February 2, 2023

Forget balancing your hormones and resetting your metabolism – according to Dr Jaime Seeman Obstetrician-Gynaecologist and known as Dr Fit and Fabulous – hormone harmony is a great set of tools to help you manage your weight and your health.

Hormone harmony means ensuring that you look at 5 key foundations on how to live your life that all interact and work together for better health outcomes. 

These 5 foundations are: 

  1. Nutrition
  2. Exercise
  3. Sleep
  4. Resilience to stress (emotionally and physically)
  5. Social interactions 

Dr Seeman says “Something one day is going to take us out. Choose what you want to do and how you want to live your life. It’s your choice.”

Let’s look at the 5 key foundations and some suggestions for maximising outcomes:

1. Nutrition 

Eat optimal amounts of protein and find your daily tolerance of added fats and carbs. With carbs, she recommends eat foods that grew in the ground and for proteins those that had a mother.

Where do carbs come in? Carbs are not essential to human life. Some people can tolerate more carbs than others but she recommends moderating carbohydrate intake so you have healthy biomarkers with normal glucose levels and normal insulin levels.

Did you know that a blood test can show normal blood sugar, but typically insulin levels are not checked. They may be high and working overtime to maintain normal blood sugar levels. If you carry extra weight around the tummy, ask your doctor if they are willing to add a fasting insulin test as well.

If you can consume carbs without abnormal levels, especially in pregnancy, then continue to eat them. If you are eating too many carbs for your body excess insulin might be released and this may eventually lead to insulin resistance (early diabetes). Excess carbohydrates can also cause glycation or ageing.

Nutrition affects your female sex hormones. For hormonal harmony the body requires adequate amounts of fat and cholesterol that are naturally occurring in animal and fish proteins.

2. Exercise 

Our bodies are designed to make an effort and do physically hard things. Beware of too much cardio (walking, running and cycling) and not enough resistance (lifting weights or calisthenics). Muscle strength supports us as we age. Sprint training keeps fast twist muscle fibres engaged. Try walk then run sessions, climbing up and down stairs or bike sprints.

Exercise stimulates autophagy (replenishing) and there are no studies that show exercise is bad for you.

3. Sleep 

Good quality sleep is essential and natural morning sunlight is helpful for our circadian rhythm. Good sleep hygiene includes using the bedroom only for sleep and sex, ensuring it’s cool and dark with no blue light distraction should ensure 7+ hours of quality sleep.

Crappy diets full of highly processed foods, alcohol and too much coffee are sleep disruptors and lack of sleep will age you.

4. Stress resilience

Create resilience in your life for both mind and body by having a purpose and a passion. Making massive change requires grit so learn to make a decision not to quit. We are all looking for and need a new identity. Our internal language is what drives action. We all think we know what to do but who does it? It’s time to stop trying and failing. Action in our daily lives is what gives us outcomes. Don’t become a victim of your diagnosis and don’t stress about the things you can’t change.

Hot (sauna) and cold therapy (cold water shower or swim) can help build mental resilience.  Small amount of stress on the body builds resiliency.

Develop your own Mantra – I’m strong, I’m powerful, I’m beautiful and I’m hard to kill.

5. People, places and things 

Take an audit of the people in your life and spend time with the people that bring you alive. 

Environment is important. Toxic chemicals used daily can be endocrine disruptors. Check your personal care products for skin and hair, cosmetics, sunscreens, receipt papers, fast food wrappers and containers. Some coffee or tea containing polyphenols contain mould and check plastic cups for take-away drinks.

Replace plastic containers with glass and use glass or stainless-steel water bottles. 

Control what you can control with the intention that health is first. 

Key metabolic health markers as a measure include:

  • Blood glucose fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin
  • Triglyceride level
  • HDL cholesterol
  • Blood pressure
  • Waist circumference

A good weight and health outcome could be the impetus for your doctor to de-prescribe one or more medications. Name one medical condition that is not affected by your diet!!!

If you’re ready to take control over your weight and health our coaches can help you implement these strategies (and more) with weekly coaching.

Fill out the form below and we’ll get you started.