All Things Hormones with Karen Martel

Do you struggle to lose weight, or still feel awful, even though you're physically active and eating "clean?" On today's episode, Karen Martell discusses everything from estrogen dominance to insulin resistance, and how you can make dietary changes to optimize your hormone balance and feel your best.

From an early age, Karen suffered from an unhealthy relationship with food. She tried every diet imaginable, including vegetarianism, Atkins, etc. For years, she battled bulimia to maintain her weight. After having children, her hormones went out of control. The "normal" way to lose weight (counting calories and exercising) just didn't work for her anymore, so she became passionate about researching hormonal imbalances and the overall effect they have on the body. Fast forward to today, and Karen is a certified Transformational Nutrition Coach and Hormone Specialist, and helps hundreds of women reclaim their lives and treat their hormone issues naturally. It was an extremely informative conversation and I know you will learn a ton.

What we discussed in this episode:

• The background behind Karen's passion for hormone regulation (4:53)
• The debate over calorie in/calorie vs. insulin resistance when it comes to weight loss (11:19)
• Karen's blueprint for how to help women balance their hormones so they can lose weight and feel their best (14:29)
• Xenoestrogens and how they negatively affect our hormones (18:30)
• How women's hormones fluctuate throughout their monthly cycles and the benefits of the proper balance of estrogen and progesterone (20:59)
• The benefits to altering your diet slightly throughout the various monthly cycle stages in order to optimize your hormones and energy levels (24:07)
• Synthetic hormone replacement therapy and the risks (28:17)
• Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and the benefits (30:29)
• Some symptoms to watch out for that may indicate you have a hormonal imbalance (36:45)
• The importance of testing your hormone levels before you ever begin supplementing or trying hormone replacement (39:42)
• Chronic undereating and how that can negatively affect weight loss and hormone balance (44:00)
• The importance of experimenting with your diet and nutritional needs based on your fitness and life goals (47:53)
• The benefits of flaxseed and cruciferous vegetables in battling estrogen dominance (52:31)
• How to effectively test hormone levels in women (59:41)

Where to learn more from Karen:

Podcast
Website

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