Episode Details

If you’re in your 30s or 40s thinking, “I’m eating well, I’m working out, so why am I gaining weight and feeling puffy, tired, and off?”

Samantha sits down with Kelsey Ale, functional nutritionist and women’s hormone health expert, to unpack what most women are not being told about perimenopause, insulin resistance, blood sugar, inflammation, and the skin changes that show up on your face first.

You’ll learn why the “calories in / calories out” approach often fails in midlife, how fluctuating estrogen impacts insulin sensitivity, and what simple nutrition shifts can help you feel leaner, steadier, and more like yourself again, without extreme restriction.

We also talk gut health, why blood sugar dysregulation can present as “hangry” crashes, and how small changes (including Kelsey’s not-so-glamorous but highly effective favorite) can create visible, whole-body results.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why perimenopause can feel like a “second puberty” and what’s actually changing in your physiology
• How fluctuating estrogen impacts insulin sensitivity
• Why fat storage becomes easier (even with “good” habits)
• The difference between hypoglycemia vs. insulin resistance
• Which carbs tend to spike blood sugar most, and what to swap in without feeling deprived
• How to support hormone clearance and why it matters for “estrogen dominance” symptoms
• Why inflammation can show up as dullness, dehydration lines, and accelerated aging in the skin
• The simplest “keystone habit” that supports digestion, circulation, energy, and skin glow (and yes, it’s water)
• How to approach fasting strategically with your cycle (and when not to do it)

➡️ Connect with Kelsey:

Website: www.audre.co 

IG: @thekelseyale

Quiz: Blood Sugar Type Quiz