Let’s Drop the “W” Word: How to Find Balance and Feel Better in Your Body
As women, we place a lot of emphasis on our “weight”, body size, body shape and so many other aspects of our anthropometry. It’s quite alarming and it’s (sure as hell) desperately sad.
We want our body to function and work well for us, don’t we? Well… it may be helpful to consider that (most of the time) when we are hormonally balanced, we find the right “set point” for us naturally. Evidence suggests we feel pretty good too! One more reason why it’s a great idea to forget about numbers and scales!
If you are trying to lose weight, firstly - you are not a bad person. There is nothing inherently wrong with this goal. However, if you are struggling to lose weight, it may also be helpful to know that you may be doing everything right. What? Don’t worry, let me explain.
We were not (you’ll be pleased to know) put on this earth to control our weight. Unfortunately, nor do we get to choose our genes (basic units of heredity that determine all sorts of physical and functional characteristics). Beyond our genetics, our life experiences and hormones play a huge role in our anthropometry and how we feel “in” our bodies too. Take“stress” (used loosely here) as an example. Chronically high levels of cortisol (our main stress hormone) can over-recruit insulin – a very important hormone that also happens to help our bodies store fat to ensure our survival. Stress can also have interesting effects on appetite with roughly half of us tending towards overeating, the other toward under-eating. Low thyroid conditions can also slow our metabolism, whilst sleep, imbalanced gut bacteria, food sensitivities, environmental exposures, alcohol, restrictive eating patterns, the “wrong” diet (they’re all pretty wrong), endless yo-yo dieting and exercise can all play a role too.
When it comes to being underweight, this can actually be far worse for our energy, mental health and overall hormone balance. The reasons for this are complex, but one of these reasons is that if we don’t have enough energy reserves, we rely on hormones like cortisol to raise blood sugar to give us enough energy to function. Increases in cortisol can disrupt almost every other hormone at the party, leading to a whole host of symptoms like anxiety, exhaustion, missing periods, loss of bone density, hair loss and other symptoms beyond the scope of this explanation! Skipping meals or training under-fueled adds fuel to the flame shutting down brain signals at the level of the hypothalamus.
So, how can we find the right balance?
First things first, I highly recommend to all my clients that you ditch those scales and forget that calories exist! This is about finding health and balance and to do that you need to start understanding food as vital information, not calories or numbers.
No more diets or clean-eating fads. For real. I know this sounds scary, but all “diets” encourage a vicious cycle of restriction or avoidance of certain food groups, unhealthy obsessions with food and hunger, leading to inevitable cravings and guilt. This leads to more restriction and the whole process starts again!
Understand that your body was designed to fluctuate a little. Yes! We are not mini men! The cyclical shifts in hormones we experience week to week literally change our metabolism. By becoming more conscious of this we can learn to enjoy ALL foods and know that they each play an important role in overall health. For example, during the luteal phase (the second half of your menstrual cycle), energy expenditure increases by 8-16%. This means you need more energy from food just to function! On the flip side, rising oestrogen at certain times of the month can positively influence serotonin release and insulin sensitivity, changing our innate response to certain foods and even our desire for them too. Knowing how your body works, is key.
Take some time to unwind – see my blogs about stress management and energy, which includes plenty of details about foods to include to balance your blood sugar and support your adrenals, both of which are critical to helping you feel better in and about your body.
Move for joy, not punishment – whilst exercise is undoubtedly important for our physical and mental health, finding what works for you is more important. If you’re not into high-intensity exercise, why punish yourself? Is this really going to stick for you? Being aware of where you are in your hormone cycle (or even if you don’t have one) can help, so you know when to take it up a notch and when doing yoga (or nothing) is right where you need to be. Sometimes, going against these principles can actually backfire when it comes to body composition (if this is your goal). If you don’t have a monthly cycle then I know this one is tough to navigate #beenthere. So, please get in touch if you need some support.
Get more sleep – lack of sleep can wreak havoc on your hormones and has even been shown to increase your hunger hormone, ghrelin. There is nothing wrong with that in itself (you know where I’m going with this). This is actually your body being (as always) pretty smart by helping to protect your energy, increase your reserves and preserve function. For some support on sleep, see my blog for more.
Get some support – if you are plagued with digestive issues, food sensitivities, thyroid problems, other hormone struggles or if you simply don’t know where to turn, then I’d highly recommend speaking to your medical provider or a Registered Nutritionist/Dietitician to help you get to the root cause of these issues. If you’re interested in working with me specifically then you can contact me here.
Finally, if you have been diagnosed with hypothalamic amenorrhoea (or suspect this is you), consider getting in touch to get the right support that works for you and your unique needs.
Stay well and stay happy!
Holly x
© Holly Dunn Nutrition