Graced Health: Perimenopause and Menopause Wellness for Christian Women

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As part of the Graced Health Sunset Series, I sit down with Shaela Daugherty — certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and host of the Simple Fitness Habits podcast, where she helps Christian women simplify their health and fitness without the guilt or the overwhelm.
Shaela's story took an unexpected turn in late 2025, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at 33 and thrust — almost overnight — into permanent, treatment-induced menopause. In this conversation, she shares how that diagnosis reshaped her approach to health, why simplicity became a matter of survival, and how she's helping women return to consistency again and again, even in the messiest seasons of life. We also talk about her Stronger Collective community, the tools she's built to make workouts realistic on hard days, and the one episode she'd point you to first.
Topics Discussed Today:
Shaela's sudden journey into medical menopause at 33
Why simplicity became her lifeline through treatment
The real skill behind lasting health: learning to return
Inside the Stronger Collective and the new Weekly Reset tool
"Fitness snacking" and making room for messy days
Shaela's one episode to start with
Episode Links:
Simple Fitness Habits Podcast ​
​Shaela's Website ​
​The Stronger Collective 
My latest recommended ways to nourish and move your body, mind and spirit: Nourished Notes Bi-Weekly Newsletter
30+ Non-Gym Ways to Improve Your Health (free download)

Connect with Amy:
GracedHealth.com
Instagram: @GracedHealth
YouTube: @AmyConnell

Click to Text Thoughts on Today's Episode
As part of the Graced Health Sunset Series, I sit down with Kate Lyman — nutrition coach, Master of Public Health, Certified Health Education Specialist, and owner of Kate Lyman Nutrition. Kate also co-hosts the How to Fitness podcast alongside Michael Ulloa, where the pair bring an evidence-based, ad-free lens to trending wellness and nutrition topics.
In this conversation, Kate breaks down how she and Michael research and script their deep-dive episodes, why the menopause transition is a hotbed for health misinformation, and why "it depends" might be the most honest (and most frustrating) answer in wellness. We also swap stories on episodes that surprised us, the sketchy side of the supplement industry, and how to think clearly about GLP-1 medications.

Topics Discussed Today:
Behind the scenes of a research-heavy podcast 
Why the menopause transition attracts so much misinformation 
The pull of hot takes 
Framing health advice as experimentation 
Navigating GLP-1 medications 
Kate's one takeaway for listeners

Episode Links

How To Fitness Podcast
https://www.katelymannutrition.com/how-to-fitness-podcast

My latest recommended ways to nourish and move your body, mind and spirit: Nourished Notes Bi-Weekly Newsletter
30+ Non-Gym Ways to Improve Your Health (free download)

Connect with Amy:
GracedHealth.com
Instagram: @GracedHealth
YouTube: @AmyConnell

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As Graced Health winds down its final season, I'm introducing listeners to podcasters I trust to carry them forward — like Brittany Braswell, RD, and host of the Faith-Filled Food Freedom podcast (formerly the Joy-Filled Eater Podcast). Brittany is a registered dietitian, public speaker, and creator of the Joy-Filled Eater course, where she helps Christian women break free from food guilt, body image struggles, and diet culture through a faith-centered, practical approach to food freedom.
In this conversation, Brittany and I catch up as longtime friends and colleagues, and Brittany shares who she works with, what surprised her most in her own podcasting journey, and where new listeners should start if they want to dig into her back catalog.

Main points discussed:
The real problem isn't the information — Brittany argues nutrition facts themselves aren't usually the issue; it's how they're delivered
Listening to your body without letting it "drive the bus" — Brittany's framework: combines body awareness, faith/discernment, and basic nutrition knowledge rather than following rigid rules or oversimplified mantras.
The messy middle — There's rarely a single "right" answer in nutrition; it takes trial and error, curiosity over judgment.
A surprising fan-favorite topic on Brittany's podcast — An episode on sex and body image got huge listener response, leading to a follow-up ("The Secret Sex Lives of Christian Wives") about how body image affects intimacy and marriage.

Listen to the Faith Filled Food Freedom Podcast

Connect with Brittany

https://www.brittanybraswellrd.com/
https://www.instagram.com/brittanybraswellrd

My latest recommended ways to nourish and move your body, mind and spirit: Nourished Notes Bi-Weekly Newsletter
30+ Non-Gym Ways to Improve Your Health (free download)

Connect with Amy:
GracedHealth.com
Instagram: @GracedHealth
YouTube: @AmyConnell

Click to Text Thoughts on Today's Episode
As part of our Sunset Series, I'm introducing you to podcasters I know, trust, and love — so you'll have somewhere to turn when Graced Health wraps up. Today I'm talking with my friend Heather Creekmore, host of the Compared to Who podcast and author of several books, including Aging Gratefully. Heather and her husband Eric live in Austin with their four teenagers, and she's spent years helping women stop comparing and start living through a faith-based approach to body image.

Main Points Today:

1. Who Compared to Who is for

2. Heather's own story with body image
 
3. Body image in perimenopause and menopause

4. Value and worth don't erode with age
 
5. The "Gaining W.A.I.T." concept
 
6. Rethinking "love your body" language
 
7. Everyday language that reinforces diet culture
 
8. Where to start with Compared to Who
 
9. A note of hope
 
Listen to the Compared to Who Podcast

Connect with Heather
www.improvebodyimage.com

My latest recommended ways to nourish and move your body, mind and spirit: Nourished Notes Bi-Weekly Newsletter
30+ Non-Gym Ways to Improve Your Health (free download)

Connect with Amy:
GracedHealth.com
Instagram: @GracedHealth
YouTube: @AmyConnell

Click to Text Thoughts on Today's Episode
After more than five hundred episodes, the Graced Health podcast is coming to an end. Before we get there, we're slowing down intentionally — because every good workout deserves a cool-down.
Over the next several weeks, I'll be introducing you to podcasters I know personally and trust deeply. And on August 11th, I'll share the full story of why I'm stepping away and what I'm stepping toward.
Subscribe now so you don't miss a single Cool-Down episode.
My latest recommended ways to nourish and move your body, mind and spirit: Nourished Notes Bi-Weekly Newsletter
30+ Non-Gym Ways to Improve Your Health (free download)

Connect with Amy:
GracedHealth.com
Instagram: @GracedHealth
YouTube: @AmyConnell