Podcast Summary:

The Tamsen Show
Host: Tamsen Fadal
Guest: Dr. Mindy Pelz
Episode: The Fasting Doctor: 5 Science-Backed Tools to Support Your Brain in Menopause
Date: December 24, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the lived experience and science of menopause with Dr. Mindy Pelz, a New York Times-bestselling author and expert on women’s health and fasting. Tamsen and Dr. Pelz explore how menopause rewires the brain for greater clarity, confidence, and energy — focusing on actionable, science-based tools to navigate “the change." The conversation is candid, relatable, and rooted in empowerment, encouraging women to reclaim their bodies and their identities at midlife.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Changing Conversation Around Menopause

• From Hush to Chaos: Dr. Pelz notes the shift from cultural silence about menopause to today’s overwhelming and contradictory noise. Many feel lost or hopeless amid so much conflicting info.
  • “[We've] gone from a cultural hush around menopause to ...cultural chaos... I wanted to dive in and bring hope back to the conversation.” (03:19)
• Aging Like a Girl: Dr. Pelz encourages women to reclaim the playful, joyful, "girl" parts of themselves — to shed cultural expectations and rediscover intrinsic strength and self.
  • “I think aging like a girl means taking back the parts of us... the childlike girl parts that we turned away from when we were told we needed to look a certain way, act a certain way, be a certain thing.” (04:25)

Rediscovering Self: Isolation and Inquiry

• The Power of Intentional Isolation: Dr. Pelz shares her journey through burnout and codependency, describing how deliberate isolation helped her rediscover her own preferences, energy, and needs.
  • “The isolation became a moment for me to feel my own energy. At first, it was horrible... but when I got alone, everything started to slow down...” (10:09)
• Small Acts of Self-Discovery: Creating a “thinking chair,” setting aside personal physical space, and questioning everything from wake-up times to clothing choices.
• Listening to Your Body: Through solitude, Dr. Pelz learned to recognize the physical manifestations of stress or incongruency — knots, tension, etc.

How Menopause Rewires the Brain

• Brain Remodel Period: Dr. Pelz explains, with research from Lisa Mosconi, how estrogen stimulates cross-talk between the brain’s right (creative, relational) and left (logical, goal-oriented) hemispheres. With declining estrogen, this “cross-referencing” reduces.
  • “Your brain is now setting you up to take care of you.” (15:44)
  • “When estrogen goes away... you can do business goals... without thinking about [others'] feelings.” (17:48)
• Upsides of Brain Rewiring: Menopause can be an invitation for congruency and authenticity; decreased focus on external validation frees up confidence and energy.

Fatigue, Confidence, and the Evolutionary Lens

• The Grandmother Hypothesis: Energy previously used for monthly ovulation returns post-menopause, analogous to what’s seen in blue zone elders and matriarchal tribes.
  • “All that energy it took for the reproductive system comes back to you.” (20:45)
• Redefining Confidence: Confidence is less about experience, more about living in congruence with your real self.
  • Quote: “Confidence comes with congruency.” (22:51)

Tools & Science-Backed Approaches

1. Self-Inquiry and Boundaries

• Repeatedly asking: “What do I want?” — crucial for healing entrenched people-pleasing habits.

2. Metabolic Health

• Measure Hemoglobin A1C: Keep close to 5 for optimal metabolic health; over 5.5 is concerning. (36:16)
• Eat Real Food: Post-menopause, avoid ultra-processed food; focus on fibrous plant foods, legumes, and protein.
  • Feed your gut’s “estrobolome” (bacteria that metabolize estrogen) with a diverse diet high in fiber. (37:33)
  • “Three days. You can change your whole bacterial profile in three days.” (38:22)

3. Carbs and Sugar

• Not anti-carb: “Postmenopausal women need carbs — but good carbs, from nature, not labs.” (40:13)
• Avoid sugar to manage increased insulin resistance. Swap refined sugars for lower-glycemic options (e.g., coconut sugar, fruit).
• Sugar withdrawal lasts ~3 days; offset cravings and lost dopamine by introducing novelty and positive change. (44:48)

4. Dopamine, Novelty, and Motivation

• Lower estrogen = lower dopamine = less drive/motivation.
• Simple ways to replenish:
  • Change routines & environments (move furniture, take new routes, try new foods).
  • Seek and create purposeful moments, even if small.
  • Build community, celebrate others, and avoid negative, energy-draining relationships.
  • “Dopamine loves novelty… You will find a vibrancy come back to your life, I promise you. And it's free.” (46:43)

5. Fasting for the Menopausal Brain

• Fasting as a Healing Instinct: Appropriate fasting increases ketones, which fuel and protect the brain when estrogen is low.
• Recommended Protocol: 13–15 hour fasting window most days (skip breakfast or dinner as suits your lifestyle) to encourage fat-burning and brain repair. (61:38)
• Deeper Benefits: Longer fasts (e.g., 3 days) can “bathe the brain in ketones,” with significant effects on memory and neuroprotection. Build up to longer fasts gradually using the “5-1-1” method: 5 days regular fast, 1 day extended, 1 day off. (63:53)
• Fasting Cautions: Cycling women shouldn’t fast the week before their period; postmenopause, fasting is especially powerful for memory and energy.

Community & Friendships in Midlife

• The importance of intentionally curating community:
  • Let go of draining, negative relationships.
  • Find “butterflies” (women ahead of you), “potentialists” (who inspire your best self), and “anchors” (who listen non-judgmentally). (53:17)
• “How do you feel when you leave that interaction? Do you feel better, or do you feel worse?” (52:41)

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Aging like a girl means taking back the parts of us...that essence that was playful and joyful and did things just for the experience of them…” — Dr. Mindy Pelz (04:25)
• “When I got alone, everything started to slow down, and I stopped adapting to everyone else around me. That's the key.” — Dr. Mindy Pelz (10:09)
• “Your brain is now setting you up to take care of you.” — Dr. Mindy Pelz (15:44)
• “Confidence comes with congruency.” — Dr. Mindy Pelz (22:51)
• “Permission. Confidence comes with congruency. It doesn’t come from experience.” — Dr. Mindy Pelz (22:45)
• “The amount of energy it takes to worry about everybody else and what they think of you, like, that's a tremendous amount of energy.” — Dr. Mindy Pelz (31:24)
• “Three days. You can change your whole bacterial profile.” — Dr. Mindy Pelz (38:22)
• “Dopamine loves novelty.” — Dr. Mindy Pelz (45:08)
• “I want women to start to look at fasting...as for your brain.” — Dr. Mindy Pelz (66:06)

Important Timestamps

• 04:25 — Defining “Aging Like a Girl” and reclaiming the girl self.
• 08:49–13:03 — The healing journey through isolation, codependency, and self-inquiry.
• 15:44–18:40 — How menopause rewires the brain for self-care and congruency.
• 22:51 — The origin of real confidence.
• 35:07–40:09 — Tools for metabolic health: A1C, real food, feeding the gut.
• 40:13–44:48 — Carbs, sugar, insulin resistance, novelty for dopamine.
• 60:16–66:29 — Fasting as a healing tool for the menopausal brain.
• 53:17–53:59 — The three essential friend archetypes: Butterfly, Potentialist, Anchor.
• 46:43 — The power of novelty in postmenopausal motivation.

Tone & Style

Casual, empathetic, empowering, and science-based. Dr. Pelz balances vulnerability with practical insight, while Tamsen maintains a warm, relatable, and thoughtful hosting presence.

Summary for New Listeners

If you’re confused about menopause, stuck in old routines, or just want to feel stronger and sharper as you age, this episode offers a refreshingly hopeful, practical roadmap. It argues for a reframing of menopause as a time for self-reclamation and explains, in plain language, why what worked at 35 won’t work at 50 — and what will. From small lifestyle tweaks (eating real food, cultivating new routines) to neuroscience-backed fasting, Dr. Mindy Pelz delivers both permission and an empowering prescription for thriving in midlife and beyond.

For more, pick up Dr. Mindy Pelz’s new book, “Age Like a Girl: How Menopause Rewires Your Brain for Mental Clarity, Increased Confidence, and Renewed Energy.”