Ditching The Broken ”All or Nothing” Approach And Authoring *Your* Middle Ground To Weight Loss Mastery

The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kyrin Dunston

Welcome to another episode of the Hormone Prescription Podcast, hosted by Dr. Kyrin Dunston, and joined by our special guest, Dr. Jessica Hehmeyer. Dr. Hehmeyer is a Functional Medicine Practitioner and Women's Health Expert who is here to provide us with her valuable insights and expertise on debunking weight loss myths and creating a healthier relationship with our bodies.

Key Takeaways:

- Debunking weight loss myths
- The importance of creating Your Middle Ground
- The "gap of disappointment" and how to overcome it
- Strategies for decluttering negative thoughts and keeping your goals in focus

Episode Highlights:
1. The Pitfalls of an "All or Nothing" Approach

Dr. Hehmeyer dives into the issues surrounding the "all or nothing" mindset that many women adopt during their weight loss journey. She emphasizes that true success lies in finding Your Middle Ground, a more sustainable and balanced approach to weight loss.
2. Empowering Women to Take Control of Their Weight Loss

Dr. Hehmeyer shares her experience and knowledge in empowering women to create a personalized weight loss plan that suits their unique needs and goals, leading to long-lasting results and a healthier lifestyle.
3. Overcoming the "Gap of Disappointment"

Dr. Hehmeyer reveals her insights into the "gap of disappointment" that many women experience when they aren't seeing immediate weight loss results. She provides strategies and advice on how to stay motivated, keep moving forward, and remain consistent in reaching your goals.
4. Decluttering Negative Thoughts and Staying Focused on Your Goals

Dr. Hehmeyer highlights the importance of decluttering negative thoughts and understanding the impact they can have on your weight loss journey. She shares tips on how to keep your goals in focus and maintain a positive mindset throughout your journey.
Join us on this episode of the Hormone Prescription Podcast, as we explore the world of weight loss mastery with Dr. Jessica Hehmeyer, and learn how to ditch the "all or nothing" mindset in favor of a more sustainable, balanced, and intuitive approach to achieving your health goals. Tune in now and be prepared to be inspired and empowered on your journey to better health!

Speaker 1 (00:00):

The first step to getting somewhere is to decide you're not going to stay where you are. JP Morgan. And there is a force in the universe, which if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results. Mahatma Gandhi.

Speaker 2 (00:14):

So the big question is, how do women over 40 like us keep weight off, have great energy, balance our hormones and our moods, feel sexy and confident, and master midlife? If you're like most of us, you are not getting the answers you need and remain confused and pretty hopeless to ever feel like yourself Again. As an OB G Y N, I had to discover for myself the truth about what creates a rock solid metabolism, lasting weight loss, and supercharged energy after 40, in order to lose a hundred pounds and fix my fatigue, now I'm on a mission. This podcast is designed to share the natural tools you need for impactful results and to give you clarity on the answers to your midlife metabolism challenges. Join me for tangible, natural strategies to crush the hormone imbalances you are facing and help you get unstuck from the sidelines of life. My name is Dr. Kyrin Dunston. Welcome to the Hormone Prescription Podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:08):

Hi everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Hormone Prescription. Thank you so much for joining me today as we dive into the deeper meaning of weight loss and creating health for women at midlife with Dr. Jessie Hehmeyer. The two quotes that I shared initially with you are two quotes she shared with me before we started the interview that I absolutely love that we're gonna dive into in the interview from JP Morgan and Mahatma Gandhi. Two very different people, but with somewhat similar philosophies on life. If you are going to lose weight or heal from a disease or get rid of the symptom first you have to decide that you're not gonna stay where you are. And that might mean that you're going to decide, decide comes from the Latin de cre to cut away from, which means to make a decision to cut away from all other possibilities.

Speaker 1 (02:05):

So you're going to decide that, that you're not gonna stay where you are. And there is this force in the universe that if you allow it will flow through you and produce miraculous results. So I'm so glad you're here because both she and I have experienced this and work with these concepts with our clients. Whether it's losing weight or healing from chronic fatigue of fibromyalgia or the myriad problems that women at midlife can face with their health, with hormonal poverty. We both embody and embrace these philosophies. She has another beautiful quote from Martha Graham that I can't wait to share with you. We talk about it in depth here and we talk about some physiological changes that you're gonna need to make if you're gonna lose weight and get optimally healthy at midlife as midlife as well. So I'll tell you a little bit about Dr.

Speaker 1 (02:55):

Jessie and then we'll get started. She has a very varied background. She has a master of science in human nutrition and functional medicine. She's a doctor of chiropractic medicine. She's an I F M Certified Practitioner Alliance, a licensed dietician, a certified nutrition specialist. So she has all kinds of experience and basically she has a great foundation and so depth and breadth of knowledge in how to help women lose weight and create optimal health, particularly at midwife. She shares her story with us in the interview and she's a true doctor, which comes from the Latin or dore meaning to teach, show, or point out, and understands that healing occurs when individuals understand the what, why, and how behind their health and treatment. Please help me welcome Dr. Jessie Hehmeyer to the show. Thank

Speaker 3 (03:53):

You so much, Kyrin. It is a pleasure to be here with you and your audience.

Speaker 1 (03:58):

So much to talk about. So let's dive right into it. And I always like to start to give everyone a frame of reference to help them understand why they are so passionate about helping people with weight, about helping people become empowered when it comes to their health and their lives. And how did your path lead from, 'cause you've got chiropractic and fitness and nutrition and all kinds of stops on your journey of expertise. So how did it lead you to what you do now? Well,

Speaker 3 (04:30):

It led me there very personally as, as I'm sure it does for most people. And what I mean by that, Kyrin is for me, I really struggled with my weight for over a decade and not my weight in a sense that it was a health concern, right? I wavered, I was probably 15, 20 pounds that I would gain and lose over the course of over and over again over the course of multiple years. And for me, over that time period, I really got what a cost the struggle was for me, right? I got that it was interfering with me being fully present in life. It was interfering with me, fully contributing to life. And that just wasn't okay with me. So when I got clear that I was done struggling in this area of my life, it became about something else. It became not about the scale triumphing in this area of my life, it became around about being present and fully contributing.

Speaker 3 (05:30):

And so with that as my north star and really getting, just having this area of my life handled, I began to approach it from a place of questions rather than drill sergeant discipline, which never seemed to turn out well, right? And never seemed to turn out well when I took out the, the stick and started beating myself up and, and telling myself I I had to give up X, Y, Z and did so for a period of time and then in, in, in invariably at a certain point just broke my resolution broke and would end up right back where I was. And so I really saw that approach wasn't broke, was broken. And so I got curious about what a new approach might approach might look like that would lead me to a future where simply put this area of my life was handled right. It just wasn't a struggle. I felt great in my body. I felt good about how I looked and really fundamentally all those things about being a, an access to being fully present and contributing.

Speaker 1 (06:30):

Yeah, I love that. It's, boy did I beat myself up also about the wave. So when that internal inner critic would be like, you're bad if you eat this and you're bad if you don't, I'd say, oh, I'm not going to eat X, Y, or Z and then by four o'clock I'm eating it. And then, oh, you're bad. And all this shame. And it wasn't until I said, okay, I'm just gonna try and get healthy. Forget losing weight and then use the the same functional principles that you use as well as really the a spiritual approach. What is the weight about that I finally lost it to? And so here you are and you are helping people become empowered with their health and empowered in their life. And you shared some amazing quotes that I absolutely love before we started the episode that I think really get to the, a concept that I think everybody must embrace if they're going to experience the healing, health and vitality that is available to them, that is their birthright, that is possible so that they can live fully and give their gifts. And so I'm wondering if you can share that quote from Martha Graham and then we can talk about what that means.

Speaker 3 (07:50):

Absolutely. It would be my pleasure. So the quote by Martha Graham, there is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action. And there is only one of you in all time. This expression is unique and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world would not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.

Speaker 1 (09:00):

I had Joe bumps the whole time you were reading that. So can you talk a little bit about what this means when it comes to weight loss, when it comes to health, when it comes to living your life?

Speaker 3 (09:12):

To me it really, that quote really captures what a precious gift this life is. This life, our bodies, this opportunity to be here. It, it's nothing short of magic. And when we're really present to the gift that it is to be alive, we start to be in a different relationship. What it means to do our best to preserve that gift, right? When we're present to the wonder, the awe and the magic of this life, we're more likely to operate in our actions in a way that honors this life. And that's a journey. It's not an overnight A to Z event. It is a looking at, okay, how might I honor this gift called life based on where I am right now? And and I'm sure you'd say the same thing, ki right, the actions that I took when I started my own personal journey, born of self-love, are different than the actions that I take now simply born out of evolution. Right? That's totally natural. That's totally okay. And and I really see moving forward is the encouraged next step rather than approaching this as if it's either perfection or bus.

Speaker 1 (10:32):

Yeah, I, I think it's such a beautiful statement about who we are and what we are on this planet to do. I do believe we each have a unique calling and soul blueprint and gifts that we're meant to deliver. And if we don't deliver them, they'll never be delivered by someone else because only we can deliver them. And I, I tell the women who I work with in my programs that I'm sneaky. I, I wanna get you healthy 'cause I know you're suffering and I wanna stop, help you to stop suffering. And I know that you're sitting on gifts. You're sitting on assets, right? You're sitting on your at assets that the world needs. And I think it's the Dalai Lama who's quoted as saying the Western woman will save the world. And I believe it's the western middle aged and menopausal woman because we've got experience and we have a balanced viewpoint and we have fairness and justice and equanimity and we have experience in our chosen professions that we've been working in for decades. And then we have solutions to a lot of the problems that we're struggling with right now that come from a divine feminine perspective, not a pick tree iCal perspective that probably could help us. And I really enjoy helping women, I only work with women, I know you work with men too, really see that you getting yourself healthy is about more than just for you for your selfish needs. It's about you getting yourself healthy for humanity. Mm-Hmm. . And so you can deliver your gifts.

Speaker 3 (12:11):

Yeah. This is, yeah. So well said. Right? This is the opportunity right now. This is the opportunity to deliver your gifts. And

Speaker 1 (12:21):

I love the part where she talks about it's not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. Because so many women, when they do get healthy, then they're looking around, oh, what do I wanna do as my creative project? What do I want my legacy to be? And then they look, well, that's been done. That book's been written, that business has been made that no, it hasn't been done by you. Mm-Hmm ,

Speaker 3 (12:47):

There is only one unique you and there's, the way you do it is going to be different the way than the way anyone else does it. Absolutely. And there's an abundance of people hungry for contribution.

Speaker 1 (13:00):

It's true. And the people who are gonna resonate with your frequency, 'cause you have a unique energetic frequency, are going to be drawn to you and they're only gonna hear certain things from you. They're not gonna hear it from Sally or Tom or Peter. Right. They're only gonna hear it from you. So I'm wondering if you can talk about this in the context of finding what you call your middle ground and ditching the all or nothing approach when it comes to health and healing and weight loss. What does that mean?

Speaker 3 (13:33):

Yeah. So the broken all or nothing approach, this is the inherited approach around our health and food in our bodies that's most prevalent when it comes to weight. And you know how this is lived is whole 30 followed by deep dish pizza and a bottle of wine on day 31, right? Like that would be a, a pretty clear example of the all or nothing approach in really, if we think about those two extreme actions, we're looking at deprivation or overindulgence. And for most people, those are the two options they're familiar with in this area of life. It's all in or all out. And a few problems with that is fundamentally speaking, they don't work. And by work I mean they don't allow people the opportunity to produce and sustain the health outcomes that matter most to 'em. So if you can't sustain the outcomes, to me, it's not a solution.

Speaker 3 (14:32):

Right? Secondly, they're born of self aggression, right? And self aggression really is not a solution for just about anything as far as I've ever found out for myself. So the broke and all or nothing approach is born of self aggression. And when I work with people, it's really stepping into a journey, a guided journey of authoring your middle ground. And your middle ground is finding that way of caring for your body and your life that allows you to integrate all of who you are and fully experience the joy of life, experience, the joy of being with others and celebrating with others while also moving towards the future you intend for your health and your life. And that journey is born of self-love. So it's just a real different way of operating. And it's not one that comes naturally for most people, right? Especially the people who I work with who've struggled in this area of their life for years or decades. It really takes some work not just to understand, okay, these are the actions, right? But stepping into a no way new way of relating with oneself and the actions that are working and the actions that aren't working from a place of kindness.

Speaker 1 (15:49):

So what does that look like? Can you give an example maybe from a client you've worked with or clients, because I think we talk about this concept of self love and stop beating yourself up and you're so hard on yourself. I'm a former hard on yourself member, right? And I didn't really understand what people were saying. You're so hard on yourself. What do you, what does that mean? Oh, you just have to love yourself. Well what does that look like? How do you do that ? So can you talk a little bit more in detail about the nuts and bolts of that journey?

Speaker 3 (16:22):

Yeah, no, that's funny that you were a member of the so hard on yourself plan, because I think I saw you at one of the so hard on yourself meetings,

Speaker 1 (16:28):

, you look familiar,

Speaker 3 (16:31):

But yeah. Yeah. So to me, where it all, where the journey, the new journey begins is getting very clear on your intention for your health and your life. And in a practical experiential sense, when I work with people and I invite your listeners to engage in this exercise, maybe write it down and, and do it later. But the first step is doing a little time traveling to a five-year future and actually writing the story of your health, your life, you as you intend and desire it occur, right? So telling the story in first person present tense, right? So I'm 46, I'd say I'm 51. And whatever's there for me about this five year future, I intend my body's healthy, strong, resilient in also tapping into what it is to live in your body at that moment, right? I walk across a, I walk through life confident and connected to others and the divine, however, you as an individual would say your experience would be in this five year future.

Speaker 3 (17:45):

So really painting this picture of your intended five-year future. So that's the first step is getting clear on your intended future. Now, there is another side of this coin and that's getting clear on what the likely, or perhaps we might say possible downward spiral five-year future would look like with no action, no change. What does it look like to be you in five years and how your body is, some people might have an idea about their health risks, like actually numbers around diabetes or heart disease or whatever the case might be, as well as your experience, right? The experience of defeat or betrayal or shame or whatever's there for people. And it's useful because they're both possible futures, right? And, and for most of us, we make change out of the carrot dangling as well as the stick on the back and not the stick on the back. Like we wanna beat ourselves up or, or scare ourselves. But it's really useful to look at what could the five-year future be like if I don't do anything and Yeah. Right.

Speaker 1 (18:56):

And then sobering, very sobering.

Speaker 3 (18:58):

Yes. Yes. And for some people quite literally, right? And from that I engage in an exercise with people that I call creating your vision of vitality that is really fundamentally based off of your intended future. It's really a condensed version, capturing your intention for your health and your life. And with that intention present, we start to navigate what it is to live with that as your north star. And that includes along the way capturing numbers, so actual lab work so that we can understand where you are relative to the desired future, what's the gap here? And also start to inform you what effective actions, what are the new actions that you'll need to bring into your life and begin practicing over and over again over time to live into that five-year future we want for you. And along that journey, when I'm working with people, I give them homework assignments. I call them fulfillment exercises. 'cause Some people get, get afraid when, you know, get scared when they hear the word homework. But they might be something more spiritual in nature. They might be something more informational in nature. Like what does insulin do? Scientific based exercise. But whatever it is, I choose for the person in front of me because I believe it's going to be an important puzzle piece in their journey ahead. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (20:31):

And then when you have that vision and that intention of who you're becoming on that heroine's journey, then every choice that you make in the present day is informed by that. And then you say, the woman who I'm becoming, she doesn't freak out 'cause it's four o'clock and she's hungry and she's not planning to eat dinner till seven. She drinks a glass of water or a glass of tea and keeps Yes. Keeps moving. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (21:00):

Absolutely. No, that's a great example, Karen. Absolutely. Yeah. Or the woman I'm becoming, if she suddenly in a moment of not being present comes to it and has, oh my gosh, I've just had two or three pieces of two or three cookies, she doesn't finish off the row. Right? Right.

Speaker 1 (21:19):

, she actually

Speaker 3 (21:20):

Puts it away and then grabs a, a glass of water and has a conversation with herself. Whatever's the useful conversation of that moment, both acknowledging, okay, maybe what led to that, oh, I, I didn't eat lunch, I was starving, right? And, or I was go at work, whatever it was, so that she can self-correct in the future, right? She can set herself up to live more aligned in the future. Mm-Hmm.

Speaker 1 (21:47):

So I want everybody listening to notice that we've been talking for about 20 minutes, we haven't talked about what diet you need to follow to lose weight. We haven't talked about what tests you need to get out of hormonal poverty. We haven't talked about anything other than the philosophy, the spirituality, the emotionality, the thought patterns, the belief patterns, the intentions, the energy around creating health. And so I hope that you've noticed that now some of you're Jones and for the diet tip of the day. 'cause You're like, I'm gonna go on, I'm gonna hear what's the one thing, what's the one thing everybody's looking on, Dr. Google, what's the one pill I need to take? The one supplement, the one diet? It doesn't exist, it just doesn't exist. Health is a state of wholeness. It's mental wholeness, emotional wholeness, spiritual wholeness, physical wholeness. So the only way to create that is by unpacking each of these areas and examining everything under the hood and then rearranging it and supplementing it and repacking it so that it can get you to that vision and intention. So I just wanted to point that out.

Speaker 3 (23:02):

Well said. Very well said. Yes. And, and the thing is, is for the people jonesing for the quick fix diet, right? Just notice what the diet industry is. I mean it's nothing if it's not quick fix, do this solutions. And yet it's, it's a multi-billion dollar industry that doesn't seem to be able to produce the outcomes and promises,

Speaker 1 (23:27):

Right? I think most diet programs have a 6% success rate at two years. And so this multi-billion dollar diet industry just works on profit off of churn. You lose the weight, you gain the weight, you lose the weight, you gain the weight, and you never truly become healthy and have vitality. And so the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. That didn't stop me when I weighed 243 pounds. I tried all the programs , right? You know, the Fen and the Jenny Craigs and the Nutrisystems and working out like crazy and fasting and all that stuff. I know you gotta do the things you gotta do until you finally come to this place of powerlessness and you go, I don't know the answer. And I think this place of surrender is when you can finally be handed a solution that works, that isn't a self aggressive solution and beat you into submission, but it's a self-loving solution.

Speaker 1 (24:24):

And you can really start to look at, well what has the weight meant in my life? Like I know for me that was a huge thing and it was protection. And I find that's true for a lot of women. I know in the ACE study that they did a Kaiser Permanente, I think there was an offshoot of it, another doctor looked at all the data and found that like 80% of the women who had overweight or obesity had been sexually abused as children. And that ended up was a part of my story, but I didn't know that. So then I could start loving myself and saying, oh, well if the, my need for protection is getting served by this layer of fat that I have around me, how can I serve that need for protection in another way so I can thank the fat doing its job and then let it go. So I love how you talk about journaling and writing your future at its best, your future at its worst. And I love to have people journal and dialogue with their fat or their body part. Like I, I've worked with a lot of women that have frozen shoulder and I like to have them dialogue with the frozen shoulder. What's going on? What did you come here to tell me? Said,

Speaker 3 (25:31):

And one of the things I love about what you just shared, Karen, is that you really got that, the holding on of the weight, it really came from such a good place, right? Yeah. It really came from such a good place and you were able to self dialogue and see that good place, acknowledge that good place it was coming from, and also get that there was a way to fulfill that very natural human need to feel safe and one that was born quite young, right? And do it in a way that still allows you physically, emotionally to thrive.

Speaker 1 (26:12):

Yeah. So I think I, I love that we're having this conversation because I love that everybody listening is hearing that health is about so much more than what supplements to take, what tests to do, what diet to follow. It is about you and who you are and your story and where it's been and where you're going and how you feel or how you don't feel. So I love that. And I love this other quote that you shared. I'm wondering if we could talk about that. I love a good quote, but from Mahatma Gandhi, there is a force in the universe which if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results. Talk a little bit about that . Well,

Speaker 3 (26:53):

For me, Kieran, when I, at about 26 years old or so throughout my hands and surrender and really devoted myself to figuring out this area of my life, I did so inside of a request. I asked what I would call the divine to collaborate to help me. And I made a promise that if the divine would help me, I would use my learnings to, to guide and help others. So to me, that lived experience is beautifully expressed in Gandhi's quote. And I, I'm sure, I'm sure you've had similar experiences that's throwing up your hands and surrender the surrendering to the divine doesn't mean you don't do anything. It actually opens up the energy for the right people to come into your life to teach you something, the right book to come into your life to teach you something, the right overheard conversation walking down the street to just all the things that you could never plan no matter how hard you try to show up inside of your commitment. Yes.

Speaker 1 (27:56):

Yeah. I had that moment after I, it was actually one of my patients who I had done the prescription, what I call the prescription tango with her, gave her sleeping pill, antidepressant, birth control pill, all the things, at midlife because she felt terrible. And she came back and she's like, yeah, it's not really helping me, but you know, as a board certified OB, G Y n I didn't really have much else to offer her except pills and surgery. And then she came back a year later and she was like a brand new woman and she said she had gone to this other doctor who had done all these tests. I never offered her to these treatments. And I'm thinking, how is there something I don't know about? I've been told by the certifying board of American Specialties that I know more about women's health than anybody else.

Speaker 1 (28:40):

Anyway, she had brought me one of Suzanne Summer's books and I wasn't gonna read it. I took it home and I was like, I'm not gonna read this book by Chrissy on three's company. But it sat there in my nightstand for a long time. And then one Saturday my kids were, came in and said, we're going to the movies. Like they didn't even bother asking me if I wanted to go anymore because they knew mom when she wasn't working, she was gonna be parked in her pajamas in bed 'cause she was sleeping and tired all the time. 'cause I had chronic fatigue and, and I read that book at first I was very reticent and prejudiced and then I started reading it like it was the Da Vinci Code, like the best mystery novel I ever read. And I finished it that day. I think the sun had just gone down.

Speaker 1 (29:24):

And I had one of those moments, I said, God, whatever you believe in the divine God, Buddha, Jesus, whatever. And I said, I'm going to use this and if it works, I'm gonna spend the rest of my life teaching other women about this. And then that prayer, that's a simple prayer, right? It calls in resources and possibilities that were previously closed to you now start opening up chance meetings, coincidences, so-called coincidences. And sometimes you have to come to that point of surrender and that force in the universe if you allow it and you don't keep going back to do the same you've been doing.

Speaker 3 (30:06):

Right. And it takes courage and it does. It takes a li it takes courage. It takes, sometimes it takes just getting sick of ourselves and even getting sick of ourselves. It still takes courage to, to surrender.

Speaker 1 (30:19):

It does. And I love it fits great with this other quote you have from , getting somewhere to decide you're not going to stay where you are. And so I'm not doing this anymore. And to whatever higher power you believe in, just say, I'm not doing this anymore. You need to show me the way. And I, I literally will say that out loud to whatever angels who work with me in the light, whoever's listening, I'm not doing it this anymore. So you show me. Yeah. And then stuff starts happening.

Speaker 3 (30:49):

It's true. It's things we cannot explain. It's very true.

Speaker 1 (30:53):

So let's give, I think we've talked a lot about the kind of nebulous, esoteric stuff that everyone avoids and doesn't want to talk about with health. So I think we need to be talking about it. But is there anything you'd like to share just from a root cause resolution, science-based approach that people might consider when it comes to losing weight, creating health?

Speaker 3 (31:16):

Yeah, absolutely. On the physiological front, I, I'm sure everything I'm about to say, Kieran, you are gonna completely nod your head with, right? But when I think about three recurring physiological barriers to weight loss, when, well, I should preface this by saying, sorry ladies, it's probably not your thyroid and like everybody, I feel like, I don't know if you experience this, like everybody wants it to be their thyroid because they're like, then I'll just start taking medication. They'll be easy, right? And like the thing is, is even if it's your thyroid, it's not just your thyroid, it's

Speaker 1 (31:54):

Not just your thyroid. In

Speaker 3 (31:55):

Other words, absolutely true. If your thyroid, if your your thyroid's underactive, if you need thyroid support, you should definitely get thyroid support. Absolutely. Absolutely. But it's probably not the keys to the kingdom you think and hope it will be. And so with that as the preface, the the three things, assuming your thyroid is well supported, well-functioning that I see with some recurring frequency is the first one is compromised insulin sensitivity, which is very different than lab normal, right? Lab normal's usually up around 19 for fasting insulin, I like to see fasting insulin seven or less. And so if that insulin is high single digits or in the double digits, we know we have an opportunity on the table to help your body be better at burning fuel rather than storing fuel. That's one of the foundational things I look at. Another thing that I see with some frequency is elevated inflammation, right?

Speaker 3 (32:56):

Sometimes people will come in and say, oh, I'm so inflamed. And I'll ask them about how it feels and maybe they'll say, my joints hurt or I'm bloated or my skin's red. They'll say something, we'll still go test the numbers also. But really the point is that mostly people don't experience any real symptoms when they're inflamed. The only way we know is by doing their labs and H S C R P is the number one go-to I look at with regards to inflammation, but also homocysteine. And when those elevate, when the H SS C R P that that inflammatory markers elevate in particular, it will absolutely slow down the metabolism. When I see this in time and again with women who, they come in and we like to see H S C R P 1.5 or less ideally under one, but that's the sweet spot range we're looking for.

Speaker 3 (33:49):

And I, I'm starting to work with someone who's H S C R P, we learn after her labs or seven or eight. I let them know, listen, it might be a few mo months before you start to see the scale move because the first order of business is breaking this vicious cycle of inflammation and then your body's just gonna take care of itself. But that's what we have to go get after first. And we do that in a lot of different ways. But fundamentally speaking, when that inflammation is elevated, first of all, people often, more often than not, don't have any symptoms and it's gotta be addressed in order to have the scale move. And then the number three is, I like to call it detoxification pathways gunked up, right? And that just, that shows up in a lot of different ways, right? That can show up as hormonal irregularities that can show up as just playing into that inflammatory process where there are more toxins in the body than ideal, which are driving inflammation.

Speaker 3 (34:48):

And that's never just like, there's not just one test I look at for to assess detox pathways, but a lot of different things. I look at what does your, detoxification is such a chic word, but we know that detoxification though, there are multiple physiological processes that allow this to happen in the body. And so I wanna understand, does the body have the essential nutrients to run the engine of detoxification, whether that's amino acids or B 12 or all the different things we need to in order to, to run the, run those gears nice and smoothly. And then also are those toxins getting out of the body. Another simple check for that is with someone having daily bowel movements, right? We know that our bowel movements are one of the primary ways we get out of, get toxins out of the body and in by toxins. It's not just pollutants and things we encounter in our environment, our hormones that we produce ourselves, or if people are taking some kind of using some kind of H R T or oral contraceptive, those, all those hormones go through our detox pathways also. So to have those running nice and smoothly is really foundational to supporting weight loss and also what comes after weight loss.

Speaker 1 (36:06):

Yes. When you said that about thyroid, I was envisioning people throwing tomatoes at this stage going boo, yes. I did this podcast episode, I guess it was about a year ago, called Why You Will Never Fix Your Thyroid By Trying to fix Your Thyroid .

Speaker 3 (36:24):

Oh, I love that. That is great.

Speaker 1 (36:28):

And it's the thyroid is just the innocent bystander, so I love that. But so there you have it, right? You just laid out the nutshell of all the things I like to say that you've got to do physiologically. But what I find is that people can rarely do the things that they need to do physi for their physiology and biology when they don't have the energy, right? Because everything at its essence is energy. And so that energy is your thoughts, your feelings, your beliefs, your history of your story that you're carrying around in your body and energetic packets. 'cause You've never unpacked it, most of us. And so you really need to address that. And then when you address that, the physiology you can very easily take care of. It's becomes simple.

Speaker 3 (37:15):

Absolutely. Yes. Well said.

Speaker 1 (37:18):

So tell everyone all the places they can find you online and interact with you.

Speaker 3 (37:22):

Yes. You can find [e-mail] and you'll find a place where you can request a complimentary consultation. Please be sure you tell us where you heard about us because you will be entitled to 10% off if you do decide to engage beyond that, that complimentary consultation is 30 minutes. Virtual will give you a chance to ask me more questions. Consider working together, whether it's one-on-one or in group work, and then also Instagram at at well Empowered is where you'll find me.

Speaker 1 (37:56):

Awesome. Thank you so much, Dr. Jesse, for your path, your purpose, your passion, all the things that have led you to be here with us today. And thank you for the brilliance and insight and depth that you have shared. I really appreciate it. Thank

Speaker 3 (38:11):

You so much, ki it's been such a pleasure to be with you and to share our love of people empowered by their health and vitality.

Speaker 1 (38:21):

Yes. And thank you for joining us for another episode of The Hormone Prescription with Dr. Kieran. Hopefully you feel empowered by our conversation, by knowing that you really are here for a specific purpose that only you can fulfill and that you can take steps today to start moving towards that. I look forward to hearing about the steps you're taking on social media. So reach out and let me know. And until next week, peace, love, and hormones y'all.

Speaker 2 (38:49):

Thank you so much for listening. I know that incredible vitality occurs for women over 40 when we learn to speak hormone and balance these vital regulators to create the health and the life that we deserve. If you're enjoying this podcast, I'd love it if you'd give me a review and subscribe. It really does help this podcast out so much. You can visit the hormone prescription.com where we have some free gifts for you, and you can sign up to have a hormone evaluation with me on the podcast to gain clarity into your personal situation. Until next time, remember, take small steps each day to balance your hormones and watch the wonderful changes in your health that begin to unfold for you. Talk to you soon.

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