March 2023

A Cautionary Tale About Stress & Your Thyroid

The word “stress” has become so overused that it gets watered down. We’re desensitized to the effects of stress even though we’re all walking around in a stressed-out state. We keep running on empty to the point where we’re unaware of the major impact that stress can have on our bodies. And sooner or later, it makes us sick.

It happens to me, too. I go through bouts of stress, and it eventually catches up with me. This is coming from someone who should be an expert in my own health. That is to say, even those of us who are well-versed in the effects of stress will get caught off-guard when stress sneaks up on us.

And that is what happened to me this past year. So, I wanted to address that in the context of what stress is and how it works in our bodies.

The Science of Stress

The major organs or glands that affect and help manage our stress management system include the adrenal glands. These small, walnut-shaped glands sit right on top of your kidneys. Nutritionally and biochemically speaking, adrenal glands require a ton of B vitamins, along with vitamin C, to function and to help you manage your day-to-day stress.

Let’s take a normal stressor in most people’s lives, like the holiday season. We often allow the alcohol, sugar, lack of sleep, financial pressure, and social events to catch up with us. That’s all on top of normal, everyday stress, like waking up, driving in traffic, making sure we have a lunch packed, making sure the kids’ backpacks are ready to go, making sure dinner is prepared and planned, buying groceries, and just doing the run-of-the-mill everyday stuff on top of the stress that may come with your job.

Look at What You Can Control

In these scenarios, look at things that you can control. Can you somewhat control the holiday situation? Are there toxic people in your life? Do you need to be around them? If so, how will you manage that to minimize the stress that they may or may not be causing you? What about excess things that you’re putting into your diet?

It’s things like that, that add to the stress on our system. Yet you can control a lot of that. You don’t have to have a glass of wine every night before you go to bed. You don’t have to drink every weekend to excess. You don’t have to have a dessert every single night with all the sugar.

Is There Good Stress Vs. Bad Stress?

When I do one-on-one consultations with people, some people might come across as not stressed out. They don’t feel very stressed. They have a pretty easy life. They don’t worry about money. They don’t worry about kids, or whatever it may be. But then we dig deeper, and we find that there are some stressors in their life that have been there for so long they don’t even realize how it impacts their health.

Think of the people who say “I really love my job, but I work 12 hours a day. So it’s kind of a good stress. It’s just that I work long hours.” And then some people will say, “Yeah, I’m really stressed out dealing with an elderly sick family member.”

The thing is, we mentally compartmentalize good stress and bad stress. The body doesn’t know the difference.

I always use the example that whether you’re planning for a funeral or planning for a wedding, which should have very opposite feelings, they’re both stressful. Both of them are causing problems in your stress management system.

The Thyroid-Stress Link

How does this apply to thyroid people? The stress management system needs to be optimized and intact for everybody, not just thyroid patients; but thyroid patients tend to have a weaker response to stress. They’re not as hardy when it comes to added stressors.

As someone who has dealt with thyroid cancer and other thyroid issues for a long, long, long time, I have seen over and over again that stress and thyroid dysfunction do not play well together. Any excess stress for a longer period of time wipes me out.

Sometimes I see it coming, and other times I don’t. This last time I did not see it coming. I had added a lot of stuff to my business, and I’d put a lot of pressure on myself when it came to my business and other things going on in my life. I had one child graduating from high school and moving to college, and another one moving and starting her last semester of college.

By the time October and November came around, I was flatlined for 2022. It literally took me out of the game. I laid on the couch every day, practically for a few months. I did the bare minimum of what I had to do for my business, for my house, for myself.

It got to the point where I needed a med change because of all this. That’s what’s scary, when you don’t have a thyroid gland and you are 100% dependent on thyroid medication. It’s very scary when all of a sudden you don’t seem to be absorbing the medication.

Recognizing Your Stress Patterns

Whether you have a thyroid problem or you are someone who has a lot of stressors pulling you in different directions, try to think of a different way of navigating your life:

  • What can you do to get rid of stressors?
  • Who or what do you need to cut out of your life?
  • What do you need to say no to?
  • What boundaries do you need to put up?
  • What do you need to do to actually help yourself when it comes to fueling those adrenals and helping that stress management system in your body?

When our stress is supported, our stress management system is supported, and we are able to get through things a lot easier than without. You can start by not underestimating the stressors in your life. Try journaling a personal assessment of your stressors, what you can do to change them, and how you can bring more control to situations that feel chaotic.

If you’re looking for more support in navigating stress, consider the All Year Resolution membership. This affordable, group-type program is for anyone wanting to do something differently without turning to quick fixes. We use real food, real lifestyle changes, lots of nutrition, education, and health education — all at fraction of the cost of working one-on-one with me.

Let’s Connect!

Say goodbye to fatigue and hello to a full and vibrant life! Join me over in my Facebook group where we are talking all about how to take back control of your health!

Be sure to follow me on my Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest for tips and tricks on how to use nutrition to live your very best life! ​

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What Keeps You Stuck from Reaching Your Health Goals?

Good health is hard to maintain and reaching health goals can be a challenge. With all the responsibilities of life, it can be difficult to find the time or energy to prioritize your own wellbeing. In this post, we’ll discuss some of the most common reasons people get off track with their health goals, as well as tips on how you can overcome these obstacles and strive to achieve better health.

Nutrition Factors

One of the biggest roadblocks for many individuals when trying to reach personal health goals is nutrition. Eating unhealthy foods such as fast food, processed snacks, and sugary drinks can lead to weight gain, disease susceptibility and have a negative effect on overall quality of life. To combat poor nutrition habits, it is important to focus on eating whole, nutrient dense foods and avoiding processed foods as much as possible. Additionally, creating meal plans for the week can help make sure you are getting the proper nutrition each day.

Exercise Factors

Along with proper nutrition, regular exercise is essential when trying to stay healthy. Many people struggle to get enough physical activity due to lack of motivation or time constraints. To overcome these challenges and successfully stick with an exercise regimen, it’s important to find activities that suit your individual preferences, such as walking or swimming instead of running if you don’t like running. Setting realistic goals and tracking progress also helps keep motivation high throughout a fitness journey.

Time Constraints

Time constraints are a major hurdle for many people who want to pursue better health. With busy lifestyles and hectic schedules, it can be hard to find the time to eat healthy meals or get enough exercise. To make sure you’re still able to meet your health goals, try incorporating small changes into your routine such as taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator, eating a nutritious breakfast each morning or squeezing in quick 5-minute workouts throughout the day.

Life

Life can throw plenty of curveballs that can interfere with health goals. From kids and family responsibilities to long days at work or frequent travel, it is easy to fall off track when life gets too busy. The key to sticking with health goals in these scenarios is to remain flexible and focus on finding the balance between prioritizing your wellbeing and juggling other responsibilities.

General Tips

To avoid getting off track with your health goals, it is important to stay focused and motivated. Here are some general tips that can help you achieve better health: find an accountability partner or a workout buddy, set realistic and achievable goals, reward yourself for milestones reached, track progress regularly and don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed.

Reaching personal health goals can be difficult but not impossible. By understanding what obstacles might come up along the way and following simple tips, you can create sustainable lifestyle changes that will help you reach your goals and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

What else is keeping you from achieving your health goals? Reach out below, I can help you! Remember, health is an ongoing journey that takes dedication and perseverance. Keep striving for better health every day!

Let’s Connect!

Say goodbye to fatigue and hello to a full and vibrant life! Join me over in my Facebook group where we are talking all about how to take back control of your health!

Be sure to follow me on my Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest for tips and tricks on how to use nutrition to live your very best life! ​

What Keeps You Stuck from Reaching Your Health Goals? Read More »

Get Your Protein!

If you follow me on this blog, podcast or socials, chances are you have heard me talk about the importance of consuming enough protein in each meal. Having a thyroid gland plays an important role in the body’s metabolism and regulating hormones. But if you don’t have a thyroid, protein is even more critical because it helps your body to function properly. Eating enough of the right kinds of proteins can help you maintain muscle mass and strength, as well as healthy bones and heart. It can also prevent fatigue, weakness, and other symptoms that can arise from not having enough protein in your diet. In this article, we will discuss the importance of consuming protein when you do not have a thyroid gland and provide general tips on how to ensure you get enough each day.

Not All Proteins Are Created Equal

The first step in understanding how much protein you should be consuming is to recognize that not all proteins are equal. Different types of protein can provide different benefits and nutrition, so it’s important to select the best sources for your body. Animal-based proteins like meat, eggs, dairy products, fish, and poultry contain all the essential amino acids your body needs in order to function properly and should form the foundation of your daily diet if you don’t have a thyroid gland. Plant-based proteins such as beans, nuts, seeds, and legumes can also supply certain essential amino acids but may lack some of the others found in animal proteins so it’s important to choose foods from both categories when planning meals.

Symptoms of Not Consuming Enough Protein

There are a variety of symptoms that can arise if you’re not getting enough protein in your diet. Some of the most common ones include fatigue, muscle weakness, impaired wound healing, and slowed growth. If you’re experiencing any of these signs or other health problems, it’s important to consult with your health practitioner to determine if an increase in protein consumption is necessary.

How Much Protein Is Necessary If You Don’t Have a Thyroid Gland

Generally speaking, it’s recommended that individuals without a thyroid gland should aim to consume at least 0.8-1g of protein per kilogram (2.2lbs) of body weight each day. For example, someone who weighs 70kg (154lbs) should aim for 56-70g of protein every day. It’s also important to note that this amount can vary depending on individual factors, such as gender, age, activity level, and medical conditions.

Consuming the right types of proteins can be a challenge if you don’t have a thyroid gland. To ensure you get enough each day, try to plan out your meals ahead of time and make sure they include animal-based proteins like meat or fish and plant-based proteins like legumes or nuts. You may also want to consider supplementing with protein powders or bars if needed.

It’s important to be aware of how the lack of protein can further affect your body if you don’t have a thyroid gland. By consuming the right types of proteins and making sure you get enough each day – and more importantly, in each meal –, for individuals who do not have a thyroid gland. Eating enough of the right types of proteins can help maintain muscle mass, strength, healthy bones, and heart health as well as prevent fatigue and other symptoms from arising.

Not sure where to start?  Download my free 7-day meal plan and you’ll get an introduction to eating balanced meals and snacks.  In my free meal plan, you’ll get 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 7 dinners and 7 snacks that help you do just that.

Let’s Connect!

Say goodbye to fatigue and hello to a full and vibrant life! Join me over in my Facebook group where we are talking all about how to take back control of your health!

Be sure to follow me on my Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest for tips and tricks on how to use nutrition to live your very best life! ​

Get Your Protein! Read More »

A Real Talk About YOUR Health

Okay, let’s have a real, heart to heart talk this week. I spoke with someone the other day that had been seeking out help for her symptoms:

  • Anxiety: One of the big ones was anxiety,
  • Mental Health: Depression was another major symptom.
  • Gut Health: She has horrible, horrible gut health.
  • Pain And Fatigue: She’s tired, has aches and pains and swollen joints.
  • Inability to Lose Weight. She can’t lose weight no matter what she does.

As we talked on the phone. I gave her hope. She was excited, and then she got a migraine which stopped her in her tracks for a while and she couldn’t really move forward with my 1:1 program. So, I instead offered her my All-Year Resolution Support for $47 a month, which is an amazing program, however, if you want to take your nutrition and health to the next level and do a really deep dive onto the one-on-one work we do, that’s not where you’re gonna get it. I’m talking about testing, vitamin and mineral assessment, etc., which will help explain why you feel the way you do.

The Client’s Frustration

While I did offer her my $47/mo. program – mainly due to her hesitancy in having to see yet another practitioner – as she had seen many different practitioners for many different reasons. Over the course of 15 years, she had seen over eight different practitioners and yet to this day, she still feels like absolute garbage. She ultimately decided to sign up to my 1:1 program with me.

Here Comes the Anger

So, we worked on our first deep dive, our one-on-one to look into testing and to look into what is really going on at the root of her problems.

As part of my 1:1 program, I have a very extensive questionnaire that a client will have to go through and then we discuss all answers. After discussing them in detail, I ask more questions. I get super nosy. I dig deep! Remember when I initially said that one of her major symptoms was anxiety and poor gut health? As I write this, it just really angers me. I learned that her daily routine – you know, how people have a cup of coffee every morning? – well, she was having a cup of MiraLax every morning for the last, I don’t even know how many years. I immediately raised the red flag, mind blown that no one in all of this time has ever said to her:

“Hmm, you’ve taken MiraLax for this long and you have anxiety, and you have really poor, shitty gut health, no pun intended…”

If you struggle to be regular, there’s other things you can do than to take polyethylene glycol in a powder form every single day of your life! What are these practitioners thinking? How did it take me, the eighth practitioner to work with this person to have the light bulb go on and say:

“That’s not it! That’s not what you need to do! We’re gonna do something different, and I can help you.”

If that sounds like you, and if you’re frustrated and annoyed and just frankly pissed off with the way you’ve been treated by other practitioners with your health, sign up for a Free Call, join my Health Reset Membership, my All-Year Resolution Membership, or join me 1:1.

I can help you; I promise!

Let’s Connect!

Say goodbye to fatigue and hello to a full and vibrant life! Join me over in my Facebook group where we are talking all about how to take back control of your health!

Be sure to follow me on my Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest for tips and tricks on how to use nutrition to live your very best life! ​

A Real Talk About YOUR Health Read More »

Doing All The Right Things But Still Feeling Fatigued?

Women’s hormones play a crucial role in overall health and wellness. Knowing your hormone levels and getting them optimized can have significant benefits for everything from energy, mood, and weight to sleep, fertility, and libido. In this post, we’ll discuss why it’s important to know your hormone levels, what happens when your female hormones are off balance, and what happens when you get them optimized. Let’s dive in!

Doing All the Right Things but Still Feeling Off?

Do you still feel tired? Are you not losing the weight? Are you not even losing inches? If this sounds like you, it sounds like you’re in the same situation as a lot of people that I’m working with right now. They too are not feeling very energetic right now. So, what you probably haven’t done is that you haven’t optimized your hormones.

Why You Should Know Your Hormone Levels

Regularly monitoring your hormone levels is an important part of maintaining good physical and mental health. As women age, hormonal imbalances can become more common due to lifestyle factors such as stress or diet that can cause shifts in estrogen and progesterone levels. Regular hormone testing can help you identify if these imbalances are present and provide the opportunity to take preventative steps before any issues worsen.

What Happens When Your Female Hormones Are Off-Balance

When female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone become unbalanced, many physical and emotional symptoms may arise. Common symptoms of hormonal imbalance include mood swings, irregular or heavy periods, acne, weight gain or difficulty losing weight, fatigue, headaches or migraines, low libido, night sweats, anxiety and depression. If left untreated these symptoms can get worse over time and lead to more serious health problems down the road.

What Happens When Your Hormones Are Optimized

Balancing your hormones can have a positive impact on many different aspects of your health. When hormone levels are optimized, you may experience improved energy, better mood and sleep, regular menstrual cycles, less acne or skin issues, weight loss or easier weight management, heightened libido, and reduced anxiety and depression. Additionally, balanced hormones can help with fertility and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and certain cancers.

Ultimately knowing your hormone levels is essential for supporting healthy functioning both now and in the future. If you’re interested in finding out more about how to get optimized contact me in the bio for personalized advice!

Need a Health Reset?

Get ready to regain your vitality and feel like yourself again!

This monthly membership will take you through the core symptoms that needs to be addressed when you are looking to optimize your health. You will learn the importance of self-care strategies, overcome emotional eating, and take a deep dive into what you need to do for YOUR body to regain your vitality and feel like yourself again.

Let’s Connect!

Say goodbye to fatigue and hello to a full and vibrant life! Join me over in my Facebook group where we are talking all about how to take back control of your health!

Be sure to follow me on my Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest for tips and tricks on how to use nutrition to live your very best life! ​

Doing All The Right Things But Still Feeling Fatigued? Read More »

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