In this episode of Midlife Mayhem, Joanne breaks down a growing issue affecting thousands of women right now—the estrogen patch shortage—and why it’s not as simple as “just a supply problem.”

This isn’t about insurance games or pharmaceutical conspiracy. It’s a classic case of demand exploding faster than the system can handle. After the FDA removed the black box warning on hormone therapy, more women and doctors felt confident using HRT—and demand surged almost overnight.

But here’s the catch: estrogen patches aren’t simple products. They’re complex drug-delivery systems requiring specialized manufacturing, meaning production can’t just be ramped up quickly.

• Why estrogen patch shortages are happening right now
• The real impact of the Women’s Health Initiative and how it shaped decades of fear around HRT
• Why certain doses (especially 0.025 and 0.05) are hardest to find
• Why generics aren’t solving the problem
• The difference between patches, gels, and creams—and when to use each

This isn’t just inconvenient—it directly affects:

• Sleep
• Mood
• Temperature regulation
• Body composition
• Cognitive function

In short, your entire hormonal environment.

Joanne gets straight to what matters—how to stay stable even if your patch isn’t available:

• ✔️ Combine doses (e.g., two smaller patches to match your usual dose)
• ✔️ Switch to gels or creams like Estrogel or Divigel
• ✔️ Understand which patches can be cut (matrix patches like Vivelle-Dot or Climara—with caution)
• ✔️ Talk to your doctor and pharmacist proactively

• Don’t stop abruptly and “wait it out”
• Don’t skip doses and hope for the best
• Don’t start cutting patches without knowing the type

Your body doesn’t care about the delivery method—it cares about consistent hormone levels.

Most people are overly attached to how they take estrogen.

But the real goal is simple: 👉 Maintain a stable hormonal environment—by any appropriate method available.

If you’re affected by the shortage, don’t sit back and wait.

Call your doctor. Ask your pharmacist questions. Explore alternatives.

Because when estrogen drops, you feel it—and so does everyone around you.

For more education, coaching, and programs, visit: 👉 www.joannelee.com

Carbohydrates have become one of the most misunderstood—and frankly, feared—nutrients in the world of body composition.

And I get it.

If fat loss has been your focus, cutting carbs works. It lowers insulin, improves insulin sensitivity, and often unlocks fat loss that felt impossible.

But here’s the problem…

👉 The strategy that helps you lose weight is not always the strategy that helps you build muscle.

And that’s where people get stuck.

Do you need carbs to build muscle?

👉 No.

But if your goal is to:

• Build new muscle
• Train harder
• Recover faster
• Actually look like you lift

👉 Then carbs go from “optional” to strategic.

Muscle isn’t free tissue. Your body doesn’t just hand it out.

To build muscle, you need:

• Adequate calories
• Sufficient protein
• A strong training stimulus
• And most importantly… 👉 An internal environment that says: “We can afford to grow.”

Low calories + low carbs + high cardio?

That’s not a growth signal.

That’s a survival signal.

Carbs are stored as glycogen in muscle—your high-output fuel.

More glycogen = ✔ More reps ✔ Better intensity ✔ Higher training volume ✔ Stronger contractions

Less glycogen = ❌ Earlier fatigue ❌ Lower training quality ❌ Less muscle stimulus

Carbs increase insulin…

…and insulin is not the villain people think it is.

👉 It’s a transporter

It helps:

• Drive amino acids into muscle
• Reduce muscle breakdown
• Support recovery
• Create an anabolic (muscle-building) environment

Without effective insulin signaling? You can train all you want… and still lose muscle.

Think of mTOR as the “on switch” for muscle growth.

• Protein turns it on
• Carbs help support and sustain it

Without carbs, you can still build muscle…

👉 But not as efficiently, and not as consistently.

If you don’t eat carbs, your body will make glucose anyway.

How?

👉 By breaking down protein (including muscle) through gluconeogenesis

So yes…

👉 Carbs are protein-sparing

You can maintain muscle on low carbs.

But building new muscle?

That’s where it gets harder.

Why?

• Higher cortisol (especially around training)
• Slower recovery
• Lower glycogen
• Reduced training output

👉 You’re pushing your body toward survival… not growth.

Carbs are not the problem.

Poor timing + poor structure = the problem.

• Around workouts (especially after)
• Strategically during the day
• Evening (in the right context) for muscle protection

• Add carbs on top of a high-fat diet
• Eat them randomly all day
• Fear them… then binge them

👉 That’s how people gain fat and blame carbs.

If carbs go up… 👉 Fat must come down

You cannot run:

• High carb
• AND high fat

That’s the fastest way to stall progress.

• Muscles look fuller
• You look leaner (yes, leaner)
• Better pumps
• Better workouts
• Faster recovery

👉 Flat muscle = softer look 👉 Full muscle = leaner, tighter look

Carbs are not something to fear.

👉 They’re something to respect and use properly

When they have:

• A job to do
• Somewhere to go (muscle)

They become one of the most powerful tools for body composition.

This is where coaching matters—because timing, structure, and individual physiology all play a role.

👉 Explore programs and coaching: www.joannelee.com

Until May 5th (Cinco de Mayo):

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No code needed—just order before the deadline.

Make sure you: ✔ Subscribe to Midlife Mayhem ✔ Share with someone still afraid of carbs ✔ And start using food as a tool, not a fear