017. Hormonal Health and the Barriers to Weight Loss with Dr. Sarah Harbottle ND

The Mom Sweat Sanity Podcast

Host. Brittany Anderson

Dr Sarah Harbottle ND is back and we are talking weight loss, weight gain and how hormones can grab hold of our bodies when we aren't prepared! Listen in to learn how hormones can pose as a barrier to weight management and what you can do to help prevent it.

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Hormonal Health and Barriers to Weight Loss with Dr. Sarah Harbottle ND

Episode 17: Show Notes.

A common misconception about dieting is that there is a one-size-fits-all program that will automatically give you results. This is not the case. As women, we are naturally hormonally complex and our diets and weight loss programs should be individualized as such. Today, we are sitting down with Dr. Sarah Harbottle, a naturopathic doctor. Tuning in, you’ll hear her thoughts on hormonal barriers to weight loss, and she addresses misconceptions and truths. There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to weight loss and hormones, as each and every one of us is so different. However, Dr. Harbottle offers some great perspectives on things that we can look for and start to change within our daily routines. When you look into your own hormonal panel, you can get a clear idea of a regime for yourself, depending on how your hormones behaving. Hopefully, after today’s conversation, you can walk away with some food-for-thought on how to address some of your weight loss misconceptions and how to be a bit kinder to yourself, as well as tips to make sure you are getting the sleep you need, not over-exercising, and fuelling your body! Tune in today.

 

Key Points From This Episode:

 

• Dr. Harbottle explains the list of hormones she often looks at. 
• Weight loss is more than just calories in and calories out; hormones play a significant role.
• How physiology plays into weight loss management; work with your body not against it.
• What she looks at when patients are struggling with weight loss, starting with the thyroid.
• Dr. Harbottle goes into some detail behind thyroid health from a naturopathic perspective; testing TSH, T3, and T4 levels.
• Symptoms to look out for regarding thyroid health and associated treatment. 
• The second hormone-related factor she examines: stress and the stress hormone, cortisol.
• A quick recap on the function of the adrenal gland and cortisol.
• How your diet affects your adrenal gland function and stress management capabilities. 
• The importance of reframing your “stressors.”
• Why exercise isn’t always the answer: a common misconception.
• The individual picture: looking at your situation uniquely and adapting the process.
• Dr. Harbottle shares her initial assessment process and how she decides what tests to run.
• Sex hormones: what’s happening to your periods and how that’s affecting weight loss.
• How your hormones talk to each other; they’re not working in isolation.
• How sleep affects weight loss; the amount and quality you need.
• How sleep, stress, and blood sugar all play a systemic role in hormonal function. 
• More on intermittent fasting and weight loss: it needs to be specific and individualized. 
• The importance of being intuitive about diet and moving from restrictive to intuitive eating.
• When to seek advice and help with regards to your hormones and further testing.
• Why you need to look at age and stage when taking your weight loss into account.
• The effect testosterone levels have on weight loss; adding weight training to your regime. 

 

Tweetables:

 

“My biggest thing when I deal with patients, whether it’s weight loss, digestion, or stress, is looking at how do we work with our body rather than against it.” — Sarah Harbottle [0:06:00]

 

“It’s not eat-less-move-more, per se, because if you are already in a sate where you are under chronic stress, the eat-less-move-more mentality will actually lead to increased stress in the body.” — Sarah Harbottle [0:13:00]

 

“One thing we want to keep in mind when we talk about hormones is [that] all of them are going to talk to each other — they are not working in isolation.” — Sarah Harbottle [0:19:07]

 

“What works or is beneficial for someone might be detrimental for someone else. Women are hormonally complex and we want to support that rather than take away from that.” — Sarah Harbottle [0:23:37]

 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

 

Sarah Harbottle on LinkedIn

Sarah Harbottle on Instagram

Sarah Harbottle 

Sarah Harbottle Law

Sarah Harbottle Email

Britt Anderson

Britt Anderson on Instagram

December TMSS Podcast Episode with Dr. Sarah Harbottle