Women’s hormones are treated as a one-size-fits-all that has three distinct phases: when we get our periods, when we’re trying (or not trying) to conceive, and the phase we simply do not talk about. But as more women are having conversations about their varying hormones and as more doctors are specializing in fields that are unique to the female hormonal experience, we’re being emboldened with more information that makes the unique changing hormones of a lifetime a little easier to share with friends.

Optimizing our health is a big focus of our partnership with Innovative Vitality, and the aSweatLife community had one big question around that: how can we continue feeling our best as our bodies make their way through natural hormonal changes?

Gather your besties and the women in your life nearing 40 years old for the “what are you doing about perimenopause?” talk. 

Laying the groundwork for the talk:

For a long time those conversations were stigmatized, only happening behind closed doors or not at all. Perimenopause was mostly treated as an end to fertility rather than an important phase of our lives, ushering in the second half of our lives: the post menopausal era.

Before we talk about perimenopause, let’s define a couple of words that are commonly used around menopause.

Perimenopause: According to The Mayo Clinic, Perimenopause means “around menopause” and refers to the time during which your body makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years. Perimenopause is also called the menopausal transition.

Menopause: According to The Mayo Clinic, Menopause is when periods stop for good. It’s diagnosed after 12 months without a menstrual period, vaginal bleeding or spotting. Aka, it is a single day 12 months after your last period.

Post-menopausal: According to The Cleveland Clinic, this is the time beyond menopause. At this stage in life, your reproductive years are behind you and you’re no longer ovulating (or releasing eggs). Uncomfortable symptoms of perimenopause like hot flashes and night sweats may become milder or go away completely in postmenopause.

How will you know that you’re experiencing perimenopause?

It’s important to remember that no two bodies experience any hormonal phase of life in exactly the same way. But, if you’re looking for an age, many women enter into perimenopause around 45 to 53.

But according to Dr. Khare, founding MD at Innovative Care, One of the first signs of perimenopause is changes in your menstrual cycle. Your periods may become irregular—shorter, longer, or even skipped—as estrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate.

Outside of what you can log on a period tracker, you may also notice “hot flashes, a depressive mood and vaginal dryness is a significant symptom that affects women’s sex lives,” Dr. Khare said.

What can you do if hormonal changes are extremely unpleasant?

This is where a lot of the aSweatLife Ambassador community’s questions came from. “What if it feels bad to go through changing hormones?”

For many women, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is an approach worth investigating. Dr. Khare shared that women were steered away from HRT for over a decade because of a fear of an increased cancer risk.

But, Dr. Khare said, “We relooked at those studies and it actually can help a lot of people … I will say with certainty that the cancer risks out there were overblown.”

For survivors of breast cancer, there is an increased risk of cancer recurrence, but for women without a history of breast cancer, the risk is small and something that you should chat with your healthcare professional about.

“Just have a game plan,” Dr. Khare advised. “Get some education on what [your doctor] thinks and the latest literature … Talk to your friends that are going through it about what they’re doing.”

Hormones Are the Missing Piece of the Longevity Puzzle

The way you care for your body today is shaping the way you’ll feel and function decades from now. Your hormones aren’t just about reproductive health—they’re central to your energy, your resilience against chronic disease, your cognitive function, and even your longevity.

The good news? You have more control than you think. By focusing on building muscle, reducing insulin resistance, and maintaining a healthy body composition, you’re not just supporting balanced hormones—you’re laying the foundation for a longer, healthier, and stronger life.

“Women who are overweight have increased odds of getting breast cancer,” Dr. Khare explained, “It’s because you become insulin resistant. And because you become insulin resistant, you have more cellulose and fat cells. Because you have more cellulose and fat cells, you actually have an increase in estrogen.”

According to the Harvard Health Gazette, “Most, though not all, breast cancers are fueled by hormonal fluctuations.”

Dr. Khare explained the implications for body composition on other hormonal levels in the body: including thyroid and testosterone. “Being lean increases your testosterone,” he said, referencing men with support from emerging studies that show a correlation between lean muscle mass and testosterone for men. While studies have shown a correlation between muscle mass and testosterone in men, research on this link in women is still limited and evolving.

And just like we openly discuss fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, it’s time to bring hormone health into the conversation.

So, what’s your game plan? Start by having the conversation—with your friends, your doctor, and yourself. Because when we empower ourselves with knowledge, we take control of the way we age.

This is a part of a series on Longevity medicine with Innovative Vitality. Read more about what longevity medicine is here and read more about the impacts of your muscular health on longevity here.