GLP-1s Are Helping Women Lose Weight — But Are They Costing You Muscle? with Michelle Sirmons, RD

Today I'm joined by a very special guest, Michelle Sermons, who is one of our registered dietitians at Being Bridget Functional Nutrition. She has worked with me for more than five years and is not only a registered dietitian with a master's in functional medicine, but also a Cornell trained dietitian with a board certification in sports nutrition. She has a history as a personal trainer prior to becoming a dietitian. So her ability to intersect metabolic health, nutrition, fitness, insulin resistance, hormones, and all the things that a lot of women that we work with are trying to optimize is truly incredible. So get ready for an incredible interview with Michelle. Michelle, let's get into it. Let's first start with an area that you have a lot of experience with, which is working with clients that are on GLP1s. How important is it for women who are taking GLP1s to, to support their blood sugar?

Yeah. Hi everybody. It's good to be here. So definitely GLP1s are much more popular today than they were like back, you know, 10 years ago. But GLP1s can have very significant impact on blood sugar as far as helping to lower a 1C. However, we see a lot of people who are taking GLP1s now for weight loss reasons. Now, one of the things that we want to focus on when working with clients who have GLP1 medication is making sure that we work to stabilize their blood sugar because many people think that taking a GLP one will just optimize their blood sugar. And though although we can see results in lowering the A1C levels, someone can still experience blood sugar swings. And what I mean by that is that they can spe experience these highs of blood sugar that are followed by lows and the highs and the lows in your glucose levels, those can actually lead to a normal A1C. But because that blood sugar is fluctuating throughout the day, it can cause a whole host of symptoms such as energy crashes, fatigue throughout the day, even for cravings for more sugary and carbohydrate based foods. So what happens a lot we that we see with these GLP1s is that oftentimes because the appetite is so significantly reduced, we see that meals are often skipped. Now, when meals are skipped, your body is responsible for keeping blood sugar steady. And so your liver is going to continue to put glucose out into your bloodstream so that you have this steady energy. But over time, when you're relying on your adrenal support versus food coming into your diet, that can lead to chronic elevations in your cortisol. And when cortisol is chronically elevated, that puts your body in a more catabolic state. And by catabolic state, I mean we see more inflammation, we see muscle loss, and that can cause a whole host of issues that we can dig into. But other things that we see with these GLP1 medications is that when clients are coming to us, they might be eating less total calories, but the meals that they're consuming are not balanced. And what that means is if they have a meal that's higher in carbohydrates, lower in fiber, lower in protein, we see significant fluctuations in their blood sugar. And also things need to change. If the diet still high in sugar, still high in alcohol, many of these clients who are taking these medications to control their blood sugar are still going to experience symptoms of fluctuating blood sugar throughout the day. And this is especially important for our women who are over 40, because we know that they are already more prone to anxiety, to adrenal stressors, to energy crashes. And so that that's a lot of the individuals who are taking this medication. And it could really exacerbate some of the symptoms. So although there can be some benefits to GLP1 and the A1C, if you don't make changes to your diet, it can actually lead to some issues down the road with other metabolic concerns and other symptoms.

So true. And I'd also add that something else that we see is that for every person that's on in GLP1 whose caloric intake has been reduced, it's that much more important for you to think about every calorie that you're eating as being as nutrient dense as possible, so that you're getting adequate nutrients. Because one of my biggest concerns, and we see this in doing testing with clients that we work with, is nutrient deficiencies that are exacerbated because of the lack of actual micronutrient intake that's happening or the lack of fiber that's help happening to supports the gut microbiome to release the short chain fatty acids to help with decreasing the inflammation. And if those things are happening, then basically the GLP1 is just putting a band aid over the issues that it could be creating larger issues for underneath the surface, wouldn't you say?

Absolutely. And one thing that we see all the time is that a lot of people are unintentionally under eating protein. And that can have a very big impact on their health. Because what we're seeing from the studies on body composition with clients who are using Weight loss medications is that up to 30% of their total weight loss is coming from lean mass and that accelerates sarcopenia. And if we don't actively protect our bone and muscle, we're setting ourselves up for metabolic chronic conditions down the road and even things like osteoporosis. So there are definitely some priorities that we want to focus on for really any woman over 40, but especially if they're on a GLP1, 100%.

Our client base is very mixed. I'd say that 50% or maybe larger than 50% they prefer to not take a GLP1. They want to. They're more in the camp that they would rather not take medication if the medication isn't necessary. Even if there are studies demonstrating so many positive benefits, while knowing that sometimes it takes years for more of the side effects to, to really come to life when it comes to the research and sometimes new medications over promising in the beginning and then being concerned on the back end. And then we also do work with women who are taking a GLP1 because they feel like that's the best decision for them. I would say for both categories there's certain nutrition princip, especially for women over the age of 40 that we really focus on that probably are even more important for women that are on GLP1s. Can you go through some of the top ones that we focus on with the clients that we work with?

Absolutely. So one, you know, for any woman who's over 40, we know that they're already dealing with some age related muscle loss. We also know that there are some declines in estrogen that take place during peri and post menopause. And then if you add on the GLP1 medications or weight loss medications that can make those symptoms exacerbate those symptoms unless we take initiative. So number one thing is stabilizing our blood sugar. And this is so important because glycemic variability or poor control over glucose is going to impact chronic metabolic stress. It will drive up inflammation. If you have more inflammation, that leads to more muscle function decline, increasing that sarcopenic risk. We also know that these fluctuations in glucose are going to impact insulin. And if you have insulin resistance, that blunts that anabolic signaling in the muscle, which means it's preventing you from really being able to see muscle gains. It also will impact protein synthesis and increase muscle breakdown. So basically, blood sugar is one of the top things we want to focus on. Not only will it impact metabolic markers and metabolism, but it can also cause issues with fatigue, motivation, brain fog, you know, common symptoms that many people are experiencing. But if you have those symptoms on a daily basis, you are much less likely to have the energy to go exercise or to go meal prep, because it really gets in the way. So blood sugar is the first thing we want to focus on. Now, this is why in all of our programs, we begin with a very strong foundation that is centered on balancing macronutrients. We want to support steady blood sugar every single meal. So every meal that our dietitians design is intended to balance protein with healthy fats and fiber and carbohydrates to prevent blood sugar spikes and to prevent crashes. Every meal, we also want to focus on getting nutrient dense foods because not it's not just about the macronutrient balance, it's also about the micronutrients that we're getting into our diet because all of that variety actually feed your gut microbiome. And we know the gut microbiome is such a key driver metabolic health. And a balanced and resilient microbiome has been shown in studies over and over again to improve your A1C, your lipid markers, lowering insulin or improving insulin sensitivity, as well as systemic inflammation. So it's not just about the macronutrient balance, it's about variety and micronutrients that you're consuming every single day. And this is why we see this with clients that within just seven days of eating glucose balanced meals, we see that clients report definitely improvements in their energy. And with more stable energy throughout the day, they just feel that they're capable of accomplishing so many more things from day to day. We also see better sleep. We know that better sleep naturally enhances your daytime energy, your mental clarity, and even just your resiliency to stress. And that creates this just positive upward cycle where you can continue to feel better. And if you can feel that better in such a short period of time, just think about how good you can feel when you continue to eat blood sugar, stabilizing meals from day to day. And that's why in our Blood Sugar Reset, which is a seven day program, we have clients who continue to follow these principles even beyond seven days, consistently start to see changes with weight, with body composition. And this includes preserving that lean muscle loss, but also helping to support fat loss, especially fat loss from that stubborn belly fat area, the visceral fat.

Yeah. And it's interesting because we've had 25,000 people go through the blood sugar Reset, which is the seven day initial time that we're like, give yourself the opportunity to feel what it can feel like to be blood sugar stabilized with the nutrients, the macronutrients, the micronutrients. I would also add the phytonutrient variety that we really focus on in the recipes. Not having the added sugar, not having the alcohol, because of how amazing you can feel in this seven day period. And in these 25,000 women, the most common symptom improvements that we hear about are energy, mood and cravings. Improvements in all three areas. And I just interviewed one of the leading nutrition scientists who is studying, has been studying blood sugar and inflammation and the gut microbiome and even hormones for the last several decades. And she said that in their research they see very similar things with improvements in energy, with improvements in mood, with less hunger, less reported hunger. And so what we see in the, you know, large cohort of women that we have is very consistent with what they're finding in the research as well. And I think that, you know, it speaks to the power of the body and the capacity to heal when it's given the proper input and just the

power of food as medicine. Because the food that you feed your body is what feeds your cells. Every different vitamin and mineral and the balance of those nutrients coming in, that is how your cells are made and that's how your cells can continue to function and thrive. So there's so much power in food that we can work on first before jumping to other avenues around health. And blood sugar is really the point where we want to start off making those changes.

I couldn't agree more.

Amazing. And the next thing I would say is that we want to focus in on protein. So after blood sugar control, protein is going to become so important, especially for women over 40, because as estrogen declines, estrogen is protector for muscle, for metabolism, for your connective tissue. But when it drops, your body is going to be more prone to muscle loss, more fat gain and slower recovery. And what we see is that in the research post, menopausal women have impaired muscle pair compared to younger women. So what that means is that the same workout that you did in your 20s or your 30s now requires more recovery time. And part of that recovery is going to be coming from protein. Now what we know is that when women are in Perry and postmenopause, they tend to lose muscle a little bit easier. And this means they need to increase their total protein intake. That and strength training can also help with reducing muscle and bone loss. So what we know about muscle is that it's metabolically active tissue. So when you start to lose your muscle, you start to lose your calorie output. That means you're burning fewer calories at rest. So even if you have not changed your diet in the last decade and you're eating the same quantity of calories, if you're not increasing your protein levels, you can start to see some changes in your body composition. You can start to see some muscle loss and some actual fat gain, which we hear that that from a lot of our clients. So what protein does is it's going to help blunt glucose spikes. So that's going to help keep inflammation down, it's going to give you more steady energy and more appetite control. So right on point with the study that you just mentioned, that when you have enough protein in that meal, it's going to keep your energy stable, so it's going to reduce cravings, it's going to reduce appetite. And protein is also going to provide amino acids that are needed for repair and for the structural integrity of both your bone and your connective tissue. Because as we age, our muscles become less responsive, responsive to muscle building signals from food and exercise. We need to make sure that we are getting high quality protein at every single meal. And it's not about loading up on processed protein products or protein bars, but focusing in on quality protein from whole food sources like your grass fed meats, your wild caught fish, your beans, your legumes. And this approach is going to give you quantity and diversity of the amino acids needed that actually stimulate muscle protein synthesis and support long term metabolic health. And this is why our recipes average about 30 grams of protein per each meal, because that is what we find is the necessary amount for most women. And women in the United States today are typically eating an average of maybe 69 to 70 grams of protein per day, which is really not likely, not enough to likely offset muscle loss, bone loss and inflammation. So we do find that higher quantities of protein just help with glycemic control, help with energy and is really foundational in women's health, especially, especially when they're into their 40s and especially if they're on a GLP1 medication.

So true. And the fact that protein is so important, if you are getting adequate amounts of protein but you're still not seeing benefits, it could be because you need to increase your fiber, because you need more phytonutrient variety, There's a number of other factors outside of it, but I do think that these are two solid places that women can start. So when it comes to natural ways that women can increase GLP1s because we know that obviously you could take medication in order to get a very high dose of GLP1s. I'm not sure how many people realize that GLP1s are also produced within the gut microbiome. And we've been talking about this for years because of the way the blood sugar balance ties into our own internal production of GLP1s. Not to the same extent that these medications can, because they're much, much higher. And they're actual. The number of hours that they're working in your body is much longer when you're taking the medication. But for some women especially, that are talking about having a lot of food noise and not being able to turn it off, a lot of cravings, that being able to make changes that increase your own internal production of GLP1s can actually lead to some of these benefits that we're talking about.

Absolutely. And one of the easiest ways to get this in is through a high fiber diet, specifically getting in resistant starch. So resistant starch is going to get fermented on by the microbiota in your colon. And what happens is that resistant starch actually leads to better glucose control. It it basically produces an increase of beneficial microbes that help lower inflammation in the gut. They also help support the repair of beta cell function, which are cells in the pancreas that help increase insulin. And these resistant starch also help produce short chain fatty acids. And short chain fatty acids are these fermented, non digestible carbohydrates that help support lowering insulin resistance as well. And they have specifically been shown to help increase the production of GLP1, which aids in satiety. And this when our clients are having cravings, we work to add more fiber into their diet, because adding in more of that fiber from things like beans and legumes, especially our whole grains, it increases the production of these short chain fatty acids, which makes them feel more satisfied after those meals. And we're also seeing in the research that's coming out is that there's been an association with short chain fatty acids on hepatic glycolysis and gluconeogenesis, which means that having optimal levels of short chain fatty acids can actually help reduce glucose output that's coming from the liver, which leads to better glycemic control. And this is why in some of our advanced programs, after we've worked on stabilizing blood sugar and balancing out the meals, looking deeper into gut health, we can actually see these levels in individuals and customize how much fiber they need to actually Increase their specific short chain fatty acids.

Yeah, I think people don't realize how much you can actually see in gut microbiome testing and how you know when people really need that additional support, how much that can help with better understanding. Like you said, torching fatty acid levels and if you're actually releasing enough.

Yeah. And this is as a basis, our recipes include about 30 grams of fiber per day to help support the gut microbiome and to help support the production of GLP1 naturally. And the average individual is probably eating closer to around 12 to 15 grams per day, which is definitely not enough for what they need to have optimal gut microbiome help and optimal blood sugar levels.

And I'd also add that it's the variety of fiber types that are important. So in addition to striving for at least 30 grams per day in our on average for our nutrition plans, we incorporate a lot of variety within the fiber groups. Because you can get fiber from your fruits, your vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds and grains. And being able to have that rotational variety is really helpful for feeding the microbes. These different strains, which I think is important. And also resistant starch, you know, even doing like cooked and cooled potatoes or rice can be other ways to increase the resistant starch content within those foods. You can also supplement like the unmodified potato starch by Bob's Red Mill is one that we've been recommending for a decade and has, it's very low cost and has a lot of metabolic health benefits.

Absolutely. So beyond the fiber, protein, which we've talked about already. But protein is another nutrient that helps support GLP1 secretion, especially from foods that are rich in glutamine and arginine as they can trigger that GLP1 release from the cells. And you can get those from those amino acids come from your animal based proteins, things like eggs, salmon, bone broth, beans and legumes. Again. So again, this is why it's so important to have that balance of protein and that balance of Mac nutrients at each meal. In addition to that, we've seen some promising research coming out about omega 3 fatty acids and how they can play a role in GLP1 secretion. You can increase your omega 3 fatty acids by eating more sardines, more salmon, trout, also some plant based options like walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds as well. But that's been shown to help support GLP1 in addition to help lowering inflammation. And then something that's so simple, this that so many people just overlook is not just what you eat, but how you eat. And eating in a relaxed state where you are calm, you're sitting down, you're taking some deep breaths before you have a meal, and you are thoroughly chewing your food has been shown to help improve GLP1 production. So just chewing your food 30 times or to a baby food like consistency, digestion starts in the mouth. And we see this all the time in individuals who come to us who are experiencing symptoms like bloating or poor digestion, or even they don't think they're tolerating food. Food spray. Well, something as simple as chewing your food can help improve that blood sugar spike. It can also help improve the reduction of bloating as well. It's something so simple. But in our common world today, we're just eating on the go and that can just wreak havoc on your. On your gut microbiome.

Yeah. People, I think, would be amazed at how often we are giving these recommendations to our clients, especially ones that have, you know, transitioned into My food is health in our higher level program. Because of course, we can do all the fancy things like, you know, testing your urine to see your nutrient deficiencies and looking at candida levels and looking at specific prebiotics that you need or probiotics. But the number of times that we circle back to this foundational concept is huge because I do think that it's one that people really overlook. So I'm glad that you mentioned it because it does make a big difference.

Sometimes the little things are the hardest things to do consistently.

Yeah. And it's less about the shiny object syndrome of being like, oh, should I be taking AG1 or should I be taking Grooms or should I be taking Colostrum or all of these brands that are being heavily marketed to you through Instagram influencers who are making a large cut and going into what are some of the foundational habits that can actually move the needle the most on your health that we see such dramatic improvements on with this absolutely being one of them. So being able to be in a rest and digest state and being able to chew your food thoroughly so that you're in, you know, that parasite parasympathetic activity is that rest and digest state that signals to your body that you're safe, that you're able to break down your food, that you're able to increase the absorption of those nutrients. So I'm glad that you mentioned that. Okay, so for people who are wondering, we have, you know, different programs. A lot of people start with us in the blood sugar reset the seven days that helps you really understand what these principles can all look like when we tie them together in our methodology alongside thousands of women that are there to support you along the way. And then we have our membership, the Bean Collective, where our members are. You know, we're making the meal plans every single week to hit all these nutrition parameters, saving you two to three hours every week, making it possible for you to hit the nutrition goals that are going to optimize your health and decrease inflammation. But then we also have My Food is Health where we're working more closely with individuals who have gone through our initial programs and want a deeper level of personalization, where we're doing their nutrient deficiencies testing, we're looking underneath the hood to better understand potential ongoing root causes that haven't been able to be resolved through some of the nutrition changes that people are making initially. And so when you're working with clients like that, how are you helping them track the outcomes? And maybe even like, how do we recommend that people track some of these things in programs like the Blood Sugar Reset and the Bean Collective?

Yeah, and definitely tracking is probably one of the most powerful tools that you have to protect your long term health and vitality because is what's going to help you identify when markers are starting to go in the wrong direction. That way you can intervene and make a change and catch items before they become a bigger issue. So one of the biggest priorities that you want to focus on is that glycemic control. So things like your A1C, which is a three month average of your blood sugar, your fasting glucose and your fasting insulin, these provide critical insight into your blood sugar control and even your metabolic health. Health in most individuals these should be tracked at least yearly at a minimum. But for clients that I'm working with, if we have an elevation in A1C or insulin resistance, this would be a marker that we're tracking like every three months. So depending upon where those levels are, you might have to track a little bit more frequently, but at least yearly you should have having these labs be taken by your doctor. So what we're looking for is getting an A1C of 5.0 0.4 or below, keeping that fasting insulin at about a5 and keeping that fasting glucose between about a 70 to 85. And there was a large study that had come out from Kaiser, it was years back, and they found that for each 1 milligram per deciliter increase in fasting glucose, that there was an associated risk of 6% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. So what that means is, is having long term elevations in your fasting glucose are definitely going to impact your risk of diabetes. Maybe not the next year, but within the next decade to come. And so paying attention to these markers now, you can have great control over your health outcomes. Because many times we see this from our clients who have, you know, been going to the doctor year after year, that no one is saying anything when their A1C is starting to creep up or when their insulin is starting to creep up. And if we catch this early, we can definitely make a big shift and prevent someone from developing diabetes.

Or even, I would add, like when they go to the doctor and they're just testing their fasting glucose and then their fasting glucose is a 90 or a 95 and they're told that they're just healthy and in normal range. The number of times that I see this, Even in like 35 year old women or 30 year old women, where it's like, this is not normal. And if this is where you're at when you're in your early 30s, imagine where you're going to be in your mid-50s if no one is helping to you to shift your mindset into being more proactive.

You can make big changes the earlier you start. But the positive thing is never too late to work on glycemic control, regardless of how old you are. And even if you have diabetes now, you can significantly impact your reliance on medications by making dietary changes. So these are key metrics that you want to check ongoing. That in addition to other labs, of course, running other labs like lipid panels and nutrient deficiencies also are key. Now, beyond just lab testing, one area that I want to focus on for women, especially over 40, is making sure that we are measuring their bone density and their skeletal muscle mass. Because as I mentioned earlier, osteoporosis and sarcopenia are significant risk factors for women. And one thing that we need to be doing on a yearly basis that's not happening all the time in conventional medicine is getting an annual DEXA scan scan as well as getting body composition tested. Now, a DEXA scan is going to look at bone density, and if you are having progressive bone loss year after year, that's something that you can request from your doctor. Although there are places today where you can go in and just order a DEXA yourself. But a body composition scan is something that's not necessarily being tested for very frequently in conventional medicine at all. And body composition is going to look at not just your weight, but the composition of your skeletal muscle mass compared to body fat, which is a much more important marker than looking at weight alone. And this is especially important for any client who is on any of the weight loss medications or someone who's coming to us who's been on a low calorie diet plan because we want to make sure if you are seeing weight loss, where is that weight loss coming from? Because if you're losing weight when it's coming from that lean muscle, that's going to set you up for more chronic health conditions down the road. And so you can get something like this done like an in body scan where you go into a healthcare center or a gym and typically you can just have this done on the spot and it will give you those measurements. Now having that done at least yearly. But if you're on an active plan, then doing it, you know, it might be monthly or every three months. For clients that I'm working on with GLP1s, I typically having them doing it monthly because of how quick that weight loss is taking place.

Yeah, it's a really important one. And being able to make sure that you're not losing the muscle is absolutely key. In addition to that, I would say symptom tracking the subjective data is also important because we have so many women that are able to identify like wow, I really improved X and X symptoms even just in, you know, I did a transition call earlier today where the woman had used, she went through the Being Collective our first four week on ramp of the membership and she had shared in transitioning to the being collective full membership today that her pre and post symptom tracker had gone down by a hundred points. And she's like, I can't even explain how good I feel because there's so many things that have improved. But when I look at that, that pre and post symptom tracker, it helps me see like, wow, I have so many wins. And it's amazing how much food can impact so many different areas of the body that I truly didn't believe was possible prior to doing this. So can you explain some of the subjective data that we're looking at too?

I think the subjective data is actually kind of one of the coolest things that we get to do in our job because it is the symptoms that are people that people are having from day to day that impact their quality of life. And that subjective data is so valuable because people don't necessarily realize how much what they eat impacts how they feel from day to day. They just don't think these things are food related. They think, oh, it's just age. That's why I'm not sleeping well or my joints hurt because it's just my age and I'm getting older.

But symptoms, everyone's like, blaming menopause and it's like, but food is, like, at the center of it all.

Well, and so many of these perimenopausal symptoms are very similar to blood sugar imbalances. Things like the poor sleep, the brain fog, the low energy, poor recovery from your workouts, cravings, even, like the mood, the irritability, the easy to be angry. Like, just these symptoms, these, they kind of mimic hangry like symptoms. But people are associating them with perimenopause. And don't get me wrong, hormones do alter things. Perimenopause can exacerbate those symptoms. But if you support your body with the nutrients that it needs, you can minimize how much those symptoms are impacting you. And so this is why in our programs, we do have our clients fill out an assessment of before and an after to evaluate their symptoms. And this is always the most rewarding part because we see how many symptoms improve just from making the dietary changes. And actually, we've had clients, I said, probably one of the biggest things is the cravings. Right. Clients say that their cravings are better, their appetites improved, and they noticed these changes once they were able to give their body the nourishment that it needed. We actually had one client who had been on GLP1 for almost two years, and she had had no changes on the scale, so it really wasn't making a difference. And she thought she was resistant to the medication. But then she went through the last blood sugar reset, where she followed all of our recipes for the seven days. And she said for the first time, her scale started to move. But on top of that, it wasn't just her scale that was moving. She saw significant improvements in her joint pain and her energy. And those are all classic blood sugar imbalance symptoms. We've got so many clients who experience weight loss in short periods of time, just from even decreasing inflammation within seven days. Clients say they've seen weight loss already. And a lot of that comes from inflammation because blood sugar imbalances. It drives up those inflammation markers. So when you bring that inflammation down, your body starts to calm down, the body starts to go, let go of the inflammation, and you start to see those changes on the scale.

Yeah. One of my favorite things is when women say, like, it felt like the weight was just Falling off after so long of nothing working and nothing budging. That actually also happened in our transition call today, where she said she could never get past like three pounds of losing weight. And that's just in this past month alone that she's lost six pounds. Pounds, which isn't like, you know, a crazy amount, but it's definitely a very healthy amount. She said that was just the. To be able to pass 3 pounds of weight loss was what I needed to mentally know that this is possible for me to continue to see improvements in. Because I do think that it was inflammation.

Absolutely. And I actually had a client who started back in the blood sugar reset, who I worked with over the last couple years. And just to go into her story a little bit here, she was a post menopausal woman. She was around 52, and she was struggling with that stuff and belly fat, which we hear about so much. But her bigger concern was that her labs had been creeping up year after year and she was concerned with what to do. And her doctor said, no, we just gotta put you on a statin, metformin, and that's gonna fix it. And she wanted to get down to the root of what's going on. So she started with a blood sugar reset and started to see some improvements and then moved into our coaching programs. Now, initially she saw improvements in her energy and her appetite height, but she wanted to dig deeper and get to the root issue of why she was having the struggle with the weight loss and the struggle with these lab labs continuing to go up. And so what we did was dive into some more advanced testing. So after we had that foundation in her diet, we looked at nutrient deficiencies, we looked at gut health markers again, going back to those short chain fatty acids. And then we looked at hormones and adrenal markers. How resilient she was to stress. There's so many clients who come in and they just want to jump straight to looking at hormones. Hormones. But you have to start with blood sugar first before you can move into that next level. So the blood sugar reset can definitely be the catalyst to help you feel better, to see improvements in your appetite, improvements in your energy, improvements in your sleep. And just imagine that if you're able to maintain those meal plans and those habits long term, you can see incredible changes. And that's really one of the reasons why we created the Being Collective, because we wanted to give everyone the tools they needed to be successful long term. And that's creating meals that are stabilizing the blood sugar, that are helping to support Energy. And so moving into a program where you're consistently eating foods that support your health long term is just imagine what's possible in six months with your lab markers or your weight if you stay consistent. But it all starts with working on blood sugar first.

Yeah. And I think that even with people who have kind of like barriers where they're like, well, I'm too old for this or I'm eating pretty healthy and like, this probably won't change that much, I do think that it's important to highlight that every person I ever have a conversation with says that they eat pretty healthy. And every person that we have discovery calls with says that they eat pretty healthy because our consumer base is more health conscious. And also a lot of women I think have this mental mindset that or this mindset limitation that they're too old. Like how much can you actually improve once you reach 50 or once you reach 60? And I want to highlight the fact that we have women in their 80s that have gone through our program and improved their health health and seen incredible changes in their labs. And even, you know, someone like Heidi, who's in her 70s, who just recently on the being collective call had shared that she, her doctor re removed her diabetes diagnosis from her medical record because of the work that she's been doing over the last two years with her nutrition. And so you're never too late. Today is, or tomorrow is, is the next best time to start. And there's nothing inherently wrong with you. That means that you can't see the same improvements that other have when they have the right formula, when they have the right support, when they have the right troubleshooting, when they have the right strategy. And so often I think that we just underestimate how many factors actually go into our nutrition and into our long term success, especially with a diet culture that has trained us into one way of thinking. The number of women that come through our programs who are, who are like, I've changed my entire relationship with food, how I view food, the peace that I have around food, the lack of ping ponging back and forth between should I eat this or should I not eat this? Even one woman recently said that I interviewed that she no longer felt like she was in a food prison. Like all of these things that can dramatically improve when you have the right support and you have the right framework in place and the community of other women who are vulnerably sharing their experiences. Which is why I think that, you know, being able to have conversations like this, Michelle, with you, of talking about like, not just, just the research and what we know to be true in these published papers, but in the real life experiences of women that we work with where it's like, this is what we see day in and day out. And there is a lot of value in being able to learn from other people's journeys and experiences so that one, you can see yourself in those stories and two, you can see like, wow, there is so much possibility that exists when I just open my eyes to that true possibility.

I think that's one of the beautiful things about, you know, having community is that this, like, even these phases of life that women go through, through it wasn't always talked about in the past. And being able to have these open conversations gives women the tools that they need to be successful long term. And sharing that these symptoms, these hormonal changes, it doesn't mean that your body is broken. It just means that we're a new chapter and we need to make changes to go along with that. And it's completely natural and it's just a part of every woman's life and it needs to be discussed so that women are empowered to make changes that help them continue to thrive and continue to improve their vitality.

So true. So if you would love to join us in the blood sugar reset, we would love to be able to support you, to have the opportunity to support you. If you took any value away from just this episode alone with Michelle, the absolute powerhouse that she is, with always being able to deliver so much science and expertise and information, then you can join us in the blood sugar reset. I think, let me. The website is beingbridget.com forward slash blood-sugar-reset being bridget.com forward slash blood-Sugar-reset to be able to lock in your spot for the blood sugar reset. If you're listening to this after then you can learn more about the being collective, which is being bridget.com forward/the-being-collective where we have our membership that we do the meal plans every single week. As Michelle said, that kind of builds upon all the principles that we teach in the seven day blood sugar reset to make this a true lifestyle change. To save you two to three hours per week on grocery shopping to or not grocery shopping, but on meal planning and creating your shopping list for you and then also offering that support that we have within the community.

Community.

Before we sign off, I would like to highlight the fact that Michelle is a huge inspiration to me, not just as a dietitian and her ability to transform thousands of women's Health in the way that she has in working together over the last few years, but also in her being a mom of two boys that are on insane travel leagues for baseball and track and all the things that they are very impressive athletes. That consumes a lot of Michelle's time in addition to working full time. You are in your mid-40s going through the perimenopausal shifts that you've experienced your own health journey, but yet you're still winning races that you're running in your own age category and building muscle in all the things that you do that just impress me so much with her organization and her ability to, you know, those people where you're like, how do they fit everything in? Michelle is that person where she, she fits everything in because of her organizational skills. So I would love for you, Michelle, to talk through maybe just a little bit of your own health experience that you've had in the past year or so and then also any tips that you have for women out there who are trying to get more organized with fitting it all in and prioritizing themselves.

Yeah, I think the biggest thing to know is that when these, it's natural to start to experience some little symptoms when you start, start to have these hormonal shifts. And this is where consistency is really the most important thing. And everybody wants a quick fix, but the problem is that there really is no quick fix. It takes the work that you're doing day in and day out. And I know for myself personally if my sleep routine is off, then my quality of sleep is sacrificed. I know that if I'm not consistent in my diet, then I can see the difference. Even if I didn't have enough vegetables or enough different color of veggies in my, my diet, I can feel that in my joints or as far as inflammation goes. And so it's really important to recognize that the work that you do week after week, it will pay off. Be patient with yourself. Understand that your body is shifting and be okay with that. It's okay that your body is shifting and transitioning, but consistency is really going to be key. Consistency in moving your body, consistency in nutrition planning as well. And this is part of why what I do to stay consistent assistant is meal planning and prepping every single week as a non negotiable look at what you're going to eat for the next week. I use a lot of the bean collector recipes too because they're outlined already. So I can go online, I can see what the meal plan is for the week and then I can modify it to my schedule. So if I know there's nights where I can't cook because we're going to be busy at different sporting events, well, then I have to plan for that and prep ahead on Sunday. And I can easily switch out recipes these to choose easier ones or to, you know, fuel my family in appropriate way for whatever activity they have going on. But planning is so essential. So have a day that you're doing, planning your meals, planning what your shopping is going to look like, when you're going to do the shopping and having that in place because if you can get ahead on what your nutrition plan is going to look like, you will have the energy to do the rest of the activities, to do the exercise. But you, you can't have the energy for exercise if you don't have the nutrients fueling your body appropriately. So definitely being prepared and having that meal plan mapped out, it is an absolute game changer and lifesaver because it sets you up for success and it takes out the mental chatter. Right, what am I making for dinner? What is, what recipe do I have to look out? If it's already there and you can trust the recipes, then you don't have to worry about that component. You can cut the food noise and just stick to what that plan is.

It really infamous what am I making for dinner Question. We've got it solved for you, Michelle. Is there anything else that you want to discuss or mention before we sign off?

The biggest thing I would say is just recognize that you have power, you have potential at any age. And it doesn't matter what symptoms that you're experiencing, start with making changes, that little changes that you can do consistently day in and day out because this is what's necessary for you to continue to thrive and you have the ability to do that. Your body is not broken, you are just a new chapter of life and you can continue to thrive and flourish and live the way that you want into your 1/ hundreds. And it is possible for everybody to accomplish this. It just takes consistency, grace and patience with yourself.

Beautiful. Michelle, I am so grateful for you and all of the years that we have had together building the nutrition programs that we have built and being able to support so many of you, which I know Michelle has played a huge role in so many of your health journeys. For community members of ours that are listening and who are always giving Michelle shout outs for how just incredible you are as a human, as a dietitian, as a mom, as all the things. So I just want to say thank you to you for being a part of my life, for being a part of our nutrition programs, for changing so many people's lives within the Being collective and My Food Is Health and all of our Being Bridget programs. Because nothing that we have built would be possible without you and your loyalty and all the things that make you just such an exceptional human. I do believe so much in surrounding yourself with other women who, who uplift you, who make you a better person, who challenge you and you absolutely do that for me. So I just want to say how much I appreciate you being here today for you and who you are as a person and just all the things that you have done for our community.

Thank you, Brigid. This is an amazing community. I am very blessed to be part of it with you and everyone else on our team and the amazing community that we have have here at the Being Bridget family. It is truly a blessing when you have people who have like minded goals coming together and supporting each other. It's really beautiful to see what can change.

I couldn't agree more. Thank you for tuning in to the Being Bridget show and we will see you next time.