Written by: Kathy Fritz, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The most common question I get is “How do I know if it’s my hormones?”
How do I know if...
my weight gain
my acne
my headaches
my GI issues
my insomnia
my moodiness
my energy loss
my [insert your symptom]
...are all from my hormones?
The simple answer is this: it is!
It is your hormones because hormone imbalances are always at the root cause of health problems.
You see, there are over 200 hormone or hormone-like substances in the human body, and those medical researchers keep discovering more! So it makes sense that hormones would be involved in any health issue.
As a women’s hormone coach, I focus on the hormones most likely to impact women between 35 and 55 and doing so allows me to help clients heal and live their lives symptom-free.
Although I independently assess each and every client, and every woman’s hormonal landscape is different, there are two “upstream” hormones that I always help clients balance: cortisol and insulin.
I want to spend a little time talking about the first one.
When it’s working right, cortisol keeps your body’s inflammation down. But if cortisol is high when it should be low and low when it should be high (the most common hormone imbalance I see), then you end up with symptoms like:
Sleep issues
Cravings (especially for sweets)
No energy when you need it and too much when you don’t
STRESS
Feeling like you’re on an emotional roller coaster
Brain fog
Weight gain, especially in the hips and butt
Skin issues
High blood pressure
Rapid heart beat
Indigestion or GERD
Irregular bleeds
Infertility
And more!
So how do you get that cortisol working right? I’ve got three things for you to focus on:
Food
Movement
Lifestyle (aka stress relief strategies)
What you eat, how you exercise, and how you manage stress all impact your cortisol.
Depending on the signals your body is getting from your environment, you will either increase or decrease your cortisol...
which will increase or decrease your inflammation…
which leads to things like storing or burning fat, sleeping or lying awake, having boundless energy or none.
Now, you might be thinking that what you used to do in your 20’s and early 30’s to manage things like weight gain and stress will work again now, the old “I’ll exercise more and eat less!” approach.
In reality, once you’re in perimenopause, this approach actually spikes cortisol, which causes your body to break down muscle and hold onto fat!
To have difficulty falling asleep and no energy when you wake up!
To retire your libido.
To crave sweets and overlook veggies.
To yell, cry, and feel anxious.
So basically the opposite of what you want.
You need a new approach to food, to movement, and to stress management for this time of your life.
And we don’t learn this in high school PE classes, we don’t learn how to take care of a 40+ body in our Mommy and Me swim classes, we don’t learn how second puberty changes us in our book clubs, and, sadly, we don’t learn enough at our yearly physicals.
I’m here to fill the gap. I’m here to tell you that your food, movement, and lifestyle choices can all mend that hormonal imbalance.
I teach women how to understand their bodies and navigate their health journeys. I won’t tell you to take a certain supplement or do this particular exercise or eat these four foods. Hormone balance is not one size fits all. I want to teach you about how your body works and functions so you can know what to do for yourself going forward.
So to review, your hormonal imbalance is absolutely impacting the way you feel. Your body is trying to communicate that you have a hormonal imbalance by these pesky symptoms- hot flashes, weight gain, low energy, insomnia, headaches, acne, constipation, tender breasts, painful periods, the list goes on!
Connect with me here so we can start healing you from these symptoms, address the root cause of hormone imbalance, and improve your quality of life!
Kathy Fritz, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Kathy Fritz helps women in perimenopause and menopause experience relief from hormonal symptoms like fatigue, hot flashes, moodiness, and sleeplessness through nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle choices. Her clients lose weight, rediscover their energy, feel sexy, and define themselves on their terms as they become wise women who trust their intuition. In addition to helping individuals, Kathy is also working to change the negative narrative surrounding middle age. She is part of a movement to reclaim and redefine this time of life as one of joy, intimacy, and ease.
