In this episode, Joanne connects several conversations that are often discussed separately — facial fat loss, muscle loss, grip strength, hormones, and rapid weight loss — and explains why they’re all part of the same biological picture in midlife.

Rather than treating these changes as isolated or cosmetic issues, this episode explores what’s really happening underneath: estrogen decline, rising myostatin, changes in muscle quality, and the body’s response to its environment.

Joanne also addresses recent criticism around rapid weight loss and explains why context, duration, and intention matter far more than the label.

• Why facial fat loss accelerates with age — even without weight loss

• How estrogen protects facial fat, skin thickness, and structural support

• Why rapid weight loss can amplify facial aging when muscle isn’t preserved

• The role of muscle tone and connective tissue in facial appearance

• Why facial fat doesn’t always return proportionally with weight regain

• Why grip strength is one of the strongest predictors of aging, independence, and longevity

• How grip strength reflects total-body muscle health, not just hands

• The role of fast-twitch muscle fibers and why they disappear first with age

• How rising myostatin makes muscle harder to maintain in midlife

• Why estrogen loss worsens muscle breakdown and neuromuscular efficiency

• Why grip strength often declines before visible muscle loss

• How estrogen suppresses myostatin and supports muscle preservation

• Why midlife changes create a more catabolic environment

• How muscle loss, facial aging, and strength decline are biologically linked

Joanne responds to criticism she received online for discussing rapid weight loss while also running Peak Week – the 5-Day Shred.

She explains:

• Why prolonged restriction is the real problem — not short, strategic interventions

• Why Peak Week is five days only, by design

• That people don’t join Peak Week just to lose weight

People come to Peak Week to:

• Reset habits

• Re-establish structure and momentum

• Get back “in the groove”

• Experience the energy and accountability of a focused group

• And yes — to see results that are guaranteed

Weight loss is not the only reason Peak Week works — it’s simply a predictable outcome when the body is placed in the right environment.

Joanne explains why Peak Week has such a high repeat rate:

• Nearly everyone comes back again and again

• Not because it’s extreme — but because it’s effective, structured, and supportive

During Peak Week:

• There are 4 coaching calls in 6 days

• Topics go far beyond weight loss

• It’s an opportunity for Joanne to coach in real time, not just deliver a plan

She shares a real example: A woman who had been eating well and training consistently — without losing a single pound — joined Peak Week and lost 10 pounds.

Not because her body was “broken,” but because it finally experienced the right environment.

Most people aren’t failing. They’re just not in an environment that allows their body to respond.

Midlife results — whether that’s fat loss, muscle preservation, facial aging, or strength — aren’t about willpower.

They’re about biology, hormones, and environment.

Create the right environment, and the body responds. Every time.

Peak Week – The 5-Day Shred Starts January 12

👉 www.5dayshred.com

Before we talk about December 31st, the FDA, or compounded weight-loss medications, this episode starts with something most people misunderstand:

What compounding pharmacies are actually for.

Joanne begins by explaining the original and ongoing role of compounding pharmacies — using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as a clear, long-standing example — before addressing why compounded GLP-1 medications existed temporarily and why that chapter is now closing.

This context matters, because without it, everything happening right now sounds dramatic when it really isn’t.

• Why compounding pharmacies exist in the first place

• How compounding is meant to customize medication, not replace FDA-approved drugs

• A clear explanation of compounded HRT, including:

  • Doses that do not exist in FDA-approved products

  • Patients who need amounts between standard commercial doses

  • Delivery methods or formulations that FDA products don’t offer

  • Why testosterone for women is commonly compounded

• Why compounded HRT continues to be appropriate and legal: because FDA products cannot meet every individual dosing or formulation need

• Why compounded GLP-1 medications were legally allowed during shortages

• How compounding pharmacies were permitted to fill a supply gap, not a medical customization gap

• Why this was always intended to be temporary

• The difference between individualized medical compounding and mass-market convenience compounding

• What actually changed when GLP-1 shortages ended

• Why compounding pharmacies were given a wind-down period

• Why December 31st became a common operational cutoff

• Why this is not a ban, crackdown, or conspiracy — but a return to standard FDA rules

• Why compounding still exists — but within narrow, patient-specific boundaries

• Why GLP-1 mass compounding no longer fits the legal definition once supply stabilized

• How fear-based “stock up now” messaging misses the point

• Why medication can be a tool — but not a substitute for education, physiology, and behavior

Joanne also shares her recent reaction to a change in her thyroid medication, using it as a real-world example of why individualized dosing matters — and why nuance in medicine is often lost in online conversations.

All program dates for 2026 are now set.

View the full schedule here: 👉 www.joannelee2026.com

If you’d like to book a private consultation regarding peptide use, you can contact Joanne directly:

📧 www.5dayshred.com

A foundational program covering body composition, decision-making, and long-term success. 👉 www.yourvictoryvault.com

These programs give you a clear feel for how Joanne coaches before stepping into more advanced or longer-term work.

This episode isn’t about losing access — it’s about understanding how compounding was meant to work, why GLP-1 compounding filled a temporary gap, and why returning to clear boundaries actually protects patients.

Clarity beats panic. Education beats outrage.