How Hormones Affect Your Body Image All Through Life [Podcast Transcript]

Title: How Hormones Affect Your Body Image All Through Life

Podcast Date: April 15, 2025

Listen Here: 

Watch Here:

Description

Is your body image really about how your body looks or are your hormones playing tricks on you? Today, Heather interviews Dr. Mikala Albertson about how our hormones affect the ways we feel and think about our bodies. In this first of this two part interview, Heather and Mikala talk about hormonal changes at puberty and then until midlife. How what we think and how we feel about our bodies can fluctuate depending on the week of our cycle, why being aware of our cycle can help us, and what we can do to relax the pressure we feel from culture to "fix ourselves."

Learn more about Dr. Mikala Albertson and her book here: https://www.mikalaalbertsonmd.com

Listen to Heather's other interview with Dr. Albertson here: https://omny.fm/shows/compared-to-who/doctor-says-weight-loss-may-not-be-your-best-new-y

Learn more about Compared to Who? and how you can connect with Heather and the team to start your journey to body image freedom here: https://www.improvebodyimage.com

Transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript is AI-generated and has not been edited for accuracy or clarity.

Heather Creekmore [00:00:01]:

Doctor Mikaela Albertson, thanks for coming back on the Compare To You podcast today.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:00:06]:

Thanks so much for having me. I'm excited.

Heather Creekmore [00:00:09]:

Me too, because this is a topic I've been wanting to tackle for a while. And I tell you what inspired me most recently, keeping confidentiality intact. I had a client who is in the midlife range of life, And she said to me just quite quite innocently, do you think my hormones could have something to do with this? And I was like, yes. I do. And I'm so glad you just asked that question because I think we don't ask that question enough. Right? We, like, look in the mirror or we look at the scale and we, like, we blame our bodies and, you know, like, my thoughts are here because this is what my body looks like or how I perceive my body. So it's those kind of things. And we forget about hormones.

Heather Creekmore [00:01:00]:

Yeah. So today what I wanna do is I wanna talk about hormones, like, the whole way through. Like, let's talk about when we're younger, how the hormones affect body image issues then. Let's talk about just hormonal fluctuations during the month. I mean, I think every woman listening understands that there's one week a month when you're just probably not gonna be happy with your body. And there's another week where you're like, hey. Doing pretty good. Right.

Heather Creekmore [00:01:33]:

Wow. Right. So, and then I definitely wanna get into perimenopause, menopause. And I don't know. Maybe there's hope for Yeah. Old age when the hormones settle that body image issues settle a little bit more too. So I'm excited for our conversation today. So I know.

Heather Creekmore [00:01:52]:

That's true. Let's jump in. Okay. So medically speaking, the hormone rush comes twelve, thirteen, 14. Like, what's going on, and how is that affecting a teen girl's perception of her body? I mean, her body's changing. Right? I think it's, yeah, I

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:02:14]:

think it's a combination of factors. I think, suddenly, we're being marketed to a little bit, and we're sort of imbibing all these messages that are coming at us. And so that little thought is already percolating in the back of our mind about how we're supposed to look and what healthy is and what's beautiful. And we're being sold all these things to make us look beautiful, right, and kind of fit this ideal that's out there. So I think that's there. I have a daughter who's eight, turning nine this summer, and I'm already noticing that she is aware of some of those messages. But she is not going through those hormonal fluctuations and so she feels great about her body and she's very confident. She dresses confidently and she just, she doesn't really make negative comments about herself and then, I think as our hormones fluctuate and let's use that word probably throughout this whole conversation, I think some of those thoughts begin to change and we kind of get this negative little voice.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:03:21]:

And I don't know why it comes with those fluctuations, but I think that it comes. And we start to place this blame, I think, on ourselves. So in puberty, it is marked by hormonal chaos. Right? Our ovaries are beginning to practice. They are making estrogen and progesterone, but they're not great at it right away. And so some months, we may have what looks like a cycle once cycles begin, and some months, we don't. And there's just a lot of up and down that's going on there while our body's sort of figuring it out. Right? And we still do have a lot of fluctuations in a normal menstrual cycle, but it's not predictable when we're in that puberty time.

Heather Creekmore [00:04:07]:

Yeah.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:04:07]:

And so along with that come kind of those negative thoughts about, oh, my body and what it looks like and why don't I look like her and I should probably be thinner and I'm not matching that ideal.

Heather Creekmore [00:04:20]:

Yeah. Well, and I mean, basically, this is this is my when we were homeschooling, this is my homeschool mom definition. But, like, hormones are messengers. Right? Yes. Mhmm. So like give give give more color to my homeschool mom definition.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:04:39]:

No. That is the definition. If you looked up the definition of a hormone, they would say they are chemical messengers in the body. And so most of the time we have areas in the brain that are telling different parts of our body to do things. And so the endocrine system involves our brain and then other organs. In our reproductive system, it's our ovaries and our uterus and those kinds of things, but also it could be our adrenal glands or other glands in the body, our thyroid. So our brain is kind of the control center and it's sending hormones to tell these other organs to do things. And then those organs make their own hormones to send out more messaging and it operates on a feedback loop.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:05:26]:

And so our brain tells our ovaries to start making estrogen and progesterone. They do. The level of estrogen and progesterone in the body feeds back to the brain and says, oh, all the levels are good or oh, things are a little bit high and it sort of is this checks and balances system. And so when we have disorders or irregularities there, it could be something going on in the brain. It could be something going on in our ovaries or those other glands. Everything sort of is in conversation with itself. And then on top of that, we have receptors throughout our other organs. Maybe they aren't endocrine organs.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:06:03]:

They don't make their own hormones, but they have receptors for those hormones. And so they're receiving those signals and messages, and then they're doing what they're supposed to do. We have estrogen receptors throughout our body, in almost every organ system, which is why when we have these fluctuations or our hormones seem a little bit off or something, we can have a variety of symptoms that come along with that.

Heather Creekmore [00:06:27]:

So generally okay. I get I get so confused. Mikaela, it's like, I try to keep it straight, but I get so confused. But I I've paid attention to, like, cycle syncing stuff, which is kinda becoming a newer thing. Mhmm.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:06:43]:

And I

Heather Creekmore [00:06:43]:

really think there's something to that. I did an episode on it. Oh, I don't know. Probably a year ago, but I that's kind of I'm like, I wish I had known that. And so can you so we have different hormone levels at different points in our cycle. I think most people know that. But just recognizing, like, as someone who struggles with body image and even food to a certain degree. Right? Like being able to give yourself the grace for like, oh, no, PMS week, I'm gonna be hungrier.

Heather Creekmore [00:07:10]:

Right? Can you just kinda talk through, like, what that looks like? Yeah.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:07:18]:

Yes. I I think that's very important. And I have a book out right now that speaks specifically to midlife and sort of that perimenopause time. And in it, I go through the menstrual cycle, and I have the little graph there that shows what estrogen is doing, what progesterone is doing, and what those hormones from the brain are doing at the same time to tell, the ovaries what to do. And so it's this graph with these big waves throughout the menstrual cycle, and then I also go through day by day and what you can expect, what maybe your brain is thinking and telling you. And I did that not by any magical research or anything. I mean, I think it's there, but mostly, I was talking about my own experience. And I was like, day one, your period starts.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:08:09]:

You may be feeling this. And then I give some insight for spouses as well. I've had a lot of feedback from that, and people are like, wow. You really nailed that. That is it. And so we're feeling very different at different times during our cycle, during the follicular phase, the luteal phase, in those few days before our period, and that's pretty consistent. And I do think so cycle thinking is something like I don't want it to be limiting. Like, you shouldn't do these things during this time of your period or you're you know, you won't be good at this during this time of your cycle.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:08:48]:

I think it's just meant to to be an awareness. And the older I get and the more in sync I think I get with my body, I am aware of those things and like, oh, yeah, this will be a good week for that because I'm feeling more creative and I'm feeling more open and I'm a little bit more motivated and I get more things done. And then later in the cycle when I'm in that sort of three to five days or so before my period, it's like maybe let's not schedule big things then. Let's just be aware that I I'm gonna be a little bit more tired. I might be a little bit more irritable. I am, in fact, more hungry, and to just call it what it is and allow for all of those things.

Heather Creekmore [00:09:30]:

Yeah. I love that because I think, especially for women that are trying really hard.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:09:36]:

Right? Well, I mean,

Heather Creekmore [00:09:37]:

a lot of us try really hard. Right? That's just blanketly. Right? We're we're trying really hard, but specifically in this area. You know, like, women listening to the show or reading my books, hopefully reading your book too, but they're trying so hard to not be obsessed with body image stuff, to be freer with food, and to understand that there might be one week, five days every month where you're gonna feel like you've backtracked, like you're losing the battle. And that might have nothing to do with your actual progress, with your actual freedom. It may just be hormones. Isn't that right? Right.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:10:15]:

And there are some things we can control and some things we can't. There's lots of things we can do to help kind of through that time, but we're not gonna change that overworking feeling, I think. I my husband is now kinda onboard with that as well, and I think I'll be like, honey, I call it the pit when I'm going into that five days before my period, and I'm like, I can feel myself going into the pit. And I have described to him that it is just this feeling of and this is maybe dramatic, but, like, self loathing almost. Like, I didn't even do anything different. Everything is just the same, but I just feel like the biggest loser right now. And it's just there. It is just the feeling.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:11:00]:

And then I sort of emerge from the pit and come out and think, I don't know. Sorry about that. Like, I you know, just I'm fine now. And I think it's been helpful for us to be in communication there. And I think it's been helpful for him to understand and for me to put some words to it, the pit, and self loathing is like, wow, that feels pretty bad. And so we do take out sometimes one of those days or, you know, he just our expectations have changed a little bit. And that isn't a failure or that I'm not working hard during that time. It is my hormones.

Heather Creekmore [00:11:36]:

Right? Right. Yeah. Yeah. So long before cycle syncing or the cycle apps existed, because I think when my husband and I started dating, we had flip phones. And I think we could text then. But early on and I mean, he has a sister, but early on, he figured out that there would be more arguments right before. And and so he started marking his calendar. And I used to kind of be, like, embarrassed slash, like, why do you wanna write it off to this? Like, I have legitimate concerns.

Heather Creekmore [00:12:12]:

This is a legitimate argument we're having. Don't write it off. Don't ask me if I'm about to start my period. And yet he was right. Yeah. Hasn't that been all of us?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:12:22]:

Well, I think there has been this little bit of shame around all of that and that isn't our fault either. And we don't want to admit that because of that shame. There was a diagnosis out there of hysteria. And so anything I think now we would say, oh, you know, maybe that's a hormone issue or, you know, this is part of normal PMS or PMDD, which is Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, the severe PMS or even thyroid issues or any symptoms of perimenopause, these very real things that are happening for women, there was this like big diagnosis of hysteria.

Heather Creekmore [00:12:59]:

Yeah.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:13:00]:

And so, that idea of the hysterical woman, it just feels bad for us, I think. And so, we carry that shame forward instead of saying, yep, this is where I am right now and this is what my hormones are doing and how I'm feeling. It doesn't like it's still legitimate. Those feelings are still legitimate.

Heather Creekmore [00:13:17]:

Right. But I think, yeah, to your point. Right? Like, knowing what they are or where they're coming from. Right? And and, again, like, it's it it might be 8020. Like, there might have been a legitimate argument that needed to happen. I don't know. But but, like, just the way I approached it as a but knowing what was under it, I think that really does help the shame. Right? Because it's like, oh, oh, okay.

Heather Creekmore [00:13:43]:

I can see what's going on here. But you said hysteria, and I I just read this I don't think I read it in your book. Maybe it's in your book, though. Like, I just read this recently. Like, it never occurred to me that his stare the h y s t prefix sounds a lot like when you get a hysterectomy. Like, it never occurred to me that there was that, like, female organ connection there.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:14:08]:

Yeah. I I think that is the root word. The the definition of hysteria long ago, and that was slapped on all women who are having any issue, basically. Yeah. It stood for the a wandering womb. And so it was like, oh, your uterus is wandering throughout your body and causing these brain symptoms and whatever. And so when I read about it now, it's funny. And, also, I just feel for all the women who weren't listened to and and weren't heard and and were given this, and some of the treatments for it were just ridiculous, you know, and I think there was so much shame Yeah.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:14:43]:

Around that diagnosis. So now that we're talking about hormones a little bit more and we have some real diagnosis and words to put to it, I'm hoping that it gets rid of some of the shame.

Heather Creekmore [00:14:54]:

Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it's it should be a good day. Yeah. We're we're seeing things for what they are. And and I I shared this on the show before, but I I've noticed as I progressed through my forties, so I turned 50 last summer. Mhmm. Things got worse.

Heather Creekmore [00:15:14]:

Like Yeah. Of course, like, chaotic cycles. I think I was down to, like, nineteen days at one point, which was super fun to have a period every nineteen days.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:15:24]:

Yeah.

Heather Creekmore [00:15:25]:

But, you know, where it's like my husband's like, is this before your period? I'm like, every week is before my period or on my period now, it feels like. Yeah. We have a window of two days. Two good days. Exactly. Find my good day. I dare you. But but I notice from a body image perspective and, like, I don't like, I still don't really know.

Heather Creekmore [00:15:47]:

I didn't get out my measuring tape, but it felt like there were, like, three days or so before my period started where my legs looked like they had doubled in size. And then if I could just write out those three days, you know, then a day or two after my period, I look down and be like, oh, I think they're normal again.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:16:10]:

Yeah.

Heather Creekmore [00:16:10]:

He still doesn't know. Was that, like, mental or did they really swell? I don't know. You're thinking something. No. I think it's I think it's both.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:16:20]:

I think we're more aware and and we're not as kind to ourselves during that time, but I do definitely think that with those hormonal changes come some fluctuation in weight. Even just in those couple of days, we hold on to a lot more water. And so I I don't know this, so I probably shouldn't say this aloud. Or is this a real study? But I do think, like, how much we're carrying in our belly, we do get bloated. How often do you hear women say, I just feel so bloated? And we do. We hold on to more water during that time as it comes out on the scale if we're stepping on the scale still or if we would actually measure our waistband or maybe our pants fit a little bit different. And then once our period starts and the hormones sort of go back to their next fluctuation, then it goes away. And so it's a little bit of both.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:17:07]:

We're more aware or maybe more critical, but there are very real changes happening also related to hormones in our bodies.

Heather Creekmore [00:17:15]:

Yeah. And so I I think for the woman listening today, right, if you're there, right, it's every every and maybe you haven't even noticed that it's every month. Maybe this is a call or an invitation to start to pay more attention to it. I use an app called My Flow. Mhmm. But there's a lot of apps out there. I don't know. Do you do you use any of those or recommend do this?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:17:38]:

Use one. I think they're all really similar, and I think it sometimes is nice to be able to track those changes. I feel like I've always been really aware of my body, and so I can almost just tell just by different things that are happening, kind of where I'm at in my psyche. I've been very lucky in that way to have really regular menstrual periods, and so I can sort of track things myself. Yeah.

Heather Creekmore [00:18:02]:

But Yeah. I I feel like I just lose I I lose time somehow. Like, wait. Yeah. When what month is it? What like, what day is it? Sure. So the app has really helped me. But just to, like, even repair myself Mhmm. Like, oh, okay.

Heather Creekmore [00:18:20]:

Just even, like, saying to myself, okay. Next week. Yep. Like, I plan on wearing my my comfortable skirts or workout. Like like, just knowing, okay, next week, there there may be some struggles around how I feel because of, like, you mentioned the bloating or and because isn't isn't it like you can fluctuate up to 10 pounds, I think I read somewhere.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:18:46]:

Yeah. More more commonly, it's three to five pounds ish, but yeah. Yeah. That would be if that's the average. There are some women who have more. Yeah.

Heather Creekmore [00:18:55]:

So I mean, just just being real about that and not beating yourself up for it or considering it failure or setback, but just understanding that, I think, is super helpful. Okay. Let's, I tell you, will you come back? Because we're out of time for today. Will you come back and let's talk about perimenopause?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:19:17]:

Yes.

Heather Creekmore [00:19:17]:

And maybe, like, this hope for what's beyond that. Does

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:19:20]:

that sound good? I think there is hope, and I would love to come back.

Heather Creekmore [00:19:24]:

And tell us just quickly as we end this episode, tell us your book and where everyone can connect with you.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:19:30]:

Yes. So my book is called Everything I Wish I Could Tell You About Midlife. It's a woman's guide to health in the body you actually have. So how do we take care of these bodies that we have in the best way that we can through this midlife time? I've got chapters on all of it. Perimenopause is in there, but also we talk about sex and sleep and the thyroid and preventive health. And then, there's a lot of just storytelling in there as well. I think I learn best through stories. And so some of those stories are mine.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:20:03]:

Some are from patients or friends, and it came out in October. It's available really anywhere books are sold. You can find it on Amazon. It's always on sale if you go through the publisher. So if you would go through Baker Book House, they have a good discount there. And you can find me over on my website. It's mikaelaalbertsonmd.com.

Heather Creekmore [00:20:22]:

Wonderful. And I'll put a link to that. Michelle, that's so rude. Thank you so much for being on the show today. Let's come back and talk about perimenopause and beyond. I glad you're here for it. Thank you for watching or listening today. I hope something today has helped you stop comparing and start living.

Heather Creekmore [00:20:38]:

Bye bye.