<p>This week on Sweaty AF, Lucy sits down with hormone expert Karen Martel to unpack what’s really happening to women in perimenopause, and why so many women are being dismissed, misinformed, or told it’s “just ageing.”</p><p>Karen shares her own personal journey through hormonal chaos, early menopause, weight gain, insomnia, anxiety, and metabolic dysfunction, despite doing everything “right” when it came to health and fitness.</p><p>We discuss:</p><p>Why 70–80% of women gain weight in perimenopause.</p><p>The hormones most doctors AREN’T testing properly.</p><p>Why progesterone loss starts earlier than most women realise.</p><p>The truth about estrogen and why women shouldn’t fear it.</p><p>The connection between hormones, brain health, bone health, cardiovascular disease and dementia.</p><p>Why biohacking alone isn’t enough without optimised hormones.</p><p>The biggest mistakes women make when starting HRT.</p><p>Why testing matters, even if you have zero symptoms.</p><p>How perimenopause can accelerate biological ageing.</p><p>The role of HRT in longevity, metabolic health and healthy ageing.</p><p>This is a must-listen conversation for every woman approaching midlife who wants to better understand her body, hormones and long-term healthspan.</p><p>Find Karen:</p><p>Website: karenmartel.com</p><p>Instagram: @karenmartelhormones</p><p>Podcast: Hormone Solutions with Karen Martel</p><p>For more conversations like these around female healthspan, hormones and longevity, follow Sweaty AF Podcast on all podcast platforms and follow @sweatyafpodcast on Instagram.</p>