Your Body Is Not a Math Problem: Why Nothing Has Been Working (and What Actually Will)

This episode is for the mom who has tried every diet, every workout plan, every protocol — and still cannot understand why her body will not respond.

This is not a weight loss episode. This is the conversation no one in the wellness industry is having. In this solo episode, MaKenzie shares how she shed years of inflammation by doing the opposite of everything she was taught — working out less, restricting less, and finally learning to eat truly intuitively. As a former fitness coach turned human design and nervous system strategist, she breaks down why your body is not a math problem. It is a nervous system. And nervous systems do not respond to restriction — they respond to safety.

You will hear MaKenzie's full story of leaving her six-figure corporate job, healing her son, and discovering that the high intensity workouts she once taught hundreds of women were quietly working against her own design. She walks through the cascade behind thyroid issues, hormones, and gut imbalance, why falling back in love with food is the real work, and how your human design reveals the exact way your body is built to eat, move, and digest.

If you have been blaming your body, this episode is your permission slip to stop fighting it and start coming home to it.

What We Cover

How MaKenzie shed years of inflammation by working out less and restricting less. Why your body is not a math problem — it is a nervous system. The cascade behind thyroid issues, PCOS, and infertility — cortisol, hormones, gut, and safety. Why women struggle so deeply with food and guilt. Falling back in love with food (pancakes, pasta, pizza, and all). The three deep breaths practice and why it changes digestion. The six human design digestion types — light, sound, taste, appetite, thirst, and touch. Why generators, projectors, manifestors, manifesting generators, and reflectors all need different approaches. Her honest take on the shot and why lifestyle change has to come with it. Why this is not a six-week protocol — it is how you are built for life.

Connect with MaKenzie

Instagram: @thecleanmomedit

Free Training — The Reason You Mom The Way You Do A free audio training that walks you through all five human design types through the lens of motherhood. 

Work With MaKenzie Aligned Strategy Session — a 60-minute deep dive for clear direction and sustainable habits. Restore 1:1 Transformation — a complete lifestyle change, application required. 

Join Aligned — $33/month A simple, supportive space for moms ready to slow down, regulate their nervous systems, and break cycles in community. Monthly teachings, tools, and the women walking this path right alongside you. 

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Thank you for being here and for listening.

Transcript

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So about a year ago, I started doing something that completely changed my body. It wasn't a new workout plan. It wasn't a new diet. It wasn't a new protocol. It was actually the opposite of everything that I have ever been taught. And I actually started eating very intuitively, like truly intuitively, but intentionally. And within a year, the inflammation that I had been fighting for years actually like just melted off. And here's a part that is going to probably mess a little bit with your head because it messed with mine for sure. I did it by actually working out less, by restricting less, by doing fewer of the things every single wellness influencer told me I had to do. And also, you know, I was, this is what I was telling people to do in my previous coaching business. So today we are talking about why your body has been holding that weight, why nothing has been working, and what your body has actually been asking for this whole time. So this isn't a weight loss episode by any means. And if that's what you came here for, I'm gonna extremely disappoint you. But what I'm going to give you instead is actually the root. So a little background. Um, I used to be a fitness coach. So, you know, taught, you know, hundreds of women what I did to get into what I thought at the time was the best shape of my life. And listen, like I was so fit, like I felt so confident, I felt so strong in my skin. And, you know, that did work for a lot of women and a lot of my clients. But here's what I was doing back then is I was waking up at 5 a.m. I was tracking my macros, I was going to, you know, the you the the yoga studio, except half the time it wasn't not even yoga, it was burpees disguised as yoga, which I'm still super confused by. Just I want that to change. But okay. So I was, you know, running outside, like running half marathons. I was doing all the, you know, high intensity stuff. I um actually was like teaching a workout class with weights. I was going to like this dance class, which I love, but it was again like high intensity. But and here is the thing I did not realize until I learned my human design is I'm a generator, which means I am pure life force energy, but only when I am doing what I actually enjoy. And when I finally sat with that and like really sat with it, I did not enjoy any of that. The running, the high intensity classes. I was forcing my body through workout, like quietly hated. Like I just did not. So I stopped. I was actually like six weeks like postpartum, and I was like, so like, yes, like back in the gym, like, look at me. Um, and then my life like totally turned upside down. Um, and I no longer had the energy either to actually get up in the mornings and work out. And I realized like I only had a certain amount of energy. And at that time, like that's just not where it I wanted it to go. I'd rather it be with my family and on myself. And so I was kind of like forced into that. But then once I started to like see better results, I was like, what the heck? And realizing why that was. So now I walk every day. I stretch, do very slow yoga, I dance in my kitchen, I dance in the shower. Um, I definitely want to try out some pickleball because I feel like I will probably love that. But I move in ways that actually feel good to me. I no longer believe the lie that the only way to work out is to go hard at the gym or take some high-intensity class that is, you know, marketed to us everywhere. Here is also what is very wild is my old clients are coming back to me now and I'm pulling their human design. And the ones who, you know, really just like thrived on what I was teaching back then, they are similar type to me. And the ones who maybe like had like, you know, a couple of adjustments, like hiccups, like kind of struggled or like hit, you know, bumps, like they are different types and it's all coming together now, like full picture. So back then I was focused on gut health. Now I am focused on gut health, is where I started. Um, and now focused on starting at the nervous system. And I just keep going deeper and deeper. Um, and this is the route. Um, here is what no one told me is your body is not a math problem. It is a nervous system. And nervous systems do not respond to restriction, they actually respond to safety. So your nervous system is basically how much stress your body is holding. And you have to face that before any protocol, any diet, any plan will ever truly work and actually be sustainable. So let me show you how this cascades. I told my mom this um just yesterday. And basically, so many of us, our family members, our friends, like are dealing with thyroid issues. And um, I actually met this girl at my favorite soaps shop down in Thursday who had just had half of her thyroid removed. And I'm just I just cringe. Like, how do we get to that point? Like now, like it is gonna be harder for her. And this is how we do not get to that point. Here is basically the chain of reaction from there. So if you do have like a thyroid issue or, you know, hypothyroid, hyper Hashimoto's picos, or you struggle with like infertility, if you do have like any like major health issues, like a lot of this stems from high cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone, so that means your hormones are imbalanced and your hormones stem from your gut. So that means your gut is imbalance and an imbalanced gut comes from a dysregulated nervous system, and a dysregulated nervous system comes from a body that doesn't feel safe. So the first mission here is always the same like make your body feel safe. And that is exactly why our relationship with food, especially as women, is so hard. We do not feel safe to eat. We eat the cookie and then we drown in guilt. And that guilt is another signal to our body that you are not safe. So I had to fall like back in love with food, and you do too. Like, I love food, I adore food. I eat pancakes every single morning. My husband makes homemade pancakes and I am not giving those up. So a year ago, the old me would have died. Like, no way can you eat that every day. Like, and I put syrup on it too. But I have been doing this for a year now, and I'm gonna tell you like it truly, truly works. I do not restrict anymore. When I did whole 30, the three things that you cut are dairy, gluten, sugar, and those were great at the time. But for my birthday last week, I asked Trevor to make me like a Tuscan pasta dish with some whipping cream, and I ate it and it was delicious. I eat pizza now and then, I eat what I want. Sugars, like I still think they're the, you know, they're not the devil, but like I'm just intentional, conscientious. Like I know like you don't overdo it, but like you should have seen the amount of donuts I ate last week. So I have also been around some incredible mentors this past year, and you know, the past three years, you know, with me being in this, you know, wellness space, like people with decades of more experience in than me, people I can't even believe I actually get to like sit in a room with. They all agree. This is it. This is the route. So on my Monday post, I shared one of like the simplest places to start, like three deep breaths before you eat, like sitting down off your phone, chewing slowly, like actually enjoying it, savoring it. Like I know as a mom, this is hard. I'm usually eating standing up with limited time, but this is one thing that has made like a real difference because it does shift your body from sympathetic fight or flight into that parasympathetic. And parasympathetic bodies digest, they absorb the nutrients, they do not store food as fat for emergency use. And here's a really cool part once you are regulated and you start putting these practices into place, your human design actually gives you a blueprint for how your body best digests. So your chart shows your digestion type. There are actually six of them. So some people digest better through light, meaning lighter meals during daylight hours, heavier early in the day, some through sound, so needing the right sound environment or even saying out loud what they are about to eat. Some are through taste, so eating what generally sounds good in the moment. Some are through appetite, so eating only when true hunger hits instead of on a schedule. Some are through thirst, so needing liquids and moisture with their food, and some through touch, like needing food, a certain texture or grounding themselves physically before they eat. Most of us have never been taught to eat the way our body is actually designed to. This is what I do now. It is like crazy the amount of information that human design can give you. Like I just found this out like a couple months ago. And I'm like, what else? What else can human design give you? Like now, I literally am like, this is the keys to the castle. This is the, like I said, the treasure map to the treasure chest. Um, but we have just followed whatever protocol was handed to us, like somebody else's strategy. Like that's what people were doing for me. That's what I was doing, you know, for myself. And usually one built for one body type. And it's usually not ours. I will say that, like, you know, generators um are 70% of the the population. So, you know, a lot of like the odds were higher whenever, like, for instance, whenever I was doing my fitness coaching, but regardless, like there is, you know, yes, we're the same type, but then there's, you know, different authorities and there's different profiles and you know, different even more. Like, I'm not gonna go too much into human design because I know a lot of you are just now hearing about it. Um, so here's really just what I want you to walk away with is like this is not a six-week protocol. This is not another thing you try and pray sticks this time. I know so many of you are like yo-yoing, and I was too. Like, I was trying everything in the books. And I feel like that's why I got into fitness coaching because I'm like, I'll try it out. Like, what I, you know, I'm always up for a new, you know, new challenge, new, you know, and I'm a very like like self-motivated, like dedicated person. Like I can stick to, you know, habits, you know, pretty easily. I will say, like the ones that I really like. You don't want to be like, I hope this one works. Like, this is it's just not that. Like, this is how you are actually built. This is how your body is actually meant to work with food for the rest of your life. So your body has been on your side the entire time. It has been protecting you. It is just waiting for you to actually come home to yourself. If you want to start with how you are wired, which, like I said, like this is a lot of information. This is a complete mindset shift. Like, I do have my free training, the reason you mom the way you do, I'll put it in the show notes. Grab that. Like, just get it get introduced to your type and how to regulate your nervous system, and then get curious from there. And I walk you through all those different types through the lens of motherhood. And if you do want to go deeper and you're like, okay, Mackenzie, like this is freaking amazing. Like, I don't want to yo-yo anymore. I don't want it. Maybe you're on the shot. Like, I'm I say I'm all for the shot if you need like a quick fix and like it's something that you know is gonna make you feel better. So I don't know what the future's gonna hold for like side effects there. I've never taken the shot, nor would I, but I know many uh individuals who have, my main thing is if you're going to do it, you have to change your lifestyle alongside it. So this will still work, it will be better. And like you won't have to figure something out, you know, after you stop taking that shot and the weight comes back. So if you do want more direction, I do have, I would say, my aligned strategy sessions where we do like a 60-minute like deep dive in. I can give you a clear direction into helping you build those sustainable habits, or if you want a complete transformation lifestyle change and I teach you basically how I have integrated, but also give you specific ways how you need to integrate things into your life because we have the keys to the castle with your human design chart. Um, you can work with me one-on-one. Um, that is an application process. So I will also link that below. Um, but then I do have a couple of other areas of support if you are seeking that after today, because I know this has been life-changing for me, and my goal is to change your life as well. Um, that is why I put here, that is why I podcast, that is why I post. It has made my life better. And after my dad died, like I that is my goal in life is to make the world better. And this is this is that. And like I want this in every person's hands, but especially moms, because they have given and given and given. Um, and I feel like they are the individuals who need the most help right now because a year ago, I don't even know that girl. I was so burnt out, I was so depleted. I had no clue what direction I just had taking a um six-week um leave of absence from my six-figure corporate job that I was climbing the ladder. I was recruiting physicians, I was getting into rooms that I never thought that I would ever get into. Um, and I had to step away because I wanted to be home with my child to heal him. Uh and I have, and all of this works. And I hope that you guys can see that and hear that in my voice of like, I want this for you, I want this for your children, I want this for your, you know, your significant other, your husband. Um, I want you to look the way that you've always looked. I want you to look in the mirror and just love yourself every day. I want you just to feel like the person that you want to feel like and live like. I love you guys, and I'm so glad you're here. And I will see you next time.