Friday Oct 07, 2022

Cortisol, Boundaries, and Menopause...Oh My!

“If you can create better boundaries to just slow down a little bit, it is crazy how everything else will feel so much more amazing,” shares Stephanie Fusnik, nutrition coach. Stephanie saw through her medical schooling and career that there were large gaps in the way the healthcare system approaches physical rehabilitation, chronic disease, and weight loss. In particular, her older female clients were struggling to lose weight or improve their health based on their doctor’s recommendations that were not taking into consideration the impact of hormones on metabolism. Stephanie soon realized that by teaching perimenopausal and menopausal women about the role of hormones like cortisol in their bodies, her clients finally saw noticeable results not only in weight loss, but also overall quality of life.

Once perimenopause and menopause begin, women’s bodies no longer can handle stress in the same way that they were able to before. Cortisol levels increase and stay high rather than returning to normal, because there is a lack of hormonal buffers like estrogen and progesterone that would typically help with controlling them. When cortisol levels are high, women experience increased brain fog, weight gain, digestive problems, and trouble sleeping. Learning to implement and uphold boundaries in order to reserve time and energy for yourself to not get overly stressed is pivotal for helping lower cortisol levels. With proper boundaries and an understanding of how hormones impact overall health and metabolism, it is possible to repair your relationship with your newly changed body.

Perimenopause and menopause cause large changes in the way women’s bodies work. The shifts in hormones cause increased cortisol, slower metabolism, and in turn an increase in a variety of other health issues. Tune into this week’s episode of The Catalyst to learn more about the impact of menopause on the body, why boundaries are so important for overall health, and how nutrition plays a role in managing hormones.

Quotes

• “There's not enough information on this out there because lots of studies are done on men, and the whole fasting thing, and not eating your carbs, and eating low calorie, and those things don't work anymore.” (5:04-5:13 | Stephanie)

• “To dismiss someone's health concerns is one of the most disrespectful things you could ever do.” (7:25-7:29 | Stephanie)

• “Stress is stress. And you get the same response whether it's good or bad, your body doesn't give a shit. So then we go through these hormonal changes. And typically before, we can handle it okay, because we have hormonal buffers like estrogen, progesterone, they all help us deal with that kind of stuff. As soon as we go through peri-menopause, and menopause, and those things drop, our body cannot handle that stress anymore.” (10:13-10:34 | Stephanie)

• “If you can create better boundaries to just slow down a little bit, it is crazy how everything else will feel so much more amazing.” (15:56-16:04 | Stephanie)

• “You're supposed to be selfish in certain aspects of your life. If you're not taking care of yourself, or doing things that you love, and you're not happy, that will bleed into all your relationships.” (17:15-17:24 | Stephanie)

• “Just because you're not scheduled for something doesn't mean you're available.” (19:53-19:57 | Stephanie)

Links

Connect with Stephanie Fusnik:

Website: www.vitalityosteopathicandexercisetherapy.com

Tiktok: vitalityoet.stephanie

FB: Stephanie Fusnik

FB Group: Metabolism and Menopause by Vitality - Secrets for Fat Loss

Instagram: vitalityoet.stephanie

Connect with Lara:

Website: https://drlarasalyer.com

Instagram: @drlarasalyer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer