Eating Disorders, Lost Periods, Low Thyroid & Rock Bottom: UFC Champion On The Real Cost Of Fighting | Miesha Tate

WATCH THE FULL-LENGTH EPISODE HERE ON YOUTUBE! 

I didn't know what to expect walking into this conversation with Miesha Tate. A UFC world champion, a Celebrity Big Brother winner, a mother of two. I thought I knew what we'd talk about. I didn't.

What Miesha shares in this episode is one of the most honest athlete health stories I've heard — not the highlight reel, but the full cost. The yo-yo dieting that started at 16 in wrestling and didn't stop until she was almost 30. The binging and purging she swore off at 19, only to replace it with compulsive exercise. The hypothyroidism diagnosis that she quietly reversed through food. The title fight where she cut 11 pounds in 24 hours drinking distilled water and nearly collapsed making weight. The night she retired after her last loss and didn't know if she wanted to be alive anymore. And the moment in the dark where she said, "God, if you're out there, I could use a little help right now" — and something shifted.

She also makes one of the most compelling cases I've heard for closing the gender gap in health research. Women have a 200–900% increase in estrogen in the first half of their cycle, and a 2,400% increase in progesterone in the second. That luteal phase — the one where most women feel slower, hungrier, more emotional — is also the most understudied. Female mice in research studies are routinely sterilized so their estrocycle doesn't skew the data. The medications, nutritional guidelines, and caloric benchmarks we all use were largely built on male physiology. Miesha found this out the hard way when she lost her period for a year trying to get to 125 pounds, and spent another year understanding why her body needed what it needed.

Her food healing mantra was "I am safe." Three words, said to herself in front of the pantry when the anxiety would spike. That's what turned it around. Not a protocol. Not a perfect meal plan. Just learning — after 15 years of fighting — that her body wasn't the enemy.

A few of my favorite things we cover in this episode: 

• Growing up poor in Washington State — frozen toilet water, power shut off, and the grit it built
• Wrestling at 15 on an all-male team and winning the Coaches Award that mattered more than any world championship
• How MMA found her in a barn with padded walls, frozen mats, and a 22-foot RV as home base
• The first fight: a broken nose, a pool of blood, and the exact moment a fighter was born
• Yo-yo dieting from age 16 to 30 — what deprivation, binging, and purging looked like inside a professional fight career
• Hypothyroidism at 19: reversing it through iodine-rich foods and eventually coming off medication for a decade
• Cutting 11 pounds in 24 hours with distilled water before her UFC title fight — and almost not surviving the weigh-in
• Retiring after her last loss with a dark thought: "I don't want to live anymore" — and the spiritual turning point that changed everything
• The 22-month road trip, a chihuahua, and rekindling relationships with her parents after years of silence
• Dropping to 125 lbs post-kids and losing her period for a year — and the slow, complex hormonal recovery
• The "I am safe" mantra that finally healed her relationship with food
• Women burn 100–300 more calories per day in the luteal phase — and Miesha never adjusted her intake once in her entire professional career
• Why sterilized female mice are used in scientific studies — and how that skews every medication and nutritional study affecting women
• 2,400% increase in progesterone in the second half of the cycle — the most understudied phase of women's health
• The Period Brain by Dr. Sarah E. Hill and Miesha's mission to fund women's hormonal research
• Celebrity Big Brother Season 3 — how she won with no pen, no outside contact, and no ability to track her food

Episode Sponsors:

• Use code willcole at aurahouse.com for 10% off your first order. Completely worth it.
• For a limited time, Prolon is offering listeners 15% off site wide plus a $40 bonus gift when you subscribe to their 5-Day Program! Just visit ProlonLife.com/WILLCOLE!
• Use code BEINGWELL at Monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50!
• Our Place today. Visit fromourplace.com/WILLCOLE and use code WILLCOLE for 10% off sitewide.
• Use code WILLCOLE at puori.com/WILLCOLE to get 32% off Puori Grass-fed Whey Protein when you start a subscription. In addition, you get a free shaker worth $25!

Products Mentioned:  

• The Period Brain by Dr. Sarah E. Hill (Miesha is currently reading — highly recommends)
• ENERGYbits spirulina and chlorella tablets (Miesha's daily supplement)
• Beam Minerals trace mineral supplement (Miesha's other supplement pick)
• Built for Growth podcast by Miesha Tate (available on all platforms)
• mishatate.com (newsletter, merch)
• @mieshatate and @builtforgrowthpodcast on Instagram

Happy listening, and we hope you learned a little bit more on the art of being well!

If you like what you hear, please rate and review the podcast, hit subscribe and pass it along to a friend.

In Health,

Dr. Will Cole