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 fuel