← BETTER! with Dr. Stephanie Estima | Strength, Body Composition & Perimenopause
BETTER! with Dr. Stephanie Estima | Strength, Body Composition & Perimenopause
Your Year-End Gratitude Inventory (with Reflection Questions)
00:26:05
As we wind down 2025 with this second of three solo episodes, I wanted to create a different kind of episode for you today: one that's a little shorter, a little sweeter, and completely focused on gratitude, reflection, and setting gentle intentions for the year ahead. Whether you're in your pajamas in that delicious vortex between Christmas and New Year's or you're out for a walk, I'm so glad you're here with me for this year-end reflection. Watch the full episode at https://youtu.be/dk743K5oPS0
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- [00:00]
Dr. Stephanie
What boundary did I set or did I need to set that made life better? It's a really good one for women, I find. Women, we don't, we don't set boundaries. We just, we just add to the load. It's like, oh, you want more? You want me to do more PTAs? Oh, you want me to do. Yeah, oh, sure.
- [00:18]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
Yeah, I can figure that.
- [00:19]
Dr. Stephanie
I'll make it work. You know, that's how we are. So what boundary did I set or need to set that made life better? All right, my friends, we are starting to wrap up 2025 and man, this has been a year. It has been a year of highs and lows for me, as I know it very likely has been for you. And I wanted to do a shorter ish episode today. Really just expressing my gratitude for you, my Betty. Whether you are a light roast Betty, you are a dark roast Betty, or you are somewhere in between. For you to come on this journey with me, it is really, I do not take for granted one millisecond that you are spending your precious time, energy, focus with me. And so I wanted to start off by saying thank you. There is a new darling in the.
- [01:19]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
Supplement world and it is showing some incredible applications for recovery, muscle strength, endurance, joint health in degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis and even brain health with Alzheimer's disease. It is called Urolithin A and is something we actually already make in our guts, but like most things, it tends.
- [01:37]
Dr. Stephanie
To decline as we age.
- [01:39]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
Urolithin A is anti inflammatory and also has antioxidant properties and it is involved in recovering from workouts. So as our own natural production declines in midlife, the potential for inflammation, poor energy and poor recovery also increases. As a perimenopausal woman, I know that I am in a fight against time to preserve my muscle strength, my muscle endurance and my recovery needs are greater. I take Timeline's Urolithin A both in pill and now their delicious gummy form to protect against this. A serving size is two just delightfully delicious gummies which gives you 500mg which is the clinically relevant dose to get all of the muscle endurance and strength benefits, recovery, bone health and brain health.
- [02:24]
Dr. Stephanie
I am so excited to share that.
- [02:25]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
Listeners of this podcast that's you now can get 20% off of your first timeline purchase. Head over to timelinenutrition.com better and use code better at checkout. That's timelinenutrition.com Better and use code better to check out to receive 20% off today.
- [02:47]
Dr. Stephanie
And I thought for today, we're going to make this a little short and a little sweet. But I wanted to really talk about gratitude because I just expressed my gratitude to you. But also, gratitude is not pretending everything is fine. You know, and I, And I strategically released this episode in the middle of the holidays where things might not be fine. There may be some stressful family situations, there may be some stressful business, financial, you know, the world, who knows, right? So gratitude is not pretending everything is fine.
- [03:23]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
It's not like toxic positivity.
- [03:25]
Dr. Stephanie
It's not forcing yourself to look on the bright side when something hurts. And it's definitely not a requirement to feel cheerful or happy either. Gratitude is more like saying, okay, even here, even now, there were moments of support. There were people who showed up, and maybe the only person was you. There. There was something steady, there was something safe. There was a lesson that was meant for me, and maybe even there was a chance to start again. You know, sometimes gratitude is like huge. It's life changing, life altering trajectories. And sometimes it's like tiny. You know, it's. It's a warm tea, it's fresh, crisp, clean, cold sheets. It's a text message that arrives, you know, at the. At the right time. So you don't have to be grateful for what was painful this year, but maybe you can be grateful for the friend who sat with you during it, or the strength that you didn't know you had. Maybe you didn't have a friend, but you found strength within you that you never thought was possible. Or maybe it's something that helped you finally accept what is, you know, that really counts. So that's what gratitude is. And maybe we can together create a 2025 gratitude inventory. So if you're able to, if you're listening to this and you're in your pajamas in that vortex between Christmas and.
- [04:59]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
New Year's, if you have a notebook.
- [05:02]
Dr. Stephanie
Nearby or you have a notes app or something, you can grab one. If you're driving right now and listening to me, please don't do this, or if you're walking, you may not have the opportunity to, but you can just listen and mentally chime in and move through this exercise together. But we're gonna take a gratitude inventory. It's kind of like taking stock without pressure, right? So I'm gonna go through a couple of categories, a couple of, we'll call them life verticals. And I want you to think of one, at least one specific thing from this past year. It could be two, could be 10, but you know, at least one. And it doesn't have to be the best thing, it just has to thing. Okay, so the first we'll say Life pot or life vertical is people I used to. If anybody has ever seen the movie about a boy with Hugh Grant, it's actually a really great Christmas time, you know, holiday season movie to watch where this super independent guy is like, I don't ever want to have family. Like, I love my life, bachelor life, great apartment, all the things. And then he meets this like, you know, kind of awkward boy that like cracks his heart open. But there's this line in the movie where he. He's like, I'm an island, I'm Ibiza. That's my best British accent, by the way. He's like, I'm an island. I'm Ibiza. And you know, I used to feel like that. I used to be like, I'm an island. I'm Ibiza. I will do it all my. I'll always do it better myself. Fast forward to today where I am maybe less stupid, hopefully. And I know that people are far more important than I used to give them credit for.
- [06:36]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
So my first Life pot or Life.
- [06:38]
Dr. Stephanie
Vertical is people who are supported you this year, either directly or quietly. You know, sometimes people lead from behind, right? Like some people are not out in the front, like clearing the way for you, but they're there holding your hand silently. They're there just making sure that you know that they believe in you. You know, who is that one? Just one person. It could be a friend, it could be your partner. It could be a coworker, it could be a neighbor, it could be a teacher, it could be a stranger, it could be a parent. You know, any. Just one person. I want you to choose one person again, doesn't have to be the best person. It has to be one person. Another life pot, of course, we're going to talk about is your body the vessel that you move through life with. Many intellects, many scientists just sort of think of their body as a carrying case for their brains. Now, of course, the brain and the body are so intimately and inextricably connected. So we do want to be thinking about our body. So not necessarily as a performance, not as a before and after, but just what did your body do for you this year? What did she do for you this year? Maybe your body healed. Maybe it endured something very difficult. Maybe it got you through a really hard season. Maybe it did carry you to a place that you needed to go. To so maybe thinking about your body and your health as it is today, right? So I know that there's a tendency for women to really only think about our health as like how skinny we are. And that is really gonna be my life's work to change that. Not that, like, if you wanna lose weight, great, I'm here to help you to do that. But you're not a before and after. You're so much more than a before and after, you know? So what did your body do for you this year? Why don't we thank her? Next category I'd love to propose to you is home. Whatever. Home is for you. Safety and the everyday. Was it? What are you grateful for? Is it a bed, a shower, A.
- [08:37]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
Front door that locks?
- [08:40]
Dr. Stephanie
Favorite mug, A little corner, a little nook in your home? You know, a routine that steadied you, that grounded you, that made you feel safe? For me, really what helped me this year was a skincare routine in the evening. I know that that sounds a little bit silly, but it was like, oh yeah, it's time for bed now. I'm starting to put on my skincare routine, starting to wrap my hair up. You know, that really kind of grounded me. So what was a ritual maybe or routine that grounded you?
- [09:09]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
Noticing your hair isn't as full as.
- [09:11]
Dr. Stephanie
It used to be. One of the absolute keys to thick.
- [09:14]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
Full hair is scalp health. Good hair starts with your scalp. So instead of wrinkles and sagging skin, poor scalp health affects your hair, causing thinning of the hair shaft and a shorter growth cycle, which means that the hair is going to fall out sooner, which is why you see clumps of hair after your shower. Oneskin, the company that I trust for my skin, has just launched their new peptide scalp serum OS1 hair. It is the first scalp serum with the OS1 peptide which is scientifically formulated to target cellular senescence which is a primary cause of age related hair loss and thinning. Now I've been using this for about four weeks with the Oneskin derma roller. So I dermaroll the areas where I'm seeing thinning hair and I apply the serum afterwards and I have already noticed in just four weeks, less shedding. And I have new little baby hairs in the areas on my scalp where there was thinning hair. Get to the root of hair loss and thinning with One Skin's new peptide scalp serum OS1 hair. Use code better for 15% off of your first order of hair products at OneSkin Co better. That's O N E S K I N CO better and use code better to get 15% off another life pot.
- [10:29]
Dr. Stephanie
You can consider is work your purpose, your contribution. So gratitude for something that maybe you built, that you attempted to build, that you contributed to, maybe paid or unpaid? Certainly if you are a woman listening to the show, we carry the bulk of paid and unpaid, particularly in the home. Maybe that might be volunteer work. That might be community service work as well. So what did you build, attempt to build, contribute, paid or unpaid? What are you proud that you showed up for? That's a great question. What are you proud that you showed up for this year? Another category I'll propose to you is joy, play and laughter. I know that I'm speaking English and you can probably understand those words, but so many women are like, joy. What? What do you mean, joy? I don't understand so. Because we're so. And that's, that's really for my dark gross. Those are like my boardroom betties that are like achievement oriented type A personalities. Like, yeah, okay, win. Okay. Yeah, we got the win. Okay, onto the next one. Can we slow down for a moment and think about some joy, some laughter someplace? So what made you laugh this year? Maybe it was a comedy special. Maybe it was a conversation you had with somebody. What made you feel light, Even if it was brief, what made you feel light? Think about that. Another category for your gratitude. Life, pot, nature and the world around you. Of course, we are often as humans forget that we are not just on the earth, but we are from the earth as well. So are there things that you can be grateful for in the nature around where you live? Maybe it's a sunrise that you caught by accident or purposeful. A walk. Maybe it's a tree that you pass by every day. Truth be told, I'm a bit of a tree hugger. There's a couple trees that I really love. Favorites. Favorites. We all have them. I have a couple favorite trees in my neighborhood that I talk to. Rain on the window, fresh air. Some. What are some? There's maybe there's a bird that's taken up nest nearby and you can hear them chirping. Like, what are some of the things that you notice in nature and the world around you? Next category. Lessons and hard won growth. And this one maybe is a little tender. So I talk about this with a tender heart and a gentle hand with you. What did 2025 teach you? You know, and not like the inspirational version, but the like let's be real here. Betty's like, let's talk about the honest one. Right. Maybe 2025 taught you boundaries. Maybe it taught you how to rest. I know a lot of my women that I coached this year in my. Yes. Cohorts had a really difficult time with rest. We spent a lot of time talking about recovery and the value of rest. And that doesn't mean that you're a lazy sloth, an unproductive, unsuccessful sloth. That's actually how you build. You know, maybe 2025 taught you who you can count on. Maybe it taught you to try again, even in the face of failure. Everybody's favorite F word. And then I'll finish this off with like, again. Small Joys. Okay, so little. Maybe this is an expansion of the previous category, but I think Small Joys is like the little pieces of delight and awe and wonder. You know, maybe it's the song that was on repeat on your Spotify playlist. Maybe it was the show you watched when you needed comfort. I'll share mine, which is. It's a French show. It's a. Actually, it's just French real estate. It's called Legence. And it just follows this family of five, I think six, four brothers and two parents as they kind of go about their lives in France and Spain and a couple different places. So I love Legence. And of course, I'm a sucker for Emily in Paris. I totally love Emily in Paris. So the show you watch when you needed comfort, maybe it's a smell of coffee, you know, those extra five minutes in bed on Sunday. I mean, I love that. I love, like if a weekend. Oh, my God. The best for me is a couple days before I get my period. And it, like, that happens to fall on a Saturday or Sunday, I will sleep in for like an Extra delicious 20 to 40 minutes if I can. And it is just pure delight, you know, And I. I kind of am focusing a little bit on small because small doesn't mean insignificant. Right. Small means it's available. And if you start to look, you'll start to see all the small things that are available to you in your everyday life. Um, okay, so we've taken stock of some of the different life pots. We'll say that maybe we overlooked or maybe we have. We've been thinking about as the year is winding down. I want to maybe take you through a bit of an exercise on gratitude that it's a gratitude exercise that you can either send to someone or you just write it out, do the exercise, and never send it. Okay. So you can either send it or keep it. I'll leave that choice to you, but it's a practice that I love. It's like a gratitude note that is sent or unsent. How I do it is I think of one person who made my year better and I complete this sentence. So you may not realize it, but when you fill in the blank it changed things for me. And so you can do that with like a really simple one. Like a really simple note. It can be like, hey, I'm doing this year and gratitude practice. You came to mind. Thank you for a blank, it meant more than you know. It can be a really specific one, like hey, person, friend, you know, name. I keep thinking about that moment when blank right? It made me feel blank. Thank you so much for showing up. Or you can even do one that's like, hey, because of you, I'm heading into 2026 with more blank right? And then go into kind of some reasons why even if you never send this, just naming it and thinking and holding that person in high regard in your in your aura will say is super powerful.
- [16:39]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
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- [18:40]
Dr. Stephanie
Or past gut issues.
- [18:41]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
Ultimate GI Repair will give your body the ingredients it needs to finally heal. Head over to leveluphealth.com that's l v l u p h a l dot com and use code Dr. Stephanie to get 15% off of the entire website. That's L V L U P H E-A L T H.com and use code Dr. Stephanie at checkout.
- [19:07]
Dr. Stephanie
All right, last little bit I want to take you through is a little exercise that I like to do. We. I do this with my husband when we are dreaming about 2026 or the next year, in this case 2026 and what we want to be kind of creating together as a family. I do this with my team to some extent when we are doing annual planning. These are like, reflective, like end of year questions like, what went well, what didn't go well? How are we going to improve everything in the future? And there's no correct answer here. Right. It's just the honest answer is the right one. So, you know, take what resonates from this list and skip what doesn't. A couple questions that I like to ask myself every year. What did I survive or endure this year that I'm super proud of because there's always. It's like the good with the bad. They seem to really like the yin and the yang. They just travel together. Right? What did I learn about myself in 2025? When did I feel the most like me this year? What was I doing and who was I with? I have to tell you, I'll share. I know my answer to this one already. This is like when I'm on stage, you know, I put so much effort and time into preparing a talk. I actually love preparing a talk and then delivering it on stage. And when I nail the laughter, ugh, nothing better. Okay. So I feel so alive when I'm like. And I feel most like me. Like, I make all my quirky jokes. I'm interacting with the audience. I love it. Okay, next question. What drained me the most in 2025 and what was that trying to tell me so my team will laugh when. If they if they're listening to this. For me, it's like anything in men. If I try to book myself on a podcast or someone reaches out and like, we want you on our, you know, whatever. I cannot follow up to save my life. Thank God for my team. So if you are someone who's listening and I have never gotten back to you, I am sorry. I get so many emails and maybe one of my goals in 2026 is like to start creating some really cool filters in Gmail so that I'm not just inundated with like thousands of emails a day, which is currently the situation. So, okay, so what drained me the most in 2025 for me was admin work. And what was that? Trying to tell me I need people who are really good with admin on my team. Okay, what energized me the most in 2025 and how can I make more space for that? Like another way of asking that's like, where is my genius, right? And how can I do more of that? Or how can I do more of what I love? What relationships grew stronger this year and.
- [21:42]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
What helped that happen?
- [21:43]
Dr. Stephanie
That's a really good question. I really like that one. What boundary did I set or did I need to set that made life better? It's a really good one for women. I find women, we don't, we don't set boundaries. We just, we just add to the load. It's like, oh, you want more? You want me to do more PTAs? Oh, you want me to do. Yeah, oh, sure, yeah, I can figure that. I'll make it work. You know, that's how we are. So what boundary did I set or need to set that made life better? Oh, here's a good one. You'll need some tissues for this one. What am I ready to forgive myself for? Oh, that hits me in my heart spot. What am I ready to forgive myself for? And maybe a follow up question is like, you know, when you're thinking about how to forgive yourself, it's like when the, when the tools I had to deal with, the situation that I was presented with, were maybe less than the tools that I have now. Right. Because anytime that we do something that we're not proud of, we are have an operating system that maybe needs an upgrade. You know, we are just like our phones. Sometimes we need an upgrade or we just didn't have the tool set right. Like we just, we didn't have the operating system to be more efficient, to be more clean, to be more smooth. So what am I ready to forgive myself for what did I keep postponing and why? And a little nod from me to be kind to yourself here, not harsh. What did I keep postponing and why? Maybe it's a health goal, maybe it's an exercise goal, maybe it's a diet goal, Maybe it's a whatever goal For a lot of women, certainly they're like, I wanted to lift two times a week, but just couldn't make it happen. So something like that. What is something I'm grateful that I said no to this year? That's a kind of a interesting question. I'd be curious to see what some of your answers are here. What is something I'm grateful I said no to? And then the flip. What is something I'm grateful I said yes to this year? And if 2025 had a theme or a headline, what would it be? So this can be. Some people will choose one word. I'm less of a stickler for one word. I think that's too limiting. If you know the one word, awesome. But if it's a theme, that can be a couple words. Sentence, you know? And then as you're answering these questions, notice what keeps getting repeated. Sometimes those repeats are clues, right? They're your values trying to get your attention. So maybe go through them and be like, hmm, where's the pattern? Where's the pattern? Where's the pattern? As a clinician or someone who was a clinician for 20 years, I can tell you that that is the art of being a good clinician is becoming a really excellent person who can recognize patterns. All right? So when we look back at 2025, of course, we get to excitedly look forward to the new year that we are going to create together, not with pressure, but with intention. Okay, so a couple of questions. Intention questions for 2026. How do I want to feel in 2026? And this is borrowed from my dear friend Danielle Laporte. She loves choosing words. So I will borrow that with credit where credit is due. Choosing three to five words for how you want to feel in 2026. So a couple of examples might be steady, brave, connected, rested. Maybe you want to feel rested in 26. Curious, playful, clear. What are some words that really speak to you? And those are obviously, that's not just a full list. That's just the thesaurus that I can rifle off or the dictionary that I can rifle off in my brain off the top of my head. And what are some habits, practices, or protocols that would support those feelings? So what would be like a Practical applic of helping yourself feel steady or feel connected or rested or playful. So how can we reinforce those feelings with actions? What do I want to do less of in 2026? I'll tell you, for me, it's admin. Just don't want to do admin. But I'll probably still end up doing some. But I'm going to try to do a lot less of it. What am I done carrying? Oh, that's a good one. I could almost cry even just thinking about my answer there. But for sure, it's like, you know, weight of, you know my history and yeah, when I'm done carrying is like other people's opinions of me. It's like literally none of my business. What is calling for more time on my calendar. I love that. I think for me it's more winter, more diving into my winter sports because I live on the east coast. It gets cold here. You need a winter sport to survive the east coast. I'll just say that. So I want to be doing more cross country skiing. That makes me happy. What is one tiny habit?
- [26:40]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
Tiny, tiny, itty bitty itty meeny little.
- [26:44]
Dr. Stephanie
Habit that would make 2026 easier. Not impressive, but just effective. What's one small, little tiny effective habit? Ooh, I love this one. What am I willing to be a beginner at in 2026? Because I know all my type a Betty's. I know you because I am you.
- [27:02]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
We don't like to be beginners at anything.
- [27:04]
Dr. Stephanie
We just wanna come out of the womb as experts. So what are you willing to be a beginner at in 2026? And where can I trade perfection for progress? That's why doctors call it a practice and not a perfect because we are practicing with our patients. But how can you trade perfection for practice or progress? All right, and what does success mean for you in 2026 on your own terms, not someone else's version. Maybe that means that you sell your dining table and chairs like I'm hoping to start a trend and then you create a home wellness space. If you've seen me on Instagram, you know that I sold my 12 foot dining. My. It's beautiful. Like, you know, recovered wood restoration hardware. La la la. Beautiful, gorgeous thing. Sold it. And now I have my bike, my vibration plate, my walking treadmill and you know, all the things that I have, all my rehab stuff that I have in there that is success for me on my own terms is like living in my house exactly the way I want, not because of other people's Expectations. Okay, and then my last question for you, always save the best for last. What will I prioritize even if no one claps for me? I know, these are good, right? What will I prioritize even if no one claps? So another way of saying that is, what will I prioritize even if nobody sees it and nobody cares, right? If no one claps for me, what am I still gonna prioritize? Now, you don't need a 40 point plan, right? You just need some direction. You need a few honest commitments and the courage to keep returning to what matters. So all that to say is, as we close out 2025, again, I am grateful for you. I am grateful for you sharing your time with me. All the hours that you have spent listening to this show and all the hours that I've put into produc show for you. I am so grateful for you. I would literally do this even if there was one person out there listening.
- [29:07]
Podcast Co-host or Guest
But we know that there are hundreds.
- [29:08]
Dr. Stephanie
Of thousands of you that listen to the show and we are so grateful for that. You know, if this episode supported you or any episode that we've put together over the course of the year supported you, I'd love for you to share it with someone who maybe needs a calmer ending to the year or a fresh start in 2026. And I would love to hear from you. So feel free to leave us comments. What's one thing that you're grateful for from 2026? And what's one thing that you want to carry Forward into from 2025? Pardon me? And what's one word that you want to carry or one theme that you want to carry forward into 2026? Okay, so as I mentioned, we are in this vortex between Christmas and New Year's. Probably pajamas, probably have no idea what day it is, probably have had too much cheese. I am definitely talking about myself with that I want to say, take good care, be gentle with your past self, be brave with your future self, and I'll see you on the next episode. Thank you again so much and we'll see you next time. All right? All right.
- [30:12]
Legal Disclaimer Narrator
I hope you enjoyed today's episode and I must give you the obligatory legal.
- [30:18]
Dr. Stephanie
And medical disclaimer here.
- [30:20]
Legal Disclaimer Narrator
This podcast, Better with Dr. Stephanie, is for general information only and the advice recommendations we discuss do not replace medicine, chiropractic or any other primary health care provider's advice, treatment or care in the consumption of this podcast. There is no doctor patient relationship that has been formed and the use and implementation of the information discussed are at the sole discretion of the listener. The information and and opinions shared on this podcast are not intended to be a substitute for primary care diagnosis or treatment. In other words, guys, be smart about this. Take it with a grain of salt. Take this information to your primary healthcare provider and have a discussion with him or her to make the best choice.
- [31:09]
Dr. Stephanie
That is for you.
- [31:11]
Legal Disclaimer Narrator
Remember, I am a doctor, but I am not your doctor and these conversations are meant for educational purposes only.