December 2, 2024 • 30 mins
I share my deeply personal journey through hormonal imbalances and the mental health challenges they brought into my life. From debilitating anxiety, extreme fatigue, and mood swings to discovering the intricate connections within our endocrine system, I’ve learned just how much our thyroid, blood sugar, cortisol, and sex hormones influence our well-being.
Joined by Erin K. Trier, a health advocate and coach, we dive into the importance of working with knowledgeable practitioners to uncover root causes, optimize health, and break free from the "normal is fine" mindset often presented in traditional healthcare. Erin shares her wealth of experience with functional medicine, hormone replacement therapy, and actionable tips on how to work with your body—not against it—by understanding your unique hormonal landscape.
If you’ve ever felt lost, misunderstood, or simply tired of not feeling like yourself, this episode is a must-listen. Learn how to start advocating for your health, where to seek expert support, and how to reconnect with your body to rediscover balance and energy.
💡 Takeaways:
- Hormonal imbalances often present through symptoms like depression, anxiety, fatigue, and more.
- The endocrine system’s interconnectivity makes personalized care essential.
- Practical tips for managing stress, balancing blood sugar, and supporting your hormonal health.
🌟 You’re not alone, and healing is possible. Join us on this journey to reclaim your health and feel empowered in your body.
Resources & Links:
Find Erin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinktrier/
Flo APP-
https://erin-trier.myflodesk.com/connecthere?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0AKpfjRiOjv3GfyQEUBwODgiHq0QlXjr8MHbj0IKCcvoNzWHBwItyzp9Y_aem_W3Yn-oeYh1rh6nFZg-BcJg
Don’t forget to rate and review this episode for a free gift: The Rediscover Yourself Worksheet! 🎁
Your health journey starts here. Listen in now!
Need extra support from Maria? Join MUSE Energy, her exclusive women 's-only channel on Instagram, for more insights and inspiration! - https://www.instagram.com/direct/inbox/?thread_key=8628881520460159
For personalized 1:1 coaching, visit Maria’s website at mariafuentes.net or email her at info@mariafuentes.net for guidance.- https://mariafuentes.net/
Follow Maria on Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/_maria.fuentes_/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
my first glimpse into hormonalimbalances was really more on
(00:04):
the mental health side.
Like, that's where my symptomspersonally started.
I really found myself in a placeof debilitating anxiety, really
intense depression.
Um, I had really high highs andlow lows.
Like my mood swings felt reallyout of control.
My fatigue was extreme, like nomatter how much I slept, no
matter how well I ate, no matterwhat kind of, you know,
(00:25):
supplements I was utilizing,leaning on caffeine and sugar,
all of those things, it reallywasn't helping me feel energized
or better in any way.
Welcome to You First, a journeyto self podcast, where we
empower women to rediscovertheir true, authentic selves and
regain personal power.
If you are ready for a majorshift, you've come to the right
(00:46):
place.
I am your host, Maria Fuentes,an expert in women's emotional
mastery and self discovery.
With a degree in psychology andnearly two decades of
experience, I am passionateabout addressing the challenges
women face monthly.
Self love, healthyrelationships, and emotional
awareness.
I've had the privilege ofcoaching so many incredible
(01:06):
women and witnessing theirtransformation through the
methods we'll discuss on thispodcast.
This show is your weekly spaceto shift your perspective, find
inspiration within and heal inways that feel true to you.
I'm so grateful you're here.
Let's dive into this week'sepisode.
(01:27):
hey guys.
And welcome back to anotherweek's episode.
This week is going to be anextra special one because I have
an important guest.
In and she's an expert women'swellness and empowerment coach
revolutionizing the way womenprioritize their health.
Wellness and self care.
And on this episode, we're goingto talk specifically about
hormones and the importance ofhaving your hormones balanced
(01:49):
and what could actually happen,how your life can start looking.
Like when they're off balance,even though maybe traditional
medicine is telling you thateverything's okay.
Erin comes on here and gives usher expertise on this topic.
So let's get into the episode.
Hey Aaron, welcome to you firstpodcast.
Thank you so much for being onhere today.
I am so excited to have thisconversation because we've,
we've talked about it recentlyjust a little bit when we met
(02:11):
and just now I've had so much,so many struggles and challenges
with my own hormones and I'monly 35, 34 actually, I'm not
even 35 yet.
And I think it's something thatneeds to be talked about more,
especially in the thirtiesbecause I honestly, it just
surprised me that I was havingthese challenges.
So I.
So appreciate you being on hereand having this conversation
with me today.
(02:31):
Oh my goodness, Maria.
Thank you so much.
I am thrilled to be here and sograteful to connect and can't
wait to kind of have thisconversation and dive right in
because to your point, it'sreally important for women to
normalize hormones, our insideout wellness and just relate on
what we're actuallyexperiencing.
So I'm so glad to be here.
Thank you for coming.
And so let's, let's just diveinto the hormone topic.
(02:53):
I think wellness and hormoneskind of go hand in hand and
maybe tell us a little bit abouthow, what got you into this work
and maybe some of your ownchallenges.
That's such a great question andit's kind of loaded, right?
I have a wide, a wide range ofdifferent pieces to my own
wellness journey that I'vepersonally dove into, but I will
start after my fourth kiddo andum, cause that's really when I
(03:16):
started to see some prettysignificant shifts that I had
never experienced before.
You know, throughout my life Ihad always had, you know,
different mental health hurdlesand different things from a
wellness standpoint that I hadalways been working through.
I had always tried to Stayactive and keep myself healthy,
but I really never experienced.
Shifting like I did after myfourth baby ever quite like that
(03:37):
before.
So that was really my firstglimpse into what is this next
level of my health.
And how are my health needschanging and evolving as I grow
older and as I get intopostpartum.
But really as it relates to whatI felt in my late 20s, in my
early 30s.
It's been really an eye openingexperience for me to kind of go
through these different seasonsand really understand how much
(03:59):
our health truly evolves overtime.
And really, how much our healthas females ebbs and flows every
single day of the month based onour cycles, based on our
infradian rhythm, and based onwhat's actually happening with
our hormones.
every single day.
And so my first glimpse intothis, like I said, was after my
fourth baby, which was rightbefore covid hit.
(04:19):
It was the end of 2019 into2020.
I was freshly postpartum, hadfour kids.
My oldest at the time was eight.
So I had an eight year old, sixyear old, four year olds.
And then my little guy and, um,it was just a wild ride of
trying to figure out how I'mgoing to homeschool these older
kids alongside having a toddlerand having a newborn.
(04:39):
And so I was managing all ofthese things around me.
And at the same time, like myentire being felt depleted.
Like I really was getting intothis space of not taking great
care of myself, trying to kindof grind through what I was once
doing to help myself feelbetter.
But.
What I learned was everythingthat I was leaning on was
actually starting to backfire.
So the habits that I had builtfor a really long time that I
(05:02):
thought were quote unquotehealthy actually were not really
serving my wellness as my healthwas evolving over time.
And so my first glimpse intohormonal imbalances was really
more on the mental health side.
Like, that's where my symptomspersonally started.
I really found myself in a placeof debilitating anxiety, really
intense depression.
(05:23):
Um, I had really high highs andlow lows.
Like my mood swings felt reallyout of control.
My fatigue was extreme, like nomatter how much I slept, no
matter how well I ate, no matterwhat kind of, you know,
supplements I was utilizing,leaning on caffeine and sugar,
all of those things, it reallywasn't helping me feel energized
or better in any way.
Um, I had really low libido.
(05:44):
That was a huge one inside ofour, my, my marriage and our
relationship.
And between all of thesedifferent facets of our, of my
wellness, I just.
realize that there was somethingdeeper that I wasn't really
understanding, right?
I wasn't grasping what wasreally, truly needed for my
female physiology because I wasnever educated about it.
(06:05):
And one of the things I loveabout how you and I have
connected Maria is you have somuch knowledge already around
like working with your femalephysiology.
How do you get in tune with yourcycle?
Like how do you understandwhat's happening with your
energy at different phases ofthe month?
You know, how do you tune intothat?
And how do you really nurtureyourself in a way that is
intuitive rather than based on acalendar or based on how
(06:27):
something else outside of you iskind of dictating what you
should be doing?
And that's really what I had toslowly start to learn.
So in that season, as I wasgoing through a lot of these
hormonal symptoms that I didn'teven recognize necessarily as
hormonal imbalances, I startedto really get educated about
root cause medicine.
and getting more exposure tofunctional testing, working with
(06:48):
functional medicinepractitioners and doing kind of
deep dive testing andunderstanding the intricate
levels of not only my lifestyleand how my habits play a role in
my how I feel, but also likereally, truly how my physiology
works as a woman.
And that was not something Iever had education around.
I just never had thatinformation shared with me
(07:10):
about, you know, how howpowerful it can be to start to
craft your habits and yourlifestyle around what your
energy is really doing everysingle day of the month.
And so in that season is when Istarted to dive into additional
health certifications.
I went on to get my personaltraining certification.
I went on to get a nutritioncertification through precision
(07:31):
nutrition.
Um, and I also got connected toone of the.
women that I partner veryclosely with now, um, inside a
community called sink.
And that community is reallyfocused on hormone health
education for women, like givingus the tools and the education
we all should have learned 30years ago, but never really had
exposure to it.
(07:51):
And that has really changed theway I look at wellness.
It changed the way I think abouthow to take care of my health.
It changed the way I craft myhealthy habits.
So to speak, because one of thelessons I learned inside my own
hormonal imbalances and thefluctuation I was experiencing
again was that the habits I hadput into practice for so long,
(08:13):
we're really no longer workinganymore.
And what I mean by that arethings like I used to get up
first thing in the morning andwork out fasted.
I used to run on caffeine andsugar.
I used to not really prioritizeadequate protein and instead,
relied on a lot of carbohydratesin my day.
I barely ate fiber, did not do alot of vegetables and did not
have a lot of variety in mynutrition.
(08:34):
I used to only work out one kindof way, usually like hit
workouts, really hard balls tothe wall.
Like, let's just get in and getout and not really always paying
attention to my energy.
And I did that all the time,regardless of where my hormones
were at, regardless of how Iactually felt in my body.
I was Following the calendar,this is what it said to do.
And I just kind of went andgrinded through it rather than
(08:55):
trying to kind of get into myown intuition and figure out
what my body was telling me itactually needed.
Um, I would do things like bluescreens all day, all night,
didn't really have a lot ofboundaries around social media.
Um, and just really wasn'tactually practicing habits that
were going to essentially serveme well in the season I was in,
but also for my longevityhealth.
(09:16):
And that's something that I'vehad to learn over time.
And so It's been an eye openingjourney for me.
And um, there are so many thingsI know now that I wish I would
have known even five years ago.
If I would have known even fiveyears ago how my habits were
going to eventually affect mywellness and my hormone health,
as it has now, I would havechanged things so much.
(09:38):
Yeah, it's one of those thingslike, you know, better, you do
better and once you know better,you know, you can start to make
shifts and start to share and behonest and open about your
experience and transparent aboutyour experience.
And that's really what I'm sopassionate about.
And the work I do is I wantwomen to understand that we're
not alone and kind of goingforward.
figuring out this wellnesspuzzle because for so long
(09:59):
there's been a lot shared withus and marketed to us on what is
healthy and what we should bedoing rather than empowering us
to step into figuring out, well,what do we need as individuals
and what is our individualhealth look like and feel like
and how do we continue to leaninto that intuition?
So in a nutshell, that's kind ofmy story.
So powerful.
And thank you so much for beingso vulnerable because I think so
(10:20):
many of us struggle with this.
And to be honest, I felt solonely when last year I lost my
menstrual cycle for a fewmonths.
I was like, what's wrong withme?
Something's broken in me.
But just like you, I had habitsthat I had been doing all my
twenties.
I would, I loved to hit cardio,you know, intermittent fasting
did all the things that I feltlike helped me feel better at
the time, but they weren'tworking anymore.
And it was like within seconds.
(10:41):
And I also think I was goingthrough a lot of stress.
And it sounds like you were tooafter baby number four and you
nailed it right on the head.
I think we need to get better atknowing what works for us.
I think there's so much outthere.
It's information overload, butdoes it work for us?
And I think we're, and maybe youcan attest to this too, where we
feel frustrated that we trythese things.
And then nothing works, and thenso we get frustrated, and we
(11:03):
blame the gym, or we blame theway we were born, or whatever,
the reasons why we can't loseweight, and it has nothing to
really do with any of that, andit's not our, it's not our age,
because I know plenty of 60, 70year olds that look Amazing and
feel great.
And that's so important.
And I can't wait to ask you morequestions about this because I
really want to know what, whatwere the first things for you
(11:23):
kind of that, that brought uplike, okay, wait a minute, this
isn't working.
I know you said you worked withsome specialists, but how can
someone that's maybe feelingconfused?
I don't even know, maybe if itis hormonal.
Cause you touched on mentalhealth too.
Sometimes we were just like, Oh,I'm depressed.
Or I'm anxious and really yourhormones will make you feel that
way.
I can, I can attest to thatbecause I've been feeling like a
hormonal mess the last likeyear.
(11:44):
And so tell me, like, how didyou go from that overwhelmed,
you know, feeling, you know,maybe it's mental health, maybe
it's not.
And then finding some of theseanswers.
That's such a great questiontoo.
And I have to kind of draw itback, honestly, to connecting
with other women that weresharing their stories.
That's really what started tobecome.
(12:05):
The thing that was helpful forme, because the more I like got
connected to women that werebeing vulnerable about their
experience and sharing what theywere learning and also
unlearning, the more it kind ofgave me permission to say, you
know what, like I can, I canquestion some of this a little
bit, right?
I can get into this place offeeling like education is the
(12:27):
way I want to continue to go soI can step into advocating for
my health.
on a personal level.
You know, so much of what I'vepersonally learned, especially
from a mental health piece, isthat oftentimes as we evolve
into these different lifetransitions in our female health
journey, there are oftenRecommendations around well,
(12:48):
here's what you need to addressyour mental health or here's the
antidepressant that you shouldgo on Or here's the quick fix
that can help you feel better inthe moment Rather than saying
like how can we go deeper andquestion?
Maybe the root cause of what'sactually going on and that's not
anything that I ever had in myown Mindset until I started to
get connected to other womenthat were doing the same and
(13:08):
starting to share theirvulnerable truths to and talking
about how they were gettingeducated about root cause
medicine and they were gettingeducated about how valuable it
can be to kind of meet in themiddle of, you know, the western
medicine doctors that you may beutilized, but also getting
getting connected to people thatare sharing more of the
functional lens.
And that was not anything that Iever had exposure to.
(13:30):
Kind of like I said, so much ofwhat I've learned have really
has really been in the last like5 to 7 years.
Before that, it was just Doingwhat I always had done and
grinding through it and justhoping that I was eventually
going to feel better.
So to answer your question, Ifeel like in a nutshell, it
really is starting to connectwith other women that are
sharing stories.
(13:51):
I feel like, you know, social isa powerful place.
I feel like listening topodcasts is a powerful place.
So like doing research to figureout who's maybe talking about
hormone health, who's talkingabout hormones and how they
affect our mental, mentalhealth.
Who's talking about root causemedicine and how that affects
women's health overall in ourfemale physiology and how can we
go deeper on understanding whatit is that can actually serve us
for the long haul.
(14:12):
I think, you know, havingconversations with friends and
getting into groups andcommunities where you can, you
know, relate to other women isreally important.
And then I also think like doingresearch to find coaches like me
or other coaches that are alsodoing this deep dive work to
serve and change the narrativeinside women's health.
Um, it's such a good questionbecause I think.
(14:32):
You know, for each of us, it'sso unique, but I really want to
empower women to do the researchand if something in your gut
feels like, you know what,there's more to this story, I'm
not going to just sit here andaccept maybe what my doctor is
saying, or I'm not going to sithere and feel gaslit and not
heard in my symptoms, or I'm notgoing to sit here and just
accept like, being given anantidepressant based on how I'm
(14:55):
feeling.
I want to know more about thewhy inside my body, right?
And I want to give myselfpermission to kind of dive
deeper and figure out what is itthat I can change from a
lifestyle standpoint, from aprotocol standpoint with a
practitioner, from an overallhabit standpoint that will help
me potentially address some ofthe things that I'm feeling.
So hopefully that answers yourquestion.
(15:15):
Cause it's, it's, It's kind ofhard to pinpoint exactly what it
was, but for me, it really wasgetting connected to other
women.
Like who else is sharing this?
How, how do I like understandI'm not crazy and the only one,
you know, totally.
I felt.
So I'll tell you a little bitabout what happened with me.
I lost my menstrual cycle.
Like you said, you go to thedoctors and They literally ran
tests and they're like, all yourhormones are normal.
(15:36):
There's nothing wrong with you.
Later, I find out that theirlabs and the tests that they run
are based on who goes to thedoctor.
So their average normal isn'treally normal for a healthy 30
something year old, 33 year oldor whatever, however old I was.
And so they were like, well,your period's gone.
So All we can tell you to do isjust take more progesterone and
we'll induce your period thatway.
(15:57):
And I'll come back.
And I was like, well, thatdoesn't make sense.
Like you're telling me all myhormones are fine.
So you want to jack me up withsome hormones so that my period
comes forces my body to get backin sync.
So that, that started justfeeling really off.
So I started going and I didn'tdo any research and I'm glad
that you mentioned that becauseI do want this episode to be a
resource for people to knowwhere to start and I'll link, I
(16:18):
would love to know more aboutthat sync community.
And of course how to work withyou so that my audience knows,
but I didn't know that I shouldresearch things.
So I was like, well, I know thatI can go to maybe like an
acupuncturist.
So I went to an acupuncturistand she helped me, she got, she
got my cycle back, but I stillfelt like off, like something
was off and it's been a journeysince, but I wish there was more
(16:39):
information because I'm 34 and Ithink, I don't think I know.
I didn't think about menopauseor perimenopause or hormonal
issues.
I didn't even think that thatwas going to be a thing.
I thought maybe there wassomething bigger that was wrong
with me.
You know, I didn't realize thathormonal changes start so early
and.
And how much it could affectyour life.
Like you said, I mean, you, youtouched a little bit about how
(17:00):
it affected your libido, yourenergy and all these other
things.
I mean, what are other symptomsthat you were like, this just
seems different and it's not thesame.
Like, how can people listeningto this be like, wait a minute,
it could be hormonal versuslike, maybe I'm just tired or,
or anything else.
Like, what were some of yoursymptoms?
Other symptoms.
So one of the ways I describeone of my biggest symptoms is I
(17:22):
felt like I was walking aroundwith a weighted blanket.
Right.
Like I would get up out of thebed in the, in the morning and
it just felt like I was walkingaround with this like fog and
doom and gloom and this weightedblanket.
And no matter what, like, nomatter what I ate, no matter how
hard I worked out, no matter howmuch I slept, no matter how much
I tried to meditate and stressmanage, talk to my people, go to
(17:45):
therapy.
Like it just always felt like Ihad this weighted blanket
walking around.
And that's the best way I candescribe it because it just, it
affected everything.
Like my energy, my mood, howlike my fatigue overall and just
my desire to like be in societyand be connecting with people
like I always had been.
(18:05):
Right.
So like, that was really thebiggest part for me is I
realized I really wasn't myself.
Like I truly didn't feel like myown person because my mood and
my, my personality almoststarted to shift.
Those were big symptoms for me.
You know, a lot of othersymptoms that I, my clients
express and that other womenthat I work with have expressed
are things like unexplainedheadaches all the time.
(18:28):
Um, acne is another big one.
Like if, no matter what you do,if you're swapping products, if
you're trying to, you know, eatclean and if you still have acne
issues and things like that,those are other big symptoms.
And I think it's so easy tooften just equate it to
something that's outside of ourcontrol when at the end of the
day it could very much be insideour control and it could be
something that's happening on aroot cause level with our
(18:50):
hormones.
And so, symptoms are a widerange and what's interesting is
depending on what the, this,depending on what kind of
imbalances you might bemanaging, the symptoms can be
very similar, right?
So like, Some women aredeficient in progesterone,
right?
And so that will potentiallylead to certain symptoms.
Some women are super stressedout and have like bottomed out
(19:12):
cortisol that will lead tocertain kinds of symptoms that
can be similar to hormonalimbalances with your sex
hormones.
You know, there's a widevariety, but so many of them
overlap, which is why it's soimportant to start to get
educated about, you know, Whatare my hormones doing every
single month and what do theylook like at different times in
my cycle?
And if they aren't ebbing andflowing to the natural rhythm
(19:35):
that they should be, what arethe symptoms that can pop up?
And those are all the thingsthat I've learned inside of the
SYNC community and inside mySYNC certification, which has
literally changed the game forhow I think about my health,
because now I have a betterunderstanding of When should my
progesterone be rising?
If it's not rising, what kind ofsymptoms can crop up and when
should my cortisol essentiallystart to elevate?
(19:57):
And if it's not elevating, whatkind of symptoms start to show
up?
And so I've also learnedalongside those kinds of things
inside the SYNC community.
I've also been exposed to howintricately connected our
endocrine system is.
And so for women, our endocrinesystem is made up of our
thyroid, our insulin, which isour blood, blood, blood sugar,
(20:17):
blood glucose, our cortisol,which is our stress hormone, and
then our sex hormones,progesterone, testosterone, and
estrogen.
And all of those things areintricately connected.
And when one of them starts togo out of balance, it will throw
off the rest of them.
So what's interesting for womenspecifically, and this is
something that I worked throughin my coaching is oftentimes
(20:39):
blood sugar imbalance can be ahuge driver for hormonal
symptoms, hormonal imbalances,and it can and not feeling that
great, right?
Sometimes really added stress,like you talked about, Maria,
and having cortisol all out ofwhack can lead to hormonal
imbalances and not feelinggreat.
So, because those things are sointricately connected, we have
to be speaking about you know,how they can interact with each
(21:01):
other, and again, what symptomscan show up as one of them
potentially falls out ofbalance.
So, that's just some of thethings that I kind of like to
talk about and speak about thatI've learned, but also just kind
of educate about in relation tosymptoms, because the symptoms
Transcripts can be a wide rangeof things.
Yeah.
When you talked about stress,cause how many of us can relate
to stress?
All of us, we're all so stressedout, especially in our thirties.
(21:23):
If you have children, if you'rejuggling multiple things and
then we think like it's juststress related or.
I know there's a lot of likePCOS out there.
And when I started actuallyresearching, like fast forward,
then I started actuallyresearching things, all these
things are symptoms and whendoctors and places don't have,
or don't understand what'scausing it, they just put a
label on it and then they justwant to throw medicine at it to
(21:45):
see what happens.
And if you Google PCOS, it'slike a list of symptoms that
could possibly be PCOS, but ithas nothing to do with like
actual like cysts.
Cause I thought it was likeovarian cysts related.
But no, you can have PCOS evenif you don't have cysts, so,
which is crazy because when Ishared about my hormonal issues
on Instagram, I've had womentell me like, oh yeah, I have
(22:08):
PCOS, and like, you probably do,but maybe it's just a big
hormonal imbalance, right?
And they're just sticking alabel onto you, and you think
that that's just, like, the waythat they've approached me and
told me about it, it's like adeath sentence.
They're like, I just have PCOS,so this is just like my life
now.
You know, they kind of just feellike that's just what they have
to live with.
And I love that you're bringingso much awareness and attention
(22:29):
to, we, we don't have to livenot feeling good.
We don't have to live notunderstanding our bodies and not
working with our bodies and, andbeing such like type a busy
hustler that I am being in syncwith my cycle, like the week of
my cycle and a couple of daysleading up to it.
I don't stress myself out.
I don't.
Overdo it on my calendar becauseI know that I'm only I'm gonna
(22:51):
I'm gonna push the rubber bandI'm gonna like explode and rip
the rubber band if I do that Andso I work with myself instead of
against myself, but that's takenme It took me losing my period
working with multiple peopleUnderstanding things to even get
here and I'm still not where Iwant to be.
Actually.
I'm working now with aFunctional holistic doctor
that's gonna give me moresupplements and so I'm gonna
(23:12):
Foods, you said you're moreholistic and functional stuff.
Are you currently in a plan orlike what would what would that
look like if somebody did want amore holistic approach?
Is it supplements or what whatare you on that that's helped
you?
So I personally work with afunctional medicine doctor and
I've done a variety of rootcause testing with her.
(23:33):
And she's helped me uncover likemy cortisol imbalance and my sex
hormone imbalance.
We've also talked a lot about,um, overall my thyroid health,
right?
Like my thyroid health isn'tterrible, but it's something
that we're staying mindful of asI age, right?
And then, my blood sugar.
Like blood sugar is a huge onethat my functional medicine
practitioner and I talk aboutquite a bit.
(23:55):
I mean, I have my nutritioncertification, but we also are
always talking about how muchblood glucose and eating
consistently throughout the dayand getting adequate protein and
not getting into like that modewhere you're starving and overdo
it.
Like all of those things arereally important to pay
attention to when you'readdressing something like
hormone health.
So for me, I work with afunctional medicine doctor.
(24:16):
Um, I have a couple differentsupplements that I take, right?
I take, I actually am startingor I have started in the past
handful of years hormonereplacement therapy based on my
unique testing, right?
What my body identified asdeficiencies.
Um, I also focus on things likedetoxification support, vitamin
D, magnesium.
Um, what else am I utilizing?
(24:37):
Fish oil, because I actuallydon't eat a lot of fish.
Fish oil is a big one,especially for brain health.
Um, I'm trying to think of whatelse that I utilize, but those
are like, those are the bigones.
And I think again, the thing tounderstand about any kind of
supplement protocol or anythingthat you want to potentially
implement in your own life, somuch of the value of getting
targeted and efficient with itis making sure that you're
(24:59):
working with a knowledgeablepractitioner.
So Maria, you talked about howyou went to the doctor and they,
your blood and they said, youknow, everything is in the
normal range, but what peopledon't understand is normal is
not optimal.
And when you're trying to get tothis place of feeling optimal,
you have to address what areoptimized ranges for your bio
(25:19):
individual health.
And that comes down to workingwith a practitioner that has the
knowledge around women's healthand hormone health.
And so inside of my coachingprogram, I actually have a
partnership.
where I can refer women verystrategically to a functional
medicine doctor that has hormonehealth knowledge, that has the
information that really willserve women's health well.
(25:41):
And that kind of thing matters.
That's one of the things thatI've personally learned on my
own journey is working with aknowledgeable practitioner
matters.
And that's not to say that thereare doctors out there that are
not qualified.
It's just more or less doctorshave different scope of
knowledge.
That's just what it comes downto.
And something like hormonehealth is so specific and so
(26:01):
bio, bio individual to eachfemale, especially that working
with someone that can reallyunderstand what's the difference
between normal and optimal.
What are the things that we'relooking for when it comes to
deficiencies and how can we helpserve your health?
Well matters.
And that's why you want to makesure that you're working with
somebody that has that lens andhas that scope of knowledge so
they can really serve you veryintentionally on your health
(26:22):
journey.
So that's kind of where I'm atfor me.
And it's been really gamechanging for my health as it's
evolved over time.
Yeah, and thank you for sharingthat because it's it is very
individualized and if anyone'shearing this and listening I
lost my menstrual cycle backlast March yes, not this year,
but last year March and It's itwas a journey of six months a
(26:45):
lot of trial and error.
I was very cheap I did not wantto pay for somebody to tell me
what was wrong Or I didn't evenrealize that all these different
things and layers existed so Ijust So Aaron, what you're doing
and just facilitating a placewhere if you're listening to
this and you're like, I don'teven know where to start.
Aaron's where you start.
This is where you start.
She helps you and she connectsyou because it can be so
overwhelming and I would havesaved so much time and now
(27:07):
energy and money if I would havejust gone to a professional that
specialized in individuals andhow to work with their
biological systems individually,not just because I did go to a
hormone replacement doctor backin Orlando, um, beginning of
this year.
And I didn't like the protocolthat they put me on.
I didn't like that.
They weren't testing me asoften.
(27:27):
And so I actually had to get offof those and You can only
imagine you get on hormonereplacements.
It's not working.
That was the whole thing of moodswings and and then getting off
of them.
So save yourself time and energyand just schedule a
consultation, speak to Erin orsomeone like Erin, whoever.
Just start with somebody thatknows what they're doing and
honestly somebody that's alreadygone through it, too, because it
(27:48):
could be a very lonely, scaryand confusing time, especially
if you don't have any anyone inyour age group or friends.
Like I had no one in my agegroup that had gone through it.
any hormonal issues like this.
I had older friends that hadchildren and stuff and they've
had issues, but not somebodyI've never even had a child.
So I was like, why is my bodyacting like this?
So I so appreciate that you cameon here and you, you shared so
(28:09):
much knowledge and youspotlighted a lot of things that
people feel women feel often andyou're not alone.
So if you're listening to this,you're not alone and there is
places and people that couldhelp you.
And for your vulnerability,Aaron.
And how can my audience findyou?
How can they work with you?
Maria, thanks again for havingme.
So the best place to find me andconnect is on Instagram.
(28:30):
I'm at Aaron K Trier, it's T R IE R.
And, um, I would love toconnect.
I would love to hear your story,would love to share my best
recommendations based onanything that you might be
experiencing, you know, I reallywant women to feel empowered.
in their personal healthjourney.
And I want women to understandthat there are resources and
knowledgeable places to getsupport and help.
(28:52):
And there is hope and healingand answers.
And, um, it's just a matter ofcontinuing to do the research
and get connected.
And I would love to connect withanybody that wants to kind of
dive in deeper.
Yeah, amazing.
And I'll link everything in theshow notes so you guys know
where to go.
And if nothing else, I hope thisepisode gave you some motivation
to change something in your lifebecause we all do have control.
And I know I talk about a lot ofpersonal development on here and
(29:15):
I've gone deep into that thelast seven years and just
working with differenttherapists and modalities and
healing and ayahuasca andwhatever.
But none of that really matteredwhen my hormones went to crap,
guys.
Like, none of that matteredbecause the depression was
there, the anxiety was there,the overwhelm was there.
It had nothing to do with howmuch I healed my past, my
traumas, my things.
(29:35):
Hormones are a bitch.
If they're out of whack.
So, thank you again for coming.
They really are.
They really are.
Well, thank you so much forcoming.
As we come to the close of thisepisode, I want to express my
heartfelt gratitude andadmiration for you.
Taking the time to show up foryourself is an act of self love.
(29:56):
And if this episode resonatedwith you, please share it with
someone who might benefit.
And also, if you love thisepisode, please rate and review
us.
When you do, screenshot yourreview and email it to us for a
special gift.
Our Rediscover YourselfWorksheet.
This worksheet includesexercises to help you uncover
your authentic self, and assessthe areas of your life that are
misaligned with the true you.
(30:16):
Email it to info at mariafuentes dot net.
Also stay connected with us onsocial media for updates and
more inspiration.
You can find all thisinformation in the show notes.
Again, thank you for being hereand I cannot wait to continue
this journey together.
my first glimpse into hormonalimbalances was really more on
(00:04):
the mental health side.
Like, that's where my symptomspersonally started.
I really found myself in a placeof debilitating anxiety, really
intense depression.
Um, I had really high highs andlow lows.
Like my mood swings felt reallyout of control.
My fatigue was extreme, like nomatter how much I slept, no
matter how well I ate, no matterwhat kind of, you know,
(00:25):
supplements I was utilizing,leaning on caffeine and sugar,
all of those things, it reallywasn't helping me feel energized
or better in any way.
Welcome to You First, a journeyto self podcast, where we
empower women to rediscovertheir true, authentic selves and
regain personal power.
If you are ready for a majorshift, you've come to the right
(00:46):
place.
I am your host, Maria Fuentes,an expert in women's emotional
mastery and self discovery.
With a degree in psychology andnearly two decades of
experience, I am passionateabout addressing the challenges
women face monthly.
Self love, healthyrelationships, and emotional
awareness.
I've had the privilege ofcoaching so many incredible
(01:06):
women and witnessing theirtransformation through the
methods we'll discuss on thispodcast.
This show is your weekly spaceto shift your perspective, find
inspiration within and heal inways that feel true to you.
I'm so grateful you're here.
Let's dive into this week'sepisode.
(01:27):
hey guys.
And welcome back to anotherweek's episode.
This week is going to be anextra special one because I have
an important guest.
In and she's an expert women'swellness and empowerment coach
revolutionizing the way womenprioritize their health.
Wellness and self care.
And on this episode, we're goingto talk specifically about
hormones and the importance ofhaving your hormones balanced
(01:49):
and what could actually happen,how your life can start looking.
Like when they're off balance,even though maybe traditional
medicine is telling you thateverything's okay.
Erin comes on here and gives usher expertise on this topic.
So let's get into the episode.
Hey Aaron, welcome to you firstpodcast.
Thank you so much for being onhere today.
I am so excited to have thisconversation because we've,
we've talked about it recentlyjust a little bit when we met
(02:11):
and just now I've had so much,so many struggles and challenges
with my own hormones and I'monly 35, 34 actually, I'm not
even 35 yet.
And I think it's something thatneeds to be talked about more,
especially in the thirtiesbecause I honestly, it just
surprised me that I was havingthese challenges.
So I.
So appreciate you being on hereand having this conversation
with me today.
(02:31):
Oh my goodness, Maria.
Thank you so much.
I am thrilled to be here and sograteful to connect and can't
wait to kind of have thisconversation and dive right in
because to your point, it'sreally important for women to
normalize hormones, our insideout wellness and just relate on
what we're actuallyexperiencing.
So I'm so glad to be here.
Thank you for coming.
And so let's, let's just diveinto the hormone topic.
(02:53):
I think wellness and hormoneskind of go hand in hand and
maybe tell us a little bit abouthow, what got you into this work
and maybe some of your ownchallenges.
That's such a great question andit's kind of loaded, right?
I have a wide, a wide range ofdifferent pieces to my own
wellness journey that I'vepersonally dove into, but I will
start after my fourth kiddo andum, cause that's really when I
(03:16):
started to see some prettysignificant shifts that I had
never experienced before.
You know, throughout my life Ihad always had, you know,
different mental health hurdlesand different things from a
wellness standpoint that I hadalways been working through.
I had always tried to Stayactive and keep myself healthy,
but I really never experienced.
Shifting like I did after myfourth baby ever quite like that
(03:37):
before.
So that was really my firstglimpse into what is this next
level of my health.
And how are my health needschanging and evolving as I grow
older and as I get intopostpartum.
But really as it relates to whatI felt in my late 20s, in my
early 30s.
It's been really an eye openingexperience for me to kind of go
through these different seasonsand really understand how much
(03:59):
our health truly evolves overtime.
And really, how much our healthas females ebbs and flows every
single day of the month based onour cycles, based on our
infradian rhythm, and based onwhat's actually happening with
our hormones.
every single day.
And so my first glimpse intothis, like I said, was after my
fourth baby, which was rightbefore covid hit.
(04:19):
It was the end of 2019 into2020.
I was freshly postpartum, hadfour kids.
My oldest at the time was eight.
So I had an eight year old, sixyear old, four year olds.
And then my little guy and, um,it was just a wild ride of
trying to figure out how I'mgoing to homeschool these older
kids alongside having a toddlerand having a newborn.
(04:39):
And so I was managing all ofthese things around me.
And at the same time, like myentire being felt depleted.
Like I really was getting intothis space of not taking great
care of myself, trying to kindof grind through what I was once
doing to help myself feelbetter.
But.
What I learned was everythingthat I was leaning on was
actually starting to backfire.
So the habits that I had builtfor a really long time that I
(05:02):
thought were quote unquotehealthy actually were not really
serving my wellness as my healthwas evolving over time.
And so my first glimpse intohormonal imbalances was really
more on the mental health side.
Like, that's where my symptomspersonally started.
I really found myself in a placeof debilitating anxiety, really
intense depression.
(05:23):
Um, I had really high highs andlow lows.
Like my mood swings felt reallyout of control.
My fatigue was extreme, like nomatter how much I slept, no
matter how well I ate, no matterwhat kind of, you know,
supplements I was utilizing,leaning on caffeine and sugar,
all of those things, it reallywasn't helping me feel energized
or better in any way.
Um, I had really low libido.
(05:44):
That was a huge one inside ofour, my, my marriage and our
relationship.
And between all of thesedifferent facets of our, of my
wellness, I just.
realize that there was somethingdeeper that I wasn't really
understanding, right?
I wasn't grasping what wasreally, truly needed for my
female physiology because I wasnever educated about it.
(06:05):
And one of the things I loveabout how you and I have
connected Maria is you have somuch knowledge already around
like working with your femalephysiology.
How do you get in tune with yourcycle?
Like how do you understandwhat's happening with your
energy at different phases ofthe month?
You know, how do you tune intothat?
And how do you really nurtureyourself in a way that is
intuitive rather than based on acalendar or based on how
(06:27):
something else outside of you iskind of dictating what you
should be doing?
And that's really what I had toslowly start to learn.
So in that season, as I wasgoing through a lot of these
hormonal symptoms that I didn'teven recognize necessarily as
hormonal imbalances, I startedto really get educated about
root cause medicine.
and getting more exposure tofunctional testing, working with
(06:48):
functional medicinepractitioners and doing kind of
deep dive testing andunderstanding the intricate
levels of not only my lifestyleand how my habits play a role in
my how I feel, but also likereally, truly how my physiology
works as a woman.
And that was not something Iever had education around.
I just never had thatinformation shared with me
(07:10):
about, you know, how howpowerful it can be to start to
craft your habits and yourlifestyle around what your
energy is really doing everysingle day of the month.
And so in that season is when Istarted to dive into additional
health certifications.
I went on to get my personaltraining certification.
I went on to get a nutritioncertification through precision
(07:31):
nutrition.
Um, and I also got connected toone of the.
women that I partner veryclosely with now, um, inside a
community called sink.
And that community is reallyfocused on hormone health
education for women, like givingus the tools and the education
we all should have learned 30years ago, but never really had
exposure to it.
(07:51):
And that has really changed theway I look at wellness.
It changed the way I think abouthow to take care of my health.
It changed the way I craft myhealthy habits.
So to speak, because one of thelessons I learned inside my own
hormonal imbalances and thefluctuation I was experiencing
again was that the habits I hadput into practice for so long,
(08:13):
we're really no longer workinganymore.
And what I mean by that arethings like I used to get up
first thing in the morning andwork out fasted.
I used to run on caffeine andsugar.
I used to not really prioritizeadequate protein and instead,
relied on a lot of carbohydratesin my day.
I barely ate fiber, did not do alot of vegetables and did not
have a lot of variety in mynutrition.
(08:34):
I used to only work out one kindof way, usually like hit
workouts, really hard balls tothe wall.
Like, let's just get in and getout and not really always paying
attention to my energy.
And I did that all the time,regardless of where my hormones
were at, regardless of how Iactually felt in my body.
I was Following the calendar,this is what it said to do.
And I just kind of went andgrinded through it rather than
(08:55):
trying to kind of get into myown intuition and figure out
what my body was telling me itactually needed.
Um, I would do things like bluescreens all day, all night,
didn't really have a lot ofboundaries around social media.
Um, and just really wasn'tactually practicing habits that
were going to essentially serveme well in the season I was in,
but also for my longevityhealth.
(09:16):
And that's something that I'vehad to learn over time.
And so It's been an eye openingjourney for me.
And um, there are so many thingsI know now that I wish I would
have known even five years ago.
If I would have known even fiveyears ago how my habits were
going to eventually affect mywellness and my hormone health,
as it has now, I would havechanged things so much.
(09:38):
Yeah, it's one of those thingslike, you know, better, you do
better and once you know better,you know, you can start to make
shifts and start to share and behonest and open about your
experience and transparent aboutyour experience.
And that's really what I'm sopassionate about.
And the work I do is I wantwomen to understand that we're
not alone and kind of goingforward.
figuring out this wellnesspuzzle because for so long
(09:59):
there's been a lot shared withus and marketed to us on what is
healthy and what we should bedoing rather than empowering us
to step into figuring out, well,what do we need as individuals
and what is our individualhealth look like and feel like
and how do we continue to leaninto that intuition?
So in a nutshell, that's kind ofmy story.
So powerful.
And thank you so much for beingso vulnerable because I think so
(10:20):
many of us struggle with this.
And to be honest, I felt solonely when last year I lost my
menstrual cycle for a fewmonths.
I was like, what's wrong withme?
Something's broken in me.
But just like you, I had habitsthat I had been doing all my
twenties.
I would, I loved to hit cardio,you know, intermittent fasting
did all the things that I feltlike helped me feel better at
the time, but they weren'tworking anymore.
And it was like within seconds.
(10:41):
And I also think I was goingthrough a lot of stress.
And it sounds like you were tooafter baby number four and you
nailed it right on the head.
I think we need to get better atknowing what works for us.
I think there's so much outthere.
It's information overload, butdoes it work for us?
And I think we're, and maybe youcan attest to this too, where we
feel frustrated that we trythese things.
And then nothing works, and thenso we get frustrated, and we
(11:03):
blame the gym, or we blame theway we were born, or whatever,
the reasons why we can't loseweight, and it has nothing to
really do with any of that, andit's not our, it's not our age,
because I know plenty of 60, 70year olds that look Amazing and
feel great.
And that's so important.
And I can't wait to ask you morequestions about this because I
really want to know what, whatwere the first things for you
(11:23):
kind of that, that brought uplike, okay, wait a minute, this
isn't working.
I know you said you worked withsome specialists, but how can
someone that's maybe feelingconfused?
I don't even know, maybe if itis hormonal.
Cause you touched on mentalhealth too.
Sometimes we were just like, Oh,I'm depressed.
Or I'm anxious and really yourhormones will make you feel that
way.
I can, I can attest to thatbecause I've been feeling like a
hormonal mess the last likeyear.
(11:44):
And so tell me, like, how didyou go from that overwhelmed,
you know, feeling, you know,maybe it's mental health, maybe
it's not.
And then finding some of theseanswers.
That's such a great questiontoo.
And I have to kind of draw itback, honestly, to connecting
with other women that weresharing their stories.
That's really what started tobecome.
(12:05):
The thing that was helpful forme, because the more I like got
connected to women that werebeing vulnerable about their
experience and sharing what theywere learning and also
unlearning, the more it kind ofgave me permission to say, you
know what, like I can, I canquestion some of this a little
bit, right?
I can get into this place offeeling like education is the
(12:27):
way I want to continue to go soI can step into advocating for
my health.
on a personal level.
You know, so much of what I'vepersonally learned, especially
from a mental health piece, isthat oftentimes as we evolve
into these different lifetransitions in our female health
journey, there are oftenRecommendations around well,
(12:48):
here's what you need to addressyour mental health or here's the
antidepressant that you shouldgo on Or here's the quick fix
that can help you feel better inthe moment Rather than saying
like how can we go deeper andquestion?
Maybe the root cause of what'sactually going on and that's not
anything that I ever had in myown Mindset until I started to
get connected to other womenthat were doing the same and
(13:08):
starting to share theirvulnerable truths to and talking
about how they were gettingeducated about root cause
medicine and they were gettingeducated about how valuable it
can be to kind of meet in themiddle of, you know, the western
medicine doctors that you may beutilized, but also getting
getting connected to people thatare sharing more of the
functional lens.
And that was not anything that Iever had exposure to.
(13:30):
Kind of like I said, so much ofwhat I've learned have really
has really been in the last like5 to 7 years.
Before that, it was just Doingwhat I always had done and
grinding through it and justhoping that I was eventually
going to feel better.
So to answer your question, Ifeel like in a nutshell, it
really is starting to connectwith other women that are
sharing stories.
(13:51):
I feel like, you know, social isa powerful place.
I feel like listening topodcasts is a powerful place.
So like doing research to figureout who's maybe talking about
hormone health, who's talkingabout hormones and how they
affect our mental, mentalhealth.
Who's talking about root causemedicine and how that affects
women's health overall in ourfemale physiology and how can we
go deeper on understanding whatit is that can actually serve us
for the long haul.
(14:12):
I think, you know, havingconversations with friends and
getting into groups andcommunities where you can, you
know, relate to other women isreally important.
And then I also think like doingresearch to find coaches like me
or other coaches that are alsodoing this deep dive work to
serve and change the narrativeinside women's health.
Um, it's such a good questionbecause I think.
(14:32):
You know, for each of us, it'sso unique, but I really want to
empower women to do the researchand if something in your gut
feels like, you know what,there's more to this story, I'm
not going to just sit here andaccept maybe what my doctor is
saying, or I'm not going to sithere and feel gaslit and not
heard in my symptoms, or I'm notgoing to sit here and just
accept like, being given anantidepressant based on how I'm
(14:55):
feeling.
I want to know more about thewhy inside my body, right?
And I want to give myselfpermission to kind of dive
deeper and figure out what is itthat I can change from a
lifestyle standpoint, from aprotocol standpoint with a
practitioner, from an overallhabit standpoint that will help
me potentially address some ofthe things that I'm feeling.
So hopefully that answers yourquestion.
(15:15):
Cause it's, it's, It's kind ofhard to pinpoint exactly what it
was, but for me, it really wasgetting connected to other
women.
Like who else is sharing this?
How, how do I like understandI'm not crazy and the only one,
you know, totally.
I felt.
So I'll tell you a little bitabout what happened with me.
I lost my menstrual cycle.
Like you said, you go to thedoctors and They literally ran
tests and they're like, all yourhormones are normal.
(15:36):
There's nothing wrong with you.
Later, I find out that theirlabs and the tests that they run
are based on who goes to thedoctor.
So their average normal isn'treally normal for a healthy 30
something year old, 33 year oldor whatever, however old I was.
And so they were like, well,your period's gone.
So All we can tell you to do isjust take more progesterone and
we'll induce your period thatway.
(15:57):
And I'll come back.
And I was like, well, thatdoesn't make sense.
Like you're telling me all myhormones are fine.
So you want to jack me up withsome hormones so that my period
comes forces my body to get backin sync.
So that, that started justfeeling really off.
So I started going and I didn'tdo any research and I'm glad
that you mentioned that becauseI do want this episode to be a
resource for people to knowwhere to start and I'll link, I
(16:18):
would love to know more aboutthat sync community.
And of course how to work withyou so that my audience knows,
but I didn't know that I shouldresearch things.
So I was like, well, I know thatI can go to maybe like an
acupuncturist.
So I went to an acupuncturistand she helped me, she got, she
got my cycle back, but I stillfelt like off, like something
was off and it's been a journeysince, but I wish there was more
(16:39):
information because I'm 34 and Ithink, I don't think I know.
I didn't think about menopauseor perimenopause or hormonal
issues.
I didn't even think that thatwas going to be a thing.
I thought maybe there wassomething bigger that was wrong
with me.
You know, I didn't realize thathormonal changes start so early
and.
And how much it could affectyour life.
Like you said, I mean, you, youtouched a little bit about how
(17:00):
it affected your libido, yourenergy and all these other
things.
I mean, what are other symptomsthat you were like, this just
seems different and it's not thesame.
Like, how can people listeningto this be like, wait a minute,
it could be hormonal versuslike, maybe I'm just tired or,
or anything else.
Like, what were some of yoursymptoms?
Other symptoms.
So one of the ways I describeone of my biggest symptoms is I
(17:22):
felt like I was walking aroundwith a weighted blanket.
Right.
Like I would get up out of thebed in the, in the morning and
it just felt like I was walkingaround with this like fog and
doom and gloom and this weightedblanket.
And no matter what, like, nomatter what I ate, no matter how
hard I worked out, no matter howmuch I slept, no matter how much
I tried to meditate and stressmanage, talk to my people, go to
(17:45):
therapy.
Like it just always felt like Ihad this weighted blanket
walking around.
And that's the best way I candescribe it because it just, it
affected everything.
Like my energy, my mood, howlike my fatigue overall and just
my desire to like be in societyand be connecting with people
like I always had been.
(18:05):
Right.
So like, that was really thebiggest part for me is I
realized I really wasn't myself.
Like I truly didn't feel like myown person because my mood and
my, my personality almoststarted to shift.
Those were big symptoms for me.
You know, a lot of othersymptoms that I, my clients
express and that other womenthat I work with have expressed
are things like unexplainedheadaches all the time.
(18:28):
Um, acne is another big one.
Like if, no matter what you do,if you're swapping products, if
you're trying to, you know, eatclean and if you still have acne
issues and things like that,those are other big symptoms.
And I think it's so easy tooften just equate it to
something that's outside of ourcontrol when at the end of the
day it could very much be insideour control and it could be
something that's happening on aroot cause level with our
(18:50):
hormones.
And so, symptoms are a widerange and what's interesting is
depending on what the, this,depending on what kind of
imbalances you might bemanaging, the symptoms can be
very similar, right?
So like, Some women aredeficient in progesterone,
right?
And so that will potentiallylead to certain symptoms.
Some women are super stressedout and have like bottomed out
(19:12):
cortisol that will lead tocertain kinds of symptoms that
can be similar to hormonalimbalances with your sex
hormones.
You know, there's a widevariety, but so many of them
overlap, which is why it's soimportant to start to get
educated about, you know, Whatare my hormones doing every
single month and what do theylook like at different times in
my cycle?
And if they aren't ebbing andflowing to the natural rhythm
(19:35):
that they should be, what arethe symptoms that can pop up?
And those are all the thingsthat I've learned inside of the
SYNC community and inside mySYNC certification, which has
literally changed the game forhow I think about my health,
because now I have a betterunderstanding of When should my
progesterone be rising?
If it's not rising, what kind ofsymptoms can crop up and when
should my cortisol essentiallystart to elevate?
(19:57):
And if it's not elevating, whatkind of symptoms start to show
up?
And so I've also learnedalongside those kinds of things
inside the SYNC community.
I've also been exposed to howintricately connected our
endocrine system is.
And so for women, our endocrinesystem is made up of our
thyroid, our insulin, which isour blood, blood, blood sugar,
(20:17):
blood glucose, our cortisol,which is our stress hormone, and
then our sex hormones,progesterone, testosterone, and
estrogen.
And all of those things areintricately connected.
And when one of them starts togo out of balance, it will throw
off the rest of them.
So what's interesting for womenspecifically, and this is
something that I worked throughin my coaching is oftentimes
(20:39):
blood sugar imbalance can be ahuge driver for hormonal
symptoms, hormonal imbalances,and it can and not feeling that
great, right?
Sometimes really added stress,like you talked about, Maria,
and having cortisol all out ofwhack can lead to hormonal
imbalances and not feelinggreat.
So, because those things are sointricately connected, we have
to be speaking about you know,how they can interact with each
(21:01):
other, and again, what symptomscan show up as one of them
potentially falls out ofbalance.
So, that's just some of thethings that I kind of like to
talk about and speak about thatI've learned, but also just kind
of educate about in relation tosymptoms, because the symptoms
Transcripts can be a wide rangeof things.
Yeah.
When you talked about stress,cause how many of us can relate
to stress?
All of us, we're all so stressedout, especially in our thirties.
(21:23):
If you have children, if you'rejuggling multiple things and
then we think like it's juststress related or.
I know there's a lot of likePCOS out there.
And when I started actuallyresearching, like fast forward,
then I started actuallyresearching things, all these
things are symptoms and whendoctors and places don't have,
or don't understand what'scausing it, they just put a
label on it and then they justwant to throw medicine at it to
(21:45):
see what happens.
And if you Google PCOS, it'slike a list of symptoms that
could possibly be PCOS, but ithas nothing to do with like
actual like cysts.
Cause I thought it was likeovarian cysts related.
But no, you can have PCOS evenif you don't have cysts, so,
which is crazy because when Ishared about my hormonal issues
on Instagram, I've had womentell me like, oh yeah, I have
(22:08):
PCOS, and like, you probably do,but maybe it's just a big
hormonal imbalance, right?
And they're just sticking alabel onto you, and you think
that that's just, like, the waythat they've approached me and
told me about it, it's like adeath sentence.
They're like, I just have PCOS,so this is just like my life
now.
You know, they kind of just feellike that's just what they have
to live with.
And I love that you're bringingso much awareness and attention
(22:29):
to, we, we don't have to livenot feeling good.
We don't have to live notunderstanding our bodies and not
working with our bodies and, andbeing such like type a busy
hustler that I am being in syncwith my cycle, like the week of
my cycle and a couple of daysleading up to it.
I don't stress myself out.
I don't.
Overdo it on my calendar becauseI know that I'm only I'm gonna
(22:51):
I'm gonna push the rubber bandI'm gonna like explode and rip
the rubber band if I do that Andso I work with myself instead of
against myself, but that's takenme It took me losing my period
working with multiple peopleUnderstanding things to even get
here and I'm still not where Iwant to be.
Actually.
I'm working now with aFunctional holistic doctor
that's gonna give me moresupplements and so I'm gonna
(23:12):
Foods, you said you're moreholistic and functional stuff.
Are you currently in a plan orlike what would what would that
look like if somebody did want amore holistic approach?
Is it supplements or what whatare you on that that's helped
you?
So I personally work with afunctional medicine doctor and
I've done a variety of rootcause testing with her.
(23:33):
And she's helped me uncover likemy cortisol imbalance and my sex
hormone imbalance.
We've also talked a lot about,um, overall my thyroid health,
right?
Like my thyroid health isn'tterrible, but it's something
that we're staying mindful of asI age, right?
And then, my blood sugar.
Like blood sugar is a huge onethat my functional medicine
practitioner and I talk aboutquite a bit.
(23:55):
I mean, I have my nutritioncertification, but we also are
always talking about how muchblood glucose and eating
consistently throughout the dayand getting adequate protein and
not getting into like that modewhere you're starving and overdo
it.
Like all of those things arereally important to pay
attention to when you'readdressing something like
hormone health.
So for me, I work with afunctional medicine doctor.
(24:16):
Um, I have a couple differentsupplements that I take, right?
I take, I actually am startingor I have started in the past
handful of years hormonereplacement therapy based on my
unique testing, right?
What my body identified asdeficiencies.
Um, I also focus on things likedetoxification support, vitamin
D, magnesium.
Um, what else am I utilizing?
(24:37):
Fish oil, because I actuallydon't eat a lot of fish.
Fish oil is a big one,especially for brain health.
Um, I'm trying to think of whatelse that I utilize, but those
are like, those are the bigones.
And I think again, the thing tounderstand about any kind of
supplement protocol or anythingthat you want to potentially
implement in your own life, somuch of the value of getting
targeted and efficient with itis making sure that you're
(24:59):
working with a knowledgeablepractitioner.
So Maria, you talked about howyou went to the doctor and they,
your blood and they said, youknow, everything is in the
normal range, but what peopledon't understand is normal is
not optimal.
And when you're trying to get tothis place of feeling optimal,
you have to address what areoptimized ranges for your bio
(25:19):
individual health.
And that comes down to workingwith a practitioner that has the
knowledge around women's healthand hormone health.
And so inside of my coachingprogram, I actually have a
partnership.
where I can refer women verystrategically to a functional
medicine doctor that has hormonehealth knowledge, that has the
information that really willserve women's health well.
(25:41):
And that kind of thing matters.
That's one of the things thatI've personally learned on my
own journey is working with aknowledgeable practitioner
matters.
And that's not to say that thereare doctors out there that are
not qualified.
It's just more or less doctorshave different scope of
knowledge.
That's just what it comes downto.
And something like hormonehealth is so specific and so
(26:01):
bio, bio individual to eachfemale, especially that working
with someone that can reallyunderstand what's the difference
between normal and optimal.
What are the things that we'relooking for when it comes to
deficiencies and how can we helpserve your health?
Well matters.
And that's why you want to makesure that you're working with
somebody that has that lens andhas that scope of knowledge so
they can really serve you veryintentionally on your health
(26:22):
journey.
So that's kind of where I'm atfor me.
And it's been really gamechanging for my health as it's
evolved over time.
Yeah, and thank you for sharingthat because it's it is very
individualized and if anyone'shearing this and listening I
lost my menstrual cycle backlast March yes, not this year,
but last year March and It's itwas a journey of six months a
(26:45):
lot of trial and error.
I was very cheap I did not wantto pay for somebody to tell me
what was wrong Or I didn't evenrealize that all these different
things and layers existed so Ijust So Aaron, what you're doing
and just facilitating a placewhere if you're listening to
this and you're like, I don'teven know where to start.
Aaron's where you start.
This is where you start.
She helps you and she connectsyou because it can be so
overwhelming and I would havesaved so much time and now
(27:07):
energy and money if I would havejust gone to a professional that
specialized in individuals andhow to work with their
biological systems individually,not just because I did go to a
hormone replacement doctor backin Orlando, um, beginning of
this year.
And I didn't like the protocolthat they put me on.
I didn't like that.
They weren't testing me asoften.
(27:27):
And so I actually had to get offof those and You can only
imagine you get on hormonereplacements.
It's not working.
That was the whole thing of moodswings and and then getting off
of them.
So save yourself time and energyand just schedule a
consultation, speak to Erin orsomeone like Erin, whoever.
Just start with somebody thatknows what they're doing and
honestly somebody that's alreadygone through it, too, because it
(27:48):
could be a very lonely, scaryand confusing time, especially
if you don't have any anyone inyour age group or friends.
Like I had no one in my agegroup that had gone through it.
any hormonal issues like this.
I had older friends that hadchildren and stuff and they've
had issues, but not somebodyI've never even had a child.
So I was like, why is my bodyacting like this?
So I so appreciate that you cameon here and you, you shared so
(28:09):
much knowledge and youspotlighted a lot of things that
people feel women feel often andyou're not alone.
So if you're listening to this,you're not alone and there is
places and people that couldhelp you.
And for your vulnerability,Aaron.
And how can my audience findyou?
How can they work with you?
Maria, thanks again for havingme.
So the best place to find me andconnect is on Instagram.
(28:30):
I'm at Aaron K Trier, it's T R IE R.
And, um, I would love toconnect.
I would love to hear your story,would love to share my best
recommendations based onanything that you might be
experiencing, you know, I reallywant women to feel empowered.
in their personal healthjourney.
And I want women to understandthat there are resources and
knowledgeable places to getsupport and help.
(28:52):
And there is hope and healingand answers.
And, um, it's just a matter ofcontinuing to do the research
and get connected.
And I would love to connect withanybody that wants to kind of
dive in deeper.
Yeah, amazing.
And I'll link everything in theshow notes so you guys know
where to go.
And if nothing else, I hope thisepisode gave you some motivation
to change something in your lifebecause we all do have control.
And I know I talk about a lot ofpersonal development on here and
(29:15):
I've gone deep into that thelast seven years and just
working with differenttherapists and modalities and
healing and ayahuasca andwhatever.
But none of that really matteredwhen my hormones went to crap,
guys.
Like, none of that matteredbecause the depression was
there, the anxiety was there,the overwhelm was there.
It had nothing to do with howmuch I healed my past, my
traumas, my things.
(29:35):
Hormones are a bitch.
If they're out of whack.
So, thank you again for coming.
They really are.
They really are.
Well, thank you so much forcoming.
As we come to the close of thisepisode, I want to express my
heartfelt gratitude andadmiration for you.
Taking the time to show up foryourself is an act of self love.
(29:56):
And if this episode resonatedwith you, please share it with
someone who might benefit.
And also, if you love thisepisode, please rate and review
us.
When you do, screenshot yourreview and email it to us for a
special gift.
Our Rediscover YourselfWorksheet.
This worksheet includesexercises to help you uncover
your authentic self, and assessthe areas of your life that are
misaligned with the true you.
(30:16):
Email it to info at mariafuentes dot net.
Also stay connected with us onsocial media for updates and
more inspiration.
You can find all thisinformation in the show notes.
Again, thank you for being hereand I cannot wait to continue
this journey together.
Popular Podcasts
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!