If you're exhausted, gaining weight despite "doing everything right," or your energy crashes every afternoon... you're not broken. You're likely making one (or several) of these common hormone mistakes that keep your body stuck in survival mode.
After years of working with clients who felt completely defeated by their bodies, I've seen these same patterns over and over. The good news? Once you know what's working against you, you can start working with your body instead.
Let's dive into the seven biggest hormone mistakes, and more importantly, how to fix them naturally.
Mistake #1: Chronic Undereating (Even When You Think You're Eating "Enough")
You might think you're eating plenty, but if you're constantly dieting, skipping meals, or restricting calories "for health," your body interprets this as famine.
What happens: When you don't eat enough, your body goes into survival mode. It suppresses your thyroid, throws your blood sugar out of whack, messes with your sex hormones, and cranks up stress hormones like cortisol. Your metabolism slows to a crawl because your body thinks it needs to conserve energy.
The natural fix: Eat adequate calories with balanced meals that include protein, healthy fats, and yes, carbohydrates. Your body needs zinc, magnesium, B vitamins, iron, and copper to make hormones properly. You can't get these from a restrictive diet.
Stop counting calories and start nourishing yourself. If you're not sure what "enough" looks like, a good rule of thumb is eating until you feel satisfied, not stuffed or still hungry.
Mistake #2: Following Low-Carb or Keto Diets Long-Term
I know, I know... keto might have helped you lose weight initially. But here's the thing: every cell in your body runs on glucose, especially your liver, thyroid, and brain cells.
What happens: Long-term carb restriction raises cortisol levels and can suppress thyroid function. Your body starts breaking down muscle for glucose, your energy crashes, and your hormones go haywire. This is especially problematic if you're a menstruating woman.
The natural fix: Include quality carbohydrates in your daily eating. Think sweet potatoes, oats, fruits, and root vegetables. Carbs aren't the enemy, they're essential for hormone production, including insulin regulation and serotonin (your happy hormone).
Your brain alone uses about 120 grams of glucose daily. Don't starve it.
Mistake #3: Excessive Fasting Without Considering Your Hormone Cycle
Intermittent fasting can be helpful for some people, but many take it too far... especially women who are still cycling.
What happens: Extended fasting periods spike cortisol and disrupt insulin sensitivity. This leads to fat storage (particularly around your midsection), blood sugar swings, and disrupted sleep. If you're a woman, fasting can also mess with your menstrual cycle and fertility hormones.
The natural fix: If you want to try intermittent fasting, start gently. Try a 12-hour window (like eating between 8 AM and 8 PM) rather than extreme 16+ hour fasts. And listen to your body, if you're feeling cranky, exhausted, or your period goes missing, it's time to ease up.
Regular, balanced meals often work better for hormone balance than rigid fasting schedules.
Mistake #4: Over-Exercising Without Proper Recovery
Exercise is wonderful for your health... until it becomes another stressor your body can't recover from.
What happens: Intense workouts without adequate rest spike cortisol chronically. High cortisol disrupts estrogen and progesterone (crucial for healthy cycles and fertility), suppresses thyroid function, and actually makes it harder to lose weight or build muscle.
The natural fix: Balance is everything. Include rest days, gentle movement like walking or yoga, and make sure you're eating enough to fuel your workouts. Your body repairs and rebuilds during rest, not during the workout itself.
If you're exhausted after every workout or your performance is declining despite training harder, you're likely overdoing it.
Mistake #5: Treating Symptoms Instead of Root Causes
This might be the biggest mistake of all. You take supplements for low energy, medications for irregular periods, or try another "hormone balancing" product... but never ask why your hormones are imbalanced in the first place.
What happens: You end up on a supplement merry-go-round, spending money on band-aid solutions while the underlying issue continues to disrupt your system. Your symptoms might improve temporarily, then come back stronger.
The natural fix: Get curious about the why. Are you chronically stressed? Not sleeping enough? Exposed to toxins? Under-eating? Over-exercising? Dealing with gut issues?
Work with a practitioner who looks at the whole picture, not just your symptoms. Sometimes the "hormone issue" is actually a stress issue, or a gut issue, or a blood sugar issue in disguise.
Mistake #6: Ignoring Sleep and Stress Management
You know sleep is important, but you might not realize just how crucial it is for hormone balance. And stress? It's not just something to "manage", it's actively disrupting your entire endocrine system.
What happens: Poor sleep and chronic stress keep your nervous system in fight-or-flight mode. This elevates cortisol, disrupts growth hormone production, throws off hunger hormones (ghrelin and leptin), and suppresses thyroid function. You wake up tired, crave sugar all day, and can't lose weight no matter what you try.
The natural fix: Prioritize 7-9 hours of quality sleep like your hormones depend on it (because they do). Create a wind-down routine, keep your bedroom cool and dark, and avoid screens before bed.
For stress management, find what actually works for you, meditation, walks, boundaries with work, saying no to commitments that drain you. Stress management isn't selfish; it's essential for hormone health.
Mistake #7: Ignoring Environmental Toxins and Gut Health
This one flies under the radar, but everyday toxin exposure is a huge hormone disruptor that most people never consider.
What happens: Endocrine disruptors in skincare products, cleaning supplies, air fresheners, plastic food containers, and even "non-stick" cookware interfere with your body's hormone production and metabolism. Add in poor gut health, and your body can't properly eliminate excess hormones, leading to estrogen dominance and other imbalances.
The natural fix: Start small with swaps you can sustain:
- Use glass or stainless steel for food storage instead of plastic
- Choose natural cleaning products or make your own with vinegar and baking soda
- Read skincare ingredient labels and avoid parabens, phthalates, and synthetic fragrances
- Cook with stainless steel or cast iron instead of non-stick pans
- Support your liver with adequate fiber and hydration for regular bowel movements
You don't need to overhaul everything overnight. Even small changes add up to big improvements in your hormone health over time.
The Bottom Line: Your Hormones Want to Be Balanced
Here's what I want you to remember: your body isn't working against you. It's responding to the signals you're giving it through food, movement, sleep, stress, and environment.
When you stop fighting your body and start supporting it... that's when the magic happens. Your energy returns. Your weight stabilizes. Your mood improves. Your body feels like yours again.
If you're ready to stop making these mistakes and start supporting your hormones naturally, you don't have to figure it out alone. At Elev8 Your Health, we specialize in helping people just like you find their way back to hormone balance through gentle, sustainable approaches that work with your body, not against it.
Ready to get started? Learn more about our hormone reset program and discover how we can support your journey back to feeling like yourself again.
Visit us here and book a consultation to create your personalized hormone balance plan.
Your body has been waiting for you to listen. Today's a great day to start.
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