What’s your take on peptides? The GLP-1’s like Tirzepatide, BCP 157, Semorelin, etc. especically in perimenopause women.
Oh boy. This could be an entire blog post. Peptides are short chains of amino acid (the building blocks of proteins) which are essential for many bodily functions like muscle growth, recovery, inflammation and hormones. Your body naturally makes peptides. Getting peptides from food or protein supplements like collagen peptides is completely normal. Injectable or synthetic peptides are designed to manipulate signaling pathways. Many of these pathways are not FDA approved. There are a variety of synthetic peptides that are trending right now, as you mentioned above, and each target different issues from blood sugar control, inflammation, increased injury repair, fat loss, cognition, increased muscle mass, increased energy etc. While these are very popular in the “biohacking” world they are not a cure-all world I would very weary to recommend as there is a lot of misuse taking place.
I do think FDA approved GLP-1’s can be a TOOL for certain populations. Tool being the key word. None of these drugs can replace proper nutrition, physical activity, quality sleep, etc. Focus on doing the basics well and consistently first.
How do you know if you’re in perimenopause? What are you doing to combat perimenopause and what should I be asking my doctor?
There is no single test to diagnose if you’re in perimenopause. It starts when your brain starts to recognize that you’re starting to run low on total eggs and basically freaks out! This can last 5-10 years before you actually go into menopause (12 months without a period). In blog post post I do explain signs and symptoms of perimenopause and labs to request from your doctor. This post also gives you an idea of what questions and conversations you should start to have with your doctor in your late 30’s – early 40’s. I have been on a hormone journey since trying to conceive with Kinsley in 2019-2020 and was diagnosed with premature ovarian failure (or insufficiency which is the nicer term). I’ve known for the past 5 or so years that I would enter my menopause during much earlier than most, so I’ve been keeping a close eye on my symptoms and hormone labs. I do take progesterone 14 days a month and I will be starting a low dose estrogen patch soon as well. I also have my nutrition, supplements, and workouts very dialed in to help ease symptoms and make me feel and age my best.
I haven’t started doing any sort of lasers for my skin yet and not sure where to start. What did you start with?
It truly depends on what your concerns are. For me, it was sun damage and skin losing some of its laxity as I am aging. First to target my sun spots, we did a bunch of rounds of BBL laser (I always do this in the winter months when I am not exposed to any sunlight). IPL/BBL are similar in what they target, which is the brown spots and pigmentation. My gal offers both but think BBL gives a little more bang for its buck. After that, we did ablative CO2 laser on my face, neck, chest and arms to truly get rid of all signs of sun damage, wrinkles, fine lines, acne scars and improve skin laxity. There are a number of CO2 lasers (ablative vs non ablative) that will give you different down time and results but I tend to opt for the most intense just to get the most out of the procedure. A more entry level laser would be HALO or Ultraclear if you’re nervous about doing anything too intense to start and don’t want significant downtime. Lastly, in the spring and summer I do microneedling every 6 months for tightening and maintenance.
I would love some matching sweat suits that won’t break the bank!
Aerie is my go to for inexpensive sweat sets:
Where do you shop for decor for the boys’ rooms?
I get all of their bedding at Home Goods and then different decor pieces like artwork from PB Kids.
What drug store mascara do you use and do you like it?
I recently switched to a deep burgundy/purple mascara as I have blue/green eyes and I love it! I think deep brown mascara or purple mascara is a game changer for making eyes pop. Purple specifically for those with lighter eye colors and deep brown for everyone else. I moved away from black mascara as it was too harsh and haven’t looked back.
Elevated sneaker-ish shoes that aren’t Sambas?!
Best electrolytes for everyday use?
I love LMNT but I don’t take it on days I’m really active (think 3+ hours pickleball) or sweating a lot (ex. sauna). I have been liking Ultima for more daily use. The average person does not need electrolytes, and water alone can sufficiently hydrate; however, I I’m pretty active, enjoy the taste, and feel like it helps me drink more water. I really like the Ultima flavors and it’s lower in sodium than LMNT which makes it a better option for those who are not athletes but like to take electrolytes.
xx, A + H
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