Loving Your Pause: Menopause, Medicine & Making Yourself Heard What happens when you know something is wrong with your body…but no one can—or will—tell you why? This week, we’re firmly on the SHe side of SHeCOMMERCE with a conversation women should be having long before menopause actually arrives. Our guest Erin Lovingfoss spent more than 20 years building her career in the beverage industry. After a hysterectomy in 2019, she began experiencing symptoms she had never dealt with before: insomnia, anxiety, mood changes, heart palpitations, brain fog, loss of confidence, and an overwhelming feeling that she simply wasn’t herself. She sought answers. She was offered antidepressants. She was told it was menopause and essentially something she would have to live with. Then she found a nurse practitioner who did something surprisingly simple: She listened. That experience ultimately led Erin to become a certified menopause coach and launch Loving Your Pause, where she now helps other women understand what may be happening in their bodies, advocate for themselves, and build their own toolbox for this stage of life. And this conversation goes well beyond hot flashes. We talk about the symptoms nobody warned us about, Erin’s personal experience with HRT, sexual wellness, sleep, strength training, pelvic-floor health, medical self-advocacy, and why perimenopause can hit women at exactly the same time they are juggling peak career years, children, aging parents, and everything else life throws at them. We also take menopause into the workplace. Erin shares why women don’t necessarily have to disclose menopause to ask for support, what reasonable accommodations can look like, and why employers risk losing incredible experienced talent when women feel they have to quietly “power through.” Because bringing your whole self to work also means supporting the parts of being a woman that may make people uncomfortable. 🎤 Mic Drop Moments “Consistency over perfection.” Your body may change from day to day. The goal isn’t doing everything perfectly—it’s learning to listen, adjust, and keep moving forward. “This is biology. This is not a problem.” Menopause isn’t something women should be embarrassed to discuss, hide at work, or suffer through silently. “We are not just put on this earth to bear children. We are allowed to talk about what comes after that.” Enough said. And when we asked Erin to finish the sentence “My body is not betraying me. It is…” her answer stopped us in our tracks: “Asking for a new way to thrive.” Yep. Put that one on a T-shirt. 💥 Key Takeaways Know your symptoms—and prioritize them. Erin recommends writing down everything you’re experiencing, then identifying the three to five symptoms affecting your life most. A short doctor’s appointment becomes much more productive when you arrive prepared. If you feel dismissed, get another opinion. Second opinions—and third opinions—are allowed. Erin’s experience changed when she sought out a practitioner with menopause-specific education who actually listened and asked follow-up questions. Every body is different. There is no universal menopause experience and no single magic solution. Erin describes treatment and wellbeing as an evolving toolbox that may include medical care, nutrition, movement, strength training, sleep, social connection, journaling, and other supports. Sleep matters. A lot. For Erin, insomnia became one of the biggest signals that something deeper was happening—and poor sleep affected everything from energy and concentration to exercise and work performance. Strength over shrinking. Erin encourages women to think less about punishing cardio and calorie restriction and more about fueling their bodies, maintaining muscle, supporting bone health, and staying strong for the decades ahead. Sexual wellness is wellness. Pain, changes in desire, and other sexual-health concerns should not simply be dismissed as an inevitable consequence of aging. And if saying it out loud feels uncomfortable? Erin’s advice is beautifully practical: write it down and hand the note to your doctor. Menopause belongs in the workplace conversation. Flexibility, temperature control, remote work after a sleepless night, and greater awareness from managers are not about lowering expectations—they can help talented women continue performing at their best. And perhaps the biggest message of the episode? You are not alone—and this stage does not have to be the beginning of becoming less. As Erin puts it, this can be the moment you decide: How do I want to live the next 40 or 50 years of my life? ☕ Spill the Tea: Drones, AI & the Women Behind the Headlines Before diving into menopause, we head straight into the future of commerce. First up: DoorDash Air. DoorDash has received FAA Part 135 certification for its in-house drone delivery program, opening the door to a fulfillment ecosystem that could include Dashers, autonomous vehicles, robots, and drones. Our commerce takeaway? This isn’t really about drones. It’s about the network. The future question may no longer be “How fast can we deliver?” but rather “What is the smartest fulfillment method for this particular order?” And when cold medicine, the missing dinner ingredient, coffee—or that forgotten birthday candle—can potentially arrive from the sky? As Jacqui put it: “Impulse buying is literally arriving from the sky.” Then we turn to Anthropic, the company behind Claude, and speculation surrounding what could eventually become a massive public-market valuation. But the number wasn’t the part of the story we cared about most. We cared about another question: Where are the women? Inspired by Jennifer Stojkovic’s spotlight on the women helping build Anthropic, we look beyond the standard founder/CEO/valuation headlines to the women shaping product, ethics, communications, technology, strategy, and culture. Because companies aren’t built by one person. And we need to stop waiting until women become CEOs before deciding their leadership stories are worth telling. Influence does not only live at the top of the org chart. Tea. Spilled. ☕ About Erin Lovingfoss Erin Lovingfoss is a longtime beverage-industry professional, certified menopause coach, fitness advocate, and founder of Loving Your Pause. What began as a personal search for answers became a mission to help other women feel informed, supported, and less alone through perimenopause and menopause. Her work combines education, movement, wellness, community, and practical self-advocacy—while Erin continues to build her corporate career alongside her growing business. Her word for this chapter? Unstoppable. And her current hype song? “Just a Girl.” Naturally. 🔥 Bold Brands. Fierce Women. One Sisterhood. SHeCOMMERCE: Website: https://shecommercepodcast.com/ LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shecommercepodcast/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SHeCOMMERCEPodcast DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from SHeCOMMERCE Podcast or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SHeCOMMERCE Podcast. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. SHeCOMMERCE Podcast expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual’s use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
