My Easy Fall Morning Routine To Make More Progesterone & Regulate My Nervous System | E291

Fall is coming, and with it, that itch to overhaul your whole routine. Please don't.

That urge to overhaul everything hits me too every single fall. New routine, new rules, a five-step morning ritual that looks great written down and lasts about two days before real life shows up and knocks it sideways.

I'm skipping all that this year. Instead, I'm sharing the exact non-negotiables that have stuck for me, the ones actually making a difference in my nervous system and my progesterone, without turning my mornings into a performance.

This episode is me literally walking outside with my glasses in my hand, recording on a 6:30 am walk, because I wanted to show you a hormone-supportive morning doesn't require a silent home office and an extra hour you don't have.

Here's what we're getting into:

• The one free thing I do every single morning that touches cortisol, blood sugar, and hormones all at once
• Why my breakfast is not always "picture perfect" and what I actually drink most mornings to hit my protein goals fast
• The slightly ridiculous lymphatic movement I learned on Instagram that I now do in my backyard, kids watching
• What I'm doing on purpose to protect my sleep, even on the nights everything falls apart
• Why skipping my 6 am workout class is sometimes the smartest thing I do all week
• The mindset shift that finally got me out of the all-or-nothing routine trap

If you've ever built yourself a pretty little morning checklist, color coded and full of hope, and then quietly abandoned it by day three, this one is for you.

A morning routine that supports your hormones isn't a matter of doing more. Your body is listening for one very specific message first thing in the morning, and that message is safety. When your nervous system reads a room as safe, that's your body's green light to make progesterone, keep estrogen in check, and hand you the steady mood and energy you've been chasing all year.

That safety signal doesn't come from a perfect list. It comes from a handful of consistent things, done imperfectly, again and again.

For me that starts with morning sunlight. I bring this up constantly on the podcast because it really is the top non-negotiable, and it costs nothing, which I love pointing out. Early morning light hits your eyes in a way your kitchen lights and your phone screen simply can't fake. It tells your body it's daytime in the language your biology actually understands, and that one signal ripples out into your cortisol, your blood sugar, and your hormones.

Then there's breakfast, which you've heard me talk about more times than you can count because it genuinely changes everything. Some mornings that's a real plate of food. Other mornings, especially in a high-stress season when my appetite has vanished, it's a protein hot chocolate made in my countertop frother while I plan a real breakfast for later. I walk through exactly what that looks like in the episode, because so many of us carry this quiet belief that if we can't do it perfectly, we shouldn't bother at all. That belief is exactly what keeps you stuck.

I also get into the small movement practice I do most mornings to get my lymph and fascia moving after a night of stillness, and why I'm being so intentional right now about protecting sleep on both ends of the day, even when that means skipping a workout I genuinely wanted to go to.

If you're in a season where you feel like you're doing everything right and your body still isn't cooperating, or if you've built routine after routine that never actually sticks, this episode might land differently for you. Less about adding one more thing. More about getting honest about what actually matters and letting the rest go.

I also want to name something I see constantly with the women I work with, and honestly with myself too. This paralyzing sense that healing your hormones has to be complicated, specific, and nearly flawless to count for anything. That belief works against you every time. Overwhelm and fear aren't neutral background noise. They're stress signals your body reacts to, and stress sits right in the middle of the road between you and the hormone balance you're working so hard for.

So this episode is my invitation to simplify. Not to add another list to your already overflowing plate, but to get really clear on the small handful of things that move the needle for your body, and to let everything else be optional.

Next time you catch yourself scrolling for the "perfect" morning routine at 11 pm, remember this episode instead. The version of you six months from now, the one with more energy and steadier moods, is built by the boring, repeatable stuff, not the Pinterest-worthy version you never actually do.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
PMS to Peace Private Podcast
Fix Your Breakfast, Fix Your Hormones
Equip Protein

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Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast is to be taken as medical advice, please take informed accountability and speak to your provider before making changes to your health routine.

This podcast is for women and moms to learn how to balance hormones naturally in motherhood, to have pain-free periods, increased fertility, to decrease PMS mood swings, and to increase energy without restrictive diet plans. You'll learn how to balance blood sugar, increase progesterone naturally, understand the root cause of estrogen dominance, irregular periods, PCOS, insulin resistance, hormonal acne, post birth-control syndrome, and conceive naturally. We use a pro-metabolic, whole food, root cause approach to functional women's health and focus on truly holistic health and mind-body connection.

If you listen to any of the following shows, we're sure you'll like ours too! 
Pursuit of Wellness with Mari Llewellyn, Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark, Found My Fitness with Rhonda Patrick, Just Ingredients Podcast, Wellness Mama, The Dr Josh Axe Show, Are You Menstrual Podcast, The Model Health Show, Grounded Wellness By Primally Pure, Be Well By Kelly Leveque, The Freely Rooted Podcast with Kori Meloy, Simple Farmhouse Life with Lisa Bass

Transcript

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E291_ My Easy Fall Morning Routine to Make More Progesterone & Regulate My Nervous System

[00:00:00] Hey, friends. We're almost to fall, which means that we are looking for new routines, a reset, a refresh, wanting to increase all the good things and get rid of the bad habits that we have. And so today I'm going to share some non-negotiables for a morning routine that will make your hormones happy this fall and will not leave you pulling your hair out with the amount of time it takes

When we're talking about a morning routine, I think that it's really important to not just make steps of a morning routine just to have them. Although the structure feels really good, especially for those of us who either live more in a masculine energy or have been a little all over the place this summer and are craving some of that structure.

And when we're looking for structure, I think that it's so easy to just pile on a lot of [00:01:00] rules and ideas that sound really good, and think that you're gonna follow through with them, and then find out later down the road that you're not gonna follow through at all because you created something that was unrealistic.

And so when I'm creating a morning routine for myself, to be honest, ... that is what I do typically, and this is what I'm learning in the season of recovery and nervous system regulation, is really to focus on the things that actually matter, and not just a really pretty little bullet-pointed list with check marks of things that I'm going to do.

When I was thinking about my morning routine this fall, and honestly, this is just what I have been implementing, and I've shifted it only slightly for fall, so I'm avoiding that whole rigmarole of making a new routine that is unrealistic this time around. I wanted to prioritize the things that were going to [00:02:00] be the most supportive for my nervous system, the most supportive to decrease stress in my body and my mind, and therefore support safety and hormone balance.

If that sounds familiar, that's because it is familiar. That's what we talk about here all the time. And when your body and your brain are getting these signals of safety, this is where long-term hormone balance comes, and this is where you can make enough progesterone and balance your estrogen, and start to have those stable moods and more energy.

And if this is new to you at all, if this episode has been shared with you, go to the show notes and download my private podcast, PMS to Peace, because I walk you through all of the steps to actually understand that in that podcast.

So let's talk about the non-negotiable steps to a morning routine that's actually going to create safety. Number one is sunlight, morning sunlight every day. Every day [00:03:00] without fail, as much as possible. And this is one that I am actually really good at in the spring, in the summer, and even the fall, and in the winter, I'm a weenie, and I hate it.

So I am going to do my best as it starts to get cold, which I cannot even imagine, to be honest, at this moment, because I'm currently recording this podcast outside. It's 6:30 in the morning, and I'm taking a walk because I'm getting my morning sunlight, and I thought about this, and I was like, "Oh, what if there's background noise?"

And you know what? There's technology for that, for one thing, but also sometimes there's background noise in life. And not practicing what I preach, to stay inside, locked in my little office with a microphone to provide better amounts of background noise for you is not aligned. And what is aligned is actually recording this podcast in real life and getting my sunlight at the same time, because I don't know about you, but there's a busy day ahead for me.

So morning sunlight, [00:04:00] I'm giving you this example mostly to show you that I have to be creative with it. I do not have a life that it's just super easy to do whatever I want all the time and to get my self-care in or... You know, there is a lot of friction. There are different people in my house who have different ideas about what we should be doing at all times.

And so morning sunlight is something that I have created as much as possible as a non-negotiable for all of us. It also has helped us a lot this summer with the heat, that we go out first thing in the morning, and we stay out kind of as long as we can. And I've been trying to eat breakfast outside, if possible, , or do kind of like a smaller snack breakfast and then a little bigger breakfast mid-morning, and that is shifting as we go into schools.

So now that we are moving into our school schedule, I still am prioritizing that morning sunlight, especially now that my kids are going to a hybrid [00:05:00] school two days a week. They are inside for a lot of that time.

So to help balance the amount of time that they're spending inside on those days, we go out first thing in the morning. Okay, so let me tell you why morning sunlight is so important. You can go outside when it's cloudy, you can go outside and not be directly in the sun, but that morning light, the spectrum of light that happens when the sun is first coming up, is created to tell our bodies that it's daytime differently than our inside lights are, much differently than our blue light screens are.

And it tells our body that it's daytime. It tells our body that there is safety in that rhythm and routine and structure that God has created for us. And it absolutely regulates cortisol levels. It can help regulate blood sugar. It can help regulate your hormones, and it's completely free. So I consider that the top non-negotiable in my morning routine, and I go outside without my glasses on or my [00:06:00] contacts because that allows that light actually in my eyes.

And for those of you who are not very good at seeing without your glasses or contacts, same. Literally walking with my glasses in my hand right now and if there was something I needed to see, I would put them on because I can't see without them. Okay. Number two non-negotiable in a morning routine that will help stabilize hormones, mood, and energy is not going to shock you, but it's breakfast.

And breakfast is a conversation I've had so many times here on the podcast because it truly changes your life when you have the right breakfast again and again. So a really solid breakfast is a non-negotiable for my morning routine as well. When I have been in seasons of high, high stress, I do not have a great morning appetite, and that is something that I do not accept as, "Oh, I guess I'm not just a breakfast person now."

I really still try to get [00:07:00] something in. And so you've heard me say this before if you've been here. I love using Equip protein and just making a protein hot chocolate, or they have a cinnamon roll flavor that I super love, , and it's just kind of like a creamy cinnamony morning drink, and I will make that in my countertop frother.

It gives me around 25 grams of protein and, , the amount of carbs that's in milk, which I can't tell you off the top of my head right now. It's not a carb balance necessarily, but a lot of times I'll have a piece of fruit on the side. And that is not my real breakfast, but it sure gives me something to go on until I'm able to have my real breakfast.

And so breakfast that contains a really good balance and a solid amount of real protein and real carbs is a non-negotiable. If you're not so sure how to do this, I have a breakfast podcast, like a mini course, that teaches you exactly how to do that. All you need to do is just email me. We can put the link in the show notes [00:08:00] for you for that breakfast podcast.

You can also email me with the word "breakfast," hello@leishadrews.com, and, , I will chat with you about your breakfast and see if it's something you need to work on. Be happy to do a quick little breakfast audit for you and just help you see if that is even a step you need to work on or if that's something to add to your list that doesn't even need to be fixed.

So breakfast is highly non-negotiable for me as well, and the reason for that is when you are actually eating a solid breakfast first thing in the morning with whole foods, plenty of protein and carbs, and non-negotiable as well, some fruits and veggies for antioxidants and fiber and hydration, you are going to notice that your blood sugar is more stable, your mood and energy are more stable, and you feel better throughout your whole day.

A couple of other steps to my current simple morning routine are that when I go outside, I try to move in whatever way I can. So a lot of times I am in the [00:09:00] backyard with my kids. I love a morning walk like I'm doing now, but I also love to just try to move in my backyard. So I'll do a quick little, I think it's kind of like lymphatic reset movements.

I learned them on Instagram, to be honest. And it's just little moves of, like, jumping, twisting, , doing, , .. i think they're called body waves. , Just, I'll just count a certain number of each one, and it's not a lot, to be honest. It really isn't. But it's something to start to move my blood flow, move my lymphatic flow.

If you're not familiar with lymphatics, the lymphatic system is very important in your body for detoxification, for purification, for immune function, and it doesn't have its own pump like your heart does, and so you have to move to get it flowing. Both your lymph and your fascia, which is connective tissue, will be pretty stiff.

, Or maybe not stiff, but it's not moving a lot as you've been sleeping overnight. And so getting that [00:10:00] moving is something that really benefits you in your day for multiple purposes. , And I like to try to do something for that in the morning. So sometimes I will get on my little vibe plate in my bathroom, , while I'm washing my face and brushing my teeth.

It's a little later in my morning routine. , Sometimes I'll do my little bounce around in the backyard and look really cool for my kids type activity. , Sometimes I just do a little bit of stretching. But I just try to do that in the kind of sunniest spot that I can and really get that sunlight in my eyes.

And then while I'm outside, I'm always, , doing something to speak life over my day. Typically, it's prayer. Typically, I am speaking, like, praying for the day. I am just taking that first little part of my day to connect with God and to also just set some intention in my heart. This is not a checklist or, , a list of things to do typically.

It really is [00:11:00] just praying over my family, praying over my tongue, praying for wisdom in my day, and setting, again, just an intention to speak life and to be aligned with what God's will is for my day. And a lot of times, I feel like it's easy to veer off of that pretty quickly, so this is not me saying I've got it all together.

But I do find that having the intention first thing in the morning really can make a difference, and it's something that I like to be intentional about, even if it's imperfect

And the very last thing that I know makes a huge difference in my morning routine, and this is a really big piece of what I'm working on to heal, essentially, from all of the stress of the last couple of years, is that I am getting really intentional about my sleep and my evening routine especially.

But more than anything, just protecting my [00:12:00] sleep. So this is in the evening and in the morning, and it really does look a little bit different each day. I would love to say that I'm excellent at going to bed at the exact same time and getting up at the exact same time in the morning, and that's something that I'm working on.

But what I am doing is really protecting my sleep on either side, whichever way I can for the day. And this affects my morning routine because it allows me to get up with enough time to do what I need to do to take care of myself just a little bit before I go into taking care of everyone else for the day.

But it also makes a huge difference in the things that I've talked about over and over, which is energy and mood and stability throughout the day, and safety for your hormones. Because if you are not sleeping, your hormones will not be happy. They just really can't, because they need that time to replenish, to detoxify during the night.

When you're not sleeping, that's a huge signal that your hormones are not going to [00:13:00] be getting a safety signal So the very most practical way that I am prioritizing sleep is just really looking at going to bed earlier is the obvious, right? , And the times that I need to prioritize something else in the evening or essentially, , it just kind of gets away from me with whatever we have going on and getting the kids to bed and getting the house in order, all those things, then I'm really looking at what I'm doing the next morning and counting the cost essentially.

So I do love to go to a 6:00 AM workout class, and a lot of times, to be honest, I am not rested and fueled well enough to do it, and so I skip it, and I do something else at home or walk or, , just make a change there. And so there are sacrifices that I am making that don't look, like the ideal.

Of course, the ideal would be go to bed early enough, and then you have time to get up and eat the things and be ready to work out. [00:14:00] And that is great when I can and when I'm able to, and sometimes I just have to shift my priorities even though I would love to, still do those things. But I found when I push too hard and deplete myself too far, then I can't show up as well as a mom and a wife and everything that I want to be, and that's more important.

Even case in point this morning, yesterday was a really busy day, and there was a lot going on. And so by the time I got to bed, it wasn't going to be ideal to get up that early to go work out, and that's okay. So prioritizing sleep doesn't have to just look like the obvious, like going to bed earlier and screens off at night, which that is still an, a really big goal of mine, and I work on it all the time.

When those things don't work out, making up for it is really important. So giving yourself that extra 30 minutes in the morning maybe, [00:15:00] and still prioritizing the things that matter to you is, I think, something that as we go into a busy season for most of us, it really is important to be flexible and to have some small goals that you can accomplish without overrunning yourself, without making things more overwhelming or draining yourself further.

And I think that's the point of this whole episode is it does not have to look perfect. For me, the structure doesn't look exactly the same every single day. But when I know what my non-negotiables are, I have seen actual change in my nervous system, in my hormones over the last couple months as I've just gotten less fancy and less perfect with the things that I'm doing, but gotten really clear on what actually moves the needle for me.

And so I've gone from feeling really anxious and really stressed a lot of the time and feeling exhausted more than I used to, to feeling [00:16:00] back to myself for the most part. And for the most part is the key word there. But being able to prioritize a little bit of space for myself in the morning really, really makes a difference.

And I am going to record an episode soon on my full list of non-negotiables for balancing hormones in your nervous system in a stressful season, but this is a start. I hope it's encouraging to you And I would love to hear from you what you are realizing or can implement in your own morning routine.

When I'm giving you such, I just hope that you see, , this is such an imperfect example, and yet I'm seeing changes from it. And really, I think the biggest thing that I see holding my clients back and holding other women back when we are wanting to heal is this, , paralyzing overwhelm of trying to do it all right and not knowing where to start because we just have way too much on our plates [00:17:00] in general.

But also, when we think about health or hormone balance, , we've just been shown online that it has to be so specific and so perfect. And the truth is that paralyzing overwhelm and fear and feeling like you have to control it all to heal only makes things worse. So imperfect, specific, clear action steps are the key, and that is what I wanted to give you today.

So share this episode with a friend or your sister, and make sure that if you haven't left me a rating or review on the podcast and it has ever helped you, it would make a really big difference for me and for this podcast if you just leave a star review or a written review, and I'll see you girls next week