Health & Fitness
**Clearly Hormonal**

Have you ever wondered why your body feels like it’s falling apart just as you’re hitting your stride in other areas of your life? Join Dr. Komal Patil-Sisodia as she explores women’s metabolic health changes that start in perimenopause. The episodes center around educating and empowering women to have open dialogue with their doctors so that they can achieve their best metabolic health. Dr. Patil-Sisodia is board certified in Endocrinology, Obesity Medicine and Internal Medicine. She is also a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner. Any medical discussion on this podcast is purely for educational purposes and is not individualized medical advice. Please consult with your doctor to discuss any health concerns you may have.

Latest Episodes:

Hormone Therapy and Breast Cancer: What the WHI Really Found Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

📱 Send Us a Text Message! We’d love to hear from you! Please include your name and email address so we can reply. Don’t worry — this won’t sign you up for our email list. We’ll only use your info to respond to your question.

"Hormones cause breast cancer" is the sentence that keeps many women from even asking about hormone therapy. In episode three of our Menopause Awareness Month series, Dr. Komal Patil-Sisodia takes it apart using what the Women's Health Initiative really found, and shows why the real question is which hormone, for whom, for how long, and compared to what.

You will hear who was actually studied, what the numbers mean in absolute terms, what the FDA label changes do and do not mean, and how body fat, screening, and breast density fit in, plus options for women with a breast cancer history. Whatever you decide, you deserve to make that decision with facts, not fear.

Timestamps

Thanks for listening. Find more info about Clearly Hormonal on the website or Instagram.

Why Your Body Composition Changes in Midlife (Even If the Scale Doesn't) Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

Your weight has not changed, but your body has. In this episode, Dr. Komal Patil-Sisodia explains why body composition shifts during the menopause transition, why the scale cannot tell the whole story, and what you can do about it. She shares her own experience after a hysterectomy, breaks down the difference between subcutaneous and visceral fat, explains insulin resistance with a classic TV analogy, and walks through a realistic foundation of strength, nutrition, sleep, and sustainable planning. She also covers where menopause hormone therapy and obesity medications fit, and why higher body fat after menopause is linked to breast cancer risk without placing blame on anyone.

Clearly Hormonal is for education and is not personalized medical advice. Take what resonates and discuss it with your own healthcare team.

IN THIS EPISODE

Why you can gain fat and lose lean tissue without a big change on the scale
What body composition is, and why lean tissue is more than muscle
What the SWAN study found about fat and lean mass during the menopause transition
Why abdominal fat storage can shift before your periods stop
Other contributors beyond hormones: aging, activity, sleep, stress, medications, and conditions like hypothyroidism, prediabetes, and insulin resistance
Subcutaneous versus visceral fat, and what a changing waist measurement may signal
Insulin resistance explained, and why less muscle means less sugar used up
Strength training at least twice a week, plus building toward 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity
Protein and fiber at meals, personalized protein needs, and why restriction is not the goal
Sleep, night sweats, sleep apnea, and when to ask about a sleep study
Menopause hormone therapy and body composition: what the evidence does and does not say
When obesity medications may be appropriate
The breast health connection, discussed without blame

TIMESTAMPS

Course announcement
The PMOS Conversation You Deserve is Dr. Komal’s patient course on understanding PMOS and advocating for yourself in the doctor’s office. It includes three months of access plus a monthly live Q&A webinar with Dr. Komal. Introductory pricing runs through October 13, with regular pricing beginning October 20. Monthly webinar calls begin October 21, 2026.

Details and enrollment: The Perimenopause Conversation You Deserve

Connect

Instagram and TikTok: @drpatilsisodia
Website: eastsidemm.com
Questions about the course: send a message through the website or DM on social

Thanks for listening. Find more info about Clearly Hormonal on the website or Instagram.

Perimenopause Is Not a Lab Value: How to Recognize It and Get the Right Care Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

Perimenopause is often missed because the most common symptom is vague (“I just don’t feel like myself”) and hormone tests can look normal. In this episode of Clearly Hormonal, Dr. Komal Patil-Sisodia walks through how perimenopause is actually recognized: from your age, your menstrual pattern, and your symptoms over time.

This is Episode 1 of our Menopause Awareness Month series.

In this episode you will learn

Why a normal hormone result does not rule out perimenopause
The three things Dr. Komal focuses on: age, periods, and symptoms
How cycles differ in early and late perimenopause, using the STRAW+10 framework
What can make perimenopause harder to recognize: birth control, hysterectomy, and PMOS (formerly PCOS)
Why FSH and estradiol are a snapshot, and when blood tests do help
Why pregnancy testing should be one of the first tests if you miss a period
Four symptom groups: sleep, mood and thinking, physical comfort, and sexual and urinary health
Other conditions to rule out: thyroid disease, anemia, sleep apnea or insomnia, medication effects, and worsening anxiety or depression
What a useful perimenopause appointment includes, and how to prepare for it

Details and enrollment: The Perimenopause Conversation You Deserve

Connect

Instagram and TikTok: @drpatilsisodia
Website: eastsidemm.com
Questions about the course: send a message through the website or DM on social

Thanks for listening. Find more info about Clearly Hormonal on the website or Instagram.

You Deserve More Than a Diagnosis: Turning PMOS Knowledge Into Better Care Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

About one in eight women lives with PMOS, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, formerly called PCOS. It is one of the most common hormone conditions there is, and still one of the most misunderstood, by patients and by many clinicians.

In this final episode of September PMOS Awareness Month, Dr. Komal Patil-Sisodia explains why the name changed, why the condition is about far more than ovarian cysts, and why the metabolic and cardiovascular pieces so often get missed when a visit stays focused on periods, acne, or hair growth. She also shares what the data shows about diagnosis delays and disparities, and a piece of her own story.

Then she moves from the science to the practical: what to ask, what to track, and what to do when you raise a reasonable concern and do not get a useful answer. She introduces her new six-module course, The PMOS Conversation You Deserve, built to help you walk into your next appointment better informed and better prepared.

IN THIS EPISODE

Why PMOS stands for polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, and why the change from PCOS was more than a rebrand
How PMOS can show up across the lifespan, from adolescence through the reproductive years, perimenopause, and beyond
The metabolic side of PMOS: insulin resistance, blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, and long-term cardiovascular risk
What one large international study found about diagnostic delays: about one in three women waited more than two years, and nearly half saw at least three healthcare professionals
Disparities in who gets diagnosed, including findings in a safety net health system study for Black women and patients on Medicaid or charity care
Why knowing the science is not the same as knowing how to use it in an appointment
A first look at The PMOS Conversation You Deserve, including the pushback module, the workbook, and three months of live Q&A

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Welcome to Clearly Hormonal

01:08 PMOS: Why It Matters

02:22 PMOS Name Change Explained

02:57 Symptoms and Lifespan Impact

04:04 Diagnosis Delays and Disparities

05:51 Turning Knowledge Into Care

07:17 Course: The Conversation You Deserve

08:53 Enrollment Dates and Details

09:45 Final Takeaways and Wrap Up

COURSE DATES

Pre-order opens: October 7
Introductory pricing through: October 13
Regular price begins: October 14
First live Q&A: October 21

LINKS AND RESOURCES

The PMOS Conversation You Deserve (pre-order opens October 7): Sign up here to get on the list.
Eastside Menopause & Metabolism: eastsidemm.com
Follow Dr. Patil-Sisodia on Instagram and TikTok: @drpatilsisodia

DISCLAIMER

This podcast is for education and is not personalized medical advice. Please discuss what resonates with your own healthcare team.

Thanks for listening. Find more info about Clearly Hormonal on the website or Instagram.

The Long Road to Diagnosis: PMOS and Mental Health Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

In the final episode of PMOS Awareness Month, I focus on something that does not get talked about enough: the mental health toll of PMOS and the harm caused by waiting years for a diagnosis. We walk through what weight-matched studies show about depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, why so many people carry these burdens long before anyone connects them to PMOS, and what real care should look like.

In this episode

Why people with PMOS are about four times more likely to have depression and more than five times more likely to have anxiety
Why a PMOS diagnosis often comes before a new diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or sleep problems
How eating disorder risk rises with PMOS, and why it is not limited to larger bodies
How years of scattered symptoms and "it is just stress" responses make things worse
Why body image distress from visible symptoms is a real pathway to disordered eating
What good care includes: screening at diagnosis, CBT as a first step, careful medication choices, treating physical symptoms, and mind-body approaches

Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to Clearly Hormonal

01:01 PMOS Series Finale Setup

02:04 Mental Health Stats in PMOS

03:24 Eating Disorders and PMOS

04:00 Why Diagnosis Takes Years

05:37 Body Image and Visible Symptoms

06:56 What Good Care Looks Like

08:50 What This Means for You

09:51 Series Wrap Up and Resources

11:02 PMOS Mini Course Announcement

Key numbers from the episode

About 4 times more likely to have depression with PMOS, in weight-matched studies
More than 5 times more likely to have anxiety with PMOS
About 1 in 3 people with PMOS have moderate to severe depression; more than 4 in 10 have real anxiety symptoms; well under 15 percent without PMOS
About 1.5 times more likely to have an eating disorder, with the biggest increases in binge eating disorder and bulimia

The full PMOS Awareness Month series

Episode 1: What happens in PMOS after your childbearing years
Episode 2: Why PMOS gets missed in people with a normal BMI (lean PMOS)
Episode 3: Where GLP-1 medications fit into PMOS treatment
Episode 4: PMOS and mental health (this episode)

A note on support

If anything in this episode brought up something personal for you, especially around food, body image, or how you have been feeling emotionally, please do not sit with that alone. Talk to your doctor or a mental health professional. If you are in crisis in the US, you can call or text 988 at any time.

Connect

Instagram and TikTok: @drpatilsisodia
eastsidemm.com

This episode is for education and is not a substitute for individual medical advice.

Thanks for listening. Find more info about Clearly Hormonal on the website or Instagram.

Why We Withdrew From the ADA Webinar, and Why Peer & Lived Experience Must Be Central to Obesity Care Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Komal Patil-Sisodia, obesity advocate Michael Donnelly-Boylen, and Dr. Matthea Rentea explain why they withdrew from a planned ADA-hosted webinar in support of a broader boycott, after an ADA Scientific Sessions keynote by a MAHA representative and the removal of peacefully protesting scientists were followed by an organizational response the three of them found unsatisfying.

They still share the content they had planned to present: integrating peer and lived experience into obesity care, to address a trust gap driven by weight stigma, shaming language, and oversimplified messaging that can delay or derail care, including preventive screening and procedures. They talk through curiosity, person-first language, motivational interviewing, and acknowledging medical trauma, along with practical solutions such as moderated peer support groups, credible online resources, and comprehensive programs that combine lifestyle foundations, medications, bariatric pathways, and clinic infrastructure shaped by patient input.

Timestamps

00:00 Why This Episode Changed

00:47 ADA Boycott Context

02:15 Meet The Panel

03:26 Inside The Keynote Fallout

06:41 Protest And Conference Mood

10:01 Choosing To Withdraw

11:18 Webinar Topic And Roadmap

13:47 Trust Gap And Weight Stigma

18:37 Language That Builds Safety

23:23 Peer Support And Community

25:09 Social Media And Group Coaching

27:19 Why I Started Posting

28:43 Building a Comprehensive Program

30:32 Three Pathways of Care

33:32 Designing for Real Bodies

35:54 Practical Clinician Changes

37:48 Mountain Dew Lesson

41:30 Trauma and Safe Spaces

42:25 Peer Support Communities

44:20 Insurance and Advocacy

46:27 Fighting Wellness Misinformation

47:55 How to Build Support Groups

50:53 Wrap Up and Where to Find Us

Connect

Dr. Komal Patil-Sisodia: Instagram and TikTok @drpatilsisodia. Podcast: Clearly Hormonal.

Dr. Matthea Rentea: Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Podcast: The Obesity Guide with Matthea Rentea, MD, at renteaclinic.com.

Michael Donnelly-Boylen: Instagram and TikTok as Mike On A Mission. Podcast: Weight and Measure with Mike and Zach, at weightandmeasurepod.com.

Thanks for listening. Find more info about Clearly Hormonal on the website or Instagram.

Beyond the Buzz: Where GLP-1s Really Fit in PMOS Care Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Komal Patil-Sisodia continues the PMOS Awareness Month series by walking through where GLP-1 medications, like semaglutide and tirzepatide, fit into PMOS treatment. She explains what GLP-1s actually do in the body, who is likely to benefit, who they are not built for, and why they are never a stand-alone treatment plan for PMOS.

In This Episode

What a GLP-1 is and the three main effects these medications have on the body
Why insulin resistance sits at the center of PMOS for so many patients, and how that connects to androgen levels and symptoms like acne and excess hair growth
Who is the clearest fit for a GLP-1: patients with insulin resistance or higher body weight, and those who haven't seen enough improvement from metformin or lifestyle changes alone
Who GLP-1s are not built for: lean PMOS patients without insulin resistance, and anyone trying to conceive soon
Why GLP-1s only work well alongside lifestyle change, and the real risks of low protein and fiber intake while on these medications
What a GLP-1 does not replace: ongoing metabolic monitoring, fertility treatment, and androgen-targeted treatments like birth control pills or spironolactone
The four questions Dr. Patil-Sisodia asks herself before recommending a GLP-1 for a PMOS patient

Timestamps

00:00 Podcast Intro
01:01 Series Setup
02:13 GLP-1 Basics
02:45 Why It Matters
03:28 Who Benefits
04:32 Who Should Avoid
05:27 Lifestyle and Safety
06:15 What GLP-1s Don't Replace
07:40 How I Decide
08:29 Wrap Up and Next Week
09:36 Mini Course Promo

Links Mentioned

Newsletter sign-up: eastsidemm.com/newsletter
Follow Dr. Patil-Sisodia: @drpatilsisodia on Instagram and TikTok

Thanks for listening. Find more info about Clearly Hormonal on the website or Instagram.

Lean PMOS: Why the Diagnosis Gets Missed Without Weight Gain Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

Many people picture PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, formerly known as PCOS) as a condition tied to weight gain. But the diagnostic criteria never mention body size at all, and a significant number of people with PMOS have a completely normal BMI. In part two of our PMOS Awareness series, Dr. Patil-Sisodia breaks down “lean PMOS”: what it looks like, why it is so often missed, and why the metabolic risk is just as real even when the outside doesn't show it.

In This Episode

Why PMOS became associated with a specific body type, and why that picture was never the diagnosis itself
The three actual diagnostic criteria: irregular or anovulatory cycles, elevated androgens (DHEAS, testosterone), and polycystic ovarian morphology on ultrasound
What lean PMOS symptoms look like: irregular periods, acne, facial and body hair growth, scalp thinning
“Normal weight obesity”: how insulin resistance and visceral fat can hide behind a normal-looking exterior
The three-part pattern that causes lean PMOS to slip through the cracks in clinical practice
Why an undiagnosed lean PMOS patient loses out on cardiometabolic monitoring, not just a menstrual explanation
What needs to change: for clinicians, dropping body size as a screening filter; for patients, presenting symptoms as a pattern instead of one at a time

Timestamps

Coming up next week: Episode three of the series looks at treatment, including where GLP-1 medications and other weight management tools fit into PMOS care, and who they actually make sense for.

This podcast is for education, not personalized medical advice. Please discuss anything you hear here with your own healthcare team.

Thanks for listening. Find more info about Clearly Hormonal on the website or Instagram.

PMOS After the Reproductive Years: Why It Doesn't Go Away Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

PMOS Awareness Month kicks off with a reframe: PMOS is not a condition that resolves once your cycles regulate or once you're done having kids. It is a lifelong cardiometabolic condition that happens to announce itself first through reproductive symptoms. Dr. Komal Patil-Sisodia walks through the three diagnostic criteria (irregular periods, high androgens, and polycystic ovarian morphology) and explains why the biology underneath, insulin resistance, visceral fat, and unfavorable cholesterol, persists even when periods look normal. She unpacks what worsens in perimenopause, the clinical blind spot that causes PMOS histories to get dropped from the chart, and what she actually changes in her own practice: earlier and trend-based lab monitoring, a shift in treatment goals from fertility to long-term metabolic and heart protection, and more individualized hormone therapy decisions.

In This Episode

Why the three PMOS diagnostic criteria are not the whole disease
The underlying biology: insulin resistance, visceral fat, and cholesterol changes that often start in the teenage years
What worsens at perimenopause: insulin resistance, LDL and triglycerides, and belly fat
The missed clinical question that keeps PMOS histories from shaping midlife care
Why 20+ years of a less favorable metabolic starting point matters for heart disease risk
What changes in practice: trend-based monitoring, shifting treatment goals, and individualized hormone therapy
A preview of the rest of the PMOS Awareness Month series

Timestamps

00:00 — Welcome to Clearly Hormonal
01:03 — PMOS Beyond Fertility
02:14 — PMOS Is Lifelong
04:05 — Perimenopause Metabolic Shifts
06:17 — The Missed Clinical Question
07:52 — Heart Risk Over Decades
09:38 — What To Do In Practice
11:34 — Key Takeaways & Next Episodes
12:46 — Mini Course Invitation

Coming Up in This Series

Episode 2 — Lean PMOS (sometimes called "skinny PMOS") and why it gets missed
Episode 3 — Where GLP-1s and other weight management tools fit into PMOS care
Episode 4 — The long road to diagnosis and its toll on mental health

Links

Join the email list for the PMOS mini-course: eastsidemm.com/newsletter

Thanks for listening. Find more info about Clearly Hormonal on the website or Instagram.

Equality & the Executive Suite: The Menopause Penalty Revisited Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

On Women's Equality Day, host Dr. Komal Patil-Sisodia revisits an idea from an early episode of Clearly Hormonal: the menopause penalty, the disproportionate income loss, leadership attrition, and career disruption that midlife women face. This episode goes past the data to ask what it actually feels like to lead through sleep disruption, cognitive overload, and hormonal change while carrying the weight of an executive role.

Guest Dr. Brooke Buckley traces her path from a punishing early surgical practice through hospital operations, an MBA negotiated into her first CMO contract, and a system-level leadership role she stepped into during the pandemic. She speaks candidly about infertility and loss, being the only woman in her surgical residency class, and the coaching and community that carried her through. The conversation moves into trauma-informed leadership, why physiology cannot be negotiated away, and the hard pivot Buckley made in walking away from the operating room to protect her own health.

Audio Stamps

00:00 Why Equality Still Lags

01:48 The Menopause Penalty

02:34 Meet Dr. Brooke Buckley

04:04 From Surgeon to Executive

07:32 Lessons From Organized Medicine

11:44 Midlife Friction and Storytelling

15:13 Boundaries as Superpower

18:07 Leading Through the Pandemic

21:29 Community, Coaching, and Accountability

27:20 Trauma-Informed Leadership

32:07 AI, Physiology, and the Future of Work

35:05 Hard Pivots and Closing Takeaways

Guest Bio

Dr. Brooke Buckley is a board-certified general surgeon and physician executive, board-certified in lifestyle medicine, and currently serves as System Vice President of Medical Affairs for Henry Ford Health. She previously served as chief medical officer and holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins. She has held national leadership roles with the American Hospital Association and The Joint Commission and is a widely followed voice on physician wellness, trauma-informed leadership, and healthcare system transformation.

Instagram: play_your_story

Thanks for listening. Find more info about Clearly Hormonal on the website or Instagram.

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