The science of becoming her.

I Still Felt Young in My Head. I Wanted to Feel Well in My Body.

By Luna, founder of Her Formula

At 40, I was struggling with heavy periods, clots, and pain. My doctor recommended an endometrial ablation—a procedure to treat the lining of the uterus—but it didn’t give me the relief I had hoped for.

When he suggested another ablation, I asked about a hysterectomy. I had recently lost a 33-year-old cousin to uterine cancer. That loss weighed heavily on me and shaped the conversation I wanted to have about my own health.

For me, the hysterectomy brought enormous relief. No more heavy periods. No more of that pain. I felt good again.

But while one part of my life was improving, another was falling apart.

Starting over

My marriage ended, and I began life as a single mother working full time. My children needed me, and their needs came first. My own physical and emotional well-being often slipped to the bottom of the list.

Eventually, I began making room for myself again. I tried yoga and cardio. I tried diets, too. With Ideal Protein, I lost about 50 pounds and felt encouraged.

I made new friends, joined a single-mothers’ group, and began building a life that felt like mine. My libido had increased after surgery, and I eventually found a healthy relationship that lasted several years.

There were difficult days, but there was also possibility.

Then my body began to feel unfamiliar

Around the pandemic, I started feeling tired all the time.

Was it stress? Teaching? Parenting? Everything happening in the world?

The weight began creeping back. I would restrict what I ate, sometimes far too much, then become discouraged and give up. I slept poorly. I woke up craving sugar. The cycle kept repeating.

There was brain fog, fatigue, and a constant feeling of being overwhelmed. My skin became dry and itchy. At night, the tops of my feet sometimes itched so much that I couldn’t leave them alone. My legs ached so I wore compression socks, hot baths helped, I felt the weight had to come off.

I had always been someone who felt cold. Now I was tossing and turning, suddenly hot and uncomfortable.

I kept researching, trying vitamins, and exploring different approaches. But I still didn’t feel like myself.

Asking for answers

Around 50, I asked my doctor for help.

We investigated different possibilities. Eventually, I was told I might be developing insulin resistance. When I spoke with my mother, she told me she had been diagnosed with diabetes at 52.

That conversation made me pay attention.

My gynecologist also discussed menopause with me. Because I’d had a hysterectomy, I didn’t have changing periods to help mark the transition. We talked about the symptoms I was experiencing and what might help.

I began hormone replacement therapy, starting with an estrogen patch. I later switched to gel because I preferred using it. Progesterone also became part of my journey as I looked for help with sleep.

Still, my energy wasn’t where I wanted it to be.

I wanted more than getting through the day.

Making room for myself

At 52, I decided to make a more deliberate plan.

As a teacher, I know how much preparation matters. So I started at home, clearing out foods that made it harder to follow the changes I wanted to make.

I reduced sugar and began taking strength training more seriously.

At first, I walked around the gym trying to remember everything personal trainers had taught me over the years. My son was also becoming passionate about fitness, and we encouraged each other.

But progress felt slow. By January, I had lost only about three pounds and was still around 225 pounds.

I couldn’t afford a trainer, so I downloaded Fitbod. Having a plan on my phone helped me feel more confident and consistent. I began going to the gym four or five days a week.

After my father passed away, making space for my own well-being took on a different meaning.

I remember telling my children: “I don’t feel good. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt good, and I really want to feel good again.”

I still felt young in my head. I wanted to feel energetic and capable in my body, too.

Another part of the journey

After about seven months of working out, I began exploring GLP-1-based treatment. My sister had experienced weight loss with treatment, and my doctor supported the idea for me.

My insurance, however, wouldn’t cover it.

I chose to obtain a product sold as tirzepatide through the grey market. That is part of my story, and I want to be transparent about it. My doctor’s support for treatment should not be read as approval of that source. I’m sharing the decision I made, not recommending that others follow it.

During the months that followed, I continued strength training, eating more protein, and paying attention to my food choices. Over approximately five months, my weight went from 225 to 190 pounds.

Seeing that change felt extraordinary after years of frustration.

Because several things were changing at once, I can’t separate exactly how much each contributed. What I can say is that I felt encouraged to keep going.

A scale my son gave me and a body-scanning app helped me track trends. They gave me another way to notice changes, alongside how my clothes fit, how I moved, and how I felt.

Exploring further

Weight loss wasn’t the only thing on my mind. I was still concerned about discomfort, skin changes, and dryness.

I began exploring other peptides, including BPC-157, TB-500, and GHK-Cu. These became part of my personal experimentation.

I noticed changes in how I felt and how my skin looked. But my experience cannot establish that a particular peptide caused those changes, or that it would be safe or effective for someone else.

That distinction matters to the kind of space I want Her Formula to become.

My earlier experience as an aromatherapist also sparked an interest in skincare formulation. I made a serum with hyaluronic acid and SNAP-8 and began using it on my face and neck.

I thought my skin looked different. One day, my son noticed something different about me, too.

Those moments felt good. So did feeling more focused, more comfortable, and more interested in life again.

Why I’m sharing this

This journey has included surgery, single parenting, grief, relationships, menopause symptoms, financial limits, exercise, medication, and unanswered questions.

It hasn’t been one product or one decision.

And it is still unfolding.

I created Her Formula because I know other women are trying to understand their changing bodies while continuing to care for everyone around them.

I want a place where we can tell the whole story: what helped, what disappointed us, what we could afford, what we worried about, and what we still don’t know.

A place where personal experiences sit alongside research, with a clear distinction between the two.

I don’t have a formula that every woman should follow. I have a story, questions, and a desire to make these conversations more honest.

I want women to know that wanting to feel good after 50 is worth taking seriously.

For me, that began with saying: “I want to feel good again.”

That is where Her Formula begins.

This is Luna’s personal account, not medical advice or evidence that a treatment is safe or effective. It describes multiple changes made over time, so individual results cannot be attributed to any one treatment.