Midlife Advice | Perimenopause, Hormones & Midlife Women’s Health

If you have tried fillers or lasers for jowls, hooded eyes, or skin laxity after 40 and are still not happy with what you see, you're in the right place. Dr. Carolyn Chang is a board-certified plastic surgeon who has spent her career focused on natural-looking results for midlife women, and she is here to give you real answers.She trained under one of the inventors of the modern facelift and is one of the only female plastic surgeons in San Francisco named annually to Castle Connolly's America's Top Doctors. She is also refreshingly direct about what actually works and what doesn't, and this conversation covers all of it.We discuss:What fillers, lasers, and tightening devices can realistically do for jowls and skin laxity, and where they hit their limitEyelid surgery (blepharoplasty): who it actually helps, what it involves, and why most women are surprised by how short the recovery isWhat a modern facelift is really doing, and why it looks nothing like what most people pictureThe deep plane facelift: what the marketing gets wrong and what to actually ask your surgeonWhether repeated energy treatments like Ultherapy can affect your ability to have a facelift laterTummy tuck and breast surgery after pregnancy: what you can realistically expectBreast implant illness: is it real? The two things that have to be true before the timing is right for surgeryWhat facial surgery, tummy tucks, and mommy makeovers cost in a major metro marketHow to evaluate a surgeon, what before-and-afters actually tell you, and the red flags to look for in a consultationGuest: Dr. Carolyn Chang, Board-Certified Plastic Surgeondrcarolynchang.com | @carolynchangmdI want to hear from you. Send me a text or voicemail!💌 If you’re a midlife woman navigating perimenopause, hormone shifts, personal growth, and just not feeling like yourself, you’ll fit right in to my community. Join my email list where I share personal stories, favorite products, high-protein recipes, book recs and exclusive discounts. I’ll send you my 3 favorite smoothie recipes to get you started!✨For more midlife advice on perimenopause, hormone health, nervous system regulation, and living with purpose in your 40s and 50s follow me: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @heyjessicalong⚡️Ready to feel centered, energized, and like yourself again? Learn more about working together at belongwellness.com.

Hair extensions can be a great solution for midlife women experiencing hair thinning, but they are not right for everyone. A 20-year specialist breaks down who qualifies, which method works best for thinning hair, and what it really costs.This conversation covers everything I didn't know to ask. Extensions are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Whether they work for you depends on the type of thinning you have, how much hair you have, and which method is used. The wrong choice can actually make things worse. This episode helps you figure out which category you're in before you spend a dollar.My guest is Aubree Hill, founder of Exhale House, a luxury hair salon in Mill Valley. She has over 20 years of experience and specializes in invisible, ethically sourced Great Lengths hair extensions for women with thinning or changing hair.In this episode we cover:Why hair thinning in midlife hits harder than you'd expect (it's not just about the hair)Which types of thinning are actually good candidates for extensionsWhat strand-by-strand, tape-in, and weft extensions are and how they're differentWhy the method matters so much for women with thinning hairHow much hair you need to qualify and what to do if you're not there yetWhat Great Lengths extensions are and why Aubree uses them exclusivelyThe real cost breakdown: what to budget per year and per appointmentWhat the daily maintenance actually looks like (and who it won't work for)What you can and can't do with extensions: workouts, pools, oceans, saunasThe safety risk that can permanently damage your follicles (and how to avoid it)How to find the right stylist and what questions to ask in a consultationWhy this work is about more than hairConnect with Aubree: exhalehousesalon.com | @exhale_house | @thebusinessofbeautiful | 415-704-6335I want to hear from you. Send me a text or voicemail!💌 If you’re a midlife woman navigating perimenopause, hormone shifts, personal growth, and just not feeling like yourself, you’ll fit right in to my community. Join my email list where I share personal stories, favorite products, high-protein recipes, book recs and exclusive discounts. I’ll send you my 3 favorite smoothie recipes to get you started!✨For more midlife advice on perimenopause, hormone health, nervous system regulation, and living with purpose in your 40s and 50s follow me: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @heyjessicalong⚡️Ready to feel centered, energized, and like yourself again? Learn more about working together at belongwellness.com.

You've heard you need to lift heavy to build (or keep!) your muscle after 40. But what if your body just isn’t cooperating with that plan right now? Good news: there's another way, and science backs it up.I've been training with Ashley Selman for months, and I've been waiting to record this episode because I knew it was going to be the one everyone sends to a friend.Ashley has 30+ years of experience training Olympic athletes, including Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Brandi Chastain, and coaching at Stanford and the University of Oregon. Now she works with midlife women. And the method she uses, blood flow restriction training, is something most of us have never heard of.Here's the version I wish someone had explained to me: little rubber cuffs on your arms and legs, 5-pound weights, 20 minutes, at home. Same muscle-building response as heavy lifting. Not a gimmick. Studied for decades.In this episode we cover:What BFR actually is and why the name sounds more alarming than it shouldThe science behind why light weights can trigger the same response as heavy liftingWhy this is such a good fit for women in perimenopause and menopause specificallyHow it helps with weight loss, belly fat, and the body composition stuff that won't budgeThe cardio benefits nobody sees coming from a strength workoutHow to start at home without needing a coach in the room with youAshley also shares her own story: hip replacement at 43, menopause at 43, lost 8 pounds of muscle. Found BFR and her life changed.If your body has been telling you the advice everyone gives you doesn't fit your life right now, this one is for you.💪 Connect with Ashley: selistrength.com | @selistrengthI want to hear from you. Send me a text or voicemail!💌 If you’re a midlife woman navigating perimenopause, hormone shifts, personal growth, and just not feeling like yourself, you’ll fit right in to my community. Join my email list where I share personal stories, favorite products, high-protein recipes, book recs and exclusive discounts. I’ll send you my 3 favorite smoothie recipes to get you started!✨For more midlife advice on perimenopause, hormone health, nervous system regulation, and living with purpose in your 40s and 50s follow me: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @heyjessicalong⚡️Ready to feel centered, energized, and like yourself again? Learn more about working together at belongwellness.com.

Tried every diet and still can't make it stick? Certified life coach and bestselling author Lizzie Merritt is here to tell you it's not your fault, and to explain a completely different approach to weight loss after 40 that starts with your brain and nervous system, not a food plan.If you've counted calories, tracked macros, done the cleanses, and found yourself starting over on Monday more times than you can count, you will want to hear this.Lizzie Merritt, bestselling author of LIGHT: The New Psychology of Weight Loss, explains why traditional diets fail so many midlife women, and what a brain-based approach offers instead.In this conversation, we cover:Why your brain cannot build new habits when your nervous system does not feel safeTwo common patterns that drive emotional eating in midlife women: people pleasing and perfectionismThe LIGHT Method: a five-step framework that treats weight loss as learning, not rule-followingWhy changing 'I am trying to lose weight' to 'I am training to lose weight' matters more than it soundsWhat happens after you hit your goal weight, and how identity shapes long-term successLizzie also shares the one mindset shift that helped her clients break the start-over-Monday cycle for good.Resources from this episode:LIGHT: The New Psychology of Weight Loss | https://amzn.to/4uCqyJmThe Confident Body Podcast | https://confidentbody.coach/podcast/ConfidentBody.coach | https://confidentbody.coach/I want to hear from you. Send me a text or voicemail!💌 If you’re a midlife woman navigating perimenopause, hormone shifts, personal growth, and just not feeling like yourself, you’ll fit right in to my community. Join my email list where I share personal stories, favorite products, high-protein recipes, book recs and exclusive discounts. I’ll send you my 3 favorite smoothie recipes to get you started!✨For more midlife advice on perimenopause, hormone health, nervous system regulation, and living with purpose in your 40s and 50s follow me: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @heyjessicalong⚡️Ready to feel centered, energized, and like yourself again? Learn more about working together at belongwellness.com.

Why you can’t relax, even when you finally have time, and what it has to do with your nervous system.You finally have a break. The house is quiet. There’s nothing urgent to do.And instead of relaxing…you feel restless. Anxious. Like you should be doing something.In this solo episode, I’m digging into why so many midlife women struggle to slow down (even when we want to) and why that uncomfortable, ants-y feeling isn’t a mindset problem, it’s a nervous system response.After years (or decades) of being in go-go-go mode taking care of everyone, managing everything and always being “on,” your body has learned that slowing down doesn’t feel safe. So when you finally have time to rest, your system pushes back.We’re talking about what’s really happening in your body in those moments and how you can start retraining your nervous system to actually feel calm again.If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t even know how to relax anymore,” this episode will hit home.➡️ My brand new group breathwork program for midlife women called Hello, Next-Level You is coming soon! Join the waitlist here! https://belongwellness.myflodesk.com/vzidtovzh7I want to hear from you. Send me a text or voicemail!💌 If you’re a midlife woman navigating perimenopause, hormone shifts, personal growth, and just not feeling like yourself, you’ll fit right in to my community. Join my email list where I share personal stories, favorite products, high-protein recipes, book recs and exclusive discounts. I’ll send you my 3 favorite smoothie recipes to get you started!✨For more midlife advice on perimenopause, hormone health, nervous system regulation, and living with purpose in your 40s and 50s follow me: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @heyjessicalong⚡️Ready to feel centered, energized, and like yourself again? Learn more about working together at belongwellness.com.

Dry skin after 40? Sensitive, aging skin that keeps getting worse? Your skincare routine might be part of the problem. Botanical formulator May Lindstrom explains what midlife skin actually needs and what to stop doing.If your skin has changed in your 40s or 50s and your routine keeps getting longer without getting better results, this conversation is going to shift how you think about your skin.May Lindstrom, founder of May Lindstrom Skin, has been formulating luxury organic skincare for sensitive, changing skin for over 20 years. In this episode, she gets specific about what is actually happening to midlife skin, why more products tend to backfire, which ingredients genuinely help, and one thing most women do every single day that might be working against them.What we cover:How to simplify your routine without losing resultsIngredients to look for (and ones hiding in popular products that may be making things worse)Whether natural and organic skincare can actually deliver resultsWhere to invest in skincare and where it matters lessOne habit most women have right after washing their face that a 20-year formulator says to stopGuest: May Lindstrom, Founder and CEO of May Lindstrom SkinWebsite: maylindstrom.com | Instagram: @maylindstromskinThe serum and moisturizer May recommends. These are affiliate links because I LOVE these products!I want to hear from you. Send me a text or voicemail!💌 If you’re a midlife woman navigating perimenopause, hormone shifts, personal growth, and just not feeling like yourself, you’ll fit right in to my community. Join my email list where I share personal stories, favorite products, high-protein recipes, book recs and exclusive discounts. I’ll send you my 3 favorite smoothie recipes to get you started!✨For more midlife advice on perimenopause, hormone health, nervous system regulation, and living with purpose in your 40s and 50s follow me: @midlifeadvicepodcast | @heyjessicalong⚡️Ready to feel centered, energized, and like yourself again? Learn more about working together at belongwellness.com.