The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show

Can you tell someone's testosterone or estrogen levels just by looking at their face? Is "jawmaxxing" actually backed by science? In this video, we dive deep into the real science of hormones, physical attraction, and evolutionary biology.
We debunk popular myths around high testosterone, facial masculinity, and ovulation preferences, revealing what the research actually shows about human mate selection. Discover why facial structure isn't a hormone panel, how estrogen impacts skin and collagen as women age, and why physical strength accounts for 70% of perceived bodily attractiveness.
If you want to understand how hormones shape our development—and why muscle is the single most modifiable signal of health and longevity—this episode is for you.

Find Dr. Gabrielle Lyon at:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgabriellelyon/
- TikTok: tiktok.com/@drgabriellelyon
- Facebook: facebook.com/doctorgabriellelyon
- YouTube: youtube.com/@DrGabrielleLyon
- X: x.com/drgabriellelyon
- Apply to become a patient: https://drgabriellelyon.com/new-patient-inquiry/
- Weekly newsletter: https://institute-for-muscle-centric-medicine.ck.page
- Order my new book: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1668085623

Chapters:
00:00 What role do hormones play in the traits we find attractive?
00:46 High vs. low testosterone: does it change who we pick?
01:44 The ovulation story: do women seek out masculine men?
03:19 Two questions: can you see hormones, and what's modifiable?
04:12 What testosterone and estrogen build during development
05:23 Does winning raise testosterone? What a masculine face tells you
06:26 Selection, training and genes: why muscle isn't just testosterone
07:54 Are women attracted to testosterone? What the longitudinal studies show
09:29 Face vs. strength: what predicts mating success
10:08 The 70% finding: strength and bodily attractiveness
11:44 Why strength is a hard-to-fake health signal
13:41 Can you see estrogen? Facial ratings and why more isn't better
14:41 Culture moves beauty standards, and estrogen shows up in skin
16:08 Estrogen therapy and skin: what it can and can't do
16:36 Can you see hormones? Muscle is the system you can see and change

Disclaimer: The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Podcast and YouTube are for general information purposes only and do not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast, YouTube, or materials linked from this podcast or YouTube is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professional for any such conditions.

When you have musculoskeletal pain, the natural instinct is to try and treat it directly. But the cause of that pain often starts somewhere else in the body.
I learned that from this week's guest, Dr. JJ Thomas, who is my physical therapist and good friend. She was my patient first, and now we are each other's patients. She has practiced physical therapy for more than 25 years and has worked with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Philadelphia Eagles, and athletes from the UFC and US Olympic programs.

What you'll learn in this episode:
Why a chronic tendon injury can come right back, even after eccentric loading or PRP
Whether a frozen shoulder in menopause is a hormone problem, and one of the first movements Dr. Thomas checks
Why she works lying on her stomach, and the 10-minute band routine she wrote for an eight-hour desk day
Why sitting up taller won't fix your posture, and what poor posture tells her about your body
Why she gives patients shoulder blade exercises for their pelvic floor
How much a standard squat does for your posterior chain, and the position she wants you in more often
Why she believes “overuse” injuries are often underuse injuries, and how that changes the way she treats shin splints
Why needling a clinician's quad and adductors normalized his neck rotation
What her blood work showed after years of hard training, and the nutrition change she calls her “game changer”

Thank you to our sponsors:
• Manukora - Get 31% off at https://www.manukora.com/drlyon
• Timeline - up to 20% off when you subscribe and save at https://www.timeline.com/lyon
• Bon Charge - Use code DRLYON for 15% off at https://www.boncharge.com

Explore More from Dr. Gabrielle Lyon
Weekly newsletter: Recipes, podcast updates, and practical weekly insights https://drgabriellelyon.com/sign-up/
Apply to become a patient: Personalized care with Dr. Lyon’s clinical team https://drgabriellelyon.com/new-patie...

Find Dr. JJ Thomas at:
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drjjthomas
• Website: https://primalphysicaltherapy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjjphysicaltherapist/

Connect with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgabriellelyon/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drgabriellelyon
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/doctorgabriellelyon
• X: http://x.com/drgabriellelyon
• Apply to become a patient – https://drgabriellelyon.com/new-patient-inquiry/
• Weekly newsletter – https://institute-for-muscle-centric-medicine.ck.page

Chapters
00:00 – Posture Myths & Why Sitting Up Straight Fails
02:18 – Treating Root Causes vs. Bandaging Pain
06:48 – The Hazards of Sitting & Reframing Movement as Health
13:39 – The 7 Primal Movement Patterns Every Body Needs
25:28 – Scapular Stability, Pelvic Health, and Primal Movements
39:12 – Fixing Glute Amnesia & Activating the Posterior Chain
51:57 – Why "Overuse" Injuries Are Really Underuse Problems
58:34 – Dry Needling & System-Based Movement Resets
1:13:53 – Dialing in Hormones, Protein, and Metabolic Health

If you found this episode valuable, share it with someone who would benefit from it.

Disclaimers: This episode includes paid sponsorships.

The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Podcast and YouTube are for general information purposes only and do not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast, YouTube, or materials linked from this podcast or YouTube is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professional for any such conditions.

Will I get too bulky?" No. "Is it too late?" Also no. Here's the context: during the menopause transition, women lose lean mass, gain fat, and their muscle becomes harder to build — the same workout and the same protein meal produce less than they did at 30. For years the only conversation has been hormone therapy, yes or no, as if that were the fix. In Part 2 of her menopause series, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon looks at what the evidence actually says builds muscle back.

In this episode:
-Postmenopausal women can build muscle and strength at any age (Frontiers in Endocrinology)
- Up to 8 lbs of skeletal muscle in 12 weeks (J Nutr Health Aging RCT)
- Anabolic resistance: why the same workout and the same meal produce less after menopause
- "I was wrong": hormone therapy vs. lifting, and the conversations with Dr. Donald Layman
- HRT alone and lean mass: a 0.06 kg difference across 12 trials
- Estradiol plus training: bigger quad and fat-free mass gains, maintained at 12 months
- Lift first — the practical translation while the HRT evidence evolves
- Why protein matters more after menopause, and why 60 g spread thin isn't enough
- The RDA (0.8 g/kg) isn't enough to protect bone; ESCEO's 1–1.2 g/kg floor
- Doubling protein to 1.6 g/kg: more fat lost, more lean mass kept
- The 6-step Forever Strong menopause protocol

Sponsor
David Protein — 28 g of protein, 150 calories, zero sugar → davidprotein.com/drlyon, subscribe to save 10% on every order

Find Dr. Gabrielle Lyon at:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgabriellelyon/
- TikTok: tiktok.com/@drgabriellelyon
- Facebook: facebook.com/doctorgabriellelyon
- X: x.com/drgabriellelyon
- Apply to become a patient – https://drgabriellelyon.com/new-patient-inquiry/
- Weekly newsletter – https://institute-for-muscle-centric-medicine.ck.page

Chapters:
00:00 Will I get too bulky? Is it too late? Both answers are no
01:09 Postmenopausal women gained up to 8 lbs of muscle in 12 weeks
02:24 Anabolic resistance: more volume, more intensity, more protein
03:34 Hormone therapy or lifting? "I was wrong"
05:16 HRT alone and lean mass: 0.06 kg across 12 trials
06:16 Estradiol amplifies training — it doesn't replace it
07:22 Lift first: what to do while the evidence evolves
10:21 Why protein matters more after menopause (and why 60 g isn't enough)
11:16 The RDA won't protect your bones: the 1–1.2 g/kg floor
12:16 Doubling protein: more fat lost, more lean mass kept
13:22 The Forever Strong protocol, step 1: train 2–3 days a week
14:15 Steps 2–3: 30–50 g protein at first and last meal, impact and loading
15:13 Steps 4–6: hormone therapy with training, body composition, blood work
16:07 You're not alone: the Menopause Challenge

Disclaimer: This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or create a doctor–patient relationship. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Do not disregard or delay seeking medical advice because of something you heard here.

Most patients are told one thing before surgery: stop all supplements. Duke surgeon Dr. Rebecca Knackstedt says that blanket advice can do harm, and that what you do in the days before surgery changes how you heal.
Dr. Knackstedt is a plastic and reconstructive microsurgeon on faculty at Duke, an MD-PhD researcher and a certified functional medicine provider whose research focuses on surgical prehabilitation: preparing the body, mind, and home before surgery, the way we already do with rehab.

In today’s episode, we discuss:
• What prehab looks like for any operation
• The labs she checks
• Which supplements to keep and which to stop (omega-3s do not increase bleeding)
• Hormones after breast cancer
• Why mammograms still beat thermography
• What chemo does to metabolism
• The questions to ask your oncologist before a treatment decision
• How much protein to eat (no standard exists, and the average woman gets 60 to 70 grams a day, well short of the 100-gram floor)
• Why surgery is catabolic and muscle is your reserve
• Carbohydrate loading before the fasting cutoff and why it can reduce pain
• The five-day window that lowered complications and even mortality in head and neck cancer patients
• Why early walking replaced routine bed rest

Connect with Dr. Knackstedt
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/surgical_recovery/
Website → https://www.clararecovery.com/

Sponsors
• Perfect Amino by BodyHealth, https://bit.ly/4wZgg6N, code LYON20 for 20% off your first order
• Timeline Mitopure → https://bit.ly/4x18cm5, for an extra 20% off
• Lola Blankets → lolablankets.com (http://lolablankets.com/), code: DRLYON for 40% off select blankets (limited time)

Find Dr. Gabrielle Lyon at:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgabriellelyon/
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@drgabriellelyon
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/doctorgabriellelyon
• X: http://x.com/drgabriellelyon
• Apply to become a patient – https://drgabriellelyon.com/new-patient-inquiry/
• Weekly newsletter – https://institute-for-muscle-centric-medicine.ck.page

Chapters:
00:00 Prehab saves lives and money. So why isn't it standard of care?
01:05 Meet Dr. Rebecca Knackstedt: Duke microsurgeon and functional medicine provider
05:35 The patient who changed everything, and why good surgery isn't enough
08:34 What prehab is, and the exercises to do before any surgery
12:14 Hormones after breast cancer, rising rates in young women, and real risk factors
18:42 Chemo, metabolic syndrome and why body composition matters
23:13 The end of bed rest, and the labs that matter before surgery
27:04 Mammograms vs. thermography, and absolute vs. relative risk
34:12 Protein before surgery: 2 g/kg, track 3 days, never under 100 g
38:43 Supplements to take, and why "stop all supplements" is wrong
44:40 Preparing the mind: anxiety, sleep, anesthesia depression, expectations
51:21 Red light, saunas, hyperbaric oxygen, wound vacs, scars and pain control
1:04:59 Surgery is catabolic: muscle as your glucose reserve
1:07:34 Carb loading, the 5-day window, probiotics and the surgery go-bag
1:14:15 Why prehab isn't standard of care yet, and why she's hopeful

Disclaimer: This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or create a doctor–patient relationship. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Do not disregard or delay seeking medical advice because of something you heard here.

Menopause is changing your body, but the part nobody talks about isn't hot flashes. It's muscle. Women lose lean mass fastest in perimenopause, the loss probably starts closer to 35, and no pill, patch or injection fixes it.

In this solocast, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon explains what estrogen, testosterone and FSH actually do to your metabolism, why a 50-year-old body can still build muscle, and the training and protein protocol to start now.

Join the Menopause Challenge →
https://drgabriellelyon.com/menopause-challenge/
[Use Code 25OFF through Sept 27]

Thank you to our sponsors:
- Rula, therapy covered by insurance → rula.com/drlyon

Find Dr. Gabrielle Lyon at:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgabriellelyon/
- TikTok: @drgabriellelyon
- Facebook: facebook.com/doctorgabriellelyon
- YouTube: youtube.com/@DrGabrielleLyon
- X (Twitter): x.com/drgabriellelyon
- Apply to become a patient – https://drgabriellelyon.com/new-patient-inquiry/
- Join my weekly newsletter – https://institute-for-muscle-centric-medicine.ck.page
- Pre-order my new book - https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1668085623

Chapters:
00:00 Menopause is changing your body — but it doesn't have to change your life
00:59 The suitcase story: today is about muscle, not hot flashes
01:47 Hormone therapy, yes or no? Why that's the wrong first question
03:36 What menopause is, when it arrives, and 40% of your life after it
04:37 When lean mass really starts to fall — and why testing misses it
06:46 Testosterone vs. estrogen: no two women go through it the same way
08:40 Anabolic resistance: why the muscle-building switch gets sticky
10:31 Estrogen, joints and injury risk (Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein)
13:27 Less muscle, nowhere to put carbs: the lean prediabetic patient
14:19 Falls, fractures, heart disease, and muscle as an early bone signal
16:14 Visceral fat, energy expenditure, fat oxidation and FSH
18:02 Test your blood — and pull the levers you control
19:00 The starting protocol: 2–3 days a week and the movements to keep
20:30 Menopause changes your body, not your life — the Menopause Challenge

Mentioned
- Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein on estrogen, joints and injury risk → https://youtu.be/ILyzNTjZTGI
- Juliet & Dr. Kelly Starrett on floor sitting and mobility → https://youtu.be/QOjzh-711Q0
- SWAN (Study of Women's Health Across the Nation)
- The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology review on lean mass and chronic disease
- ESCEO guidance on muscle and bone

Disclaimers: This episode includes paid sponsorships. The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Podcast and YouTube are for general information purposes only and do not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast, YouTube, or materials linked from this podcast or YouTube is at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professional for any such conditions.