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What if your labs said pre-diabetic, your energy tanked every afternoon, your gut was a mess—and your doctor’s advice was basically “eat less and exercise more”? In this episode of The BeingBrigid Show, Brigid sits down with Angie Kopriva, a busy professional in her mid-40s, to talk about how she went from worsening labs, perimenopause symptoms, gut issues, and crushing fatigue…to losing inches off her waist, stabilizing blood sugar, improving energy, and finally feeling in control of her health again after going through the My Food Is Health program.

If you’re a woman navigating perimenopause, pre-diabetes, chronic inflammation, or confusing lab results, this story will show you what’s possible when you use food as medicine and pair it with accountability, functional nutrition, and the right data.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How Angie realized her “normal” labs and symptoms were not normal
• Why midlife women are often dismissed with “eat less, move more”
• The power of personalized nutrient testing for gut health, blood sugar & hormones
• How My Food Is Health combines lab data, holistic nutrition, and accountability
• The role of stress, perfectionism, and nervous system regulation in women’s health
• How small daily habits (like 5-minute walks and deep breathing) shifted her body composition, energy, and mindset
• Why Angie now feels confident she can change her trajectory and prevent disease

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Angie’s story & why mid-40s changed everything
• 00:47 – “Enough is enough”: What pushed her to join My Food Is Health
• 02:25 – Labs, nutrient testing & how this approach differed from other functional medicine care
• 05:19 – Using Function Health labs plus nutrient deficiency testing for deeper insight
• 08:52 – Gut issues, hair thinning, fatigue & early autoimmune markers
• 10:34 – Rising A1C, pre-diabetes, blood pressure, and metabolic health red flags
• 12:33 – Results in just 10 weeks: inches lost, energy, gut health
• 14:42 – How stress, grief, and perfectionism showed up in her labs and symptoms
• 19:00 – Why walking and nervous system support became non-negotiables
• 20:51 – Gluten, dairy, and discovering her personal food triggers
• 23:00 – Strategic elimination & reintroduction instead of endless restriction
• 26:37 – “I thought I ate healthy”: How personalization changed everything
• 28:02 – The hidden power of the right supplement plan
• 30:11 – What My Food Is Health is & why the investment matters
• 31:22 – Angie’s advice if you’re on the fence about joining

Personalized Functional Nutrition for Women in Their 40s

Angie’s story is a powerful example of how women’s health can change rapidly in the mid-40s. Without changing her lifestyle much, she saw:

• Rising A1C and fasting glucose (pre-diabetes)
• Increasing blood pressure and cholesterol
• Gut issues like bloating, gas, nausea, and bowel changes
• Hair thinning, fatigue, and early autoimmune markers

Instead of masking symptoms, the focus of My Food Is Health is root cause healing. The team looked at her lab work through the lens of functional medicine and functional nutrition, assessing nutrient deficiencies, oxidative stress, omega-3 status, minerals, and metabolic markers to understand what her body actually needed.

This is where personalized nutrition coaching goes beyond a standard “healthy diet” and becomes a tailored strategy to support hormones, blood sugar, gut health, inflammation, and long-term disease prevention.

Using Food as Medicine to Support Blood Sugar, Hormones & Gut Health

Rather than putting Angie on an extreme diet, Brigid’s team helped her:

• Build balanced meals using the optimal plate method
• Pair carbohydrates with protein and fat to support blood sugar balance
• Identify how certain foods (like gluten) contributed to symptoms and inflammation
• Use a targeted, short-term approach to remove and then reintroduce dairy
• Support gut health with the right supplements instead of just “more fiber”

For a woman walking the line between pre-diabetes and long-term metabolic disease, this kind of nuanced approach to blood sugar and hormone health is critical. Angie learned how to eat for sustained energy, better focus, and more stable moods—without cutting out all carbs or living in constant restriction.

Stress, Perfectionism, and Nervous System Regulation in Midlife

One of the most surprising parts of Angie’s transformation wasn’t just about food at all—it was about stress, grief, and perfectionism.

During the program, she navigated intense life stressors, including the loss of her grandmother and a gut health flare that landed her in the ER. Instead of “waiting for a less chaotic time,” she learned how to work with her nervous system in real life:

• Short, accessible meditation and breathwork practices
• 5–10 minute walks to reset her nervous system and support blood sugar
• Reframing perfectionism and learning to focus on consistent, doable actions

These seemingly small shifts made a big impact on her energy, mental clarity, and overall resilience. It’s a powerful reminder that women’s health in perimenopause isn’t just about hormones—it’s about stress, sleep, nutrition, and mindset working together.

The Power of Accountability & Consistency

A big part of what changed things for Angie was accountability. She wasn’t just handed lab results and left to figure them out—she had:

• A dedicated Registered Dietitian available via chat
• Weekly calls where she could be coached, seen, and supported
• Clear, step-by-step guidance on supplements, meals, and lifestyle habits
• A community of women navigating similar perimenopause and midlife challenges

This level of individualized attention—on top of data-driven labs—helped her build consistency and trust in herself again. The result: improved body composition, better energy, less gut discomfort, and a sense that she’s truly influencing her long-term health and longevity with an anti-inflammatory, real-food approach.

Next Steps & Resources

If you’re a woman navigating perimenopause, pre-diabetes, gut issues, thyroid changes, or just feeling “off,” this episode is your reminder: you are not stuck with your current labs or symptoms. With the right functional nutrition strategy, blood sugar support, and accountability, you can shift your hormone health, energy, and long-term risk for chronic disease in just 10 weeks.

+ Watch the full episode on YouTube

+ Join the January Cohort of My Food Is Health here: https://beingbrigid.com/my-food-is-health 

+ Brigid’s Website

+ Brigid’s Instagram