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.

Testosterone therapy is exploding in popularity, especially among midlife women — but how you take testosterone dramatically affects how it works in your body.

In this episode, Joanne breaks down the three major delivery systems — transdermal creams, oral lozenges, and injections — and explains why some women are now being told they’re “poor absorbers” and switched to oral or injectable forms.

You’ll learn:

• Why women may not respond to topical testosterone (and why “poor absorber” is often misdiagnosed)

• How creams differ from orals in absorption, side effects, and DHT conversion

• Why oral lozenges feel strong quickly — and the real reason they spike DHT

• Why injections seem aggressive but actually deliver the smoothest hormonal profile

• Which delivery system works best depending on your goals, symptoms, and physiology

• How men differ in absorption and why some men do brilliantly on gels while others might as well bathe in them

• How dosing, metabolism, and estrogen/testosterone balance influence results

• How to talk to your provider about choosing the right method

This episode is a must-listen for any woman navigating midlife hormones — and for men who want to understand why their therapy may or may not be working.

Joanne breaks down:

• Gentle, steady, least DHT-converting

• Great for subtle libido, mood, strength improvements

• Why absorption varies wildly between women

• When creams are not enough

• Fast-acting, potent, and sharp

• More likely to spike DHT

• Why these are often a solution for “non-responders” — but come with caveats

• The classic “love it or hate it” delivery method

• The smoothest and most predictable system

• Lowest DHT spikes compared to oral

• Best for consistent energy, stable mood, and strong results

• Why smaller, more frequent microdoses are often ideal for women

• Women feeling under-dosed or inconsistent on testosterone cream

• Women newly prescribed oral testosterone and unsure what to expect

• Anyone concerned about androgenic symptoms like acne, hair shedding, or irritability

• Men frustrated with gels or creams

• Anyone navigating TRT/HRT and wanting real science without fear or fluff

This episode is part of Joanne’s in-depth midlife education series. If you love detailed, physiology-first coaching — not surface-level soundbites — you’ll love what’s coming next.

My brand-new website is live (not fully finished, but go have a peek): 👉 www.joannelee.com

This is where all upcoming programs, courses, podcasts, and resources will live.

In this episode of Midlife Mayhem, Joanne breaks down one of the most misunderstood concepts in the supplement and peptide world: half-life — the amount of time it takes for half of a substance to leave your system.

Half-life is the key that determines:

• how often you should take something

• whether a pill works better than an injection

• why weekly injections make sense for some compounds

• and why weekly injections are completely useless for others

With everyone experimenting with B12 injections, peptides, thyroid meds, GLP-1 weight-loss medications, and metabolic enhancers, understanding half-lives is crucial. It is the difference between a protocol that WORKS and one that’s pure wishful thinking.

Joanne walks you through real-life examples — from caffeine to thyroid hormones — then explains why short half-life peptides like 5-Amino-1MQ and SLU-PP-332 must be taken in ways that match their rapid clearance times.

If you want to be your own health advocate, understand your protocols, and stop wasting money on things taken the wrong way… this episode will change how you see every supplement and injectable.

• Simple explanation

• Why it determines dosing schedules

• Why clearance time ≠ half-life

• Caffeine: 5–7 hours

• Melatonin: 20–50 minutes

• Nicotine: ~2 hours

• Thyroid (T4): ~7 days

• T3: ~24 hours

• Cortisol: ~90 minutes

• Why once-weekly injections make perfect sense

• How the 5–7 day half-life prevents daily swings

Joanne exposes the trend of taking fast-clearing peptides or compounds once a week, despite half-lives of 4–6 hours — making the protocol physiologically pointless.

These require consistent dosing for meaningful effect:

• 5-Amino-1MQ → ~4–6 hour half-life

  • Learn more at: www.5amino.com

• SLU-PP-332 → ~4 hour half-life

  • Learn more at: www.slu332.com

Understanding these half-lives helps you choose the correct delivery method and the correct dosing frequency so your results match your intentions.

• 5-Amino-1MQ Information → www.5amino.com

• SLU-PP-332 Information → www.slu332.com

• My new website (still being finished but take a peek!) → www.joannelee.com

If you want 2025 to be the year you take full control of your health, metabolism, and body composition, Joanne’s programs begin again in mid-January. Spots fill quickly — keep your eye on www.joannelee.com for updates.

(Originally planned for February, but the new website is taking a little longer — and it needs to be perfect.)

Joanne is inviting 10 women who are ready for a new life experience:

• Not a quick fix

• Not a shortcut

• A 10-month immersive mentorship

• Deep coaching, retreats, advanced training, and complete physiological transformation

• For women whose commitment matches their desire

If this is you… March 1 is your starting line.

More details coming soon on www.joannelee.com

Most women only hear about PCOS in their teens or twenties — when cycles are irregular, acne is flaring, weight is piling onto the midsection, and fertility becomes a concern. But here’s the truth:

👉 PCOS does NOT disappear. 👉 Symptoms simply shift. 👉 And midlife can amplify everything that was simmering beneath the surface for decades.

In this episode of Midlife Mayhem, Joanne breaks down the real metabolic story behind PCOS — not the simplified, fertility-focused version most women are handed in their early years.

You’ll learn:

PCOS fundamentally affects insulin, inflammation, and cortisol long before it affects fertility. Those root issues follow women into midlife even when cycle symptoms fade.

Regular cycles and clearer skin don’t mean PCOS is gone. It simply means estrogen and progesterone have shifted, masking reproductive symptoms while worsening metabolic ones.

This is the perfect storm no one talks about. Declining estrogen + progesterone + long-standing insulin resistance = intensified midsection fat gain, inflammation, cravings, fatigue, and higher cardiometabolic risk.

Afternoon crashes, carb cravings, stubborn belly fat, worsening triglycerides, glucose instability, and unexplained inflammation — these aren’t random. They’re PCOS physiology expressing itself in a new hormonal landscape.

When estrogen drops, insulin resistance rises. When muscle declines, metabolic flexibility crashes. And when progesterone disappears, inflammation spikes. Midlife magnifies every mechanism behind PCOS.

With the chaos of cycles behind them, women can finally address PCOS with precision: strength training, protein prioritization, carb timing, gut repair, insulin management, targeted supplementation, GLP-1 support, and HRT where appropriate.

This episode is packed with the depth, physiology, and straight-talk education that midlife women deserve — and rarely receive.

✨ 5-Amino-1MQ — Metabolic, energy & body composition support 👉 www.5amino.com

✨ SLU-PP-332 (“Exercise in a Bottle”) — A next-generation mitochondrial & longevity compound 👉 www.slu332.com

✨ Joanne’s New Website (80% complete — launching soon!) 👉 www.joannelee.com

✨ To connect with Joanne directly: 📩 joanne@joannelee.com

In this episode of Midlife Mayhem, Joanne dives into one of the wildest cultural shifts in modern health and fitness: how we went from terrified of needles to injecting everything in sight — from weight loss medications to peptides, and now, even experimental compounds.

A few years ago, the idea of self-injecting anything was unthinkable. Today? People proudly post their peptide stacks like they’re Michelin-star meals. But somewhere in all this newfound syringe enthusiasm, we’ve lost sight of something important: the delivery system doesn’t determine the result — the mechanism does.

This is a deep, science-backed, myth-busting conversation for anyone curious about:

• Why injectable doesn’t automatically mean superior

• The real reason scientists use injections in research — and why that doesn’t translate to better human results

• How 5-Amino-1MQ and SLU-PP-332 actually work at the cellular level

• The difference between spikes and stability in metabolism and fat oxidation

• How oral delivery can often outperform injections by providing consistent activation instead of biochemical chaos

• Why small, lipophilic molecules like 5-Amino-1MQ and SLU-PP-332 thrive in oral form — and what that means for energy, endurance, and longevity

• The hidden risks of home-mixed injectables (purity, solvents, contamination, degradation)

• Why consistency, not intensity, is what drives results in body composition and performance

Injectables look hardcore. They feel scientific. But for many compounds — especially small molecules designed to work through long-term cellular signaling — oral delivery isn’t a compromise. It’s often the smarter, safer, and more sustainable route.

The body doesn’t care how fast something hits your bloodstream; it cares how well it integrates into your system. And that’s where the hype ends and the science begins.

“Injectables were designed for lab control, not lifestyle performance.”

“Needles spike. Capsules sustain. And for long-term results — stability wins.”

“We’ve glamorized the syringe, but metabolism doesn’t need theater — it needs consistency.”

Explore the science, studies, and benefits behind these two groundbreaking compounds: 👉 www.5amino.com — Learn about 5-Amino-1MQ and how it supports metabolism, energy, and muscle preservation. 👉 www.slu332.com — Discover SLU-PP-332, the endurance molecule known as “exercise in a bottle.”

And for more in-depth discussions on midlife performance, muscle, and metabolism: 🎥 Subscribe to my YouTube channel — @JoanneLeeCornish