July 22, 2025 • 22 mins
Fighting hormone imbalance isn't about willpower or discipline – it's about understanding what your body truly needs and addressing the root causes disrupting your hormonal health. Willpower isn't always what's missing when you struggle to meet health goals.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You might be someone who has spent a lot of time
being really tough on yourselffor not sticking to your
nutrition goals, or maybe itsounds like you being frustrated
and wondering why is my periodstill not regular despite all of
my efforts, and you think thatyou just need to force yourself
or discipline yourself to get itdone.
(00:22):
But let me tell you that, whenit comes to your hormones,
forcing yourself is not alwaysthe right strategy.
If you feel like you just can'tbalance your hormones because
the thing that you lack iswillpower, then this episode is
for you.
My girl and we are going todebunk this.
Welcome to I'm Hormonal, yoursource of information about
(00:45):
women's hormone health and howto support your body.
Naturally, I'm your host,bridget Walton, and I'm a
certified functional hormonespecialist and menstrual cycle
coach.
I am on a mission to hold thesehormone conversations with as
many menstruators as possible,because you deserve easier
access to accurate informationabout what's up with your unruly
(01:05):
menstrual cycle and with yourfertility mysteries.
Don't you think it's time thatwe figure this out once and for
all?
All right podcast buddies,welcome to episode 120 of I'm
Hormonal.
I'm Bridget, I'm your host fortoday and every day, and I just
want to say thanks so much forspending your time with I'm
Bridget.
I'm your host for today andevery day, and I just want to
say thanks so much for spendingyour time with I'm Hormonal and
(01:28):
listening.
I'm Hormonal is a wellness brandand we seek to provide
educational content just likethis for you, so you can better
understand what your hormonesare trying to tell you and how
you can restore hormone balance.
Beyond this educational content, here we also offer one-on-one
coaching, because, despiteeducation and information being
(01:53):
abundant, sometimes you justneed that personalized
one-on-one touch just for you.
So that's what we are doinghere at I'm Hormonal.
If you are new to the podcast,then just a little intro for you
.
You'll be getting episodestwice a week.
We have a longer form episodelike this one you're listening
to now, and then later in theweek there will be a mini
(02:14):
episode that accompanies it.
If you want to connect with I'mHormonal on Instagram, if
you're an Instagram gal, you canfind us at I'm underscore
hormonal.
Today.
I want to start off by tellingyou a little story.
Right, and as you know from theintro, I'm going to be talking
about willpower and this ideathat we need more discipline, we
(02:40):
need more willpower.
We need more willpower.
Earlier in my 20s, I spentseveral years really focusing on
losing weight, really trying tofigure out how can I game this,
how can I try another type offad diet, add another workout
(03:01):
into my day.
As many of you know or ifyou've listened for a hot second
I used to be in the military,where there are also, in
addition to the physical fitnessrequirements, certain height
and weight standards.
So it's like pretty highpressure of how you know what
shape is your body and what'syour relationship to gravity.
(03:23):
So that's all to say.
I spent these years feelinglike I just need more discipline
, I just need to work out more,and I felt like I was doing
everything I could.
I felt like I was doingeverything that I saw online,
that my friends were doing, thatI could glean from other
(03:46):
professionals of hey, girl, workout more, don't eat before you
work out in the morning, have afasted workout, those types of
things.
Now let's fast forward a littlebit, because I did make a
little bit of headway with myweight and I'll tie this back to
hormones and menstrual cyclesin a second year.
(04:08):
But what really was the turningpoint for me was actually
getting out of the military.
When I got out of that careerand I was in a different
environment, I had much lessstress in my life, I immediately
(04:31):
and by immediately I meanprobably within four weeks,
certainly within eight weeksnoticed that I was able to
change the shape of my body inthe way that I had been really
killing myself over for all ofthose years.
And it happened without mereally trying to force it,
without me having to likeabsolutely smoke myself trying
(04:52):
to get to this goal.
And it wasn't because I usedany hacks, it wasn't because I,
you know, something magicalhappened.
It was just because the thingthat I needed all along wasn't
willpower.
It actually, for me, was rest.
It was bringing my cortisollevels down, my stress hormone
(05:15):
levels down, so that my bodycould feel a little bit safer, a
little bit safer, use energy ina different way, a little bit
more efficiently, a little bitsafer.
Use energy in a different way,a little bit more efficiently.
And how does this relate towhat's going on with our
hormones?
Well, because a lot of thethings that we try to do, a lot
of things that my one-on-oneclients focus on as it relates
(05:37):
to restoring regular periods, asit relates to keeping period
pain at bay.
When it comes to just gettingtheir period back if it's been
gone for a while, we say, okay,well, I need to eat a really
clean diet and that's what'sgoing to do it.
So let me hyper fixate on this.
(05:59):
But that's hard to do.
We don't live in this world ofabsolutes where it's like, okay,
yeah, well, perfect, I willjust cancel every social
engagement that comes up.
You know, these things that cankind of quote unquote, get us
(06:19):
off track, but are totallynormal and enjoyable parts of
life.
So this is kind of the storythat I wanted to start off the
conversation today with, becausemaybe you felt this way before
too, or maybe you feel this waynow.
But I really want to reinforcefor you that willpower isn't the
thing that you need more of.
What you need is actually justa plan that really reflects
(06:43):
where you're at, that helps toaddress the root cause of what's
going on, and it's alsoincredibly helpful to understand
what are the factors that couldbe working against you that
could be kind of, you know,silently chipping away at that
quote-unquote willpower to makeyou feel like you need another
(07:05):
snack or need something reallysalty, or you want to just dive
into some food and we will getinto some of those things here
momentarily.
The first thing and theelephant in the room that we
need to acknowledge is that,societally, the conversation
tells us society tells us, womenthat we need to eat less maybe
(07:28):
makes us think that I need tohave an iced coffee for
breakfast instead of actualnutritious food.
And we're getting rewarded forthese things.
We're rewarded from our friends, from our partners, from other
people in our lives for beingoutwardly consistent in some of
these ways, and by that I meangetting workouts and eating in a
(07:50):
certain way or not eating in acertain way.
But when it comes to hormonebalance, when it comes to
restoring regular periods, easyperiods, supporting your gut
health, stress again is one ofthese largest factors that can
throw things off.
And you know what causes a lotof stress Things like going to a
(08:15):
ton of high-intensity workouts,drinking iced coffees for
breakfast instead of a properbreakfast.
The list really goes on.
I love a good disclaimer, sodon't misunderstand me.
Some of these things are.
These things are not inherentlygood or inherently bad.
And for some people, sure,willpower, maybe a little bit
(08:37):
more consistency, could behelpful.
But by and large, when you havean imbalance in your hormones,
when you have an imbalance inyour gut, there are so many
signals from within your bodythat are being sent that tell
you that you need a sweet treat,that tell you that you need
(08:59):
more food.
And let's dive into some ofthose things now, because I want
you to understand what some ofthese factors could be.
And so let's start by talkingabout gut dysbiosis.
So dysbiosis meaning there'ssome type of imbalance in the
microbes in your gut.
Now, how might you know if youhave this?
(09:19):
One of the main or one of thetelltale signs would be bloating
, or if you have other digestivedisturbances.
You have a lot of stomach aches, maybe you have constipation or
diarrhea.
These are all signals thatthere's something going on in
your gut.
Now let's hone in on one example.
You may have heard of candidabefore, which is a type of yeast
(09:42):
, and so for some people, anovergrowth of this yeast could
be common, right?
Sugars feed these yeasts.
So sugars in our food, inalcohol, are the treats that
these yeasts love.
Alcohol are the treats thatthese yeast love.
Now, for somebody who has acandida overgrowth, literally
(10:12):
the candida itself can besecreting a chemical that
signals to your brain andincreases cravings for food.
So just one way, that it's notyou and your discipline.
It's literally the yeast inyour body that's trying to tell
your brain to go seek moretreats when you have poor gut
(10:48):
health, when there maybe isinflammation.
Let's say you unknowingly ormaybe knowingly have a
sensitivity to, let's say, dairy, but you're consuming dairy and
that can cause inflammation.
Well, that inflammation couldresult in poor glucose handling,
which in other words, havingmore rollercoaster vibes from
your blood sugar, and that alsocan result in more cravings.
I just want to emphasize thisone more time, because when you
(11:11):
are stressed, when you'reinflamed, I kind of use those
words synonymously.
If inflammation is a really newconcept to you I did an episode
on this a couple of weeks agoMaybe you want to go check it
out for a little bit more of adeep dive.
But essentially, stress.
When we talk about stress, inwhatever form it is introduced
to your body, we're thinking ofwhat's cortisol doing, and when
(11:35):
we talk about inflammation,we're thinking of this
overreaction from your immunesystem, which in many cases can
be as a result of high cortisol.
This is all to say that thiscortisol is driving your body as
well to desire quick energy andthink of this from the
perspective of your kind ofancient, you know, crocodile
(11:55):
brain, of ancient, you know,crocodile brain.
If life is cray-cray, thingsare stressful, like we need more
energy because I don't know ifI'm going to be out of food
options sometime soon.
So from that perspective, itmakes sense that if you get a
poor night's sleep the next day,you need to eat more food, or
(12:16):
your body is telling you to eatmore food Again, not because you
lack discipline, but becauseyour body is just trying to do
its best to keep you alive, andthat's one thing I want you to
take away from this.
Now let's talk a little bit moreabout cravings specifically,
(12:39):
and I'll tell you a little story.
I had a new client who we'regoing through her initial
interview a couple of weeks agoand I saw on her intake form
she'd noted that she craved salt.
I really crave salt sometimes,but I try to limit it because I
know that salt isn't good for me, and so I try to keep that down
(13:03):
.
Now, that is a totally logical,normal response, right Again,
societies messaging things thatwe learned from whatever rants,
from Instagram posts say, hey,too much sodium is bad for you,
but at the same time, I want youto think okay, well, what is
(13:25):
this actually telling me?
Or what is my body trying totell me about what it needs?
Because, for this particulargal, she did have quite a bit of
stress going on in her life.
She was just starting to trainfor a half marathon, so she was
really moving her body a lot,and instead of fighting the salt
cravings, she decided toincorporate more salt,
(13:45):
incorporate some electrolytes,into her daily routines and she
noticed really quickly that hermigraines that she was having a
couple of times a week, theywere going away and she started
feeling better.
She wasn't having this lowenergy or lightheadedness when
she would stand up that she wassometimes having before.
(14:07):
So, while you may not have aparticular craving for salt,
this is just to say when you arecraving something, what is your
body trying to tell you?
Does it genuinely need salt?
For some gals who cravechocolate ahead of their period,
on the one hand it could bebecause chocolate is incredibly
(14:30):
tasty, but on the other hand, itcould be because chocolate is
also relatively high inmagnesium and during that time
of your cycle what's going on inyour body?
You might need more of thatnutrient than you do at other
times of the month, because yourbody is using it up.
So don't hate on cravingsimmediately.
(14:54):
Just start thinking okay, whatis my body trying to tell me?
And thinking of, once I do havethis chocolate or this whatever
is the salty, savory thingyou're eating how do I feel
afterwards?
Do I feel better or do I feelworse?
Another way you could think ofthis, or another example, is as
(15:15):
it relates to energy levels.
And I don't know, raise yourhand if you've ever felt like
this.
But you're like man, I justhave to push through the
afternoon.
I have to push through theafternoon.
I'm so exhausted but theclock's still ticking.
I have work to do, but what isyour body trying to tell you?
(15:36):
Is your body trying to tell youthat it needs more sleep at
night, that it needs betterquality sleep?
Because when you take thesecond to reflect on that, that,
hey, this isn't just you beingtoo weak to make it through the
afternoon, your body just needsrest, everybody's body needs
rest.
But maybe that's a good call ora good reminder for you to say,
(16:01):
okay, let me forego the tripleshot latte, whatever it is that
you're going to have to pushthrough the rest of the
afternoon because that couldnegatively impact that night's
sleep and instead you'llprioritize going to bed a little
bit earlier that night and feelbetter the next day.
I know that's just one example.
(16:22):
That's a little bit specific,but you see where I'm going with
this one example.
That's a little bit specific,but you see where I'm going with
this Not looking at cravings asa punishment, because, my girl,
your body is not trying topunish you.
Your body is just trying totake care of you and get you
what it needs.
Or like we talked about firstwith the gut dysbiosis maybe
(16:45):
it's an imbalance, maybe it's anovergrowth.
This is just one example wherethere is this kind of outside
factor that's impacting how yourbrain is processing messages.
There's one more idea that Iwant to leave you with.
When it comes to this idea, orthis feeling like you have to
(17:06):
just push through.
And let's come back to thistopic of working out For a
client who I'm working withone-on-one, she recently told me
, during her onboardinginterview as well, that she was
doing her workouts in theafternoon.
In the evening, she was feelingexhausted afterwards and she
needed to take a nap most days.
(17:27):
The other detail that'srelevant here is that she was
having kind of a tough timefalling asleep and then this
just perpetuated a cycle of herfeeling really exhausted during
the days, working out in theevening and having a tough time,
or slower time, falling asleepat night.
So what we started off doing,or what she started off doing,
(17:50):
was just flipping her schedule alittle bit, rearranging so that
she could do her workout in themorning, start the day, move in
her body, getting her cortisollevels up, and she found that
that really supported her energylevels throughout her whole day
.
And within the first let methink I think it was we met yes,
(18:10):
so within the first probably 12days from our initial interview
to our first check-in session,she was already feeling like she
was sleeping more consistentlythrough the night, like she was
falling asleep faster and justfeeling better throughout the
day.
So the thing that I want you toconsider here is is this a
(18:31):
timing thing?
Do I need to just switch up thetime or location?
Is it a difference of eating mybreakfast inside or eating my
breakfast outside with thenatural light?
Things as easy as that that canmake the goal a little bit more
(18:52):
attainable, because you aresupporting what your body
naturally wants to do and thehormonal patterns that are
natural and inherent to yourbody.
As we get ready to wrap up here,I want to start off by saying
if you are a gal who feels likeyou just are doing all the right
things, but somehow you need todo more, you need to do it
(19:14):
better, but there's somethinglike cravings, like low energy,
like whatever it is that isgetting in the way and stopping
you from doing that, I reallywant you to reflect on this and
think about what are the factorsoutside of your control that
might be getting in the way ofyour progress, because you are
(19:36):
doing an amazing job.
You are you.
By listening to this podcast, Iknow that you are getting the
information you are looking for,the information, at least, that
you need and that you want soyou can feel better.
It's not that you don't knowwhere to go or know who to talk
to, or know that you should beimplementing some of these
(19:57):
changes.
It could be that your body isasking you for something sweetie
, for something sweetie, askingyou for something sweet, asking
you for more food, because maybeit needs more food.
So, if nothing else, I wouldlove for your takeaway from
(20:18):
today's conversation to be to goeasy on yourself, give yourself
some grace and investigate.
Question what could some ofthese outside factors be that
might be making you feel likeyou just aren't doing well
enough?
Because, again, I don't knowyou, I don't know your life, I
(20:41):
don't know your deal, but justthe fact that you've got all the
way to the end of this episodetells me something about you,
tells me something about yourcommitment to improving your
health, feeling better, livingyour life fully.
On Thursday, I'll be back witha mini episode where I'm going
to be talking through a couplemore of these specific
(21:05):
situations, these specificexamples of what's going in your
body, what could be going on inyour body, rather, that could
lead to these cravings, thatcould lead to you or your body
telling you that you need morefood than normal.
That could be your body tellingyou hey, girl, don't get up.
Like, hit the snooze button, weneed a little bit more Zs
(21:27):
before we get up and ready forthe day.
I hope that this resonated withyou and, if it did, I would love
for you to take a screenshot ofthe podcast player wherever you
are listening, share about iton Instagram and tag me at I'm
underscore hormonal and let meknow what you thought about the
episode.
Thank you, guys, so much forlistening.
(21:50):
You are the best and I will seeyou on the next one.
If you loved today's episodeand got something good out of it
, make sure you subscribe sothat these episodes show up
automatically in your feed, nowork needed on your side, let's
put it on autopilot.
As always, I need to give youmy reminder that the information
I share with you here is foreducational purposes only, and
(22:11):
it should not be used as areplacement for medical advice
or diagnosis.
Now, if you are, on the otherhand, in the market for some
one-on-one support, then I wouldlove for you to take me up on
my offer for a free strategycall.
You can find these links andmore in the show notes.
All right, we'll see you on thenext one.
You might be someone who has spent a lot of time
being really tough on yourselffor not sticking to your
nutrition goals, or maybe itsounds like you being frustrated
and wondering why is my periodstill not regular despite all of
my efforts, and you think thatyou just need to force yourself
or discipline yourself to get itdone.
(00:22):
But let me tell you that, whenit comes to your hormones,
forcing yourself is not alwaysthe right strategy.
If you feel like you just can'tbalance your hormones because
the thing that you lack iswillpower, then this episode is
for you.
My girl and we are going todebunk this.
Welcome to I'm Hormonal, yoursource of information about
(00:45):
women's hormone health and howto support your body.
Naturally, I'm your host,bridget Walton, and I'm a
certified functional hormonespecialist and menstrual cycle
coach.
I am on a mission to hold thesehormone conversations with as
many menstruators as possible,because you deserve easier
access to accurate informationabout what's up with your unruly
(01:05):
menstrual cycle and with yourfertility mysteries.
Don't you think it's time thatwe figure this out once and for
all?
All right podcast buddies,welcome to episode 120 of I'm
Hormonal.
I'm Bridget, I'm your host fortoday and every day, and I just
want to say thanks so much forspending your time with I'm
Bridget.
I'm your host for today andevery day, and I just want to
say thanks so much for spendingyour time with I'm Hormonal and
(01:28):
listening.
I'm Hormonal is a wellness brandand we seek to provide
educational content just likethis for you, so you can better
understand what your hormonesare trying to tell you and how
you can restore hormone balance.
Beyond this educational content, here we also offer one-on-one
coaching, because, despiteeducation and information being
(01:53):
abundant, sometimes you justneed that personalized
one-on-one touch just for you.
So that's what we are doinghere at I'm Hormonal.
If you are new to the podcast,then just a little intro for you
.
You'll be getting episodestwice a week.
We have a longer form episodelike this one you're listening
to now, and then later in theweek there will be a mini
(02:14):
episode that accompanies it.
If you want to connect with I'mHormonal on Instagram, if
you're an Instagram gal, you canfind us at I'm underscore
hormonal.
Today.
I want to start off by tellingyou a little story.
Right, and as you know from theintro, I'm going to be talking
about willpower and this ideathat we need more discipline, we
(02:40):
need more willpower.
We need more willpower.
Earlier in my 20s, I spentseveral years really focusing on
losing weight, really trying tofigure out how can I game this,
how can I try another type offad diet, add another workout
(03:01):
into my day.
As many of you know or ifyou've listened for a hot second
I used to be in the military,where there are also, in
addition to the physical fitnessrequirements, certain height
and weight standards.
So it's like pretty highpressure of how you know what
shape is your body and what'syour relationship to gravity.
(03:23):
So that's all to say.
I spent these years feelinglike I just need more discipline
, I just need to work out more,and I felt like I was doing
everything I could.
I felt like I was doingeverything that I saw online,
that my friends were doing, thatI could glean from other
(03:46):
professionals of hey, girl, workout more, don't eat before you
work out in the morning, have afasted workout, those types of
things.
Now let's fast forward a littlebit, because I did make a
little bit of headway with myweight and I'll tie this back to
hormones and menstrual cyclesin a second year.
(04:08):
But what really was the turningpoint for me was actually
getting out of the military.
When I got out of that careerand I was in a different
environment, I had much lessstress in my life, I immediately
(04:31):
and by immediately I meanprobably within four weeks,
certainly within eight weeksnoticed that I was able to
change the shape of my body inthe way that I had been really
killing myself over for all ofthose years.
And it happened without mereally trying to force it,
without me having to likeabsolutely smoke myself trying
(04:52):
to get to this goal.
And it wasn't because I usedany hacks, it wasn't because I,
you know, something magicalhappened.
It was just because the thingthat I needed all along wasn't
willpower.
It actually, for me, was rest.
It was bringing my cortisollevels down, my stress hormone
(05:15):
levels down, so that my bodycould feel a little bit safer, a
little bit safer, use energy ina different way, a little bit
more efficiently, a little bitsafer.
Use energy in a different way,a little bit more efficiently.
And how does this relate towhat's going on with our
hormones?
Well, because a lot of thethings that we try to do, a lot
of things that my one-on-oneclients focus on as it relates
(05:37):
to restoring regular periods, asit relates to keeping period
pain at bay.
When it comes to just gettingtheir period back if it's been
gone for a while, we say, okay,well, I need to eat a really
clean diet and that's what'sgoing to do it.
So let me hyper fixate on this.
(05:59):
But that's hard to do.
We don't live in this world ofabsolutes where it's like, okay,
yeah, well, perfect, I willjust cancel every social
engagement that comes up.
You know, these things that cankind of quote unquote, get us
(06:19):
off track, but are totallynormal and enjoyable parts of
life.
So this is kind of the storythat I wanted to start off the
conversation today with, becausemaybe you felt this way before
too, or maybe you feel this waynow.
But I really want to reinforcefor you that willpower isn't the
thing that you need more of.
What you need is actually justa plan that really reflects
(06:43):
where you're at, that helps toaddress the root cause of what's
going on, and it's alsoincredibly helpful to understand
what are the factors that couldbe working against you that
could be kind of, you know,silently chipping away at that
quote-unquote willpower to makeyou feel like you need another
(07:05):
snack or need something reallysalty, or you want to just dive
into some food and we will getinto some of those things here
momentarily.
The first thing and theelephant in the room that we
need to acknowledge is that,societally, the conversation
tells us society tells us, womenthat we need to eat less maybe
(07:28):
makes us think that I need tohave an iced coffee for
breakfast instead of actualnutritious food.
And we're getting rewarded forthese things.
We're rewarded from our friends, from our partners, from other
people in our lives for beingoutwardly consistent in some of
these ways, and by that I meangetting workouts and eating in a
(07:50):
certain way or not eating in acertain way.
But when it comes to hormonebalance, when it comes to
restoring regular periods, easyperiods, supporting your gut
health, stress again is one ofthese largest factors that can
throw things off.
And you know what causes a lotof stress Things like going to a
(08:15):
ton of high-intensity workouts,drinking iced coffees for
breakfast instead of a properbreakfast.
The list really goes on.
I love a good disclaimer, sodon't misunderstand me.
Some of these things are.
These things are not inherentlygood or inherently bad.
And for some people, sure,willpower, maybe a little bit
(08:37):
more consistency, could behelpful.
But by and large, when you havean imbalance in your hormones,
when you have an imbalance inyour gut, there are so many
signals from within your bodythat are being sent that tell
you that you need a sweet treat,that tell you that you need
(08:59):
more food.
And let's dive into some ofthose things now, because I want
you to understand what some ofthese factors could be.
And so let's start by talkingabout gut dysbiosis.
So dysbiosis meaning there'ssome type of imbalance in the
microbes in your gut.
Now, how might you know if youhave this?
(09:19):
One of the main or one of thetelltale signs would be bloating
, or if you have other digestivedisturbances.
You have a lot of stomach aches, maybe you have constipation or
diarrhea.
These are all signals thatthere's something going on in
your gut.
Now let's hone in on one example.
You may have heard of candidabefore, which is a type of yeast
(09:42):
, and so for some people, anovergrowth of this yeast could
be common, right?
Sugars feed these yeasts.
So sugars in our food, inalcohol, are the treats that
these yeasts love.
Alcohol are the treats thatthese yeast love.
Now, for somebody who has acandida overgrowth, literally
(10:12):
the candida itself can besecreting a chemical that
signals to your brain andincreases cravings for food.
So just one way, that it's notyou and your discipline.
It's literally the yeast inyour body that's trying to tell
your brain to go seek moretreats when you have poor gut
(10:48):
health, when there maybe isinflammation.
Let's say you unknowingly ormaybe knowingly have a
sensitivity to, let's say, dairy, but you're consuming dairy and
that can cause inflammation.
Well, that inflammation couldresult in poor glucose handling,
which in other words, havingmore rollercoaster vibes from
your blood sugar, and that alsocan result in more cravings.
I just want to emphasize thisone more time, because when you
(11:11):
are stressed, when you'reinflamed, I kind of use those
words synonymously.
If inflammation is a really newconcept to you I did an episode
on this a couple of weeks agoMaybe you want to go check it
out for a little bit more of adeep dive.
But essentially, stress.
When we talk about stress, inwhatever form it is introduced
to your body, we're thinking ofwhat's cortisol doing, and when
(11:35):
we talk about inflammation,we're thinking of this
overreaction from your immunesystem, which in many cases can
be as a result of high cortisol.
This is all to say that thiscortisol is driving your body as
well to desire quick energy andthink of this from the
perspective of your kind ofancient, you know, crocodile
(11:55):
brain, of ancient, you know,crocodile brain.
If life is cray-cray, thingsare stressful, like we need more
energy because I don't know ifI'm going to be out of food
options sometime soon.
So from that perspective, itmakes sense that if you get a
poor night's sleep the next day,you need to eat more food, or
(12:16):
your body is telling you to eatmore food Again, not because you
lack discipline, but becauseyour body is just trying to do
its best to keep you alive, andthat's one thing I want you to
take away from this.
Now let's talk a little bit moreabout cravings specifically,
(12:39):
and I'll tell you a little story.
I had a new client who we'regoing through her initial
interview a couple of weeks agoand I saw on her intake form
she'd noted that she craved salt.
I really crave salt sometimes,but I try to limit it because I
know that salt isn't good for me, and so I try to keep that down
(13:03):
.
Now, that is a totally logical,normal response, right Again,
societies messaging things thatwe learned from whatever rants,
from Instagram posts say, hey,too much sodium is bad for you,
but at the same time, I want youto think okay, well, what is
(13:25):
this actually telling me?
Or what is my body trying totell me about what it needs?
Because, for this particulargal, she did have quite a bit of
stress going on in her life.
She was just starting to trainfor a half marathon, so she was
really moving her body a lot,and instead of fighting the salt
cravings, she decided toincorporate more salt,
(13:45):
incorporate some electrolytes,into her daily routines and she
noticed really quickly that hermigraines that she was having a
couple of times a week, theywere going away and she started
feeling better.
She wasn't having this lowenergy or lightheadedness when
she would stand up that she wassometimes having before.
(14:07):
So, while you may not have aparticular craving for salt,
this is just to say when you arecraving something, what is your
body trying to tell you?
Does it genuinely need salt?
For some gals who cravechocolate ahead of their period,
on the one hand it could bebecause chocolate is incredibly
(14:30):
tasty, but on the other hand, itcould be because chocolate is
also relatively high inmagnesium and during that time
of your cycle what's going on inyour body?
You might need more of thatnutrient than you do at other
times of the month, because yourbody is using it up.
So don't hate on cravingsimmediately.
(14:54):
Just start thinking okay, whatis my body trying to tell me?
And thinking of, once I do havethis chocolate or this whatever
is the salty, savory thingyou're eating how do I feel
afterwards?
Do I feel better or do I feelworse?
Another way you could think ofthis, or another example, is as
(15:15):
it relates to energy levels.
And I don't know, raise yourhand if you've ever felt like
this.
But you're like man, I justhave to push through the
afternoon.
I have to push through theafternoon.
I'm so exhausted but theclock's still ticking.
I have work to do, but what isyour body trying to tell you?
(15:36):
Is your body trying to tell youthat it needs more sleep at
night, that it needs betterquality sleep?
Because when you take thesecond to reflect on that, that,
hey, this isn't just you beingtoo weak to make it through the
afternoon, your body just needsrest, everybody's body needs
rest.
But maybe that's a good call ora good reminder for you to say,
(16:01):
okay, let me forego the tripleshot latte, whatever it is that
you're going to have to pushthrough the rest of the
afternoon because that couldnegatively impact that night's
sleep and instead you'llprioritize going to bed a little
bit earlier that night and feelbetter the next day.
I know that's just one example.
(16:22):
That's a little bit specific,but you see where I'm going with
this one example.
That's a little bit specific,but you see where I'm going with
this Not looking at cravings asa punishment, because, my girl,
your body is not trying topunish you.
Your body is just trying totake care of you and get you
what it needs.
Or like we talked about firstwith the gut dysbiosis maybe
(16:45):
it's an imbalance, maybe it's anovergrowth.
This is just one example wherethere is this kind of outside
factor that's impacting how yourbrain is processing messages.
There's one more idea that Iwant to leave you with.
When it comes to this idea, orthis feeling like you have to
(17:06):
just push through.
And let's come back to thistopic of working out For a
client who I'm working withone-on-one, she recently told me
, during her onboardinginterview as well, that she was
doing her workouts in theafternoon.
In the evening, she was feelingexhausted afterwards and she
needed to take a nap most days.
(17:27):
The other detail that'srelevant here is that she was
having kind of a tough timefalling asleep and then this
just perpetuated a cycle of herfeeling really exhausted during
the days, working out in theevening and having a tough time,
or slower time, falling asleepat night.
So what we started off doing,or what she started off doing,
(17:50):
was just flipping her schedule alittle bit, rearranging so that
she could do her workout in themorning, start the day, move in
her body, getting her cortisollevels up, and she found that
that really supported her energylevels throughout her whole day
.
And within the first let methink I think it was we met yes,
(18:10):
so within the first probably 12days from our initial interview
to our first check-in session,she was already feeling like she
was sleeping more consistentlythrough the night, like she was
falling asleep faster and justfeeling better throughout the
day.
So the thing that I want you toconsider here is is this a
(18:31):
timing thing?
Do I need to just switch up thetime or location?
Is it a difference of eating mybreakfast inside or eating my
breakfast outside with thenatural light?
Things as easy as that that canmake the goal a little bit more
(18:52):
attainable, because you aresupporting what your body
naturally wants to do and thehormonal patterns that are
natural and inherent to yourbody.
As we get ready to wrap up here,I want to start off by saying
if you are a gal who feels likeyou just are doing all the right
things, but somehow you need todo more, you need to do it
(19:14):
better, but there's somethinglike cravings, like low energy,
like whatever it is that isgetting in the way and stopping
you from doing that, I reallywant you to reflect on this and
think about what are the factorsoutside of your control that
might be getting in the way ofyour progress, because you are
(19:36):
doing an amazing job.
You are you.
By listening to this podcast, Iknow that you are getting the
information you are looking for,the information, at least, that
you need and that you want soyou can feel better.
It's not that you don't knowwhere to go or know who to talk
to, or know that you should beimplementing some of these
(19:57):
changes.
It could be that your body isasking you for something sweetie
, for something sweetie, askingyou for something sweet, asking
you for more food, because maybeit needs more food.
So, if nothing else, I wouldlove for your takeaway from
(20:18):
today's conversation to be to goeasy on yourself, give yourself
some grace and investigate.
Question what could some ofthese outside factors be that
might be making you feel likeyou just aren't doing well
enough?
Because, again, I don't knowyou, I don't know your life, I
(20:41):
don't know your deal, but justthe fact that you've got all the
way to the end of this episodetells me something about you,
tells me something about yourcommitment to improving your
health, feeling better, livingyour life fully.
On Thursday, I'll be back witha mini episode where I'm going
to be talking through a couplemore of these specific
(21:05):
situations, these specificexamples of what's going in your
body, what could be going on inyour body, rather, that could
lead to these cravings, thatcould lead to you or your body
telling you that you need morefood than normal.
That could be your body tellingyou hey, girl, don't get up.
Like, hit the snooze button, weneed a little bit more Zs
(21:27):
before we get up and ready forthe day.
I hope that this resonated withyou and, if it did, I would love
for you to take a screenshot ofthe podcast player wherever you
are listening, share about iton Instagram and tag me at I'm
underscore hormonal and let meknow what you thought about the
episode.
Thank you, guys, so much forlistening.
(21:50):
You are the best and I will seeyou on the next one.
If you loved today's episodeand got something good out of it
, make sure you subscribe sothat these episodes show up
automatically in your feed, nowork needed on your side, let's
put it on autopilot.
As always, I need to give youmy reminder that the information
I share with you here is foreducational purposes only, and
(22:11):
it should not be used as areplacement for medical advice
or diagnosis.
Now, if you are, on the otherhand, in the market for some
one-on-one support, then I wouldlove for you to take me up on
my offer for a free strategycall.
You can find these links andmore in the show notes.
All right, we'll see you on thenext one.
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