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

How to Be Perfectly Imperfect with Your Hormone Health | Ep. 127

• Bridget Walton, Women's Hormone Coach • Episode 127

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I'm Bridget Walton, founder of I'm Hormonal and a Women’s Hormone Coach helping ambitious women ages 25-40 restore their hormone balance and get regular periods without restrictive dieting or guessing games.

If you listen to I'm Hormonal, you'll learn how to fix irregular periods, reduce bloating, and support your hormones through strategic nutrition -- doing it naturally, holistically, and without sacrificing any part of your busy lifestyle.

Ready to stop letting your hormone & gut challenges control your life? Let’s make sure 1:1 coaching is right for you. Book a free call at imhormonal.com/goals.

In today's episode:
👉 how my perfectionist client transformed her digestion in the first 2 weeks of working together 1:1
👉 why the 80% rule is where you should focus
👉 why cycle awareness is an important skill for perfectionists who want to improve their period and hormone health
👉 why the ROOTED Method works well for perfectionists

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Speaker 1:

Hey there, friend, welcome to today's episode of I'm Hormonal. I'm your host, bridget Walton, women's hormone coach, and today we're going to be talking more about perfectionism how you can be perfectly imperfect when it comes to your period health. Last episode that came out earlier this week, we talked about why perfectionism might be kind of sabotaging your period One of those common trends that I see there with my one-on-one clients, and today what I want to do is give you the implementation strategy that my perfectionist clients have been loving, that has been serving them. It's how to be strategic yet flexible. That has been serving them. It's how to be strategic yet flexible, like how to be consistent yet still be responsive to your body. So, if you remember, I talked about my client, sarah, in the last episode. She came to me quintessential perfectionist, and this is no shade on perfectionists, too right. We've all you know, I've been there. I think I'm a reformed perfectionist, and this is no shade on perfectionists, too right. We've all you know, I've been there. I think I'm a reformed perfectionist now, but regardless, it's not a bad thing to be a perfectionist.

Speaker 1:

What this meant for her, though, was that she was being really strict with what she ate. She was being really strict with how much she moved her body. She felt like she was doing all of the right things. She was avoiding the right foods. She was doing the things that she saw on instagram, that ai, you know when she would kind of ask about it was telling her to do, but in this case, it just wasn't moving the needle for her. She went though in the first two weeks of us working together and implementing the rooted method, which is the method that I use with all of my clients, all my one-on-one clients. Within two weeks of implementing the rooted method, she went from needing a laxative for any and every bowel movement to having daily bowel movements, like without any laxative use at all, right, which is huge. She hadn't experienced that in months and months. Not only this, though, but her energy stabilized and as she started to, so she just stopped using birth control at the very beginning of when we started working together, and this is all setting up a really good foundation for her as she starts to cycle naturally and as she needs to eliminate those hormones naturally after her body uses them up too. So let's talk about some of the kind of pieces of this framework that I used with Sarah, that I use with a lot of the one-on-one gals that I work with, so that maybe this, maybe these are some things that will help you out too.

Speaker 1:

Now, the first thing that I really focus on with clients is shooting for that 80% consistency rule, right? What we are doing here is like taking imperfect action. We don't need to get eight hours of sleep every single day. Would that be ideal, sure, but that's okay. Life happens and it might not happen seven days out of the week. The same thing goes for what you're eating, or how you are managing your stress, what you are trying to focus on or what your goal is around protein or hydration.

Speaker 1:

It's so important to remember that you can still see amazing transformation in the way that you feel, in the regularity of your periods, in the absence of your bloating, by just hitting that 80% mark. The key here and this part if you're multitasking, come back to me. The key here, though, is that those goals that you're striving towards are the right goals for you, right, like the right things for what your body specifically needs to support where you want to go. I want to say that one more time, because I think this is so important If you are doing 100% of whatever is on your goal list but it's not the right list, then you're not going to see the transformation that you want to see. If you have a really clear picture of what you need to do and what is going to support your digestion, your hormone balance, all of these things, getting to 80% of just that list is going to be chef's kiss for what you need, and that makes it so much easier for a lot of these gals that I work with to really think of it in that light. Hopefully a little light bulb kind of just came on for you there.

Speaker 1:

And I know let me back up on this one I know that for some of you you just said to yourself in your head 80% is a B minus, and that's not what I'm here for. 80% feels like giving up, but here's the thing your body is not a metric of schoolhouse success. Let me tell you a story. Actually I've been blabbing about this to all of my friends that I've seen in real life lately. I had coffee with a friend a couple months ago and I was sharing with her.

Speaker 1:

I said something like I feel like this is going well in this one area of my business. I feel like I'm just really doing B minus work and I don't know how to get to an A without having so much more time, x, y, z. And my friend says to me she's like Bridget, you don't have to get an A in anything. Getting an A, getting a 100%, literally only matters when you're in school and you're taking tests. But in life, as if, as with in business or with your health getting that you know, whatever that B minus feels like, that can still be amazing success. Right, there is no 100%, there's just what is going to be supportive for you, what is going to get you closer to where you're going. So I want to leave that with you too, because I've thought about that a billion times since. She said that to me and it really helped me put into perspective the fact that, oh yeah, I'm setting these standards, these goals for myself and this kind of quote unquote B minus work. It's not B minus work. This is my best effort, like this is my A, this is what I can manage and it's actually going great. So take that for, however, that might serve you.

Speaker 1:

Now let me share with you the second thing that is really important to my one-on-one work with clients, especially perfectionist clients, and it's growing this practice of cycle awareness. So, if you're new to cycle awareness, menstrual cycle awareness, it's this practice of just becoming more familiar with what your body needs. It's this practice of just becoming more familiar with what your body needs. Actually tuning in to listen to like, do I have the energy to do this today? Do I need more food than what I've had so far today, or do I need to get more rest today? Whatever that's like for you, but just really tuning into how your needs change throughout your menstrual cycle so you can honor that. Because, again, everything is not going to be the same. It's not going to be identical day after day or week after week throughout your cycle. The sooner that you accept that there is some variability, the sooner that you can serve that variability and feel better. So put that on your list too, to just whether that's using an app that you like, whether that's writing in a journal, if that is something that you're used to doing and reflecting on, okay, did I have the energy to do that? That workout, this certain type of task at work, going to this social event, that kind of thing. Hopefully that'll get you started.

Speaker 1:

So next, what I want to talk about is what my perfectionist clients really love and what they get the most out of when it comes to our one-on-one work together. Because, as with all of my clients, but especially with the perfectionist gals, we focus on identifying a really clear protocol for you, right? So we'll go through the intake process. We'll do your nutritional assessment questionnaire At some point. If you're doing labs, we'll get back your lab results and we will take all of that context, all of that information about how your body is functioning, what systems need support, and we will make an incredibly clear and specific plan for you. There's no more guessing, right? You don't have to make the assessment about oh, will this supplement or that supplement be the best thing for me? I got you, girl. That's literally my job. This is what I have been studying for years and years. Let me take that decision-making weight off of your shoulders and we'll hook you up with that clear plan.

Speaker 1:

Now, the other thing that gals really love is seeing what their hormones are doing, what their gut health is doing, through those functional labs, those functional panels that we do, and kind of even just getting that validation back from the labs. We're using that to see again like what does your body actually need? Where is the imbalance? What systems need support? And once you have that information, that quantifiable information, and then we create the plan to move forward from there. You know that is motivating, that is getting you, like I mentioned earlier to you know what is this? One plan that works for you and your body specifically right? No more focusing on seemingly random abstract goals that you were trying to get 100% in. That you didn't need to get 100% in.

Speaker 1:

The other thing that I want you to know about is really using this systematic approach to getting you to where you want to be with your digestion, with your bloating, with your cycle regularity. And let me mention this too, because I know I kind of jumped into this episode quickly, but most of my clients are women in their 30s, women working in corporate, so high stress, like high performing gals. You guys are killing it out there, sometimes at the risk of your own hormone balance. Anyway, gals in their 30s work, and work in a lot of gals with bloating, like dysbiosis in their digestive system, which can then wreak havoc, kind of secondhand, on your hormone balance. With all these gals, even if that doesn't exactly describe you, we're walking through a system that I've used time and time and time and time again with clients. We're not just like taking a shot in the dark, you know, or walking you through this system and knowing what the steps are in those system. How long will it take to see results.

Speaker 1:

That is also really supportive for your perfectionist. You know mindset. I feel like I've said the word perfectionist so many times in this episode that I even need to like. Did I already make a disclaimer about this? I want to say that probably my best clients are the ones who are perfectionists, who come to me with that mindset and are so committed to the plan. They're committed to seeing this transformation that they've been like after. They're like, hey, yeah, I'm here, I'm ready to do the work, I'm ready to invest and I'm ready to catalyze this transformation to get to easy, regular periods, smooth digestion, bloat-free meals however that looks for you. And so I just say that.

Speaker 1:

To say like, in some areas, or if you don't have the right plan that's really what I mean to say If you don't have the right plan that suits you and your hormones needs, being a perfectionist could kind of hold you back because you're committed to this plan that suits you and your hormones needs. Being a perfectionist could kind of hold you back because you're committed to this plan. That isn't a good fit, but if you have the right plan, girl, you are on your way. You are almost there. Now, if this all sounds like you, if this really resonates with you and you are ready to go deeper, I want to give you just a couple of quick notes on what else I implement with my clients in this regard.

Speaker 1:

So we will focus on cycle-specific nutrition. We'll also take a look at strategic supplements. I think it's always good to focus on nutrition through food first, but surely there is a time and place for supplements. And by looking at, okay, when and how can you take which supplements for maximum impact, that is also going to potentially be a game changer for you in catalyzing your transformation. Last but not least and this cannot be ignored is coming back to what's going on with your adrenal glands, which is your endocrine gland that produces your stress hormone, cortisol. How can we support your adrenal glands throughout, whatever is going on at work for you, whatever is going on with your travel or any other stressful parts of life, because if we're not addressing the stress like we're relieving a lot on the table.

Speaker 1:

So, gals, listen to me when I say that every month that you stay in this perfectionist mode could be another month of irregular periods and hormone chaos. If you feel like a clear roadmap is what you need, this is what my kind of perfectionist clients are loving too. They feel confident that they're doing the right things. They know when they'll see different transformations, they have the accountability to get where they want to be Then I would encourage you go to imhormonalcom, slash golds or you can find that link in the show notes and we will work together to create a plan that satisfies your need for structure. Yes, well, also bringing balance back to your hormones and back to your digestive health.

Speaker 1:

So, gals, that is about it for today. If you have not yet connected with me on Instagram, you can connect with me there at I'm underscore hormonal. If you're like, yes, bridget, you were talking about me today, go ahead and send me a DM with the word perfectionist and let me know what really resonated with you. I would love to also know what was your main actionable takeaway. What are you gonna do differently this week?

Speaker 1:

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.