290: Why It Feels Like You Woke Up in a New Body at 50

If you've noticed you're hungry an hour after a full meal, wide awake at 2am after doing everything right, or flat after a workout that used to leave you energized, you're not imagining it, and you're far from the only one. This episode features Krista Scott-Dixon, a coach and educator with decades of experience in behavior change and health coaching. Krista spent years as director of curriculum at Precision Nutrition and now does similar work with Girls Gone Strong's menopause coaching materials, alongside a private coaching practice that includes clients ranging from everyday women to search and rescue teams. Her new book brings real counseling and therapy tools into nutrition and health coaching, built on the idea that most coaches, and most women, were never actually taught how change happens. Together, we get into why hunger, energy, mood, and sleep can all stop feeling reliable somewhere in your 40s and 50s, and why treating perimenopause as one hormone problem misses what's actually going on. Krista makes the case that this stage belongs in the same category as a major illness, a career change, an identity shift, or the end of a relationship. She also introduces the idea of self-trust as a skill, one that gets socialized out of most women long before hormones ever enter the picture. If you've been white-knuckling your way through a body that no longer responds the way it used to, this conversation will change how you think about what's actually happening, and what to do with it. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Why your hunger, fullness, and energy signals can suddenly feel unreliable in your 40s and 50s Why perimenopause belongs in the same category as a major illness, career change, or relationship ending, and why that reframe matters What self-trust actually is as a skill, and when most women lose access to it Why the health advice that used to work on your body stops working, and what that has to do with trust rather than effort The Listener Takeaway: Why This Episode Matters If you've started to wonder whether something is wrong with you because your body stopped responding the way it used to, this episode gives you a different way to understand what's happening. You'll walk away seeing your hunger, your energy, and your mood as information instead of a malfunction, and understanding that self-trust is a skill you can rebuild. This conversation is for the woman who's exhausted from trying to force an old rulebook onto a body and a life that have both changed, and who's ready to stop treating that as a personal failure. RESOURCES Krista Scott-Dixon's new book, Applied Nutrition Coaching and Counseling: Theory to Practice (link to follow once Krista sends final details) Girls Gone Strong's menopause coaching materials Krista's website, kristascottdixon.com RELATED EPISODES YOU MIGHT LOVE 256 - Fearing Hunger: How Dieting Trained You to Overeat (elizabethsherman.com/256) — If today's episode made you rethink your hunger signals, this one breaks down exactly why fear of hunger got installed in the first place. 254 - How to Trust Yourself Around Food Again in Perimenopause (elizabethsherman.com/254) — Krista talked about self-trust as a skill you can rebuild. This episode gives you a perimenopause-specific starting point for actually doing it. Hey! I love hearing from you. Send me a text. Let me know what resonated with you. Free Diagnostic Session If you know what to do but struggle to keep it all together when life starts to life, this call is for you. It's free, it's 30 minutes, and you'll walk away with a clear look at what's actually in your way instead of another generic plan. Tap Here to Book Your Session If you’re a woman in midlife who wants better health without obsessing over weight, you’re in the right place. I’m Elizabeth Sherman, a life and health coach and host of the Total Health in Midlife Podcast. After coaching hundreds of women, I know the real problem usually isn’t “not enough information” – it’s too much of it, and not knowing where to start. With close to 300 episodes, this show can feel that way too. To make it easy, I created a free Listener’s Roadmap that helps you figure out which episodes are right for you right now. Tell me what you’re struggling with – low energy, emotional eating, stress, sleep, exercise, or all of the above – and I’ll point you to a curated path of episodes and resources to get you moving. Download your free roadmap at https://elizabethsherman.com/roadmap.