Is Eating "Healthy" Destroying Hormones?

I get it, you are eating “healthy” and choosing “clean foods” yet nothing is changing when it comes to results. In fact, more recently everything seems to be getting worse.

↗? You are gaining weight or stuck in a weight loss plateau.

?? You feel more tired than ever and you feel that you cannot survive without coffee.

??♀? Your hair seems to be thinning, your skin isn’t vibrant.

?? You feel more and more uncomfortable in your body.

Seriously – what gives?

If this is hitting home a bit too closely I feel you. Because I was stuck in the same situation. As a Clinical Nutritionist, for years I felt I was doing it all “right” and yet my body seemed to be rejecting everything.

But fixing this one thing (really understanding this one concept) is how I lost 50 lbs., put my autoimmunity into remission without medication, and have been anxiety medication-free for the last 8 years.

Healthy does not mean optimal for hormone production and human performance.

The “Healthy” Myth

Unfortunately, diet culture has completely skewed the perception of what “healthy” is. If you really think about it, most of the time when you think about nutrition the first thoughts that come to mind are “dieting”, “elimination”, and “annoying” (lol).

Most of the exposure and messaging that you receive around nutrition is typically linked to some kind of diet trend or fad to help push a certain aesthetic change. But that is not what nutrition is.

Nutrition is the science of providing your body with enough nourishment to sustain life.

Let that sink in – to sustain life. When you really think about it, eliminating, restricting, depriving, and villainizing food groups is not in the same category as providing nourishment to sustain life. This is a huge problem – especially when it comes to your results.

If your body does not have what it needs to function optimally – the systems become stressed as a result. That triggers the activation of your “stress response” via the adrenal cortex.

Cortisol – your stress hormone – is released as a byproduct and that is an energy conservation and re-allocation hormone. Basically, it tells your body to put a halt on all “non-essential” functions and to ramp up fat storage to ensure your body can withstand the stress – aka the elimination and deprivation brought on by being “healthy”.

Today’s “healthy” does not mean that you are giving your body enough nourishment to sustain life. And in fact, chasing “healthy” is likely what is breaking your body because your systems and hormones do not have what they need to thrive.

Fueling Optimal Health

Every single aspect of your metabolic function is regulated by hormones.

Symptoms happen because hormones are disrupted. Hormones are disrupted because systems do not have the necessary nutrients or energy to function at optimal capacity.

Until you regulate hormones and ensure your systems have the proper fuels in the tank – the stress response will remain activated and you will be struck with symptoms that progressively get worse and disrupt your life to the point of full annoyance.

There are two parts to this equation:

?? You need enough of the right type of energy for your systems to function optimally.

?? You need the right types of nutrients to fuel the biochemical equations that make the systems go.

This is where most women lack synergy (I know I did!). You might be eating foods that are nutrient-dense, but if the energy distribution is not optimal it still doesn’t provide the necessary fuel to kickstart biochemical processes.

Or you might be eating a ton of total energy, but the nutrients are missing or the energy breakdown is super skewed. Both of which can fuel the metabolic and hormone disruption fire ??.

The New Healthy

The truth is that all foods have the power to be “superfoods” when you use them correctly. Yes, that’s right. Even in the right time and place, ice cream can be a valuable part of your hormone balance journey.

And when you master this, you go from feeling guilty about enjoying fun foods to knowing that every choice you make is in support of your end goal. And that my friends is so freeing. To never have to worry about eating out on vacation ??. To never again feel guilty about a missed workout ??♀? or indulging on margaritas ??and chips with the girls.

We need to start making your fuel work for you. To do this, it starts with mastering the following three principles:

1. Understanding your hormone cycle and knowing exactly what nutrients to prioritize to kickstart hormone production. This is known as Cycle-Synced Phase Foods. At each phase of your cycle, your hormone levels fluctuate. Meaning you need very specific nutrients, minerals, and polyphenols to help kick-start these biochemical pathways.
2. Feuling success means that you need to be eating enough to support optimal function. Remember, it is not enough to just eat “clean”. It needs to be the right energy breakdown to kickstart hormone production. Your metabolic rates shift across your hormone cycle as your body shifts from preparing for ovulation to preparing for potential conception. This huge metabolic swing of about 10-15% means you need to adapt how much you eat to reduce the stress response.
3. Knowing how to pair your meals so that they are balanced with the right energy and phase foods to ensure success. Mapping out your meals and energy breakdown allows you to ensure that you are always fueling with intention. And mastering this is how you are able to enjoy fun foods without fear that it is derailing success. This is something that we map out for you entirely in VIP Hormone Coaching.

Ready to drop inches and ditch symptoms this summer?

Are you ready to feel confident this summer ??, shed inches ??, have energy ?, and not let symptoms hold you back ?? – all without sacrificing your favorite things? ??????

If YES then kickstart your journey with a FREE discovery call ?? to discuss your goals and get tailored strategies to focus on.

Or if you are ready to start your hormone balance journey, enroll in one of my Hormone Balance Coaching Programs for tailored support.

Tasha is an Integrative Clinical Nutritionist, B.S., CPT, Pilates Instructor, and Founder of Happy Hormone Health. She has coached 2000 women in reclaiming their energy, living symptom-free and transforming their health through hormone balance nutrition. Start your hormone balance journey with customized hormone balance coaching.?