HAPPILY HORMONAL | hormone balance for moms, PMS, painful periods, natural birth control, low energy, pro-metabolic

E55: Are You Doing Enough to See Results with Your Hormones? This ONE Thing Kills Progress Every Time

• Leisha Drews, RN, FDN-P, holistic hormone coach, period expert

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Today I'm talking about the ONE THING  hindering your progress towards hormonal balance and better health. Break free from this mental barrier and nourish your body with the support and guidance shared in today's conversation. In this episode I discuss the importance of having a step-by-step method, the power of shifting our mindset, and the impact of stress hormones on our overall hormonal balance.

It is possible to fix your hormones WITHOUT doing it perfectly, and busy seasons don't have to be the roadblock we think they are.

In this episode:

  • [00:00]  How do we know if we are doing enough to balance our hormones?
  • [02:22]  Making the changes + encountering roadblocks
  • [07:45]  Overcoming perfectionism and focusing on nourishment
  • [12:42]  How stress hormones kill hormone balance
  • [15:47]  Why support is key when balancing hormones


Resources
- Nourish Your Hormones Course: use the code HHPODCAST for $50 OFF Nourish Your Hormones!
- 3 secrets to balance your hormones workshop
- Free hormone balance guide

Connect with Leisha
Instagram: @leishadrews
Website: www.leishadrews.com
Apply to work 1:1 with Leisha HERE

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

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

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

Speaker 1:

Hey friends, today I'm going to talk about what we do when we're not doing enough to balance our hormones, or when we feel like we're not doing enough. How do we know if that's true? How do we know if you actually are not doing enough, or if you're stuck in perfectionism, or if you have gone down to any rabbit holes on the internet and you just don't even know what the heck to do with yourself anymore or how to do enough to fix your hormones or to fix your health, and this is a whole thing, and it has been a really recurring topic for me lately, with friends, with students, with people on Instagram that I talk to like all over the place. I just feel like I keep getting the same message, and it is. I feel like I just need to give up because I'm not doing enough, like it's too busy, i'm not able to do well enough or I can't keep up with XYZ part of what I'm supposed to be doing. So I think it's probably just time to quit, and I'm going to talk today about how perfectionism, which is the root of all of that, is actually the enemy of progress, and what you can do to change that and to succeed, even in these really busy seasons.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Happily Hormonal Podcast. Have you're a little iffy on whether or not the word hormonal is a good one? You're in the right place. My name is Leisha Drews, registered nurse and functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner, turned holistic hormone coach, and, after going through my own hormone journey and having my three babies, i actually believe that our hormones are one of the greatest gifts that we've been given as women And that, no matter what you've been told, it's possible for you to have thriving energy, good periods and a stable mood all month long. And I am here to show you the way. I think it's time to change the narrative around words like hormones and hormonal and start to reclaim the power that we truly have as women, which is a power to change not only our own health but the health of all of our family for generations to come. Hormone balance doesn't have to feel hard. It can actually feel simple and fun when we do it in a way that aligns with how our bodies were made. If you're ready to start trusting your body again and feeling really good in that beautiful body that you've been given, then grab yourself a yummy drink and maybe a snack and let's do this Okay.

Speaker 1:

So tell me, if this is you, if you could be DMing me this like you got started on eating healthy or exercising, or you're really. You know, if you're here, you're very much more likely that you are starting to really create more of a lifestyle, right? Or you have been creating a lifestyle over time where you're really nourishing your body better your changing habits, your changing products, like all of the things And it just sometimes doesn't feel like you're doing enough, or there are just so many stinking roadblocks in the way that you are not feeling like you're essentially doing enough, right, and so the DMs that I have been getting are like I just think that you know I tracked my food for a couple of days, but it doesn't even matter now because everything got crazy and it's like it's off right. First of all, if you are in a place where you're trying to do this on your own and you're doing your own research and you've like been piecing things together little by little, that truly might be part of the problem, like a big part of the problem, because if you are piecing things together yourself and you don't feel like you actually have a plan or like a method that is going to work for you. It is so much harder to be consistent, and so this is why nourish your hormones is such a really focused and step-by-step method, so that you don't have to feel so all over the place anymore, so you don't have to feel like you're trying to like piece things together and read an Instagram post here or listen to a podcast there. Well, obviously, i believe in those things. I think they can be so helpful.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes we just need, like, the whole picture, and so I really see that some of the time, our inconsistency or feeling like we're not doing enough really comes from this place of not truly feeling confident in what we're doing, and so then it's so much easier to quote unquote fall off the wagon when it's a busy season, or to not stay consistent and to not keep up with the things that you're trying to do, whether that's supplements or whether that's food or whether that's exercise or any of those things.

Speaker 1:

It's so much easier to give up on something that you are not bought into and you aren't confident in If you are in a busy season or like you have any reason to give up on it. It's just so much easier if you're not confident that it's going to work for you, and so having a step-by-step method and having support around that really makes all the difference as you are trying to build these habits, which is why I've laid it out so clearly in such a step-by-step way, and one of the things that I teach inside of NERSHA hormones right at the beginning is to start to change from this mindset of restriction or mindset of such an all or nothing mindset into a truly nourishing mindset, and this is honestly one of the biggest keys to me being able to change my life for the better over the last five, seven years. At this point, but when I was able to step out of this perfection mindset that felt like if I'm not doing enough, that directly correlates to me not getting the results that I want. So since I can't do it perfectly, since I can't do enough because of whatever the reason is because we all have our reasons it doesn't matter, like it's just not worth it, and that is absolutely not true. So, when talking about perfectionism a little bit because even if you don't necessarily think that perfectionism is an issue for you, if you feel like you can relate to any of this it is so important to realize that perfectionism really is a problem Like it really is.

Speaker 1:

And when you have this mindset that you have to be all in or you're just all out, or you're not going to get the result, or you have to, you know, eat perfectly for XYZ amount of time to be able to get the results that you want, it is so unrealistic for most of us to do things perfectly. It's definitely unrealistic for me, with three little kids in a business and all the things that we're doing. And if I was in that mindset still, my hormones would be shot, my hormones would be a mess. I'm being super honest with you because it is really easy for me still in busy seasons to not technically be doing things perfectly and to still be doing really well. And so when we have this perfection mindset and we're thinking that things have to be, you know, to this really high level that truly probably we would not hold anyone else to that standard, only ourselves then we are going to essentially fail, like we will fail at some point because we are human, because we are not perfect and we can't achieve that level of perfection, we will fail. And then that just leads into this like all or nothing failure cycle and then into shame and guilt and sadness and all of these feelings that really make it hard to get started again. And so let me just tell you what I would recommend doing instead. And I do dive much deeper into this in nursery hormones and have you really go deeper into where you started this perfection mindset and what it really means to you. And, like, i have a whole couple of different pages of journaling that we do, and then you can share your homework and we can talk through it, and it's so interesting to find out where these thoughts and beliefs came from. It's been so interesting for me in my own my own life, for sure, but also with so many of my students and clients. I love being able to dive into that with you. So when you join your hormones, that's gonna be one of your first steps. But I'm gonna give you a little bit of a like, a little sneak peek and like kind of get you started today.

Speaker 1:

But when we step out of this perfection mindset and we start to think like, what if what I'm doing is good enough? or even what if? like What if it still counts if I am doing things Imperfectly? what if messy action counts? and so what if that means that I ate breakfast. Today I had carbs and protein at breakfast, i had an adrenal cocktail and then, like, life went off the rails, right.

Speaker 1:

So, for me, i picked up my kids from VBS today and we did eat a good lunch, but like, what if we hadn't? what if we had just gone to Chick-fil-A? and then, you know, everything fell apart and the wheels fell off and who knows didn't make dinner and whatever, right? like, if that had happened, would that mean that my breakfast and my adrenal cocktail didn't count and so everything just went to crap for the day? No, like, because of the way that I believe now, absolutely not.

Speaker 1:

Like, the good things that I did still definitely count and I can still make better choices which those are not the choices I actually made today but like, for example, that could happen in a crazy life, but, with that being said, being able to stop and question that mindset of well, i had, you know, i had Chick-fil-A for lunch, for example. So might as well just eat ice cream tonight and not take the walk that I was planning to take to de-stress and to move my body because, like, chick-fil-a ruined everything. Right? Instead of that, what if it was the question of like, okay, i had Chick-fil-A. I made that choice for a reason. Do I love the choice or do I not love the choice? Maybe that's relevant, maybe it's not.

Speaker 1:

It depends on how often Chick-fil-A happens for you. And then, from there, like, what can I continue to do to nourish my body? and then that answer could be like, okay, well, i'll still have a carrot salad this afternoon because my gut might need it even a little bit more to help clean out that Chick-fil-A, or I'm you know, i'm going to prioritize making a dinner that has carbs and protein and has some, um, extra antioxidants and nutrients because, again, like, my body deserves this, i deserve this. It is a step forward that I can take versus again, you know the days out the window because of the Chick-fil-A for lunch, and so I want you to just kind of stop and question yourself for a minute and just ask if that, like where you are in that spectrum, like is it really easy for you to just think, okay, well, family came into town and we ate out a few times and this and that happened. So now I'm just like, whatever, my hormones are going to be a mess, so I might as well just wait till the summer's over and then maybe I'll try again.

Speaker 1:

Or, um, i just I would love for you to just question like, how many times do those type of thoughts come in your mind where it's like if you make one mistake and I'm even using the word mistake kind of loosely, because I think that we can over moralize this honestly but if you make one mistake, then what does that mean for the rest of your day, what does that mean for the rest of your week? And especially if you're in luteal, i'm just gonna say it could feel like a little bigger mistake than it actually would feel like in a different phase of your cycle. So I just want you to like think through that a little bit and think about how much of the time you are in a perfection mindset, because that truly is going to be the enemy of progress, and I'm going to go into this even a little bit deeper, because perfectionism says that nothing is good enough. You literally cannot live up to your expectations if your expectations are anywhere in the realm of perfectionism. And so how that actually aligns in your body is that no matter how good you're doing or how good you're not doing with physical features of stress in your life, with eating or rushing foods, balancing your blood sugar, supporting your hormones, getting sleep, getting sunshine, like all of those things that are physical support for stress. You are going to have mental stress all the time because you are constantly telling yourself that things are not good And so if you are not living up to your expectations, over and over and over again, that is a stress on the body, and so you're telling your body, you're telling your mind that things are not safe, that things are not good, that there is danger, that there is stress, whatever that looks like.

Speaker 1:

And what that actually does in your body is because of the incredible stress system that we have in our bodies your brain There's two different organs in your brain the hypothalamus and pituitary gland that speak to your adrenal glands and your adrenal glands and will secrete your stress hormones. And that continues to be a feedback loop for your body. Because when you have those high stress hormones, that tells your brain okay, there's still things going on here and we need to keep pumping out these stress hormones, essentially. And so when your brain is being told things are stressful and your adrenal glands are pumping out those stress hormones, it actually effectively decreases your hormone balance, and the reason for that is because that same, those same two organs in your brain the hypothalamus and pituitary gland also speak to the gonads, which, in women, is your ovaries, which are responsible for most of your sex hormones, and it tells them things are not safe.

Speaker 1:

We don't really need you right now to keep hormones balanced. What we need to do is we need to really prioritize these stress hormones, because stress hormones are what's keeping us alive right now, and we don't need to prioritize reproduction. And so what that looks like so much of the time is that you have increased estrogen, because when your body is under stress, you are not going to prioritize detoxification as much. So maybe you're making more than you need to make, or maybe you're not making more than you need to make, but your body is not getting rid of it well And you will likely deprioritize ovulation. That doesn't mean you won't ever ovulate. You might ovulate regularly still, but you're not going to be prioritizing adequate or optimal progesterone production. And even if you do ovulate well and you do produce enough progesterone, that progesterone can actually be used to make more cortisol and just continue this stress pattern.

Speaker 1:

So at some point we've got to get off the stress wagon and actually start to calm things down in our brain. And I really think that there are so many ways that we can do this, and so this is meant to be encouraging, not discouraging, but stepping out of this perfection mindset is truly one of them. And so really, just, i think the biggest step is awareness. So start to check in with yourself. Like, how much are you telling yourself what you're doing is not good enough? You're never going to fix your hormones, you're never going to you know XYZ, lose weight, whatever it is that you're thinking of in this, in the goals that you have for your hormones. And starting to just recognize, like, where are you doing things Well? where are you nourishing your body? Where do things count that you're doing? And that will help you start to move in the right direction.

Speaker 1:

And then the question that I also get a lot kind of like within this context is how to know if you're actually doing enough. Like, how would you know if you are giving yourself excuses and going too far with this and saying like, oh, i'm doing a good job when really, like, you are actually eating Chick-fil-A every day, and I'm sorry that I'm picking on Chick-fil-A, but, like we all know, chick-fil-a is not really the best thing for our bodies and for our hormones. I'm not going to sugarcoat that And so I really think that it does require honesty with ourselves And so knowing, like, what level of nourishment is actually needed for me to get the results that I want. And what I really would say is I would expect, if you are doing, if you have recently implemented some things maybe things you've learned from the podcast or from social media or whatever it is that you have learned from and you are not seeing significant results within the first two to three months, then maybe you're really not necessarily not doing enough, maybe you're doing too much, who knows, but you're not doing the things that are targeted or needed specifically for your body. And again, that's where I can come in and help you in nourish your hormones and in the group coaching aspect of that, so that you have that really like outside support to look at what's going on with your hormones and objectively tell you, yes, you are doing enough or no, you're not doing enough. Or maybe specifically like it's not that you're not doing enough, but these are the things that you're missing. That's so important.

Speaker 1:

So if you are questioning like, am I actually doing enough. Well, if you're not seeing any improvement in your periods, if you're not seeing any improvement in your skin or your moods around your periods or anything else that you are trying to work on for your hormones within about two to three months, then probably something is off, and that's where you need to essentially get some support, because at that point, you're not saving time, you're not saving money, you're not saving anything by continuing to feel bad. It really is necessary for you to have energy and to have better periods and to have PMS free months to be able to show up as the person that you want to show up as and be present and just kick these symptoms to the curb, because they absolutely do not have to be there. I know it can feel really challenging and overwhelming and like what the heck am I doing to try to balance your hormones on your own, and so that's why I'm here. I would love to help you, i would love to support you, and when you're in a busy season and when you're questioning like am I actually doing enough, this is where that support comes in, and it makes such a difference to have someone tell you clearly, like this is what you need to do or what you're doing is right, keep moving forward. How can we make it easier? because then that helps your body to start to create some of those positive feedback loops that say I'm on the right track, things are safe, i'm doing enough, i'm doing things well, and I cannot tell you how good that feels in a busy season. I actually just had a conversation with my mindset coach and we were talking about this last couple of busy months that I've had and being able to relate to her like I actually have been taking really good care of myself and it's not to the level that I generally do and not to the level that I really would like to or would feel really good in this season And so having that accountability and having that support to be able to not only just take a minute to actually think about it and have some feedback, but also to celebrate and realize that I have changed what I'm doing so much that I can still take care of myself well and in the midst of moving and remodeling and my husband being gone a lot and three kiddos, like in summer and all the things, that has shifted so much for me by shifting out of this perfectionist mindset.

Speaker 1:

I cannot stress to you enough how much it has changed my life and how much it can change the way that you are looking at your body and looking at your hormones and really change from a mindset again of discouragement and restriction and fear to encouragement and empowerment, moving forward so that you can learn to trust your body and you can see the resolution of these symptoms. Essentially So, i hope that some of this has resonated with you. I think that it is so relatable for so many of us who are in this space of really wanting to do well for our bodies, do well for our families and really make a big impact in the world. And when we're in this up and down mindset it's really hard to do. But when you can start to just little by little break free of that, it truly can make such a difference in the way that you speak to yourself, the way you show up for yourself and just the way that things feel lighter, even when they're busy or even when they're heavy.