Natural Health – Merly Hartnett

3 Things To Do When You Are Menstruating

I just finished my period. Ha!

You probably didn’t really want to know that but hey I thought it’s important we talk about this sort of stuff.

In fact, I’ve been looking forward to it, it’s been 2 years since my last bleed because of being pregnant and breastfeeding on demand.

My son is now 1 year old and in a new season of life where he’s not needing the boobies so much.

Inner Seasons

But did you know that our menstrual cycle goes through its own inner seasons too, just like the seasons of the year?

When we are menstruating, this is what we call our inner-winter.

It signifies the birth and death of life.

Journal

It’s a time for deep reflection and going inwards.

It’s also a great time to journal if this has been a habit you’ve been waiting to adopt.

During this time, journaling is a wonderful tool to help work through some deep emotions, challenging times or even start planning for their next month.

When you are bleeding just remember to:

Let go, go slow and say no.

Let go, surrender and go within
Go slow, if you can’t clear your calendar and have responsibilities you want to uphold
Say no if you can and it’s okay to protect your boundaries

Sleep

One of my favourite ways to honour this time is to sleep more. If you’ve been struggling with sleep, you can download my free Sleep Checklist with 5 must-do tips for better sleep to help you.

Meditate

Speaking of setting healthy boundaries with others, I believe it’s important to set healthy boundaries for ourselves.

If you’ve been struggling with anxiety, self-doubt, overwhelm and stress, dedicating times to meditate for 10 minutes has been proven to help reduce stress and anxiety.

I’ve been using a great free app and it’s been designed to help support you with managing sleep, anxiety and stress. It’s called Insight Timer.

Tell me, how are the ways you like to honour this time in your cycle?

If you are listening to this blog post as a podcast, click link in the description for links or visit http://www.merlyhartnett.com

How to Develop the Ability to Process Your Emotions

Emotions can be all-consuming. You only need to look at a toddler to see the intensity of an emotion when something goes wrong.

It doesn’t matter how small or insignificant it may seem, for them, it’s the end of the world.

I remember reading that kids are just little people with big emotions. They’re emotions are valid and to be respected. As we grow up, we learn to process those emotions so that we can still function in society.

Just imagine having a meltdown in the supermarket because the store ran out of bananas, wouldn’t that make for an interesting day.

However many of us still act this way internally even if we don’t show it. So it’s important we develop the ability to process our emotions so that it doesn’t create dis-ease in the body.

This week my work is a balance of doing 1:1 health coaching and administration. Admin encompasses everything from marketing to accounting. It’s not my favourite part about having a business but it needs to get done.

So each week, I dedicated office hours for actioning my admin tasks. But for some reason, my family just assume I can drop everything to spend time with them because I work from home.

As much as I love the work I do, I will always prioritise my family so when I’m put in a position to choose, I feel this pang of guilt.

So today I was feeling really frustrated because I’d been interrupted for a few weeks in a row and I was getting fed up but I didn’t say anything.

My stomach getting all twisted inside because I wasn’t expressing how I was feeling.

When I did try to, I couldn’t find the words.

So I used a method that helped me process my emotions so that I could communicate with my family in a way that didn’t make them wrong.

I was able to set boundaries lovingly so that they understood that they were still important but they had to respect my time too.

So what’s the method Merly?

It’s called the NOW method.

N stands for name

One of the fundamentals of processing our emotions is to be able to identify and name the emotion we’re feeling.

To help you find the vocabulary for your emotion, you can refer to the emotion wheel.

Once you have named the emotion, notice how it feels in your body.

Do you feel hot or cold?
Heavy or light?
In your mind’s eye does it have a colour and shape?

The more you can describe it, the better this exercise works.

O stands for open

Step 2 is about opening up and allowing the emotions to be.

Open up your body to allow the emotion to be there for as long as you need to.

You can use your breath to visualise where the emotion is residing, it could be in your shoulders, jaw, fist and stomach.

Where do you feel you lock up, tense or experience the feeling most?

W stands for write

Lastly, once you have observed the emotion in your body, write it down.

Explore with curiosity and enquire within. You can ask questions like what caused the emotion to rise, how is the emotion impacting your thoughts and where to now?

The NOW Method is such a useful tool to help us process our emotions and begin to reduce some of the stress in our daily life.

Being able to manage stress is one of the core basics for balancing our hormones naturally. For more stress busting tips, you can download The Core Basics Guide for Balancing Hormones Naturally here.

Discover how to reduce PMS symptoms in just 5 days – online event

GO VITA Rouse Hill is my local health food store that has an extensive range of products and brands to support women in their reproductive years.

I’m excited to have them partner on the Discover How To Reduced PMS Symptoms in Just 5 Days Challenge starting Friday 6/11.

They have a special gift for challenge participants only.

Click here to register for the event

However, if you are not local to Rouse Hill Town Centre, no worries you can still register for this online event.

See you there!

What you need to know about your cervix and 3 things to do to increase your cervical wellness

I did a poll in my community support group about what you would guys would like to know more about and I got a yes for cervical wellness, HPV and pap smears.

So here goes!

Firstly, do you even know what your cervix looks like?

Honestly they only time I ever thought about the cervix was in sex edu class in highschool or when I was going to have a baby. Seriously, it blows my mind that my child’s head come out that way. That’s the magically thing about it all, how everything just comes back together.

So we’re told the cervix means the neck of the uterus in Latin. It’s the passage way between the uterus and the vaginal canal. It’s about 2-3 cm long and cylindrical in shape.

What’s the purpose of the cervix?

Good question! Some people say is a gateway to the uterus for sperm to travel up when you’re ovulating aswell as a barrier to keep unhealthy stuff out of your body. But the cervix is more than just a door.

Did you know that your cervix feels different than the walls of your vagina? The cervix is firm in texture similarly to the tip of your nose while your vaginal walls feel more like the inside of your mouth where your cheek is.

It’s a place where transformation happens.

Quite literately. The cells of your uterus travel throughout the cervix and transform into different cells and this process is very delicate. If you can imagine a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, this is a vulnerable stage in the process. When women are having a pap smear, the test is checking for abnormalities is cells transformation that haven’t quite got it right.

HPV stands for human papillomavirus which is a common sexually transmitted infection that can disrupt this delicate process and increase the chances of developing cervical cancer too.

Choosing to get a pap smear is a personal choice. For many women, it can be a very uncomfortable or even painful. But if you are concerned about your reproductive health and have concerns about fertility, you can request the service of a female midwife to do this test.

As someone who has had some really painful and uncomfortable pap tests, I know how vulnerable and even degrading it feels when you get a practitioner who isn’t sensitive to how it feels for the patient. Personally, I’d prefer a midwife.

Can you touch your cervix?

Many women don’t know that they can touch their cervix. In fact, your cervix rises and falls throughout your menstrual month. It’s at its lowest position when you are menstruating.

I recommend you start to get to know this part of your female anatomy and develop a connection to it. It’s a part of the body we don’t see and it’s difficult to feel the sort of sensations you might feel when touching the back of your hand. Symbolically it represents the circle of life, death and life plays out each month with each menstrual cycle. When you view it from this perspective, like I said, it’s not just a door!

Mindfulness Practice to Tapping into Your Cervical Wisdom

Right now, take a moment and bring your awareness to the mind’s eye inside your head. Imagine a small round rose quartz crystal emitting beautiful energy from that place. Then image this crystal drop straight down to where your uterus is, then deeper into the bowl of your uterus. This is where your cervix is. Bringing this awareness can get quite grounding and a way to bring healing attention especially if you’re wanting to balance your hormones and boost fertility.

If you think this seems all too woo woo, then check out The Connection doco that details the science between the body and mind connection when it comes to health.

3 things you can do to increase cervical wellness:

Eating the colours of the rainbow. Photo by Ella Olsson

Self-examination – It’s important to know what your cervix looks like. Just seeing it can give you a sense of connection to your body by simply acknowledging it. If you choose to have a pap smear, ask to see it with a small mirror. Curious to see what a cervix looks like? Click here to see photos.
Self-exploration – If you’ve never felt your cervix, have a feel. This part of the cervix is what we call the face of the cervix. Being able to feel your cervix, you can start to get attune to sensations and developing more of an awareness to that part of the body. The cervix sits within the root chakra and is responsible for your sense of safety and security in the world. When there is an imbalance, people can experience anxiety and fear. Using the mindfulness exercise above, is all about bringing awareness to this place and begin to clear any sexual or birth trauma and fear of infertility as well as the actual act of giving birth.
Boost your immune system and reduce stress – When you have a strong immune system, you are giving your body a fighting chance to kill any harmful bacteria and viruses from your body. When it comes to food, think about eating the colours of the rainbow. Stress not only lowers your immune system but what most people don’t know is that the vagus nerve connects your brain, throat, heart, uterus together and terminates at the cervix. Studies have shown stress increase the risk for women developing cervical cancer and I believe it is because of the relationship of these organs have with each other. Happy mind and heart leads to a happy cervix!

If you’ve enjoyed exploring this topic on cervical wellness, share with me what you found helpful in the comments below and say hi!

Want to have a deeper relationship with your reproductive organs and menstrual cycle? I’m running an event called Discover the Missing Link in Reducing Your PMS Symptoms in Just 5-Days. Click here to register, starts Friday 6/11.

Do you have a thyroid problem?

I have a client and in her first coaching session she said that she thinks she has a thyroid issue. As an Integrative Health Coach my role is not to diagnose, treat or try to cure any medical health conditions but what I do know is that a client’s intuitions is often right.

McCall McPherson is the founder of Modern Thyroid Clinic and TEDx Speaker and shares that women especially new mothers tend to make excuses for why they are feeling exhausted because of the new reality of being a mum.

They might be overweight, constantly exhausted, experiencing brain fog, depressed and have a low sex drive and blame it on the kids but in fact, if could be to do with their hormones and particularly their thyroid.

Statistics show 1 million Australians have an undiagnosed thyroid disorder and that ten times more women than men worldwide will be diagnosed with some form of thyroid disorder.

Thyroid health is so important because when it’s not functioning properly, it is the beginning of hormone dysfunction and significant hormone dysregulation.

What Causes Thyroid Disorders?

According to the Australian Thyroid Foundation, the many causes of thyroid disorders include:

Iodine Deficiency
Autoimmune Disease
Viral and bacterial inflammation causing thyroiditis (subacute thyroiditis)
Familial Disorders
Nodules which have formed on the Thyroid Gland
Benign and Malignant (cancer) tumours on the Thyroid Gland

So if you feel that your declining health could be something to do with your thyroid, then the first step is to get a full round of tests.

You can visit your local GP or I would recommend looking at finding an Integrative Functional GP.

The Australian Thyroid Foundation recommend diagnosis using biochemical testing include TSH, T4, T3 and Thyroid Antibodies.

McPherson shared that sometimes misdiagnosis can happen even with an Endocrinologist because of inadequate lab tests and ranges of what is considered “normal” can vary between labs.

So if results come in negative and you feel that there is something wrong with your thyroid, then it doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion.

It’s important to get tested because the long term effects of having a dysfunctional thyroid can lead to diabetes and elevated cholesterol.

What’s the difference between Hypothyroidism (under active Thyroid) and Hashimoto’s Disease?

Although both have something to do with the thyroid, they are very different.

Hypothyroidism is a dysfunction of the thyroid in which everything in the body slows down and dries up.

While Hashimoto’s Disease in an auto-immune condition which can lead to hypothyroidism but it’s when the body is mounting an immune response and attacks the thyroid cells.

What you can do now

There are some immediate dietary and lifestyle changes you can do to help with supporting the thyroid and balancing your hormones:

Remove the top #2 inflammatory foods for 3 months which is dairy and gluten
Increase detoxifying and alkalising foods such as your dark, leafy greens for fibres, marine greens and garlic
Eat quality fats because they are the foundation for hormone production
Use herbs and essentials oils to balancing hormones such as wild yam, chaste tree, roman chamomile, ylang ylang, lavender and geranium – I personally use and have seen amazing results with my clients using the Balancing Cream
Take some really good quality multi-supplements and colloidal minerals
Incorporate a mindfulness practice to help reduce stress

In addition, when buying food try to get organically grown food. If this is a stretch to your budget, see if you can buy locally sourced from the farmer’s markets.

Sometimes it costs a lot of money for farmers to get certified organic so it’s worth starting a conversation with farmers and you might find some they use very little pesticides on their produce anyways.

EWG’s Clean Fifteen

Even still, that can be an effort especially if you’re already time-poor, so using the Environmental Working Group Clean Fifteen is the 2020’s Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce is a really useful if your shopping at Coles and Woolies.

These foods you can safely buy with peace of mind as they will contain the least amount of pesticides:

Avocados
Sweet Corn
Pineapple
Onions
Papaya
Sweet Peas Frozen
Eggplant
Asparagus
Cauliflower
Cantaloupe
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Cabbage
Honeydew Melon
Kiwi

Check out EWG’s Dirty Thirty where you can at least try to get these organic wherever possible.

Live Clean

Lastly, consider switching your bathroom, cleaning and skincare products over to safer natural products.

Modere is a Live Clean Company and does an extensive range of clean label products for the whole home that our family has been using for almost a decade. Use my discount promo code 7022017 at AU www.modere.com.au NZ www.modere.co.nz USA www.modere.com EU www.modere.eu

For more support, you can download my free 7 day hormones cleanse. Stay tuned on my Instagram @merlyhartnettcoaching as I will be launching an additional free resource on how 5 Simple Strategies to use Mindfulness to Conquer Chronic Stress.

What is the number one cause for hormonal imbalances?

This week on my Instagram I shared how I was attacked by a deadly, massive, hairy, scary, spider and my stress response was lightning fast! So when I say stress affect’s a women’s endocrine system instantly, this is a good example.

It makes evolutionary sense for a women’s fertility to be reduced when the body is in a state of prolonged stress. When we’re flooding our system with cortisol, the primary stress hormone, it’s aim is to protect the body from famine. It curbs bodily functions considered “non-essential” such as baby making. Long term overexposure (chronic stress) suppresses our immune system and impairs digestion and mental function.

If you read my Instagram post, the spider turned out to be a strand of hair from my bun and although the spider was imaginary, the hormones flooding my system was real. So just imagine those stress-inducing hormones flooding your system continuously on tap and the impact it has on your body.

Okay so perhaps you might not necessarily “freak out” when you’re running late from an appointment, get an unexpected bill, read a misunderstanding in a text message or your partner forgets to pick up some food on the way home while you try to piece together what’s left of your sanity after looking after the kids on your own all day.

But I can guaranteed there are nights when you all you want to do is crawl into bed and never come out because you’re feeling anxious, depressed, got a headache, having digestive problems, your heart is racing and can’t sleep or remember who you are anymore.

Get the picture?

This is why the number one cause for hormonal imbalances is stress, it’s so pervasive and sneaks up on you.

So what can you do about it?

Much of the stress that we encounter in our day to day life is usually because our mind is in default mode.

When we’re in default mode, we’re not aware that we’re not our thoughts or emotions and therefore don’t get consumed and become reactive. Shall I say that again, we’re not our thoughts or emotions.

Mindfulness is a wonderful tool and has lots of research on its effectiveness in reducing stress but also increases our resilience to stress.

According to a study on the Effects of Mindfulness on Psychological Health, some of the benefits of mindfulness is that it “brings about various positive psychological effects, including increased subjective well-being, reduced psychological symptoms and emotional reactivity, and improved behavioural regulation.”

Disclaimer, I’m not a Mindfulness Guru just a Health Coach that has seriously been upping her mindfulness skills since becoming a mum of two, a wife, juggling a business, studying at night and well … just life!

But on a side note, one of my client’s PMS symptoms and migraines had magically disappeared after we worked on the major stressors in her life.

On the 2nd of July, I will be delivering a 5-day email course on The Power of Mindfulness to Decrease Stress.

Learn the power of mindfulness to help you decrease stress with practical exercises in this 5-day email course to help you cultivate a sustainable practice to use as a tool to thrive in today’s fast-paced world.

This course will start on Thursday the 2nd of July 2020.

Click here to register here.

Feel free to forward the link to a friend who might need some stress-busting tips too and start balancing your hormones naturally.

Can you have a career as a health coach?

I graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in November 2018 and my son at the time was 21 months old.

I remember having so many great ideas on what I wanted to do with my Health Coach Training Certification that I couldn’t wait to get started.

I had been self-employed as an independent contractor within the occupational rehabilitation industry and had these grand ideas about how I was going to transform the industry.

I also had an online business where I was really passionate about women’s health and how I wanted to deepen my service offerings to impact more women. I was really divided in where I was going to focus my energies.

So I did both.

In the meantime, I had a goal to night-wean my son off the boobies when he reached 2 years of age and hopefully in due time, he’d wean himself naturally from the day feeds so I could really focus on ALL of my projects (you’re probably already getting a sense of where this is going.)

If you’re wondering why I chose to study with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, you can read all about it here but today I’m going to focus more on what’s happened since I graduated.

I had declared 2019 was going to be my best year yet.

Did that happen?

Well I was right about one thing, it was my best year yet because I fell pregnant with our second and we were so happy that my son was going to have a baby brother as a Christmas present.

In the chaos of motherhood, running a natural parenting mothers group, taking my son to his weekly activities, working in my consulting business, maintaining my online wellness business and JUST being “oh you know” pregnant whilst trying to work on several coaching projects, I felt I was running on a treadmill and not getting anywhere with anything.

I teamed up with one of my besties and we were creating opportunities to work with national brands, having serious conversations with decision makers of companies and penciled in workshops for the year but things started to unravel and fall apart because we were heavily reliant on other people to pull through.

So one of the biggest lessons I learnt from that experience, is to start small.

I don’t mean start with small thinking but if I could do 2019 all over again, it would be to write down all those big ideas and just park them when I have the time and resources to dedicate to them because in hind-sight, I was about to have a baby!

So between coaching calls, I did managed to squeeze in a talk for Blacktown City Council for Women’s Health Week and built relationships to do more workshops in 2020.

Can you have a career as a Health Coach?

Yes.

Full-time? It’s a choice.

For me, right now I choose to work part-time because my life is dedicated to raising a threeanger and a 6 month old baby.

It’s all about having a small happy little practice where I can wake up and love what I do and it resolves around the needs of every changing and growing family.

My practice is online and have clients nationally.

Initially I had expected to grow my practice seeing clients face-to-face like I did in 2019 but then Covid19 happened.

But turns out having an online practice just made more sense since I breastfeed between appointments.

So if you’re a mum or time-poor and have so many competing priorities but have been imaging your life as a health coach, then it’s totally possible.

You don’t necessarily have to have everything worked out, I certainly didn’t after I graduated.

Almost 75% of our students have clients
before they graduate.
Institute for Integrative Nutrition

My health coaching practice has evolved as I do life.

Get a sneak peak into the information and inspiration that IIN’s Health Coach Training Program has to offer and enjoy a free sample class from their online curriculum on me.

The next class starts July 20th. If you have any questions or would love to chat more, you can contact me directly.

As an IIN Ambassador, I know it helped me so much to be able to talk to health coaches who were working in the field, so don’t be shy!

You can call IIN and say I referred you “Merly Hartnett” on a dedicated line (844) 315-8547 (U.S.) or +1 (212) 730-5433 (International) for discounts on tuition and additional bonuses.

5 Mental Health Detoxing Tips for Balancing Hormones

I took my two boys out for lunch and we had sushi. My 3 year old always get the mini tuna sushi rolls but he also enjoys trying new varieties from my plate.

Today he said “mummy I want to try that one” whilst pointing at a plate on the conveyor belt and I grabbed it off without looking exactly what it was. He took one bite and gave me a disapproving look and said “no mummy, I don’t want this anymore.”

After closer inspection, I realised it was eel. Last time I had eel, I was a tween at home with my parents and had an all body reaction. I was covered in hives and I was itchy for days.

I was torn. Do I encourage my son to try something new by trying it myself and risk getting hives or do I just let him get off the hook and miss an opportunity to teach him the consequences of food wastage.

So I ate it and realised after an uncomfortable wait for about 20 – 30 minutes I had grown out of the allergy but not the fear until that moment.

Have you ever held onto fear, guilt or anger Which has been holding you back in life?

Through my experience coaching women with hormonal health issues, sometimes the cause of a lot of their problems has been as a result of disharmony in the area of self-love, relationships, career and finances.

Cultivating a happier and positive outlook can help with boosting mood but also has a healing effect on hormones by reducing tension, stress and fortifying the mental strength to juggle the complexities of life for the modern woman.

So here are 5 mental health detoxing tips for balancing hormones:

Negative Self Talk

Set yourself a challenge to avoid saying anything negative to yourself for 48 hours. Most of the times we are so unaware of the internal dialogue of negative self-talk, we don’t realised the accumulative toll it has on our health.

If you catch yourself starting to say something negative, hit the pause button and say “stop” then try again. Reframing and choosing more empowering words will leave you feeling lighter.

Reassessing Outdated Beliefs

Reassess beliefs that you are holding and start questioning if they’re serving you still. For a long time I held the belief that I’m terrible writer and people wouldn’t want to read my posts so I never blogged until now!

Next time you say I can’t do something, ask yourself why? Then break apart your why and see if that belief is still relevant.

THE COMPARISON TRAP

Avoid getting into the comparison trap because when we compare we let go of what’s going great. We look at someone and see what we don’t have. There is a clear distinction between admiration and comparison.

Admiration is about reflecting on what we want more for ourselves without needing to compare what we don’t have. Admiration has no judgement therefore it’s a force that propels us forward rather than holds us back.

RESISTING CHANGE

When we make the decision to change, often we encounter resistance because it’s something new, it requires stepping outside of our comfort zone and doing something we may have never had to do before. People find change scary but choosing to stay stagnant in our circumstances is still change, we’re just changing backwards.

Making small incremental changes, consistently adds up and you’d be surprise what can happen in a year.

BUT I’M RIGHT!

Whether your right or wrong, our ego can get in the way of us feeling happy. We’ve heard the saying, it’s better to choose your battles and I really never understood this until I got married.

Sometimes it’s better to choose to be peaceful than to be right (all the time).

Share with me your thoughts

I hope you found these tips useful and would love to know what other tips have helped you.

To support you on your journey to balance your hormones naturally, you can download my free 7 day hormone cleanse click here.

How being overweight impacts fertility

One of my coaching clients was told she needed to lose weight by her specialist to increase the chances of falling pregnant while doing IVF. She’d come to me to help her shift the extra weight and boost her chances of having a successful transfer.

During our recent session I asked her if she knew the reason behind why she had to release the weight? She didn’t know, only that it would help.

I know for me, when I’m aware of why I’m doing something, I’m more likely to follow through and stay motivated. So if you’re also in the same situation as my client, then read on.

When we look at couples who use IVF to conceive, it’s been shown women who are overweight or obese have a lower chance of a live birth and significantly higher miscarriage rate than women with a normal BMI.

But this applies to everybody however you conceive your baby.

So why does being overweight and obese such a weighty issue when it comes to FERTILITY?

Being overweight impacts a woman’s chance of conceiving a healthy baby because it:

Causes hormonal imbalances
Triggers problems with menstruation and ovulation
Increases risk of complications with pregnancy such as a miscarriage, diabetes or premature birth

How?

When we have excess fat, these fat cells produce a hormone called leptin that can disrupt the hormone balance and impacts the menstruation cycle.

Another reason, in a study of 726 Australian women aged 26-36 years old, they found the women who were considered obese were significantly associated with having irregular menstrual cycle which was influenced by the high amount of insulin in the blood and decrease levels of sex-hormone-binding globulin (a protein that is responsible for regulating androgen and estrogen).

In other words, insulin can disrupt the hormone balance and impacts the menstruation cycle.

When your menstruation cycle is impacted, this reduces fertility as it’s difficult to track or know if or when you’re ovulating.

Now get this, excess weight and obesity also increases the risk of anovulation which is when no egg is release by the ovaries and if this happens, fat chances of you getting pregnant (mind the pun.) Women with a BMI above 27 are three times more likely than women in the normal weight range to be unable to fall pregnant because they’re not ovulating.

Now if you’re overweight or obese and are ovulating, the truth of the matter is that the quality of your eggs are also reduced!

Which explains why being overweight impacts a woman’s chance of conceiving a healthy baby due to increased risk of complications with pregnancy such as a miscarriage, diabetes or premature birth.

so what can you do about it?

According to IVF Australia, a “healthy BMI range is between 18.5 to 24.9 for young and middle-aged adults. Under 18.5 is considered underweight and over 25 is overweight. If a woman’s BMI is greater than 35, the risk of problems become more significant.”

If you suspect your overweight or obese and is affecting your fertility, then let’s find out what your BMI is:

Click here to calculate your BMI

overweight or obese?

It can seem a bit overwhelming to hear some of the facts on how being overweight and obese impacts fertility but there is good news.

If you have clicked on the link above to checked your BMI and realised that you fall in the category of being overweight or obese, you have the power to change this, just like my client is doing right now.

The good news!

According to IVF Australia here are a few things you can start doing now:

Stopping smoking, as it reduces fertility by around 40%, and also increases the risk of miscarriage
Reducing alcohol and caffeine intake
Optimising weight by following a healthy diet and exercise routine
For a female, taking folic acid, ideally for three months prior to trying to conceive, as it is one of the few nutrients known to prevent neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida
Managing known conditions, such as diabetes. This improves the chances of a healthy baby, and reduces the risk of miscarriage
Reviewing current medications and any implications for pregnancy with a GP
Understanding your menstrual cycle

As an Integrative Health Coach, my role is to support my clients to make those diet and lifestyle changes so they can start balancing their hormones naturally and increase their chances of falling pregnant.

If you feel you need support, then apply to book in for a free hormonal health and fertility assessment.

References:

The one thing that women overlook when it comes to getting baby ready

This week I’ve been working on putting together a workshop to help women who are wanting to increase their chances of falling pregnant.

There is a lot of things that women think about when it comes to getting baby-ready. We eat better, we might give up alcohol and start taking prenatal supplements but there seems to be one thing we tend to overlook.

Stress.

This workshop isn’t about 5 tips about managing stress.

Let’s face it, if you’re serious about wanting to conceive, a how-to guide on stress management isn’t going to cut it.

I’ve put this workshop as a tool to help you transform areas in your life in order to create space for a new baby.

You’re literally going to be doing some work in the workshop.

This workshop is to help women who want to fall pregnant by boosting their fertility and avoid stressing out during that dreaded 2 weeks waiting window before peeing on a stick.