The Truth About Women’s Health: Hormones, Metabolism, and Strength with Dr. Stephanie Estima

The Ready State Podcast

Kelly Starrett & Juliet Starrett

Fitness, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 623 Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2025

⏱️ 81 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a world where “one-size-fits-all” health advice dominates, women are often left out of the conversation entirely. Enter Dr. Stephanie Estima — chiropractor, health strategist, and unapologetic myth-buster — who’s redefining how women think about hormones, metabolism, and longevity. Known for her bestselling book The Betty Body and her work on aligning health practices with the female cycle, Estima is helping women ditch cookie-cutter protocols and reclaim their biology as a superpower.

In this episode of The Ready State Podcast, Juliet and Kelly Starrett dig deep with Dr. Estima into why women need different health strategies, what biohacking gets wrong, and how to move from shame and confusion to empowerment and strength.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

Why the first step for women's health is "the great unlearning" that they are not just "smaller men".
How prolonged calorie restriction teaches the female body to conserve fat and slow metabolism.
The three-pronged approach to health that balances scientific evidence, clinical experience, and patient desire.
Why the menstrual cycle is a vital sign, and how to use it as a monthly hormonal report card.
The biggest misconception around strength training for women (Hint: It’s the fear of "getting bulky").
Why you lose strength before mass, making strength training crucial for fall risk and long-term independence.
Why explosive movement, like sprinting, is the key to maintaining power and mitigating the exponential decline of speed with age.
How to deprogram the fear of lifting heavy and prioritize form before load.

Key Highlights

(00:00) - Intro

(02:15) - Why Women Need a Different Health Strategy

(06:42) - The Hormonal Cycle Explained

(13:10) - Fasting, Keto & Carbs for Women

(21:25) - Stress, Cortisol & Female Metabolism

(29:48) - The Truth About Sleep as a Biohack

(35:22) - Why Lifting Heavy is Non-Negotiable

(42:50) - The Problem with Male-Dominated Biohacking Protocols

(49:36) - Using Hormones as Feedback, Not Enemies

(55:44) - Practical Nutrition Tips for Each Phase of the Cycle

(01:03:20) - Turning Confusion into Empowerment

(01:09:55) - Longevity Strategies for Women

(01:15:18) - Q&A: Busting Common Myths

(01:22:40) - Final Thoughts from Kelly & Juliet

Transcript

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0:00.0	Chiropractors were not considered essential workers. I'm forever a student, so I really thrive on learning someone's body of work.
0:06.5	When it comes to women, there aren't very many studies. We're just beginning to really appreciate it.
0:13.0	Dr. Stephanie Estima, she's a total powerhouse in the world of women's health.
0:16.7	She's a doctor of chiropractic medicine. She has a special interest, though, in metabolism, body composition, functional neurology and female physiology.
0:24.4	She also has a deep understanding of neuroscience, nutrition, exercise physiology, and biomechanics.
0:30.6	Dr. Stephanie is the host of Better with Dr. Stephanie, a top-rated podcast with over 7 million downloads.
0:38.2	When you're like 35, like mid-30, mid-to-late 30s, we actually start to see progesterone
0:43.0	steadily decline.
0:44.4	It can really affect quality of life, what your energy levels and your shtrives.
0:49.0	We can't rely on the science all the time.
0:51.2	I'm so sorry to my first patient, but you are absolutely my guinea pig. This is where the fitness industry is really done as dirty. I'm totally going against these sort of marketing norms where it's like 10 pounds and 10 days. Just because you lift weights, it doesn't mean that you're going to bulk up. Are you a coach or you're a clinician? Dr. Stephanie, we are very delighted to have you on the Ready State podcast.
1:12.6	I am delighted to be here. Thank you so much for having me.
1:15.6	Welcome, welcome. So I was lucky enough to be a guest on your amazing podcast a few months ago.
1:20.6	And we were talking in the pre-roll about how-
1:23.6	My feelings aren't heard, it's totally fine.
1:24.6	Yeah, we were talking in the pre-roll about how there have been a couple clips that have kind of gone crazy on instagram um and you know i just
1:32.5	loved chatting with you and think you are just such an awesome podcaster um kelly and i are lucky
1:40.0	enough to go on a lot of podcasts and i just had I felt like I had such a great conversation with you.
1:44.4	So I'm going to start this episode by saying, thanks for having me on your podcast.
1:47.9	Oh, thank you. And we're so excited to introduce our audience to you and your work as well.
1:53.3	Thank you. Thank you. Let me say that I feel such a camaraderie with you, classically trained provider, and then realizing that you can
2:04.6	use that utility to do something else, that you can sort of expand into health, into sort of
	...

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