What if menopause wasn’t something to fear or simply endure, but a transition you could actively prepare for? In this episode of Modern Thyroid and Wellness, McCall McPherson sits down with Lisa Jedan, creator and host of MenoPositive, to challenge the long-standing narrative that menopause automatically means decline. After a successful career in PR and marketing, where she helped build brands and shape stories, Lisa turned those same skills toward changing the conversation around women’s health and aging. Lisa shares what she has learned from interviewing experts across conventional medicine, Chinese medicine, longevity, breathwork, nutrition, and women’s health. The message she hears repeatedly is clear: hormones do not operate in isolation, and the earlier women invest in their health, the more options they may have as they age. Together, McCall and Lisa explore strength training, nutrition, metabolism, thyroid health, Hashimoto’s, mindset, digestion, protein, fiber, sustainable lifestyle changes, and why midlife may become one of the healthiest and most fulfilling chapters of a woman’s life. Key Topics Covered Why Lisa created MenoPositiveChanging the narrative around menopause and agingWhy menopause preparation should begin before symptoms become overwhelmingHow thyroid health and reproductive hormones overlapLisa’s personal experience with Hashimoto’sWhy women often put themselves lastMoving from perfection toward small, sustainable health changesWhy strength training becomes increasingly important during midlifeBuilding and preserving muscle for healthy agingProtein, fiber, metabolism, and digestive healthWhy regular bowel movements matterSimple ways Lisa adds flaxseed and sprouts to her dietHow mindset may influence the menopause experienceBuilding trust with yourself through consistent habitsMoving beyond biohacking toward “bioharmony”Why wellness optimization can become exhaustingThe importance of sleep, movement, and nutrition before advanced optimizationWhy your best years do not have to be behind you Changing the Menopause Narrative Lisa began her career as a dancer and performer before moving into PR and marketing, where she built a career around storytelling and changing narratives. When she entered perimenopause and menopause herself, she noticed that the cultural story surrounding this stage of life did not match her experience. So much of the messaging centered on loss, decline, and everything women should expect to go wrong. Lisa wanted a different conversation. That desire became MenoPositive, a platform and philosophy built around educating women about hormone changes while showing them what they can actively do to support their health. After interviewing experts from a wide range of disciplines, Lisa says one message consistently emerges: menopause does not have to equal decline. Why We Should Prepare for Menopause Lisa makes a compelling comparison: we prepare for pregnancy, retirement, and marathons, so why do so many women arrive at one of the biggest biological transitions of their lives without preparation? Historically, women have often been taught to wait until symptoms appear and then figure out how to manage them. Lisa wants to reverse that approach. Instead of asking, “How can I manage these symptoms?” she encourages women to ask how they can prepare their bodies for a more positive menopause experience. For Lisa, this is not about perfection. It is about preparation and beginning wherever you are. Thyroid Health and Menopause Symptoms Can Overlap Lisa also lives with Hashimoto’s, giving her firsthand experience with how difficult it can be to distinguish thyroid symptoms from hormonal changes during midlife. Mood changes, libido concerns, fatigue, brain fog, and changes in how the body feels can appear across both thyroid dysfunction and perimenopause. One of the biggest lessons Hashimoto’s taught Lisa was to become curious about what her body was communicating rather than automatically accepting symptoms as her new normal. McCall emphasizes that thyroid hormones and reproductive hormones do not exist in isolation. Understanding both can be especially important as women move through their 30s, 40s, and beyond. Why Women Need to Put Themselves Back on the List Whether a woman is the CEO of a company or the CEO of her household, Lisa observes that women often place themselves third, fourth, or fifth on their own priority lists. Midlife can offer an opportunity to change that. Lisa encourages women to believe they deserve to be healthy and to recognize that investing in themselves does not require changing everything overnight. Cooking one additional vegetable, adding a little movement, or making one sustainable change can begin shifting the trajectory. McCall connects this idea to the power of small habits. Tiny actions may seem insignificant in isolation, but when repeated consistently, they compound. Strength Training as a Midlife “Secret Weapon” For Lisa, two changes significantly influenced her menopause experience: strength training and nutrition. She had always been active because of her background as a dancer, but midlife encouraged her to change the way she exercised. Strength training became a priority. Lisa noticed changes not only in her body, but also in her mood, sleep, confidence, and mindset. McCall emphasizes that building muscle becomes increasingly challenging as women move through perimenopause and menopause, making it valuable to establish that foundation earlier. Lisa compares strength training to putting money in the bank. Building strength now creates reserves that may become increasingly valuable later in life. Keep the Schedule, Change the Scope One of Lisa’s favorite ideas comes from Atomic Habits by James Clear: “Keep the schedule, change the scope.” If you planned to exercise but suddenly only have ten minutes, doing those ten minutes still allows you to keep the promise you made to yourself. Lisa and McCall discuss how this consistency builds something even bigger than fitness: self-trust. Every time you follow through, especially when you do not feel like it, you reinforce the belief that you can rely on yourself. That mindset can make sustainable health changes much more achievable than an all-or-nothing approach. From Biohacking to Bioharmony Women today are surrounded by wellness advice. Eat more protein. Take supplements. Strength train. Optimize your hormones. Track your sleep. Improve your metabolism. Eventually, optimization itself can become exhausting. Lisa believes the conversation is beginning to shift away from constant “biohacking” toward what she calls bioharmony, a more sustainable approach to working with the body rather than endlessly trying to optimize every variable. The foundation remains surprisingly simple: Eat well. Move your body. Sleep. These habits are not always easy, but Lisa believes establishing them first creates a stronger foundation before adding more advanced interventions. Protein, Fiber, and Digestion in Midlife Nutrition is another major part of the conversation. Across Lisa’s interviews with experts, protein repeatedly emerges as an important topic, particularly alongside strength training and maintaining muscle. But protein is not the whole story. Lisa also emphasizes fiber and digestive regularity. She shares that many women assume having a bowel movement every two or three days is normal. Her own experience taught her how stress and rushed mornings could affect digestion. Two simple foods she regularly incorporates are flaxseed and sprouts. She prepares flaxseed ahead of time and adds it to yogurt, while sprouts can easily be added to eggs, salads, or meals. These small, affordable habits reflect Lisa’s larger philosophy: health does not always require expensive or complicated interventions. You Have More Influence Than You Think When McCall asks Lisa what mindset shift she wishes every woman could make, her answer is simple: You have a choice. Lisa believes women have more influence over how they approach and experience menopause than many have been led to believe. That does not mean every symptom can be prevented or that every woman will have the same experience. It means women can become informed, seek appropriate care, strengthen their health foundations, and make choices that support the decades ahead. Your Best Years Are Not Behind You Perhaps the biggest myth Lisa wants to challenge is the idea that a woman’s best years are over once she reaches midlife. She sees the opposite. Women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s are starting businesses, stepping into leadership, pursuing new goals, and redefining what aging looks like. Instead of treating menopause as an ending, Lisa sees it as an opportunity to enter the second half of life with greater wisdom, perspective, confidence, and purpose. For her, menopause can be a powerful new beginning. Final Takeaway Preparing for menopause does not mean pursuing perfection. It means starting where you...
