause a lot of times people pick a small goal because they don't believe they can go farther. Then when they get there, and it's been pretty easy, they say, you know, probably 10 or 15 more might be healthier for me. My blood sugar's better, but not all the way.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

so we go a little farther and I deal with a lot of healthy people too who aren't looking at blood sugar measures. But basically I mostly just ask people what they want for their weight goal.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

mm-hmm. Yeah. So you mentioned blood sugar. So

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

have people wear a blood, a continuous glucose monitor, or what? What do you recommend for checking blood sugar.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I don't but I do have some clients who use it and so I'll help them with that.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Not a particular requirement to do

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

It's not. Everything is so customized in my group but still easy. I want people to know it's still very easy. So some people will do that, but some people have just been to the doctor and been told they have a high blood sugar, fasting blood sugar, or a high A1C and then they work with me and then they go back to the doctor again. And, and magically, not magically, scientifically it's down. It's down.'cause they've changed how they eat. Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Sure, sure. What about weighing? Is that also totally custom? Is it like, okay, some people weigh once a week, some people wanna weigh every day. How do you talk about weighing?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

It is somewhat custom, but I do actually recommend that when people are actively losing weight, that they weigh themselves every day. We do use the thought model to think about what that means'cause a lot of people have scale phobia or it's kind of that question, what are you making that number mean? It is the gravitational pull of your body as you stand on the scale. Does it really mean anything about how good you are at your job? What a good friend you are, what kind of daughter you are. It means none of those things. So we work on kind of. Trying to take the emotion out of that, out of that moment. It does help people see kind of where their range is'cause some people naturally will move around about five pounds. So,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

no, I find that to be true

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah, and some people it's a little tighter. You know, maybe it's only two pounds if you had a bowel movement or not. That will change if you ate at a restaurant and got a lot of salt, that will change.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

so just noticing those things and being like, oh, my weight's up and I had salty food last night. No big deal.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Sitting on an airplane for four

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

did that yesterday.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes. And you get the, you know, maybe your legs swelled up, you know, all those things. Kind of taking the meaning out of it and the emotion out of that, just so that way people can, you know, just watch where they're going and, and see what's important and what's not.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Okay. Okay. Very good. okay, let's talk about science just

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

bit because I know you have gone deep into this science. So let's talk about what is recommended and what is not recommended.'cause there's lots of myths out there.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Sure.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

of social media chatter about, What to eat, what not to eat, what

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

you should be doing. Some people are like, oh no, don't exercise at all. Some people are like, oh no, you must do kind of exercise. You know, what is the science that you use to inform

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Sure,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

what you have people shoot for?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

sure. Well, let's break this down between food and exercise. So, when we look at food, I like to tell people that what you, you know, what you eat is probably 80% of the issue. So it's good to kind of start there that the food really does matter.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Okay.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Cutting calories is not great at menopause transition and beyond because I meet a lot of women who've cut really low and they can't lose weight because their cortisol goes really high then because their body thinks there's some emergency. And says, don't let anything go.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

people

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

let anything go.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

single

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah. I get people, it's hard to transition from really eating hardly anything to eating more and then losing weight while you're eating more. But that, that is important. Your body needs to know that it's nourished. With insulin resistance, one thing that's really important is to not graze all day long, which is something that when you're in your twenties or thirties, is a great way to lose weight. But at this point it's really a poor way to lose weight because we're trying, with insulin resistance, we wanna bring our insulin down to a better level. And looking at that and looking at people in the seventies and early eighties who were thin were talking about avoiding snacking, eating meals instead. Intermittent fasting can be a great tool for this, but does not need to be used. I would say about half of my clients will use an eating window. You know, I had one woman who wanted to be looser about what she ate, and so she's doing 16 hours of not eating and eight hours of eating on most days, and that's giving her more freedom about what she eats during that eight hours,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

she does I, this, this is very specific, but does she three meals into that eight hour

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

she does two.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

does she only do

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

She does two. And sometimes she says she needs a mini meal in the middle. So, but she doesn't eat the whole time of the eight hours. So still when you're talking about an eating window, whether it's 12 eating for 12 hours or eating for eight hours, you're still avoiding snacking. The other half of my clients come in, they're like, I'm really not interested in intermittent fasting is a tool, so they

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

actually lose all the weight eating three meals and no snacks. And there's a little bit of transition to get to eating three meals and not being hungry in between meals. But a lot of people do that and a lot of people do not believe me that that is, that that is true and a way to go. But, but it is true and a way to go,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Well, I mean, if you think about it, we were taught and our kids are taught at school, oh, it's snack time.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yes.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

like, oh, you did something great here. Have a snack. It's like we reward ourselves snacks and it's so and I think,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

And very cultural.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

for it as a culture.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

are paying for that.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

we are. Yeah, I so agree. And it's important that we get protein at these meals. And, and what I'll say too is that I know we are in a hyper protein focused culture talk right now. If you look on the internet.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

truth about protein?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I'm not sure that we have truth, that we need that much, and I truly believe that 10 years from now, we're gonna say 2024 and 2025. Remember how we were just crazy for protein and now nobody does that.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

the good thing is that it's good to talk about it because I think that midlife women are a little low, so you need

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

20 to 30 grams. In each meal, Mm-hmm. actually have to measure that, but a lot of times people will look at their meal and say, well, I had this green salad for lunch. Why am I not losing weight? And I said, and I'll ask, what protein did you have with that? And they'll say, oh, I didn't have any.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Right.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

we have to make sure that we have it at all the meals. Including the first meal of the day. And I'll say, I actually tell people whether you're looking at vegetarian protein, like tofu or Tempe,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

beans, or you're looking at something like red meat, chicken, fish to take kind of the size of your shape of your palm, including the thickness. So if I get a chicken breast, you know, they're all different sizes. I grill some chicken breasts, I wanna put it on something or mix it in with something. And I will literally look at my hand and I will cut a piece the size of that square of my palm

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Oh,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

and then I will start there.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. That could be half a chicken breast, or it could be, if they're small, it could be a whole one.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah.'cause they're very, they're quite variable. So I take that amount and then after I eat that and some vegetables and some healthy fats, if I need more food'cause I'm not satisfied, then I'll have some, I'll put some more on my plate. But, but usually that is a good amount. So it doesn't have to be hard. But I just don't think the evidence is there that you need one pound or one gram of protein per pound of your ideal weight. I think that's great for bodybuilders. I don't think most people need that. Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I got you. Okay. what do you think about protein supplements? So like I see people stirring whey protein into smoothies and it's just like, well, that's okay, but what else is in that smoothie? Did you put a bunch of sweet stuff in there?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

and so i'm uncertain how to counsel people about protein powders and protein supplements and protein shakes and all that

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Right.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

all sweet. And I'm like, Ugh,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah. There's multiple layers in in those for sure. And, and you're right to question it. I mean, a smoothie is better than a shake. Anything you, you're using for, because you get more fiber, but actually having, just eating the fruit

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

having some protein powder in a, you know, in a milk that makes sense for you or in some water might be okay. I would say we don't, I mean, protein powders are a processed food, so I would say no more than once a day.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

then from once you're down to once a day start having it less than once a day, try to find some other things that you like. Because we do wanna reduce our processed food and anything that you're using for weight loss, you want to think, I love this and I wanna eat this way for the next 10 years. Or it won't be permanent, you'll lose weight and you'll be like, I hated those shakes and now I'm done and I'm not gonna drink'em anymore. And then your weight's gonna go back up again,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Gotcha.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

so.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

makes perfect sense. Okay, well you alluded to it and I wanna go back

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

fiber?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. So I think vegetables or berries for every meal, if you are at midlife and beyond. So from here on out, probably early 40s til a 100

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

All the way?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

all the way vegetables or berries at every meal. Berries have the best scientific evidence for doing all the best things for our body. Fight cancer, fight dementia, make us feel better. They taste sweet, but they actually have so much fiber that they're, that they don't raise your blood sugar high.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

They're amazing. They, that that should be an everyday thing for women at.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yeah,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Midlife and beyond. But otherwise, vegetables, yes, every meal. And you, and most people don't do that. And it's time to make friends with your vegetables and make sure you have'em at every meal. They're good at breakfast, they're good at all the meals. So I.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

The greens are gonna help your brain. All the different colors are helpful. I work with professional women, so this 30, 30 colorful vegetable, different colors a week they don't, we don't have time for that.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

too,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah, it's lovely if that's, yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

is another thing I wanna, I wanna put that on the, I'm gonna come back to

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

If it sounds fun to you, great. But otherwise I would say don't, don't bother. Don't worry. Just, just do, just get vegetables at all the meals and you'll be, you'll be good.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

that fiber really helps you keep that blood sugar curve

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

and normal and not spiking up high, which helps you, helps you keep your insulin from spiking up high and that is gonna help you live at a normal weight, help you lose weight, help you be healthier.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm. what about seeds? You mentioned berries, but what about seeds? Like pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah, those are great. Those are great.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

are good

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. They've got a lot of fiber in them. They're healthy.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Got a little bit of

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

A little bit of protein. Yep. So they're, and I think one of the things that people, when they leave processed foods, like they're not eating crackers as much and they're not, you know, eating chips. They're like, where's the crunch in my life when,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

that crunch In

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yes.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I love crunch and I love salt.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Especially when you don't want a vegetable. They're like celery's not gonna do it for me. I want, I want crunch. So adding those things on top are great. Like, you know. Sprinkling those, those nice raw pumpkin seeds on almost any of your foods is great.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Other great on stir fries, they're great on vegetables, you know, take them in there. We can overeat nuts and seeds. So

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah, they're pretty high fat, some of them.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

they are, and they're very, you know, we like, you know, we like to say that we like nutrient dense foods, but they're so dense that I do. I had a, a client who.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

even sweet, like cashews are

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah. And I had a client who was gaining weight and was able to lose weight really easily, and the only thing we did for her was move her nuts and seeds to once a day. But she was, you know, just using them as a snack food and to, you know, having a handful after dinner.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

was using them as a

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah. So you really want to.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

that snacking thing.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Not over, just know that there's something that, they're, one of the things I see commonly over eaten. So great to have,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Okay.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

but not, not every meal, not every, you know, not all the time.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

tons of

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

tons of

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

There are some nice seed crackers that are just seeds that you can buy at the grocery store, or you can make, there are lots of good recipes online if you wanna make'em at home.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Cool.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

so those are nice and crunchy.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

What about supplements. Are there any supplements that you discourage or encourage people to use?'cause I'll tell you what, A lot of times what I see is people come into my program and they've just got this laundry list of stuff

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

and how do you counsel people about what really need to be having and what they should put aside.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

sure. I really try to look at kind of the minimum amount of what people need. Once you hit the menopause transition, you don't actually absorb your B vitamins as well, so probably a high quality vitamin with a B complex would be helpful. 80% of midlife women are low in magnesium.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

But, but this is also something that people need to run by their doctor or their medical team because it can interact with things like thyroid medications. So you have to look at timing. So again, this is just information and not

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

medical advice. So those are two big ones. We have some evidence in mice, and I think we're gonna get this for humans. That we need a, a probiotic and a healthy gut for weight loss. You know, there's a little bit of evidence there. It's not super robust, but I think. You know, doing things like eating fermented foods with your meals or

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Sure.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

taking a probiotic is helpful during your weight loss journey. Probably good for just your health in general. So those are,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

since, since we don't eat our vegetables straight out of the ground, they go through at least

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

you know, probably insecticide or you know, something to, you know, even if it's just something that comes and goes, but it probably removes a lot of the surface bacteria the lettuce leaves and all the things. So yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah, so it's something to pay attention to as well. Those are the things I

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

foods have been. Sort of process,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

right.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I'm thinking about bananas and stuff where they, where they put'em in a room and they gas'em with bromine so that there's nothing on the surfaces of them or whatever.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

And even if you try to eat organic to get better, you know, more vitamins in your food, you can't do it all the time. And sometimes it's too expensive and you can't, you can't get everything.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

you are eating what other people put in front of you, and it's like,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

what's the provenance of this? I'm not eating it. Well, okay, then what are you going to eat instead?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

And then the other one that's just a health one is probably Omega-3 supplement a lot of.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Okay.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Should be. It's something that people should talk about with their doctor.'cause you probably are a little low in Omega-3.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm. Okay, so we've got be complex. We've got minerals and Omega-3 and probiotics.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

that, that tracks pretty good with what I recommend for folks as well. What about hormone replacement? Do you encourage folks to talk to their doctors about that? I mean, you said you're in the menopause Society, so I'm assuming

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah. I think everyone should have a discussion with their doc.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

about. You know, the scare tactics of the Women's Health Initiative and

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

why all this hormones cause cancer business was really outta proportion, and there's a lot of healthy reasons beyond hot flashes,

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Right.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

should be taking hormones. Do you feel like hormone replacement can replace. So you were talking about insulin resistance when you lower your estrogen, do you think, do you know if there's data that replacing estrogen can reverse that insulin resistance process?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah, I think it does not short and sweet. It's, yeah. Yeah, it's pretty, it's found to be weight neutral and people are starting to call this kind of people taking hormones, menopause, menopause, hormone therapy, because it doesn't fully replace. The amount that, like I personally take hormones as well, and the amount I have is a whiff compared to what we used to give people and a whiff compared to what my body used to make for itself. But it does do a lot of medically and, you know, medically good things for me and makes me feel better when I take it. I think everyone should have a discussion about it. I wanna just tell a story too that I went to my own family doctor who I adore, and I said, it's time to talk about hormones. And she put her arms up and said, I'm afraid of hormones. And I said, okay.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Aw.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Let's go on and talk about my cholesterol and my blood pressure. And I went and found a gynecologist who was very well versed in hormones and she's now on my team. So sometimes you have to add someone on your team. And not all gynecologists know this stuff. Not all primary care doctors know this stuff, but many do. And if you go to menopause.org and search for a certified provider you can find someone in your town. Most likely especially if you live in a big metro, who can be someone to add to your team. Because we, as we go along, we find that at midlife we need to add more people to our medical team. So I'm very happy with this. I have them both now and

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

love them both.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I really do strongly encourage one of both of our common acquaintance, dear friend Rachel Rubin, is now teaching other doctors. And it's interesting because she's a urologist

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

wouldn't necessarily think a urologist is gonna know about menopausal hormones. But she has now started a course for physicians

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Nice.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

to teach hormone therapy and safe hormone therapy, dosing for menopausal transition. And I'm so excited about that'cause she cited a bunch of a statistic. She said, less than 6% of menopausal women are offered hormones. And I'm like, oh, that is so tragic. tragic.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

and it's even used by, only around, last thing I saw was around 17% of women get it, which is too low for what it should be. It's not that everyone should have it, but 17% is you know,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Way too

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

way too low.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

too

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

people definitely need to ask.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah. Yeah. Alright, well, so tell folks how they can find you. So

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Sure,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

how they can find you.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yeah. If you go to http://heatherawadmd.com/, you'll get to my website. I am also easy to find on LinkedIn and Instagram. But if you go to my website, there's a button right there when you open it up. And if you'd like to talk to me, I do offer a real results strategy session where you tell me your weight loss story and I give you your two next best steps. Sometimes I am taking one-on-one clients, depending on when you listen to this. Sometimes I have a group program coming up, which people love the group program'cause they get to do it together in community. But if you go there and, and punch that button right there, then you can have a visit with me and I love doing those. Also, if you go to the website and scroll to the bottom, you can just get on my newsletter list as well. And I weekly send out information. Us in recipes that are great for menopause health. I talk about things that I'm doing with my current clients, so you can get some free advice there. So those are probably the best ways to connect with me.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

That is fantastic. Okay, so I do have one other

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Sure,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

and this has to do

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

the new class of weight loss drug. Well, they're not actually that new, but the the GLP ones and the G-I-P-G-L-P combinations, when should someone consider starting those medications?

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Sure. I think it's great to especially consider it if you have high blood sugar, pre-diabetes or diabetes and your doctor's recommending it. I think it's an optional consideration if your doctor says you would qualify for it and you would like to do this for weight loss. The times that I really don't recommend it are, if you are like Dana, Dr. Dana Gibbs here and myself who were just fine and then you gained weight at midlife, I would say don't bother you know, come work with one of us. You can do this with lifestyle and you're gonna need to for maintenance anyway. There are, you know, there are cycling, I don't wanna say restrictions, times when people can't get this right. They're like, right now again, there's, it's in the news, people can't get their weight loss drugs shortages. Yeah. There we go.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

So as these things kind of come and go I, it's gonna be that way for a while. So, and then also, you know, a lot of women come to me because they say, I went to see my doctor, they wrote this prescription and I didn't want to start there? I wanted to start with some lifestyle changes.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Mm-hmm.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

You know, then again, come to one of us and, and we will help you do this make it simple make it work for you and your life, and this is a code that you can crack for yourself with some help.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

know, that's, that's such an encouraging message though, because it, it feels to me like, The world has gone from fat shaming, oh, you're such a terrible person

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

lose weight to, oh my gosh, you're totally helpless. In the face of this, there's nothing you can

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

So all you can do is go on these drugs. And, I tell people a lot as like, look, there is a happy medium. There are things you can do. It is not just a casual, okay, well I'm gonna skip dinner or I'm gonna skip breakfast.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

generally work, but yeah, I see a lot of, you know, and it's not learned helplessness exactly, but

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yeah,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

okay, I couldn't do it before, so I'm just gonna give up and go on this medicine.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

yeah, yeah. There are resources so. I hope people will, will use them. Definitely.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

All right. this has been super informative. Thank you very much for coming. And

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yes.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

I get to see you in person again soon. It's been a while.

heather-awad--md--she-her-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah, me too. Me too. It's, yeah, I'm missing you too, and thanks for this great conversation. It's been really nice.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_05-28-2025_100545

Yeah, you're welcome. Alright, I'll talk to you soon. Take care.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Beyond the Thyroid. If you found this information valuable, it would mean so much to me to take a few seconds and give the podcast a five star review. It helps other people who need this information find the show and it's really easy. Just search and click on the name of the show, Beyond the Thyroid, and scroll to the bottom to ratings and reviews. I truly do read and appreciate. Remember, when it comes to hormones, there will always be more to discover, so follow the show so you get the next episode as soon as it's released. And if you or someone you care about needs a caring doctor to help figure out how to heal hormone problems that other doctors have dismissed, check out my website at www. danagibbsmd. com. And if you're not a physician, please keep in mind, while I'm a doctor, I'm not your doctor. The content of this podcast is my opinion and it's for educational and entertainment purposes only. This is not meant to be individual medical advice and you should consult your own physician for any medical issues or diagnoses that you may have. I look forward to continuing this journey with you beyond the thyroid.