This is StRest! Kerstin Lindquist sits down with Dr. Jen Pfleghaar, a board-certified family nurse practitioner, author of The Perimenopause Reset, and women’s health advocate whose work brings together faith, integrative health, and the realities of midlife. Dr. Jen explains why she believes symptoms such as anxiety, heart palpitations, difficult PMS, weight changes, and disrupted sleep can be signals that something deeper needs attention rather than issues women should simply cover up.

Dr. Jen opens up about her own spiritual journey and how she became deeply involved in yoga, meditation, Reiki, crystals, and other New Age practices while working in integrative medicine. She explains why she ultimately walked away from those practices, returned to Scripture, and began rethinking where she placed her identity as a doctor, mother, and professional.

The conversation turns to family, marriage, and the major changes Dr. Jen made after realizing the stress of running a brick-and-mortar medical practice was affecting her home life. She shares why she closed the practice, moved with her family to a small farm outside Nashville, shifted to virtual care, and began putting greater emphasis on her role as a wife and mother.

Kerstin and Dr. Jen also explore what they describe as spiritual warfare during perimenopause. Dr. Jen explains how changing hormones can leave women experiencing anxiety, isolation, weight gain, emotional changes, and symptoms they may never have faced before. She believes those vulnerable seasons make it especially important for women to protect what they consume mentally and spiritually and stay grounded in their faith.

They also get into the science and lifestyle factors that may affect how women experience perimenopause. Dr. Jen discusses progesterone decline, fluctuating estrogen, blood sugar, muscle mass, stress, genetics, liver health, alcohol, inflammation, and environmental exposures. She explains why two women can enter the same stage of life and have completely different experiences.

Kerstin gets personal about giving up alcohol after her husband became sober and how her own body began reacting differently to alcohol in her forties. She and Dr. Jen talk about replacing the ritual of drinking with coffee, tea, sparkling water, date nights, and other habits while acknowledging that sometimes what people miss is not the alcohol itself but the experience surrounding it.

The conversation becomes even more candid when Kerstin talks about the dramatic drop in her libido during perimenopause. Dr. Jen discusses stress, vaginal dryness, changing hormones, communication with a spouse, foreplay, testosterone, and other approaches she uses with patients. Kerstin also shares how noticeably different her libido felt while vacationing in Italy and away from the normal stress of work, kids, and home.

Dr. Jen then answers Kerstin’s rapid-fire questions about hormone replacement therapy, peptides, GLP-1 medications, muscle, meat, supplements, and strength training. She explains why she supports bioidentical hormone replacement and properly supervised peptides and GLP-1s while emphasizing that she views them as tools to layer onto a strong health foundation rather than quick fixes.

They close with practical habits Dr. Jen believes can make a difference in midlife. Her personal staples include magnesium, creatine, inositol, regular Bible reading, prayer, Christian music, and lifting heavy weights. Her message to women is simple: building muscle, managing stress, understanding your body, and protecting your spiritual life can all become part of navigating this season with more strength.

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PROGRAM
Fast2Faith Fasting Program

CHAPTERS
(00:00) Symptoms Are a Signal
(08:06) Leaving Yoga & New Age
(12:24) Faith, Family & Marriage
(20:31) Spiritual Warfare in Midlife
(31:37) Why Symptoms Hit Differently
(35:02) Alcohol, Sobriety & Rituals
(40:09) Marriage, Leadership & Stress
(44:07) Libido, Sex & Perimenopause
(49:01) HRT, Peptides & GLP-1s
(52:04) Muscle, Supplements & Faith

WORK WITH KERSTIN
Workshops & Events

MORE ABOUT KERSTIN
Website: kerstin-lindquist.com
Instagram: @kerstin.lindquist
Facebook: Kerstin Lindquist
YouTube: @Kerstin.lindquist
TikTok: @kerstin.lindquist

CONNECT WITH DR. JEN PFLEGHAAR
Website: healthybydrjen.com
Instagram: @integrativedrmom
YouTube: @integrativedrmom

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