Category: digestion

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Understanding Hormonal Changes in Midlife Women

The Truth About Hormones &Body Fat

If you’re a woman in midlife witnessing changes in your body, let’s be honest—hearing one more expert say “just move more and eat less” might make you scream. That tired, oversimplified advice ignores the very real ways our bodies change—and the decades of life we’ve already lived in them.

Midlife, generally defined as the ages between 37 and 65, isn’t just a calendar phase. It’s a biological, emotional, and identity-shifting chapter. For women, it often marks the beginning of perimenopause—the transitional period leading up to menopause, when the ovaries gradually produce less estrogen. Menopause itself is defined as the 12-month mark after your final menstrual period, but the hormonal fluctuations and symptoms often begin years before and can last well beyond that point.

To really understand what’s happening in our bodies now, we have to rewind the clock.

From puberty, our bodies have been shaped by an elegant hormonal dance. Estrogen, progesterone, and to a lesser extent testosterone, govern everything from our cycle to our skin, from our energy to our emotional responses. These hormones rise and fall in predictable patterns until they don’t. And when they don’t, you feel it.

Hot flashes. Sleep disruptions. Brain fog. Mood swings. Slower recovery from workouts. A scale that doesn’t seem to budge no matter what you do. And the silent undercurrents like the gradual loss of bone density—osteopenia—that often go unnoticed until it’s too late.

These aren’t random annoyances. They’re signals. And they deserve to be understood.

In this post and in today’s podcast episode, I talk with registered dietitian and research wizard Maryann Jacobsen about what actually helps us thrive during perimenopause and menopause. We get into why muscle is metabolic gold, why cardio isn’t always the answer, and how biofeedback your body’s own cues like hunger, energy, sleep, and mood can tell you more about what’s working than any calorie tracker or influencer’s reel ever could.

We also challenge the idea that your bathroom scale is the best measure of health. Spoiler alert: it’s not. Tools like DEXA scans provide deeper insight into your bone density and lean mass—two things that matter more than “weight” ever could in this stage of life. And while your smart scale using bioelectrical impedance might not be as accurate, it can still help you track general trends if you know how to interpret it.

One part of our conversation that hit me hard was Maryann’s mention of the body fat research around fertility. Scientists have found that a minimum of 17% body fat is required just to get a menstrual cycle, and about 22% is needed to maintain ovulation. But here’s the real shocker: in mature women, regular ovulatory cycles are often supported best at 26–28% body fat. (PMID: 3117838, 2282736) That means what many of us have been taught to chase ultra-lean physiques (around 17 BF% or so), chronic calorie restriction, or overtraining can actually backfire on our reproductive health, bone health, and overall vitality.

In populations where food is scarce or physical demands are high, we see patterns: delayed first periods, longer gaps between births, earlier menopause. It’s the body adapting for survival. But in modern life, we sometimes impose these same conditions on ourselves in the name of “fitness.”

And while estrogen usually gets the spotlight in menopause care often treated as the main character it’s progesterone that deserves a standing ovation. Many women are told they “need progesterone” just to protect themselves from estrogen’s effects, as if it’s merely a buffer. But that undersells its brilliance.

The name progesterone literally means “pro-gestation,” but its impact goes far beyond fertility. Progesterone is a master regulator. It stabilizes tissues, supports metabolic balance, calms inflammation, protects against stress, and even plays a role in brain health. While estrogen stimulates, progesterone shields. While estrogen builds, progesterone restores.

Fascinatingly, our bodies produce far more progesterone than estrogen especially after ovulation and during pregnancy. That’s not a fluke. It reflects just how critical progesterone is to our overall well-being.

So when ovulation slows or disappears in midlife, it’s not just your period going quiet. It’s this entire downstream network of hormonal resilience especially progesterone that starts to fade. And that’s when symptoms ramp up.

Understanding this isn’t just about managing menopause. It’s about honoring your biology, updating your strategy, and supporting your body like the powerful, responsive system it actually is.

If we want to balance and optimize our hormones in midlife, we have to re-evaluate our goals. This isn’t about grinding harder it’s about getting smarter. And to get smarter, we need to zoom out.

Ovulation isn’t just some fertility footnote-it’s the main event of your cycle. But many of us were taught that the bleed is the cycle. Nope. That’s just the after-party. The headliner? Ovulation.

Why does this matter in midlife?

Because ovulation is what triggers the production of progesterone a hormone that plays a critical role in metabolism, mood, sleep, brain function, and bone health. And spoiler: progesterone is the first to dip off the radar as we enter perimenopause. That’s why your energy feels off, your sleep gets weird, and your tolerance for stress tanks. Your body isn’t broken—it’s adapting.

Here’s where things click into place: your body will only ovulate consistently if it feels safe and nourished. That means you’re eating enough, not overtraining, and not living in a cortisol-fueled chaos spiral.

Ovulation isn’t just about reproduction it’s a vital sign of health.
And the two hormones that anchor your entire cycle, estrogen and progesterone, do so much more than regulate periods.

From bone density to brain function, from insulin sensitivity to mitochondrial health, these hormones influence nearly every system in your body. So, when they fluctuate…. or flatline… you feel it. Not just in your body, but in your entire day to day experience.

So, let’s break the rules, rewrite the midlife playbook, and finally start listening to the wisdom our bodies have been whispering all along.

LINKS:

In-depth-guide-on-midlife-weight

The Hidden Risks of Ozempic: Rapid Weight Loss Can Weaken Bones and Muscles

Farmer Vs Banker episode Move More, Eat Less? The Lie That Won’t Die

Resistance-exercise-perimenopause-symptoms

To take hormone therapy or not to take hormone therapy

The Case for Cardio

Contrary to popular belief, a larger body may actually be healthier (insta post)

Why Are Americans So Obsessed With Protein? Blame MAGA.

Midlife stress and its ripple effect on health

Meet your new post-40 nervous system

Posted on in americandieteticassociation, bigfood, bigpharma, biology, brainfog, brainhealth, calories, carbs, chronichealth, diet, dietculture, digestion, disorderedeating, ellenGwhite, farming, fatloss, fitness, fitnessjourney, guthealth, health, history, holistic health, hormones, industrialinfluence, influencers, metabolism, nuance, nutrition, nutritionadvice, nutritionalscience, physiology, podcast, science, weightloss, wellness

Move More, Eat Less? The Lie That Won’t Die

The Fatal Flaws of Calories In Calories Out and the Metabolism Model That Could Change Everything

Alright, let’s talk about the four most useless words in the history of weight loss advice: ‘Just eat less, move more.’ You’ve heard it, I’ve heard it, and if this phrase actually worked the way people think it does, we wouldn’t have skyrocketing rates of obesity, metabolic dysfunction, and entire industries built around yo-yo dieting. But here’s the kicker—it sounds logical. Simple math, right? Calories in, calories out. Except the human body is not a bank account; it’s a biological orchestra, and the way we process energy is more like a symphony than a spreadsheet.

We’ve already tackled the oversimplified calorie-counting dogma in our Science Dogma episode, and we’ve explored how perception alone—like believing a milkshake is ‘indulgent’—can literally alter our hormonal response. That’s not woo-woo, that’s science. But today, we’re going deeper. Because beyond the CICO model, beyond the calorie obsession, there’s a much bigger, messier, and more fascinating reality about metabolism, obesity, and why diet advice keeps failing people.

And I know what some of you might be thinking—‘But Megan, are you saying calories don’t matter?’ No. I’m saying they don’t tell the whole story. The way we eat, when we eat, why we eat, our hormones, stress levels, metabolic adaptations, even our past dieting history—all of it plays into how our body responds to food.

So as we close out Season 3 of Taste of Truth Tuesday, I want to leave you with something foundational. Not another diet trend. Not another oversimplified soundbite. But a real, nuanced conversation about what actually influences metabolism, weight loss, and why some of the most popular strategies—like keto, intermittent fasting, and calorie counting—work for some people but absolutely wreck others.

And here’s the disclaimer—I’m not an advocate for low-carb dieting in general, especially as someone who’s recovered from disordered eating. But my guest today? He eats low-carb and keto. And here’s what I respect—he’s not dogmatic about it. He understands that the real answer to health and weight loss isn’t found in any one-size-fits-all approach. It’s about bio-individuality.

So grab your coffee, take a deep breath, and get ready to rethink everything you thought you knew about metabolism. Let’s do this.

The calorie, as a unit of measurement, has a fascinating history that ties directly into the calories in, calories out (CICO) debate. While many assume the calorie has always been the standard for measuring food energy, its adoption in nutrition is relatively recent and shaped by shifts in scientific understanding, industry influence, and public health narratives.

The Origin of the Calorie

The concept of the calorie originated in physics, not nutrition. In the early 19th century, Nicolas Clément, a French chemist, introduced the term calorie as a measure of heat energy. By the late 1800s, scientists like Wilbur Olin Atwater adapted this concept to human metabolism, conducting bomb calorimeter experiments to determine how much energy food provided when burned. Atwater’s Physiological Fuel Values established the foundation for modern caloric values assigned to macronutrients (fat = 9 kcal/g, carbohydrates and protein = 4 kcal/g, alcohol = 7 kcal/g).

The Rise of Caloric Nutrition

By the early 20th century, calories became central to dietary guidelines, especially in public health efforts to address malnutrition. During both World Wars, governments used calorie counts to ration food efficiently. However, as food abundance grew, the focus shifted from ensuring sufficient calorie intake to preventing excess, paving the way for weight-focused dietary interventions.

CICO and the Simplification of Weight Loss

The calories in, calories out model became dominant in the mid-20th century, driven by research showing that weight loss or gain depended on energy balance. The First Law of Thermodynamics—energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed—was applied to human metabolism, reinforcing the idea that a calorie surplus leads to weight gain and a deficit to weight loss.

This framework became the foundation of mainstream diet advice, but it often overlooked complexities such as:

  • Hormonal influences (e.g., insulin, leptin, ghrelin)
  • Metabolic adaptation (how bodies adjust to calorie deficits)
  • The thermic effect of food (protein takes more energy to digest than fat or carbs)
  • Gut microbiome effects on calorie absorption
  • Psychological and behavioral aspects of eating

Criticism and the Evolution of the Debate

By the late 20th century, challenges to strict CICO thinking emerged. Researchers in endocrinology and metabolism, such as Dr. Robert Lustig and Dr. David Ludwig, highlighted that not all calories affect the body in the same way—insulin regulation, macronutrient composition, and food quality play crucial roles.

Low-carb and ketogenic diet advocates argued that carbohydrate restriction, not just calorie restriction, was key to weight management due to its impact on insulin and fat storage.

I personally think, it’s not just carbs or calories doing this. There are at least 42 factors that impact blood sugar and metabolism. This is something I’ve worked to educate my audience on for years. Carbs are just one piece of the puzzle. Stress, sleep, gut microbiome, meal timing, inflammation, hormonal balance—all of these influence the body’s metabolic “terrain.”

Where Are We Now?

Today, the calorie remains a useful measure, but the conversation has expanded beyond simple energy balance. Researchers acknowledge that while calories matter, factors like food quality, hormonal responses, and individual metabolic differences significantly impact how the body processes energy. The debate now leans toward a more nuanced view.

Now, let’s talk about why this matters.

Today, I’m joined by Adam Kosloff, an author and researcher who isn’t afraid to challenge conventional wisdom—especially when it comes to obesity and metabolism. A Substack post of his, A Righteous Assault on the Absolute Worst Idea in the History of Science, takes a sledgehammer to the dominant ‘calories in, calories out’ model, aka Move More, Eat Less? The Lie That Won’t Die, arguing that our understanding of fat storage is fundamentally broken. Instead, he presents a revolutionary new framework—the Farmer Model—that redefines how we think about metabolism, obesity, and weight loss.

For years, the dominant narrative around weight loss has been depressingly simple: “move more, eat less.” This slogan has been drilled into us by dietitians, doctors, and fitness gurus as if it were an unshakable law of physics. But if it were that simple, why has metabolic disease skyrocketed despite more people tracking their calories and increasing exercise?

Adam challenges the traditional CICO (calories in, calories out) model, not just by saying it’s wrong, but by arguing it is catastrophically misleading. His Farmer Model reframes obesity and metabolic dysfunction as a landscape issue rather than a simple calorie balance equation.

Think of your metabolism like farmland. The most obvious disruptor might be “acid rain”—high-carb, sweet, ultra-processed foods that erode the topsoil, flood the land, and cause metabolic damage (fat storage, inflammation, insulin spikes). But not all disruptions look like a storm.

Sometimes, the changes are more insidious. Maybe those daily lattes weren’t a flood but a subtle shift in the terrain, like over-fertilizing a field. Too much of a good thing, whether dairy proteins or artificial sweeteners, can nudge the metabolic landscape in a way that leads to dysfunction over time.

And here’s the kicker: It’s not just carbs or calories doing this. There are at least 42 factors that impact blood sugar and metabolism. This is something I’ve worked to educate my audience on for years. Carbs are just one piece of the puzzle. Stress, sleep, gut microbiome, meal timing, inflammation, hormonal balance—all of these influence the body’s metabolic “terrain.”

Adam’s latest Substack post, 10 Smackdowns That Lay Waste to CICO, was an absolute banger. The line “Gaze upon these arguments, ye mighty gym bros, and despair…” had me cackling. But beyond the sass, the research was rock solid. In our conversation, we break down some of the most devastating smackdowns against CICO and discuss which ones tend to make the most die-hard calorie counters short-circuit.

The takeaway? The “move more, eat less” doctrine is outdated and incomplete. It’s time for a more sophisticated conversation about metabolism that acknowledges the complexity of the human body rather than reducing it to a basic math equation.

LINKS

Science or Stagnation? The Risk of Unquestioned Paradigms – The first episode we challenged calories in, calories out (CICO) & mention Germ theory vs Terrain theory

The Farmer vs. The Banker

10 Smackdowns that lay waste to CICO

3 Times I Gained Weight on Keto

Gary Taubes Substack articles

Emotional Hijacks & Nutritional Hacks: Unveiling the🧠Amygdala’s Secrets ⁠

The Dissolution of the Nutrition Science Initiative

Obesity and Starvation Found Together

The Influence of Religious Movements on Nutrition

Why Challenging Beliefs Feels Like a Personal Attack—And Why It Shouldn’t

The Biggest Loser Study-The metabolic consequences of extreme dieting & the weight gain rebound effect

Posted on in bigfood, buylocal, diet, dietculture, digestion, farming, fitness, fitnessjourney, holistic health, industrialinfluence, influencers, MLMS, nuance, nutrition, nutritionadvice, nutritionalscience, pharmaceuticalcompanies, podcast, pseudoscience, RFK Jr., science, socialmedia, socialmediainfluence, technology, weightloss, wellness

Why “Trust the Experts” Is Failing Us: The Shocking Loopholes in Our Food System

How Big Food Hijacked Nutrition Advice

In this week’s Taste of Truth Tuesdays podcast episode, we’re diving into an issue that has been brewing in the wellness world—particularly within the anti-MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) community. While many of us recognize the toxicity of MLM schemes in the beauty, wellness, and health industries, there’s another area where the promotion of questionable health products is happening: the food industry.

It’s strange, really. The same voices that speak out against MLMs’ manipulative practices often promote highly processed, sugar-laden foods in the name of convenience, cost-effectiveness, and even “health.” You’ve likely heard some of these food brands positioned as “healthier alternatives”—like Hawaiian Fruit Punch or cinnamon toast cereals—with a wink and a nod suggesting they’re okay to indulge in because they’re “fun,” “easy,” or “fortified” with vitamins. But here’s the truth: these products aren’t the wholesome treats they’re often presented as. The U.S. food system is more complicated—and far more dangerous—than most people realize.

How Many New Chemicals Are in Our Food?

Between 2000 and 2021, 766 new chemicals were introduced into the U.S. food supply. That’s right—thousands of chemicals and additives have been added to our foods without the rigorous review process people assume exists for food safety. In fact, 98.7% of these chemicals were approved through a loophole called the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) pathway, which allows companies to self-certify their ingredients as safe, bypassing FDA review altogether. This system has enabled potentially harmful chemicals to enter our food without independent oversight.

The implications for consumer health are serious. These chemicals include artificial colors, flavor enhancers, preservatives, and sweeteners linked to various health issues. And because the FDA doesn’t maintain a comprehensive list of all the chemicals in our food, the lack of oversight should concern everyone.

The Problem with Self-Certification: Why HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Pushing Back

It’s a real problem when the system designed to ensure food safety operates like the fox guarding the henhouse. Under the GRAS loophole, manufacturers can decide for themselves whether an ingredient is safe, meaning many additives in foods like sugary cereals or drinks may never have undergone adequate safety testing. As a result, foods marketed as “harmless fun” or “nutritious” could contain chemicals with long-term health risks.

In response, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has directed the FDA to explore eliminating the GRAS loophole. His argument? The current system treats chemicals as “innocent until proven guilty” rather than requiring manufacturers to prove safety before using them in food. Kennedy is pushing for greater FDA oversight to hold companies accountable for the ingredients they use—especially those with potential long-term health effects.

The Irony of Anti-MLM Advocates Promoting Big Food Products

Here’s where things get ironic: Many anti-MLM advocates call out the harmful ingredients in MLM products like shakes or vitamins, exposing their pseudoscience and shady marketing tactics. Yet, these same people turn a blind eye when it comes to mass-market food brands like Hawaiian Fruit Punch and sugary cereals.

Why? Because these products are marketed as “fun,” “easy,” or “family-friendly” and don’t carry the same stigma as MLMs. The problem is, these mass-market foods are often loaded with added sugars, artificial colors, and preservatives that have well-documented links to obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses.

The Truth: Real Nutrition vs. Big Food’s Agenda

The food industry operates much like MLMs in how it prioritizes profit over consumer health. While MLMs exploit their members with empty wellness promises, Big Food capitalizes on our craving for convenience and nostalgia. If they can make something taste good, look appealing, and market it as a childhood favorite, we’ll keep buying it—regardless of its actual nutritional value.

As consumers, we need to recognize that just because something is widely available and heavily marketed doesn’t make it safe. Many of these products contain additives that have never been thoroughly tested or reviewed by the FDA. So, while it’s important to call out MLMs for misleading practices, we can’t ignore the fact that Big Food is playing the same game with what we eat.

Conclusion: What We Can Do About It

In this week’s podcast, we discussed the need for greater transparency and awareness in the food industry. Just like with MLMs, it’s crucial to remain skeptical and stay curious about what’s being marketed to us as “healthy.” Whether it’s a pre-packaged drink or a processed cereal, understanding what’s actually in these products can help us make better, more informed choices about what we’re putting into our bodies.

But beyond skepticism, real empowerment comes from reclaiming control over our food choices—getting back to the basics, connecting with local farmers, growing our own food, and learning how to cook from scratch. The more we detach from the processed food system and build relationships with those who produce real, whole foods, the less power these corporations have over our health.

For those wondering where to start, there are resources to help. Websites like LocalHarvest.org make it easy to find nearby farmers’ markets, family farms, and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) in your area. Many farmers’ markets even accept food stamps through the SNAP program, making fresh, local food more accessible than ever. Programs like USDA’s Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) also help connect families with nutritious, farm-fresh options.

This isn’t about fear—it’s about freedom. The freedom to nourish ourselves and our families with food we trust, to support local communities instead of faceless conglomerates, and to opt out of a system that prioritizes profit over well-being.

Let’s keep asking questions, seeking better alternatives, and finding ways to reconnect with real food. And as always, let’s maintain our curiosity, embrace skepticism, and keep questioning what we’re told is “safe.”

Sources:

  1. Center for Science in the Public Interest. (n.d.). GRAS loophole and FDA food safety concerns. https://www.cspinet.org
  2. Environmental Working Group. (n.d.). Thousands of chemicals in our food system remain unregulated. https://www.ewg.org
  3. LocalHarvest. (n.d.). Find local farms, farmers’ markets, and CSAs. https://www.localharvest.org
  4. Pew Charitable Trusts. (2013). Fixing the FDA’s food additive regulatory system.
  5. U.S. Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). SNAP at Farmers Markets. https://www.fns.usda.gov/fmnp/overview
  6. FDA’s GRAS System: U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/food/food-ingredients-packaging/generally-recognized-safe-gras
  7. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Statements on FDA GRAS System: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2025, March 10). HHS Secretary Kennedy directs FDA to explore rulemaking to eliminate pathway for companies to self-affirm food ingredients as safe. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2025/03/10/hhs-secretary-kennedy-directs-fda-explore-rulemaking-eliminate-pathway-companies-self-affirm-food-ingredients-safe.html
  8. Studies on Food Additives and Health Risks: National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). Artificial additives and their impact on health. Artificial Food Color Additives and Child Behavior

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Untangling the Threads of Chronic Pain, Trauma, and Healing

How Emotional Trauma Contributes to Chronic Pain

If you had asked me a year ago why my body hurt so much—why my hips ached, my calves tightened with every step, or why even walking on the treadmill felt like a chore—I would have said it was from overtraining or poor posture. What I couldn’t articulate then was that my pain wasn’t just physical. It was a complex dance involving my nervous system, my fascia, and my body’s attempt to protect itself after years of unresolved trauma.

Our nervous system plays a fundamental role in chronic pain. When we experience physical or emotional trauma, our body reacts by creating a heightened state of alertness. Over time, these experiences are encoded in the nervous system as neurotags—clusters of physical, emotional, and cognitive memories that influence how we react to stress and pain. Chronic pain, I’ve learned, is often an echo of this activation. It’s not just about tight muscles or structural imbalances—it’s a survival mechanism trying to make sense of and respond to past trauma.

This is the story of how I’ve started to untangle it all, and how chronic pain, emotional wounds, and trauma are all intricately tied together in ways I never imagined.

The Connection Between Chronic Pain and Trauma

For years, I treated my body like a machine. During my bodybuilding days, I pushed through discomfort, ignored signs of overtraining, and celebrated soreness as a badge of honor. But what I didn’t understand then was how my nervous system was quietly keeping score.

Chronic pain, I’ve learned, isn’t just about tight muscles or structural imbalances—it’s a survival strategy. When we experience trauma, whether from overtraining, stress, or emotional wounds, our nervous system can get stuck in a heightened state of alertness. It’s like a smoke alarm that keeps going off, long after the fire has been extinguished.

Fascia, the connective tissue that surrounds every muscle and organ in our body, plays a fascinating role in this process. Fascia isn’t just structural—it’s sensory. It’s packed with nerve endings that communicate directly with the brain. When the body perceives danger (even subconsciously), the fascia can tighten, creating patterns of tension that mirror emotional or physical trauma. In my case, that tension showed up in my psoas muscles, my calves, and my lower back—all areas associated with safety and movement.

The more I explored these connections, the more I began to see that pain wasn’t random—it was a message from my body. And it was asking me to listen.

The Power of Neurotags: How Pain and Trauma Intersect

One of the most eye-opening concepts I’ve come across in my journey is the idea of neurotags—a term used to describe the brain’s way of organizing and processing sensory, emotional, and cognitive information. Neurotags are like maps of experiences that are built over time, creating an interconnected network of physical sensations, emotions, and thoughts that work together to form a response to stimuli.

Here’s the kicker: Chronic pain is often stored in these neurotags. When trauma occurs—whether physical, emotional, or psychological—it gets encoded in the nervous system as a pattern. These patterns are not just about the physical experience of pain, but also the emotions and thoughts tied to that experience.

When trauma is stored in the nervous system, it doesn’t just affect how we feel physically; it affects our entire emotional and cognitive landscape. For example, someone who has experienced physical trauma may also experience emotional flashbacks or cognitive distortions that are linked to that experience. These flashbacks are like sudden replays of past trauma, but they don’t just exist in the mind—they can show up physically in the body.

Neurotags, Emotional Flashbacks, and Chronic Pain

Think about it this way: When we experience a traumatic event, our nervous system reacts by encoding that event into a neurotag. This neurotag includes not only the physical sensations (like tightness, pain, or discomfort), but also the emotions (fear, anger, sadness) and cognitive patterns (thoughts like “I am unsafe” or “I am weak”).

Emotional flashbacks happen when the brain reactivates these neurotags, causing the body to respond as if the trauma is happening again. This is why someone with chronic pain may experience intense emotions that seem disproportionate to the physical sensations they’re feeling. The pain can trigger a flashback—a sudden, overwhelming re-experience of trauma that isn’t just mental but is felt deeply in the body.

In my case, the tension I experienced in my hips and lower back was a reflection of both the physical trauma of overtraining and the emotional trauma I had internalized from years of pushing myself too hard and ignoring my body’s signals. When my nervous system encountered stress, it activated these neurotags, making the tension and pain feel more intense and more pervasive. The more I resisted this pain or ignored the emotional connection to it, the worse it became.

How I’m Healing: Creating New Neurotags and Engaging the Vagus Nerve

Understanding neurotags has been revolutionary in how I approach my healing process. The key to healing, I’ve learned, is not simply “fixing” the physical pain but reprogramming the neurotags. This involves creating new patterns that support healing, safety, and relaxation.

One powerful way I’m rewiring my nervous system is by engaging the vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve that plays a critical role in regulating the parasympathetic nervous system. The vagus nerve is like the body’s “brakes,” helping to turn off the fight-or-flight response and return the body to a state of calm. When activated, it encourages relaxation, emotional regulation, and recovery—exactly what my body needs as I untangle the tension stored in my fascia and nervous system.

Here’s how I’m starting to rewire my system:

Reconnecting with Joyful Movement:
I’ve reintroduced activities that make me feel alive, like walking in the garden or playing with my pets. These moments remind me that movement isn’t just about strength—it’s about freedom. By incorporating joyful, non-stressful activities, I’m helping to reinforce new neurotags that associate movement with pleasure and ease.

Reclaiming Safety Through Movement:
Instead of high-intensity workouts, I’ve shifted to gentle, functional exercises that strengthen my core and glutes while supporting my nervous system. Slow, mindful movements like glute bridges, bird dogs, and pelvic tilts have become my new best friends. These exercises not only build strength but signal to my nervous system that it’s safe to move.

Releasing Fascia with Love:
I’ve embraced somatic practices like gentle rocking, diaphragmatic breathing, and fascia-focused stretches to help release tension. These practices aren’t just physical—they’re a way of telling my body, “You’re safe now.” They help reprogram the neurotags associated with stress and trauma by sending a message of relaxation and calm.

Vagus Nerve Activation:
To support my nervous system’s recovery, I’ve incorporated practices that stimulate the vagus nerve, such as slow, deep belly breathing and humming. Breathing deeply into my diaphragm (focusing on long exhales) has been especially helpful in calming my body and signaling to my nervous system that it’s okay to relax. By consciously engaging my vagus nerve, I’m helping shift from the fight-or-flight response into a restorative state.

Rewriting Emotional Patterns:
Rewiring my nervous system also means rewriting my emotional patterns. This involves acknowledging the emotional flashbacks that arise when pain triggers old neurotags and consciously choosing to respond with compassion and self-care. Instead of reacting with fear or frustration, I’m learning to pause, breathe, and remind myself that I’m safe now.

What Chronic Pain Has Taught Me

Chronic pain has been a tough teacher, but it’s taught me lessons I wouldn’t trade for anything:

  • Your body is always on your side. Pain is a signal, not a punishment.
  • Healing isn’t linear. Some days, progress looks like resting instead of pushing.
  • Movement is medicine, but only when done with intention and love.

I share this journey because I know I’m not alone. So many of us carry the weight of trauma—both emotional and physical—in our bodies. And while the road to healing isn’t easy, it’s worth it.

If you’re navigating chronic pain, I want you to know this: Your body isn’t broken, and you don’t have to fight it. With the right tools, patience, and self-compassion, you can create safety, release tension, and rediscover the joy of movement.

I’m still on this journey, and I’d love to hear about yours. What has chronic pain taught you? How are you learning to trust your body again? Let’s keep this conversation going—because healing happens when we feel safe enough to share.

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Metabolism Myths: Why Dieting Fails

Let’s dismantle the myths, explore the facts, and learn how to stop fighting against your body and start working with it.

Welcome to Taste of Truth Tuesdays—where we challenge the quick-fix culture, dive deep into the science, and find practical ways to take care of our bodies and minds. Today we’re tackling a hot topic: weight loss—or more accurately, fat loss—and why I preach the mantra: “You’ve got to earn the right to diet.”

Our culture is obsessed with weight loss—seriously, it’s everywhere. It’s in magazine headlines, social media posts, and those cringe-worthy commercials promising “30 pounds in 30 days!”

But here’s the deal: when we talk about weight loss, what most of us really want is fat loss. And that’s a critical distinction. For example, when we discussed in our opening episode about Ozempic, some people using the drug experience muscle loss and lower bone density, increasing the risk of injury—especially for older adults. So, losing “weight” can mean losing muscle, water, or even bone density—not exactly what we’re aiming for, right?

Before diving into dieting strategies, let’s start with the fundamentals: metabolism, daily energy needs, and why chasing fat loss without preparation often backfires.

Understanding Metabolism and Energy Needs

First, to break down the metabolism, let’s chat about your Total Daily Energy Expenditure—TDEE, for short. This is the total amount of energy (aka calories) your body burns in a day. Think of it like your budget: how much energy you’re spending to stay alive, digest food, and live your life.

Here’s what makes up your TDEE:

  • 1. Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
    • This is your body’s baseline energy burn—the calories you need just to breathe, pump blood, and stay alive.
    • Body size & muscle matter: More muscle means burning more calories, even when you’re chilling on the couch.
    • Age matters too: As we age, we lose muscle and, unfortunately, burn fewer calories. But guess what? It’s never too late to hit the weights and change that!
  • 2. Thermogenesis
    • This is the heat your body produces to maintain a stable temperature. It also includes the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)—the energy required to digest, absorb, and store the food you eat. About 10% of the calories you consume go toward this process, proving that even digestion is hard work!
  • 3. Physical Activity
    • This includes both Exercise Activity and Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)—everyday movements like walking, housework, thinking, carrying groceries, or even fidgeting. NEAT can make up 15% of your TDEE, while intentional exercise typically contributes around 5%. Never underestimate the power of a good walk!

Fat Loss ≠ Weight Loss

Here’s the thing: your body isn’t a spreadsheet. It doesn’t see your calorie deficit and say, “Oh great, let’s burn fat!” Instead, your body adapts to survive. When you cut calories too hard or for too long, your body gets the message: famine alert! It starts conserving energy and prioritizing survival.

The result? You feel tired, your hair starts thinning, your period might disappear, and fat loss grinds to a halt. This is called metabolic adaptation, and it’s a feature—not a bug. Your body’s goal is survival, not helping you fit into your old jeans.

The Metabolic Aftermath – Lessons from The Biggest Loser

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty science of why extreme dieting is a metabolic disaster waiting to happen. Remember the Biggest Loser study we teased in the first episode of this season? Well, buckle up because we’re about to unpack it further.

To recap: contestants on The Biggest Loser followed an intensely restrictive protocol. They ate roughly 1,200 calories per day and worked out like machines—90 minutes of intense exercise six days a week, sometimes up to five or eight hours daily, according to some contestants. Their grocery lists? Approved by their trainers, and dominated by so-called “Franken-foods” like fat-free cheese and energy drinks. The result? Drastic weight loss during the season. But the aftermath tells a much darker story.

The Study: What Happened Post-Show?

In 2015, six years after their stint on the show, researchers revisited the contestants. By then, they’d regained about 70% of the weight they lost—but their metabolisms didn’t bounce back. In fact, their resting metabolic rate (RMR) was still burning 700 fewer calories per day than when they first started the show. That’s 500 calories less than predictive equations would expect based on their regained body weight. This is a huge deal.

Participants also lost 25 pounds of lean mass during the filming of the show. They did regain about 13 pounds of it, but their RMR didn’t increase accordingly. Usually, regaining lean mass helps boost your metabolism, but not for these contestants. Their bodies were still in “conservation mode.”

Why? Because extreme calorie deficits and grueling exercise regimens wreak havoc on your body’s hormonal systems:

  • Leptin, the hormone that signals fullness and regulates energy expenditure, plummeted during the show. After contestants regained weight, leptin levels rebounded, but their RMR didn’t follow suit. Normally, these two rise and fall together, but the link was severed.
  • These metabolic adaptations weren’t just temporary—they lingered years later, showing that the body doesn’t easily forgive extreme restriction.

What Does This Mean for Us?

Many people think fat loss is all about willpower or psychological resilience. But as this study shows, extreme dieting fundamentally changes your physiology. Your body isn’t just sitting idly while you slash calories; it’s actively fighting back to keep you alive. Once that metabolic “check engine” light goes on, calorie restriction becomes far less effective than it was at the start. This is why dieting feels so much harder over time.

The Cost of Chronic Dieting

The Biggest Loser study highlights the long-term consequences of metabolic adaptation, a normal bodily response to extreme or chronic dieting. Here’s what can happen:

  • Disrupted leptin and ghrelin levels, which throw off hunger and satiety cues.
  • Upregulated adrenal activity and downregulated thyroid and reproductive hormones, leading to weight-loss resistance, missed periods, hair loss, and constant coldness.
  • Loss of muscle mass, which lowers your RMR and makes it harder to maintain fat loss.

This is why I preach: You’ve got to EARN THE RIGHT TO DIET!

Coaching Clients Out of the Yo-Yo Cycle

When new clients come to me, fat loss is often their top goal. But most have already been through cycles of yo-yo dieting, binge eating, and sporadic exercise routines. Many are already in a metabolically downregulated state without realizing it.

Instead of diving into another calorie deficit, we work on stabilizing their foundation first.

  • We focus on sustainable habits: consistent workouts, balanced meals, and a healthier relationship with food.
  • We optimize metabolism through resistance training, proper nutrition, and enough recovery.
  • We work on mindset: reframing negative self-talk, building body confidence, and learning to appreciate progress beyond the scale.

Once we’ve mastered these basics, a fat-loss phase—if desired—becomes a healthier, more effective process.

Your Body Isn’t Broken—It’s Adaptable

The takeaway here? Our bodies are designed to survive famines, not crash diets or “shredding for summer.” You can still have aesthetic goals, but you need to respect the incredible adaptability of your metabolism. By avoiding extremes and building metabolic efficiency, you can achieve your goals without wrecking your long-term health.

Let’s dive into the sneaky sneaky metabolic red flags—the subtle, often-overlooked signs that your metabolism is waving a caution flag without setting off obvious alarms. Here are a few that might fly under the radar:

1. Digestive Woes

  • Persistent constipation, bloating, or irregular bowel movements. These can indicate sluggish digestion linked to metabolic slowdown, as the body conserves energy by slowing non-essential functions.
  • Feeling too full or nauseous after small meals, which could signal a dysregulated gut-brain connection from chronic stress or extreme dieting.
  • How you can start addressing this:
    • Support your gut: Add fermented foods like kefir, sauerkraut, or kimchi for probiotics. Pair these with fiber-rich prebiotics (think asparagus, oats, and onions).
      Ease into meals: Practice mindful eating—slow down, chew thoroughly, and avoid distractions to help your digestion catch up.

2. Resting Heart Rate Changes

  • Lower-than-normal resting heart rate (Sudden spikes in heart rate during light activity could mean your body is stressed and overcompensating.
  • How you can start addressing this:
    • Monitor stress: Incorporate daily relaxation practices like deep breathing, yoga, or meditation to keep your nervous system in check.
    • Increase electrolytes: Boost potassium (bananas, avocados) and magnesium (almonds, spinach or supplements) intake for better heart regulation.

3. Skin and Nail Changes

  • Dry, flaky skin or increased sensitivity to cold due to impaired circulation.
  • Vertical ridges or brittleness in nails, signaling nutrient deficiencies like iron or biotin depletion.
  • How you can start addressing this:
    • Prioritize nutrient-dense animal foods: Incorporate foods like beef liver (rich in vitamin A and zinc), pasture-raised egg yolks, and grass-fed butter for skin elasticity and nail strength.
    • Collagen and gelatin: Include bone broth or collagen-rich cuts like oxtail and shanks to support skin, hair, and nails from the inside out.
    • Omega-3s from wild-caught fish: Salmon, mackerel, and sardines are excellent for reducing inflammation and promoting healthy skin.
    • Hydration through broths: Instead of plain water, hydrate with mineral-rich broths or herbal teas to balance electrolytes and nourish your body.

4. Random Muscle Cramps or Twitches

  • Could be a result of electrolyte imbalances from overexercising or undereating.
  • How to start addressing this:
    • Balance electrolytes: Add a quality electrolyte supplement, especially if you sweat a lot during workouts.
    • Stretch + magnesium: Use stretches and add magnesium glycinate or citrate before bed to reduce cramps.

5 Brain Fog and Forgetfulness

  • Struggling to focus or experiencing slower mental processing, which can result from inadequate glucose availability or dysregulated cortisol levels.
  • How to start addressing this:
    • Fuel your brain: Don’t fear carbs—opt for slow-digesting options like sweet potatoes or quinoa. Pair them with protein and fats for sustained energy.
    • Blood sugar balance: Keep meals consistent in timing and composition (protein + fat + fiber) to avoid crashes.

6. Reduced Appetite

  • Wait, what? Yes! A suppressed appetite after prolonged dieting is a sneaky sign of a dampened leptin response, your body’s way of conserving energy.
  • How to start addressing this:
    • Eat smaller, nutrient-dense meals: Focus on foods that pack a punch like eggs, nuts, and Greek yogurt to avoid overwhelming your system.
    • Gentle refeeding: Gradually increase calories, especially from whole, unprocessed sources, to rebuild your body’s trust. (We talk about this further down in the blog!)

7. Waking Up Exhausted

  • Even after a full night’s sleep, waking up feeling like you didn’t rest at all can be due to poor recovery from stress or disrupted sleep stages (thanks, cortisol and ghrelin!).
  • How to start addressing this:
    • Improve sleep hygiene: No screens an hour before bed, a dark room, and consistent bedtime routines can work wonders.
    • Focus on protein at breakfast: A high-protein breakfast (30-40g) stabilizes cortisol and sets you up for better energy.

8. Dull Libido or No Interest in Sex

  • A metabolic system that’s in survival mode often deprioritizes reproduction.
  • How to start addressing this:
    • Check hormones: Get labs done to check for imbalances in thyroid, sex hormones, or cortisol.
    • Increase zinc: Shellfish, beef, and pumpkin seeds are great for boosting hormones like testosterone.

9. Random Injuries or Slow Healing

  • Susceptibility to injuries like strains or joint pain, and delayed recovery from workouts or cuts, hinting at insufficient energy and nutrients for repair.
  • How to start addressing this:
    • Focus on anti-inflammatory foods: Fatty fish, berries, and leafy greens can help repair tissue.
    • Scale back intensity: Opt for lighter workouts until your body starts feeling strong again.

These subtle signs don’t scream “your metabolism is broken!”—but together, they can whisper it pretty loudly. 

So, finally, what do I mean when I say, “Earn the right to diet”?

We are now talking strategy. Nutrition isn’t a one-size-fits-all, all-the-time thing. It’s seasonal, just like nature.

  • Maintenance Season: Focus on balance and consistency.
  • Fat Loss Season: Create a calorie deficit strategically and temporarily.
  • Reverse Dieting Season: Slowly increase calories post-diet to avoid rebound weight gain.

This approach, called nutritional periodization, prevents the long-term damage we’ve seen in extreme dieters (ahem, Biggest Loser contestants). Instead of burning out your metabolism, you give your body time to adapt and recover.

Nutritional Periodization: The Real Secret Sauce

Timelines for nutritional periodization will vary depending on the person, but the framework is a progressive process. It involves:

  • Gradually increasing calories to support your metabolism.
  • Shifting fitness priorities from cardio-heavy routines to strength-focused programming that builds muscle and improves body composition.
  • Reviving your mindset to understand that fat loss does not automatically mean a better body image or more happiness.

Now, let’s talk about maintenance—the often-overlooked MVP of this entire process.

The Maintenance Window: The Ultimate Flex

Most people gloss over maintenance because it’s not glamorous. There’s no scale-dropping dopamine hit or big “reveal.” But here’s the truth: maintenance is where the magic happens.

  • It’s where you rebuild your metabolism, so when you eventually do enter a fat loss phase, your body responds the way you want.
  • It’s where you master the “basics” (which, by the way, aren’t easy): meal prep, consistent workouts, and stress management.
  • It’s where you cultivate a relationship with food that isn’t all-or-nothing.

Let me share a story to illustrate this:

The Client Who Wanted It Harder

A client came to me desperate to lose weight. She was frustrated with her stomach area and hated the way her clothes fit. I got it. Her pain was real. Her goals were valid. But as we talked, it became clear there was a bigger picture:

  • She had a shoulder injury that limited her workouts.
  • She struggled with GERD, a digestive issue worsened by stress.
  • She was so busy managing her job that she’d forget to eat or rely on takeout for meals.

She was eating roughly 1,400–1,700 calories a day—barely enough for a toddler, let alone a busy adult who wanted to lose weight. Most fat loss programs will have the client start by cutting 15–20% of their total daily intake– from that would’ve been impossible to sustain and would’ve made her health even worse.

I explained this to her. We needed to focus on foundational habits first:

  • Improving digestion by reducing stress and eating whole, nutrient-dense meals.
  • Packing her own lunches instead of relying on fast food.
  • Building strength in the gym without aggravating her shoulder.

About six weeks in, she hit me with this: “This needs to be harder. If it were harder, I’d be doing it.”

I was floored. She was so used to crash diets and extreme programs that not suffering felt wrong to her. I realized we weren’t aligned in values. I told her:

“There are plenty of coaches who will take your money and throw you into a calorie deficit, but that’s not how I practice. I’m about health first, and I won’t compromise on that.”

Why Maintenance Matters

This is exactly why earning the right to diet is critical. If you can’t master the basics in maintenance—like fueling your body properly, managing stress, and being consistent—then making it harder by cutting calories and ramping up exercise will only set you up for failure.

Maintenance is a big deal because it prepares your body and mind for success when the time comes for a fat-loss phase. It’s not just about burning calories; it’s about building a life you can sustain.

If you’re thinking, “This sounds too slow,” remember:

  1. Your body adapts to chronic dieting as a survival mechanism.
  2. Maintenance isn’t a punishment—it’s freedom.
  3. When done right, fat loss becomes easier, healthier, and more effective later.

IN CLOSING! Health First, Always

To wrap this up, I want you to remember one thing: fat loss can be a goal, but it should never come at the expense of your health. By focusing on metabolism, hormones, and habits first, you’re setting yourself up for sustainable success.

A HOLISTIC REBOOT STRATEGY

  1. Reverse Diet Smartly: If you’ve been in a calorie deficit for too long, increase calories by 50-100 per week, focusing on whole, nutrient-dense foods.
  2. Lower Exercise Volume Temporarily: Shift to resistance training 3-4x per week, and sprinkle in restorative activities like walking or Pilates.
  3. Micronutrient Check: Get a blood test to address any vitamin or mineral deficiencies—common culprits are iron, B12, and vitamin D.
  4. Track Baseline Metrics: Keep an eye on resting heart rate, body temperature (shouldn’t be too low), and energy levels to monitor progress. What is biofeedback and why is it so important?
  5. Patience: You didn’t get here overnight, and reversing these adaptations will take time. Celebrate small wins along the way!

The key is sustainability. Think of this as a long-term investment in metabolic health, not a quick fix.

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with someone who’s caught in the cycle of dieting frustration. Let’s help them break free and find a better way forward.

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Understanding Metabolic Health: The Role of Temperature and Pulse

How to Use Temperature and Pulse for Metabolic Health Insights

In the summer of 2020, my health began to take a dive. Years of chronic dieting, over-exercising, negative self-talk, and hormonal birth control were taking their toll. I was eating next to no carbs, minimal sugar, low fat, no dairy, and only lean protein. I was working out six days a week, doing hours of cardio, and feeling terrible physically, mentally, and emotionally. Hypothyroid and adrenal symptoms began to emerge. It was clear my lifestyle was working against my physiology. My metabolism felt ‘broken’ or ‘slow,’ but in reality, I was undernourished and overstressed.

Initially, I started tracking basal temperature but did not include resting pulse rates. At the time, my average temperatures were 96.5°F, and my pulse was 44 bpm. Discovering the “pro-metabolic” community introduced me to the research of Dr. Ray Peat and Dr. Broda Barnes, and it changed my perspective.

According to Dr. Raymond Peat, a well-nourished, healthy human should have a resting pulse of 85+ beats per minute. A high resting pulse (in the absence of stress) indicates good metabolic health and a strong ability to repair. This counters mainstream advice, which often celebrates a low resting heart rate as a marker of fitness.

Why Temps and Pulses Matter

Your thyroid acts as your body’s thermostat, controlling metabolism. Metabolism is the sum of all biochemical reactions in the body—essentially, the rate of energy production in the cells and the speed of bodily processes. Body temperature reflects metabolic activity, and people with underperforming thyroids often have low basal body temperatures.

Tracking basal body temperature and resting pulse provides insights into your thyroid and metabolic function:

  • Basal body temperature can indicate if ovulation has occurred, reflecting progesterone production (a pro-thyroid hormone).
  • Resting pulse shows how well your body is utilizing nutrients and oxygen.
  • Tracking post-meal temperatures and pulses helps identify stress responses and metabolic efficiency.

How to Track Temps and Pulses

To get accurate and actionable insights, follow these steps: Log your readings daily to identify trends over time. Note factors like stress, sleep, meals, and menstrual cycle phases that might influence your results.

  • Choose the Right Thermometer
    • Use a digital thermometer with a quick response time and high accuracy.
    • Glass basal thermometers are also effective but require more time to measure.
  • Measuring Basal Temperature
    • Take your temperature first thing in the morning, immediately after waking, and before getting out of bed.
    • Place the thermometer under your tongue for the most reliable reading. Avoid using armpit readings as they can be less accurate due to environmental factors.
  • Measuring Resting Pulse
    • Use a wearable device, like a fitness tracker, to measure your resting pulse overnight or immediately upon waking.
    • Alternatively, place your index and middle fingers on your wrist or neck to manually count beats for 60 seconds.
  • After Meals
    • Check your temperature and pulse 30-40 minutes after breakfast. These should gently rise after eating, as food lowers stress and generates heat. If they drop, it may indicate elevated stress hormones upon waking.
  • Track Afternoon Readings
    • Record your temperature and pulse between 1-3 p.m. when your body’s temperature should naturally peak.
  • Use a Tracking App or Journal

Questioning the Mainstream Narrative

The Mayo Clinic states: “Generally, a lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular fitness. For example, a well-trained athlete might have a normal resting heart rate closer to 40 beats per minute.”

But is a low resting heart rate truly beneficial? Evidence suggests otherwise. Thyroid health—the thermostat of the body—plays a crucial role in metabolism. A sluggish thyroid often correlates with lower body temperatures and slower heart rates, indicators of reduced metabolic function.

Why Temperature and Pulse Matter

Metabolism refers to the sum of all biochemical reactions in the body. It’s essentially the rate of energy production at the cellular level—the speed at which your body processes and utilizes energy. Your body temperature is a reflection of this activity. People with under-functioning thyroids tend to exhibit low basal body temperatures and slower pulses, which can indicate:

  • Low thyroid function
  • Inflammation
  • Suppressed immune function
  • High stress
  • Estrogen dominance

In contrast, a warm body is linked to better immune function, efficient digestion, reduced inflammation, and overall metabolic health.

How to Track Temperature and Pulse

Tracking these metrics throughout the day provides invaluable insights into your metabolic health:

  • Upon Waking:
    • Follicular Phase: 97.2-97.8°F
    • Luteal Phase: 98.6°F
    • Resting pulse: 75-90 bpm
  • After Breakfast:
    • Temperatures and pulse should gently rise after meals. Food lowers stress and generates heat. If your numbers drop, it may indicate falsely elevated waking temps due to stress hormones like cortisol.
  • Afternoon:
    • Temperatures should peak between 1-3 PM.

What Your Numbers Reveal

  • Higher temp and pulse (in the absence of stress): Optimal metabolic function
  • Normal temp and higher pulse: Active stress response
  • Lower temp and lower pulse: Chronic stress and metabolic suppression
  • Normal temp and lower pulse: Chronic stress or low thyroid function

How to Optimize Your Numbers

If your temperature and pulse rates aren’t within optimal ranges, consider the following steps:

  1. Prioritize bioavailable protein: Aim for at least 100 grams per day.
  2. Eat enough calories: 1,800-2,000+ per day, depending on individual needs.
  3. Include digestible carbs: At least 150 grams daily (e.g., honey, maple syrup, fruit, root vegetables).
  4. Pair carbs with protein: Avoid “naked carbs” to stabilize blood sugar.
  5. Focus on anabolic exercise: Build muscle with strength training to boost metabolism.

Why This Matters

Using temperature and pulse as tools, you can:

  • Monitor how well your body utilizes energy.
  • Evaluate recovery from exercise.
  • Gain insights into hormonal balance (e.g., progesterone production and ovulation).
  • Identify the impacts of stress on your physiology.

Final Thoughts

Key Takeaways By regularly monitoring your temps and pulses, you can uncover patterns and make adjustments to optimize your thyroid and metabolic health. These small, daily practices provide powerful insights into how your body is functioning and what it needs to thrive.

Healing is never a final destination; it’s an ongoing journey. Over time, I’ve seen significant improvements in my metabolic markers. My overall body temperature has risen to 97.6–98.1°F, and my resting pulse is now around 70 bpm—much better than where I started. This progress has required me to embrace a larger body size than what traditional “fit fam” culture promotes, but it has been worth it. Prioritizing healing and hormone rebalancing has provided my body with the sense of safety and stability it needed to thrive.

To read more about the doctor that pioneered these tests grab the book called Hypothyroidism: The unsuspected illness by Dr. Broda Barnes

✌🏼Looking for more support navigating your cycle with fitness & nutrition? Check out my FREE guide & pro-metabolic strength training guide available for purchase!

LINK to apply for 1:1 coaching ❤️

Sources 👇🏻

PMID: 28740582
PMID: 26792255
Dr. Ray Peat

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Ditch the Quick Fix: Building Habits That Actually Stick

Reframing the New Year: Rejecting Quick Fixes for Sustainable Growth

Welcome to Season 3 of Taste of Truth Tuesdays! 🎉 We’re kicking off with a bang, diving deep into a topic near and dear to my heart. After two decades in the fitness industry, I’ve got some game-changing insights, tips, and no-nonsense truths to share. You won’t want to miss a single minute of today’s episode💪✨

The New Year is here, and you’ve probably seen the tidal wave of ads pushing detoxes, cleanses, and resets. Let me stop you right there: NO, you do NOT need a detox, cleanse, or reset after the holidays.

When I say, “quick fix,” what comes to mind? Maybe it’s a detox tea promising to cleanse your system, a miracle shake that claims to replace your meals, or even the latest pharmaceutical weight-loss drug like Ozempic, used off label and hailed as the “solution” to stubborn fat. Quick fixes thrive on our desperation for immediate results. They’re marketed as shortcuts—whispering, “This will solve all your problems,” no patience or hard work required. 🫣

But here’s the hard truth: quick fixes rarely fix anything. Whether it’s a detox, a cleanse, or a medication designed to suppress your appetite, they often bypass the root causes of your concerns. They don’t teach you how to nourish your body or rebuild a healthy relationship with food. Instead, they slap a band-aid on symptoms while creating long-term consequences for your metabolism, hormones, and mental well-being.

Take Ozempic, for example. While it’s been touted as a “miracle” weight-loss drug, there are some serious health warnings that aren’t always front and center. As with significant weight loss in general, some people using these drugs experience muscle loss and lower bone density, increasing the risk of injury—especially for older adults.

In animal studies, semaglutide (the drug behind Ozempic) has been linked to an increased risk of thyroid cancer, including medullary thyroid carcinoma. While we don’t yet know if this risk translates to humans, it’s something to be aware of—especially if you have a family history of thyroid conditions. And let’s not forget the FDA’s 2023 warning about potential intestinal blockage associated with these medications, although the evidence so far shows it’s more about slowed gastric emptying and vomiting mimicking an obstruction.

And here’s the kicker—while these quick fixes promise to reshape your body in a short period, they often come with a slew of side effects that are rarely discussed. The key to managing those risks? Pay attention to your diet, listen to your body, and stay hydrated. But I can’t help but wonder: is the price tag on this “quick fix” really worth it?

In my own journey, I repeatedly fell for these promises—from replacing real food with Smart Start cereal, to taking ephedra and green tea energy pills in high school, and in my 30s, chasing the next shake, cleanse, or some ridiculous holistic protocol that promised to transform my body overnight. Spoiler alert: it never worked the way I hoped, and sometimes, it made things worse.

Today, we’re pulling back the curtain on quick fixes, diving into why they’re so appealing, and exposing the truth about detoxes, cleanses, and even medications like Ozempic. Because your health deserves more than a shortcut—it deserves a sustainable, thoughtful approach rooted in a long-term sense of well-being.

Let’s start by breaking down the dangers of these so-called “solutions” and why they often cause more harm than good.

🚨 The Dangers of Detoxes and Cleanses

Let me start by sharing a bit about my personal experience with Isagenix, an MLM I was involved in for four years. Their program revolved around “shake days” and “cleanse days.” Shake days required replacing two meals with shakes, leaving you with just 1,200-1,500 calories a day. Cleanse days were even more extreme: 24-48 hours of intermittent fasting where you consumed only “approved” snacks—essentially glorified candies from their product line.

These cleanse days were touted as the secret to triggering autophagy, “cleaning up your cells,” and building muscle while shedding fat. But for me, the reality couldn’t have been further from the sales pitch. Instead of gaining energy, building muscle, or feeling cleansed, I experienced fatigue, hormonal disruptions, and a worsening relationship with food.

I want to clarify here: if you’re under the care of a well-educated, integrative professional who has run labs and prescribed a short-term liver cleanse or restrictive protocol tailored to your needs, this isn’t directed at you. I’m talking to the folks who, like me, were misled by the marketing tactics of supplement companies, MLMs, and Pinterest ads. These programs prey on our insecurities while delivering none of the promised benefits.

Here’s why these quick-fix detoxes and cleanses are more harmful than helpful:

They Deplete Your Energy Over Time

On those “cleanse days,” I often felt like I was running on fumes. Severely restricting food intake forces your body to pull from its energy reserves, leaving you fatigued, irritable, and unable to function optimally.
Over time, this restriction triggers metabolic adaptation, slowing down your metabolism to conserve energy. Instead of speeding up fat loss, it makes your body cling to every calorie it gets, making future weight management even harder.

They Disrupt Hormonal Health

My cleanse days wreaked havoc on my hormones. The lack of consistent nourishment interferes with thyroid hormone conversion and overactivated the adrenal glands, increasing cortisol production. Chronic high cortisol levels undermine immunity, energy, and mood.
For women, the risks are even greater. Prolonged restriction sends your body into survival mode, disrupting your reproductive hormones. I dealt with irregular periods, cold extremities, and even hair thinning—all signs that my body was prioritizing survival over reproduction.

They Create Nutritional Deficiencies

When you cut out food, you cut out nutrients. The shakes and supplements from Isagenix were marketed as “nutritionally complete,” but they couldn’t compare to the diversity and richness of whole foods. This reliance on synthetic supplements is not a sustainable way to meet your nutritional needs.

They Damage Your Relationship with Food

One of the most insidious effects of these programs was how they warped my relationship with food. By constantly restricting and “cleansing,” I lost touch with hunger cues and began seeing food as the enemy. At one point, my appetite diminished, which might sound like a win in hustle culture, but it was actually a red flag. Our bodies need food to fuel productivity, creativity, and overall well-being. Sacrificing health in the name of hustle isn’t the flex diet culture makes it out to be.

The Bottom Line

Programs like the one I was involved in sell you the illusion of health while delivering energy depletion, hormonal imbalance, and long-term damage to your metabolism. Sustainable growth comes from nourishing your body, listening to its needs, and rejecting the false promises of quick fixes.

If you’re considering a cleanse or detox, ask yourself: is this supporting my long-term health, or am I falling for a marketing gimmick? 

💡 What Your Body Actually Needs

Your body thrives on consistency, nourishment, and balance. That’s why the 365 Easy Challenge focuses on six foundational habits to create sustainable growth:

  • Gratitude – Build a positive mindset by reflecting daily on what you’re thankful for.
  • Digestion – Support your gut with mindful eating practices and nourishing foods.
  • Sleep – Prioritize restorative rest to boost energy and metabolism.
  • Mindset/Self Talk – By reframing, shift your mindset to approach challenges with resilience.
  • Stress Management & Nutrition – Balance your life and plate without extremes.

These habits aren’t about perfection—they’re about progress. You can join in any time and make this year about sustainable, steady growth. One phrase I often say often to clients:

“Slow is steady and steady is fast.”

Seven Things I Wish I Knew Sooner

In this episode, we’re tackling the first four lessons I wish I’d learned earlier in my nutrition and fitness journey. These are insights that can save you time, frustration, and even your health.

1. Extreme Diets Have Extreme Consequences

If you’ve ever thought, “I just need to cut calories harder,” let me stop you right there. Extreme diets may promise quick results, but they come with a hefty price tag on your body.

Research, such as the Biggest Loser Study (PMID: 27136388), reveals a major roadblock: metabolic adaptation. Your body isn’t wired for vanity; it’s wired for survival. When you restrict calories excessively, your body compensates to preserve energy—this can continue for years after the diet ends (PMID: 35729736).

Here’s what that looks like:

  • Calorie restriction becomes less effective over time.
  • Your metabolic rate slows down, making it harder to maintain or continue fat loss.
  • You feel frustrated, but it’s your body hitting the brakes, not your willpower failing.

Takeaway: Your body isn’t out to sabotage you; it’s protecting you. The solution? Nutritional periodization. Incorporate diet breaks, maintenance phases, and even reverse dieting to minimize these adaptations.

2. Restrictive Diets Wreck Hormonal Health

Chronic or yo-yo dieting isn’t just stressful for your mind—it’s a major stressor for your body. Prolonged restrictions can negatively impact your:

  • Adrenal system: Chronic stress triggers the HPA axis, increasing cortisol. While cortisol is essential in moderation, consistently high levels can negatively impact energy, mood, and immunity.
  • Thyroid: High stress interferes with TSH production and the conversion of thyroid hormones, which are vital for metabolism.
  • Reproductive hormones: Missing or irregular periods, hair loss, and constant coldness? These are signs your body isn’t feeling “safe” enough to prioritize reproduction.

Minimum body fat is necessary to maintain reproductive health, especially for women. Hormones like progesterone, critical for ovulation and metabolism, rely on nutrient availability and a sense of safety

Takeaway: Your body isn’t the enemy—it’s doing its best with the fuel and signals you’re giving it. Support your hormones by eating enough, maintaining balance, and avoiding extreme restrictions. PMID: 2282736

3. Exercise + Intermittent Fasting = Double Trouble for Women

Adding intense exercise to intermittent fasting might sound like a fast track to results, but for women, it’s a recipe for dysfunction. Here’s why:

Women’s bodies are highly sensitive to kisspeptin, a neuropeptide critical for reproductive and endocrine health. Diets like keto and intermittent fasting can disrupt kisspeptin production, leading to:

  • Endocrine dysfunction.
  • Menstrual irregularities.
  • Depression and increased abdominal fat (yes, the opposite of what you wanted).

Half of all active women aren’t eating enough to support basic functions, let alone training. The long-term impact? Impaired thyroid function, stalled muscle growth, and metabolic imbalance.

Takeaway: Women need nourishment, especially when training hard. Fasting and exercise together often do more harm than good, leaving your body stressed instead of thriving.

PMID: 29860237
PMCID: PMC4818825
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-020-0363-7
Dr. Stacy Sims

4. A Healthy Relationship with Exercise is Flexible and Fulfilling

Exercise is amazing for your body and mind, but even a good thing can become harmful when taken to extremes.

Exercise addiction is a compulsive engagement in physical activity, despite negative consequences. It often comes with:

  • Excessive rules and rigidity.
  • Feelings of shame before, during, or after workouts.
  • Withdrawal symptoms when unable to exercise.

In contrast, a healthy relationship with exercise is:

  • Flexible: It allows for variety in movement types and durations.
  • Fulfilling: It’s rooted in joy and self-care, not punishment or guilt.

Takeaway: The best kind of movement is the one that enriches your life, not rules it. Exercise should add value to your day, not take away from it.

✨ Let’s Leave Hustle Culture in 2024👋

Hustle culture says, “Eat less, work more, and sacrifice rest to succeed.” This mindset isn’t empowering—it’s exhausting. This year, let’s prioritize health over hustle and choose habits that energize rather than deplete.

The 365 Easy Challenge is here to help you make that shift. Whether it’s gratitude, better sleep, or balanced nutrition, these small steps add up to big changes over time.

Takeaway for 2025: This year, skip the detox and focus on what truly works: habits that honor your body’s needs, not a quick-fix fantasy. If you’re ready to embrace sustainable growth, join the 365 Easy Challenge and start building a foundation for lifelong health.

Easy 365 ChallengeDownload

It’s never too late to jump in—let’s grow together!

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Embracing the Season: Winter Solstice, Holidays, and New Year Goals

Welcome back to Taste of Truth Tuesdays! With the winter solstice just days away, we’re officially in the home stretch of 2024. The shortest day of the year reminds us to embrace the darkness while we prepare for the return of the light. It’s a reflective time—perfect for thinking about the holidays, setting intentions, and crafting meaningful goals for the new year. Today, we’re unpacking all of this, diving into the science of motivation, and introducing the 365 Easy Challenge. If you’re ready to create lasting habits that stick, you’re in the right place. Stick around until the end for December journal prompts designed to help you close out the year with clarity. Let’s get started!

The Truth About Motivation

Let’s start by busting a common myth: motivation is NOT the secret sauce to achieving your goals. It’s more like an internal campfire. You have to keep stoking it, or it fizzles out. Motivation, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, is unreliable. Intrinsic motivation comes from within — like your desire to be healthy or curious. Extrinsic motivation, like fitness challenges or rewards, comes from external sources.

So, what’s the science behind this? Motivation is tied to our brain’s reward system. Dopamine plays a critical role—it’s the “feel-good” chemical released when we anticipate a reward. But here’s the catch: dopamine isn’t just about pleasure; it’s about seeking. This is why motivation can be fleeting—once the novelty of the reward wears off, so does the drive. This is where habits and routines come in. They remove the need to rely on motivation alone, anchoring actions in consistency instead of fleeting feelings.

Awareness is the foundation of meaningful change. You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken. That’s why our 365 Easy Challenge emphasizes building habits that last, not just riding the highs of short-term motivation.

Why Traditional Challenges Fall Short

Have you ever tried extreme diets like Whole 30 or intense challenges like 75 Hard? While these can inspire short bursts of action, they often fail to teach sustainable skills. The problem isn’t laziness or lack of discipline; it’s unrealistic goals and focusing on what others are doing instead of tailoring solutions to your needs.

Science supports this too: extreme approaches often activate the brain’s stress response, making it harder to sustain willpower. Cortisol, the stress hormone, can hijack your decision-making, leading to burnout or impulsive choices. Instead, we need to focus on actions that align with our values and fit seamlessly into our lives.

This year, we’re flipping the script. The 365 Easy Challenge is all about mastering the basics — simple, sustainable actions that create consistency. Remember, consistency builds routines, and routines drive results.

Introducing the 365 Easy Challenge

Here’s the breakdown: The challenge focuses on six foundational habits:

  • Brain Reframe 🧠
    Your body doesn’t need a “reset” — your brain does! Shift the focus to what you’re adding, not subtracting. More protein, more fruits & veggies, more movement. It’s all about progress, not perfection. Spend five minutes daily countering negative self-talk with rational, supportive statements. This rewires neural pathways and strengthens your brain’s ability to shift perspectives, helping you stay aligned with your goals.
  • Stress Management (and Your Mindset Around Stress) 😤
    Stress is the silent killer of self-control and health. Managing stress isn’t just about chill vibes; it’s about understanding your stress and handling it like the boss you are. Take intentional movement breaks, practice deep breathing, and reframe stress as a challenge, not a threat. Movement enhances endorphin release, while reframing stress alters its impact on your body, helping you maintain mental clarity and avoid burnout.
  • Sleep Consistently 😴
    The most underrated (yet most important) aspect of health? SLEEP. If you’re aiming for aesthetic goals, consistent sleep should be at the top of your priority list. Prioritize a bedtime routine with blue-light blocking, magnesium supplements, and a consistent schedule. Sleep affects everything from metabolism to emotional regulation. Even just one hour less sleep per night can impair cognitive function and decision-making, so get those 7-9 hours for optimal performance.
  • Digestive Health 🥦
    Your body doesn’t thrive off what you eat, but off what you can digest and absorb. Let’s get those healthy poops on track and optimize your digestion for real transformation. Eat a protein-rich breakfast within 60 minutes of waking, and practice mindful eating by chewing thoroughly. Did you know that proper chewing activates enzymes in your saliva that kickstart digestion, setting the stage for better nutrient absorption and smoother digestion throughout the day?
  • Adequate Nutrition 🍏
    Under-eating doesn’t get you anywhere good. Let’s focus on fueling your metabolism, building muscle, and living your life — so when the time comes for fat loss, it’s smoother and healthier than ever. The amount of food you need to eat per day may surprise you! Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) includes the energy required to support basic bodily functions (known as basal metabolic rate or BMR) and your daily physical activities. This can range from 1800-2400 calories for most individuals, so fueling your body adequately is key to long-term success.
  • Gratitude Practice 🙏
    Meditation, prayer, and focusing on gratitude are more than just buzzwords. Science shows they can actually help you stay on track with your diet and exercise goals. Start your day by writing down three things you’re grateful for. Research shows that gratitude practices enhance mental health and even improve physical health by reducing inflammation and improving sleep quality, creating a positive feedback loop that supports overall wellness.

When clients approach me desiring fat loss, we often need to shift our focus first to achieving optimal psychological and physiological baselines. Many struggle with yo-yo dieting, binge eating, a poor relationship with food, negative body image, and sporadic workout consistency. That’s why periodized nutrition—or planning strategies like reverse dieting to support metabolism—is so important. Nutrition isn’t just about cutting calories; it’s about fueling your body to thrive.

Every week, you’ll add one action from each habit category. By week five, you’ll have integrated all six habits into your routine. And it’s okay if life happens and you miss a day — progress over perfection is the goal here.

Building Sustainable Habits

Why does this approach work? Because it’s rooted in simplicity and adaptability. You’re not overhauling your life overnight or setting yourself up for burnout. Instead, you’re focusing on actions that are easy to maintain and build upon.

For example, let’s talk digestion. Did you know your body isn’t what you eat but what you can digest and absorb? Simple changes like chewing your food more thoroughly or incorporating a 10-minute walk after meals can make a huge difference in your health.

And when it comes to sleep, the science is clear: adults need 7-9 hours of quality sleep for optimal function. Creating a bedtime ritual can condition your brain to wind down, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

December Journal Prompts

As promised, here are your December journal prompts to close out the year with reflection:

  1. What was the most significant moment of your year, and why?
  2. List three accomplishments you’re most proud of this year.
  3. How have you grown as a person over the past year?
  4. Write about a goal you didn’t achieve—what held you back, and what did you learn?
  5. “This year taught me…”

Take 10 minutes to reflect on these, and you’ll start the new year with a clear mind and a motivated heart.

As you embrace the new year, remember that lasting change comes from building habits, not from a fleeting burst of motivation. By grounding yourself in gratitude, reflection, and simple daily actions, you can create a year that feels easy—and meaningful.

Check out the full 365 Easy Challenge guide for detailed steps to start your journey today.

Easy 365 ChallengeDownload

Let’s make 2025 a year of progress and joy!

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Master Your Sleep: Simple Hacks for Restful Nights

The holidays are here, and while it’s the season of joy, connection, and maybe a few too many late nights, it’s also the perfect time to start preparing for the 365 Easy Challenge kicking off in 2025. And let’s face it: sleep is the foundation for everything we’ll tackle together next year.

Did you know women are more likely to struggle with insomnia than men? It’s not just in your head—it’s science. Hormonal fluctuations (hello, PMS, pregnancy, and menopause) wreak havoc on your sleep cycles, making restful nights feel like a luxury you can’t afford to miss.

But here’s the real kicker: poor sleep doesn’t just leave you feeling groggy. It messes with your mood, metabolism, and even your muscles. Whether you’re juggling holiday chaos, prepping for a fresh start in January, or just trying to function, running on empty isn’t the answer. Let’s dig into why quality sleep is essential—and how to actually get it.

Why Sleep Matters More Than You Think

  1. Inflammation & Immunity
    Sleep is your body’s built-in anti-inflammatory agent. Without it, inflammation skyrockets, leaving you vulnerable to chronic diseases and poor recovery from workouts or injuries.
  2. Mental Clarity
    Brain fog isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a sign your brain didn’t get its overnight “detox.” Sleep clears out waste products like amyloid plaques, which are linked to neurodegenerative diseases. Think of it as housekeeping for your mind—skip it, and you’re living in clutter. Braig fog + thyroid connection!
  3. Hormonal Harmony
    From cortisol to melatonin to estrogen, sleep keeps your hormones in check. Messy sleep = messy hormones, which can mean mood swings, weight gain, and irregular cycles.
  4. Circadian Rhythm & Beyond
    Your body runs on a 24-hour clock. Disrupting it—whether with late-night scrolling or inconsistent sleep times—throws everything off, including digestion, energy levels, and even hunger cues.

Sleep & Exercise: The Sneaky Saboteur

Think sleep doesn’t impact your workouts? Think again. Poor sleep leads to:

  • Slower reaction times (hello, clumsiness).
  • Increased injury risk (because you’re tired and uncoordinated).
  • Longer recovery times (muscles can’t repair without rest).
  • Heightened fatigue (making you feel like you’re dragging through every rep).

💡 Quick fix: Research shows a 45-minute afternoon nap can improve performance and lower perceived effort. Translation: naps aren’t lazy; they’re strategic.

Bedtime Hacks for Better Rest

  1. Dim the Lights
    Block blue and green light from screens, lower the brightness, and dim the room 1–2 hours before bed.
  2. Chill Out
    Literally—lower your bedroom temperature to around 65°F (18°C). Cooler temps signal your body it’s time to rest.
  3. Silence & Darkness
    Total darkness (blackout curtains or a sleep mask) + white noise or earplugs = your best chance at uninterrupted rest. My favorite sleep track
  4. Stick to a Schedule
    Consistency is key. Aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time—even on weekends.
  5. Don’t Force It
    Wake up in the middle of the night? Get out of bed briefly to reset instead of tossing and turning.

Level Up Your Sleep with Bedtime Gummies

Let’s talk about a bedtime treat that actually works: Tart Cherry Gummies. Packed with melatonin and glycine, they’re a natural way to ease into deeper, more restful sleep.

Why Glycine Rocks:

  • Helps you fall asleep faster.
  • Improves sleep quality and efficiency.
  • Eases symptoms of insomnia.

Recipe:

  • 1 cup tart cherry juice
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 tbsp beef gelatin
  • Maple syrup (to taste)
  1. Bloom the gelatin in half the juice for 3–5 minutes.
  2. Heat the remaining juice, then combine.
  3. Pour into molds or a dish and refrigerate.

The Takeaway

Sleep isn’t a luxury—it’s a lifeline. From balancing your hormones to enhancing your brainpower, it impacts every aspect of your health. If you’re still treating it like an afterthought, it’s time to flip the script.

Now, tell me: what’s your biggest sleep struggle, and which hack are you going to try first? 💤

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Mastering Stress Management for a Balanced Life

Let’s talk about stress, baby! The holiday season is here, and so is the pressure—family obligations, shopping, cooking, and don’t even get me started on the aftermath of an election year. It feels like stress is at an all-time high, right? But guess what? It doesn’t have to wreck your health goals or derail your progress in 2025.

Forget extreme diets, gimmicky regimens, and complicated rules. In 2025, we’re mastering the basics and building a lifestyle that lasts. The key to handling the chaos of life, including holiday stress and beyond, is learning how to manage it effectively. That’s where stress management fits into the 365 Easy Challenge—your simple, sustainable plan for the new year.

Stress is the silent killer of self-control and health. It doesn’t just disrupt your mind—it messes with your body, too. And when stress builds up, it pulls your energy away from what matters most: your health, your relationships, and your goals. That’s why stress management isn’t just about “chill vibes”—it’s about learning to recognize, manage, and even reframe how we handle stress.

2025 is the year we crush the basics—here’s how to make stress a manageable part of your journey, not a roadblock.

What Is Stress, Really?

Stress is your body’s natural response to change. Whether it’s positive (like getting married or landing a new job) or negative (like losing a loved one or dealing with financial pressure), your body reacts in a similar way. Your nervous system goes into high gear, releasing hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to help you react to the situation.

At a basic level, stress is a mechanism for survival—your body prepares to fight or flee from danger. But in today’s world, the “danger” is more likely to be a heavy workload, relationship problems, or feeling overwhelmed by societal issues. It’s no longer a saber-toothed tiger lurking around the corner, but your body responds with the same intense, sometimes overwhelming, force.

The Stress Response: Fight or Flight, or Freeze?

When stress triggers your fight-or-flight system, your body shifts into survival mode. This state is designed for short bursts of energy—like running away from danger or facing an immediate threat. However, in today’s world, this system is often activated for prolonged periods, even when the “danger” isn’t physical but emotional or mental.

This prolonged state of stress can lead to:

  • Chronic inflammation: Your immune system is on constant alert, which can cause inflammation in your body. Over time, chronic inflammation is linked to conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders.
  • Cortisol imbalances: Cortisol is your body’s primary stress hormone. It’s helpful in small amounts, but if cortisol levels stay elevated for too long, it can affect your metabolism, immune function, and even your mood.
  • Digestive issues: Chronic stress slows down digestion, leading to issues like bloating, indigestion, and constipation. Your body diverts energy away from digestion to focus on “surviving,” which means your gut doesn’t get the attention it needs. Check out this post for more!
  • Sleep disturbances: Stress can interfere with your sleep cycle, either by making it difficult to fall asleep or by causing you to wake up in the middle of the night. Inadequate sleep further exacerbates stress, creating a vicious cycle.

We dive deep into the cycles of stress and their impact on the body here–>Unraveling the Impact of Stress on Chronic Health with Theresa Piela-In this powerful episode, I sit down with holistic healing expert Theresa Piela to explore the deep connection between chronic stress and health.

The Chronic Stress Cascade: How Your Body Reacts Over Time

When stress becomes chronic, your body begins to break down. This is where it gets tricky. Initially, stress is adaptive—it helps you meet deadlines, take care of important matters, or perform in high-stakes situations. But when stress persists without relief, your body’s systems start to degrade. Here’s what can happen over time:

  1. The Brain’s Reaction: Your brain uses a part called the hypothalamus to detect stress. The hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland to release ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), which triggers the adrenal glands to produce cortisol. This is your body’s way of priming itself for action. But when cortisol levels remain elevated, it can impair cognitive function, causing issues with memory, focus, and decision-making.
  2. Metabolic and Hormonal Disruptions: Prolonged stress can disrupt your body’s metabolic rate and hormonal balance. Elevated cortisol levels encourage your body to store fat, particularly around the abdominal area, leading to weight gain. It also suppresses the production of thyroid hormones, slowing down your metabolism and making it harder to lose weight.
  3. Impact on Digestion: Under stress, the digestive system gets “shut down” as blood is redirected to muscles and the brain. This leads to slower digestion, poor nutrient absorption, and can worsen symptoms like bloating, constipation, or acid reflux. Over time, these digestive issues can lead to more serious conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or leaky gut syndrome.
  4. Sleep and Recovery: The relationship between stress and sleep is a two-way street. High cortisol levels can make it difficult to fall asleep, and poor sleep further heightens stress. Sleep is a critical time for recovery and repair, and without it, your body cannot recover from the physical or mental toll of stress.

Stress Triggers: What’s Really Affecting You?

Now that we understand how stress works, let’s take a deeper look at the factors that are increasing your stress levels. In today’s fast-paced world, many of us are chronically stressed without even realizing it. Some of the most common stress triggers include:

  • Work: The pressure to perform, meet deadlines, and juggle multiple tasks can create a constant state of stress. Add in the current economic uncertainty, and the pressure can skyrocket.
  • Family and Social Expectations: From holiday gatherings to social media pressures, the weight of fulfilling expectations can cause significant stress. Feeling obligated to meet everyone’s needs can drain your mental and emotional reserves.
  • Politics and Global Events: In an election year, especially with heightened tensions and divided opinions, political issues can contribute to a constant feeling of unease and anxiety.
  • Financial Strain: Worrying about money, whether it’s paying bills, managing debt, or planning for the future, is a significant stressor for many people.

Managing Stress: Key Educational Insights for a Healthier Life

While stress is inevitable, there are clear strategies you can adopt to keep it from sabotaging your health. Let’s break down effective stress management into actionable steps.

1. Reframe Your Perception of Stress

Research shows that how you perceive stress matters. When you view stress as something that harms you, your body responds in a negative way. However, when you view stress as a challenge—something to overcome—it actually helps improve your body’s response. It’s not about eliminating stress, but rather about adjusting your mindset.

2. Practice Mindful Stress Reduction

Mindfulness techniques, such as meditation, deep breathing, or progressive muscle relaxation, can help lower your stress levels by activating your parasympathetic nervous system. This is the “rest and digest” system, which counters the “fight or flight” response. Even just 5–10 minutes a day can significantly lower your stress levels.

3. Physical Activity as a Stress Reliever

Exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress. When you engage in physical activity, your body releases endorphins—those “feel-good” chemicals that elevate mood and decrease stress. It doesn’t have to be an intense workout; even a walk, yoga session, or light stretching can help.

4. Nutrition and Hydration: Fueling Your Stress Management

Adequate nutrition and hydration are crucial for your body to handle stress. Dehydration can make you feel more stressed, and poor nutrition can exacerbate your body’s physical stress responses. Eating a balanced diet, with plenty of protein, healthy fats, and fiber, helps maintain stable blood sugar levels and keeps your hormones balanced.

5. Sleep Hygiene: Prioritize Rest

As mentioned earlier, sleep is foundational to stress management. Without quality sleep, your body doesn’t have the opportunity to repair itself. Implementing good sleep hygiene practices—such as avoiding blue light before bed, keeping a regular sleep schedule, and creating a restful environment—will help you get the restorative rest you need.

Conclusion: Stress is Manageable, Not Inevitable

The bottom line is that stress doesn’t have to control your life. By understanding the science behind it, recognizing your triggers, and taking proactive steps to manage it, you can reduce its harmful impact on your health.

As you embark on the 365 Easy Challenge for 2025, managing stress is one of the foundational steps toward living a balanced, sustainable life. Focus on building resilience and consistency, and remember: stress is a challenge you can conquer, not something to fear.

By addressing stress and its impact head-on, you’ll create a lifestyle that nurtures your health, happiness, and long-term success.

Stay calm, stay consistent, and take control of your stress in 2025. You’ve got this! 💪✨

Check out previous blog posts or podcast episodes for more insights on stress!

Read more here! https://taste0ftruth.com/2024/09/22/ways-to-support-your-body-during-stress/