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Vera Fertility Website

Follow Dr. Sarah Pederson on Instagram: @verafertility

Mari dives into women's hormone health with Dr. Sarah Pederson, an OB-GYN specializing in holistic fertility and hormone balance. They discuss the importance of nutrition, addressing period pain, PCOS, and fertility challenges through natural methods paired with Western medicine. The episode includes practical tips on diet, managing stress, and the significance of regular cycles for hormone balance.

00:00 Welcome to The Ever Be Podcast

01:06 Meet Dr. Sarah Peterson

02:09 Ever Be Moments: Personal Stories of Faith and Fertility

05:09 Understanding Hormone Balance

08:19 Daily Habits Affecting Hormones

18:08 Nutrition and Hormone Health

25:44 Regulating Blood Sugar for Hormone Health

28:12 Three Key Habits for Hormone Support

30:00 Understanding Fertility Basics

31:44 Tracking Your Cycle: What to Document

33:11 Concerns About Gluten-Free Diets

36:10 The Journey of Hormone Healing

38:21 Encouragement for Fertility Challenges

42:24 Ever Be Answers: Addressing Church and Character

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Follow Along:

Ever Be Podcast Instagram

Mari Wagner Instagram

West Coast Catholic Instagram

Hey, I am your host, Mari Wagner,

and you're listening to The Ever Be

2

Podcast where Faith Meets Lifestyle.

3

I'm so excited you're here.

4

Whether you're a new listener

or a longtime follower, I know

5

there's something here for you.

6

Pull up a chair and listen in for

insightful, real life conversations and

7

actionable steps on how to claim the.

8

Full life God created you for.

9

If you're a woman desiring to live

a Christ-centered life in today's

10

modern world, then this is for you.

11

Welcome to ever be.

12

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Welcome back to Ever Be Everybody.

13

Today we are gonna dive deep into women's

hormone health today, and it's gonna be

14

a conversation that I am super excited

to have and I think is so important.

15

We have a lovely guest here today, Dr.

16

Sarah Peterson.

17

She is an expert in helping women

balance their hormones, heal and support

18

their fertility, and I know that we're

gonna learn so, so much from her today.

19

So welcome Dr.

20

Sarah.

21

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Thank you so much.

22

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Can you

share a little bit about who you are?

23

What are you currently doing?

24

How did you get into this practice?

25

Give us some background info.

26

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yes, I am an OB GYN, and I have

27

a clinic called Vera Health and

Fertility, and I specialize in

28

holistic fertility and hormone balance.

29

So our whole focus is nutrition is the

cornerstone of everything that we do.

30

Let's really get to the root cause of

what's going on with your period pain.

31

Your PCOS, your hormone

imbalances, your fertility.

32

And try to heal your body as naturally

as possible with a combination of Western

33

medicine and our holistic approach.

34

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

That is beautiful.

35

I love that.

36

And that's why I was from the beginning,

attracted to your guys', um, practice.

37

'cause I'm always trying

to find that blend of both.

38

'cause I think there

is such beauty in both.

39

Um, so I love that that's the

perspective that you're coming from.

40

Um,

41

and Dr.

42

Sarah is Catholic, so I know that

faith plays a big role just in the

43

way that you approach your, your

patients and the way that you walk

44

alongside them, which is so beautiful.

45

Let's jump into ever be moments

and let's hear how is God

46

working in your life lately?

47

What is a little ever be

moment that you've had?

48

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

I think my favorite things of

49

all time are when people send me

their positive pregnancy tests.

50

It just brings me so much joy

and makes me so happy for them.

51

I had a patient recently who came to me.

52

She had failed two rounds of IVF.

53

She was kind of coming to me as

a last ditch effort, and we found

54

out that she had endometriosis and

she had something called people.

55

Pelvic venous congestion and she had

ureaplasma, just a lot of things going on,

56

lots of things that we needed to treat.

57

She had a horrible gut, like lots

of gut issues, and sometimes that

58

process can be super overwhelming.

59

And part of her faith journey is

that she went to Mego and had a,

60

you know, big healing experience.

61

And I think that is

also just a huge pillar.

62

I always say.

63

Spirituality and mentality is one of

the six pillars of hormone balance.

64

And we worked on all those things

and then she just told me that

65

she had a positive pregnancy test.

66

So it's just fun to

67

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Aw.

68

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

all the six pillars of hormone

69

balance come to fruition.

70

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

That is amazing.

71

That is so beautiful.

72

I love that your patients get to

share those moments with you too.

73

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yeah, it's best I've, I have

74

the best job in the world.

75

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: You do.

76

my ever be moment I thought

it was only fitting.

77

I would share something

kind of on topic here.

78

So, um, I've shared on my podcast before

that we've struggled with infertility

79

and it's been a journey that's full of

highs and lows as anybody who's gone

80

through anything like that, I'm sure.

81

can relate to and throughout our journey.

82

I've always found comfort and

strength in one certain Bible

83

verse that I always come back to.

84

It's Philippians four 13.

85

I can do all things through Christ who

strengthens me and every time I feel stuck

86

or sad or hopeless or nervous or there's

like a big thing I have to tackle, I like

87

always come back to that Bible verse.

88

And I just repeat it

like over and over again.

89

And it's been my anchor and I hadn't

like prayed with that Bible verse

90

or thought about it in a long time.

91

And then just recently, a few days ago,

I felt like overwhelmed and I just had

92

a hard day and it was just kind of down

about the whole process and everything.

93

And I was just in my head and I was

like, how am I supposed to keep going?

94

Like how am I supposed to keep waiting?

95

Like what do I have to

do for my body to heal?

96

Like how am I supposed to keep waiting?

97

And I have this little.

98

App on my phone that does like Bible

verses on the corner of your lock

99

screen on your phone, and I've had it on

there for a long time, but I feel like

100

after a while you kind of glaze over

it a little bit because you just like.

101

You see it every day and I just like

hadn't looked at it in a long time.

102

And literally immediately as I was

thinking those thoughts, my eyes went

103

to my lock screen and it lit up and

it showed that Bible verse on the

104

lock screen, Philippians four 13.

105

I can do all things through

Christ who strength things me.

106

So that was my moment this past week

where I was like, God is with us.

107

It's just a reminder.

108

God is listening.

109

God is with us through it all.

110

Um, and he gives us the strength

to get through all the trials.

111

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

For sure.

112

Yes.

113

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Okay, let's jump into the nitty

114

gritty of today's episode.

115

All the information, um,

let's just kick it off.

116

I feel like people are finally

talking about hormones and

117

learning about hormones, and you

hear the phrase hormone balance.

118

Being mentioned a lot now, at least

the world I'm in in social media, I

119

feel like there's been such a rise

in it the past few years of people

120

interested in like, what does that mean?

121

What is hormone balance?

122

And I know so many women wonder

like, what does that actually mean?

123

Does that apply to me?

124

Because sometimes we see things online and

we're like, does this relate to me or not?

125

What does hormone

balance really look like?

126

So can you just start out by

just setting a foundation for us?

127

What is hormone balance?

128

Why is it important?

129

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145: Yes.

130

I love that.

131

It's true.

132

The, the core is essential.

133

So my goals for you are that

you have a cycle every 24 to 35

134

days, and then it's very regular.

135

So if you have a 24 day cycle, you

wanna be somebody that has a 24, 26, 25.

136

You don't wanna be ping ponging

between 24 days, 30 days.

137

You don't wanna be skipping

cycles entirely and you don't

138

wanna be having short cycles.

139

So when we think about our ideal

cycle, you wanna start with

140

bright red flow on cycle day one.

141

You don't wanna have any brown

spotting before you start bleeding.

142

You don't wanna have any weird discharge,

you don't wanna have a lot of pain.

143

You can have a little bit of

cramping for one day, where you

144

have to take ibuprofen one time is

what we consider normal cramping.

145

But otherwise, when your period

starts, you should be able to function.

146

You should be able to live your life.

147

So your period starts,

you're able to function.

148

Your bleeding is a medium flow too.

149

Light can be a red flag,

too heavy can be a red flag.

150

So medium flow for three to

five days and then tapering off.

151

And then as you move into your ovulation

phase, you really should notice three

152

days of high quality cervical mucus.

153

You don't wanna have a cycle

where you're entirely dry.

154

Or a cycle where you have

mucus the entire time.

155

And then after we ovulate, we wanna

have a released a 10 day and ideally a

156

14 day luteal phase between the time we

ovulate and the time we get our period.

157

And you should be feeling excellent

every single day because sometimes

158

we normalize things as women like.

159

Oh, you're just PMSing.

160

Oh, you're super irritable.

161

Oh, you just have a menstrual migraine.

162

Like all of those things are huge

red flags for hormonal imbalances

163

or other things, and so you

really wanna be feeling amazing,

164

excellent, great energy, great mood.

165

Even in your luteal phase, you want

your period to happen as if you had no

166

idea it was just coming out of the blue.

167

That is what we consider

ideal hormone balance.

168

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Hmm, that's so good.

169

And I know from personal experience,

and I know so many women are probably

170

listening and they're like, wait, I

definitely have some of those symptoms.

171

And I thought it was totally normal

because I think what's what we see now?

172

Nowadays as so many symptoms are

labeled as normal, when really

173

they should just be labeled as

common, but not actually normal.

174

So can you tell us what are some

of these symptoms that are often

175

dismissed as normal, but are

actually good indicators that there's

176

A hormone imbalance happening?

177

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

A lot of us grew up, for example,

178

going to high school, having to miss

school, having to call out of school,

179

throwing up when we're on our period.

180

And some of our friends were doing

that too, and we thought it was normal.

181

But if you are a person who you and

your heating pad are best friends.

182

You and your ibuprofen are best friends.

183

You can't function when

you're on your period.

184

You literally have to plan

around your period because

185

it's such a heinous experience.

186

That's definitely not normal.

187

And there's usually a lot of contributing

factors like hormones is just one of

188

many things that we have to look at.

189

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

190

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

and PMS symptoms are a really big deal.

191

And then bleeding is another big deal.

192

So you really wanna have like a good

heavy flow, no odor, and you want

193

it to not be super heavy, not be

super light, and you do not wanna

194

be bleeding outside of your period.

195

Because sometimes I have patients who have

spotting mid-cycle all the time, and other

196

people have told them that it's normal.

197

only time you should bleed

is just on your period.

198

That's it.

199

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yes.

200

Great tips right there.

201

What daily habits do you feel like are

quietly harming women's hormones that

202

most people might not realize is actually

an issue and actually harming them?

203

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

My two kind of big that I have, little

204

soap boxes are sugar is huge because

sugar is a huge source of inflammation.

205

And what people don't realize is you

actually wanna keep your inflammation

206

really low in your body in order to

ovulate properly because your ovaries

207

are what literally makes hormones

and your ovaries also ovulate.

208

So if you're really inflamed,

it can contribute to a lot

209

of ovulation dysfunction.

210

Plus you don't want your fallopian

tubes to be inflamed because you want

211

the egg and the sperm to be able to

meet up and go down the fallopian tube.

212

And then you don't want your uterus to

be inflamed because you don't wanna have

213

a hostile environment for implantation.

214

So there's so many areas where we look

for inflammation and try to decrease it.

215

And then gut is another big one.

216

And a lot of the bad gut microbiomes that

we think about that are associated with

217

bloating and gas, those feed on sugar.

218

So there's a lot of reasons why I

really focus on sugar, especially

219

with relation to women's health.

220

But the really tough thing is, number

one, we're sneaking sugar into everything.

221

There's sugar in peanut butter.

222

There's sugar in ketchup.

223

There's sugar in spaghetti sauce.

224

And then number two, we're substituting

sugar for artificial sweetener,

225

which is just as bad for us.

226

'cause now we have soda with stevia

and everything has stevia or monk

227

fruit, or now we're getting sneaky.

228

And yes, glucose, erythritol, malitol.

229

There's so many sneaky and maltodextrin.

230

There's like a gazillion,

sneaky and hidden sugar,

231

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

232

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

it's really, really hard.

233

Marketing is so tough.

234

Sometimes they'll say sugar free, know

artificial sweeteners, and there's a lot

235

of artificial sweeteners on the back, and

so I really encourage people to just be

236

label readers, look at the back, make sure

you're not getting a ton of added sugar.

237

And then I also recommend

eating breakfast.

238

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yes,

239

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

240

now a breakfast person in 2026.

241

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yes.

242

That is a great piece of advice.

243

I can't function without breakfast.

244

I don't know how people do it, but,

245

I do have a lot of friends who

are like, I just eat like a

246

piece of toast and that's it.

247

Or like, I don't eat till lunch.

248

I'm like, how do you do that?

249

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Your body needs, it makes maximum cortisol

250

within one hour of waking up, and that's

when it's designed to have nourishment.

251

So we really wanna be eating high quality

breakfast within one hour of waking up

252

because we need to nourish and feed our

body when it's designed to be nourished.

253

A lot of people wake up

and they're not hungry.

254

It's just you have to train

your body to be hungry.

255

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Totally, totally.

256

So we have sugar and breakfast

eating as two habits to improve

257

in less sugar and more breakfast.

258

Um, what else do you feel like

are factors that women in today's

259

age are encountering that are

secretly affecting their hormones?

260

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Just some of the basics are

261

actually just extremely important.

262

For example, vegetables are

huge because they have so many

263

antioxidants, so much fiber support

our gut health and vegetables is

264

where we get most of our B vitamins.

265

And B vitamins are the building

blocks to making hormones,

266

especially estrogen and progesterone.

267

So when we think about.

268

Our vegetable audit, just we, I really

encourage people to be eating at

269

least three to six vegetables a day.

270

sometimes it's just those little habits.

271

I think a lot of times in our world

we hear about keto and gluten-free

272

and paleo and intermittent fasting

and we tend to be very restrictive.

273

But when it comes to hormones, you

actually really wanna be very nourishing.

274

wanna think about things

that nourish your.

275

Not restrict or starve it, because when

our body's restricted in starving and

276

it's in starvation mode, we hold onto

weight, we don't make hormones because

277

our body only makes hormones when we're

safe and nourished and not stressed.

278

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yep.

279

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

really encourage, encourage you to think

280

about being nourished like lots of meat,

lots of veggies, lots of fruit, lots of

281

protein instead of being restrictive.

282

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yeah.

283

No, I love that and I think touching

on stress is an important thing too.

284

I've definitely heard stress

is like something that is so.

285

Again, common nowadays, everybody's

busy, everybody's schedules are

286

packed, everybody's workload is

heavy, and stress is a big thing

287

that also affects their hormones.

288

Um, the other thing that I have

learned a lot about too is, um,

289

toxins in our products, which I know

that you've talked about before too.

290

Do you have any thoughts on either

of those two, like stressful

291

lifestyle toxins in your products?

292

Does that, do you feel like

that actually affects hormones?

293

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yes, and we actually measure toxins.

294

We do a test to see what your toxic

load is, because the biggest thing that

295

I see contribute is sometimes people

have really low hormones or they have

296

ovulation dysfunction, and there can be

toxins that are associated with that.

297

But it's definitely helpful to test

because sometimes when we think about

298

toxins, we just don't know where to start.

299

You think, can I eat this?

300

Can I drink this?

301

Do I have to go organic?

302

So sometimes it's kind of nice to know

where you are because if you have a

303

zero toxin load, then you're good.

304

Like what you're doing is good.

305

But if your toxins are high, then yes, we

need to look at are you having a lot of

306

vegetables that have pesticides in them?

307

Are the things that you putting

on your skin have microplastics?

308

Are you consuming anything

that's giving you heavy metals?

309

So that can, that's helpful in general

just to not be doing those things.

310

But it's also helpful to test, so

you know, how deep down you need to

311

go as far as getting rid of toxins,

312

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Yeah, no, absolutely.

313

Mm-hmm.

314

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

stress is.

315

there's six pillars of hormone balance

that I think are super important.

316

Diet, sleep, stress, exercise,

weight, spirituality, and mentality.

317

So stress is literally one of the

six pillars of hormone balance.

318

So we need to make cortisol.

319

We make cortisol in the morning, and then

our cortisol level decreases over time.

320

However, if her cortisol levels are

just super, super high all day long, it

321

will suppress your hormone production.

322

You'll see that your hormones are lower.

323

I think stress is really hard though,

because sometimes either in hormone

324

journey or infertility journey, a lot of

times we say, oh, don't worry about it.

325

Don't stress.

326

Like if you don't stress, it

will happen, which is totally

327

unhelpful because we are going to.

328

Stress like we are.

329

The fertility journey is super stressful.

330

Getting your period is

really, really hard.

331

The two week wait is extremely anxiety

provoking, seeing everybody get

332

pregnant on Instagram, get pregnant.

333

It just causes tons of stress.

334

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

335

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

you have to stress a little bit

336

how you think about hunger, like.

337

How do you plan your day

so that you're not hungry?

338

Do you need to prep your breakfast?

339

Do you need to prep your lunch?

340

Do you need to have a

certain amount of protein?

341

Like what do you need to do to

prevent yourself from getting hangry?

342

And try to anticipate that a little bit.

343

Like, yeah, are we gonna be hungry?

344

Yes.

345

Sometimes we just are gonna

be hungry, like our life gets.

346

Busy and then there's like healthy

things that we can choose, or unhealthy

347

things we can choose when we're hungry.

348

Stress is a little bit like that.

349

Like yes, in the two week wait you will

be stressed, like you just will, right?

350

If you have tons of work going on and

you're trying to plan for Christmas,

351

like you are gonna be stressed.

352

So as much as we can plan.

353

Head plan for that.

354

Plan, healthy foods, plan, sleep.

355

Know what our bodies need.

356

Like is this a time where you need

to pull back on your social things?

357

Is this a time where you do need to

reach out to your friends because you

358

need a little bit more extra support?

359

Like in the time of stress?

360

How are you gonna manage that?

361

And then when you are stressed, you wanna

have literal healthy things that you

362

can do to bring your stress level down.

363

Instead of, you know, obviously there's

unhealthy things, but like, okay,

364

if you're feeling really stressed,

what's your stress action plan?

365

What are the things that you need to do

to help you in the moment so it's not

366

overwhelming you in a way where it's going

to impact your life and your fertility?

367

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Yeah, that's super wise.

368

Yeah, I love that.

369

And it's so true, like people are

often saying like, as soon as you

370

relax, I'm sure you'll get pregnant.

371

Like as soon as you stop stressing.

372

And I always, I always compare

it to like, you try telling A

373

mom to not worry about her kids.

374

She's always gonna worry about her kids.

375

Mom's always gonna be worried

about her kids' wellbeing, her

376

kids' safety, all that stuff.

377

Right.

378

And so It's, like moms can't just

not worry and like soon to be

379

moms also can't just not worry.

380

Like it's just part of the process.

381

Just part of the process.

382

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yeah, and it's important to

383

identify that and know what

you need during that journey.

384

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Absolutely.

385

So you've touched on it a little bit,

but I know that you are super big on

386

supporting your hormones naturally,

especially with nutrition, and that's

387

like a foundation of how you approach it.

388

Can you share what are the most

important ways nutrition supports

389

healthy hormones and fertility?

390

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yeah, nutrition is my favorite because

391

it's such a cornerstone of health.

392

I have so many patients like,

yes, I use lots of medications.

393

I do surgery and things like that,

but no matter what, we're not

394

gonna be able to heal you unless

we really focus on your nutrition.

395

So some of the core

things that I recommend.

396

You wanna eat breakfast within an

hour of waking up, and most women need

397

about 60 to 80 grams of protein a day.

398

It's a little bit personalized.

399

For example, if you work out really hard

or you're trying to build a lot of muscle

400

mass are going to need more protein.

401

But on average you need about

20 grams of protein a meal,

402

and then a high protein snack.

403

And then women, we do need carbohydrates.

404

You just wanna have high quality grains

that have a high fiber to carbohydrate

405

ratio as opposed to low quality grains.

406

So we don't wanna be doing white rice.

407

White bread, we wanna be doing brown rice,

you know, all kinds of different ancient

408

grain bread, spelt, buckwheat, iron,

corn, lots of seeds, things like that.

409

And then diversity is huge.

410

If we can be doing lots of different

types of vegetables, lots of different

411

types of nuts, seeds, things like that.

412

And that stuff is just really important

to get into your daily habits all

413

the time because it's easy to go to

sprouts, buy seven different types of

414

seeds, and then they all sit in our

pantry and we don't actually eat them.

415

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

416

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

really just wanna keep your routine

417

stable and sometimes all this stuff

can be really, really overwhelming

418

and it's helpful to just start

with a couple basic principles.

419

Like every meal, I'm gonna eat breakfast

every morning I'm gonna have 20 grams

420

of protein and two veggies every meal.

421

Like if it's too overwhelming to do,

like worry about being organic and all

422

this stuff, just start with the basics.

423

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

424

Yeah, I love that.

425

And something that I've done is

trying to focus on different things

426

per month, because I think at the

beginning of our journey I was

427

like, oh my gosh, I have to do.

428

All of these different things.

429

And then I just ended up basically

doing nothing for months.

430

'cause I was like, if I can't, and

that's just my personality, right?

431

I'm like, if I can't do it all, I'm not

gonna do anything at all because I'm

432

just gonna like do it like not as good.

433

And So then I was like, okay, I

need to just take it like month by

434

month and like add one new habit

or one new practice at a time.

435

So if that's helpful to anybody, take

that and run with it and let yourself

436

just focus on one new habit at a time

and then build that month to month.

437

Um, I'm glad you mentioned protein.

438

That is another thing that I.

439

Like we're seeing a huge uptick just

in our culture talking about it.

440

Like all of a sudden, like

everyone is aware about how

441

important protein is, so how much.

442

You, you, you mentioned 60 to

80 grams of protein is what

443

might be helpful for women.

444

Um, what are your

favorite protein sources?

445

Because I think sometimes it's hard

for women to like meet those high

446

protein goals, and I know for myself,

I only really like one egg in the

447

morning, max too, on a good day.

448

So I'm like, how am I supposed

to do this during the day?

449

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yes, it, it is hard to

450

get that much protein in.

451

two sources of protein are

gonna be meat and plants.

452

For people who don't eat meat, then you

obviously really have to focus on plants.

453

But it does help to know what kind

of foods have protein in them 'cause

454

then you can diversify a little bit.

455

'Cause one egg has about five

grams of protein, if you're like,

456

I'm definitely not gonna have.

457

Four eggs every morning.

458

Things that you wanna do are

beans, are huge for protein.

459

Cheese is huge, like one slice of

cheese has six grams of protein.

460

So if you're a body that can tolerate

dairy, all forms of dairy can be helpful.

461

One serving of milk has

nine grams of protein.

462

and then one serving of peanut

butter has three grams of protein.

463

So helping get a little bit diverse.

464

Protein sources can be great.

465

Like for breakfast, if you

wanna do, if you need to mix it

466

up, you can do cottage cheese.

467

Full fat plain Greek yogurt,

breakfast sausage, bacon, eggs,

468

beans, cheese, quinoa is a big one.

469

That's probably not everyone's favorite

breakfast food, but a serving of

470

quinoa almost has 20 grams of protein.

471

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Wow.

472

I didn't know that.

473

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Mm-hmm.

474

Yeah, and so being like throwing some

quinoa on a salad, alternating between

475

like tofu has protein in it, beans

has protein, so alternating between

476

a lot of those different things.

477

And then meat is just the easiest

way to get a lot of protein.

478

So one chicken breast

has 20 grams of protein.

479

One filet of salmon has

20 grams of protein.

480

So even just making it.

481

Couple slices of chicken breast,

some quinoa, throw some vegetables

482

on there, throw some seeds, nuts.

483

It diversifying that protein gets you

there faster if you're feeling a bit

484

overwhelmed by having to eat 20 grams.

485

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yeah.

486

Ab,

487

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

big hacks are you can do protein powder.

488

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: yeah.

489

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

my big thing about protein is that you

490

wanna get it from an actual source.

491

I call it a primal diet.

492

All cheese should come from an animal.

493

All meat should come from an animal.

494

Like you just want it to come from

a plant or something that, you know

495

what it is, because a huge fat is like

protein bars, protein shakes with a huge

496

bummer is that they'll have a ton of

additives and often a ton of added sugar.

497

for example, they'll market it

as a protein bar and it will

498

have 37 grams of carbohydrates

and only 15 grams of protein.

499

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Hmm.

500

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

you're just having a giant load

501

of carbs relative to your protein.

502

So I try to get people to stay

away from protein bars and protein

503

shakes and just, if you wanna

make it, just make it yourself.

504

Like use protein powder where

literally only ingredient is protein.

505

You can do pea protein, mung

bean protein, rice protein, or

506

just bovine collagen protein.

507

But your protein powder

shouldn't taste good.

508

when you blend up a chicken or

you blend up peas, you're not

509

thinking, oh, this tastes delicious.

510

Right?

511

Like, if your protein powder tastes

delicious, that's a red flag.

512

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

What protein powder do you recommend?

513

Do you have a brand that you

like or that you recommend?

514

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

So my two favorite brands, I really

515

like vile proteins because they

have grass fed bovine collagen, and

516

you can get it at Costco, so you

can get it in a really big volume.

517

then for plant-based protein,

there's a company called Truvia

518

that makes an unflavored protein,

and they do a combination of

519

pumpkin seeds, pea and rice.

520

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Is it truly unflavored?

521

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yeah, but it's unflavored.

522

Like you don't wanna eat it by

itself because it will taste gross.

523

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yeah.

524

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

525

I've just, I feel like I've had some

unflavored things, but you can like

526

still taste something funky going on.

527

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

I mean, it is pea protein,

528

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yeah.

529

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

up peas, they do not taste good

530

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yeah.

531

Absolutely.

532

Have you heard of, um, Quip protein?

533

I've heard great things about that.

534

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

I'll have to look it up.

535

I

536

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

I will send you the link.

537

I've heard great things about it,

and I believe the only ingredient

538

is like grass fed something meat.

539

Like I know it's like literally

from cows and so it's always like,

540

how is this ever gonna taste?

541

Good.

542

Okay.

543

But it does taste fine.

544

So now I'm like, maybe this is a

red flag because I can tolerate

545

it in my shake in the morning.

546

Um, but I'll send you the

link to have you vet it.

547

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

But bovine collagen, it

548

really doesn't have a taste.

549

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Okay.

550

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

I, my husband is very skeptical

551

about all things, and I had him put

it in his coffee and he literally

552

couldn't taste the difference.

553

Like, you can, if you want a

little hack, put a couple scoops

554

of collagen in your coffee and

you can, you can't even taste it.

555

You

556

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yeah.

557

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

it into other things.

558

Smoothies, yogurt, Gur.

559

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Absolutely.

560

Yes.

561

Great hawks to get your protein intake up.

562

Um, one other thing I know you're

big on that I'd love for you to touch

563

on is regulating your blood sugar.

564

'cause that's something that is like

relatively new that I've learned

565

in the past few months that I

didn't realize impacted hormones.

566

How, what is the relationship?

567

What do you have to share about that?

568

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yeah, , you really wanna keep

569

your blood sugar flat all day long

because you never want it to be low.

570

'cause if it's low and you're intermittent

fasting, or you've been working all

571

day long and you haven't been eating

lunch and you're super hangry, then

572

your blood sugar will get really low.

573

And then no matter what you put into

your body, your blood sugar will be high.

574

So it is really important to eat

consistently to keep your blood sugar

575

stable, and then principles that you

just wanna follow or think about.

576

We try to have a one-to-one

carb to protein ratio.

577

So if you're having 20 grams of

pasta, you wanna make sure you're

578

doing 20 grams of protein with that.

579

And the hard part about that sometimes is.

580

Like fruit and snacks.

581

So if you're gonna have an

apple as a snack, an apple

582

has about 10 grams of sugar.

583

So you've gotta eat 10 grams of

protein just to match or balance that.

584

So you wanna be doing a beef stick,

a cheese stick, something like that.

585

Most of the time women need four, three

to four hour fasting windows because

586

when we think about intermittent

fasting, like it is important to

587

fast, which means you really wanna

sit down and have a full actual meal

588

that sustains you and fills you up.

589

So you're not hungry

for three to four hours.

590

You don't wanna be the kind of person

where you're like, I'm just a snacker

591

and I'm snacking all day long.

592

That's really not good

for your blood sugar.

593

So we really want to eat meals that

have a lot of protein regularly,

594

like breakfast, lunch, dinner, and

if any of those meals are spaced out,

595

then definitely put a high protein

snack in there just to keep our blood

596

sugar stable and steady all day long.

597

Not too high, not too low.

598

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Amazing.

599

If people want to learn more about like

what spikes their blood sugar and how

600

to regulate it, what do you recommend?

601

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

There is a gal named the Glucose

602

Goddess who has an Instagram.

603

She's fantastic.

604

She writes two books, one's called

the Glucose Goddess and one's

605

called the Glucose Revolution.

606

And she just has really practical

tips and I love it because

607

I'm all about being practical.

608

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yeah.

609

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

said, if it's not you.

610

That you're gonna do.

611

If it's not in line with your vibe or

your vision, you're just not gonna do it.

612

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

613

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145: make

sure that what we're what you actually

614

are doing is practical for your life.

615

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Yeah, no, absolutely.

616

Let's, let's talk practical.

617

If women focus on just three habits

to support their hormones, what would

618

you recommend those three habits be?

619

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Vegetables, minimizing sugar,

620

diversifying food sources.

621

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Okay.

622

Talk a little bit about that.

623

What do you mean by that?

624

diversifying food sources.

625

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

So, for example, if you're just a

626

person that doesn't eat a lot of

seeds, every time you go to the

627

grocery store, just buy a new seed.

628

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Hmm.

629

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145: Try

630

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

631

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

vitamins you have, the easier your

632

body has the building blocks to

make estrogen and progesterone.

633

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Beautiful.

634

That.

635

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

you don't like it.

636

Don't force it down.

637

I really don't like kale.

638

Am I gonna eat every eat raw kale?

639

No.

640

I'll eat it baked, I'll

put it in a smoothie.

641

But to just force myself to eat kale

every day, I'm just not a kale person.

642

So I gotta either find a different

way to eat kale, like kale chips,

643

or just find some other green

vegetables that I like, like spinach.

644

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

645

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

have to know yourself.

646

Try different and see what works for you.

647

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Totally.

648

Yeah, I know chia seeds.

649

You mentioned chia seeds and I've,

I think they have like a good amount

650

of, or surprising amount of protein

in like one tablespoon, right?

651

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Chia seeds are amazing because they

652

have protein, fiber, and omega threes.

653

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yeah, But

sometimes I find it hard to eat like a,

654

like a whole tablespoon of, of chia seeds.

655

So I'll put it into my smoothie and

blend it up and then you don't even

656

taste it or anything, and you just like

ate a whole tablespoon of cheese seeds.

657

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yeah, and some people love the

658

crunch, like they like that texture.

659

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yeah.

660

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

661

Okay.

662

What is something that you wish every

woman knew about fertility before

663

she ever started trying to conceive?

664

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

I think it's important to

665

know the basics and I'd be

666

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: I.

667

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

red flags right away.

668

So you wanna.

669

Track your cycle.

670

Make sure you're getting a regular cycle.

671

Pay attention to your symptoms

in relation to your cycle.

672

Pay attention to your bleeding.

673

Pay attention to your cervical

mucus because, and it's never too

674

early to just check things and just

make sure things are looking okay.

675

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

676

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

your hormones checked, get an ultrasound.

677

Make sure your uterus is healthy.

678

Make sure your uterus lining is healthy.

679

Make sure your egg quality is healthy.

680

Make sure your ovaries are

healthy because the earlier you're

681

proactive about your health.

682

The, the easier it is, number one, to get

pregnant, but also I think in fertility

683

journey it's easy to have a sprint.

684

Like, oh, you know, we're gonna do

this for 60 days so that we can get you

685

pregnant, which of, of course our goal

is to get you pregnant, but equally as

686

important as we would, we just want you

to have like lifelong habits and lifelong

687

health, so you feel really good amazingly,

every single day, no matter what season.

688

It's whether you're really busy

at Christmas or you have this huge

689

deadline at work and not that work.

690

Like just ping ponging between different

diets and all kinds of different things

691

that we just have habits that we do every

single day to promote our hormone health

692

so that things don't go out of whack.

693

Because if you're a person who

has really sensitive hormones,

694

it's really easy to throw it off.

695

So then we're just constantly

like, okay, we threw up our

696

hormones, now we're rebuilding it.

697

So those habits that maintain our hormones

day in and day out are super important.

698

It's never too early to work on that.

699

And just know your own pro hormone profile

in your own metabolism and what it,

700

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

701

Absolutely.

702

You mentioned tracking your cycle,

and I know that a lot of women

703

just don't even know what that

looks like or what that means.

704

What are some ways that you

recommend women can do that?

705

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

at the very least I would

706

document when you bleed.

707

And then there's lots of things

that you can document beyond that.

708

But when you bleed is huge because

sometimes it's hard to remember.

709

We only have our period every month.

710

Sometimes it's hard to remember

when we had it, so you're

711

like, I think I'm regular.

712

But if we look at it, it's

actually not as regular as you

713

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

714

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

So any data you document is

715

actually really, really helpful.

716

the most important things that

are, that are really helpful are.

717

you bleed, how much you're bleeding, if

there was anything unique about that.

718

So any brown spotting, light, spotting any

cramps that you have, and then symptoms.

719

Did you have a headache?

720

Were you moody?

721

Were you irritable?

722

And cervical mucus, if

you're getting stretchy.

723

Clear cervical mucus.

724

That's obvious.

725

That's a glop on the toilet paper.

726

When you wipe.

727

Those are the kind of things that

you wanna write down because any

728

abnormalities in those things can be red

flags that we can work on right away.

729

And then you'll kind of get the sense,

'cause you really wanna know your body.

730

You wanna know, okay, when, when

should I be getting my period?

731

When should I be ovulating?

732

Because then you can self-identify

if there's any red flags right

733

away, if something is wrong.

734

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

735

Yeah, absolutely are there any

trends in women's health right

736

now that you feel are concerning?

737

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

I get really nervous about people

738

going when they go gluten free because

it's just very popular right now.

739

However.

740

You should only be gluten-free

if you need to be gluten-free.

741

So if you're a person, you eat gluten

and you feel horrible, then yes,

742

absolutely you should be gluten-free.

743

But if you can tolerate gluten,

it's important to have a variety

744

of food because if you look at

all the gluten-free things out

745

there, they all have rice flour.

746

Almond flour, and tiny yoga starch.

747

Like you can eat a bunch of gluten-free

muffins that are horrible for you.

748

They have no nutritional value.

749

I get nervous when people go

gluten-free because, and they're eating

750

a lot of low quality carbohydrates.

751

If you need to be gluten-free, you need to

focus on high quality, gluten-free grains.

752

But those are weird things like iron,

corn, buckwheat, millet, amerin.

753

It's not things that you've always heard

of every single day, so it's kind of hard

754

to be gluten free and get enough grain.

755

Because I'd rather that you eat gluten

than you eat high quality grains and that

756

you go gluten-free and you eat really

low quality, gluten-free food you still

757

have to maintain those principles that

you still wanna have a one-to-one carb

758

to protein ratio and things like that.

759

So

760

It's just really important to know

your body and know what it needs,

761

because there's a lot of fads, a lot

of trends out there, and that might

762

be good for you and it might not.

763

Like, yes, if it is

good for you to gluten.

764

You'll know because you'll feel amazing,

but if your body can tolerate gluten,

765

it's actually good to eat gluten

because you need the B vitamins in

766

whole brains like B one, B six and

B seven in order to make estrogen.

767

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: But

that's coming just from those good

768

quality greens like you're saying,

769

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Mm-hmm.

770

Mm-hmm.

771

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: which.

772

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

because certain vitamins come

773

from really specific sources.

774

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Yeah, yeah, totally.

775

I will say those are so tricky

to find, and I tried to bake

776

this summer with iron corn flour.

777

I tried to make a bread with iron corn

flour, and it came out of the oven.

778

Oh my gosh, so bad.

779

It came out of the oven looking

like a flat bread, and I was

780

like, maybe we just won't do this.

781

So it's definitely a learning curve.

782

Anybody out there that wants

to burn their sourdough.

783

Um,

784

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

I, I recommend half bucky, half corn

785

because gives it a little more of

that airy breathiness where corn is

786

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: okay.

787

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

more dense.

788

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Okay.

789

Awesome.

790

That's great advice.

791

I'm definitely gonna try that.

792

Um.

793

Okay, perfect.

794

Perfect.

795

Yeah.

796

'cause sourdough like used to be my thing.

797

And then you went on your whole

sourdough soapbox and I was like,

798

all right, we're gonna ditch

the sourdough for a little bit.

799

And so then I'm like,

I'm gonna do iron corn.

800

And then I tried it one time and I

was like, I am not gonna do iron corn.

801

So now we gotta do the mix.

802

We'll try it with the

buckwheat and see how it goes.

803

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yeah.

804

Yeah.

805

Go back to the lab.

806

You gotta run a few

more experiments on it.

807

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Yes, absolutely.

808

Okay.

809

How long does hormone healing

actually take, and what does

810

patients look like in this process?

811

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Usually it takes about

812

three to six months.

813

The hard thing about women is that it

takes us a whole month to have our period.

814

So it takes a whole month just to learn,

but the more data that you have, the a

815

little bit more aggressive you can be.

816

So if you're tracking your hormones,

you're doing a urinary monitor, you're

817

tracking your temperature on Aura, you're.

818

Tracking your cervical mucus and

your bleeding and your symptoms, it's

819

really helpful to say, okay, what

were the problems from this cycle?

820

What do we need to fix for the next cycle

so we can be, have a little bit more data,

821

be a little bit more aggressive about it?

822

Sometimes you can balance your

hormones faster, but also just

823

depends where you're coming from.

824

If you're coming from a place where

you've had your hormones imbalance for

825

a long time, it'll take a bit longer

826

Just know that there's a light

at the end of the tunnel.

827

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Good.

828

Yes, absolutely.

829

Can you share a little bit about how

like each cycle compounds on each other?

830

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yes, it takes 90 days for your body

831

to recruit an egg because you're born

with all the eggs that you ever have.

832

It's kind of a.

833

thing about women, like we're

literally born with all the

834

eggs that we're ever gonna have.

835

However, there's a whole maturation

process that goes on in order

836

to get that egg to ovulate.

837

So every month your body picks

certain follicles to get ready.

838

It's almost like they're

in the back chamber.

839

And then every month your body

will pick one of those follicles

840

to become the dominant foll.

841

But those follicles that are in

the chamber ready to become the

842

dominant follicle, they started

getting recruited three months ago.

843

So month over month, over month,

especially three months in a row of

844

hormone balance, really sets you up for

success, for future healthy hormones

845

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

Absolutely.

846

And that's really good to hear.

847

'cause I know that anybody going through

this process, right, and if you've been

848

in a journey of trying to heal your

hormones or cure your, heal your fertility

849

for a while, it can get frustrating.

850

And you're just like, I can't

see the progress visually.

851

And you get impatient.

852

And so knowing, you know,

thinking that like what I do now.

853

It doesn't just affect this cycle,

but it affects the next few cycles and

854

it's gonna affect the quality in the

next few cycles, I think is really, Um.

855

encouraging to hear what, as we wrap

up here, what last encouragement

856

would you wanna offer women

who maybe feel discouraged or

857

frustrated in their fertility or

hormone healing journey right now?

858

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Yes, a hundred percent.

859

I think one thing that's important

to know is that there are seasons

860

of everything you have to.

861

Realize that if you're struggling

with fertility, that is a season and

862

it can be a constant kind of grief.

863

so you really have to understand

and know yourself and know

864

what you need in that season.

865

Like what nourishes you, what

keeps you happy, what keeps

866

you going, what motivates you?

867

When can you have a lot of

momentum when you need time to be

868

a little bit more introspective?

869

Because you are gonna have

those times of grief and you're

870

gonna have those times of hope.

871

So just knowing that that's a season

and you might need to something

872

different in that season in your

life than other seasons is really.

873

Helpful you're right, sometimes when your

period comes and you're like, nothing

874

I'm doing is working, even though you've

done all of these beneficial things, it's

875

helpful to have other markers to kind of

pay attention to other than pregnancy.

876

And some of that can be like fitness

goals, sleep goals, nutrition goals,

877

energy goals, because it's really

important to be able to look at

878

your progress and look at your win.

879

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

880

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Like if you're wanting to focus on your

881

sleep, you're like, okay, I'm gonna

get to bed at 10 o'clock every single

882

night, and that's gonna be my goal.

883

Like maybe you're not pregnant, but now

you have more energy, you feel better.

884

Like all of those little things,

you're totally right, adds up

885

to help your fertility even if

you don't see it right away.

886

So it's helpful to have.

887

Other goals that motivate

you and make you feel good.

888

Like maybe you wanna sign up for a half

marathon that you've never signed up for.

889

Maybe you wanna have an accountability

group and text all your friends

890

and make sure they're all eating

breakfast as a way of bonding.

891

You know, just things like that.

892

So you can little tiny things that

give you joy, bring you happiness,

893

actually make you healthier, and make

you feel great on the road to fertility.

894

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146:

I love that.

895

That's really good advice.

896

One thing I would add to that's

been helpful for me personally

897

is doing seasonal bucket lists.

898

I think like as the seasons

change, you kind of, at least I do.

899

Think of like, wow, like I'm

entering, you know, another holiday

900

season without a baby in my arms.

901

And it can be really overwhelming

to be like, oh, it's another new

902

year or another summer where I

thought we'd have a baby on vacation.

903

Right?

904

You just like think of these

like seasonal milestones.

905

And so I've made different like, um,

seasonal bucket list where I'm like,

906

okay, winter can be hard sometimes.

907

Like what are some fun things

that I wanna do this winter and.

908

Actually put them on the calendar, like,

okay, I wanna make gingerbread houses

909

with my girlfriends, or we're gonna go

see Christmas lights or watch a Christmas

910

movie date night with my husband.

911

And then it's kind of just adds like

fun activities to, to your life and

912

that season and brings a little bit

of joy in the midst of the hardship.

913

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

I love that.

914

Yeah.

915

It's so important to have things that

make you happy, keep you healthy,

916

bring you joy in the journey.

917

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Mm-hmm.

918

Absolutely.

919

Well, that is, uh, our time here.

920

Thank you so much for joining us, Dr.

921

Sarah today.

922

I really hope that people were

taking notes because we covered

923

a lot of good information that

I know are gonna be so helpful.

924

A lot of practical tips.

925

Um, tell us more.

926

Where can our listeners learn more

about you or follow you or get

927

connected with everything you do?

928

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145: Yes.

929

Our website is vera fertility.com.

930

We have a clinic that specializes

in holistic fertility and hormone

931

balance here in Denver, Colorado.

932

And then you can follow us on Instagram

at Vera Fertility or on TikTok if

933

you just want some daily little tips

similar to what we talked about today.

934

mari-wagner_1_12-18-2025_153146: Yes.

935

I'll say I've been following along with

the Daily tips and they are very helpful,

936

so highly recommend giving them a follow.

937

We'll make sure to link all of that in

the show notes so people can, can find it.

938

Thanks.

939

so much for joining us today, Dr.

940

Sarah.

941

squadcaster-2h10_1_12-18-2025_153145:

Thank you.

942

Uh, it's such a joy.

943

squadcaster-98g2_2_01-21-2026_083147:

Okay.

944

Now moving into Ever Be Answers, I

brought Trey on today for this segment.

945

Hey, and we're gonna give you a little

taste of what our after parties are like,

946

because Trey comes on every week after my

regular episode and we do our little after

947

party for our Kingdom Club community.

948

So we go over the questions that

our Kingdom Club asks and just

949

share a little bit about like.

950

Our life.

951

Just like a little life update,

like what we did that week or

952

what stood out to us or so.

953

And you get to hear from me

again, which the people love.

954

Trey, the people love hearing from you.

955

All right.

956

Let's get into ever be answers.

957

Yes.

958

Okay.

959

So the question for ever be answers

today is, how would you and Trey

960

respond to someone who says, just

because you go to church every Sunday

961

or go to church in general, doesn't

make you a good person or some.

962

Of the most vile people I know are

religious people who go to church

963

and post about Bible scriptures.

964

Have y'all ever been

told something like that?

965

If not, how would you

respond to those comments?

966

I've been seeing a lot of these

comments on TikTok lately.

967

You know, I would just say you're

right, like yeah, that's true.

968

Just because you go to church on

Sunday or go to church at all does

969

not mean you're a good person.

970

Yeah.

971

Or just because you label

yourself Christian doesn't.

972

Automatically make you a good person

just or for that sake, even a Christian,

973

just because you call yourself one.

974

Yeah.

975

Isn't that what you just said?

976

No.

977

Like if you call yourself a Christian,

that doesn't make you a good person.

978

Yeah.

979

But in addition to that, just because

you call yourself Christian, you

980

have that label, it doesn't actually

like make you a Christian either.

981

Oh, true.

982

Absolutely.

983

And like just because you share

Bible verses or have a Bible

984

verse on your Instagram bio

also doesn't just automatically.

985

Make you a good person.

986

Yeah.

987

So, yeah, there is truth to that.

988

And so I would just respond.

989

Right?

990

'cause what they're trying to

do is basically trying to just,

991

they're trying to bait you.

992

They're trying to rage ba you Yeah.

993

They're trying to, they're trying

to bait you into being like,

994

not all Christians are good.

995

Don't, you know?

996

Clearly there's like hurt in their

life and in their heart, clearly

997

they've been hurt by other Christians.

998

Yeah.

999

And the reality, right,

is that I feel like.

00:44:36,475 --> 00:44:42,145

The world likes to put Christians

in a box and be like, well,

00:44:42,145 --> 00:44:43,255

because you follow Jesus.

00:44:43,255 --> 00:44:44,875

You're supposed to be perfect.

00:44:45,115 --> 00:44:48,805

Like you are supposed to be like

the best people on the planet,

00:44:48,805 --> 00:44:50,215

which like yeah, is true, right?

00:44:50,215 --> 00:44:54,115

Like we should, if we're followers

of Christ, like we should genuinely

00:44:54,295 --> 00:44:57,145

like radiate Christ's love, however.

00:44:58,345 --> 00:44:59,815

We are broken humans.

00:44:59,845 --> 00:44:59,935

Mm-hmm.

00:45:00,655 --> 00:45:05,125

And so the expectation is that

we are going to be imperfect.

00:45:05,245 --> 00:45:09,325

And like Trey said, just because you

have the label does not mean that

00:45:09,325 --> 00:45:11,935

you are automatically a good person.

00:45:12,047 --> 00:45:12,557

And.

00:45:13,187 --> 00:45:16,697

I think we try as humans to

make things black and white.

00:45:16,697 --> 00:45:20,537

It's like easier for our brain to

understand the world in black and

00:45:20,537 --> 00:45:25,757

white right and wrong because it's

more difficult and challenging to give

00:45:25,757 --> 00:45:31,557

grace, to be forgiving, to like love

within the messy and our brain and like.

00:45:32,087 --> 00:45:34,247

It's easier, the path of least resistance.

00:45:34,247 --> 00:45:37,217

It's often easier to just like

write people off or say yes

00:45:37,217 --> 00:45:38,177

or no, or black and white.

00:45:38,177 --> 00:45:43,127

And so these people that are, you

know, ba doing this rage baiting and

00:45:43,127 --> 00:45:47,357

like saying that, you know, Christians

are bad people or just because you're

00:45:47,357 --> 00:45:51,887

Christian doesn't make you good like

that, that's just an overgeneralization.

00:45:51,887 --> 00:45:52,822

And I mean.

00:45:53,507 --> 00:45:56,657

It's just the result of woundedness

and being hurt by Christians and

00:45:56,867 --> 00:45:58,877

experiencing hypocrisy within the church.

00:45:59,297 --> 00:46:03,317

And so, I mean, like, it's

just an angry comment.

00:46:03,322 --> 00:46:03,392

Yeah.

00:46:03,392 --> 00:46:04,607

So like, it's just an angry comment.

00:46:04,607 --> 00:46:07,787

'cause you could literally say like,

just because you're not Christian

00:46:08,297 --> 00:46:10,037

doesn't mean you're a bad person.

00:46:10,757 --> 00:46:10,967

Yeah.

00:46:10,997 --> 00:46:11,387

Right.

00:46:11,387 --> 00:46:11,667

Like mm-hmm.

00:46:11,717 --> 00:46:14,777

You could, you could say the

opposite and be like, just literally,

00:46:14,777 --> 00:46:16,967

because you're not Christian,

you don't follow Jesus doesn't

00:46:16,967 --> 00:46:18,407

automatically make you a bad person.

00:46:18,407 --> 00:46:19,577

And that's true too.

00:46:19,847 --> 00:46:20,147

Right?

00:46:20,147 --> 00:46:21,272

And, and we know it's like.

00:46:21,985 --> 00:46:25,555

You have to live what you believe.

00:46:25,555 --> 00:46:29,725

And I think that there is, you know, I

mean, everybody can be guilty of this,

00:46:29,725 --> 00:46:33,415

and I know I've been guilty of this, of

like living like hypocritically of like

00:46:33,445 --> 00:46:37,495

what I say or what I think I believe,

and then I'm not actually living that.

00:46:37,495 --> 00:46:40,375

And so it's, I think when, when

you're confronted with this or if

00:46:40,375 --> 00:46:42,745

somebody says this to you, it's good.

00:46:42,805 --> 00:46:44,185

It's like good, to be honest with your.

00:46:44,905 --> 00:46:48,625

Have humility and be like, yeah,

like there are times that I'm

00:46:48,625 --> 00:46:51,985

not living like Christ and, and

I am broken and I am falling.

00:46:51,985 --> 00:46:56,845

And, um, but I think the point is not

to like get into this like really kinda

00:46:56,845 --> 00:47:00,025

ridiculous argument about, to me it's just

kind of a waste of time in the comments.

00:47:00,085 --> 00:47:00,505

Right.

00:47:00,805 --> 00:47:04,465

But if it's like being confronted

like face to face Yeah.

00:47:04,705 --> 00:47:07,165

Then it's, it's having the humility

to be like, yeah, you're right.

00:47:07,165 --> 00:47:08,065

Like people are broken.

00:47:08,065 --> 00:47:10,735

Christians being Christian doesn't

make you a good person, but.

00:47:11,095 --> 00:47:12,835

Like, being Christian doesn't

make you any less human.

00:47:13,375 --> 00:47:13,765

Right.

00:47:14,245 --> 00:47:18,805

But we're like still striving and

trying to live with Christ in our

00:47:18,805 --> 00:47:22,495

life and live with love and, um, you

know, ultimately live for heaven.

00:47:22,495 --> 00:47:26,155

And, and like all the things that,

you know, from the commandments in

00:47:26,155 --> 00:47:29,595

the Old Testament to like , what

Jesus is saying and the Sermon on the

00:47:29,595 --> 00:47:31,990

Mount and the Beatitudes, like mm-hmm.

00:47:32,145 --> 00:47:33,405

That is what we're called to live.

00:47:33,410 --> 00:47:33,510

Mm-hmm.

00:47:33,705 --> 00:47:37,605

And we're, we're I as Christians,

we should be trying to do that.

00:47:37,605 --> 00:47:39,555

And I mean, I think if

you're doing it well.

00:47:40,335 --> 00:47:43,155

You are a good person and if you're

living the Christian life, well yep.

00:47:43,215 --> 00:47:43,905

You are a good person.

00:47:44,355 --> 00:47:44,535

Yep.

00:47:44,955 --> 00:47:49,455

So how would you respond specifically,

like to somebody who commented this on

00:47:49,455 --> 00:47:53,505

your TikTok, your Instagram dms, whatever.

00:47:54,075 --> 00:47:55,545

I would say yeah, that's true.

00:47:55,605 --> 00:47:58,035

Just because you go to church on

Sundays does not automatically

00:47:58,035 --> 00:47:59,385

make you a good person.

00:47:59,805 --> 00:48:03,705

And then Ty, in some of what Trey was

saying about like tying it back to your

00:48:03,705 --> 00:48:08,495

life and say, I, myself included, am

just a regular , broken human being,

00:48:08,885 --> 00:48:13,355

trying to do the best I can to follow

Christ and say something about like.

00:48:13,355 --> 00:48:16,835

Just because you're going to church

doesn't also mean that you're truly,

00:48:16,835 --> 00:48:21,305

actively like living a Christ-centered

life and following in Christ's ways.

00:48:21,845 --> 00:48:25,145

And the people who are truly

striving to do that, I do believe

00:48:25,145 --> 00:48:28,385

are genuinely striving in this world.

00:48:28,595 --> 00:48:30,575

You know, and kind of just

make that distinction and

00:48:30,575 --> 00:48:31,355

then just leave it at that.

00:48:31,355 --> 00:48:36,605

I honestly don't really give much

time to dumb comments because they're

00:48:36,605 --> 00:48:39,275

angry people on the internet that

aren't ready to receive what you

00:48:39,275 --> 00:48:41,405

have to say likely anyways, so yeah.

00:48:42,140 --> 00:48:43,760

All right, so.

00:48:45,305 --> 00:48:48,065

Now we'll transition to the after

party for those on the Kingdom Club.

00:48:48,065 --> 00:48:49,745

Now we'll transition to the after party.

00:48:49,745 --> 00:48:53,165

So if you wanna hear what we're gonna

chat about, we're gonna chat about

00:48:53,165 --> 00:48:56,855

any traditions from Trey's family

that we've adopted into our marriage,

00:48:57,185 --> 00:49:00,665

and any traditions from my family

that we've adopted into our marriage.

00:49:00,965 --> 00:49:02,555

And then we are also gonna be as.

00:49:02,675 --> 00:49:06,365

Answering from a Catholic perspective,

what guidance would you offer to an

00:49:06,365 --> 00:49:08,045

engaged couple preparing for marriage?

00:49:08,045 --> 00:49:11,495

When one partner is struggling with

a pornography addiction, how can

00:49:11,495 --> 00:49:14,945

the other partner heal from hurt

work towards forgiveness and protect

00:49:14,945 --> 00:49:18,275

their own emotional and spiritual

wellbeing during the engagement?

00:49:18,275 --> 00:49:20,675

And what concrete steps should

the partners struggling with

00:49:20,675 --> 00:49:22,655

pornography be taking before marriage?

00:49:22,955 --> 00:49:25,295

Is this a common issue

among couples today?

00:49:25,445 --> 00:49:26,675

And can a couple still.

00:49:27,470 --> 00:49:29,030

Healthy, faithful Catholic marriage.

00:49:29,390 --> 00:49:33,470

So we're really gonna get into it and

we'll catch you all at the after party.