How to Become Carb Resilient and Achieve Your Hormone Potential
Ladies, let's face it. We all love carbs. They're there for us in our times of need, providing comfort and satisfaction in every bite. But did you know that not all carbs are created equal and, depending on the day, they can negatively OR positively impact your metabolism? Some can wreak havoc on your hormones, causing mood swings, weight gain, and even infertility. But fear not, because I'm about to reveal how to find YOUR optimal carb count to achieve hormone balance, so you can say goodbye to carb confusion and unnecessary restriction and learn how to work with your body instead of against it.
Unpopular opinion: There is not ONE "perfect" amount of carbs you should eat at every meal, every day.
Your life is dynamic and your diet will need to shift to meet its demands
Depending on the diet approach, you may have tried having anywhere from 30g of carbs a day to 200g of carbs a day, and although you may have experienced some benefits with either option, you still don't feel like you've found the perfect carb count for YOUR body. So what should you do?
What does it mean to be "carb resilient"?
When your body is carb resilient, You can eat enough carbs to get all the benefits with none of the downsides.
Satiety
Pleasure
Exercise fueling
Muscle building
Stable blood sugar
Hormone nourishment
Healthy metabolism
When your body is carb resilient, Your body can tolerate the "stressor" of having occasional higher-glycemic foods or meals
As evidenced by maintaining:
Stable energy and mood
Minimal cravings
Normal hunger signaling
Healthy skin
Good focus and memory
More regular ovulations and healthy fertility signs like higher basal body temperature (BBT) and more cervical mucus (CM)
Blood sugar and insulin levels returning to normal soon after (if testing manually, with CGM or through bloodwork)
When your body is carb resilient, You set up your body to have improved insulin sensitivity/glucose tolerance threshold by regulating these factors:
Sleep quality
Sleep and wake times
Light/sun exposure
Perceived stress
Movement and exercise intensity
Hidden stressors (like infections, autoimmunity, extreme blood sugar fluctuations, inflammation, gut dysbiosis, toxicant exposure)
Want to learn how you can formulate YOUR perfect plate to achieve optimal fertility and hormone vitality?
Watch the replay of my FREE masterclass here and join my upcoming Resilient Hormone Reset beginning JULY 4th (don’t worry, if you missed it, joining the masterclass replay will get you on the waitlist for the next round whenever I decide to run it!)
The Resilient Hormone Reset is a 28–day group program designed to nourish your body with the foundational nutrition it needs to support healthy hormone production, balance, and function, using delicious, seasonal foods. With over 100 recipes in the collection and the opportunity to get personalized meal plans and expert guidance, you'll learn how to fuel your body for optimal hormone balance and fertility.
Whether you’re a maiden, preconception, a pregnant mama, or just-getting-the-hang-of-things-and-trying-to-find-your-stride-mama, if you desire to achieve your hormone potential, the Resilient Hormone Reset is for you. Inside you’ll get weekly group calls PLUS an opportunity to work with me 1:1.
Not sure if you need personalized coaching or not? Listen to this podcast episode, Stop Waiting For Answers: How Personalized Care Can Save You Time and Money , where I share more about why and when it might be helpful to have personalized care to guide you to acheiving your health and fertility goals!
Ok, back to blood sugar.
When your blood sugar is chronically dysregulated, or rather, when your body is NOT carb resilient, then you put yourself at risk for hormone imbalances.
When your blood sugar is dysregulated you can experience.
1. Increased insulin resistance:
Chronic dysregulation of blood sugar levels can lead to insulin resistance, a condition where your body becomes less responsive to the hormone insulin. This can cause the pancreas to produce more insulin, which can lead to further dysregulation of blood sugar levels. Insulin resistance plays a key role in the development of conditions like PCOS, Gestational Diabetes, Infertility, menstrual irregularities, cardiovascular disease and depression.
Insulin resistance can play a contributing role in the following women's health conditions:
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): Insulin resistance is a major contributor to PCOS, a condition characterized by irregular periods, ovarian cysts, and a variety of hormonal imbalances (often excess estrogen and testosterone and low progesterone). It is also associated with clinical or physical signs of excess androgens like testosterone- such as hirsutism (facial hair growth), abdominal weight gain, cystic acne, and oily skin.
Gestational diabetes: Insulin resistance can develop during pregnancy and lead to gestational diabetes, a condition that can cause complications for both the mother and baby.
Infertility: Insulin resistance and PCOS can both contribute to infertility in women.
Menstrual irregularities: Insulin resistance can disrupt the hormonal balance in the body and lead to irregular periods or even amenorrhea (absence of menstrual periods). You may observe:
long cycles (>35 days long)
delayed ovulation (ovulating after day 23 of your cycle)
or unpredictable cycles (a mix of long and short cycles)
Endometrial cancer: Insulin resistance and obesity are both risk factors for endometrial cancer, a type of cancer that affects the lining of the uterus.
Cardiovascular disease: Insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels can increase the risk of heart disease in women; often observing elevated blood lipids (like triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol) alongside elevated blood sugar markers (like HbA1c, Fasting Blood Glucose and Fasting Insulin)
Depression: Insulin resistance has been linked to an increased risk of depression in women, possibly due to the impact of insulin on brain function and mood.
2. Elevated cortisol levels:
Cortisol is a stress hormone that is released in response to high blood sugar levels. Chronically elevated cortisol levels can lead to insulin resistance, weight gain, and other hormonal imbalances.
3. Reduced growth hormone levels:
Chronically high blood sugar levels can suppress the production of growth hormone, which is important for muscle growth, repair, and regeneration.
4. Excess estrogen levels:
High levels of insulin can increase the production of estrogen, which can lead to hormonal imbalances and, in the long term, an increased risk of breast cancer.
5. Reduced testosterone levels:
Chronic dysregulation of blood sugar levels can also reduce testosterone levels, which can lead to decreased libido, muscle mass, and bone density. Note that in PCOS, there are complex metabolic factors at play which may result in estrogen dominance AND excess testosterone.
6. Increased inflammation:
Chronically high blood sugar levels can trigger inflammation in the body, which can lead to a range of health problems, including insulin resistance, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
7. Reduced thyroid function:
Chronically elevated cortisol levels can also suppress thyroid function, leading to a slower metabolism, weight gain, and other hormonal imbalances.
As you can see, there are a multitude of ways that dysregulated blood sugar can contribute to hormonal imbalances and increase the risk of long term health complications. It’s no surprise then why blood sugar balancing is FOUNDATIONAL to all of my fertility and hormone balancing programs like the Resilient Hormone Reset and my preconception preparation self-paced course with coaching, Resilient Motherhood.
This might sound all doom and gloom but trust me, the best part about working to balance your blood sugar is that, in many cases, it can be done naturally through diet and lifestyle!
When you join Resilient Motherhood, you’ll get:
Nearly 2 hours worth of video lessons on exactly how to formulate your most blood sugar balancing diet (and 10+ hours on other essential fertility-supporting topics)
How to eat to balance your blood sugar (using delicious, seasonal recipes!)
How you can enhance your glucose tolerance so you can eat more carbs (yes, even if you have PCOS!)
How to become cycle-literate and learn to interpret your menstrual cycle signs and know exactly what you can do to improve them
How to resource your natural detox systems to achieve hormonal vitality
Resilient Motherhood is the most comprehensive, holistic guide to preparing for the most impactful transition of your life.
Your first pregnancy is NOT a trial run!
I have seen far too many women who found me after their first pregnancies, WISHING they could go back and take preventative measures to improve their pregnancy and birth outcomes.
Take my advice, do not wait until you experience pregnancy complications, a Gestational Diabetes (GD) diagnosis, undesired birth outcomes/birth trauma, and breastfeeding struggles to then later realize that you wish you did something to prevent those outcomes. SO MANY of these complications and conditions are preventable through the optimal preconception diet and lifestyle!
When you take action BEFORE you experience “problems”, it pays off. I am proof of it and so are my clients.
If you’re ready to commit to achieving hormonal vitality and and putting the cards in your favor, then join me in Resilient Motherhood, I hope to see you there!
