All About Me and My Perimenopause Journey

Hi there! I’m Jennifer Woodward, your host of The Perimenopause Show! 

In this debut episode, I’m diving deep into who I am, why I’m so passionate about women’s health and perimenopause, and sharing a bit about my own perimenopause journey. I’ll also give you a glimpse into my unique approach to helping women thrive during this life stage.

Here’s What You’ll Hear in Today’s Episode:

• Who I Am & What I Do:
  I’m a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P), board-certified in Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, and I hold a master’s degree in Integrative Nutrition. For the past eight years, I’ve worked with busy moms in perimenopause, helping them feel vibrant, love their bodies, and manage symptoms naturally.
• What Is Perimenopause?
  Perimenopause typically hits between ages 35-50, but I see symptoms showing up earlier in my practice. It’s marked by fluctuating estrogen, declining progesterone, and can bring on symptoms like:
  • Unexpected weight gain
  • Insomnia or trouble staying asleep
  • Brain fog
  • Worsening period symptoms (longer, heavier, or clotty periods)
  • Breast tenderness and cystic breasts
  • Mood swings, anxiety, and depression
• Why I’m Passionate About Women’s Health:
  I believe women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are often at the height of their personal and professional lives. It’s frustrating when hormonal symptoms get in the way. My mission is to equip you with the tools to take control of your health so you can thrive in every aspect of your life.
• My Unique Approach:
  My work is rooted in the FDN framework, particularly the D.R.E.S.S. Protocol:
  • Diet
  • Rest
  • Exercise
  • Stress Management
  • Supplementation
• I emphasize testing, not guessing to identify the root causes of your symptoms and focus on balancing stress to promote overall health.
• My Own Perimenopause Journey:
  I share candidly about my struggles with mood swings, irritability, and weight gain. You’ll also hear about what’s helped me feel better—like embracing new approaches to diet, stress management, and exercise. (Spoiler: more cardio isn’t the answer!)

We're building a community here, a supportive space where natural remedies reign supreme and where every woman’s experience is acknowledged and valued. So, tune in and join the conversation — it's about time we all thrived through perimenopause together.

What’s Next on the Podcast:

I’ll bring you expert guests, practical tips, and actionable advice so you can take charge of your health. From managing stress and hormones to optimizing sleep and diet, we’ll tackle it all with honesty and a little humor.

Chapters

• 0:04 Opening & Intro
• 1:18 An Introduction of Who I Am and What I Do
• 1:57 Understanding Perimenopause in General
• 8:19 My Own Journey with Perimenopause
• 11:45 A Little Bit about Exercising in Perimenopause
• 12:42 Supplements in Perimenopause
• 13:34 My Goals for This Podcast
• 15:04 Closing & Outro

Transcript

Jennifer Woodward: 0:04

In today's episode, we are going to talk a little bit about who I am and what I do, why my passion for women's health in perimenopause is so strong, a bit about my own perimenopause journey and my unique approach to women's health in perimenopause. So stay tuned, enjoy the ride and thanks for being here today. Hey there, it's Jennifer Woodward, and welcome to the Perimenopause show, the go-to spot for all things perimenopause. I'm on a mission to demystify this wild ride sharing stories, laughs and maybe a few eye-rolling moments. Whether you're knee-deep in hot flashes or just curious, we've got you covered. Expect real talk, expert guests and a sprinkle of humor, because, let's face it, we could all use a laugh during perimenopause. So grab your favorite drink, get comfy and let's navigate this roller coaster together. This is the Perimenopause show, where we're turning perimenopause into a conversation, not a crisis.

Jennifer Woodward: 1:14

Hello and welcome to the Perimenopause show. I'm Jennifer Woodward. I am your host. I am a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner, I am board certified in functional diagnostic nutrition and I have my master's integrative nutrition. So suffice it to say this is not only my job, it is my passion. I love to be here. I love helping busy perimenopausal moms thrive in their lives and gracefully sail through perimenopause while loving their body, their digestion and their life. I've been working with women in perimenopause for about the last eight years. A little bit about me, I'm 41 years old, so I'm officially in the throes of perimenopause.

Jennifer Woodward: 1:57

Perimenopause generally tends to happen for women between the ages of 35 and 50, and it really is characterized by wildly fluctuating levels of estrogen and declining levels of progesterone. Now, eventually, when you slide into full menopause, you are going to have low levels of estrogen or estradiol as well, but those 12 months before you actually hit true menopause can be a really, really wonky time. Now what I see in my practice are women younger and younger starting to experience maybe not full perimenopause, but definitely the symptoms of perimenopause at a younger age. Hence my claim that perimenopause can start even as early as 35, and over the course of our podcasts and our time together, we're going to talk about all the reasons that that could be. But in a nutshell I will give it to you, ladies if you are stuck in the fight or flight response or the sympathetic nervous system dominant side of your autonomic nervous system it's going to be really, really hard to pull away from those really terrible symptoms of perimenopause, and I'm talking from experience not only from myself but also from my clients.

Jennifer Woodward: 3:09

Some of those really frustrating symptoms include five to 11 pounds of random weight gain without changing anything with regards to your diet or your exercise routine. Being unable to sleep through the night. You can't fall asleep or you can't stay asleep. Oftentimes, women who were sleeping pretty well for years or decades will find themselves waking up between one and three AM and they're not able to go back to sleep. That's a classic sign of being stuck in the stress response. Women in perimenopause will deal with greater brain fog. They won't know a word, they won't know where they put their keys. They just feel fuzzy all of the time and that really impedes their performance at work and with their family.

Jennifer Woodward: 3:50

And of course, we are going to have worsening period symptoms. That's kind of one of the hallmarks of perimenopause. You start having longer periods or shorter periods. Your periods get heavier or they get lighter. You can increase your clot size. So women who haven't had period clots for most of their life will now start having period clots and that can be really disconcerting to see that come out of. You can be a little bit overwhelming and confusing. You can have PMS from hell. That's kind of what I call PMS in perimenopause. It's almost that divorce worthy perimenopause and literally I've been there. My husband's like what is wrong with you? And then the next day I start my period and we're both like, oh, although he's getting kind of sick about I'm sure. So period problems are a big one.

Jennifer Woodward: 4:35

Oftentimes in perimenopause, as progesterone levels decline, women will start to experience breast pain and cystic breasts. That's really nothing to be alarmed about. If you can actually feel the pain in your breast, it's likely not a tumor. It's not cancer that you've got to worry about. Now would be a good time for me to tell you I'm not a doctor, so I don't diagnose, treat or prescribe. This is purely educational and informational, but I can tell you from my work with hundreds and hundreds of women it is generally that declining progesterone level in perimenopause that can start to cause a cystic breast and painful breast. So we've got all these hormonal symptoms, we've got brain symptoms, we've definitely got mood symptoms, and that's something that I myself have struggled with and a lot of my clients have struggled with.

Jennifer Woodward: 5:17

Increasing anxiety, increasing depression, those crazy mood swings, especially around PMS, can be a hallmark of perimenopause. So that's a little bit about perimenopause in general and it's why I'm so passionate about women's health, because around the age of 35, 40, 45, 50 women are really, you know, they're kind of at the top of their game. Their kids are getting a little bit older, they're thriving professionally, they're able to really pour into their community with ministry or philanthropy or whatever it is that they are passionate about, because they're coming into themselves. You know they are throwing aside some of the concerns of youth. You know they don't care so much what people think. They're, like I said, kind of at the top of their game, and so to be hit by hormonal symptoms when you're feeling pretty good otherwise can be a really big problem for a lot of women. And again, that's why I'm so passionate about perimenopause, because I want to equip women to better serve their families and show up at work and in their ministry and what they're doing in the community. Because, let's face it, girls, like women, really do.

Jennifer Woodward: 6:26

I wouldn't say we run the world, I'm not that naive, but we contribute a lot, you know, and it's true that if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. So we really need to take care of ourselves hormonally, and you're going to hear a lot from me about the importance of diet and rest and exercise and stress management and proper supplementation based on lab work. We're going to talk a ton about functional lab work on this podcast too, because it's so important to test and not guess. And I just mentioned two things that are a hallmark of FDN. Number one, our dress protocol, which again is diet, rest, exercise, stress management and supplementation, and then also that axiom test don't guess. Both of those are created by our program founder, Mr. Reed Davis, a fantastic human and a really great mentor. So he's taught me a lot about the body, and I know as an FDN that we don't treat anything specifically.

Jennifer Woodward: 7:22

FDN's look at the body very non specifically, knowing that stress will impact every system of the body hormones, immune, detoxification, digestion, endocrine system and nervous system. So if women cannot manage and handle their stress, their symptoms will not abate. And again, that's the crux of what we are going to talk about at the PPerr enopause show. If you are stuck in fight or flight, where your nervous system is always clicked onto the sympathetic side instead of the parasympathetic side or a balanced autonomic nervous system, then you are going to have increasingly difficult Perry nopause symptoms that will make your life miserable. So we're going to talk to a lot of guests. We're going to get my own insight from working in my Jennifer Woodward Nutrition Clinic for the better part of a decade and we're really going to dive into practical ways that women can manage their stress, get out of fight or flight and back into that balanced autonomic nervous system so they can show up in their lives.

Jennifer Woodward: 8:19

My own journey with Perim enopause has not been fun, I will tell you. I already let you know that. You know mood swings are a big part of my Perim enopause journey, so I have to work really hard to get those under control. I tend to get real irritable, kind of angry. You can probably tell like in general I'm pretty happy- go- lucky, like I was just born that way. For the most part I look on the bright side of things. I like most people. My husband makes fun of me because he doesn't like most people and he tends to be more of a cynic. He calls himself a realist but I call him a cynic. So we, you know, work well together. We bounce off of each other well, but for the most part I do tend to look on the bright side of things and so when my mood is down, when I'm feeling irritable and angry, then it really puts a damper on my family relationships and my work relationships, and so that's something that I'm highly motivated to work on, and we are going to talk about mood a lot on the Perimenopause show. I'll share with you some of the tips and tricks that I use to really balance out my PMS week and my period so that not everyone in my family has to suffer.

Jennifer Woodward: 9:27

The other things that really have impacted me during Perimenopause were that insidious weight gain without changing anything in my diet or my exercise routine and you'll hear more of my story as this podcast goes on. But essentially, you know, I had a weird upbringing when it comes to food and diet and nutrition and that has stayed with me for a really long time. So breaking, you know, clean of the shackles of diet and exercise culture is something that women really need to do in Perimenopause. Because here is the secret Exercising more and eating less stops working right around the age of 35, maybe 37. That's about when I hear it. So we have to try a different approach, not a harder approach, and again, we'll talk a ton about diet over the course of the podcast.

Jennifer Woodward: 10:13

That's something that really changed in my own life and has helped me a lot in losing some of that, you know, perimenopausal weight and feeling like my body composition is better. I'm 41. I've had four kids. My body position is not perfect not even close and I just have to be okay with that and you know I want you to be okay with that too. But women, we can. We can take really great care of our bodies and, you know, continue to build muscle in Perimenopause and continue to lose body fat in Perimenopause when our nutrition and our stress is dialed in.

Jennifer Woodward: 10:44

So that really is my unique approach to dealing with my clients in Perimenopause and to sharing information on Perimenopause is focusing on getting out of that stress response so that the body can naturally rebalance. And we do filter that through the Dress Protocol so that women can really, you know, take a systematic approach to feel better. So working on diet for sure, making sure you get enough protein and optimizing your micro nutrients, working on rest, really setting up some good sleep hygiene and putting time aside during your day to push into activating your parasympathetic nervous system by taking Epsom salt baths or deep breathing or box breathing or getting some leisure time or making sure you're out of your office, away from your screens and being exposed to the sun just a little bit every single day. There are many pillars of Jennifer Woodward nutrition that I encourage my clients to do to get them out of that stress response. But working on that rest is very, very important.

Jennifer Woodward: 11:45

Exercise is a little bit different in Perimenopause. We don't want to be doing CrossFit, we don't want to be doing marathon training or half marathon training. We don't want to be going to orange theory. We want to be walking outside for a total of about 10,000 steps every single day, possibly more, and strength training with heavy weights two to three times a week. And we'll be bringing in some experts. We'll be talking about that over the course of the show. You're going to see how important it is for Perimenopausal women to build muscle and keep muscle so that they can achieve their desired body composition. Without those things, you're never going to change, and I've talked to so many women who are like, well, I'm running more, I'm going to more group exercise classes, I'm training harder for my high intensity interval training, and I'm like, well, you know, that stops working in Perimenopausal, let's try something a little bit different. We're also, of course, working on stress management. We already discussed that and we'll discuss it way more. And then we'll talk about supplementation.

Jennifer Woodward: 12:44

Supplements are just that they are a supplement. They are not everything. I've never seen a pill fix anything, ever Never. And on the functional side of health, we don't want to fall victim to that classic medical axiom a pill for every ill. It's not like I'm just going to give you a pill for, like, a magnesium pill if you can't get a poop, or a B12 pill if you don't have energy. We really have to take the whole body into account as a whole, starting with brain health, so that the body can send the correct signals to itself through your chemical messengers or your hormones. So your symptoms can kind of resolve naturally without pills, including supplements. But there are some great targeted supplements, especially food-based supplements, that we can really use to hone in perimenopausal health for women. So we shall talk about those as well.

Jennifer Woodward: 13:34

My goals for this podcast are to share really valuable information with you, to have you take away at least one thing every episode that you can actively start incorporating in your own life to feel better that day. I want to provide for you support, knowing that you are not alone in perimenopause, if you've been to your doctor and your doctor, you know, or your health practitioner, has said well, your labs look normal and I'm sorry you're feeling kind of depressed and I'm sorry about your acid reflux. Here's some Prilosec and I'm sorry about your PMS symptoms, here's some birth control. Then know that you have a supportive community of like-minded women who are into more natural things. All right, I am a little bit of a hippie at heart. That's just me too.

Jennifer Woodward: 14:18

But I also know that natural really does trump medicinal when it comes to these, these idiopathic concerns like, like perimenopausal, where there's not a diagnosis, like you're in perimenopause, take this pill, all right. There are so many different things that can lead to the knowledge that you are entering into the perimenopausal stage and we want to support you in every step of the way. We also want to provide a sense of community for us women navigating perimenopause. There are millions of us and a lot of us don't even know we're in perimenopause. We're just like dang it. I can't sleep, my mood is terrible, my cramps are awful, I can't digest my food anymore and I'm mad all the time. Let me tell you, sister, welcome to perimenopause and welcome to the perimenopause show. So I do encourage you as we wrap up today.

Jennifer Woodward: 15:07

Connect with me through social media. I am on Instagram as Jennifer Woodward Wellness. I'm online on Google at Jennifer Woodward Nutrition. I will tell you that my Instagram is a little bit different because I got hacked a couple years ago and I can no longer operate as Jennifer Woodward Nutrition because some dumb hacker took my name and they closed my account. So I'm Jennifer Woodward Wellness over on Instagram, one of my favorite places to connect Jennifer Woodward Nutrition on Facebook and, of course, you can find me on Google. I would love to connect with you If this is a fun idea for you a 20 minute easy podcast on perimenopause once per week.

Jennifer Woodward: 15:47

Reach out to me. Let me know if you have any questions or comments or ideas for the show, because I want to hear your experiences. I want to know what's happening with you and perimenopause and how I can support you. So join us next time on the perimenopause show and thanks for listening today. Well, that's a wrap for today's episode.

Jennifer Woodward: 16:11

I hope you enjoyed our candid chat about perimenopause, the good, the challenging and everything in between. If you found this episode as enlightening and entertaining as I did, be sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a dose of perimenopausal realness. Before you go, remember that you're not alone in this journey. We're building a community of kick-ass women embracing the changes and supporting each other. Connect with us on social media, share your stories and let's keep this conversation going. And hey, if you have a burning question, a topic you'd love us to tackle, or just want to say hello, shoot us a message. Your feedback keeps this podcast fueled and fabulous. Thanks for hanging out with us today. Until next time, take care, stay fabulous and remember perimenopause is just another chapter in the adventure of being a woman. I'll see you on the flip side.