WEEK 3: DAY 1 · MONDAY
Overview of Hormones
LOW CARB DAY
Weekly affirmation: “This week I will choose to trust the process, trust my coach and trust myself. I believe that my journey is a marathon and not a sprint. I am doing good things for my mind and my body every day. I am becoming the very best version of myself.”
Happy Monday, friends and welcome to week three! Before we dive into today's topic, it's important for you to remember one thing: this is a journey. You likely aren't close to your goals yet, don’t expect yourself to have achieved your goals right now. You likely haven't made this a lifestyle just yet. Maybe you’ve had some hard days. Maybe you’re still figuring out how to track macros with success. All of this is okay, friends! These little stumbling blocks will forever be part of the journey you’re on. You’re going to get better and eventually you’ll figure out how to dodge and detour when you see them ahead. We aren’t striving for perfection. We have six initial weeks to learn and a lifetime to go! You can not give up. You may experience two steps forward and one step back sometimes. Hang in there with me and continue showing up for yourself! 👊
Today we are going to chat about the impact hormones have on your overall health! Those pesky little hormones have the ability to change everything, wouldn't you agree? 🤣 We often don’t consider the role that hormones play in our pursuit of health. News flash - they play a huge role and undereating negatively impacts our hormones, making it impossible for our bodies to burn fat. Food is fuel, friends! If you aren’t giving your body the nutrients it needs, your energy levels will suffer, as will your metabolism.
Many people come to me with a history of undereating, overexercising and participating in fad diets that place the emphasis on calories as opposed to macronutrients. Anyone can lose weight eating 100 calorie packs every day, but we all know that this makes for a miserable life. To put it nicely, ain't nobody got time for that! 🚫 As you’re hopefully beginning to see, we want you to eat more of the right foods and exercise less (but more efficiently)! By pairing our nutrition cycle with our workout cycle, we can still burn fat while also keeping our hormones healthy and happy!
Per the FASTer Way, “When you undereat, your body activates an anti-starvation system marked by high cortisol (stress hormone), low leptin levels (hormone that helps regulate food intake), high ghrelin (“the hunger hormone”), and low CCK levels (digestive hormone). This leads to more hunger, less satiety and more cravings for sugar and carbs.
Eventually, this hormonal picture can accumulate as water retention, body fat retention in the midsection and more.” In simpler terms, undereating wreaks havoc on your hormones and while you may lose "weight" at first, you're likely losing muscle instead of fat AND it eventually has a reverse effect, in which your body hangs onto stored body fat. This explains the yo-yo dieting that we’re all used to.
I want you to fuel your body with every nutrient that it needs. I want you to eat as much as possible while still experiencing results. Every macronutrient plays a role in your overall hormone health! Trust me. Trust the process. 💯
TODAY’S ACTION ITEMS:
Post a screenshot of your macros! Accountability is key!
Try participating in today's HIIT workout in your app!
Remember that today is low carb day. Keep your NET carbs below 50g (Total carbs - fiber = NET carbs). Try meeting your protein goal and fill in the rest with healthy fats.
More learning:
Many of us have a history of undereating (thanks to the diet industry 😏); therefore, many of us have also wreaked havoc on our hormones. We have lived off of “diet” foods, which are typically processed, refined and full of harmful ingredients. Again, wreaking more havoc on our hormones. It’s no wonder that many years later, we’ve found our hormones to be working against us! It's no secret that our hormones change throughout our lifetime due to our menstrual cycles, birthing children, menopause, etc.. They play a huge role throughout many seasons of our lives. I’d say we need to take extra special care of them! We certainly do not want to add more fuel to the hormone fire by participating in drastic dieting. Listen friends, drastic dieting is never the answer. Ever. I hope you're beginning to see that by now. 🥰
I want you to take a few minutes to read the blog below - "Three Secrets for Better Hormone Health". I also encourage you to listen to the podcast attached within the blog if you have some time. I believe that knowledge is power and when you take the time to learn more about your body, you're giving yourself the power! 💥
https://www.blog.fasterwaycoach.com/blog/2023/4/17/the-hidden-culprit-behind-your-stubborn-fat-hormonal-imbalance
XOXO!