Fact: The narrative we’ve been told about perimenopause, that it means slowing down, feeling like crap, gaining fat, and losing our strong, fit, and athletic edge... is not our truth at Breaking Through Wellness!

In this inspiring episode of Maximizing Hormones, Physique, and Running Through Perimenopause, host Louise Valentine sits down with Katie Lowe, a teacher, dedicated runner, and race director, who has transformed her holistic health, energy, physique, and performance during perimenopause.

Katie shares her journey from frustrating overwhelm with conflicting advice, surprising symptoms, fat gain, and burnout...

to smashing PRs at ALL race distances, building strength, and redefining what’s possible for women in their 40s!

With support from Louise’s science-based coaching and innovative female-specific methods, Katie discovered the power of adjusting fueling, living, and training to align with her changing female physiology, embracing the mantra “courage over comfort.”

Her story proves that you can achieve breakthrough results at any age, including a more fit and lean body composition, faster recovery, and stronger running, without extreme diets, injury, or burnout!

You will leave encouraged to trust the process, fuel, and train your body smarter, and know that you have a supportive community of strong, badass, and like-minded women runners that validates the highs and lows of the perimenopause journey.

Learn & level up with my free nutrition guide and award-winning Badass Breakthrough Academy to thrive through perimenopause with less stress here: https://www.breakingthroughwellness.com/

Learn more about Katie's running company here: https://2lowerunco.com/

Link to our FullScript where you can see our curated best supplement picks & save 20% off: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/breakingthroughwellness/store-start

Take advantage of our podcast listener discount and save 20% off all of Kion’s science-backed clean products: https://www.getkion.com/pages/maximizing

Episode Highlights:
(0:00) Intro
(3:00) Katie’s early love for sports and running
(7:15) Jumping into a 50-mile race unprepared
(8:05) Building a local running community
(10:08) Feeling stuck despite doing “all the things”
(11:35) Finding Louise through a Facebook comment
(16:53) Early breakthroughs: body comp and performance
(17:53) Unexpected PRs and faster recovery
(22:44) Learning the art of adjustment
(24:40) Balancing a daily run streak with recovery
(30:24) “Courage over comfort” mindset shift
(32:49) Defying society’s limits on aging women
(36:22) Eating more food and still seeing results
(40:41) Why breakfast is now non-negotiable
(48:05) Shifting priorities and trusting the “why”
(57:02) Sustainable strategies for lifelong running
(1:00:19) Outro

Tune in weekly to "Maximizing Hormones, Physique, and Running Through Perimenopause" for our simple female-specific science-based revolution. Let's unlock our best with less stress!

I'd love to connect!

Instagram 📷
https://www.instagram.com/breakingthroughwellness

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BreakingThroughWellness

Email 💬 (Note: We do not have guests on our podcast)
support@breakingthroughwellness.com

Often, the very thing we love, running and endurance training, is silently adding counterproductive stress to our body. While not a sole causative factor in adverse health outcomes, recent research findings have scientists, practitioners, recreational endurance athletes, and runners pausing across the world!

In this episode of Maximizing Hormones, Physique, and Running Through Perimenopause, Louise, one of the world’s leading integrative health practitioners, exercise physiologist, and fitness experts explores the often-overlooked connection between female physiology, gut health, and endurance training.

Drawing on her 22+ years of clinical experience, research, supporting thousands of active individuals at all levels, and her own journey as a dedicated runner reversing stomach precancer, Louise explains how stress, gut health, and hormonal changes intersect during perimenopause and what you can do about it. From the science behind intestinal permeability (that stubborn lower ab “pooch” and bloat) to targeted, affordable supplements and practical fueling strategies, she keeps it simple, science-based, and specific to highly active women who love to run.

You’ll also hear Louise’s candid take on the latest viral headlines and misleading social media spins claiming running causes cancer, why it’s not that simple, and how to critically approach the noise without giving up the sport you love. This episode is equal parts honesty, science, and actionable tools so you can run, live, and thrive with confidence.

If ready to critically think about novel research findings, instead of panic or jump to conclusions, this episode is for you!

Feel, look & perform your best with my “All About Gut Health & How to Restore It” Mini Course here: https://www.breakingthroughwellness.com/offers/tKTJYVjP/checkout

Link to check out the “Healthy Gut Support” (intestinal support formula) mentioned in the beginning of this episode: https://equi.life?irad=859795&irmp=3644194

Watch my blog article “The Art of Magaining Stress & Chronic Disease Risk When You Love Fitness or Running… A Lot” “https://www.breakingthroughwellness.com/blog/dedicated-female-runners-the-art-of-managing-stress-women-s-health-osteoporosis-chronic-disease-risk

Learn & level up with my free nutrition guide and award-winning Badass Breakthrough Academy to thrive through perimenopause with less stress: https://www.breakingthroughwellness.com/

Link to our FullScript where you can see our curated best supplement picks & save 20% off, including 20% off Seed, the supplement mentioned in today’s episode: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/breakingthroughwellness/store-start

Take advantage of our podcast listener discount and save 20% off all of Kion’s science-backed clean products: https://www.getkion.com/pa

Tune in weekly to "Maximizing Hormones, Physique, and Running Through Perimenopause" for our simple female-specific science-based revolution. Let's unlock our best with less stress!

I'd love to connect!

Instagram 📷
https://www.instagram.com/breakingthroughwellness

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BreakingThroughWellness

Email 💬 (Note: We do not have guests on our podcast)
support@breakingthroughwellness.com

What if some the very things you swore you’d never do are the ones that bring you the most growth in your health and performance as your hormones change age 35 and beyond? In this episode, Louise Valentine, leading exercise physiologist and women’s integrative health expert for everyday female runners, gets real about the unexpected shifts that happen in perimenopause, changes that affect not only your body, but also your mindset, relationships, and how you fuel, live, and train.

Louise shares six surprising shifts that many women face: juggling kids’ performance with personal goals, odd pelvic floor pain and symptoms that show up out of nowhere, taking supplements for health instead of performance, realizing that sex can be a powerful form of nervous system regulation, navigating stress like never before, and perhaps most shocking is racing for fun, joy, and love of running, instead of always chasing PRs.

These insights aren’t just personal stories; they’re backed by decades of coaching, cutting edge female-specific science, and lived experience. Whether you’re struggling with hormonal changes, recalibrating your fitness priorities, or searching for balance in a high-stress season of life, this conversation gives you permission to evolve with grace, strength, and joy.

Learn & level up with my free nutrition guide and award-winning Badass Breakthrough Academy to thrive through perimenopause with less stress: https://www.breakingthroughwellness.com/

Take advantage of our podcast listener discount and save 20% off all of Kion’s science-backed clean products: https://www.getkion.com/pages/maximizing

Link to our FullScript where you can see our curated best supplement picks & save 20%: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/breakingthroughwellness/store-start

Episode Highlights:
(0:00) Intro
(3:22) Six surprising shifts in perimenopause
(5:21) Shifting focus from self to kids’ performance
(15:49) Pelvic floor pain returns in perimenopause
(18:13) Supplements for health, not performance
(22:18) Sex as nervous system regulation
(25:32) Why stress management matters most now
(32:54) Racing for fun instead of PRs
(40:03) Outro

Tune in weekly to "Maximizing Hormones, Physique, and Running Through Perimenopause" for our simple female-specific science-based revolution. Let's unlock our best with less stress!

I'd love to connect!

Instagram 📷
https://www.instagram.com/breakingthroughwellness

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BreakingThroughWellness

Email 💬 (Note: We do not have guests on our podcast)
support@breakingthroughwellness.com