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The Motherhood Mentor
Welcome to The Motherhood Mentor Podcast your go-to resource for moms seeking holistic healing and transformation. Hosted by mind-body somatic healing practitioner and holistic life coach Becca Dollard.
Join us as we explore the transformative power of somatic healing, offering practical tools and strategies to help you navigate overwhelm, burnout, and stress. Through insightful conversations, empowering stories, and expert guidance, you'll discover how to cultivate resilience, reclaim balance, and thrive in every aspect of your life while still feeling permission to be a human. Are you a woman who is building a business while raising babies who refuses to burnout? These are conversations and support for you.
We believe in the power of vulnerability, connection, and self-discovery, and our goal is to create a space where you feel seen, heard, and valued.
Whether you're juggling career, family, or personal growth, this podcast is your sanctuary for holistic healing and growth all while normalizing the ups and downs, the messy and the magic, and the wild ride of this season of motherhood.
Your host:
Becca is a mom of two, married for 14years to her husband Jay living in Colorado. She is a certified somatic healing practitioner and holistic life coach to high functioning moms. She works with women who are navigating raising babies, building businesses, and prioritizing their own wellbeing and healing. She understands the unique challenges of navigating being fully present in motherhood while also wanting to be wildly creative and ambitious in her work. The Motherhood Mentor serves and supports moms through 1:1 coaching, in person community, and weekend retreats.
Follow on IG: @themotherhoodmentor , send me a dm and let me know you found me through the podcast!
Website: https://www.the-motherhood-mentor.com/
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The Motherhood Mentor
Unlocking Hormonal Mysteries: The Secrets Every Mom Needs to Know with Stefanie Adler
Are you getting a little confused and overwhelmed with all the hormone content online? Me to. Which is why I am so excited for our guest today, Stefanie Adler who is a women's health and hormone expert. I am someone who deeply cares about my physical health and wellbeing and yet this conversation was such a wealth of information.
So whether you are an expert or newbie to this conversation, I know you will learn a lot from Stefanie. Stefanie shares her insights as a certified nutrition consultant, revealing how understanding your unique hormonal cycle can lead to improved emotional wellbeing and vitality.
We discuss hidden health blocks that may be impacting you, including vital nutrient deficiencies and how that interplays with gut health. Listen as we break down the phases of your menstrual cycle, providing practical insights on how to align your physical needs with your hormonal changes. How do we prioritize health without getting obsessed? Is there such a thing as an unhealthy pressure to be perfect when it comes to feeding our kids and ourselves- or is there permission to have high values and standards?
Together, we’ll explore how nourishing yourself isn’t a luxury, but a necessity. We aim to inspire mothers everywhere to prioritize their health as a crucial part of nurturing their families.
This episode is a must-listen for any mom looking to elevate her health and wellbeing. Let’s reclaim our health journeys together! If you enjoy the episode, please share it with others and leave us a review to help spread the word!
About Stefanie:
Stefanie is certified Nutrition Consultant, Birth Doula, and Hormone and Fertility expert.
FInd Stefanie:
Chapter Markers:
0:00 Welcome to the Motherhood Mentor Podcast
3:00 Meet Becca and Today's Guest, Stefanie Adler
10:00 The Importance of Moms' Health and Self
18:00 Understanding Hormonal Health and Stress
30:00 Hidden Health Blocks and Their Impact
45:00 The Role of Nutrition in Hormonal Balance
56:00 Cycle Awareness: Understanding Your Phases
1:15:00 The Essential Minerals for Moms
1:30:00 Closing Thoughts: Listening to Your Body
Join us next time as we continue to explore the multifaceted journey of motherhood.
Thank you for tuning in to The Motherhood Mentor. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review us.
Stay connected with us on social media and share your thoughts and experiences tagging @themotherhoodmentor
Welcome to the Motherhood Mentor Podcast. I'm Becca, a somatic healing practitioner and a holistic life coach for moms, and this podcast is for you. You can expect honest conversations and incredible guests that speak to health, healing and growth in every area of our lives. This isn't just strategy for what we do. It's support for who we are. I believe we can be wildly ambitious while still holding all of our soft and hard humanity as holy. I love combining deep inner healing with strategic systems and no-nonsense talk about what this season is really like. So grab whatever weird health beverage you're currently into and let's get into it.
Speaker 1:Welcome to today's episode of the Motherhood Mentor Podcast. I have a really awesome guest with me, stephanie Adler. We are going to talk all about hormones, health, stress, just talking about cycles and how they impact us, especially as busy mothers who are doing a lot, who you know all of my audience, all of me, all of my clients. We are so devoted to our health and wellness, but I think a lot of times it gets put on the back burner more than we're acknowledging, like we think we're doing the right things but it's not really working. That's a very common like I think we're doing the right things. Are we what I was doing? Is it working? So I'm so excited to have you on. Will you introduce yourself?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'd be happy to Thank you so much for having me, rebecca, and I love what you were saying about like we feel like we're doing the right things but it's not working, and I definitely want to make sure that we're talking about why that is today, because that is a super common thing that I see happening to women and it's really frustrating. So a little bit about me. My name is Stephanie Adler, I'm a certified nutrition consultant and functional diagnostic nutritionist and I help moms optimize their health through data-driven root cause solutions. So, like, what does that actually mean? How do I make that a little bit easier for you? I help women figure out what are their hidden health blocks that are preventing them from reaching their full potential, feeling the way they want to feel and show up in the world, in their relationships, and support their bodies and healing so that they can really enjoy their life. We only get to do this once Like we want. I want us everyone to feel good doing it.
Speaker 2:Um, and how I got into this work is my own path. Started with my own health challenges as a kid, actually, and I struggled with digestive discomfort as a kid for many, many years, was in and out of a doctor's office who eventually I actually found out from and you might find this interesting in the work that you do but, like, I found out from my mom as an adult that the doctor thought I was making it up and doing it for attention and like said that to my mother. My mother's like what am I supposed to do with this information? My daughter says she has stomach aches and I'm picking her up from school because she's in the bathroom like all the time Anyway. So I had to take my healing in my own hands at a very young age, 12 or 13. I changed my diet, even though my doctor said it wouldn't make a difference for me, and it completely changed my life. Symptoms I'd been having for 13 years went away in three months and so I just really became so infatuated with food as medicine and understanding how food can be a catalyst for disease. And it kind of translated as I got older.
Speaker 2:I went to school for conflict resolution, like something completely different. I got a degree in political science and my mom was like you should become a nutritionist and I was like shut up, mom, you know nothing about me. And then, of course, I went back to school because mom is always right nutritionist and I was like, shut up, mom, you know nothing about me. And then, of course, I went back to school because mom is always right, uh, became a nutritionist and just really wanted to focus on the female body and everything from preconception through first foods, because the gift, the biggest gift we can give ourselves and our children is the gift of generational wellness and I, you know, having struggled as a child, that was so important to me. So I just love doing what I do and getting to help people feel really good in this world. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:You said so many. I love when you were saying like food and just this, like you said that generational wellness, because I think for so many women they at least for me I didn't really think a ton about health until I was pregnant.
Speaker 1:And I think I think that's when I started thinking about nutrition and then after after baby was there, you know, thankfully I had midwives who were like all about like what are you eating and how is it feeling and are we getting the right amount of nutrients? And like I was so grateful for that Because I think otherwise I would have had a very different motherhood If I wouldn't have been paying attention to food. That was like one of the most basic building blocks that I had early on. I'm curious for women who are like I'm doing all of the right things.
Speaker 1:I think there's so much confusing information about nutrition and especially hormones. I feel like hormones are one of those things where it's like every other content piece is about some other hormone. It's like cortisol is being talked about constantly right now. I'm curious for you and your clients what does hormone health look like and what are some of the signs that you have really optimal wellness? The word you used was like your full potential, which I love, cause it's like, especially the women I work with we already have baseline, we we've got the like basic needs accomplished, but now we're going okay. Now I want like really I want to like optimize this. I want to see how good I can really feel. So what are some of those things hormonally that we don't really know about?
Speaker 2:Totally, and I love how you said how good I can really feel, because the game that I'm always asking my clients to play in myself even it's show me how good it can get Right. And I want to just really hold space for people who are like, but I'm working out and I'm doing the thing that Cosmo says I should do in terms of like intermittent fasting and this or whatever it is Right. And you know, they actually, until very, very, very recently, excluded menstruating women, so women of menstruating childbearing age, from nutrition studies, from medicine studies, like truly from like, if they testing medications, from everything from like mental health, all the way to like sleep studies, because our hormones interfered with the efficacy of the trial. So, like, it makes sense if you feel like you are doing all of the things and it is not working because most of the quote, unquote science or data that you are being fed information, therefore making decisions about in terms of how to exercise, how to eat, et cetera, how much sleep you need we're not studied on women who have bodies like yours, right, like in menstruating bodies. So, yes, it makes sense if you were doing all the things that I want to just like.
Speaker 2:Really hold space for that, because it's very frustrating and also there, I think, are a lot of people don't realize that hormone issues. And so this is where we'll circle back to your, like, very direct question that I totally went off on a tangent about, that hormone issues are never the root cause of what's going on. They're always a symptom of something deeper. And so a lot of times when people are, you know, in this information overload and they're like, oh okay, so like maybe I've figured out, I think I have low progesterone or I have, you know, estrogen dominance or I have too much cortisol, whatever it is, and they try and deal with that problem. Maybe it gets a little bit better. But then another symptom pops up somewhere else or it doesn't really get resolve itself and that's because it's not actually the prop, the root of the problem. It's just a symptom of the problem, whereas a lot of times, like those hidden blocks to health, are rooted deeper in our body. So that could be like in the gut. I always say pooping problems become period problems. So if you're dealing with anything in the gut, it's going to lead to hormone issues, mineral imbalances or something that I so commonly see that will manifest as hormone issues, but really it's at the baseline, like your body just doesn't have enough minerals. And I see this really commonly with moms, because there's such a massive mineral transfer during pregnancies than if you choose to breastfeed. And we say, generally speaking, it takes about two years to rebuild those reserves with intentionality. And most women are not waiting two years between pregnancies and are not being as intentional as they could be about replenishing. So we'll see a lot of those issues come up.
Speaker 2:And so what are some of these? Like hormone imbalances. You know it really varies person to person. Yes, like a lot of people are either running on way too much or way too little cortisol because they have depleted their reserves over time. And so that wired and tired feeling, like if you get laid down at night and you're like, okay, like I'm exhausted but I also can't sleep, that's usually like a sign of too much cortisol in the body, like you're just like running on, you know, like adrenaline all the time. If you experience a lot of anxiety, if you kind of feel like you're just like very type A a lot of people don't realize that like type A is just nervous system dysregulation, so that can be like a sign of too much cortisol we're outside of the spectrum is where we have like adrenal fatigue is what it's sometimes called, but it's really just HPA access dysregulation where your body is not able to keep up with your cortisol needs. Right, cortisol is supposed to help us create energy and so, you know, for moms, I feel like this one is hard because it's like yeah, but I'm like tired because I'm not sleeping. You know very much, but even still, it's really that like if you feel like you need caffeine or a sugar, you know, boost to get through the second half of the day, or if you just feel like you're not able to be really present or you're maybe more irritable than you want to be. I see this a lot with low cortisol, where it's just like you're like quick to snap because you're just like so running on low reserves that your body like doesn't have the patience and capacity to be the person you want to be in the world. So that's where we like start to see some of those cortisol pieces come into play.
Speaker 2:We're on the more reproductive hormone sides. I mean there's a big spectrum of you know ways that this manifests for people. I feel like the most common one that I see is low progesterone and low progesterone. Progesterone is that progestation hormone and you know she I like to call her grandma progesterone. When she comes to town we like feel calm and she like bakes cookies and like, do you want to stay home with me? Like, if you go out, please don't stay out too late. Like she's like that nasty, like grandmotherly energy, whereas estrogen is like that fun flirty. You know I call her like your fun aunt estrogen. You know she comes to town and is like do you have a fake ID? Let's go dancing, you know. And so she's like that. They balance each other.
Speaker 2:But on, when you have too much estrogen, it's the.
Speaker 2:It's like the.
Speaker 2:It's the same thing as having not enough progesterone, and so we'll kind of see these go together.
Speaker 2:It's like the same different side of the same coin. And then your fun ant estrogen can very quickly become like crazy ant estrogen if she's had too much to drink, and that's like a really good analogy, because alcohol really increases our estrogen. So then we're able to actually see how that correlates. And then she becomes like you got to put her in a cab and send her home from Thanksgiving dinner, you know, it's like it's just too much, whereas on the other side of the spectrum, if we have low progesterone, we're going to feel anxious and we're going to feel like ungrounded. And you know, some signs of that imbalance can be like spotting before your period, really like hormonal PMS, really tender breasts, maybe struggling to lose weight around the middle, specifically acne before your bleed. There's a few other signs of it, but those are kind of like the two camps of hormone imbalances that I often see. But again, it's important to remember that most of that is not a root cause. It's the symptom of whatever is actually out of balance in your body.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I'm curious you haven't mentioned testosterone, and I feel like that's the one you hear women talking about. Well, maybe six, seven months ago you heard so much about women having low testosterone and wanting to supplement it. Where does testosterone come into play? Yeah, so testosterone.
Speaker 2:I actually think that the low testosterone piece is a little over exaggerated, if anything. I mean the more that we have a stronger number or a larger number of women who are experiencing PCOS than ever today, and that's actually where a woman has too much testosterone, and so I actually see that more frequently than I see low testosterone. The reason I didn't mention it too much is because I think again, it's kind of like a symptom of all of these other things, but some of those like low or high testosterone symptoms usually go along with also like if you have too much testosterone, then you're probably and you have PCOS and you're probably not ovulating and you're probably not. You don't have enough progesterone, and so you're also feeling the the longer term effects of like never having enough progesterone, and so you're also feeling the the longer term effects of like never having enough progesterone. Um, so it's almost like a second tier of it. But yes, I mean low testosterone. I see it translate to like low sex drive, a lot low libido and low desire when it comes to, uh, like how that's manifesting in your body, struggle to like feel more toned, but I also think that some of those can be like not having enough desire can also be low estrogen.
Speaker 2:So the cool thing about I feel like the way that I practice that's different is I really aim to blend ancestral wisdom and modern science, and so when we utilize functional lab tests, they're so validating and they're so interesting.
Speaker 2:You know, you have a woman who's like I've been talking to my doctor for two years and explaining these symptoms and they tell me nothing. You know just to I'm anxious and to go home and then I can show them very clear lab work and say, hey, your hormones are out of whack. Right, like, we can do that. And I think sometimes we get like so wrapped up in, like what the numbers are, if it's low testosterone or high estrogen, that we miss the point, which is your body's talking to us and it's just our job to listen. And we can, without actually knowing exactly what your hormone imbalance is, put your body back on the track to healing itself without you actually needing to know that. So we can do the test and find out and you don't have to have you know the spend all the, all of the resources gathering all the information, because it's only as helpful as so far as you can implement. You know the, the strategies and you don't always necessarily need to know what your hormone imbalance is to fix it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so if hormones are the symptoms, what are those like hidden blocks that are deeper than that? Like you mentioned, digestion, what else is usually like creating that off balance?
Speaker 2:of the hormone. So digestion, or not just digestion, but gut health in general, cause a lot of times and I'll just say this because I feel like I see this all the time when people are like I don't have any gut issues. You know I poop every day, never have any stomach aches, never have any bloating, and then we'll. This is one of the ways that labs can be really helpful. We'll run some labs and we're like girl, you have some like major dysbiosis and it's manifesting as immune issues or it's manifesting as neurological symptoms, and then you know we heal their gut and they're like oh my God, I don't have any brain fog anymore and I don't have any anxiety, right, so it doesn't always actually mean like you have problems in the bathroom, but gut issues I mean Hippocrates said this so many, so many years ago all disease begins in the gut, and so there are a lot of things that can quote unquote like go wrong in our gut. I mean it is an ecosystem and with the overuse like disgusting overuse of antibiotics in our modern society we are seeing so much gut imbalance with, I mean like we're inheriting it from our parents, like it really is wild, like it's not just how many rounds of antibiotics you've had. It's how many rounds of antibiotics you've had. It's how many your parents had before they had you were born, and the same thing with when you're passing it on to your children, because every generation is getting a more weakened, less diverse microbiome where overgrowth and opportunistic bacteria and yeast have an opportunity to thrive because of the imbalance. So that is like a big part of it, for sure. It's just like that are the microbiome in our gut, which is like three pounds of gut bacteria. At the low end it could be up to six. So think about like a three pound weight or a six pound weight and think about all of that are living bacteria that we're living in heart, are supposed to be living in harmony with in our gut.
Speaker 2:And when we eat food that has pesticides on it, that's like an antibiotic. What are pesticides or what are they aimed to do? Kill microorganisms, right? It's like we're basically getting doses of antibiotics every time you go out to dinner and they're serving you non-organic food. So, like we have medication, we have pesticides, we have all these things that are interfering with our gut, and then we also have our modern lifestyles, which are very stressful, and stress really can interfere with the lining of the gut, and so some people here might've heard of leaky gut.
Speaker 2:What does that mean? It's when the intestinal barrier of the gut becomes compromised and so those epithelial cells don't have these really tight junctions, and so things like food can get through and cause immune reaction. So it's not like bananas are bad, right, but when bananas get through the lining of the gut whole and not digested, then your body can have like an immune response to them. And so then, when people will start to see food sensitivities and things like that but it can also again all of these things can manifest as inflammation, which then translate to hormone imbalances, because the body will always be trying to write itself and to come back to balance and tell us about it. So that's a big I'm finding myself.
Speaker 1:I'm sitting here, so I'm someone who there was a time where I was.
Speaker 1:I would have told you that I was very intentional with what I was eating and what my daughter was eating.
Speaker 1:But, like I was, I was so stressed about like all the pesticides and non organic and the dairy and the gluten and like it created this hyper fixation and not like in a healthy way, like it was actually, like it took so much energy and emotional energy and like time and honestly like money to like. And I'm just curious, whenever we I get into conversations with people about health, I have this like really hard place in me where it's like I want to do my best and so when I hear things like this, it's like, oh my gosh, I want to do that. And then it's like what feels realistic. So I'm curious to like if any of your clients are you like what your approach is with? Like, especially with organic, non organic pesticides, like ingredients and stuff like how do you help people find this doing your best? And what feels like applicable or like what's your stance on that Like? Maybe you're like do better, I don't know. I'm curious what your approach would be.
Speaker 2:You know, I think it's a really good point and everyone is going to have you know their own circumstances was which influenced the way that they come at this. Here's a little bit of my take and the way that I use that to inform the way I live my life and help guide my clients. And, all to say, like you know, a lot of people come and work with me and they're eating fast food and they're like totally not in this world and we're able to really slowly, over time, make those shifts so that at the end of six months they're able to look back and be like, oh my God, that's like a total 180, but it didn't feel so crazy to get here, and I do think that stress is something that we should be minimizing during this process and so, absolutely like, everyone will need to take it at their own pace. But here's what I think, especially when it comes in. I thought it was really interesting how you said, you know, I didn't really think about this until I had kids, and that's like a pretty common thing, because it is our most primal instinct to want to protect our children. Right, and unfortunately, in the world that we live in now, you have to be a pretty conscious consumer to protect your children, consumer to protect your children. When we look at indigenous cultures around the world, what we saw there's not that many left with them. But when they were doing this research in the early 1900s, what they found is that every indigenous culture had sacred foods for preconception, pregnancy, postpartum and children, and they went to great effort and great length to secure them. And I think about that all the time.
Speaker 2:When you ask people who are in their 80s or 90s what was the best time of your life, almost always they'll say when I had young children.
Speaker 2:Now, anyone listening to this will know that having young children is a lot of work and it's really hard, but it's really rewarding, and I don't think that that is a coincidence that the thing that is most challenging is also the thing that is most, therefore, fulfilling and rewarding.
Speaker 2:And so when people are always thinking, I think in this world that we live in now, we're so focused on convenience and it's like at what cost? Right? And so when we think about what is realistic, what is the simple thing to do, sometimes I think we need to reframe the question Like what is going to great effort and great length mean to me in my modern life to secure these tools that are going to gift myself and my children that gift of generational health right. And when we reframe it a little bit, I think it allows us to come to it from a place of deep abundance of like I get to do this, like I get to drive 20 minutes or 30 minutes to the farm and pick up my veggies and pick up my meat and my eggs and know that I'm getting it from like a really good source and I feel really good about that. Like how lucky am I to get to do that? As opposed to like oh my God, this is just like another hard thing that I have to do so.
Speaker 1:I love that because it takes it from being this like pressure thing of like I'm doing a bad job, and I think I mean don't get me started on mom guilt I just did a podcast earlier this morning where we talked all about it, but it's just like I think women are so afraid of acknowledging that, like when I notice I'm doing something that's not in alignment with what I value, there's this deep feeling of I feel bad versus this. I have an opportunity now that I've witnessed the contrast, now I have this opportunity and this permission, so I think of it. All of the time of perfectionism is really just, instead of this constant, I have to be better. It's this I can be, I have permission, I have this room versus this pressure that is so exhausting. Like when I think of that pressure like it was burning me out and I like it wasn't just food, it was other things too, but it was just this, I have to do this versus the internal. I have to do this and it's going to be worth the effort, and I think you're so right.
Speaker 1:Our culture is so focused on faster and easier and more convenient, and I think the costs are so much greater than we even know, and it's, and it's honestly it's it's only getting worse, unfortunately, it seems like, and so at this point I think it's only getting worse, unfortunately it seems like. And so at this point I think it's countercultural, and I think sometimes health is seen as this, like why would you even try? Or like what's the point? Or like you're being crazy, like you're looked at as this crazy person. So I really love your perspective and your take on that, not just for our kids, but for ourselves as women, for ourselves as mothers.
Speaker 1:Because I'm curious, I think, you know, early in motherhood I was so focused on the health of the baby and then, all of a sudden, like she became this toddler and I, all of a sudden I realized like, oh, her health is going to be dependent on my health. Like, oh, I'm trying to teach her emotional regulation. I can't regulate my emotions, like she's having tantrums, but like so am I, I'm going to have to up. I'm going to have to up the thing because, you know, while I'm telling her, here's these nourishing, beautiful, wonderful foods, I'm over here not eating them. Like that doesn't make any sense, that's not going to work. So I'm curious how you approach that when it comes to mothers, like what you see in them taking care of themselves versus their kids.
Speaker 2:I mean, before I became a mom, I had this like blog post that I just I never finished because I kept going back to all the time from all the women that I was working with and seeing what was going on, and I felt like I couldn't finish it until I became a mom because it was just like a little bit out of my place, right, and I titled it Motherhood Not Martyrdom, and I really think that that's kind of what it is. It's like we have this and I get it, I feel it. I look at my son and I'm like I would give him anything right to be well and sacrifice myself. But when you really know that one our children are always watching and that our actions, not just our words or what they're going to adopt, right, and so, for example, and the example you shared, like it doesn't matter what you're feeding her. If she's going to watch you not eating it, then that's going to be the way that she learns to eat.
Speaker 2:I mean, I work, you know, with all these women who when I'm asking you know in my intake, I ask like, tell me about your diet growing up, and I can't tell you how many women share with me. You know, I grew up in a really, you know, diet obsessed culture. My mom was always on Weight Watchers or this or that, and so it totally informed my ex about food. And then I have the people who are like, yeah, you know, my mom cooked dinner every night and it was pretty healthy, and dah, dah, dah, dah, and they don't have as much of a hangup around food and they're so much easier able to like, succeed in the work that we're going to do together, and so I really think that it's like, if we want to gift our children a good relationship with food or a good nervous system or whatever it is that we're trying to pass along, yeah, we have to model it first, and I deeply believe that a nourished mother is a nourished family. It's like trickle-down wellness. It starts with the matriarch and then it goes into everyone, and I mean it's really powerful to witness.
Speaker 2:I have worked with a lot of family systems and you know, some of whom their children are older, right, and are not, are already, you know, used to eating certain things and used to certain habits and practices in their home that are being changed, and it's really amazing to see where they come around to it. I mean, I've had, like I'm thinking of this one woman in particular who has two daughters, and they were probably like nine and seven or around that age when we started working together and her daughters, you know, also like struggled in the bathroom a little bit, were constipated, had stomach aches, were anxious, whatever you know kind of things that have been quote unquote normalized now for kids that are not normal. They might be common but they are not normal and through these changes that they were making totally started thriving. And her mom used to listen to my, like my well-woman collective, which is my group program, the recordings, like in the kitchen while she was doing stuff and they were listening, you know they would sit down to dinner and she would pour water and she'd be like, oh, but remember, mommy, we're supposed to have most of our water between meals so we digest better, and like little things like that that they were picking up. But one of her, her older daughter, came to her one day and she said, mom, when I grow up and I have kids, I'm going to make sure that they eat well from the beginning so they don't have to, like be sad when they lose you know whatever lose their Oreos, but they're going to feel really good from the you know from the beginning, because it changed so much over the course of a few months how her daughter was feeling and this is totally not why this woman came to it.
Speaker 2:So I think for moms sometimes it needs to be like the incentive of it's going to still be the best thing for your kid If you do it too, and then once you start taking care of yourself, you're able to be like oh yes, this is why it's so important.
Speaker 2:And one just quick thing I want to add to this, because when we were talking about the root causes of, like, hormone imbalance, I really focused on the gut piece, but minerals are a huge part of this and I and I see moms specifically are very under mineralized and it's. And when we're talking about easy and fast and quick fixes, whatever it's actually like, you're fast track to feeling more energized, to feeling more like yourself, and it's so much, there's so much potential there, and so there are ways Like it's not all, like oh my God, okay, so I have to do this like poop in a vial and send it to a lab and then I have to take, you know, all these supplements or whatever. Sometimes it's really just like how do I switch a few things out for more mineral rich foods and to maybe, you know, really prioritize that? And it can be simple sometimes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what are some of those mineral rich foods that you suggest women consume or like some of the ways that we can get more minerals in if they need one of those like?
Speaker 2:I need to do something, but I don't have the energy quite yet. Yeah, so the two minerals that I see most people need well, I'm going to say three. The three minerals that I see the most people need more of are sodium, potassium and magnesium. Some of the others, like we'll get into a situation where someone has too much of something and we actually need to bring it down, or a lot of times, like prenatal vitamins and like multivitamins are actually messing people up a lot. So I don't like to recommend too much outside of these three that I really see most people need more of.
Speaker 2:Not that you shouldn't always be eating minerals, but I don't want people to like get the wrong idea and start supplementing. So, anyways, potassium is found in like people are always like bananas, yeah, but bananas are also really sugary and so you don't want to be eating like three bananas a day to get your potassium. So coconut is an awesome source of potassium. So it's like, surprisingly, there are things like lamb. Lamb is like a great source of potassium, so like switching out ground beef for ground lamb sometimes is like a really easy swap. This is a random one, but cream of tartar, the you know spice, basically it's basically just potassium, and so putting a teaspoon of that in like a smoothie or just something that you're already making, can give you an extra 500 milligrams of potassium. So that's like a really easy thing to just add in. It's very affordable.
Speaker 2:Um, also with potassium, avocados are a really great source. So, just like, if you need another reason to eat a full avocado a day, that's good. Always need more reasons for avocado, and sodium is simple Sodium. Everyone needs more sodium. As long as it's coming from the right source. You should be eating like two teaspoons minimum of salt a day, so Himalayan salt is okay, celtic sea salt, redmond's real salt. It needs to have like color and be natural. Like if you're using Morton's table salt or any sort of like processed salt, just toss it. It's not worth finishing the bottle. Just throw it away and get real salt and make sure that you're getting an abundant amount of it. I mean you'll slowly want to work your way up, but most people are very, very, very under doing it with sodium and it's a simple way to get it. Obviously, this is not the same as like the sodium in Cheez-Its, right, like? We're not even comparing fruit to fruit there. So it does matter what kind of salt it is. But everyone can be doing a little bit of salt in their water, adding more salt at the table, things like that.
Speaker 2:And then magnesium and magnesium is a tough one because it's really our soil is very depleted. I actually did a little experiment on myself recently. Um I so I run hair mineral analysis tests for my clients and for myself, and I have been running them pretty consistently since having a baby, so I can just kind of track how things are going. And on my last test, like two tests ago, my magnesium was coming back almost perfect and I stopped supplementing with magnesium just to kind of see what happened. And I also had a bit of a stressful season. We are like having some housing, like we found mold in our house and we're having to move. It's just stressful. And when we are in a state of stress, we burn through magnesium at pretty high rates. We also burn through potassium and sodium at high rates, but magnesium is hard to get through food these days because our soils are super depleted. And I did another HTMA on myself very recently and my magnesium came back really low.
Speaker 2:And so magnesium is one that I typically find people benefit a lot from supplementing with Like this is my life, this is my job, I'm super intentional about it and my magnesium came back really low even eating a completely whole foods diet with, like, a lot of intentionality around minerals. So cacao is a good source. Leafy greens are a good source, but it's like you could eat leafy greens all day long and maybe not get enough these days especially, you know, depending on where your produce is coming from. So, but, generally speaking, those are the three like and you can.
Speaker 2:The one thing I have to say chat GPT is amazing for things like this. I will type in you know everything I ate in a day and be like how many milligrams of potassium did I get? And it gives me a pretty accurate number when I compare it with you know, like my nutrition software that I have. And so I look at the end of the day I'm like, okay, great, did I get my 4,000 milligrams? If so, awesome. If not, maybe I'll take a little bit of you know more cream of tartar supplement or something, but that can be a really helpful way to just be like am I getting enough potassium?
Speaker 1:Am I getting enough sodium? Like, check it out, I don't think I've ever paid attention to potassium. I don't I just other than like I've worked with, I've worked with like a holistic hormone coach and I'm pretty sure that was something she was paying attention to and therefore like that was helping. But even then, as you were talking, I was like, oh, I've never even thought about that.
Speaker 1:Um, I'm curious how nutrition might change through our cycle, like in the four different phases, and if you could just like briefly explain the four phases, because I think when I go to start talking about cycle syncing I don't know why, but I forget that like there's still a very good majority of women who haven't learned about all of the different phases of our cycle, which just makes me so heartbroken one that it's like I was 25. Maybe, like maybe a little bit earlier than that, when I learned that like it wasn't just like PMS period, not period Right, like that was. That was like and I had, I had a mom who did a really good job teaching me about periods and stuff, but like she didn't even know, like I'm still teaching her, like I'm luteal and she's like which one is that? But can you give just like a basic overview of like the cycle, the cycles and like why that matters for us.
Speaker 2:And so when we're talking about it from a cycles, you know, I call it cycle informing actually, just because it creates less pressure, actually, like I don't have to sync every single thing with where I'm at in my cycle, but I use where I'm at in my cycle to inform the choices I'm going to make around my food, around how I'm going to exercise, around what kind of date we're going to do, whatever, so I think it can just release a little bit of pressure. So if I say cycle informing, I'm talking about the same thing, just different language. So when we're talking about cycle informing from a energetics perspective, which is what we're doing here, there are four phases. If you were to go to your doctor and say I'm in X phase, they're going to be like what? Like there's really two phases when it comes to a more medical presentation of this, and so I think that's just helpful for some people to know, so that you're not like showing up for your OBGYNs, you know, and being like so when I'm in my ovulation phase, I did it and she's like you mean your face. So from a medical perspective, it's follicular and luteal. There are two phases for us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for us, from an energetic perspective, we have menstruation right, which is the most obvious one because you have blood coming out of your vagina. You know that it's happening right. It's like very easy to figure out when are you in your menstrual phase and like a healthy, normal menstrual phase should be anywhere from like three to six days usually and energetically I actually and this will differ than if people have read Alyssa Vitti's books but I was learning about cycle informing before she wrote her books and so my seasons are a little bit different and I just think they make sense, but like we have the shedding of our lining during this. It's our inner fall, like where you know the leaves are falling, and it's kind of like that when fall comes and it's soup season and you start getting like cozy and sweaters, and it's that time to kind of start to like look inward and think a little bit more energetically about like what's happening also in your brain. During this time is the right and the left side of your brain have more access to each other, equaling more of that sense of intuition, and so it's a really great time to just kind of like take stock of your life and your world and make decisions around like or not actually make decisions, but like plant seeds and think about, like intuitively, where do I want to go from here? And just really start asking some of those like bigger questions.
Speaker 2:Spending time alone to journal I think this is a big one too with moms, like making sure you have extra help during around your bleed so that you have time to do this, communicating with your partner so he can go and take all the kids to the park in the morning and you have extra help during around your bleed so that you have time to do this. Communicating with your partner so he can go and take all you know the kids to the park in the morning and you have like a couple hours alone to like be in a warm bath. It's really important to stay warm during this time of our cycle and that translates to nutrition. So we have, you know, like warm soups. Warm, well-cooked things are easier to digest and sometimes during our period we'll have something called prostaglandins, which are like inflammatory markers basically in our system that make it like you know, people have like the period poops right Like. So the more well-cooked and easily digestible your food is, the better. So like meat, stock stews, lots of iron rich foods to replace the blood that you're losing is really important. And heme iron is like blood iron is the only kind that's really absorbable, so like, don't eat spinach for your iron at this time in your cycle. And also minerals. So we, your body, is doing this crazy thing every month where it thinks you might have a baby, and so it sends all of these amazing minerals and resources that you've been building up over the month to your uterine lining, expecting that to like eventually start to nourish a baby, and then, if you don't get pregnant, you bleed it all out, and so we really want to be replenishing minerals. So I love seafood is a really great thing to be eating around this time and seaweed and all of those like trace minerals are really helpful and important.
Speaker 2:And then we move into that follicular phase, and it's called the follicular phase because we have FSH, which is follicular stimulating hormone that starts producing, which is basically telling your eggs, okay, start getting ready, like one of you is going to be picked, and so all of your eggs are like, okay, let's mature and see if we can become the one that's going to be chosen, and at the same time, your hormone levels are actually very low during your period. I think it's a funny thing People always talk about like they're so hormonal, but it's really actually your hormones are at their lowest point during your cycle and they're slowly starting to rise as we enter our follicular phase, specifically estrogen so remember fun and estrogen. She makes us feel confident and flirty, all of those things. So it's starting off pretty low, but as that phase, which is typically around like 10 days for the average woman, starts to rise, you're going to feel a little bit more social. As it goes up, you're going to feel a little bit more confident and all of those things.
Speaker 2:This is a really great time for like brainstorming, for really starting to like get organized. It's it's like almost the most masculine of the phases, um, and so it's really like a good time to like ask good questions, like your brain is starting to work in a specific way. As far as motherhood goes, I really think about it from like a. The theme is curiosity and like bringing a fresh eye to like domestic projects. You know, with like with your partner, trying new activities as a family, cooking new meals, planning meals out for the rest of the month, going somewhere new and like planning out the family calendar. Like it's really that kind of you know, like soccer mom energy, of like let's get all this done.
Speaker 2:Um, and as far as food goes, as this phase goes on, we want to start to think about balancing estrogen a little bit, and estrogen so there's an entire community of um microbes in the gut circling back to the gut, cause everything always has to come back to the gut, called the astrobalone, and the astrobalone is like specifically there to help us deal with and manage estrogen. And so, like eating more fermented foods if you're not already doing a lot of fermented foods. By the way, guys, fermented foods are not optional. Like they're not like you have to be eating fermented foods. We evolved over thousands of years without refrigerators. We were relied heavily on fermented foods and our bodies got used to it. Like you need, we need that to feed those that microbiome and the gut. So making sure that you're getting your fermented foods. Sometimes things like raw carrot salad can be helpful in balancing out estrogen in this phase. But generally speaking, like people will kind of start to lean towards like maybe lighter preparations of food. It's always good to stay warm if you're dealing with any sort of like hormone imbalances or fertility things, but so still cooked, but you might lean towards a little bit more lighter, and then we enter ovulation, and this is the thing.
Speaker 2:This is the point of the cycle. You know it's like, and for a lot of people it's hard to identify when it's happening, right, but this is the most optimal time to harness all of your feminine energy and put it out in the world. A couple of things are happening. One, your language skills are spot on. You're most articulate at this time, so it's a really great time to like schedule podcast interviews or, to you know, like, have a hard conversation at work. You're also more attractive to both the opposite sex and the same sex. Your face is becoming more symmetrical. You're getting a little bit of a rosy tint in your cheeks that, like flirty, funny on. Estrogen is coming out and your people are more likely to give you what you want. Seriously Like.
Speaker 2:There's actually like a pheromone thing happening. They did a study on um in in strip clubs many, many years ago where strippers who were on hormonal birth control made less money than strippers who were not, and they attributed to the pheromones that their body puts out when they're ovulating. When you're on hormonal birth control, you don't ovulate Like you, it's a, it's really a superpower. So like, do the thing you know, like, go out there and be present in the world. From a parenting perspective, there's so much more playfulness that like comes naturally during this time. So like, and also the desire to be in community and be social is greater. So this is like a great time to like schedule birthday parties or to like prioritize play dates, be in community, be playful in the world and with our partners. I think you know we can really harness this to to like revive and bring back some of that like fun, playful, flirty sexual energy if that's feeling a little bit stagnant.
Speaker 2:And then, from a from a food perspective, nutrition perspective, you know, if there is a time of the month where cold and raw foods do okay with people, it's this time. So, like, smoothies, salads. If you're like oh my God, I love acai bowls. Like if you're going to do it at any time of the month, now's a pretty good time to do it, whereas if you were going to do that, like in your late luteal phase, it can equal more cramps. Like, think about you put a warm heating pad on your stomach right when you are cramping. So like, internally, we need to be warm too. Like eating cold foods during and before our bleed will oftentimes equal more tension and therefore more pain. So this is an okay time to do some of those cold foods if you really like them.
Speaker 2:And then we move into luteal Um, and our luteal phase is the longest phase. It's around two weeks and a lot of people have like a lot of. I feel like it's like the step sister, like there's a lot of like negative connotations with our luteal luteal phase and I think it's just misunderstood. So one we can kind of break it down into two parts. The first half of your luteal phase is going to more resemble like a little bit of ovulation, a little bit more of that just like higher energy. You're able to work out a little bit harder still, whereas the second half, you're moving more into that like nasty phase.
Speaker 2:Generally speaking, like I don't know if anyone's ever had this experience where you're like my closet is a disaster. It's a disaster. I'm looking at it. For two weeks I don't do anything and then one day I'm like I have to fix this Right, like and you spend all day cleaning your closet. That's luteal phase. Like hitting you. It's like you have to like domestic projects, like over in your brain. You're just like feel like you need to get things organized and I think this can be really helpful from like for moms, like using this as a time to get others helping around the house, doing chores, you know. Like planning, you know we're going to clean out the garage, like during this time, and just like really kind of focusing on those domestic product projects that you need to get done.
Speaker 2:And then, food wise, this is an interesting one. So what happens when we ovulate is that our body starts producing that progesterone, and progesterone raises our metabolic rate, meaning that we burn calories faster. So you're going to spurn an extra like 80 to a hundred calories just sitting on your tush doing nothing, and that will make people feel hungry. Now, 80 to a hundred calories is like not that many calories. And so what?
Speaker 2:Sometimes what we'll see people doing is they'll eat a lot more during their luteal phase and over time.
Speaker 2:If they're not balancing that out or being intentional about the way that they're eating because a lot of times people are also starting to crave salty things or sugar or carbs during this time then we can see that translate to undesired weight gain and things like that.
Speaker 2:But if you're really just intentional about like, okay, like I know, my metabolic rate is increasing, I am going to need more food. I'm going to be really conscious about eating more, but eating foods that are really nourishing to me. We typically just see people feeling really good. It's important to um to eat complex carbs during this time and maybe increase that just a little bit, whereas you don't need as much of it in the first half of your cycle. Things like butternut squash or you know, like rutabaga, like whatever you know, whatever your starchy veggies are those are the ones I have in my fridge right now, so they first came to mind. Eating a little bit more of those are going to keep your mood and blood sugar a lot more stable and you'll experience less PMS. So we do kind of see there's like this nutrition cycling that happens your cycle.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, I'm curious, if people are having really, really awful luteal or like pmdd, like what does that usually point to and like how can they support that? Or is it a more complex issue?
Speaker 2:yes, and like I mean usually there's some nuance to it. Pmdd, I find, is typically very rooted in blood sugar imbalances and like not, and all of this comes down to like. Blood sugar, specifically, is the foundation for everything in the body, for every single system to work the way it's supposed to, and if it's, not?
Speaker 1:Is that one of the blocks then? Is that one of, like your foundational blocks?
Speaker 2:So like digestion and like blood sugar Again, they get a little like convoluted in the sense where, like sometimes, if our minerals are imbalanced, like, let's say, we don't have enough magnesium. Magnesium is so important for blood sugar stability. So you could be following like all of my blood sugar rules of, you know, eating 30 grams of protein first thing in the morning, not drinking coffee on an empty stomach, you know, no naked carbs, so like not eating a banana alone as a snack, making sure you pair it with some cheese or something. But if you don't have enough magnesium, your blood sugar is still going to struggle. So like, yes, and it's also connected to mineral imbalances and things like that but yeah, blood sugar is so important, like it is the foundation that you build your house on.
Speaker 2:So if it's wonky, like the entire house is going to not be super stable and not feel safe, and that's really what it comes down to. Like if your body is kind of going on these up and down blood sugar rollercoaster all day, it doesn't feel safe to balance your hormones Right Like it's not a priority. If I, if my like foundation isn't stable, then I don't care about the like window treatments you're trying to put in upstairs foundation isn't stable, then I don't care about the like window treatments you're trying to put in upstairs, right? So, yeah, that is a big part of it and I feel I see that a lot with PMDD, but we also often see like gut issues and mineral balances being part of that.
Speaker 2:One thing I will say for a lot of people is really intentionally creating space for like slowing down and stressing less can help a lot with some of that PMS. A lot of it is also like we're go, go, go, go go all the time and, just like the seasons in nature, have this like need to slow down and rest. If we're not doing that consistently and that's one of the reasons I love cycle informing is it really offers the opportunity and the blueprint for how to slow down more. I tend to see PMS and things like that get a lot better because your body is yelling at you. Take rest and if you're not doing it, it'll just keep screaming louder and louder.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it makes sense on so many levels to have. If you're just constantly running too ragged and you're not honoring, like, the ebbs and flows of what you need, you know, and that's hormonally, that's nature that cycles. If you're not honoring that like, eventually your body is like you. I think one of the things that I've noticed with women is like when they're luteal they have less. So I work with a lot of high functioners who are able to like function over the symptoms, like they can still produce and achieve and things can look pretty good even when they don't feel great.
Speaker 1:And one of the things that I've noticed is, like luteal and menstrual can be a gift because it's when you realize, like what are the things that you maybe haven't been paying attention to and it brings attention to those things and so softening into them at least a little bit and finding some rest, finding some ease, some grace, which, let's be honest, like is still really hard for a lot of women. But when you do honor that cycle, when you're, when you're in that like faster mode, it feels better because you're not constantly in hyperdrive, you feel safe to go fast and slow. It's not that you can't ever go fast, it's that you also need like periods of like that slower or more internal. Yeah, yeah, I'm curious, like what have we missed in this conversation? Like what else is like really important information about hormones that, like women, tend to be misunderstanding or that you feel like would be really helpful for people to understand?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it was kind of what I. I said this a little bit when we were talking about, you know, just digestive issues for kids, but there's a big difference between common and normal, and so much of what is common is not normal, right. Even you know, period pain like, kind of going back to the, your body is talking a whisper right, is normal feeling a little bit of like, oh yeah, like I like I feel a little bit of, maybe, pressure in my uterus. Normal If you're feeling like you need to take a Midol or Advil or like, feel really like ow, this is really really uncomfortable. That's your body trying to talk to you and saying, hey, like I have some inflammation here and I need some help, right.
Speaker 2:It kind of goes back to some of the other pieces around, like fatigue or or, um, digestive issues, whatever it is, and so I think the biggest thing I want people to take away is like, just because you're experiencing something and maybe your friend is too or something that you know you like see a commercial for like, just because you're experiencing something and maybe your friend is too, or something that you know you like see a commercial for like, oh, you can take this, and you know, then go swimming more on your period, whatever. I feel like the Midol commercials are just kind of funny to me. It doesn't mean that it's normal and it doesn't mean that you should be not listening to your body. Like, listening to your body is the most important thing and, more than anyone, you are the expert of your body and that is so important for you to remember that, like, more than your doctor, more than your holistic health professional, like you are the expert of your body and that's something that I think is really important to nurture and pull out right Of like. Hmm, like I'm going to really listen in and if this doesn't feel right, then I'm going to seek support, sure, or resources on how to deal with it, but I'm not going to outsource that power right Of like.
Speaker 2:What is what is right for me, what is right for my family, whatever it is translates to, because so often I just see people who come to me who've been dealing with things for a long time that the conventional system has just either been like oh, you can take birth control or, you know, just like, kind of like dismissed, and it doesn't have to be that way. Again, we live this one beautiful life, feel good in it. You don't have to feel anxious or sad, or, and then those can be symptoms of hormones, those can be symptoms of gut. Again, we don't have to be obsessed with finding out what, why that's happening. We just need to get the right tools and put your body in the right environment for it to heal itself, and I think that is something really important to remember.
Speaker 1:That's so, so important. And I'm oh, I'm trying so hard to remember where I heard this from, cause I know I heard it from someone. But they were talking about, like if you're lost in a forest and like a magical fairy comes and they're like you have one question or one wish. You're not going to say how did I get here? That wouldn't make sense. You'd say, like, tell me how to get out. Like, show me the way to get better.
Speaker 1:That's not I'm not saying it exactly right, but essentially, like I think I think our whole culture is obsessed with like disease and like we're obsessed with the symptoms of like let's cover it up, let's fix it, let's make well, not even fix it. It's like let's cover it up, let's make that go away, but it's never fixing the underlying root thing. And it's so it's interesting to hear, like where you come from, because, like, I'm coming from the other side of like the mental and emotional and like the relational stuff that comes. But I think it's so easy for us to get lost in the like what created the problem? Like where did this come from? Whose fault is it? Like, where can I point the finger? Versus like what can we do? What can we do to like not just get you to like baseline survival, but like also like optimal, like right, coming back to like where we started of what is your full potential of well being and health? And I think you know we didn't.
Speaker 1:I won't open Pandora's box of diet culture, but there is this like everything changed for me when I stopped believing in the diet culture stuff because I think for so long it took me so long to heal from diet culture and disordered eating. But then I went to the other side where it was like, yeah, but I also don't want to ignore my physical well being and my health, and I had to reclaim this new way of like. How good can I feel, how like my loving my body and self care is not just like eating whatever the hell I want, like it's not just giving myself whatever I want, because that's actually not love and care. I need to figure out what my body wants and needs and what it's telling me isn't working anymore, and so that's such a powerful concept.
Speaker 2:I love how you share that and I'm so. It's so interesting how we, like we'll swing to these sides of the pendulum in our culture these days, and there there is like a difference between the black and white. We can live in the gray right, like in that black and white is where so many people get stuck and really there's like so many beautiful shades of gray and just you know, our bodies are so wise. They are divinely designed. They're always working for us and trying to heal us and I think that we forget that and look like I feel like I flared this line, because I get a ton of value out of labs, right, like functional labs give me a lot of insight into somebody's hidden blocks to wellness, right, and can help us remove some of those blocks so the body can come back to balance. But it's a little bit like a Pandora's box, like you said.
Speaker 2:It was like once you open this up in this test and this test and this is, and it's unnecessary in my opinion most of the time. Sometimes you know additional testing is needed, but like, for example, I use two tests with everyone in my practice a gut, you know, a stool sample to get like a comprehensive view of their gut, also recognizing that we have thousands and thousands, maybe millions, of bacteria in our gut and we're looking at 35 of them in this test. So it gives me an idea, but, like it has its limitations, it also looks at other things and minerals, so that we get somewhat of a roadmap. But our goal is to just like remove enough of the obstacles so your body can get there on its own Right. Like just remembering that our body is so wise I think is something that we've become so disconnected from Um and like learning to trust in yourself and in your body again, we'll. We'll get you further than any you know protocol out there.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love that. I feel like that is such a great place to end, because I think it just brings us back to this like taking taking that authority and that autonomy and that like personal responsibility from a permission standpoint, not this pressure, not this like you need to feel bad, like you're doing it wrong, or like trying to figure out if this is your fault, versus like what can I do to make this even just like a little better? What's like doable, what's like one small thing, even like your potassium thing. I'm like so excited to like go figure out potassium and magnesium.
Speaker 1:Like it's so cool to understand that like there's just so much potential and how good we can feel and especially in motherhood, how important that is. I think, especially you know, I think of my life and especially the last like five years doing my business. I realized like I'm pouring out so much, like I can't get by with baseline if I don't want to burn out, if I don't want to burn out in motherhood or in my marriage or my own well-being or especially in my business. I need more, like my body needs better, more optimal health if I want to do this and do it well, and it's like it's a need, but it's one that can be a joy to meet and feel better in.
Speaker 2:Amen, I love that. Yes, and I'm so excited for people listening to this to recognize that it is not selfish to need more and to want more and to take more.
Speaker 1:Yeah, especially cause there's, there's. It's so often when, when, when women are like I'm, I'm doing all of the right things and it's not working anymore, and it's like, okay, then it's not working. But I really think it's like that diet culture, mentality of like I'm hungry but I've eaten enough, and it's like no, but you're hungry.
Speaker 2:It's like you're and you know, I thought I was eating enough, and also sometimes we're not eating the right things and it's hard to know what the right things are because the recommendations that are out there are wrong.
Speaker 2:Like the diet that I transition people to is so yummy, so full of butter and you can have dairy, and like so rich in nutrients and minerals that I have people who, after a week on you know eating this way send me a message like are the snacks on the meal plan optional? Like I don't need them, right, and I'm like, yeah, totally like, if you're not feeling, you know, hangry by the you know the time you get to your next meal, then yeah, like that's fine, but I think we forget that like our body is going to signal that we are hungry if we are undernourished. This is why people can eat like endless amounts of processed junk food. Right, because it's they're empty, it's there's no nutrition in them, and so you're going to continue to feel hunger, or you like feel full, but that five minutes later. So also like sometimes asking ourselves, like am I eating the things that my body is actually going to be nourished by, is a big part of that too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and I think, too, it's this whole mindset of getting by with as little as possible versus witnessing like what will give me the most optimized well-being and health and functional like input so that I can have quality output. This, this conversation, was so good. Stephanie, I have, like, I'm so excited to go binge your podcast and like listen to some fun episodes. Thank you so much for being here. I'm, if you guys listen to this podcast and you love it, definitely share on social media, tag us, send us a question, send us an aha moment or like if you're going to start looking at potassium too. But, stephanie, thank you so much for being here. This was such a fun conversation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I loved it, and I also really love when people reach out and say what their biggest takeaway was. So please, please, do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's always my favorite, Like when someone reaches out and they're like this one moment or this aha, I was like someone's listening. It's always so impactful and helpful to know that it's making a difference for someone. So thank you so much. Thanks for joining me on today's episode of the Motherhood Mentor Podcast. Make sure you have subscribed below so that you see all of the upcoming podcasts that are coming soon. I hope you take today's episode and you take one aha moment, one small, tangible piece of work that you can bring into your life, to get your hands a little dirty, to get your skin in the game. Don't forget to take up audacious space in your life. If this podcast moved you, if it inspired you, if it encouraged you, please do me a favor and leave a review. Send an episode to a friend. This helps the show gain more traction. It helps us to support more moms, more women, and that's what we're doing here. So I hope you have an awesome day, take really good care of yourself and I'll see you next time.
