For a long time, I never imagined I would be writing this.

I certainly never imagined I would be on hormone replacement therapy.

And yet, here we are.

This post is an opening. A beginning. An invitation into a conversation that is already happening quietly—in doctors’ offices, in whispered side conversations between women on long runs, and in the private messages I receive from athletes who don’t quite know how to name what they’re experiencing.

Menopause is having a moment. And endurance sport needs to catch up.

The Unspoken Question: Is this Cheating?
I am a mindset coach for endurance athletes. Many of them are women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond—experienced, disciplined, deeply committed to their sport and their lives.

More recently, a new theme has emerged.

Some of these women are using hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

And almost inevitably, the same question arises:

Is this cheating?

It’s a heavy question. And I understand where it comes from.

Endurance sport has long revered suffering, depletion, and pushing through at all costs. But if we pause here and ask a more honest question—what are we actually restoring?—the narrative starts to change.

If hormones are declining, fluctuating, or dropping out altogether… If the system is no longer in balance… If sleep, mood, recovery, motivation, cognition, and bone health are being compromised…

How is restoring balance cheating?

My Personal Line in the Sand
I want to be clear: I did not arrive to HRT casually.

For years, I walked what I believed was the holistic path.

Ayurvedic support. Herbal protocols. Nervous system work. Meditation. Nutrition. Training adjustments. Rest.

And here’s an important distinction I didn’t always see:

Holism, by definition, leaves nothing out.

I was honoring ancient science deeply—but I hadn’t yet fully integrated modern medicine as part of that same holistic conversation. For a long time, I saw those worlds as separate.

More recently, I’ve watched modern medicine begin to catch up—to recognize and honor the connection between mind, body, and soul. Some areas more than others, of course. But it’s happening.

What changed for me is this: nothing gets thrown out when something new gets brought in.

I still do all of these things. Every one of them.

And for a while, that was enough.

But then things started to shift.

Hot flashes appeared. Energy dropped in unfamiliar ways. Sleep became elusive—sometimes two hours a night. Anxiety crept in, the kind I hadn’t felt since before I learned how to sit with my breath.

Even then, I told myself stories:

I’m fine.
My body knows what to do.
This is just a phase.

And I do believe deeply in my body’s intelligence.

But a new question began to surface:

At what cost?

What am I willing to experience—night after night of poor sleep, rising anxiety, diminishing energy—when I know there is medicine available that could help regulate these symptoms?

And here’s the confusing part: my blood work didn’t scream imbalance.

On paper, things looked… okay.

But in my lived experience, something was clearly changing.

What I now understand is that we caught it early—right at the beginning of fluctuation. Estrogen was starting to dip. The nervous system was responding. The signals were subtle, but persistent.

I made the decision not from fear, but from listening.

The Body Is Not Failing—It Is Transitioning
There’s a podcast conversation between Peter Attia and Dr. Rachel Rubin that stopped me in my tracks. They describe menopause as a castration-level hormonal event.

That language may sound extreme—but it’s also clarifying.

Imagine asking an endurance athlete to perform, recover, and thrive after a sudden, dramatic hormonal drop… and then questioning their integrity for seeking support.

This is not only about vanity.

And yes—let me be honest—there is a part of this that touches vanity.

I like feeling strong in my body. I like how a fit body feels and looks. I care about muscle mass, energy, and staying lean in a way that feels healthy and aligned. Pretending otherwise wouldn’t be truthful.

But vanity is not the whole story—and it’s not the driving force.

This is also about physiology.

And weight changes are part of this conversation too.

Not because women suddenly “lose discipline,” but because hormonal shifts directly impact metabolism, insulin sensitivity, fat storage, and how the body responds to training and nutrition.

Many women are doing everything they’ve always done—sometimes more—and watching their bodies change anyway. That experience can be deeply disorienting, especially for athletes who are used to cause and effect making sense.

Hormones are not accessories. They are messengers. Regulators. Builders. Protectors.

They influence:

• Bone density

• Muscle mass

• Recovery capacity

• Sleep quality

• Thermoregulation

• Mood and emotional resilience

• Cognitive clarity

• Cardiovascular health

When they decline, the entire system feels it.

Why This Matters for Endurance Athletes
Endurance athletes already walk a fine line.

We ask a lot of our bodies:

• Long training hours

• High stress loads

• Caloric deficits (intentional or not)

• Repeated breakdown and repair cycles

Layer menopause on top of that—and without adequate support, whether herbal, medicinal, nervous-system–based, or a combination of all three—the margin for error narrows.

What I see clinically and experientially is not women trying to gain an unfair advantage.

I see women trying to:

• Sleep again

• Recover again

• Feel motivated again

• Train without dread

• Show up for their lives with energy and presence

And when balance is restored—symptomatically and hormonally—something remarkable happens.

They don’t become superhuman.

They become themselves again.

What I’m Using—and Why Transparency Matters
I’m choosing to be open about this because secrecy breeds shame—and silence slows progress.

I am currently using bio-identical hormone replacement therapy:

• Estrogen

• Progesterone

• Testosterone

Each serves a different purpose. Each was chosen intentionally. Each is monitored.

This is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

It’s also important to say this clearly: HRT is not the right choice for every woman. And it is not the wrong choice for women who choose it.

Some women will never pursue hormone therapy. Others will. Right now, that group is still small—but it’s growing. And it’s growing fast.

That’s exactly why this conversation needs to happen now—before shame, misinformation, or polarization take hold.

HRT is nuanced. It requires education, medical guidance, individualized dosing, and context.

It also exists alongside—not instead of—nervous system regulation, mindset work, training intelligence, and holistic care.

This is both/and, not either/or.

Compassion Changed Everything
One unexpected gift of this journey has been deeper compassion.

For my clients. For women navigating transitions silently. For athletes who feel betrayed by bodies that once felt predictable.

I understand now, in my bones, how destabilizing hormonal shifts can be.

And I also understand how powerful it is to name what’s happening instead of internalizing it as personal failure.

Competing Longer, Living Better
Here’s the quiet truth no one wants to say out loud:

Women now have access to tools that allow them to feel balanced, strong, and vibrant longer than ever before.

That will change sport.

It already is.

The question is not whether women will use these tools.

The question is whether we will meet this moment with education, integrity, and open conversation—or let shame and outdated narratives drive the discourse.

This Is the Beginning
This post is not a prescription.

It’s a stake in the ground.

A refusal to stay silent.

A commitment to informed, holistic, athlete-centered conversations about aging, performance, and vitality.

If you’re curious, questioning, or quietly struggling—know this:

You’re not broken. You’re not weak. You’re not cheating.

You’re navigating a transition that deserves support.

And we’re just getting started.

—with love + presence,

Jess

A Gentle Disclaimer
This is not medical advice. This is not an endorsement or a rejection of hormone replacement therapy.
This is a lived, educated perspective—shared to bring a quiet conversation into the light. Any decision around hormones should be made with qualified medical guidance and deep personal discernment.