Episode 186 - Hormones & Health with Lauren Allen

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I hope your Pesach was rejuvenating, spiritually connected, and you managed not to kill anyone 🙂And... does anyone else feel like they got filled up with lead?

I was thrilled with the serendipity that right as I'm feeling post-Pesach blahs, I had an interview scheduled with Lauren Allen, a nutrition coach with a focus on female hormonal health (with her own amazing story). Basically, the interview consisted of me being like "hellllp meeeee."

And... she really did.

You should for sure listen or watch, but let me give you a taste of how practical and helpful her advice was (this is just a sample):

1. Moving your coffee to AFTER your breakfast can make a big difference in sustaining energy throughout your day (she explains why better so I'm not going to try) 2. If you have a 3 PM slump where you go for the carbs/caffeine/sugar, look earlier in your day to see if you skipped a meal (and drop the shame for your body's normal biological urge to find energy!) 3. Apparently breakfast matters if you're a woman. She says to shoot for 60-90 minutes from wake-up time.

What's one practical step--whether from this list or something you know would make a world of difference for your health and energy--that you can try on this week?

WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER IN THIS EPISODE:

1. Lauren's story

2. Size vs. health

3. Hormonal health

4. Planning how to eat throughout the day

5. Sleep health

6. Baseline self-care

FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE:

1. Read more about Lauren below

2. Lauren's website: www.laurenallennutrition.com

3. Lauren's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenallennutrition/

Lauren's Bio:

Lauren Allen is a former sugar addict turned Certified Nutrition Coach who specializes in women's hormonal health. After being diagnosed with PCOS after struggling with infertility, Lauren discovered the power of using food as medicine to heal her body, balance her hormones, and eventually get pregnant naturally. Lauren believes that all women deserve to harness the power of eating foods that help their bodies thrive and her mission is to help women find delicious ways to balance their hormones without feeling deprived or restricted. She coaches women privately and in groups to help them optimize their fertility, regulate their periods, boost their mood and energy, and feel empowered in their health journeys.

Ep 186 - Hormones and Health with Lauren Allen ===

<00:00:00> Kayla Levin: Episode 186, Food Hormones and Health with Lauren Allen.

<00:00:04>

<00:00:16> Welcome to How to Glow, where we get real about building the marriage of your dreams. I'm certified coach Kayla Levin and I help married Jewish women go from surviving and overwhelmed to thriving and connected through practical tips, real life inspiration, and more than a little self-awareness along the way.

<00:00:34> ​

<00:00:39> Kayla Levin: hey, welcome back after Pesach. If you're anything like me, you're feeling a little ble physically, so this interview worked out perfectly. In fact, I'm actually rushing this. This interview out. I usually wait a couple weeks after the interview, before it's published, but I think that this is just perfect timing for this conversation.

<00:00:58> Kayla Levin: Lauren Allen is a health coach and an expert in women's hormonal health, and this was, if that already is making, you start to think, this sounds like science class and you didn't like science class. I want you to know this is a super, super accessible, fun conversation and Lauren shares her own personal journey, which is really amazing in how she kind of did a 180 in terms of how she takes care of herself.

<00:01:20> Kayla Levin: All of us could use a bit more self-care. And in fact, I don't think eating and sleeping and eating certain kinds of foods even counts as self-care. Um, as she mentions on the podcast, it's basically baseline self-care to make sure that we're okay and really functioning at our best. I know you're gonna enjoy this interview as much as I did. I really enjoyed chatting with her, and in fact, you'll be seeing a little bit more of Lauren, um, especially those of you inside the community.

<00:01:44> Kayla Levin: Very soon. You'll hear about that inside this episode. So enjoy,

<00:01:48> Kayla Levin: okay. So Lauren Allen, thank you so much for coming on and giving us some, some tips on how to have a little more energy. I know that for me, I'm feeling a little. Just blah after Pesa and also for, I know that you'll be sharing your story, so I'm really excited for that, for our whole community.

<00:02:06> Lauren Allen: Thank you so much for having me. Kayla and I, I've told you this in the past. I'm a huge fan personally of your podcast, so it's really exciting for me to be here.

<00:02:14> Kayla Levin: Yeah, so Lauren, you know that I was like very hesitant to bring someone on who talks about food, and that's because I have my own personal history where I tried all sorts of different things with my own health stuff, and I found that. You know, everyone sort of has their own chita that they feel like this is it, right?

<00:02:31> Kayla Levin: And I was nervous to sort of say one thing, but what I think everyone's gonna really hear from this conversation is that your approach is, feels much more grounded. It's not like one extreme plan one, and I think it's pretty customizable in some ways. And it's just feels very, to me, it felt talking to you more.

<00:02:48> Kayla Levin: Um, very grounded. Realistic, sensible information, but also information I didn't know. So I have to remember not to jump ahead. You told me already some of your tips. Um, what I would love to sort of start, what I think is so fun about your story is that you, it seemed you were not like the person that everyone in school thought you would grow up to be a health coach.

<00:03:14> Lauren Allen: No, not at all. Probably the opposite cuz I was always going out for lunch and I would get two slices of ziti pizza and go off to Dunking Donuts afterwards. Like I'm the opposite. And I think that's why I do have a really grounded approach to nutrition because I. Never in a million years would have thought I'd be doing this and talking to people about how to eat healthy.

<00:03:33> Lauren Allen: Um, in some ways, and I'll, I could share a little bit of my story. I felt like I was forced into it in certain ways. Um, and I recognize that it's not, you know, it's not something that most people naturally want to do. And I never wanna come off as this person being like, it's just fun to eat kale salads and stuff.

<00:03:49> Lauren Allen: Like, that's not really what it's about. It's more about how we feel and, and really understanding how food affects our bodies and. Empowerment that you get when you understand, oh, this is how to actually help my body function in the best way.

<00:04:02> Lauren's Story ---

<00:04:02> Kayla Levin: Yeah. Okay. Let's do your story. Let's start there. Cuz I think that that's such a, it's fascinating.

<00:04:08> Lauren Allen: Okay, so as you mentioned, and I mentioned, I did not eat super healthy growing up and for people who aren't not watching this, I was always at a, you know, quote unquote healthy weight on the thinner side, and I was always under the impression I actually. Didn't need to eat healthy. I thought I was just really lucky genetically, and I ate a lot of junk food.

<00:04:27> Lauren Allen: Um, like once I moved outta my parents' house, I stopped eating real food altogether, basically. And I was on my own. I thought it was fun. In college, I would have like tortilla chips and ice cream for dinner and I was like, this is just great. It's so fun and thank God I don't have any health concerns to worry about.

<00:04:42> Lauren Allen: And then, um, fast forward after I'd gotten married and my husband and I had started trying to get pregnant. I had this very early realization in the process that something was off. It was the first time I had started really paying attention to my periods and I realized that they were not regular. I was only getting a period like every other month, maybe every 65 days, something like that.

<00:05:03> Lauren Allen: And I went to, I went to two different OB GYNs, one in America, one in Israel, and they both told me it's normal. You're fine. You have a healthy weight, you're healthy. Just, you know,

<00:05:11> Kayla Levin: Really?

<00:05:11> Lauren Allen: been a couple of months. Yeah. And I

<00:05:14> Kayla Levin: They didn't ask you anything about like lifestyle or diet?

<00:05:18> Lauren Allen: Nothing. And they also didn't do an ultrasound, which I still feel it was such a mistake because an ultrasound's so quick, it's so easy. They could have easily checked things so much earlier. They could have run a simple blood test and I'll, I'll talk about, and basically after over a year, um, we ended up going to a fertility specialist who then ran all the tests and immediately diagnosed me with P C O S, which is polycystic ovarian syndrome.

<00:05:43> Lauren Allen: Really common Now it's estimated that about 20% of women have it, and it's, yeah, it's basically characterized by women who are having either irregular periods or no periods. Um, having a lot of cts on the ovaries or having high levels of hormones called androgens, which usually we think about testosterone in that, in that category.

<00:06:03> Lauren Allen: And it was really eyeopening to me. Like I had all of a sudden thought for my whole life I was healthy and now all of a sudden I was diagnosed with this chronic illness. And the doctor very quickly glossed over that and started talking about fertility treatments and which ones we would do first. And if these don't work we'll go onto this treatment and if that doesn't work, we'll go onto this.

<00:06:21> Lauren Allen: And he was basically laying out the, the pathway.

<00:06:24> Size vs Health ---

<00:06:24> Kayla Levin: Wait before you go to part two, I wanna, I wanna like dig into this thing that you're saying right now. Cause I think this is so important, which is I think that like, that's definitely a, something that I think a lot of us have kind of been unintentionally sort of brainwashed with this idea that size equals health.

<00:06:43> Lauren Allen: Mm-hmm.

<00:06:44> Kayla Levin: like when I was coming down with my. Like I, before I got my diagnosis. So I was, I mean, what happens to a type one diabetic who's not on insulin? I was literally starving to death.

<00:06:52> Kayla Levin: Right. And I remember someone seeing me after a couple years and she was like, oh my gosh, you look great. What are you doing?

<00:06:58> Kayla Levin: And I was like, dying actually is, but

<00:07:01> Kayla Levin: I,

<00:07:01> Kayla Levin: it be that when you look at someone who's this thin, your association is that I'm healthier. Right. And I think it's so important that we stop and, and like you said, you were pushed into this whole journey. Um, and I think there's probably a lot of people that, whether it's because of their weight or because, you know, the coffee seems to keep the energy going well, good enough, you know, where we just, and maybe even, even more so as Jewish women, where we have so much on our plate

<00:07:30> Lauren Allen: Yeah.

<00:07:31> Kayla Levin: that we're just powering past our bodies in a way.

<00:07:34> Kayla Levin: Do you see that with your clients?

<00:07:36> Lauren Allen: absolutely. And I, I'm glad you brought up the health and size. Topic because this is something I also really like to tell people. After the P C O S diagnosis later, a few months later, I ended up getting diagnosed with type two diabetes as well. Um, and I always tell people like, I don't look like I have type two diabetes.

<00:07:53> Lauren Allen: People would see me and when I was eating ice cream and tortilla chips or. Salads and avocados and eggs and, you know, much healthier foods. My weight really didn't change that much. Um, I do test my blood sugar pretty frequently so that I saw huge differences in my hormones. I saw huge differences in, and I can talk about many, many other.

<00:08:14> Lauren Allen: Ways that my health has clearly changed, just in my personal experience. None of it had to do with weight. And I work with a lot of women also that you would never look at them and think they have a chronic health condition. But we're just seeing that so much of our, our health conditions, they really do have to do with nutrition, but also stress and lack of sleep are, are so, so enormous in terms of playing a role in our health and.

<00:08:40> Lauren Allen: It's, it's such a shame that people put so much focus and emphasis on weight cuz then you see people doing all sorts of silly things going on these restrictive diets, cutting calories, cutting out wholesome foods. Um, I was just talking to a young girl, a teenager who was telling me like, you know, I don't drink, I don't eat avocados cuz they're so high in calories.

<00:08:57> Lauren Allen: But she was sitting there drinking diet Cokes all day and I'm like, oh my gosh. It's such a misconception and it's happening really young that, that people are still getting that. Information that thin equals healthy and it, it hurts people on both sides. It obviously is so offensive to people in larger bodies.

<00:09:12> Lauren Allen: And I, I say I don't think it's the same level of difficulty socially when you're thin, but I think I would've been diagnosed a lot earlier had I been overweight. I think people would've said, well, let's, you know your weight is clearly an issue. Let's test your insulin. Let's look at your blood sugar.

<00:09:26> Lauren Allen: Maybe not. Maybe they would've just told me to lose weight. Cause that's what a lot of people hear as well. Um, but it, it really is just such a shame. So much of our health is correlated or is seems to be correlated with weight in the media or even in doctor's offices,

<00:09:41> Kayla Levin: And doctors. Yeah. I've had doctors say to me, you look really healthy. I love your B m I. I'm so excited about your b m. I'm like, let's like dig in a little bit because Yeah. And I think also one thing that a lot of people don't realize is that, and I know this is kind of where you, where you specialize, is that insulin is a hormone and as women are, hormones are a whole ecosystem.

<00:10:02> Kayla Levin: Right. And it's, it's not as cut and dry and it really is different. Like it's, you know, I, I, I know about it specifically through diabetes, like the male diabetics that, uh, you know what they do, I can't do the same thing. We have to, you know, you have to do different things based on how these hormones interact with each other.

<00:10:19> Kayla Levin: So, um, you know, the fact that for you, it showed up in terms of your cycle, like all of these things, because these are hormonally based and so our homeowners are really affected by how we take care of our. Physically what we're eating, like you said, stress.

<00:10:35> Lauren Allen: Absolutely. And what's interesting is you see it play out so differently in different people's bodies. And I love, like I really dive into this in my courses, but for some people when they have some kind of blood sugar imbalance or an insulin or thyroid issue, it could look like having really short cycles.

<00:10:49> Lauren Allen: So if anyone you know, gets their period every like 21 days, 24 days, which obviously is. Annoying and especially for an Orthodox Jewish woman, it's super annoying and can pose real challenges in your marriage. Um, but for some people it means their period either goes missing or it could be every three months, every six months.

<00:11:04> Lauren Allen: So it ends up playing out very differently in people. But a lot of it comes back to those same issues like why are, are hormones off balance, and so much of it does have to do with diet and lifestyle. There's also, of course, a genetic factor. Um, but diet and lifestyle really, they play such a huge role.

<00:11:21> Lauren Allen: You know, thank God I ended up learning about

<00:11:23> Lauren's Story Part 2 ---

<00:11:23> Kayla Levin: Yeah. So tell us about that. Let's do part two here. So now you've got your, you've got, they've given you like the whole battery of tests and they've told you what to expect and you're gonna go through all the treatments. Yeah.

<00:11:33> Lauren Allen: Yeah, and I, I'll just add one of the tests they do before you start treatments, they check your fallopian tubes and you know, there's all these things you have to do before starting the treatments. And I didn't realize that. I thought I was gonna go to the fertility clinic and come out with some medication or prescription of like, okay, you're gonna start trying for a baby.

<00:11:47> Lauren Allen: I was like, maybe in 10 months. We'll, Be the due date. Like that's also when you're trying to get pregnant. Your brain is so in the calculating mode of like, if it happens this month, then I could be due that month and this is what's going on in my life. And my brother's getting

<00:11:58> Kayla Levin: the summer.

<00:11:59> Lauren Allen: okay, I'm gonna have a maternity dress and I'll have the bump hopefully and it'll be so cute.

<00:12:02> Lauren Allen: And then I was like, wait. No, this is the beginning of a really long journey, and that was very crushing to me. Um, and during one of the tests, the doctors told me, let's, in your tubes are not blocked, you're able to go ahead and start fertility treatments. Like I just wanna tell you, you're not gonna get pregnant naturally.

<00:12:17> Lauren Allen: I'm looking at your blood, I'm looking at your ovaries. It's not gonna happen naturally, but like, thank God you're young. There's a lot of treatments out there, so you know, we're gonna go ahead and, and you're a very good candidate for these treatments. And I said, okay. When can I start? It was another couple of months because we had to wait for the next period, which, you know, mine was also unpredictable.

<00:12:35> Lauren Allen: Um, and in the meantime I'm like, oh, I was going outta my mind. Um, I was in a really, really low place emotionally. It was very hard on my marriage, very hard socially, and I was just going down an internet rabbit hole of like, what could I do? P C O S, how to get pregnant. And I ended up coming upon all these stories about women who had changed their diets and got 'em pregnant.

<00:12:54> Lauren Allen: And at that time when I heard this, it sounded very like mumbo jumbo, hippie dippy, weird alternative to me because that was just not my vibe. I did, I wasn't, I wasn't into that kind of stuff, but I was so desperate that I was like, okay, you could have told me, you know, some. And people did tell me to do these random sula stuff.

<00:13:13> Lauren Allen: I would go travel to some weird mikva in Israel or go say this thing at the hotel. I'm like, I did those things too. I was like, okay, here's another kind of random thing. I don't really understand why this would make a difference, but I'll do it. Yeah. And I was like, okay. And I, you know, I, I did this program that kind of taught you how to use.

<00:13:30> Lauren Allen: Diet and lifestyle changes to help your P C O S. And what ended up happening was within a couple of weeks I started noticing major changes before anything having to do with fertility. So I had always struggled with eczema. I had a lot of it on my face, which was just very uncomfortable. Um, and like not beautiful.

<00:13:47> Lauren Allen: I didn't love how it looked and it went away. Like I literally woke up one morning and my eczema was gone, which. It was crazy. I woke my husband up to be like, look at my face. Am I dreaming I literally thought I was in a dream, so that was crazy. That was the first change I noticed, and then there started to be all these other little things I was noticing, like I had a lot more energy.

<00:14:07> Lauren Allen: Um, Sleep was a huge thing that changed. I had always taken something to go to sleep since I was like 19. So I was always taking melatonin or something stronger. I was very reliant on sleep aids, which was not great for such a young person. Um, and then I started going to sleep just like a different person.

<00:14:23> Lauren Allen: Like I would close my eyes and go to sleep, which is how it's supposed to be, but I had never done that in years. So that was also. I always say, you know, if it had just been, if this had just cured my insomnia day knew. Like that in and of itself was so life-changing, and then I noticed my anxiety had gotten much better, um, and I was just feeling good for the first time.

<00:14:42> Lauren Allen: I felt like. I was so sad to not be eating junk food cuz I also, I didn't even talk about, it wasn't just, I ate a lot of sweet and stuff. I loved it. It was a huge part of my identity. I was known for my baking. I was like that girl who's always trying out the new fancy cookbooks with all the good baking recipes and it felt like a very big loss in identity.

<00:15:01> Lauren Allen: But I started shifting into, I think this is the first time in my life I know what it's like to feel good in my body. I didn't realize how tired I had been. I didn't realize that, you know, having these rashes on my face were not normal. Um, I didn't realize how high my baseline anxiety had been that had kind of just melted away.

<00:15:17> Lauren Allen: Like I felt much calmer. In my body. And then I started getting my period regularly. So that was really crazy. And I was like, oh my gosh, do we think like this is working? I'm clearly responding to this. And I actually made the decision. I had told my doctor, listen, I'm doing really well with this. I'm gonna wait one more month and we'll just see what happens.

<00:15:36> Lauren Allen: And after that month, we're gonna start treatments. And I ended up getting. Pregnant with my daughter on that next month. So I still have the children when I talk about it. Um, and she's now two and a half. Thank God. Like I say, she's really my miracle baby. And going through this journey, I just realized this is a tool that is so powerful and only had such good side effects for me.

<00:15:58> Lauren Allen: Why did nobody tell me about this? Why did I have to happen upon this on my own? And that's really what pushed me to. Then I got certified and I just wanted to learn more about it. So I didn't really know what was gonna happen. I was like, okay, let me do this, you know, nutrition coaching certification, and I specialized in women's hormonal health.

<00:16:14> Lauren Allen: I started sharing a little bit about my story online when I was in my third trimester, and I had dozens of women reaching out to me like, oh my gosh, I have P T O S. I've been trying to get pregnant. No one's ever told me about this. I didn't know that what you eat could help. Since I started really working with women, thank God there have been so many incredible stories of women like me who were about to start treatments and then ended up getting pregnant naturally, which, you know, no one thought they could do, or women who did it in addition to treatments, but ended up, you know, Really increasing their chances of getting pregnant.

<00:16:46> Lauren Allen: And I work with women with a variety of hormonal health issues now. I work with women in menopause and teens who are not teens, like 19, 20 18. Anyone over 18 who's, you know, just experiencing irregular periods and struggling with painful periods. Anything kind of related to that. And it's just been so incredible for me.

<00:17:03> Lauren Allen: It's very healing for me to be able to take this whole journey that I went through and put it out in this positive way and help other women feel good in their bodies and, and get pregnant.

<00:17:14> Kayla Levin: Amazing. And I think that, you know, in, in a way it's almost like this brak that you had this, because when else would you have, like you would never have ex have gotten all these other benefits, right?

<00:17:26> Lauren Allen: Oh

<00:17:27> Kayla Levin: you hadn't hit this roadblock that you were so willing to do anything, even eat a salad, God forbid, right?

<00:17:32> Kayla Levin: Then how would the change, if ever happens? It's just amazing how like, when we're in it, it can feel like the worst possible thing in the world. And then from the other side, like I, I so identify with that thought that you have like, that you were saying of like, you know, you're already thinking about, okay, 10 months from now it's gonna be this and we have such timelines and such expectations and so much, you know, anticipation.

<00:17:52> Kayla Levin: And when that gets derailed, it can be so crushing. Um,

<00:17:56> Low Energy &amp; Hormonal Health ---

<00:17:56> Kayla Levin: what I wanna kind of move into here, Hugh did get that roadblock right. That, to put you down this path. But I think even women who aren't, can't say, you know, they're not having trouble with infertility or, you know, their, their periods are regular.

<00:18:13> Kayla Levin: They're not really pointed to a specific symptom, but they're just feeling really like, Low energy drag down, they're, you know, drinking a lot of coke or coffee or whatever to just get through the day, or, you know, they just feel like they're crashing. And I think it's so interesting that like the time where we crash is right when our kids get home from school,

<00:18:33> Lauren Allen: Yeah,

<00:18:34> Kayla Levin: who planned that?

<00:18:35> Kayla Levin: Please? Like, can someone send them to school, like till five? And I like recover from, you know,

<00:18:40> Lauren Allen: Mm-hmm.

<00:18:40> Kayla Levin: like I said in the beginning, especially after PEs a So could you give us, and actually I'm gonna, I'm just gonna spell this. Lauren is actually gonna be coming in and doing a g a guest call inside of the How To Glow membership in May

<00:18:52> Lauren Allen: Yes. I'm so excited.

<00:18:53> Kayla Levin: because I know that people are gonna hear this and then they're gonna have like, okay, but in my situation, what can I do?

<00:18:58> Kayla Levin: And, you know, they're gonna wanna like, have some follow up and, and pick your brain a little bit. Um, so for sure if you're not in the program, anyone listening to this, You've got until May 1st get in there and then you'll be all ready to go for her call. Um, but can you give us now just some ideas like how, what, what are some things, let's do this.

<00:19:15> Kayla Levin: What are the, like what would you say are like the three or five, you know, mistakes that wo you see women making with health and what should they be doing differently? Especially to do with like energy, just general wellbeing, hormonal

<00:19:30> Kayla Levin: health.

<00:19:30> Lauren Allen: sure. So I just wanna give a little bit of background info cause especially to the things that you're talking about in terms of the low energy or I know for so many women, um, anxieties just. So common right now. I'm sure you hear a lot of this in your, in your coaching group. Um, and a lot of this has to do with our blood sugar curves.

<00:19:47> Lauren Allen: And I'm just gonna take a second to really quickly explain it. What happens on a really basic level of that when we take in sugar, our blood sugar levels go up and then it's insulin's job to bring it da back down to baseline. But if we eat something that's super high in sugar and we get a super high.

<00:20:03> Lauren Allen: We need a lot of insulin to bring it down. And sometimes insulin, I always say it's overdramatic. It overreact and it brings you down to a crash. And when your blood sugar levels get low, even, it's not that you're not eating, it's not that you don't have enough actual nourishment in the body, but in your blood itself, there's not enough sugar to maintain homeostasis.

<00:20:21> Lauren Allen: A lot of. Things start happening and your body basically says we need to conserve energy. It gets this false alarm like, Hey, there's no energy here. So you start shutting down certain functions. Um, you start feeling more tired. You start wanting to burn less energy. So that afternoon slump that a lot of people have that like two to 4:00 PM.

<00:20:40> Lauren Allen: Crash is really often associated with the way that you've been eating throughout the day or the way you've been taking care of your body. You can actually follow it with your blood sugar curve. I have so many clients who have done this and seem just really cool results. They're like, I used to have to take a nap when I got home from work, and now I don't.

<00:20:55> Lauren Allen: Just by, you know, Incorporating a few tips to balance your blood sugar and mood and anxiety. Also really tend to follow your blood sugar curve. So if you're going up and down, and also usually when you have that crash, your body's like, oh my gosh, we don't have energy. Let's get it quickly. And that is a biological craving for sugar and quick carbohydrates.

<00:21:14> Lauren Allen: Cause that is the fastest way to get energy. So if you're like, I'm really struggling and I just don't have willpower, it's not that you don't have willpower, it's that your body is feeling. Really, really desperate for energy and that's why you might be reaching for that easy snack. The pretzels or the chips or the chocolate or whatever, and it does give you that feeling of energy for a little bit.

<00:21:32> Lauren Allen: Until then, you feel sluggish and weak again.

<00:21:34> Kayla Levin: the roller.

<00:21:36> Lauren Allen: Exactly. You're stuck on this s blood sugar rollercoaster.

<00:21:38> Kayla Levin: love what you're saying because then instead of like the so many women that I, you know, work with will be like, they're beating themselves up because like, how can I just get myself to not eat that thing? And you're saying like, let's just move earlier in the timeline.

<00:21:50> Lauren Allen: Exactly.

<00:21:51> Kayla Levin: get your energy and your blood sugar more stable leading into that moment, you're not gonna have that crazy craving.

<00:21:57> Lauren Allen: Yeah,

<00:21:58> Kayla Levin: I mean, I, I wouldn't, because I'm on insulin, sometimes my blood sugar is like even lower than a normal person would be if I, you know, if I miscalculated and then I say to people, like, it feels like becoming an animal, like the, the way that I will go and like, need to eat, it's completely biological.

<00:22:12> Kayla Levin: It's like there is no

<00:22:14> Lauren Allen: survival.

<00:22:15> Kayla Levin: anymore at that point.

<00:22:17> Lauren Allen: Yeah. And I think that also helps women become a lot more forgiving with themselves when they realize like, oh, this is not me failing at something. This is my biological drive to survive. That's what it is. And that's what's driving you to reach for those staff and, and that's okay.

<00:22:30> Lauren Allen: Let's just, you know, set things up in a way that will make it easier for you to function and not get to that low crash. So you asked about some of the biggest. The biggest thing I see is really people are skipping meals. That is huge. Um, and I know it's

<00:22:44> Kayla Levin: very guilty of that.

<00:22:46> Planning How to Eat Throughout The Day ---

<00:22:46> Lauren Allen: It's hard to like carve out the time if you're not used to doing it.

<00:22:50> Lauren Allen: Um, but that is setting, that's setting yourself up for a crash. It is. And so it's making it a priority to have regular meals throughout the day. It has to be you. My general guideline is four to six hours. It's sometimes different for people with diabetes, obviously with type one diabetes, if you're on insulin, it's like a totally, you know, individual, uh, timeline and you know, you have to pay attention to that.

<00:23:11> Lauren Allen: But really making sure that you're eating regularly throughout the day, and especially breakfast for whatever reason, breakfast gets like thrown out. I know people are getting their kids ready and. You know, get, getting out the door in the morning is a whole marathon in and of itself, so it can feel really overwhelming, like, how am I making time not only to have breakfast, but then to have a blood sugar friendly breakfast or a really a nourishing breakfast.

<00:23:34> Kayla Levin: When does breakfast have to happen to be called breakfast and not like early lunch?

<00:23:38> Lauren Allen: So the general guideline, I would say is like between 60 and 90 minutes after you wake up. So it depends if you're, when you're waking up. Um, yeah. And it could

<00:23:48> Kayla Levin: I think also people feel like they can skip it and look, I'm already saving all of these, you know, I'm saving all these calories by just skipping over, or I'm extending my fast. There's a lot of intermittent fasting going on.

<00:23:59> Lauren Allen: Yeah. Which I'll just not get so deep into that, but a lot of that research has been done on men. Um, it hasn't been done on women, so men operate on a very different hormonal. Blueprint than women do, cuz they're not having a menstrual cycle every month. They're not dealing with the same kind of hormones that we are.

<00:24:14> Lauren Allen: And for women, I really recommend not pushing off your fast in the morning. Start with a really wholesome, nourishing breakfast. You'll just see you feel so much better throughout the day. And we've also seen research that shows people having the same exact types of meals, but spread out differently throughout the day, have different effects.

<00:24:31> Lauren Allen: So for example, if someone has, you know, just like a, a snack bar for breakfast, that has a much. That has a much more impactful effect on their blood sugar than having that snack bar for dinner. What you do in the morning really matters. So it's a really easy place that you can just say, let me, let me try to go over having, start with breakfast itself.

<00:24:50> Lauren Allen: And on top of that, a healthy breakfast. And you know, I have a lot of recipes on my website that I would say a little bit more. Um, com not complex, but like things you have to take a little bit of time to prep in advance, but it could just be like a yogurt with some berries or chia seeds. It could be something that you are able to grab and prepare in two minutes.

<00:25:08> Lauren Allen: It doesn't have to be this big, fancy thing, but it's about taking care of yourself and I, a lot of people in your community are moms, right?

<00:25:15> Kayla Levin: Yeah.

<00:25:16> Lauren Allen: So I know a lot of moms do this. They would never think about sending their kid off to school without a snack in the morning or without breakfast. They would never let their child go without a meal, but for themselves, maybe they're eating like the crust of the bread leftover from the sandwich or the peel of the cucumber cup.

<00:25:31> Lauren Allen: Their kid doesn't eat the peels and. I always tell women like, you're not, you deserve more than the crust or the peels of the cucumber. Like, you can sit down and also it could be five, 10 minutes, but take that time to set yourself up for breakfast. Um, so that's one thing that I, I see as a really common, um, mistake that's really, really simple to correct.

<00:25:50> Lauren Allen: And the other one is coffee. We've seen a big difference happen in people's blood sugars if they just have coffee after breakfast as opposed to before. So starting your day with breakfast. And then coffee is again another really simple. Habit that you can just put into place and you might notice a huge, huge difference in terms of your energy levels.

<00:26:08> Kayla Levin: I know a lot of people's like anxiety level went really up when you said coffee cuz they thought you were gonna say they have to stop drinking it all

<00:26:14> Kayla Levin: together. So I. You're not saying we have to get rid of the coffee. We just need to be careful to have a breakfast first before we have coffee

<00:26:23> Sleep Health ---

<00:26:23> Lauren Allen: Great. Move it to half an hour later. And I know that could also sound scary to some people, but what I would say is just try it. Try it out for a couple weeks and see if you notice, first of all, When you're waking up and you're desperate for coffee, that's already a sign. Something's off hormonally, like we should have natural cortisol spikes that wake us up, or we shouldn't be relying on caffeine.

<00:26:43> Lauren Allen: Um, so that in and of itself is a sign that, hey, something's, you know, a little bit out of alignment with your hormones, um, and just paying attention to things like that. Another really big thing that I see people, you know, I don't know, I wouldn't call it a mistake, but something that could be harming your hormones is the screen time before.

<00:27:00> Lauren Allen: Because sleep is so crucial to our hormone balance and especially to melatonin production. So especially if you're looking at blue light on your computer or your phone, I've been talking about this a lot. I just switched to ael, which is like the big, exciting news in my life right now, and it doesn't have that blue light, so it doesn't have the same effect on.

<00:27:18> Lauren Allen: On your eyes. So I do still do that screen before bed. But if you are looking and scrolling, especially on social media right before bed, that impacts your quality of sleep. Even if you're still able to fall asleep, you don't get into as deep of a sleep. It's not as restful, it's not as healing. So just again, I'm not telling you, you have to get rid of all your screens forever, but try 30 to 60 minutes before bed to put away the screens, switch to something else, a magazine, a book, something like that.

<00:27:44> Lauren Allen: Talk to your spouse if that, you know, also appeals to you and, and that's something that is also really simple, but can make a huge difference.

<00:27:54> Kayla Levin: Yeah. Yeah. These are great. These are so great. And, and sleep. So much happens during sleep. I heard at one point someone said the the coffee thing in a little bit of a different way. Um, which for me was like more, not more compelling than what you're saying, but like, it, it, it got me on board with the idea

<00:28:10> Kayla Levin: is he said

<00:28:11> Kayla Levin: cause was done.

<00:28:14> Lauren Allen: I am saying, you're saying it hit you differently.

<00:28:16> Kayla Levin: Yeah. And what he was saying was, because we often get that cortisol spike right when you wake up, you can use that as your first thing and then save your coffee for when you really need it. Like,

<00:28:25> Lauren Allen: Hmm.

<00:28:26> Kayla Levin: and that to me, I was like, Ooh, this is very efficient. Right? Like now

<00:28:30> Kayla Levin: I'll use my coffee like everyone's out the door and I like need that moment.

<00:28:34> Kayla Levin: Like I'll be able to enjoy that coffee so much more then. And like

<00:28:36> Kayla Levin: the cortisol really can't get me through that. I don't need to double up with the coffee.

<00:28:40> Lauren Allen: Totally.

<00:28:41> Kayla Levin: in case any that helps anybody else.

<00:28:44> How to Find Lauren Allen Online ---

<00:28:44> Kayla Levin: Amazing. And so how do people find you? How do they work with you? What does that, what does that process look like

<00:28:50> Lauren Allen: so I have

<00:28:51> Kayla Levin: inside of the community in May?

<00:28:53> Lauren Allen: Right. So I have a few different ways that I work with people. I work with people one-on-one, which especially if you have like very individual circumstances, you need a lot of support. That's great. Um, I also have some group coaching programs. I do a course called Balance Your Hormones 1 0 1.

<00:29:06> Lauren Allen: I have a new group program coming out in the summer hopefully that's really focused on fertility. So especially for people who are struggling to get pregnant. Um, that's gonna be out soon, which is really exciting. And, uh, you can find me on Instagram, you can find me on my website. I'm Lauren Allen Nutrition at everything.

<00:29:23> Lauren Allen: And I also, oh, this is also really exciting for me to share. I have a free ebook that people can get on my, on my website. Um, I really do believe that. What I have learned should be available to everyone. So I wrote a 33 page ebook on how to boost your egg quality through diet and, and lifestyle changes.

<00:29:41> Lauren Allen: Um, and you can get it for free. It's really comprehensive. I've had people tell me like, but you should sell this. And I'm like, no. I really, I think they should give this out in doctor's offices. I think it's very upsetting that we don't learn this as young women because fertility struggles are just, they're so, so challenging.

<00:29:56> Lauren Allen: Um, so you can get that also, which I, I really recommend. It's a really great.

<00:30:01> Kayla Levin: Amazing, and we're gonna be linking to all of your places that people can find you in the show notes as well. So if that makes it easier

<00:30:06> Kayla Levin: for anyone to just remember, you know, if you're driving right now, just remember you can go back to the show notes and you'll get those links. Anything else you wanna just leave everyone with?

<00:30:15> Baseline Self Care ---

<00:30:15> Lauren Allen: Um, I know that you talk a lot about, you know, your base self care in, in your program, right? Like the difference between the bubble bath and really just taking care of yourself and I think. You know, you spoke about that hesitation of like bringing someone on to talk about food and I get it. I was always really skeptical also cuz this was just not what I was interested in.

<00:30:33> Lauren Allen: I didn't really understand until. I experienced it and I think I would just leave people with that, like really taking care of your hormones. It is that base self-care. It's really hard to get yourself into that place where you can apply things like thought work and, and really be your best self and, and glow in the way that you talk about for so many women.

<00:30:53> Lauren Allen: When your hormones are so out of whack or when you're crashing with energy issues, when you're dealing with a lot of anxiety, when your hormones are so off balance, it's just really hard to get to that level, and that's really what this is about. So just again, to emphasize like it's really about that basic self-care and health and not, you know, it's not about like, oh, let me have the the fancy healthy meal because that's what's trendy right now, or because I'm trying to lose weight.

<00:31:19> Lauren Allen: It's really about just taking basic care of your.

<00:31:22> Kayla Levin: I'm so glad you said that. Yeah, because like, and also I love that in your story like that it wasn't your thing, you know, it's. You don't have to be like a health nut to take care of your body. That's it should, it should be baseline a hundred percent. And there, there are things that when we put them into place, we can go so much further with thought work.

<00:31:43> Kayla Levin: You know, if we're completely dysregulated, we're in fight or flight, we are crashing. Like you said, you know, there's so many situations that we could be in where it's. It's just a waste. I feel like it's, maybe you'll get somewhere with thought work, but you'll put so much energy in for such a little payoff.

<00:32:00> Kayla Levin: You just go and take care of these things. And then even, you know, for the women who are mothers, the modeling that we're doing for our children, that you are a mom doesn't mean that you don't deserve to have breakfast in the morning. Like, why would we want our girls to grow up looking at that?

<00:32:15> Kayla Levin: You know, we want our girls to grow up seeing that everyone in this family gets to take up space. Everyone in this family gets to have what they need. Um, and so.

<00:32:25> Lauren Allen: And, and just to also reiterate, it doesn't have to be these crazy extreme diets. It's not about that. It's about these basic ways of taking care of yourself. So, I mean, you heard me mention a couple of habits and switches and tips. There are things that are really small changes that you can do that are beneficial.

<00:32:41> Lauren Allen: And I think, I think that's another thing that a lot of women have hesitations about it. Like, well, I've tried this crazy diet and it didn't even work, so why would I try something else? Those often cause more harm than good. Um, and there's really a lot of smaller things that you could be doing that are really sustainable and that could make a much bigger difference over time.

<00:33:00> Lauren Allen: So I really encourage people to, if you haven't ever had that mindset to start trying to explore like, oh, what, what are small things that I could do? Could I go to bed half an hour earlier? Which maybe, you know, doesn't sound like it would do much. It will. It will do a lot. So, you know, thinking about the little ways that you can really improve your health can go a long.

<00:33:19> Kayla Levin: One glass of water a day versus like, I have to go get the big thing and like hydrate on calendar and make sure I'm getting all, you know.

<00:33:27> Kayla Levin: Yeah. It's a huge difference. I love that. And the last thing I just wanna, I point to that you said that I, that really resonated was there's like all these different, all these different, you know, me I ideas or, or systems. There's the keto and there's the inter manifesting and there's one meal a day and there's plant-based and there's so many different things.

<00:33:44> Kayla Levin: But what I love that you were saying is try it and see how it feels. It should feel better. You should, you know, and it, and, and I think using these like small adjustments, again, like I said in the beginning, this just feels very grounded to me. It feels very common sense to me of like,

<00:33:59> Kayla Levin: really what is gonna serve my body better?

<00:34:03> Kayla Levin: You know, um, so thank you so much for sharing that. I really appreciate it.

<00:34:07> Lauren Allen: My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me on to talk about this.

<00:34:11> Kayla Levin: All right. And we're looking forward to having you in May and anyone in the program start getting your questions ready,

<00:34:17> Lauren Allen: Amazing. Looking

<00:34:18> Kayla Levin: take it to the next level. Amazing. Thank you so much

<00:34:21> Kayla Levin: All right. I hope you loved that interview and you took something away that you would like to start to try. I know for me, I'm gonna try putting the coffee after the breakfast. Wish me luck. I'm very emotionally attached to that early morning coffee.

<00:34:35> Kayla Levin: I wanted to just request that if you've been listening and loving this podcast, if you could please share it is the number one way that this podcast has always gotten out, and especially now that I'm off of Instagram and Facebook. It's kind of the only way that this one's getting out.

<00:34:50> Kayla Levin: So if you enjoyed this episode and there's a group you wanna share it with, or an email list or just. Sister-in-law who you know would love it, please do share. Or you can also go onto the podcast app and give it a rating and a review. That's a huge way for it to start to show up for other people. So I so appreciate all of you guys getting the word out and sharing.

<00:35:11> Kayla Levin: It means the world to me and I just love you all for it. So have an amazing week. Bye-bye.

<00:35:17> Kayla Levin: Hey there, Kayla here. If you've been loving the podcast, I wanna invite you into my monthly coaching program, How to Glow. We take all the work here and go much deeper into our expectations of our husbands, our understanding of our husbands ourselves, by the way our intimate lives. We even extended out to anything else you want.

<00:35:33> Kayla Levin: Coaching on your parenting, your finances, your health. Get ongoing support. Live weekly coaching, and access to my best courses for only $49 a month. I would love to coach you inside. Registration is open now. Sign up at kaylalevin.com/coaching. Isn't this the best time to start?

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