I'm Hormonal | Hormone balance, gut health & nutrition insights

Breaking Free from the "You Need More Willpower" Myth | Ep. 120

• Bridget Walton, Women's Hormone Coach • Episode 120

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Fighting hormone imbalance isn't about willpower or discipline – it's about understanding what your body truly needs and addressing the root causes disrupting your hormonal health. Willpower isn't always what's missing when you struggle to meet health goals.

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Speaker 1:

You might be someone who has spent a lot of time being really tough on yourself for not sticking to your nutrition goals, or maybe it sounds like you being frustrated and wondering why is my period still not regular despite all of my efforts, and you think that you just need to force yourself or discipline yourself to get it done. But let me tell you that, when it comes to your hormones, forcing yourself is not always the right strategy. If you feel like you just can't balance your hormones because the thing that you lack is willpower, then this episode is for you. My girl and we are going to debunk this. 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? All right podcast buddies, welcome to episode 120 of I'm Hormonal. I'm Bridget, I'm your host for today and every day, and I just want to say thanks so much for spending your time with I'm Bridget. I'm your host for today and every day, and I just want to say thanks so much for spending your time with I'm Hormonal and listening.

Speaker 1:

I'm Hormonal is a wellness brand and we seek to provide educational content just like this for you, so you can better understand what your hormones are trying to tell you and how you can restore hormone balance. Beyond this educational content, here we also offer one-on-one coaching, because, despite education and information being abundant, sometimes you just need that personalized one-on-one touch just for you. So that's what we are doing here at I'm Hormonal. If you are new to the podcast, then just a little intro for you. You'll be getting episodes twice a week. We have a longer form episode like this one you're listening to now, and then later in the week there will be a mini episode that accompanies it. If you want to connect with I'm Hormonal on Instagram, if you're an Instagram gal, you can find us at I'm underscore hormonal. Today. I want to start off by telling you a little story. Right, and as you know from the intro, I'm going to be talking about willpower and this idea that we need more discipline, we need more willpower. We need more willpower.

Speaker 1:

Earlier in my 20s, I spent several years really focusing on losing weight, really trying to figure out how can I game this, how can I try another type of fad diet, add another workout into my day. As many of you know or if you've listened for a hot second I used to be in the military, where there are also, in addition to the physical fitness requirements, certain height and weight standards. So it's like pretty high pressure of how you know what shape is your body and what's your relationship to gravity. So that's all to say. I spent these years feeling like I just need more discipline, I just need to work out more, and I felt like I was doing everything I could. I felt like I was doing everything that I saw online, that my friends were doing, that I could glean from other professionals of hey, girl, work out more, don't eat before you work out in the morning, have a fasted workout, those types of things. Now let's fast forward a little bit, because I did make a little bit of headway with my weight and I'll tie this back to hormones and menstrual cycles in a second year.

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But what really was the turning point for me was actually getting out of the military. When I got out of that career and I was in a different environment, I had much less stress in my life, I immediately and by immediately I mean probably within four weeks, certainly within eight weeks noticed that I was able to change the shape of my body in the way that I had been really killing myself over for all of those years. And it happened without me really trying to force it, without me having to like absolutely smoke myself trying to get to this goal. And it wasn't because I used any hacks, it wasn't because I, you know, something magical happened. It was just because the thing that I needed all along wasn't willpower. It actually, for me, was rest. It was bringing my cortisol levels down, my stress hormone levels down, so that my body could feel a little bit safer, a little bit safer, use energy in a different way, a little bit more efficiently, a little bit safer. Use energy in a different way, a little bit more efficiently.

Speaker 1:

And how does this relate to what's going on with our hormones? Well, because a lot of the things that we try to do, a lot of things that my one-on-one clients focus on as it relates to restoring regular periods, as it relates to keeping period pain at bay. When it comes to just getting their period back if it's been gone for a while, we say, okay, well, I need to eat a really clean diet and that's what's going to do it. So let me hyper fixate on this. But that's hard to do. We don't live in this world of absolutes where it's like, okay, yeah, well, perfect, I will just cancel every social engagement that comes up. You know, these things that can kind of quote unquote, get us off track, but are totally normal and enjoyable parts of life.

Speaker 1:

So this is kind of the story that I wanted to start off the conversation today with, because maybe you felt this way before too, or maybe you feel this way now. But I really want to reinforce for you that willpower isn't the thing that you need more of. What you need is actually just a plan that really reflects where you're at, that helps to address the root cause of what's going on, and it's also incredibly helpful to understand what are the factors that could be working against you that could be kind of, you know, silently chipping away at that quote-unquote willpower to make you feel like you need another snack or need something really salty, or you want to just dive into some food and we will get into some of those things here momentarily. The first thing and the elephant in the room that we need to acknowledge is that, societally, the conversation tells us society tells us, women that we need to eat less maybe makes us think that I need to have an iced coffee for breakfast instead of actual nutritious food. And we're getting rewarded for these things. We're rewarded from our friends, from our partners, from other people in our lives for being outwardly consistent in some of these ways, and by that I mean getting workouts and eating in a certain way or not eating in a certain way.

Speaker 1:

But when it comes to hormone balance, when it comes to restoring regular periods, easy periods, supporting your gut health, stress again is one of these largest factors that can throw things off. And you know what causes a lot of stress Things like going to a ton of high-intensity workouts, drinking iced coffees for breakfast instead of a proper breakfast. The list really goes on. I love a good disclaimer, so don't misunderstand me. Some of these things are. These things are not inherently good or inherently bad. And for some people, sure, willpower, maybe a little bit more consistency, could be helpful. But by and large, when you have an imbalance in your hormones, when you have an imbalance in your gut, there are so many signals from within your body that are being sent that tell you that you need a sweet treat, that tell you that you need more food. And let's dive into some of those things now, because I want you to understand what some of these factors could be.

Speaker 1:

And so let's start by talking about gut dysbiosis. So dysbiosis meaning there's some type of imbalance in the microbes in your gut. Now, how might you know if you have this? One of the main or one of the telltale signs would be bloating, or if you have other digestive disturbances. You have a lot of stomach aches, maybe you have constipation or diarrhea. These are all signals that there's something going on in your gut.

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Now let's hone in on one example. You may have heard of candida before, which is a type of yeast, and so for some people, an overgrowth of this yeast could be common, right? Sugars feed these yeasts. So sugars in our food, in alcohol, are the treats that these yeasts love. Alcohol are the treats that these yeast love. Now, for somebody who has a candida overgrowth, literally the candida itself can be secreting a chemical that signals to your brain and increases cravings for food. So just one way, that it's not you and your discipline. It's literally the yeast in your body that's trying to tell your brain to go seek more treats when you have poor gut health, when there maybe is inflammation. Let's say you unknowingly or maybe knowingly have a sensitivity to, let's say, dairy, but you're consuming dairy and that can cause inflammation. Well, that inflammation could result in poor glucose handling, which in other words, having more rollercoaster vibes from your blood sugar, and that also can result in more cravings.

Speaker 1:

I just want to emphasize this one more time, because when you are stressed, when you're inflamed, I kind of use those words synonymously. If inflammation is a really new concept to you I did an episode on this a couple of weeks ago Maybe you want to go check it out for a little bit more of a deep dive. But essentially, stress. When we talk about stress, in whatever form it is introduced to your body, we're thinking of what's cortisol doing, and when we talk about inflammation, we're thinking of this overreaction from your immune system, which in many cases can be as a result of high cortisol. This is all to say that this cortisol is driving your body as well to desire quick energy and think of this from the perspective of your kind of ancient, you know, crocodile brain, of ancient, you know, crocodile brain. If life is cray-cray, things are stressful, like we need more energy because I don't know if I'm going to be out of food options sometime soon. So from that perspective, it makes sense that if you get a poor night's sleep the next day, you need to eat more food, or your body is telling you to eat more food Again, not because you lack discipline, but because your body is just trying to do its best to keep you alive, and that's one thing I want you to take away from this.

Speaker 1:

Now let's talk a little bit more about cravings specifically, and I'll tell you a little story. I had a new client who we're going through her initial interview a couple of weeks ago and I saw on her intake form she'd noted that she craved salt. I really crave salt sometimes, but I try to limit it because I know that salt isn't good for me, and so I try to keep that down. Now, that is a totally logical, normal response, right Again, societies messaging things that we learned from whatever rants, from Instagram posts say, hey, too much sodium is bad for you, but at the same time, I want you to think okay, well, what is this actually telling me? Or what is my body trying to tell me about what it needs? Because, for this particular gal, she did have quite a bit of stress going on in her life. She was just starting to train for a half marathon, so she was really moving her body a lot, and instead of fighting the salt cravings, she decided to incorporate more salt, incorporate some electrolytes, into her daily routines and she noticed really quickly that her migraines that she was having a couple of times a week, they were going away and she started feeling better. She wasn't having this low energy or lightheadedness when she would stand up that she was sometimes having before.

Speaker 1:

So, while you may not have a particular craving for salt, this is just to say when you are craving something, what is your body trying to tell you? Does it genuinely need salt? For some gals who crave chocolate ahead of their period, on the one hand it could be because chocolate is incredibly tasty, but on the other hand, it could be because chocolate is also relatively high in magnesium and during that time of your cycle what's going on in your body? You might need more of that nutrient than you do at other times of the month, because your body is using it up. So don't hate on cravings immediately. Just start thinking okay, what is my body trying to tell me? And thinking of, once I do have this chocolate or this whatever is the salty, savory thing you're eating how do I feel afterwards? Do I feel better or do I feel worse?

Speaker 1:

Another way you could think of this, or another example, is as it relates to energy levels. And I don't know, raise your hand if you've ever felt like this. But you're like man, I just have to push through the afternoon. I have to push through the afternoon. I'm so exhausted but the clock's still ticking. I have work to do, but what is your body trying to tell you? Is your body trying to tell you that it needs more sleep at night, that it needs better quality sleep? Because when you take the second to reflect on that, that, hey, this isn't just you being too weak to make it through the afternoon, your body just needs rest, everybody's body needs rest. But maybe that's a good call or a good reminder for you to say, okay, let me forego the triple shot latte, whatever it is that you're going to have to push through the rest of the afternoon because that could negatively impact that night's sleep and instead you'll prioritize going to bed a little bit earlier that night and feel better the next day. I know that's just one example. That's a little bit specific, but you see where I'm going with this one example. That's a little bit specific, but you see where I'm going with this Not looking at cravings as a punishment, because, my girl, your body is not trying to punish you. Your body is just trying to take care of you and get you what it needs. Or like we talked about first with the gut dysbiosis maybe it's an imbalance, maybe it's an overgrowth. This is just one example where there is this kind of outside factor that's impacting how your brain is processing messages. There's one more idea that I want to leave you with. When it comes to this idea, or this feeling like you have to just push through. And let's come back to this topic of working out For a client who I'm working with one-on-one, she recently told me, during her onboarding interview as well, that she was doing her workouts in the afternoon.

Speaker 1:

In the evening, she was feeling exhausted afterwards and she needed to take a nap most days. The other detail that's relevant here is that she was having kind of a tough time falling asleep and then this just perpetuated a cycle of her feeling really exhausted during the days, working out in the evening and having a tough time, or slower time, falling asleep at night. So what we started off doing, or what she started off doing, was just flipping her schedule a little bit, rearranging so that she could do her workout in the morning, start the day, move in her body, getting her cortisol levels up, and she found that that really supported her energy levels throughout her whole day. And within the first let me think I think it was we met yes, so within the first probably 12 days from our initial interview to our first check-in session, she was already feeling like she was sleeping more consistently through the night, like she was falling asleep faster and just feeling better throughout the day. So the thing that I want you to consider here is is this a timing thing? Do I need to just switch up the time or location? Is it a difference of eating my breakfast inside or eating my breakfast outside with the natural light? Things as easy as that that can make the goal a little bit more attainable, because you are supporting what your body naturally wants to do and the hormonal patterns that are natural and inherent to your body.

Speaker 1:

As we get ready to wrap up here, I want to start off by saying if you are a gal who feels like you just are doing all the right things, but somehow you need to do more, you need to do it better, but there's something like cravings, like low energy, like whatever it is that is getting in the way and stopping you from doing that, I really want you to reflect on this and think about what are the factors outside of your control that might be getting in the way of your progress, because you are doing an amazing job. You are you. By listening to this podcast, I know that you are getting the information you are looking for, the information, at least, that you need and that you want so you can feel better. It's not that you don't know where to go or know who to talk to, or know that you should be implementing some of these changes. It could be that your body is asking you for something sweetie, for something sweetie, asking you for something sweet, asking you for more food, because maybe it needs more food. So, if nothing else, I would love for your takeaway from today's conversation to be to go easy on yourself, give yourself some grace and investigate.

Speaker 1:

Question what could some of these outside factors be that might be making you feel like you just aren't doing well enough? Because, again, I don't know you, I don't know your life, I don't know your deal, but just the fact that you've got all the way to the end of this episode tells me something about you, tells me something about your commitment to improving your health, feeling better, living your life fully. On Thursday, I'll be back with a mini episode where I'm going to be talking through a couple more of these specific situations, these specific examples of what's going in your body, what could be going on in your body, rather, that could lead to these cravings, that could lead to you or your body telling you that you need more food than normal. That could be your body telling you hey, girl, don't get up. Like, hit the snooze button, we need a little bit more Zs before we get up and ready for the day.

Speaker 1:

I hope that this resonated with you and, if it did, I would love for you to take a screenshot of the podcast player wherever you are listening, share about it on Instagram and tag me at I'm underscore hormonal and let me know what you thought about the episode. Thank you, guys, so much for listening. You are the best and I will see you on the next one. 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. All right, we'll see you on the next one.