EnergyMD Podcast Perimenopause, Blood Sugars, GLP-1 Agonists and Weight Gain with Jennifer Pfleghaar, DO
Oct 29, 2025
49:05
In this episode, Evan H. Hirsch, MD speaks with Dr. Jennifer Pfleghaar, DO, to unpack the often-misunderstood transition of perimenopause and how it connects to blood sugar issues, weight gain, GLP-1 medications, and chronic fatigue. Dr. Jen Pfleghaar is a double board-certified physician in Emergency and Integrative Medicine who helps people heal by getting to the root cause. A graduate of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and fellowship-trained at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, she's passionate about aligning body, mind, and spirit with God's design. After overcoming Hashimoto's herself, Dr. Jen founded Healthy by Dr. Jen and now empowers others through her virtual practice, bestselling book Eat. Sleep. Move. Breathe., and her podcast The Integrative Health Podcast with Dr. Jen. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, four kids, and a lively flock of chickens. In this episode, you'll learn:
- The truth about perimenopause & why it's starting earlier for many women
- How cortisol and insulin resistance accelerate hormonal imbalance
- Signs you're in perimenopause (even if your labs are "normal")
- When to use bioidentical progesterone or estriol, and when not to
- How to sync workouts and eating with your menstrual cycle
- Why synthetic hormones and pellets may be doing more harm than good
- How GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide should be used for women
- Why lifestyle and muscle-building matter more than ever during this phase