Let’s have an honest conversation about longevity, hormones, and the glorified grit of generations past.
We’ve all heard it:
“My grandma lived to be 100 and never took hormones.”
Cool. My grandma also lived through world wars, cooked everything in lard, and probably never saw the inside of a gym. That doesn’t make her a health icon or an argument against HRT.
Here’s the truth:
Longevity isn’t the same thing as quality of life. And surviving isn’t the same as thriving.
The Grandma Myth and What It Leaves Out
Our grandmothers didn’t have hormone therapy, access to strength training, or the level of data and science we now do. But they also lived with pain, frailty, and often died from preventable complications.
We don’t talk about how many of our grandmothers:
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Fell and broke a hip because their bones were brittle.
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Developed sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) and struggled to get off the toilet without assistance.
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Died from pneumonia after a fall or hospital stay.
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Lived isolated lives because pain, fatigue, or incontinence kept them homebound.
Let’s stop romanticizing that as a benchmark for success.
Hormones Are Not the Enemy—They’re Essential Tools
The current narrative whiplash around hormone therapy (HRT) is exhausting. First it was “unsafe,” then it was a miracle cure, now it’s being dismissed as a fad. The pendulum swings are dizzying.
But here’s what we know:
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Estrogen plays a critical role in maintaining bone density, muscle mass, and brain health.
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Progesterone can significantly help with sleep, especially for those in perimenopause battling insomnia.
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Testosterone has a role in libido, energy, and lean mass retention.
This isn’t about replacing your youth. It’s about replacing what your body no longer makes due to a biological transition that comes with real risks.
📚 Receipt:
A 2022 review in the Journal of Women's Health showed that transdermal estrogen, when started early in menopause, reduces fracture risk, maintains lean body mass, and improves sleep and cognitive function.
The “AND” Approach: What Actually Works
Let’s make something clear:
This isn’t HRT or nutrition or strength training. It’s HRT AND nutrition AND strength training AND mindset.
Here’s what that looks like:
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You support your body with hormone therapy if it's appropriate for you.
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You fuel that body with adequate protein, carbs, and fat—not cleanse-of-the-month deprivation.
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You lift heavy things regularly, not just for aesthetics but for bone integrity and power.
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You manage stress, rest intentionally, and give your brain and nervous system space to recover.
This isn’t overkill. It’s strategy. And it’s what most of us didn’t see modeled growing up.
The Generational Gaslighting
Gen X was fed a diet of low-fat everything, thigh-gap worship, and cover models who were airbrushed into oblivion. We watched our moms eat Snackwell cookies and skip meals. Then we grew up and entered menopause just as wellness culture turned into a circus of green powders, hormone fear-mongering, and MLM gut health protocols.
It’s no wonder there’s confusion.
But being skeptical of HRT just because your grandma didn’t take it is like refusing antibiotics because your ancestors used herbs and prayers.
Mindset Isn’t Medicine
Let’s also kill this idea that mindset alone can solve hormonal chaos.
You can meditate, affirm, journal, and gratitude list yourself into calm—but if your brain’s estrogen receptors are starving, your sleep and mood will still be trash. You can’t mindset your way out of biological depletion. You need real tools.
Nuance Is the Standard, Not the Exception
HRT won’t fix everything. But dismissing it entirely is just as lazy as pretending it’s magic. The truth is, we need to bring it back into the conversation without moral judgment or generational guilt.
You don’t have to choose between “natural” and “necessary.” You’re allowed to want energy, strength, libido, sleep, and a better second half of life. You’re allowed to want more than your grandma had.
And you should have access to it.
Want to learn more about how to take a hybrid approach to menopause support that includes strength, hormones, and real nourishment?
Download my Mastering Menopause Guide or check out my 1:1 coaching for active, outlier women who want to feel better and perform better.