I know January can be a tough month–and given the state of the world right now, that feels especially true this year. For a lot of us, it’s a time to “clean up” our diet, and finally start “getting into shape”. Of course, I’m not against making health goals, and, surprisingly, I’m not against New Year’s Resolutions. (As a Type A Goal Setter, I kind of love them.)
But what I’m not a fan of, is unsustainable behaviours that we think will help us improve our health, but are likely just making things worse. So with that said, let’s dive into the biggest dieting mistakes you’re making, and how it’s negatively impacting your health and hormones.
1. You’re Not Eating Enough.
This tends to be the first place people start when trying to lose weight or improve their health. But restrictive diets are not only not sustainable, but they can cause a lot of damage to your hormones. For starters, you need fuel to create hormones, and if you’re not eating enough, your body can’t function optimally.
Second of all, your body actually has compensatory mechanisms for when you undereat: it can slow down your metabolism, decrease your energy levels and increase how many calories you absorb from the foods you do eat. (1)
Not to mention that restrictive diets are a stressor on the body and can actually increase the stress hormone cortisol. (2) When cortisol is high, it can have some negative health consequences on the body, such as breaking down lean muscle (for energy), negatively impacting digestion, and messing with hormone levels.
In fact, restrictive diets tell the body there isn’t enough food, so it begins to shut down “non-essential” functions like fertility (because we don’t have enough food = not a good time to have a baby). It’s not uncommon to lose your period or have menstrual irregularities as a result of a long-term low-calorie intake.
2. You’re Eating Too Low-Carb.
Similar to #1, eating too low-carb can have some not-so-fun impacts on hormone health. I’ve talked before about why low-carb diets can be problematic, but the hypothalamus (the part of your brain that orchestrates hormone release) requires glucose to properly communicate to your thyroid, reproductive system and adrenal glands.
Not to mention that low-carb or low-calorie diets can suppress levels of leptin (a satiety hormone produced by fat cells) and women need a certain amount of leptin to maintain healthy menstrual cycles. (3)
Carbohydrates are also required for healthy thyroid function, and not getting enough can lower thyroid levels. (4)
3. You’re Over-Exercising.
A common dieting mistake people make when wanting to get healthy is to go hard initially at the gym (or at home!). You may go from not exercising at all to intense 90-minute cardio sessions every single day. But similar to undereating, over-exercising can increase cortisol levels, leading to a lot of the same effects on hormones and metabolism.
If you love running, by all means, you don’t have to stop. But make sure you’re getting enough rest and recovery time, and eating enough food to sustain your workouts. And if you hate cardio (right there with you), no worries: find an activity you do like and opt for a sustainable routine that includes days off from working out. Oh, and ps. you don’t have to have a crazy sweat session to have a good workout.
If ditching diet culture (and getting off the yo-yo dieting bandwagon) sounds like something you’re interested in, I’ve reopened the doors to Diet Freedom Academy, so make sure to grab your spot on the waitlist!
This program is completely self-paced: I’ll show you how to nourish your body without dieting.
We’ll cover intuitive eating and how to trust your body, how to regulate your hunger through quality nutrition, balanced blood sugar and healthy hormones, and the basics of a healthy metabolism. So make sure to grab your spot!
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With love,
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