Episode Transcript

The Nourished Mama - Ep 14

 Hey there, beautiful mamas. Welcome back to the Nourish Mama podcast. Today, we're diving into something that affects every single one of us, but often gets brushed aside as just part of hashtag mum life. We're talking about hormones. That's right, those invisible chemical messengers that have a not so invisible impact on practically everything we do, we think about, and even feel.

That afternoon energy crash, those mysterious mood swings, the cravings that hit right before your period, those aren't just random occurrences or signs that you're failing at mum life. They are your hormones talking and giving you signs. Today's episode is all about understanding what your hormones are trying to tell you and simple ways to bring them back into balance, because when your hormones are balanced, your life feels so much more balanced too.

Now, before we dive into the specific hormones that I want to talk about today, let's talk about just how powerful these chemical messengers really are because hormones influence so much of our health. They influence your energy levels throughout the day, your mood and mental health, your sleep quality, your weight and metabolism, your fertility, your menstrual cycle, your stress response, your resilience, and even your digestion and gut health.

And when we dismiss symptoms like fatigue, mood swings, or weight changes as just, again, hashtag mum life, we miss an opportunity to really address what's happening in our bodies. So I want to break down some of the main hormones that I see affect mamas and what we can do to keep them happy. Now there are so many hormones that affect our life as women, but today I want to talk about some of the main ones and some of the ones that there are easy and practical, tangible tips and strategies I can give you to help start rebalancing them naturally.

Number one is cortisol, the stress hormone. As moms, we are extremely familiar with stress. Those moments when everyone needs something at once, the mental load feels crushing and you're running on just sometimes even lack of sleep. When these stresses hit, your body releases cortisol as part of your fight or flight response.

Now, in small doses, And at the right times, cortisol is actually really helpful. It gives you the energy and focus to handle challenges. But here's where things get tricky for us mamas. Our bodies were not designed for the chronic, ongoing stress that modern motherhood often brings. And when our cortisol stays elevated for too long, you might start experiencing things like Persistent fatigue, especially those mid morning and afternoon energy crashes, [00:04:00] trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, even when you're so exhausted.

Sometimes this can also, really amplify those sugar and carb cravings. It can also affect our weight gain, particularly around our midsection and stomach, it can also give you that feeling of feeling wired, but also extremely tired at the same time. I know so many of you can probably relate to that.

And it can also contribute to mood swings, irritability, and even anxiety and depression. So I want to give you some super practical tips that can support your cortisol levels now, and that you can try to implement every single day. Number one is morning sunlight. Spend even five to 10 minutes outside in natural light within 20 minutes after waking.

This really supports our cortisol and it affects the way the rest of our whole day is going to play out. As women, our [00:05:00] cortisol levels are generally at their highest first thing in the morning. So doing a couple of practical things that we know are going to drop it as much as we can is going to be a really powerful way to go into your day.

Morning sunlight. is free. It only takes five to 10 minutes, and you can also do this while habit stacking. So take a glass of water outside, sit in the sun, take the kids out there if you need to as well. It really is a powerful way to help drop those cortisol levels. When we get sunlight in our eyes and on our skin, it

has a reaction where it starts to release at those other two feel good hormones, which are serotonin and dopamine, and these two hormones counteract cortisol. So really practical way to drop those cortisol levels. The next one that I want you to give a go is box breathing. So when you feel stressed, try this simple breathing technique, inhale through your nose for four seconds, hold for [00:06:00] four seconds, and then exhale through your mouth for eight seconds.

Just one minute of box breathing can help lower your cortisol response by a lot. It's simple, it's tangible, it's free, and you can do this while you're getting your morning sunlight. And another one that I do also really want to mention is having some form of phone boundaries. Try keeping your phone on that do not disturb aeroplane mode for at least the first hour after waking, because this is going to really help from reducing a cortisol spike.

Because generally what happens is when we immediately open our phones or look at emails, news, or social media, So much research has shown that this instantly creates a cortisol spike. It really is the last thing you want to do in the morning. So what I like to do is I get my phone on airplane mode around 830 to nine o'clock at night, and then I don't actually take it off airplane mode until [00:07:00] I have actually gotten the kids ready for school.

I've fed myself. It's my way of saying, I'm not ready for the world. Yet, and I'm not giving myself to the world yet. This is my time. And when I'm ready for everybody, I will switch off that aeroplane mode. It is so powerful to do this for yourself. Now the next hormone I really want to talk about is our blood sugar balancing hormone Insulin.

Insulin regulates our blood sugar levels. Every time you eat some form of carbohydrates, your pancreas releases insulin to help transport sugar from your bloodstream into your cells for energy. When insulin works properly, you have a steady energy and focus. But many mamas experience insulin resistance from years of stress.

or sleep and rushed eating habits. Now, some signs your insulin might be out of balance include energy crashes, [00:08:00] especially 1-2 hours after a certain meal, constant hunger and cravings, and also feeling hungry like 20 minutes after you've eaten again. difficulty losing weight is another really common symptom, brain fog or difficulty concentrating, feeling hangry between meals.

and afternoon fatigue that has you reaching for coffee or sugar every single day. These are real big signs of insulin resistance. And unfortunately, so many mamas live with this. Now some practical tips that I want to give you to support your insulin balance. Number one is protein first meals, especially when it comes to your breakfast, rather than having a very carb heavy breakfast, like just oats or cereal or toast.

I really want you to think about your protein source first. So think about having. Eggs with your toast or adding even some protein powder to your oatmeal if this is what you prefer. [00:09:00] This can dramatically improve your blood sugar response. Always think about your protein first. Another really practical insulin balancing tip is a two to five minute walk after your main meals, especially after dinner.

Try taking this quick walk because studies show that even just short activity helps your muscles use the glucose and sugar so much more effectively after you've eaten. really avoid being seated for long periods of time after food, even if it just means that two to five minute walk around the backyard, around the block, around the house.

Whatever it is, keep yourself moving after you've eaten a meal. Another, a practical tip that I want to give you that's super simple. That might sound a bit strange, but it is really handy is the cinnamon hack. cinnamon is really well known to improve insulin sensitivity. So even if you.

Sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon on your morning matcha, on your morning coffee, on your oatmeal, on your yogurt, [00:10:00] whatever it might be in your smoothie. This can really prevent a sugar spike. Now, the next two hormones I want to talk about, you might not have heard of, but these are really important.

And we focus a lot on these two hormones in the busy mama reset. And they have a funny name. They are called ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin and leptin are hunger and fullness hormones. So your hunger hormone, ghrelin signals hunger while leptin singles fullness. These hormones need to work together to keep your.

Appetite regulated, but unfortunately, modern life often throws them out of balance. So many mamas I work with have lost their ability to tap into these two hunger and fullness hormones. And this comes from years and years of eating on the go, not eating mindfully, eating while you're thinking about a million things at once.

The bills, the [00:11:00] hundred school emails, the washing, and everything else on our to do list. Some real big signals of these hormones being dysregulated or symptoms that you might find, and these are huge signs that these hormones are dysregulated, is feeling hungry even after you've eaten a full meal. And thenyou end up overeating and getting bloated later on, never actually feeling properly satisfied, intense cravings, especially at nighttime or eating past the point of fullness, emotional eating patterns and a really damaged relationship with food and constant snacking without really feeling that hungry.

These are real big signs that you've lost the ability to tap into ghrelin and leptin. And these two hormones are now have been dysregulated. I want to give you some really practical tips that are going to support you to tap back into these hormones. Now, This takes time and [00:12:00] consistency with ghrelin and leptin, but once you are able to do this, it is one of the most powerful things you can do for your digestive system, for your weight, and most importantly, for your relationship with food.

Number one is slow down. Eating. Sit down and eat mindfully when you can. So many of us, and I'm guilty of doing this as well as a mama, we are constantly eating on the go. And I get it. Some meals are going to be on the go. That is inevitable as a mama, but when you can give yourself that 20 minutes to just sit down and eat your meal mindfully, you are either way going to be so much more practical if you just let yourself sit down and eat your meal.

Now, what happens is it generally takes about 15 to 20 minutes for your leptin signals to register. So try putting your fork down when you're starting to feel somewhat full or between bites, and you will start to notice [00:13:00] that when you've slowed down, you allow yourself to really understand your fullness.

This is when you can really tap back into that fullness cue and avoid. Overeating. Now, this doesn't mean that you need to eat small portions of food. It's about just tapping into what is right for your body. The next tip I really want to give you when it comes to these two hormones is sleep priority.

Even one night of poor sleep can increase ghrelin by up to 15%. This is your hunger hormone. Our ghrelin levels really start to regulate themselves and rebalance themselves while we sleep, which is really mind blowing and interesting, but we really need to get a good night's sleep in order to really tap into ghrelin and not overeat and feel hangry throughout the day.

So try and aim for consistent sleep times, even if the total hours aren't perfect and you're being woken up at night, aim to go to bed at the same time and wake up at the [00:14:00] same time. This is really going to support your ghrelin levels. The other thing I want to mention is protein and fiber pairing.

Combine protein and fiber at every meal to naturally regulate both those hormones. Think an apple with some almond butter or add both beans and chicken to your salad. Fiber and protein working together are a really great way to satisfy your hunger and again, tap into those fullness cues. The last two hormones that I want to touch on is the menstrual cycle hormones, estrogen and progesterone.

Now these two hormones, they are in charge of so much of our health and there's only so much I can talk about in this episode. but I want to give you some practical tips that can help you with those hormones today. I probably should do a whole episode on estrogen and progesterone. but these are some tips that I want to give you.

But before I do that, let's talk about what you might be experiencing if your estrogen and progesterone are out of balance. [00:15:00] Number one is. PMS symptoms like mood swings, bloating and headaches, but generally getting these throughout your whole cycle as well. you might experience heavy, painful or irregular periods.

You might get mid cycle spotting, breast tenderness, sleep disturbances that vary throughout your cycle, fertility challenges, and even perimenopausal symptoms in your thirties, we are seeing the age of perimenopause and menopause dropping dramatically over the decades. Now, some practical tips that I want to give you for these hormonal balances.

Number one is. Seed cycling. I have spoken about seed cycling in a previous episode, and I had the honor of interviewing the amazing Mel Kovačević, who is not only a hormone expert, but she is the founder of the seed cycle company. I highly, highly recommend looking into seed cycling if you feel like your [00:16:00] menstrual cycle hormones are out of balance.

And even if they're not seed cycling is just such a beautiful ritual and concept for so many women, especially for mamas. And it's a great way to ease ourselves into those perimenopause and menopausal years. Now seed cycling involves eating specific seeds during different phases of your cycle.

So flax seeds and pumpkin seeds during the first half, which is the follicular phase. And this is to support estrogen levels. And then we switch over to sesame and sunflower seeds during the second half of our phase, which is our luteal phase. And this supports our progesterone levels. Now, I'm not going to go into the specifics of seed cycling.

Sounds a bit crazy, but go back and listen to the seed cycle episode with Mel and we explain everything about seed cycling. Another really handy tip is to actually cycle sync. So adjusting your workouts to match your cycle. So doing more intense exercise during your follicular phase, [00:17:00] when your energy is naturally higher and then switching over to gentle movements

during your luteal phase, when your body naturally craves more recovery, you can also cycle sync your nutrition. and that is a whole nother episode that I will go into as well, but just understanding the different phases of your cycle is such a powerful way to live and also support our hormonal balance.

The third thing that I really want you to focus on when it comes to our menstrual cycle hormones is some form of liver support. Your liver processes excess hormones. So,giving our liver some love throughout our cycle can really help. This can help with, some liver detox smoothies. I share a lot of these recipes on my Instagram.

I'm having some dandelion tea or even adding bitter greens like arugula and dandelion greens and rocket to your meals because this supports our liver and detoxifying, systems within our body. Now, those are [00:18:00] the hormones that I really just want to speak about today. There are so many I could go into, but these are the ones that are going to really help kickstart your hormone balancing journey.

Because the amazing thing about hormones is that they all work together in this Beautiful, complex symphony. When one gets out of tune, the other often follows. And that's why approaching hormone balance holistically is so important. Some other tips that I want to give you to support these hormones from a holistic perspective is number one, consistent meal times.

Try to eat roughly at the same time every single day. This is going to help regulate insulin, Cortisol and those two hunger hormones that we spoke about as well. The next one is hydration. So many hormonal processes actually require adequate water. People just don't realise this. You need to start your day with a full glass of water.

And the last thing you want to do is rehydrate your body with the caffeine before you've had your [00:19:00] big glass of water, really focused on that. If you have been in my programs or if you followed me for a while, you'll know that I don't actually tell you to cut out. Coffee, but what I do is I tell you to have coffee the right way.

And one of the wrong ways to have coffee is to have it on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, because this spikes your cortisol levels. You need to rehydrate your body with water first. Another tip I really want to give you here is also trying to reduce your toxin and plastic exposure. many plastics contain hormone disrupting chemicals.

Small things like switching over to glass storage containers or bamboo and wooden chopping boards make such a big difference over time on our hormones, as well as other low tox options like avoiding in synthetic fragrances that are found in a lot of perfumes, in candles, switching over to natural deodorant is also really important for helping hormonal balance.

I might do a whole [00:20:00] nother episode on this topic as well, but you know, trying to go low tox when you can as well. Another surprising one, which I do want to mention before I go is prioritising some form of connection. Positive social interactions release oxytocin, which helps counteract Cortisol and supports our overall hormonal balance, even if it means five minutes of genuine connection, a chat or a coffee with a girlfriend, your partner, spending some one on one time with your kids.

This has so many hormone balancing benefits. Connection and socialising is so important for mamas, and it's something that we tend to put to the side, but it really is so important for our hormone health, for our mental health, and for our physical health as well. Now, I really want you to truly understand that.

Hormone balance isn't just some luxury wellness concept. It really is the missing piece for so many of us that we've been [00:21:00] searching for. When you balance your hormones, you aren't just addressing isolated symptoms. You're transforming your entire life experience. Those mood swings that make you feel like you're failing your family or that exhaustion that has you wondering how other mums do it all, That brain fog that makes you feel like you've lost your mind since having kids.

These aren't character flaws or inevitable parts of motherhood. These are signs your body is crying out for hormonal harmony. I've seen it time and time again with mamas that I work with. Once hormone balance is restored, suddenly sleep improves. Energy stabilises, patience returns, creativity flows, and that joy of motherhood that seemed lost really begins to resurface.

Weight that wouldn't budge starts to release, your skin clears up, your hair stops falling out, and even that intimate connection with your [00:22:00] partner often rekindles too. Please don't let anyone, including yourself, dismiss your symptoms as just Hashtag mum life or just getting older. Your body is wise and these signals really deserve attention because you deserve to feel vibrant, clear headed and emotionally resilient.

Not just surviving, truly thriving in this beautiful, challenging journey of motherhood. Remember, Mama, your symptoms aren't just in your head or simply the price of motherhood. They're valuable information from your body that really deserves attention and care. And the thing is, you don't actually need to make massive changes.

All at once. Start with just one or two practical tips I've spoken about that resonate with you. Small consistent steps is what leads to big shifts in how you feel. Now, I know I've repeated myself multiple times, but this really is to show you [00:23:00] that these symptoms are not just normal parts of motherhood.

Again, they are your body screaming for help. And it is so much. Easier and simpler than you think to support these areas of your life. Thank you so much for tuning in today. I hope this episode has supported you and resonated with you and giving you some practical, tangible tips you can take away today because that's exactly what we are about here at the Nourished Mama Podcast.

If you found this helpful and you want to share it with a fellow mama who would also benefit, I would love for you to link this over to her or let me know down in the show notes what you've taken away from this. I hope you have a beautiful day, and I can't wait to chat with you again next week.