Women's hormones, gut + metabolism

Are You Protein Deficient?

I know. I am that crazy lady that always talks about the benefits of eating sugar + carbs but in reality it’s all about dat’ protein.

Yes, your body’s main source of energy is glucose BUT in order to actually be using that glucose appropriately you have got to have a significant amount of protein.

So why do we need so much protein?

Protein is responsible for nearly all the work carried out in every cell of the body. It is absolutely necessary for the structure and function of all tissues and organs including bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, blood and especially, muscle.

Protein is used to make enzymes, hormones, and other important body chemicals that affect our metabolism and how well we are able to absorb our nutrients. Even our hair and nails are comprised of mostly protein!

Protein helps us digest appropriately, making enzymes that our digestive system needs in order to break it down.

Hormonal probs? Estrogen driven conditions like PCOS, Endometriosis, estrogen dominance, low progesterone, female cancers? The amino acids glutamine, glycine, taurine and cysteine from animal protein are necessary for phase 2 liver detoxification to help carry out excess estrogen from the body.

Struggling with weight loss? You might not be getting enough protein! Protein is so important in building muscle and the more muscle we have the more we increase our resting metabolic rate – meaning we burn more fat while at rest.

Yes, I wasn’t joking! 😜 Literally every process of our body is run by protein.

Make sure you are getting in protein from different sources to mix up your amino acid profile and always remember animal protein is bio-available, plant protein is not. And for the love of (whatever you believe in) ditch those pea protein powders!

High sources of protein: eggs, beef, wild-caught fish, shellfish, organ meats, bone broth, milk, cheese, dairy, collagen, + gelatin.

My rule of thumb is to aim to get 4-6 ounces of protein at every meal, make sure you are incorporating collagen or gelatin in once a day, consume 80-100 grams of protein a day and always combine protein with carbs, never eat alone.

Do you get enough protein girlfriend?

Are All Those Vegetables Causing More Harm Than Good?

You begin eating healthier so you start incorporating tons of raw salads + vegetables into your diet, loading up on them at meals and making it a point to always get them in.
.
You probably think eating these things comes with no consequences. Well, every single food you put in your mouth has a consequence, yes, even vegetables. In particular, cruciferous vegetables! Things like collard greens, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, arugula, brussel sprouts, + cabbage.
.
Hear me out. I’ve talked about how important the health of our thyroid is on numerous occasions since it runs the show when it comes to our metabolism. These cruciferous veggies have a direct impact on your thyroid! You’re thinking, nah girl, I got my thyroid levels checked I’m all good but you’re cold, losing hair or thinning hair, your libido sucks, you have digestive and hormone issues, and you’re tired AF.
.
Just like other plants, they place a high priority on survival- this means they are going to try to protect themselves from predators and being eaten by you with phyochemicals.
.
Cruciferous vegetables in particular contain goitrogens that are extremely anti-thyroid when eaten daily, in large amounts and especially raw! These vegetables directly interfere with thyroid production + compete with iodine – one of the most important minerals when it comes to thyroid health.
.
Don’t be fooled, these veggies are not doing your hormones any favors. Some practitioners believe eating large amounts of cruciferous veggies helps the liver detox excess hormones, in particular estrogen BUT if you are not metabolically stable these veggies are not going to contribute to helping rid the body of excess estrogen but actually contribute the root of the problem- slow metabolic function. If your thyroid is fucked your hormones will be too!
.
Another thing to consider is that they are so hard to digest and put a lot of stress on the digestive system. Why do you think you are so bloated and gassy after eating them? If you can’t digest them, you are not getting any nutrient value from them.

Remember your vegetables are only as nutritious as the soils they are grown in + unfortunately our soils are depleted as fuck. You simply CAN NOT get all your nutrients from vegetable sources, especially hard to digest veggies. You get a whole lot more bang for your buck if you stick to quality animal sources + easy to digest carbs. Eat these in moderation, as sides, not whole meals + always make sure they are cooked + cooked well!

Your Breakfast Will Make or Break You

I know. “BUT I heard fasting in the morning is SOOO BENEFICIAL and working out fasted is even better”… 🙄

The number one thing you can do to balance your hormones is to eat breakfast. SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK! Yes, I am talking a nice balanced nutritious breakfast consisting of carb and protein within an hour of waking up. No this does not include some bullshit coffee with a fat bomb in it to hold you over until lunch.

“But why Laura? I feel so good when I fast in the morning.” 🙄

Give it some time Girlfriend- you are running on stress hormones and eventually your body will crash.

We have always heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day until recently when the fasting community decided we no longer needed to nourish ourselves after ALREADY fasting for 10 hours a night. Excuse me? Talk about adding fuel to the stress fire. As if our hormones are not already out of wack because of day to day life stressors why not make our body feel even less safe and secure by STARVING it.

Blood sugar balance is the NUMBER ONE thing we can do to balance our hormones and eating breakfast. Reason being is our bodies are completely depleted from fasting overnight. Our liver can only hold on to glucose for 8-10 hours until it has to start making it’s own.Talk about stressful. And if our liver is compromised at all from things like low carb diets and nutrient deficiencies then it will run out of glucose even sooner. When your body has to make its own glucose that’s when the stress hormones kick in – cortisol and adrenaline. What do these guys do? The lower progesterone and increase estrogen causing a hormonal shit storm- moodiness, PMS, PCOS, headaches, HA, acne, and poor thyroid function.

Eating breakfast when you wake up prevents your body from having to do this super stressful process and keeps your hormones in check.

No appetite in the morning? That is a clear sign your body is conserving energy and suppressing your hunger, digestion, and reproduction.

Don’t drink coffee on an empty stomach, quit fasting for 12-16 hours a day, and ditch the fasted workouts. And remember you are not more worthy because you don’t eat breakfast.

Are You in Survival Mode?

Some mornings you get up around 6am maybe 8am, slam out a HIIT workout, maybe eat your breakfast around 9/10am but you try to push having to eat for as long as possible. Maybe you even go for a walk or put in a double workout to get your mind off eating because you hear you need to fast in order to lose weight and feel great.

Your breakfast consists of a smoothie or protein shake of some kind because, you just “can’t stomach eating that much in the morning.”

You head off to work for the day and tend to “forget to eat” lunch because you are just too damn busy. But you feel good about it because that means you can eat more when you get home.

Girlfriend, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING.

And we wonder why our hormones and thyroids are FUCKED and we don’t feel well. Why we experience PMS, horrible periods or no periods at all, acne, digestive issues, and every symptom under the sun related to poor thyroid function.

GIRL, YOUR BODY IS IN SURVIVAL MODE. Your body doesn’t give two shits about your reproductive system when it’s trying so damn hard just to survive.

Your body will not produce hormones, secrete digestive juices, or basically do anything it needs to do because it does not feel safe to do so. And just forget about losing weight, your body is going to hold onto that safety weight for dear life because it has absolutely no idea when it’s next meal is. Your body is on the blood sugar roller coaster and cortisol is at an all time high. If your appetite sucks we need to fix that, it’s not something to be proud of.

A few tips to help your body feel safe:
✖️Create a morning and night routine and go to bed and wakeup at the same times everyday (yes, even the weekends)
✖️Eat the goddamn carbs! Don’t add that extra stress onto the body and force it to create it’s own glucose.
✖️Eat at the same times every day and often, find times what work best for you.
✖️Eat within 30 minute of waking up in the morning
✖️Never drink coffee on an empty stomach and always add cream and sugar, never black.
✖️Ditch the fasting!
✖️Ditch the HIIT and intense workouts in the morning on no fuel, honestly WTF is the point of working out if you are not going to fuel properly?