Your body after a baby was never a calorie problem. It is a metabolic one. In this Her Stack episode, I am walking you through exactly how to restore your metabolism so body composition follows. The goal is not weight loss. The goal is metabolic restoration. Body comp is downstream.
I am breaking down the four drivers that actually run body composition (insulin, thyroid, sleep, growth hormone), the four pillars to address them (nutrition, lifestyle, supplements, peptides), and the exact peptide sequencing for women. Plus my honest take on GLP-1s including semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide, where they actually fit, and why microdosing makes more sense than chasing the scale.
I also share what nobody talks about. Eating less postpartum often makes body composition worse. Breastfeeding is sequencing, not failure. Growth hormone is the layer women never hear about, so they plateau and blame their age when it was a fixable signal the whole time.
Join The LongHer Life for women-specific guidance on peptides, hormones, and longevity.
We talk about:
00:53 - Updates: working with me one-on-one and my new peptide planner
06:15 - Why body composition, not weight, and why metabolism, not calories
07:01 - The four drivers and four pillars framework that runs the whole episode
09:00 - Driver 1: Insulin resistance and why stubborn middle fat is an insulin problem, not a calorie problem
11:30 - Driver 2: Thyroid, and why TSH alone misses Free T3 (the active working hormone)
14:50 - Driver 3: Sleep, cortisol, and the loop back to insulin resistance
19:32 - Driver 4: Growth hormone, the layer nobody talks about that gets blunted postpartum and through aging
22:19 - The labs to actually ask for: fasting insulin, Free T3, IGF-1, DHEA-S, plus a 2-week CGM
24:30 - Pillar 1: Nutrition (120g protein floor, leucine at every meal, food order, fiber, and why you should NOT under-eat)
28:06 - Why leucine flips the muscle-building switch on at every meal
35:00 - Pillar 2: Lifestyle and biohacking (lift, walk, zone 2, cold and heat, red light, and the fringe tools honestly explained)
45:30 - Pillar 3: Supplements (creatine, magnesium glycinate, myo-inositol, omega-3, berberine, and what waits until weaning)
51:01 - Berberine, AMPK, and the "nature's metformin" nickname
55:30 - Pillar 4: The peptide stack and why we save it for last
56:00 - AOD-9604, the growth hormone fragment, and why I am personally on it right now
01:02:00 - MOTS-c, the "exercise in a molecule" mitochondrial peptide for the insulin driver
01:05:00 - 5-Amino-1MQ and releasing the brake on your fat cells
01:07:00 - Sermorelin, the gentle GH entry, plus what a "secretagogue" actually is
01:10:00 - CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, and Tesamorelin for post-weaning GH restoration
01:13:00 - The GLP-1 honest take: semaglutide, tirzepatide, and the retatrutide question
01:14:00 - Why retatrutide is called the triple agonist, where it fits, and where it doesn't
01:19:27 - Recap and wrap-up
Questions answered in this episode:
- What are the four drivers that actually run body composition?
- Why is stubborn middle fat an insulin problem, not a calorie problem?
- Why is TSH alone an incomplete way to test thyroid function in women?
- What does Free T3 tell me that TSH alone doesn't?
- How does broken sleep create a body composition problem?
- Why does growth hormone matter so much for women postpartum and through aging?
- What labs should I actually be asking my doctor for?
- How much protein should women eat for body composition and longevity?
- What is leucine and why is it the muscle-building switch?
- What is the right order to eat my meals to protect my blood sugar?
- Should I lift weights or do cardio for body composition?
- Which supplements actually help body composition, and which are a waste of money?
- What is AOD-9604, and how is it different from full growth hormone?
- What is MOTS-c, and why is it called "exercise in a molecule"?
- What is 5-Amino-1MQ, and how does it work on fat cells?
- What is sermorelin, and what does "secretagogue" mean in plain language?
- When should I consider CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, or Tesamorelin?
- Are GLP-1s like semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide right for me?
- Why is microdosing retatrutide a smarter conversation than chasing the scale?
- Why does eating less postpartum often make body composition worse?
- Which peptides are safe while breastfeeding, and which wait until weaning?
Resources:
- Work with me one-on-one on your peptide stack and protocol.
- The Her Stack Planner: the first peptide tracking journal built around female biology.
- Free Peptide Masterclass for Women.
- Join The LongHer Life for women-specific guidance on peptides, hormones, and longevity.
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