Welcome to betty rock showa place to nourish your mind, love your body and rock your life.
Join me and functional medicine practitioner Dr. Jill Carnahan as we look at some of the root causes of fat gain that people don’t often expect as she sees in practice.
Dr. Jill has been on the podcast before – you may remember her from our in-depth conversation about mold and how to test and treat it (Season 2, Episode 2). I am happy to report that under her care I have cleared it from my system (a 3 year journey) and am in top shape again.
Today we are reviewing my recovery and discussing some of the many potential triggers for weight gain. Here, who’s a good candidate for intermittent fasting (and who’s not), plus more information on hormone health, some insights on how to read the lab, advice on adaptive herbal use, and more!
from her website“Ever since I was a child, I have always had a passion for finding answers to complex questions. I grew up on a farm and saw firsthand the resilience of living in the face of hardship.
I decided to become a doctor because of my strong belief in the human body’s ability to heal and overcome even the most dire situations – given the right tools. “
In this episode you will find:
Welcome back Dr. Jill Carnahan (0:034)
- Check how her mold treatment for me resolved and where am I
- listen to us Episode 1, on mold, testing and treatment
- Background of symptoms I noticed at the beginning
The root cause of weight gain from environmental toxins (4:19)
- When you do the right thing and still don’t see results
- How some toxins block leptin receptors and how this affects weight gain
- Mold is just one of the environmental toxins that cause weight gain
- Why the body stores fat when dealing with a toxic burden
How your adrenal glands are the root cause of weight gain (7:42)
- How your adrenal glands work
- Master regulator: HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis)
- Too much stimulation produces too much cortisol
- Signs of Cortisol Dysregulation
- How the adrenal glands support your hydration and blood sugar levels and why it matters
Thyroid disorders and how they can lead to weight gain (9:31)
- Review triggering events that can overwhelm stress responses: NUTS
- NUTS: Novelty, Unpredictability, Threat and Control
- The carriage analogy: Adrenal and thyroid work together
- Why just treating the thyroid doesn’t always give the results we hope for
Using thyroid and cortisol as examples, what Dr. Jill looks for when reading lab values (16:40)
- What kind of thyroid panel to order
- Which tags to view
- Why “normal range” may not tell the whole story
- Timing of a Cortisol Test
- Why partnering with a functional medicine physician can help you see the big picture and address the root cause
Today’s podcast is by rock your life, My online home fitness studio and inspiring women’s fitness community Here you can enjoy programs and challenges to build strength for continuous, sustainable progress. Enjoy new classes every week, healthy recipes, a women-only private support community, and more!
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How does a thyroid disorder cause weight gain? (20:03)
- How the thyroid regulates our metabolism
- Why not eating enough can lead to weight gain
When did Dr. Gill recommend fasting? From her perspective as a doctor, who is fasting good for? (22:21)
- Why Not Everyone Needs to Fast (or Use a Ketogenic Diet)
- Specific subsets that can benefit from these dietary strategies
- How these dietary interventions can help people with specific diseases
- Learn more about insulin resistance
- Answers to Why Applying Strategies That Work for People with Disorders Doesn’t Always Work for Everyone
Dr. Jill’s personal experience with IF years ago (25:29)
- Combine daily HIIT training with intermittent fasting
- how she gained body fat
- Dr. Gill’s advice from another practitioner
- How Medical Training Fails to Prepare Physicians for the Physiological Impact of Diet and Exercise Strategies
- What Happens When Dr. Gill Gives Up Daily Cardio and Replaces It With More Resistance Training
- what happened when she started gasping and stopped fasting
Strategic cardiovascular exercise is great, excess cardio isn’t[27:48]
- Balance with resistance training and HIIT in place instead of doing cardio all the time
- The importance of balancing nutrients, stress reduction and sleep
- I see how many women come to me exhausted and overtrained by bad information in food culture
- Why I Love Walking and How It Helps Lose Weight
Why your doctor doesn’t have to tell you how to eat and train (28:49)
- Doctors not trained in nutrition in medical school
- A doctor trained in intermittent fasting or a ketogenic diet for a specific medical problem will regularly check blood tests and see how these strategies affect blood sugar levels, stress responses, and more
Look at the importance of body composition (muscle-to-fat ratio), not just “weight loss” (29:48)
- Why building muscle isn’t “weight gain”
- Shift focus from weight loss to overall health and strength
- Train smarter, not harder
- Comprehensive content on training strategies for changing body composition for different life stages, including cycle training, peri- and post-menopausal training can be found in this article
Women-specific hormone considerations (32:09)
- Women have complex hormonal systems compared to men
- Adrenal glands and the cycle of a young woman
- What happens to the adrenal glands during perimenopause and postmenopause
- Why we need to be gentler with ourselves later in life to avoid cortisol spikes
- The importance of specific energy supplementation and training strategies for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women
Catabolism and Anabolic Status (36:16)
- What is the catabolic state and what does it break down
- How cortisol is linked to catabolism
- what is anabolic state
- The importance of staying in touch with our bodies
- put all the pieces together
Adaptive herbs and how Dr. Jill recommends using them in her practice[38:42]
- General advice for people in their 20s and 30s with adverse PMS, symptoms of weight gain, or increased fertility
- General advice for people in their 40s and 50s with low estrogen and progesterone levels
- The importance of recycling and processing estrogen to reduce cancer risk
- hot flashes advice
- Adrenal Support Advice
- My own experience with adaptogens
- Blog post: 6 Adaptogens that Support Hormone Balance
How to connect with Dr. Jill Carnahan and his work (42:32)
- Dr. Gill’s website and blog posts
- Dr. Gill has a new book coming out in February 2023
- Dr. Gill’s Instagram
I teach you all this On my Rock Your Life Challenge show. We have everything from basic weight challenge programs to challenges that include dumbbells and simple home exercise equipment, all the way to your weight training challenges with heavier weights, and I teach you all the progress.
We have a lot of conversations on the topic of women’s health inside rock your life, my online home fitness studio and women’s fitness community. During my regular office hours, I am able to connect with members and answer their questions and share more information that is particularly relevant to them.
If you are not yet a member, I strongly recommend you to join us, You can get a 30-day trial and see what you’re missing out on.
I have a huge class library with over 1000 classes of all types, from basic bodyweight strength training, exercises that can add some simple home exercise equipment like dumbbells and bands, all the way to heavier weight training classes .
There are barre classes, yoga classes, movement classes, plyometrics and circuits. Plus, I’ve included dozens of guided workout challenges to give you the perfect progression sequence. I see incredible stories from my Rock Your Life home gym members every day and it has been a wonderful experience to be able to support them with the Betty Rocker team trainers in our private women’s fitness community.
I encourage you to grab that 30 day trial This way you can see what it’s all about and take the time to enjoy what I have to offer without any pressure or obligation.
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Join me for an open and thought-provoking discussion Health, Fitness, and How to Stop Sabotaging Yourself – and start taking meaningful action that allows us to be role models for others…
…and, listen to my intimate conversations with amazing thought leaders, healthcare professionals, athletes and celebrities, Learn their secrets and insights for overcoming life’s challenges, Live longer, healthier, stronger and #flawsome lives.
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post S2 – 15: The Hidden Reason for Dr. Jill Carnahan’s Weight Gain first appeared in betty rocker.
