Latest / Nourished Fertility / Nourish Your Body for Fertility Series, Part 4: Wellness Without Obsession

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Nourish Your Body for Fertility Series, Part 4: Wellness Without Obsession · Nourished Fertility

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Welcome back to the Nourishing Women podcast.
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This is Victoria Myers, your podcast host, period recovery specialist,
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and fertility registered dietitian.
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Do you remember the mitochondria discussion that we had in part two of this
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series, Nourish Your Body for Fertility?
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Well, chronic stress causes inflammation, which causes oxidative
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stress of the mitochondria.
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This is how it becomes damaged.
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And while we will talk about inflammation from the lens of toxins today, our
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primary focus is going to be the mental and emotional stress that you're under
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because for my people, that is your number one focus to reducing inflammation
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and supporting your mitochondria for healthy follicle and egg development.
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And in addition to eating enough and resting more, this is how you're going
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to get your body feeling safe enough to ovulate cycle and conceive naturally.
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So welcome officially to part four of the series, wellness without obsession.
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Now why am I calling it wellness without obsession?
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It means a focused look for your fertility at inflammation, but through
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the lens of your specific stressors.
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Yes, chronic stress causes the inflammation and affects fertility.
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But for my people, your stress is just so different than the average person.
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Your stress is about the immense amount of exercise and activity your
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body is undergoing on a daily basis.
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Your anxiety, your relationship with food and body, your type a high stress
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nature and busy, busy lifestyle.
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Wellness without obsession is just as it sounds.
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This is about focusing on true health and wellness.
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But everything we do here at Nourishing Minds Nutrition and with our clients is
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through this really flexible, positive mindset and with this intention of what
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can we add in here instead of feeling like all these things we have to take away
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and feeling nervous about our fertility.
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We want to feel empowered, not as if everything we're doing
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is screwing with our fertility.
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That's just not necessary here.
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And again, for my people, I actually believe that causes more
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stress for you and does the exact opposite of the entire intention
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behind Wellness Without Obsession.
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With the things that we will talk about that are potentially something
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you need to address, take out, the idea here is to not be perfect.
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Really, 80 percent can be a goal here, especially with the endocrine disruptors
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that we'll discuss at the very end of this episode, so that this doesn't
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become an obsessive thing for you.
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That's why, again, it's called wellness without obsession.
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We are flexible.
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We are positive and we are just thinking, how can I enhance my life
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so that I feel better and I improve my fertility as a result, really
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more than anything, wellness without obsession is a focus on nervous system
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regulation for true health and optimize fertility, because that is what you need.
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Why nervous system regulation.
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Okay.
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I want you to imagine your nervous system like the command center of
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your body, kind of like a traffic control center for all of your organs,
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hormones, and even your fertility too.
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It has two main modes, your fight or flight mode, which is
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your sympathetic nervous system.
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And this is like pressing the gas pedal when you're stressed, you're
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scared, or you're overwhelmed.
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Your body thinks it's in danger.
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So it starts pumping out stress hormones like Cortisol and adrenaline
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to help you run away or fight.
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But when this happens too often, it steals resources for making reproductive hormones
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like estrogen and progesterone, which are needed for a healthy cycle and pregnancy.
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The second mode that your nervous system can go into is rest and digest mode
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or the parasympathetic nervous system.
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This is like hitting the brakes, calming your body and letting it.
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focus on the important things like digesting food, balancing
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hormones, and supporting fertility.
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And why does this matter specifically for fertility?
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If you're constantly stressed, your body is prioritizing
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survival over reproduction.
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Remember, in the very beginning of this series, in the very beginning of this
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video, Part one of that episode, I discuss the importance of your body being in a
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de stressed state, being in a safe space and getting enough nutrition so that
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it can become its most fertile self.
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Well, if your body's in such a state of stress is not going to put focus towards
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healthy follicle and egg development.
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It's not going to put focus towards getting your body to ovulate.
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Those are things that your body doesn't see as necessary to survive.
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Really, your body only makes a period every month because it sees it as
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an opportunity to get pregnant.
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If your body thinks it's not a safe time to get pregnant,
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It will not prioritize this.
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So this matters so much.
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If your body is prioritizing survival over reproduction, this may mean in addition
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to shutting down your ovulation in your cycle, it may also make less progesterone,
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which is needed to support pregnancy.
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Of course, as we've discussed, disrupt ovulation, making it harder to conceive.
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If you don't ovulate, it's kind of hard to get pregnant.
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It might increase inflammation, which can harm egg and sperm quality
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and affect the balance of other hormones like your thyroid hormones,
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which also impact fertility.
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Your chronic stress can also be either consciously or subconsciously impacting
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how much you're eating and be part of the why you use exercise so much to cope.
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Unfortunately, when you're stressed, your body releases cortisol and adrenaline,
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which disrupts mitochondrial function,
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making them work less efficiently, it increases free radicals, which is
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that oxidative stress damaging the mitochondria and the eggs, and it can
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reduce ATP, which is energy production, meaning less energy for ovulation,
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implantation, and early pregnancy.
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So, we know chronic stress matters so much.
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We know that this for you is likely the number one reason your body could be in a
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state of inflammation and affecting your body's ability to ovulate, cycle, as well
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as develop healthy follicles and eggs.
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So how are we going to address this?
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Number one, first and foremost, that exercise girl, we got to talk about it.
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first by modifying total steps per day.
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With our clients, we do give them specific guidelines to follow, but
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I'll go ahead and let you know that our absolute maximum is recommending
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no more than 10, 000 steps per day.
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This also definitely means adjusting the type, amount, and duration
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of exercise on a daily basis.
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This is actually included in our client's tailored period comeback plan.
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So in addition to food, it's one of the first changes we make because it
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is so necessary for period recovery and restoring your fertility.
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And with exercise, I want to be clear here that you're not going to have
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to give up all of your exercise.
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I think it's so important that you have some tools in your
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toolbox to manage your stress.
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And we know exercise does have positive benefits to your
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body and to your fertility.
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Finally, for you, exercise helps you feel better in your body.
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It does improve body image.
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So because of these various reasons, we're not going to
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completely take away all exercise.
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We just need to adjust and modify.
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From there, in addition to Adjusting and modifying exercise to
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support nervous system regulation.
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Let's talk specifically about our three tiered focus for nervous
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system regulation for our clients.
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The first is getting the body to feel safe, safe, safe, safe.
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I feel like we say that so much here on the podcast because
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it matters so freaking much.
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This really is the lens of what are your daily habits?
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Like what is your life like?
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I'm thinking things like, what is your morning routine?
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Like is your Morning routine, including slow mornings of
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meditation, reading and journaling.
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Are you getting outside and in nature on a daily or weekly basis?
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Are you going to therapy?
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Are you doing activities that really support the nervous system regulation,
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things like when you are going for your steps per day that we do
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allow that, you know, that modified amount, are we walking slowly and
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really connecting with ourselves?
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Do we have deep breathing techniques in our daily life?
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Do we have, I mentioned meditation earlier, yoga, things that really help
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your body to feel safe and regulated.
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And hey, it could even be bonus bougie things like saunas, red light therapy,
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massages, acupuncture, and again, just cannot emphasize enough here, therapy.
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So your habits on a daily basis around your morning, nighttime routines, the
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types of habits you do for wellness on a daily basis, but also looking
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kind of bigger picture at your weekly and monthly wellness habits
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too, that are much more now about.
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regulating your nervous system and helping your body feel as safe as possible.
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Again, therapy too.
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Therapy, therapy, therapy.
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Um, number two, nervous system regulation through minerals.
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Now, this is specifically part three, so we've already addressed minerals.
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We're not going to go through that part again.
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But know that your minerals play an important role in nervous system
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regulation and that Nutrient replenishment through minerals and specifically with
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our clients through an HTMA or hair tissue mineral analysis is how we also
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address nervous system regulation.
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So it is about those daily and weekly health wellness habits,
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but it's also about mineral status and supporting your minerals.
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If you want to learn more about that, head to part three.
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Finally, our three tiered focus for nervous system regulation is body image.
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Body image makes such a difference in nervous system regulation.
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I think this is such a critical piece most people miss out on because
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hyperarousal as well as hypoarousal both impact and can cause high
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levels of distress in your body.
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This is much more of a bottom up approach to body image.
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So instead of focusing only on the thoughts, We're focusing on how you
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feel in your body to improve body image.
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This is when we're talking about things like your windows of tolerance and
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identifying in your day to day life when you're either in hypo or hyper arousal.
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This is again, kind of coming back to some of these habits, but
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really making sure that it's from the lens of how are we managing
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negative body image and supporting yourselves when those moments happen.
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Walks, going outside, journaling.
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This could also mean doing some specific techniques like hot or
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cold extremities, like taking a very hot or a very cold shower.
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This could even be something like holding ice cubes.
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Uh, this is where deep breathing techniques come into play.
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Two examples would be box breathing, inhaling for five, holding for five,
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exhaling for five, and holding for five.
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As well as alternate nostril breathing.
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And then this can also be, you know, discussion on body grief.
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This is something we talk about with every client we work with,
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identifying past and present body beliefs in our life experiences.
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This could even be belief or not nervous system regulation for body image
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through a discussion on people pleasing,
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you know, with every single client I work with, I am telling you, when we
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keep digging in to what their body image believes and what their fears specifically
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are, it is 99 percent of the time related to their fear of how others are perceiving
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them, what other people are thinking about their weight gain, what other people
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think about their bodies, and it is just so impactful to realize that everything
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I'm doing is through this lens of like, what is someone else going to think of me?
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If you struggle with this, this affects your nervous system,
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which then affects chronic stress inflammation in your fertility.
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These are important things to address.
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And as you can see, there's so many different ways that we
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support our clients through this.
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Specifically when it comes to people pleasing, I couldn't
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recommend enough the books, the gifts of imperfection and let them.
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Okay, that's nervous system regulation, three tiered focus on your daily habits,
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your minerals, as well as body image.
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But two other important areas to address that both affect your nervous system, but
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specifically really impact fertility is.
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Sleep hygiene as well as endocrine disruptors.
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12:27
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12:33
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12:37
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12:40
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12:45
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12:52
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13:00
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13:03
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13:07
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13:14
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13:17
with a link in our show notes.
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Now, let's get back to today's episode.
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So first, let's discuss sleep.
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Prioritizing sleep since your body repairs its hormones at
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night is absolutely critical.
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Sleep hygiene is also a critically important conversation for egg quality.
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Remember, in part two, we discussed melatonin and its important
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role in egg quality, right?
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So very important that we consider our habits around.
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sleep, how we're sleeping on a daily basis, and as well, um, even
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potentially considering supplementation.
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Now, this is something I would only recommend if you've tested and it's
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low, or if you're above the age of 35 supplementing with melatonin, or if you
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were not in those two criteria of low, uh, testing or above a certain age.
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We can look at something like recommending tart cherry juice nightly.
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Specifically the habits that we want to have to support really good quality sleep
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is always prioritizing enough sleep.
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First and foremost, right?
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We want to be sleeping seven to nine hours per night.
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I really prefer more of that eight to nine hours.
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Women need way more sleep than men do.
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It is so important for you feeling like your best, but
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also improving your fertility.
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Also screen time.
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I mean, this one is so hard.
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I'll be perfectly honest.
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I struggle with this too, but absolutely no screens an hour before bedtime.
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I went to in bed by 11 p. m. at the latest, although 9 to 10 p. m. is ideal.
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And before bed, you know that 60 minutes because we're not
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going to be on our screens.
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I want you to really think about a restorative nighttime routine that
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tells you that you're safe and it's time to relax and to rejuvenate.
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And more specifically, it tells your body, Hey, like This habit means
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I'm getting ready to go to bed.
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That may include a nighttime snack, especially in period recovery.
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We highly recommend nighttime snacks, stretching, skincare.
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God, I love an elaborate skincare routine in the evening.
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This may mean reading or anything else that you see is really restorative.
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I'll also add here for sleep hygiene.
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If you're waking up in the middle of the night, this may be a time
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to also consider mineral support.
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Uh, again, part three of our series is covers minerals in detail.
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So go there if that's something you're struggling with.
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I'd also say to you, if you're waking up in the middle of the night, this is
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where you want to ensure you ate enough carbohydrates throughout the entire
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day, but also right before bedtime.
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If you are waking up at the middle of the night, your nighttime snack may
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need to include more carbohydrates.
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So that's sleep hygiene.
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Remember, sleep plays a very important role in boosting your fertility
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because of melatonin as well as giving your body the time to repair itself.
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Finally, endocrine disruptors.
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So this is really where we keep that without obsession mindset, okay?
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This is where we want to be looking at endocrine disrupting chemicals that
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can cause inflammation to the body, which as we've discussed can damage
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mitochondria, which matters significantly for follicle and egg quality.
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Here's where you want to be looking at the four Ps, plastic, pesticides,
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pollution, and personal care products.
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This is where you want to be thinking, you know, am I heating anything in plastic?
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Am I using BPA And can I get that out of our household?
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This may be looking at considering an organic diet or a low pesticide
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diet if this is financially feasible and accessible in the area you live.
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What I think matters most here though is the fourth one, personal care products.
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Really starting and prioritizing what you use the most.
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This is where you can make the most difference.
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And also so you don't get so hyper focused on this part.
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So this is really looking at the scents and fragrances used in your house.
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Do you have candles constantly going in your house?
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Do you have those Glade plugins?
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Do you have lots of fragrance in your laundry detergent?
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What skincare products are you using?
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What makeup are you using?
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What soaps and shampoos and cleaning products?
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This again is where we really can get the biggest bang for our buck and
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personally my approach has always been I like to think about what I buy and
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be intentional about our products in our home And when I am not in the home
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when I'm at an Airbnb or at a restaurant or a friend or family member's house
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I'm not worrying about it, right?
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I'm not even thinking twice about it.
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That's that 80 percent I know at my home We have products that make me feel
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my best and really support my body and reducing toxin exposure if it's Other
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places, I'm not going to worry about it.
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Another approach I have taken to this and I hope to instill in you too, is
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just doing it a product at a time.
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So when I would run out years ago, when I made the switch, when I would
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run out of a product, I'd use that as an opportunity to purchase a new one
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that more aligned with my beliefs about personal care products and really getting
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rid of endocrine disrupting chemicals.
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in our household.
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So I would slowly get rid of the laundry detergent and try a new one.
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The soaps, the shampoos, the conditioners, my makeup, my skincare
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products, a slow, progressive change over time made it so that that
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wellness without obsession approach was prioritized and so that it didn't
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become something where I was becoming.
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Obsessive and rigid and dogmatic, which of course I always recommend having
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a healthy mindset above all else.
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So, now that we have covered lifestyle choices, habits, wellness without
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obsession, the part four of our series of how to properly nourish your body for
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fertility, if you're like, man, There's a lot of different pieces of this puzzle
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to supporting my body for fertility.
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You're right, it is.
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And it is our job inside of Premier Period Recovery for fertility to
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support you every single step of the way to getting your body ovulating and
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cycling again, to helping you create the most Healthy body for fertility
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and helping you actually get pregnant.
19:10
If you are ready to take this inside out, holistic wellness without obsession
19:16
approach to your fertility, getting your period back first, and then restoring
19:21
fertility and getting pregnant next, we would love to support you with
19:25
premier period recovery for fertility.
19:27
We do have very limited spots left in our spring enrollment.
19:30
You have to apply and be approved to join, and you can take that next step
19:35
to making your dreams and starting your dream family a reality by applying
19:40
with the link in our show notes.
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Thank you so much for listening to this four part series.
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I'm so hopeful that this was so encouraging, informative, empowering
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for you to listen to that there is just such a need for nourishing
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your body from the inside out.
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And nourishing is not about restrictive diets, overexercising and being
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constantly in a state of stress.
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In fact, it does the exact opposite.
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And that is how we make you feel your best and make you your most fertile self.
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Thank you so much again for listening.
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I'll be back as always for another episode next week.
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Until next time, love to each of you.