Energized with Dr. Mariza

What if the cholesterol numbers you’ve been watching aren’t telling you the whole story about your heart?

In this episode, Dr. Mariza sits down with cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Philip Ovadia to explore why he believes metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance deserve far more attention when assessing cardiovascular risk, especially for women entering perimenopause and menopause.

Dr. Ovadia shares what he’s learned after 25 years in heart surgery, including why he’s now routinely operating on patients in their 40s and even 30s. They break down the metabolic warning signs that can appear decades before advanced heart disease, from rising blood pressure and waist circumference to fasting insulin, glucose, triglycerides, and HDL.

You’ll also hear their discussion about cholesterol and advanced lipid testing, how changing hormones can affect women’s cardiometabolic health, and why resistance training, real food, muscle, sleep, and blood sugar stability matter.

Plus, Dr. Ovadia explains how continuous glucose monitors can provide real-time insight into your metabolic health and the heart imaging he recommends women discuss with their healthcare providers.

Listen now to discover the metabolic clues your body may be giving you today and how to start protecting your heart for decades to come.

DR. PHILIP OVADIA

Dr. Philip Ovadia is a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon, founder of Ovadia Heart Health Center, and author of Stay Off My Operating Table and Stay Off My Kitchen Table.

After performing thousands of heart surgeries, Dr. Ovadia shifted part of his work toward prevention, helping patients identify and address metabolic dysfunction before it progresses to advanced cardiovascular disease. His virtual practice focuses on improving metabolic health as a strategy for reducing heart disease risk.

IN THIS EPISODE

Why Dr. Ovadia believes insulin resistance deserves more attention in heart disease prevention

The five basic metabolic markers he wants women tracking

Why your personal blood pressure baseline matters in midlife

What fasting insulin can reveal before blood sugar becomes obviously abnormal

Why cholesterol alone may not give you the complete picture of cardiovascular risk

How muscle and resistance training support metabolic and heart health

What a continuous glucose monitor can teach you about food, energy, and blood sugar

When Dr. Ovadia recommends considering coronary artery calcium imaging

QUOTES

“It's never too early to start thinking about this, but it's also never too late.”

“Cholesterol is not the main thing driving heart disease.”

“Low-fat diets, they simply don't work.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Order my newest book: The Perimenopause Revolution

http://drmariza.com/book

Stop surviving and start thriving, join Midlife on Fire Collective now

https://drmariza.com/trial

Stay Off My Operating Table by Dr. Philip Ovadia

Dr. Ovadia Website

Dr. Ovadia Facebook

Dr. Ovadia Instagram

Dr. Ovadia Youtube

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769: Is It Perimenopause or Something Else? How to Finally Connect the Dots with Dr. Mariza

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Is this perimenopause… or is something else going on?

It’s one of the most common questions Dr. Mariza hears from women in their late 30s and early 40s, especially when their periods are still regular and they’ve never experienced a hot flash.

In this solo episode, Dr. Mariza breaks down why early perimenopause can be so difficult to recognize and the less obvious signs that often appear first, including exhaustion, anxiety, irritability, brain fog, sleep changes, worsening PMS, migraines, and changes in stress tolerance.

She shares three important clues for identifying a possible perimenopause pattern: looking for clusters of symptoms, noticing changes from your normal baseline, and tracking how symptoms change throughout your cycle.

But hormones aren’t always the entire story. Dr. Mariza also explains why thyroid dysfunction, low iron, metabolic issues, nutrient deficiencies, sleep problems, and other conditions deserve investigation, even when perimenopause is part of the picture.

Plus, you’ll learn how to track your symptoms and walk into your next healthcare appointment prepared to ask better questions.

Listen now to connect the dots, understand what your body is telling you, and get clearer on your next steps.

IN THIS EPISODE

Why so many women over 35 aren’t sure whether they’re in perimenopause

The early perimenopause symptoms women often mistake for stress or burnout

Why you can be in perimenopause while still having regular periods

The three clues Dr. Mariza uses to recognize a perimenopause pattern

Why tracking changes from your personal baseline matters

How your menstrual cycle can reveal patterns in mood, sleep, migraines, and energy

What else to investigate, including thyroid, iron, metabolic health, and sleep

How to advocate for yourself when your labs look “normal” but you don’t feel like yourself

QUOTES

“Stop looking at the one symptom that proves you’re in perimenopause. Start looking at the collection of clues and patterns that your body is exposing.”

“Perimenopause doesn’t usually show up with a giant flashing sign.”

“Hormones may be a huge part of the picture without being the entire picture.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Order my newest book: The Perimenopause Revolution

http://drmariza.com/book

Comprehensive Perimenopause Lab Guide

Stop surviving and start thriving, join Midlife on Fire Collective now

https://drmariza.com/trial

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750: The Underlying Cellular Cause of Midlife Fatigue, Brain Fog & Low Motivation with Andrew Salzman

650: Unlock Your Health: The Ultimate Biomarker & Lab Blueprint to Thrive in Midlife and Beyond

Has your period suddenly started behaving completely differently?

Maybe your cycles are shorter or longer. PMS hits harder. Your breasts are sore, cravings are stronger, your mood changes dramatically, or your libido seems to have disappeared.

In this episode, Dr. Mariza sits down with Beeya co-founders Kaya and Yasmin Purohit to explore what your changing cycle may be telling you, especially as you move into your late 30s and 40s.

Yasmin shares her experience coming off birth control after 15 years and struggling for two years with anxiety, painful cramps, breast tenderness, and acne. Together, they explore why these symptoms deserve attention and how foundational habits like sleep, movement, whole foods, and blood sugar stability can support hormone health.

They also unpack seed cycling, including exactly how it works, the nutrients different seeds provide throughout the menstrual cycle, what the research currently supports, and why women in perimenopause have become an especially important part of Beeya’s community.

Most importantly, this conversation is a reminder that your changing cycle is information.

Listen now to learn how to recognize the clues your body is giving you and support your hormones without making wellness another overwhelming job.

KAYA & YASMIN PUROHIT

Kaya and Yasmin Purohit are the co-founders of Beeya, a women’s wellness brand focused on helping women support their bodies through PMS, perimenopause, irregular cycles, fertility, and beyond.

After Yasmin struggled with severe symptoms following 15 years on birth control, she and Kaya discovered seed cycling and set out to make the practice simpler and more accessible for modern women.

Their work combines nutrition, education, and practical daily rituals designed to help women better understand and support their cycles.

IN THIS EPISODE

Why changing periods can be an early clue that you’re entering perimenopause

Yasmin’s experience after coming off birth control following 15 years on the pill

How sleep, movement, and whole-food nutrition can affect your cycle

The surprising connection between blood sugar, progesterone, PMS, anxiety, and rage

What seed cycling is and how to use different seeds throughout your cycle

Why women in perimenopause may benefit from additional nutritional support

How postpartum and perimenopause can overlap for women having children later

Why community, joy, and flexibility belong in the conversation about women’s health

QUOTES

“Your cycle is information. It’s always giving you information.”

“Not every day is going to be a winner.”

“Annoyance is the price you pay for community.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Stop surviving and start thriving, join Midlife on Fire Collective now

https://drmariza.com/trial

Beeya Wellness Website

Beeya Wellness Instagram

Beeya Wellness Youtube

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Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I miss me”?

Somewhere between taking care of everyone else, keeping life moving, and getting everything done, it’s easy to lose touch with the parts of yourself that make you feel creative, connected, joyful, and fully alive.

In this deeply personal conversation, Dr. Mariza sits down with one of her best friends, artist, jewelry designer, and Fully Expressed co-host Samantha Hollingsworth, to explore female friendship, creativity, and what it means to become fully expressed.

They talk about why women need friendships where they can stop performing and feel completely seen, what makes a relationship feel safe and reciprocal, and why deeper connections become especially meaningful in midlife.

Samantha also shares her unconventional journey through multiple careers and creative pursuits, and why women don’t have to choose one passion or stay on one path forever. Plus, she and Dr. Mariza dive into their shared love of fiction and how books can reconnect us with imagination, possibility, and joy.

If you’re craving deeper friendships, more creativity, or simply want to feel more like you again, this episode is for you.

Listen now for a heartfelt conversation about friendship, creativity, and finding your way back to yourself.

SAMANTHA HOLLINGSWORTH

Samantha Hollingsworth is an artist, creative, jewelry designer, Pilates instructor, and co-host of the Fully Expressed podcast and community. After exploring careers in film, movement, voiceover, and other creative fields, Samantha found her way into jewelry design and now creates custom pieces while preparing to launch her own line, Slater by Samantha.

At the heart of her work is a passion for storytelling, creativity, deep female friendship, and creating spaces where women feel truly seen.

IN THIS EPISODE

What it actually means to live a fully expressed life

Why you don’t have to choose just one passion or path

How safe female friendships help us become more ourselves

What to look for when building deeper friendships in midlife

Why friendship requires vulnerability, discernment, and accountability

How books can provide escape, imagination, and connection

Why creativity belongs to everyone, not just artists

Giving yourself permission to start over and write a new story at any age

QUOTES“Women need women. Like, that’s how we thrive.”

“Friendship is messy.”

“You can make whatever life you want.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Find inspiration, connection, and meaningful reads. Join the Book Club now!

https://drmariza.com/bookclub

Use code DRMARIZA and get 10% off on your Womeness Order

https://www.womaness.com/DRMARIZA

The Fully Expressed Website

The Fully Expressed Community

The Fully Expressed Podcast

Samantha Hollingsworth Instagram

Samantha Hollingsworth Website

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761: Finding Your Way Back to Pleasure and Feeling Fully Alive with Gabriella Espinosa

What if the hardest part of living with obesity was never actually the weight?

For so many women, it's the years of dieting, judgment, doctor's appointments, body comments, weight stigma, and quietly believing that if they could finally lose the weight, then they could start living.

And when the weight finally does come off?

The emotional transformation doesn't necessarily happen at the same speed.

In this deeply compassionate conversation, Dr. Mariza sits down with double board-certified internal medicine and obesity medicine physician Dr. Alexandra Sowa to explore the side of GLP-1 medications that almost nobody is talking about: what happens after they start working.

Dr. Sowa has spent 15 years treating obesity and was one of the earliest physicians using GLP-1 medications for obesity management. She explains why medication can be an extraordinary tool while still being only one piece of a much bigger healing process.

Together, they unpack what happens when your body changes faster than your identity, why compliments about weight loss can unexpectedly trigger grief or shame, and how decades of weight stigma and childhood experiences can continue influencing the way you see yourself long after the number on the scale changes.

They also explore the surprising ways GLP-1s can change relationships, friendships, food preferences, social routines, and even the amount of mental space women have available when constant food noise begins to quiet.

Dr. Sowa shares the foundational practices she uses with her own patients, including logging food and feelings without obsessively tracking calories, prioritizing protein, meeting yourself where you are with movement, preserving muscle, and doing the deeper emotional work when trauma begins to surface.

And for women in midlife, they tackle an especially important conversation: why changing hormones and metabolic health deserve to be taken seriously instead of dismissed as laziness or lack of willpower.

Because losing weight can change your health, your mobility, and your life.

But the greatest transformation may be the freedom to finally stop organizing your entire life around your weight.

DR. ALEXANDRA SOWA

Dr. Alexandra Sowa is a double board-certified physician in internal medicine and obesity medicine, bestselling author of The Ozempic Revolution, and one of the country's leading experts in metabolic health and GLP-1 medications.

She has practiced obesity medicine for 15 years and was one of the earliest physicians to incorporate GLP-1 medications into obesity treatment. She is also the founder of SoWell, where she provides education, community, and nutritional support specifically designed for people using GLP-1 medications.

Her work goes far beyond weight loss, helping patients build sustainable habits while addressing the emotional, behavioral, and metabolic complexities of obesity.

IN THIS EPISODE

Why losing weight doesn't automatically heal years of weight stigma and shame

What happens when your body changes faster than your identity can catch up

Why GLP-1 medications can change friendships, marriages, and social routines

How reducing food noise can give women valuable mental space back

The connection between childhood trauma, obesity, and chronic disease

Dr. Sowa's non-negotiables for protein, logging, movement, and preserving muscle

Why exercise doesn't have to mean an intense 45-minute gym workout

Why midlife weight changes deserve better care than "eat less and move more"

QUOTES

“Weight loss doesn't make you happier.”

“We have mistaken thinness for health.”

“Start where you are. Move as much as you can, and then beyond that, we try to grow our muscles.”

“I want you to mom yourself like you mom your kid.”

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Find inspiration, connection, and meaningful reads. Join the Book Club now!

https://drmariza.com/bookclub

The Ozempic Revolution by Dr. Alexandra Sowa

SoWell Website

Alexandra Sowa Website

Alexandra Sowa Instagram

Alexandra Sowa Tiktok

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