The Real Reason You're Still Googling How to Support Your Fertility | Ep. 132

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I'm Bridget Walton, a Women's Hormone Coach helping ambitious women ages 25-40 naturally restore hormone balance, fix irregular periods, feel confident in their fertility, and resolve gut health issues without restrictive dieting.

If you struggle with missing periods, PCOS symptoms, bloating, or unpredictable cycles, this women's health podcast will teach you how to support your hormones through strategic nutrition and lifestyle changes that actually fit your busy life.

On I'm Hormonal, you'll discover natural solutions for period problems, learn how gut health impacts your hormones, and get practical hormone balance tips from a functional nutrition perspective - no more guessing what your body needs.

This episode reveals why you're still googling fertility support at midnight instead of getting answers from healthcare providers. Learn why our medical system focuses on treating problems after they happen rather than optimizing wellness, plus the 3 foundational areas every woman should address first: stress management, digestive health, and gut microbiome balance.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Why You're Still Googling Fertility Support
• 4:14 Medical System's Limitations for Hormone Health
• 6:10 Three Key Foundations for Hormone Balance
• 11:59 Addressing Root Causes, Not Just Symptoms
• 14:27 Special Training Invitation and Anniversary Offer

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

The reason that you're still googling fertility support at midnight isn't because you're anxious or overthinking. It's because our healthcare system in the United States isn't designed to help you optimize for pregnancy. It's designed, for the most part, to treat problems after they happen. We're going to talk about this today and how we can reframe this in a way that better supports you and your growth. Welcome to I'm Hormonal, your source of information about women's hormone health and how to support your body. Naturally, I'm your host, bridget Walton, and I'm a certified functional hormone specialist and menstrual cycle coach. I am on a mission to hold these hormone conversations with as many menstruators as possible, because you deserve easier access to accurate information about what's up with your unruly menstrual cycle and with your fertility mysteries. Don't you think it's time that we figure this out once and for all?

Speaker 1: 1:02

Hi and welcome to episode number 132 of I'm Hormonal. I'm your host, bridget Walton. I'm so happy that you're joining me today and if you're joining me perhaps because you saw this podcast title, you're like oh shit, that feels a little bit close to home, like I feel like I've been trying to figure out for many, many moons now what's going on with my fertility. Well, I wanted to record this episode for you, because this is an all too common thought, but it's not necessarily one that serves you, or at least it's not one that serves most of the clients that I work with. I want to have this conversation to help you reframe this in a way that puts you subconsciously in a position where you are ready to make things happen. You're ready to see and accept the change that you want to see. And the first place that we need to start inspecting is why are you still again Googling how to support your fertility after all? This time it's not something that is your fault. It's not something that is wrong with you. It's more about the system as a whole. Also, a little sneak peek, this is a topic I'm going to be talking about in an upcoming exclusive training. It's going to be hosted later this month. You can find the link in the show notes to register for the training. It's absolutely free and doors are opening for registration on Saturday, the 13th. So we are almost there and I would love to see you there for the live virtual training. I will talk more at the end of this episode about the special offer that I have for those of you listeners of the podcast if you are able to join live, so stick around for that.

Speaker 1: 2:48

In the meantime, let's run through kind of these three ideas that I wanted to cover with you today, first being one of the reasons why you are still on this quest to figure out what's going on is because when you go to the doctor actually let me even take a step back For me, for many of for you perhaps, growing up in the United States when something's wrong, we say sick, I'm going to make a doctor's appointment because that's what I need to do. That's the first step. So we do that. We get to the doctor. We say okay, I'm like we are partners in this. I need your support on this. Let's figure out what's going on.

Speaker 1: 3:31

We put that trust in them automatically, but oftentimes the medical system isn't really able to partner with us in the way that we need to figure out the root cause of what's happening. It's more of a corrective. How do we identify disease and correct that? If we can't name what's wrong, then oh, okay, nothing's wrong. Labs look fine. Okay, nothing's wrong.

Speaker 1: 4:09

It's just not a system that is well set up to suit your whole body, your whole picture of your entire health. Of course, I always love to give the disclaimer that medical professionals are amazing and, many times, selfless human beings and they absolutely have the best interest of the patient in front of them in mind. This is nothing against any particular physician, right? This is more a reflection of this system as a whole, and especially especially when it comes to issues related to gut health and, many times, women's hormone health, where that system just isn't set up to support you. So that is one of the main factors that's contributing to you being stagnant, unfortunately.

Speaker 1: 4:54

The second part of this equation is that when you are wanting to prepare your body for fertility, or if you're somebody who has irregular cycles or really heavy periods or no cycles at all, well, that path to bringing back balance can look very different for everyone, and that makes it really confusing and conflicting, because we see on social media, or we see in different books, or we see in different blogs or on podcasts, right? Even something that I suggest on my podcast, which can be accurate and be very helpful for 50% of you just might not be. You know, it's impossible to send out a one-to-many message and have it be what's right in that moment for every single person. You see what I mean, right, we've got to collect as much information as we can and then digest that and make a decision about what is best for us. Unfortunately, that process can take a little bit of time. That being said, I do want to mention kind of three starting points that well, that I think are foundational starting points. These are things that I work on with all of my clients to bring them back to balance. So, regardless of what's going on in your life, what your specific situation is because I might not know you and what's going on in your body, I probably don't Regardless of all of that, the first area that I would love for you to inspect is stress and stress management.

Speaker 1: 6:34

For every single person, stress, when elevated, is going to be impacting how your body is responding to shifts in blood sugar, as well as how it's going to be producing your sex hormones, of course, needed to have a regular and optimal menstrual cycle. So if you've listened to the podcast before, you've heard me say that, but I'm saying it again because it is so important. We have really normalized being stressed all the time, at least again here in this American culture, and I know that a lot of you listening like if you're like most of my clients right. You're working in a fast paced corporate environment. You know we feel responsible to ourselves for things, but also to other things to get stuff done, and I love that. For you and I'm the same way right, it's okay to a degree, but when the scales are tipping, addressing stress and figuring out how you can mitigate that from your lives, that's going to be a solid first step. Hopefully, I didn't go too long on that topic.

Speaker 1: 7:45

The next area that I want you to consider, that I want you to focus on, is this conversation about digestion and how well are you digesting your food. Of course, you already know that if you aren't getting the appropriate nutrients from your food, that can be a problem, right? Because our body needs all of these vitamins and minerals, et cetera, in order to function. No surprise there. A couple of ways that you can tell how your digestion is functioning at a high level is one are you having daily bowel movements? Two, are you seeing any undigested food in your stool? And three, just considering after I eat bread or after I eat a certain food, am I having urgency and needing to run to the bathroom? Those are three staples that can help you get clued into the fact that, okay, there's something a little bit off here. Let's focus on digestion, which is foundation of, like every other aspect of our health, certainly influential on your hormone health and fertility. So that's the second area I've got for you to consider.

Speaker 1: 9:00

The third one isn't far off from digestion, but taking a beat to think about and inspect or do some discovery about potential dysbiosis in your digestion, in your digestive system. So what I mean by that is, if you're somebody who has a lot of bloating, if you have stomach aches or pains, if you have heartburn, if you have a lot of belching, if you have a lot of gas those are kind of cornerstone features, let's say that could indicate there's some dysbiosis, some imbalance in your gut microbiome. Having a balanced gut microbiome is really quite important for, again, your overall health, also very impactful upon your hormone health. I want to mention one other kind of facet of this conversation about dysbiosis which is related to inflammation, because that is also something that can come along with an imbalanced gut microbiome is inflammation and that is not going to be doing any solids for your hormone health and your hormone balance either. So stress, fully digesting your food and addressing any potential not potential, but addressing dysbiosis in your digestive system. Those are three starting points that I want you to keep in mind and figure out. Right, how are you going to inspect those and take that to the next level?

Speaker 1: 10:39

Okay, the third thing here and actually, now that I'm reading my own notes back, I kind of blurred this into my first recommendation, or the first reason why you're still googling what's going on with your fertility is because, again, just coming back to the fact that the United States' medical system is really treating symptoms and not treating the root cause. So I will just touch on this slightly, since I kind of spoiled this at the first part of the episode. But this is all to say that if you want to actually address an imbalance with your hormones right, I'm going to assume why you're listening to the podcast today If you want to address that imbalance, you have to understand what is the root cause of that imbalance. If you are just taking a look at the symptoms, if you're taking a look at the surface level, what's happening, then you're just going to be putting band-aids on the issue. You're not going to be addressing it in a way that is sustainable and long-lasting. So you don't have to worry about this in the future, because I don't want you to have to worry about this, you know, way into the future. I want you to address it once way into the future. I want you to address it once, figure it out, and then you'll be confident about how you need to maintain that change that you've seen.

Speaker 1: 11:59

So, all of this being said, this episode is really one that I guess I wanted to put together too in order to like validate your experience, and I'll share with you a little bit about me, not specifically with regards to fertility, but I had years and years and years of itchy vagina. Oh my gosh, so good to talk about to so many people. Never thought I'd be doing that, but here we are, and so, regardless, this is something that I took to every single OBGYN that I went to, that every single doctor, and I just didn't ever, unfortunately, find myself in a position where I was with a provider who was able to take a look at what is the root cause of what's going on. They would say, oh well, labs look normal. Well, yeah, no STIs. I guess everything's normal and I'm like something is not normal, right? So all of that to say I feel you, I've been there, it's not that your body is broken, it's not that you need a little bit more discipline. You might feel like you've tried everything, and I just want to encourage you because this is something that I work with all of my clients on, and seeing them and their excitement when they're like Bridget this is more progress than I've ever seen with any doctor that I've been to. That was what I had feedback from, or that was the feedback that I got from a client who I'm working with now.

Speaker 1: 13:37

She also has been dealing with itchy vaginas Well, just one vagina, I don't know why I said vaginas. She had chronic constipation for like months and months and months got no relief. But once we started addressing the foundations of her health, started taking a look at how do we support your digestion this is why it's a staple that I mentioned earlier she was able to, within the first four weeks, see huge changes. This isn't all about. You know.

Speaker 1: 14:10

This episode isn't meant to be like let me talk through testimonials or something, but I just wanted to share that because if you're somebody who feels like, oh my gosh, I've tried it all, then you're not alone and I just want you to know that. If this topic today resonated with you. I want to extend a special invitation to you to join me for this exclusive training that I mentioned at the start of the episode. Go ahead to the link in the show notes where you can either get on the wait list or, if the doors are open, you can go ahead and register for the training. This is a training where we will talk more about the medical system and why it's not working for you and what you need to focus on instead. So you're going to get a lot from that.

Speaker 1: 14:53

But I have a special offer for you as a listener of the podcast, because if you are one of the first 20 people to either join the waitlist or register for the event and you join me live, then I'm going to send you personalized feedback. First, I'm going to send you a questionnaire, the same exact questionnaire and tool that I use with all of my one-on-one clients. I'm going to send that to you so I can get a bunch of information about you, what you're experiencing, and then I'm going to provide you that personalized feedback Because, like I said earlier in the episode, one to many platforms like this one, it's only you know you're going to learn stuff that's helpful, but the only way that I can get you some support that is tailored to you is if I get information from you first, so that's why I wanted to extend it here. This month is the two-year anniversary of the podcast and I am just so appreciative for all of you who have been listening, who have shared with your friends or your sister or your worst enemy, whoever it is, who you've brought into the I Am Hormonal community. So my way of saying thank you is by extending this opportunity to get that personalized feedback from me, and all you have to do is be one of the first 20 people to get on the wait list to join the registration list, whichever one is open, and just join live, and then you will be good to go.

Speaker 1: 16:23

Okay, gang, that is it from me today. If you have any thoughts, if you have any feedback, if you have any questions, would love to connect with you on Instagram. You can find me at. I'm underscore hormonal. If you loved today's episode and got something good out of it, make sure you subscribe so that these episodes show up automatically in your feed. No work needed on your side. Let's put it on autopilot. As always, I need to give you my reminder that the information I share with you here is for educational purposes only, and it should not be used as a replacement for medical advice or diagnosis. Now, if you are, on the other hand, in the market for some one-on-one support, then I would love for you to take me up on my offer for a free strategy call. You can find these links and more in the show notes. All right, we'll see you on the next one.