I'm Hormonal | PCOS, periods, gut + hormone health insights

My Top 3 Tips: Nutrition Necessities for Balanced Hormones | Ep. 85

• Bridget Walton, Women's Hormone Coach • Episode 85

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Nutrition is key to supporting balanced hormones, and the episode highlights three essential dietary must-dos. We discuss the significance of whole foods, prioritizing protein, and the importance of mindfulness while eating, offering actionable steps for you to improve your hormonal health. 

• Highlighting the importance of whole foods in regulating hormones 
• Discussing the detrimental impact of processed foods 
• Encouraging varied, colorful diets for nutrient diversity 
• Emphasizing the necessity of protein at each meal 
• Sharing practical insights for mindful eating practices 
• Offering actionable steps for nutritional improvement 
• Encouraging listeners to assess and alter their dietary habits

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Speaker 1:

Your hormones do not stand a chance if your nutrition is working against you. That's why, today, I'm sharing with you my three nutrition must-dos if you want to actually support balanced hormones. So if you have unpredictable periods, if you have crazy PMS or if you feel like your hormones just cannot keep up with your busy schedule, then you are in the right spot and let's dive in with your busy schedule. Then you are in the right spot and let's dive in. Welcome to I'm Hormonal, your source of information about women's hormone health and how to support your body. Naturally, I'm your host, bridget Walton, and I'm a certified functional hormone specialist and menstrual cycle coach. I am on a mission to hold these hormone conversations with as many menstruators as possible because you deserve easier access to accurate information about what's up with your unruly menstrual cycle and with your fertility mysteries. Don't you think it's time that we figure this out once and for all? Well, hello out there and thank you for joining me for this episode of I'm Hormonal. I recently realized that I have not done an episode on just nutrition, which seems insane because, as I mentioned in the intro, your hormones really don't stand a chance if your nutrition is working against you. So I'm excited to bring you this solo episode today talking about nutrition. If this is your first time listening, then I'm really glad that you found me. Hi again, I'm Bridget, and if you've been here before, I hope that you liked the new order with the intro. I'm trying a couple of new things, so let me know what you think about it, if you like it Into the actual juicy stuff that we're going to be talking about today.

Speaker 1:

I want to focus on nutrition, because this is something that is at the forefront of my work with clients. Of course, what we put in our body has a huge impact on how we feel. Surprise, surprise, but it's so much easier said than done, isn't it? Oh, eat better, eat more whole foods, eat organic food, like, okay, cool, yes, those are all legitimate recommendations, but let's talk a little bit more practically, actionably, so that you know exactly what to do, you kind of understand where to start and what to prioritize. How does that sound, all right? Well, hopefully that sounds like a good plan, because we are diving in right now.

Speaker 1:

The first thing that I want you to prioritize is incorporating more whole foods and a variety in your diet. Okay, so what does that mean? Whole foods meaning there's no ingredients in it except for bell pepper or quinoa or pistachio. You follow me. Why is this important? Or like what is the opposite side of this coin that we can look at? You're limiting or eliminating those processed foods, and that allows you to focus on whole foods and, at that, again, a variety of whole foods. Planning is definitely important for this. It's not going to just come naturally to you if this isn't something that you prioritize now, but head to your closest library or check out what they have available electronically, because, I'm telling you, the library has so many good tools when it comes to cookbooks, recipes, trying out new things, so I would love for you to explore what's available to you in your area. Okay, so let me take a step back, because I want to make sense of why is this so important, and especially as one of the first steps that you're making.

Speaker 1:

Focusing on a whole food diet is really critical, because you're eliminating those processed foods that can be more inflammatory and irritating. What you may notice through your own experience of consuming food on planet earth in 2025 is that we eat these. You know, and I'm guilty of it too right, we all do it to some degree, but we're eating these desserts that have like 50 ingredients, or we're eating Cheetos, we're eating Sour Patch Kids, we're eating whatever else is on the shelves out here, and those things can be inflammatory and irritating to our digestive system, which can then you know it's not helping you better digest your food and better absorb nutrients, if those things have nutrients in them to begin with. Right, you're not getting any vitamins or minerals or polyphenols or anything good like that from sugar that's added to your food. So I will get off my mini, tiny whole food soap box there, just to say don't make this be overwhelming.

Speaker 1:

I would love for you to look at this through the lens of okay, there are so many areas for me to start. There are so many places that you can start. Just take a survey, take an inventory that's the word I want. Take an inventory of what lately you've been eating each day. If you're in a spot where you can pause me and put a note like update notes in your phone maybe you have a journal nearby then go ahead and do that Just record what are the foods that you've been eating whole foods and processed foods, all of it so you can get a feel for where you're at right now so you can get a feel for where you're at right now and then maybe circle a couple things that are on there the most often that you want to switch out for a whole food kind of meal. What's another way that we can attack this? One thing that you can do, and especially if you have a partner or if you have a roommate if you have, I don't know you talk with your mom every day. You talk with your best friend every day. Having an accountability buddy to kind of noodle through some things with can be really help and ask for their reinforcement. So don't be afraid to use that too. If you have a goal you want to start incorporating more whole foods because you know it will be better for your hormone health, then I would encourage you to do that.

Speaker 1:

I know I'm a little bit jumping around here. I just have like so many thoughts on prioritizing whole foods. I forgot to mention before that when you're eating whole foods that have this diverse range of vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, as I mentioned before vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, as I mentioned before, they're supporting different parts of your gut microbiome in different ways, meaning that they're nourishing your gut microbiome right. When you eat root vegetables, a certain set of bugs in your gut microbiome love root vegetables, other ones will love red vegetables and red fruits and other ones will love green ones. You see what I'm getting at without being very specific, but it's that variety and changing things out that will help support these microbes that are in all of our guts, that we need and that we love, and we need to feed them. And when we have a regulated digestive system or a more healthy digestive system, that will also help you to have more balanced hormones.

Speaker 1:

Let me run through two questions that I get pretty often, and then we'll make this actionable with a more concise checklist for you to go through when you are checking out of the grocery store. So first, a question that I get very often is what is the best diet? And my answer to that is that there is no best diet for every single person. There is a best diet for you, my friend, that will work best for you right now and that might change. Today your body might respond better to a low carb diet, but in the future you might switch to something else, and that's totally normal. That's why really being able to reflect on what does your body feel like, what is your energy like that can really help you to make decisions. If you are working with somebody to kind of do these inquiries and see what's the best fit for you, of course, that's another good tool, but there's no best diet between you know gluten-free, vegan, paleo, etc. There are so many factors that go into it. I would say, though, that prioritizing a whole food diet that has a lot of plants in it I think that's for most folks out there, that's going to be really the way to go, and there are a couple different variations, of course, that you can do that in.

Speaker 1:

Personally, I prefer to eat a lot of plants. I like to eat eggs. I like to eat chicken and sea critters and I like to eat eggs. I like to eat chicken and sea critters, and I like to eat some of these dairy products that have the a2 protein, which would be like goat cheese. If you've been here before, you probably heard me blab about some goat cheese, so, for whatever that's worth, that's the view that I take, but also, I'm totally getting done with a piece of cake when I go out for dessert. Right, there's room for both, okay. So let me share with you what I go through when I'm at the grocery store I'm about to check out.

Speaker 1:

You may have heard me say this before, but I think it's really helpful, quick and easy to take a look down at your cart, take a survey of what colors you see there. Do you see red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple? If you are missing one of those colors and this relates to produce right Head on back to the produce section and grab something that you can put in your cart and bring home and incorporate. Again, I'll emphasize that this might take a little extra planning. You don't have to hit all seven colors at once. If you're normally at two, then just work your way up to three different colors in your cart. But maybe that's a longer term goal to shoot for the other thing that I like to incorporate into my cart. Term goal to shoot for the other thing that I like to incorporate into my cart make sure is there is something fermented. So, looking at kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, miso, kombucha, sourdough those are some of the most common ones. Getting one of those in my cart each week, you can rotate through different ones from one week to the next. Keep those two things in mind rainbow and fermented food next time you're about to check out at the grocery store.

Speaker 1:

Let's go ahead and move on to the second must-do that I want you to keep in mind, which is prioritizing protein, especially at breakfast. Protein is really important because it's going to be supportive of more stable blood sugar levels. This is, of course, in contrast with carbohydrates and sugars. Sugars make up carbs that will have a more significant effect, increasing your blood sugar higher. So protein is really important for this reason of supporting a regulated blood sugar level. It's also really important because our body uses the amino acids that are contained within the protein. That protein is made of and that's what we're using to create and repair all of the tissues in our bodies, to include our gut. Lining and keeping our gut health in tip-top shape is, as I mentioned before, really good for your overall hormone health and also, like just for your comfort.

Speaker 1:

How many of you out there are feeling bloated each day by the end of the day? Now let me clarify that getting adequate protein alone will likely not correct all of your bloating problems, but it is an important factor and definitely something that you want to be prioritizing. Now. There are different recommendations for amounts of protein per day depending on your weight, your muscle mass, like. What size of a body do you have? But generally, I think it's helpful to shoot for 30 grams of protein in each meal, for a total, of course, of 90 grams per day. Worst case scenario, you fall a little bit short, but 30 is a good round number to shoot for. I would encourage you to keep in mind. Also, you can go to chat GPT and say hey girl, I weigh 165 pounds, this is my ideal weight. What is the amount of protein I should be consuming each day? In order to you know, gain muscle, or give it some extra detail about your workout or weightlifting routine, and it will help give you something a little bit more targeted.

Speaker 1:

Now, of course, we have to acknowledge that it's worth fact-checking. Chat GPT, too, but she'll get you in a good ballpark range and be able to ask you some good questions that will help you to consider okay, what are these other things, like my workout schedule, like my stress schedule, maybe, like getting over an illness, something like that that you'll want to consider as well. The other thing I want to mention about why protein is so important is because in a lot of cases or for those of you omnivores out there, with protein sources will also come a cholesterol source, and cholesterol is one of the first building blocks for hormones, for our hormones like estrogen and testosterone for progesterone. So cholesterol is really important. Yes, for those of you gals out there who are plant-based, your body can still make cholesterol from other nutrients that you get in food. But hey, you're probably listening to this podcast because you're trying to get things back on track, get your cycle back nice and regular. So I think it's worth mentioning, first of all, but also enough overall, and this will be easier to gauge if you do have some weightlifting, muscle building goals that you're focusing on, you can play around a little bit to say, okay, well, when I up my protein, do I see any changes in my progress in the gym? You see where I'm going with this. But just ask yourself, am I getting enough? Because I actually see way more often than not that when I'm working with clients and we start checking out a food journal and getting familiar with what they're consuming on a regular basis, they're surprised by how low it is, not how high, their intake is. So of course, everybody's different, but just a little context there.

Speaker 1:

Now, I know that a lot of you listening to the podcast are traveling, you're on the go, you are running from meeting to meeting, right? Sounds like a lot of you gals out there are living the corporate life, which I totally feel that and have been there. So I want to add a couple of recommendations and thoughts that speak specifically to what you've got going on. Now. The first thing that I want to talk about is my arch nemesis, the continental breakfast. You probably hopefully you laughed at there when I said that, because you know that continental breakfasts are just not where it's at when you're wanting to support your hormone health, at least when you're in these United States of America. Okay, why is that? Because the options for protein that they have at a continental breakfast at you know, whatever Hilton Garden Inn you're at, no shade to Hilton Garden Inns. It's across the board pretty much. But it's what? Like? They're powdered eggs or they're like super highly processed sausage patties, not super appetizing, if you ask me.

Speaker 1:

So when I am traveling for work, I think it is just such a clutch move to hit up Whole Foods or hit up whatever grocery store is nearby where you're staying Because, like, unless you're in Vegas, you're probably going to have a refrigerator in your room. You can grab some stuff for breakfast. You're ready to go. You don't need to like eat something wishy-washy and gross. You can have your legit protein forward breakfast. You are ready to go for the day. You are feeling good and that's also going to be really clutch in helping you like move through the day and have effective meetings that you're focused in because you're not hangry, because your blood sugar isn't all weird from the like waffle that you know the Hampton Inn gave you. So if you haven't tried that out, I feel like there's a Whole Foods next to almost every major airport. Again, I'm thinking mostly here in the US, or at least certainly in the Southwest or in part of the country where I live. So food for thought If you do it, send me a DM, like send me a picture of whatever you get. And actually in this week's shorty episode that comes up on Thursday, I'm going to be talking more about like what are the specifics that you can do while you're on the road? So I'll talk more clearly through exactly what I get at Whole Foods for whatever that's worth. If that helps you to keep things organized, alrighty.

Speaker 1:

Let's move on to number three here and a quick recap. The first must do is prioritizing whole foods, and a variety of whole foods at that. The second must do is prioritizing protein, especially at breakfast, and the third must do that I'm so excited for you to incorporate is actually sitting down and relaxing while you eat. It's not just about what you eat, it's also about how you eat, because our digestive process starts first in our brain. So, if you're stressed, if you're running through the airport, if you are driving although, yes, I totally hear you, that is necessary sometimes, we all are in that situation from time to time but for as much as you possibly can, I would love for you to do a little bit of planning ahead.

Speaker 1:

Set aside time, even if it's literally just 10 minutes, or you know, I don't know set a boundary with your colleagues at work and say yo, then your digestive, or rather your stomach, is able to produce the acids that are going to be breaking down your food adequately. You are able to chew your food thoroughly, which is really important too for starting to break down carbs and fats right there in your mouth. That's a really important part of the process. So, if nothing else, remember that Bridget wants you to chew fully and completely, which you know. This is something I kind of just realized or I don't know relearned, but like I'm a smoothie gal, especially in the warmer months, which are most of the months here in California, and I don't chew my smoothie because I'm not a psycho, but I've started chewing my smoothie because I know that chewing that process, that even just like the pressure on your teeth, those are sending these signals to your brain that your digestive system needs to get to work. So chew fully and completely. You've got this.

Speaker 1:

I want to add too, because I have one client who she just recently she went on a trip. She was like so relaxed, she was feeling so much better, she was sleeping so much better, she didn't have all of the same digestive discomfort that she does when she's at home, and so what she did after she got back is she just set a recurring meeting or recurring block on her calendar so that now every day at lunchtime she closes her laptop and turns off all of the sounds so nobody at work can ping her, even though she's working from home, right, and so she can like legitimately relax, detach for a minute. Now, that might not be possible for you every single day, but is that possible for you three days a week or two days a week, just something to chew on a little bit. That was an accidental pun, but I'm going to leave it in because that's my kind of cheesy. Now, with all of these things, they will take a little bit of planning, and I mentioned that earlier.

Speaker 1:

You're an adult. You know that if you want to make a change, you're going to have to do some planning and set aside some time for that. If you are traveling for work, this is something I really like to do. If I'm on my flight, I didn't really listen, or I don't really listen to podcasts. I almost never watch movies on a flight. I take that time to plan, figure out what I'm going to eat this week while I'm on site with clients. Let me just clarify too for some of you who might be a little bit newer to the podcast before starting working full-time for myself as a women's hormone coach, I worked in corporate sales for Motorola, so I did a lot of traveling around the Southwest, and so that's the travel experience that I'm leaning on doing that for like five and a half years. So set aside that quiet planning time, whether it's on a flight, whether it's you wake up 15 minutes earlier if you're a morning person, like your girl is, and that works for you. Whatever it is, block it out on your calendar. You've got this.

Speaker 1:

Planning is definitely the most important piece of the puzzle. So, in summary, I want you to keep in mind, store these in your long-term memory. One, prioritize whole foods and a variety of whole foods. Two, prioritize protein, especially at breakfast. And three, try to relax while you eat. Take a couple breaths before you start eating. Your body will thank you, I promise.

Speaker 1:

Now I've made a lot of recommendations throughout this episode to give you some different ideas of what are different starting points that might be good for you. What I want you to do is pause me and write in your notes or send a text message to yourself, whatever it is. What are the at least two, but no more than four, things that you want to start doing today, not tomorrow, not next week. Well, next time you go grocery shopping. Right, I'm not going to make you go grocery shopping today, you feel me? Anyway, what are the two to four things that you're like? Yes, this would be a fantastic small win for me, one of the things that we talked about. From today, you've got this. I believe in you. You are going to be on your way. Your hormones will thank you, your gut health will thank you, and I'm so excited to see how these habits result in actual changes in what's going on with your hormones.

Speaker 1:

Oh my gosh. I just remembered one other thing that I wanted to share with you. It's related to cycle syncing, because there is so much content out there on the interwebs about this. Certainly, I've also posted about cycle syncing and how you can adjust the produce or the spices, or like any type of whole food that you are eating, to align it with which one of the four phases of your menstrual cycle you're in.

Speaker 1:

Now I had this question from a client the other day of like is this something that I should prioritize? And my answer to her was the most important thing that I want you to focus on first is just minimizing the amount of processed foods that are in your diet, increasing the amount of whole foods that are in your diet and getting comfortable with that first. Now, that being said, if you feel really inspired, if you are just so excited to eat beets when you're on your period and then eat fresh cucumbers and mint when you're in your ovulatory phase or whatever it is, I can't pretend that I have everything, all of that memorized. But if you feel excited about it, you should go for it. If that's going to help you to focus on incorporating more whole foods and a diverse array of plants, girl, I'm sending you all of the good vibes Like, go for it. But if you feel like, oh shit, this is one other thing to add to my to-do list, like this is making it too much, then don't feel pressured to do that Like baby steps. Those are the key to success and really building up these small wins, building up this bank of self-confidence. That's what I would love for you to focus on first. All right, my friend, I think that is just about all that I have for you today.

Speaker 1:

I want to say thank you again for letting me hang with you while you do your laundry, go for a run, drop your kids off at school, stroll through the airport. I would love to hear any feedback that you have, any topics that you want to hear me talk about Also. I'm just really excited about some of the changes that. I'm love to hear any feedback that you have, any topics that you want to hear me talk about Also. I'm just really excited about some of the changes that I'm going to be making already to, I mean, even the format of the podcast today, which hopefully really gets us to the punch, gets us to the good stuff a little bit sooner than I was before, but keep your eyes peeled. I have a rebrand coming up that I'm really excited about. You will also see me posting more on LinkedIn, so if you're a LinkedIn girly, I've got that linked up in my no, in the show notes, that's what they're called. So I'm excited.

Speaker 1:

I hope that you guys are excited, and I just really look forward to connecting with you. So thank you so much. I love you, guys, and I will see you later this week with a mini episode where I'm still talking about nutrition, but we are making it really practical and actionable with my favorite nutrition tips while I'm traveling. All right, guys, we'll see you next time. If you loved today's episode and got something good out of it, make sure you subscribe so that these episodes show up automatically in your feed. No work needed on your side. Let's put it on autopilot. As always, I need to give you my reminder that the information I share with you here is for educational purposes only and it should not be used as a replacement for medical advice or diagnosis. Now, if you are, on the other hand, in the market for some one-on-one support, then I would love for you to take me up on my offer for a free strategy call. You can find these links and more in the show notes.