Think weight is the only factor standing between you and pregnancy? There’s more to the story—and it starts with your stress and mindset.

In this powerful episode, Dr. Katie Wood sits down with Dr. Priyanka Venugopal, an OB-GYN turned weight-loss and mindset coach, to unpack the real impact of stress, cortisol, and inner dialogue on fertility. Whether you're navigating PCOS, obesity, or burnout from high-achieving motherhood, this conversation will open your eyes to a more compassionate and effective path forward.

In this episode you'll discover...

-How mindset and stress affect ovulation and hormone balance

-The truth about weight, fertility, and medications like Ozempic

-Three actionable tools to lower cortisol, lose weight naturally & support your fertility

Tune in now to learn how changing your mindset could be the key to weight loss, hormone balance, and finally getting pregnant—without burnout or shame.

🌟⁠Follow and connect with me on Instagram @the_wellness_pharmacist to fast-track your fertility so you can finally get and stay pregnant naturally!⁠

Connect with Dr. Priyanka:

-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/burnstressloseweight/

-Website: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/

-Freebie: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/hormones

-Podcast: Burn Stress Lose Weight

Finally Get Pregnant Naturally is your go-to TTC podcast for holistic fertility support to help you get pregnant naturally by addressing the root cause of unexplained infertility, secondary infertility, and recurrent miscarriage. Hosted by Dr. Katie Wood, a pharmacist and holistic fertility practitioner, this show offers natural fertility solutions for those on a fertility journey struggling to conceive, navigating miscarriage, or dealing with endometriosis, PCOS, low sperm count, or failed IUI or failed IVF. Whether you're trying to conceive, increase egg quality, optimizing sperm health, or healing after a miscarriage, each episode delivers practical guidance to support your fertility journey. Learn how to improve fertility, balance hormones, regulate your fertile window, and conceive naturally through root cause healing, emotional wellness, and mind-body tools—because true fertility starts from within.

DISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use it as medical advice to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. This podcast offers information to help the listener cooperate with physicians, mental health professionals or other healthcare providers in a mutual quest for optimal well-being. We advise listeners to carefully review and understand the ideas presented, and to consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having. Under no circumstances shall Pharm to Wellness LLC, any guests or contributors to the Rising into Mindful Motherhood podcast, or any employees, associates, or affiliates of Pharm to Wellness LLC be responsible for damages arising from the use of the podcast. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

In this episode, you'll discover how your mindset and inner dialogue could

2

be key underlying factors to you feeling

overstressed, struggling to lose those

3

extra pounds, or having a difficult time

in general on your fertility journey.

4

You'll also learn what hormones are

being affected when you're dealing with

5

chronic stress and extra weight, and

how that can impact your fertility.

6

Plus three simple actionable steps

for you to de-stress, lose weight, and

7

thrive on your fertility journey today.

8

Welcome to the finally Get

Pregnant Naturally Podcast.

9

The podcast helping women identify

the real reasons you haven't

10

conceived or stayed pregnant, so

you and your partner can finally

11

grow the family of your dreams.

12

I'm your host, Dr.

13

Katie Wood.

14

Let's dive in, shall we?

15

Katie: in this episode,

I'll be talking with Dr.

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Priyanka Venugopal, a board certified

OB GYN physician turned founder of

17

Burn Stress Lose Weight Coaching

for professional working moms.

18

And in today's episode we'll

be discussing the hormone

19

secrets you need to feel better

20

for fertility and wellness results.

21

So welcome Dr.

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Priyanka.

23

I am looking forward to

today's conversation.

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Thank

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Priyanka: you so much for having me.

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I'm so excited to be here.

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Katie: Yeah, so if you just wanna give us

just kind of like a really brief overview

28

of how you switch from being an OB GYN to

being a burn stress, lose weight, coach,

29

what did that journey look like there?

30

Because I know that that played a big

role in the coaching that you do today.

31

Priyanka: Absolutely.

32

Yeah.

33

If you, the way that I like to

describe the story, I never, I.

34

Intended to leave medicine.

35

I was not one of those OBGYNs

who was very burned out.

36

I really deeply have always loved what

I've done, and I always loved women's

37

health, but as I think many of us, our

stories are informed by our experiences.

38

And even the decision that I

made eventually to leave clinical

39

practice to do coaching was

informed by my own personal journey.

40

So if you had met me back in 2018,

you would've met a very overweight.

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Ob, GYN physician.

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So I was an expert in, in helping

women, with their health and with

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their hormones and with their,

with their bodies, head to toe.

44

But when it came to really incorporating

some of what I taught them into

45

my own life, I, I really felt like

there was a, a really big gap.

46

It's like I knew what to do in my head

logically, but somehow I couldn't do it

47

consistently and for a very long time.

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I thought I just wasn't disciplined

enough, or I don't have enough systems

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in place, or I don't have enough time.

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Or if my kids were better behaved or if

my husband was more supportive or, or,

51

or like I had a laundry list of reasons

that I thought was really my strategic, I.

52

Gap.

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And so for a long time, again,

like this is years and years into

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the making, I would, make a plan.

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I'm gonna count the po, I'm gonna count

the points on the calories, and I'm like,

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this is the year, this is the month.

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And I would, have some

success until inevitably.

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And a professional working mom,

real life would come in the way.

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I would go off track and

hence the rollercoaster ride.

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And it was back in 20 18,

20 19 that I stumbled onto a

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podcast very much like this.

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And I started to become aware of and

understand the impact of our mindset

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and our perspectives and our thoughts

about our time, our kids, our partners,

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our jobs, our responsibilities, and.

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I think a light bulb went on for me.

66

In my mind, I had no, I, it was

never a discipline problem, but the

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way that I was thinking about my

life really was my biggest obstacle.

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So that was when I really dove

into, I went down the rabbit

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hole of this coaching podcast.

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I listened to every single episode.

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I started feeling really so

much more empowered in that I

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invested in coaching myself.

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And that was where I did a lot of my own.

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I went through the journey of changing

my relationship with food, with snacking

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and grazing and the glasses of wine

that I would have to take a break.

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I changed my, completely

changed my experience as a mom.

77

I.

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At the time, my kids were three and a

half and only six months old, and I had

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a lot of thoughts about being a mom and

being a physician and the life that I was

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living, and it's so fascinating how they

literally, my children did not change

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because they cannot change at that age.

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But me changing my.

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Perspectives about the life I was living

deeply transformed my experience of them.

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And it ex, it changed how I was showing

up in the workplace as a physician.

85

And I think for me, what started

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moving into 2020, I decided to get

certified as a life coach myself,

87

simply because I wanted the skills.

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I wanted to deepen that skillset.

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And I just, it started out like

for fun coaching people and

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it, it was very gratifying.

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I was able to create an impact for women.

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It was having a ripple effect

on their life, like me.

93

And I realized that it really

was calling to me a lot more.

94

So for a very long time I was doing both.

95

I was practicing as a

physician and coaching.

96

I had started my business, the

97

And for a while I was doing both.

98

And there was a point that came where

I just felt this little tug that

99

really just pulled me in the direction

of coaching and entrepreneurship.

100

So that was when I decided

to make the pivot full time

101

to leave clinical practice.

102

It was a big decision, but

this just called me more.

103

Katie: Mm-hmm.

104

What a beautiful story.

105

And I think what really struck

me the most, 'cause I think that

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this affects so many people.

107

On different levels is you

knew all the information yeah.

108

That you needed to do, but it was like.

109

Implementing it and integrating

it into your life in a way that it

110

could be sustainable and consistent.

111

And I think that that is such a struggle

for many, especially working moms, right?

112

There's just so much to balance,

work, life, family life, keeping

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up with the house, right?

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The list just goes on and on and on.

115

So I'm sure that the listeners

can absolutely relate to

116

that in one way or another.

117

And I'm sure you know in the future too.

118

You changing your relationship with food

that will teach your children to have

119

a healthier relationship with food too.

120

So it's gonna have this like beautiful

generational ripple effect as well.

121

So I really love your story and thinking

of someone who is trying to conceive.

122

What I am seeing in my clients,

in my community, stress is

123

just such a huge factor.

124

We deal with it in our daily life,

whether we're trying to conceive or not.

125

And then when you add trying to

conceive in the mix, especially once

126

more time has gone by and maybe more

things have come up and on your journey

127

and it can really zap your fertility.

128

So when we're talking

about stress and fertility.

129

What hormones are we talking about?

130

What hormones are mostly being affected?

131

Priyanka: Yeah, this is a

good, this is a good question.

132

I, I think about, I, I, I even remember

this even as a, as a practicing

133

physician in my OB GYN practice.

134

Somebody would come in saying,

I'm trying to get pregnant and I'm

135

having a difficult time, and this

is a part of the conversation.

136

Sometimes we think we need

to have a stress-free.

137

A stress-free life to optimize our

chances of, and this is going to

138

apply to fertility, but also to

hit really any goal, like I need to

139

be completely stress-free so that

I can, achieve my next big thing.

140

And I think that it really

paints stress in a very.

141

All or nothing villain villain

or, or hero kind of light.

142

So the way that I first like to think

about hormones and even stress is that

143

cortisol, which is our stress hormone,

it is produced by the adrenal glands.

144

It is, it's a superhero in small doses.

145

If we think about the, the reason

that it's here, it's here for a fight.

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Flight, freeze and fawn.

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These are the four very, very

normal survival mechanisms that our

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brilliant brain has evolutionarily

created for us to survive.

149

So the very first thing to really

start to catch in my experience is

150

stress on its own is not a bad thing.

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Being in fight flight freeze

on its own is not a bad thing.

152

It's a survival mechanism.

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But I think what is important

is how, especially working

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moms are overreliant on stress.

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As a strategy to get through their day.

156

So I, I start with this because.

157

If you're relying on stress and fear and

a lot of judgment and criticism and like

158

that type of, you have an inner, I call

this like a soundtrack in your mind to,

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muscle out and buckle through your day.

160

It's not surprising every time you hit

an obstacle that includes fertility or

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infertility in this case, that that's

going to be your coping mechanism.

162

So the moment if you, this is a, this is

an exercise for everyone to think about

163

as you're listening to this episode.

164

The moment that you hit an obstacle.

165

Infertility, you're trying to get

pregnant, you're having a difficult

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time, you're trying to lose weight,

you're having a difficult time.

167

Your kids are not behaving even

though you're telling them to.

168

If your brain goes to all of

the what if scenarios, I call

169

these wiffy what ifs, wiffy.

170

It's really, really normal.

171

And also we have to be,

become really aware of it.

172

And I think about this as, imagine

if it, in, in thousands of years

173

ago, evolutionarily, if your body's

perceiving that you're in a state of.

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A lack of safety.

175

If you are surrounded by bears and

lions and tigers and you're not

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in a safe environment, that's what

cortisol is signaling to your brain

177

that you're not safe right now.

178

We have to fight or flight.

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It's not an optimal time to get pregnant.

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It's not going to be an optimal

time to release fat on your body,

181

which is a very precious resource.

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It's not going to be the time

that you can dream and imagine

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big things for your personal life.

184

I start by saying in small doses,

cortisol and stress is very healthy and

185

normal, but we are overutilizing it.

186

And it does absolutely impact

our ability to get pregnant.

187

It's just signaling to our

brain, this is not a good time.

188

She's clearly running away from

a lion or a tiger or a bear.

189

And I think, if, if you're listening

to this, you can ask yourself, how

190

often am I making the spreadsheet

in front of me like a lion?

191

How often am I making this

obstacle in front of me feel

192

like a lion or a bear or a tiger?

193

And I think that that in itself can

be eye-opening to see how often are

194

we utilizing stress as a strategy.

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Katie: Yeah, so I'm thinking in my

mind for someone who's listening, and

196

maybe they are so like subconsciously

stressed and they have certain patterns

197

and things like that, that they just

might not even realize that all these

198

endless emails or this project that I'm

doing is acting like a lion or a tiger.

199

What would you say Could be some.

200

Symptoms that people are maybe

overlooking or maybe even patterns

201

that are indicating that you are

in like a chronic state of stress.

202

Priyanka: Yeah, this is great.

203

I think that, there's probably

some markers across the board.

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I.

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Across lots of women.

206

But I think that it's also important

to individualize us understanding what

207

are our call, I call these siren songs.

208

What are your personal siren songs that

maybe you're in a little bit of a stress

209

state and we have to make a change to our

strategy to come out of it, to regulate

210

your nervous system to come out of it.

211

So I'm gonna shear mine and if this

these sound familiar, then again

212

it's because we're not so unique

as as much as we think we are.

213

But for me, I'll notice that I

feel really fatigued in my mind.

214

I might have.

215

I might have been in bed for X number

of hours, like the quote unquote

216

right number of hours to go to bed.

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But the quality of rest I'm getting is

clearly not doing what it needs to do

218

because I'm still feeling dysregulated.

219

I'm still feeling fatigued in my brain.

220

I noticed that by quality of thinking, the

ability for me to make decisive decisions

221

for me to have high focus time is zapped.

222

My mind is focusing on rumination.

223

I'm second guessing myself.

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I'm spinning a lot in perseverating or.

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Worrying about a problem.

226

I keep turning it over.

227

I flash forward or I flash back to

all the mistakes of the past or the

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possible problems of the future.

229

These are little siren songs to

me that stress is running my life.

230

Another one, this is a personal

one for me, but I can tell when

231

I'm being a little snippy or ear

or a lot, a bit, not a little bit.

232

A lot of it.

233

Snippy or irritable with the people who

I love the most when I'm being short

234

with them for no apparent reason, just

like they're just being themselves and I

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find myself just being short with them.

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To me, it's a little siren

song that Bianca, or I feel a

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little bit stressed right now.

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I.

239

What's going on?

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It's a, it's a kind of a

siren song for me to check in.

241

The other one that I will

notice is I will be stuck.

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So if I look at certain results in

my life, for me, weight loss was a

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big one for me, but you can really

think about any goal that you have.

244

If you find yourself stuck in

the planning phase and in the

245

learning phase, and you're not

able to execute on what you said.

246

It's not a discipline problem

for most working women.

247

For most moms out there,

it's a dysregulation problem.

248

We're so dysregulated that

our body is in freeze.

249

Our body is in fight or flight.

250

We're not able to take, make

active changes and move on what

251

we said we were going to do.

252

So I think we can all ask ourselves,

if you check in with your body,

253

you can tell when you're feeling

that buzzy stressed feeling.

254

How is it showing up of how is

a fly on the wall watching you?

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What does it actually look like?

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Katie: Yeah, I love those personal

examples and I can relate to it too,

257

just when your brain just seems to

be a little clunky and like brain

258

fog and it's just hard to work

on whatever task you may have.

259

I think that that's definitely

a common one as well.

260

Switching gears a little bit

in terms of your expertise.

261

So we talked about

stress a little bit, but.

262

Being overweight or obese, that

can have an impact on fertility.

263

So what would you say could have

the biggest positive impact on

264

someone's fertility who may be

struggling with losing weight, but

265

they want to get pregnant and they

want to have a healthy pregnancy?

266

Because I have had.

267

I have a lot of people in my dms kind of

sharing what's going on for them and, and

268

a lot of times they'll say, oh, my doctor

won't do X, Y, Z until I lose weight.

269

Whatever that may look like for them.

270

And then some people want to try

naturally, but they just maybe

271

don't have the right tools or their

plateauing in their weight loss.

272

Priyanka: I think it's unfortunate,

I've seen this as well where,

273

you're a medical professional.

274

Your doctor might say you have to lose

weight first before you can embark

275

on maybe your fertility journey.

276

Or maybe you can embark on the

thing that you really want to do.

277

And if I have my scientist hat

on and my physician hat on,

278

I can see why they say that.

279

Because obesity or especially if

you're at a certain level of percent

280

body fat or BMIs and other criteria

to look at, there are increased risks.

281

In pregnancy, there are increased

risks in the delivery process.

282

So you know when I have the hat

of a physician or scientist on,

283

I can see why they say that.

284

And also I think two things

can be true at the same time.

285

So there might be data for that.

286

But what it also does is it can really

put a lot of pressure on women that

287

their weight is a villain and it's

something that they have to solve right

288

now with a, again, talk about adding on

a layer of stress, a lot of pressure and

289

stress that I have to solve this problem

before I can move forward in my life.

290

And I think that that is, again, it

speaks to the all or nothingness that.

291

We all have, I think physicians have it.

292

I think patients have it, women have

it where we think that we have to

293

completely solve a problem to make

forward progress or to get pregnant or to

294

lose the weight that they want to lose.

295

So I think that what I would start with,

there's plenty of data and research

296

now that does show that lifestyle

changes can have a monumental impact on

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not just your ability to lose weight,

but in your ability to get pregnant

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and to have a healthy pregnancy.

299

The mistake we make, and again,

this is like an overachievers thing,

300

is we think we have to do it all

perfectly for it to even matter.

301

And I remember for me, this needs to look

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

302

do it perfectly, then why bother trying?

303

Because doing a small amounts.

304

Doing small changes is probably not going

to matter anyway, so we throw our hands

305

up in the air, or we don't even make

those small changes that can actually

306

have a massive, a massive shift forward.

307

So the way that I think about this is

if there are, let's say, 10 different

308

things that you can do to improve

your lifestyle, your day, day-to-day

309

routine, that is taking care of your

mind, your spirit, and your body,

310

we get to decide what are those.

311

Maybe there's 10 different things.

312

Maybe you don't have

time yet to do all 10.

313

Maybe you don't have the habits

in place to incorporate all 10.

314

Maybe you don't have the, the time

in your day to incorporate all 10.

315

But what would be the impact

if you just picked one or two?

316

One or two small simple habits that

actually took care of your mind, your

317

spirit and your body and the way that

I think about, how do I know which of

318

the, out of the 10, there's 10 of them,

which do, which ones do I start with?

319

I would ask everyone to really Google

your brain for what the, I'm gonna share

320

what my answer is, but I'm gonna have

you Google your brain for the answer.

321

If you think about one or two habits

that are like dominoes, if you knock

322

those one or two dominoes down, they

start to knock down the other dominoes.

323

What would those one or two dominoes be?

324

And if you just do those really

consistently and really simply think

325

about the massive impact of what would

happen a week from now, a month from

326

now, a year from now, it can really

make a difference with your life.

327

So for me, when I think about what are

those outta the 10 things that we can do

328

to get healthy, to lose the weight, we

want to improve our chances for fertility.

329

For me, the, the top two things are

really to eat when my gut is actually

330

hungry and stop it comfortable.

331

The The reason that I like this,

I call this just like a body tool.

332

You don't need a calculator.

333

You don't need MyFitnessPal.

334

You don't have to count points

or calories or macros to actually

335

learn how to connect with your body.

336

Again, that's the intention.

337

The intention is for us to connect with

our body again, to connect with our

338

gut again, to not ignore our signals.

339

We don't have to ever be hungry

to lose the weight we want,

340

despite what you may have thought.

341

We have to heal that

part of our relationship.

342

And we also don't have to treat

our body like a suitcase or a

343

trash can where we have to eat

extra now to save food for later.

344

So I think that that's the very first

principle that is very, very impactful.

345

Eat when you're hungry.

346

I.

347

Stop when you're not, and that's

going to challenge your food,

348

your, your relationship with food.

349

If you're using food to take a break

from your life, it's gonna come up

350

just by incorporating this one habit.

351

And the second one that I think,

just scientifically is going

352

to prime your body for success.

353

To release fat and to improve your

chances for fertility is to take

354

a break from highly processed.

355

Ultra refined food and you get to decide

what that looks like for you, how deep

356

dive you wanna go into that, how you

know how strict you want to be with that.

357

But you can really optimize

your fat burning potential

358

and your hormone physiology.

359

If you took a break from highly

processed foods like sugar, like.

360

All the things that are milled into powder

and then turned into food, it impacts

361

your insulin pathways insulin resistance,

which is a part of infertility.

362

So I think that these two things,

just these two habits, if I had to

363

pick two out of 10, these would be

the two that I think would be really

364

Katie: impactful.

365

Mm-hmm.

366

I love that.

367

And I think for me personally, my

one, like my first domino that I

368

know is super supportive is eating

breakfast in the morning because I

369

know if, and I'll just notice it even.

370

Today, like not today, today,

but in recent times, if I don't

371

have a protein rich breakfast,

I'm feeling hungrier sooner.

372

I'm almost getting low blood

sugar symptoms, jittery, not

373

really feeling good, and.

374

Feeling like I just need

to eat something right now.

375

So I feel like for me personally, having

a protein focused breakfast really

376

sets me up for success in the day.

377

My metabolism, my cortisol,

my blood sugar regulation.

378

Mm-hmm.

379

So that's a big domino piece for me.

380

And so what I see commonly with people

who are struggling with weight is.

381

PCOS and a lot of times

anovulation as well.

382

So would you like to dive in a little bit

on what hormones are being affected within

383

the body when we do maybe have a little

bit of extra weight that we're carrying?

384

Priyanka: Yeah, the biggest

thing with PCOS, and fat that's

385

stored on our body is estrogen.

386

That's the number one hormone

that is being impacted.

387

That's the pathway that's being

impacted the most, and that's because

388

fat cells on our bodies, they, they.

389

They produce estrogen.

390

So it, it, we, we get into a hyper,

it's called a hyper estrogen state,

391

where our body's producing this estrogen

that can absolutely impact ovulation.

392

So when you think about, not to get

into too much detail on, the hormone

393

pathways of our body, but it impacts

your ability to ovulate regularly.

394

It gets in the way of your

body's ability to cycle every

395

single month where your ovaries.

396

Release an egg.

397

So I think that one of the very

first things, and and a lot of times

398

people will say with PCOS is weight

loss is one of the strategies and

399

the solutions to being able to start

ovulating regularly is to lose weight.

400

That being said, I have seen a

lot of people that are thin, that

401

are not overweight, that have PCOS

because PCOS is not purely associated

402

with women that are overweight.

403

So I think that it's really

important to say that because again.

404

We can blame our weight, and yes,

it will make a, it will play a

405

role, but sometimes we use a broad

brush to paint a fine painting.

406

So I think it's really important when

we think about PCOS or N Ovulation or

407

irregularly Ovulating, that yes, weight

loss is going to play a role, but

408

there's a genetic component to this.

409

There is other components to the diagnosis

of PCOS that is separate from just weight

410

loss, which I think is really important.

411

Katie: Yeah, absolutely.

412

And something that

crossed my mind earlier.

413

So with your OB GYN practitioner

background, and now that you're

414

in a field focused on weight loss,

what are your thoughts on ozempic?

415

Or related, injectables for someone

who is trying to get pregnant

416

or who wants to get pregnant.

417

Priyanka: Yeah, so I think that

this is a nuanced conversation.

418

In general, like my, my very

broad thoughts about Ozempic or

419

any GLP one agonist is that it

is a very, very valuable tool

420

for the right person I think.

421

Again, this is the broad

brush fine painting example.

422

Again, to paint something as very good

or very bad, or all good or all bad, I

423

think is doing us a serious disservice.

424

So there's a few thoughts on this.

425

One is it can be a very valuable

tool for the right person to

426

have as a part of their toolbox.

427

So the way that I think about your

body and your weight is if you're

428

building a house, some people try

to build their entire house with

429

one hammer, which is count calories.

430

And maybe they'll get, they'll

get there and it might work.

431

But for most of us, we want

lots of tools in our toolbox.

432

We want the saw.

433

And I don't know about you,

but I want electric tools.

434

I want tools that are power drills

and not just a hammer and nails.

435

I really want to have.

436

All the tools in my toolbox.

437

So for me, that has been coaching,

that has absolutely been the mindset

438

element of relationships with food.

439

When you have an urge to eat

food when your gut's not hungry,

440

there's a mindset gap there.

441

So yes, we can use Ozempic or a GLP

one agonist to help with our urges

442

and cravings and mental food chatter.

443

Absolutely.

444

And also imagine that in addition to

that tool you pick up a hammer, maybe

445

Ozempic is like a, a screwdriver.

446

Imagine that you had a power tool

that also taught you the power of your

447

thoughts and your perspectives that's

creating your over desire to begin with.

448

So I think that, I just wanna paint

that kind of as a analogy to the way

449

that I think about GLP one agonists.

450

I worked with some clients that are on it.

451

I've worked with a client who was

on it when she first started working

452

with me, and then she got off it

during our coaching journey together

453

and she's lost a lot of weight.

454

So I, I think that it's important

to think about it in that way.

455

When it comes to pregnancy or long term

results, what the data has shown with GLP

456

one agonists or OZEMPIC specifically, is.

457

If you're going to be on it,

you are likely going to need

458

to be on it chronically.

459

This is not one of those cra I think

some people come into it with this

460

crash diet idea mentality of, let

me use it to lose all the weight I

461

want, and then I'll just go off of it.

462

And if you don't do this other work

of understanding your relationship

463

with food and where your urges

and cravings are coming from, most

464

people will gain the weight back.

465

So it's so important that

we think about it as a tool.

466

And also ask ourselves, what

role do we want it to play?

467

Is it the star of the show or is it a,

an accessory, like a, a side, a side

468

person that is helping me get to my goal?

469

Hmm.

470

Katie: Mm-hmm.

471

I love the way that you painted that

picture and, and really explained how

472

it's for the, the right person that

has the right support really to make

473

sustainable results for them as well.

474

And.

475

In my mind when someone who is

wanting to get pregnant, like we

476

also have to think about nutrition

and, and all of those things, and

477

making sure that you still have those

really important fertility building

478

blocks and, and everything in place.

479

So I think having that additional support

and those additional tools, even if you

480

do decide to use something like Ozempic

is going to really make a difference in

481

the type of outcomes that you receive.

482

Priyanka: Yeah.

483

And one other point I wanna make

on the Ozempic GLP one agonist is

484

I've seen plenty of women on it

and they don't lose any weight.

485

I.

486

Because they're not using and

thinking about the other things.

487

We use it as and, and I will say,

forthcoming, Lee, that it, I think it

488

does get overutilized because we just

want to solve this problem so much.

489

We think we've tried everything.

490

And so I think that we, when we

over lean on it without doing these

491

other pieces of the process, we do,

we're doing ourselves a disservice.

492

Katie: Mm-hmm.

493

Priyanka: I agree.

494

Katie: I

495

Priyanka: agree.

496

Katie: If you could share

three simple action steps.

497

For the listeners today, what

would you like to leave with them?

498

Priyanka: Oh, this is so good.

499

So I think the very first one is something

that might seem small or might seem minor,

500

but it is proven scientifically to deeply

help you regulate your nervous system.

501

And that is actually

having self-compassion.

502

So putting a hand on your heart

and actually saying it, this might

503

feel awkward, it might feel silly,

but actually saying out loud, this

504

is just me experiencing stress.

505

This is me feeling worried.

506

This is me experiencing concern or fear.

507

Actually naming the emotion out loud

and validating your experience in it

508

actually releases oxytocin in your brain.

509

It's fascinating, just having some

self-compassion, which sometimes

510

seems frivolous or sometimes seems

indulgent, is actually scientifically

511

going to help you feel better.

512

The counteracts, the effect of cortisol.

513

So as you're embarking on your

fertility journey and you feel worried.

514

Around it if you're worried

that it's not going to work.

515

Putting a hand on your heart

and validating your experience,

516

validating your worry, validating

your concern is really very impactful.

517

The second actionable step

is to answer your wies.

518

I.

519

So when you have a what if thought

lingering in your head, if we

520

leave them open-ended, what if this

happens and what if that happens?

521

And what if I don't get pregnant?

522

What if I don't lose the weight?

523

What if I don't follow through?

524

We leave them open-ended, our body

generates a lot of anxiety and fear and

525

it's, that's what kind of that buzzing

feeling that feels really dysregulated.

526

So one of the strategies that I've

found to be very impactful is to answer

527

your wiffy, answer your what ifs.

528

What if I don't get pregnant?

529

Answer the question, what then?

530

And when we start to close the

loop on some of our biggest

531

fears, we again, are doing it.

532

We're doing ourselves a solid, we're

taking our brain to a future where we are

533

figuring it out and solving the problems.

534

I think about that as a second regulatory

step that we can take is to answer

535

the open-ended questions we have.

536

We might not love the answer, so

let me just preface this by saying

537

you might not love the answer,

but at least you have an answer.

538

And then the last one is this, this

might be hard, but I wanna encourage

539

everyone to, to practice this anyway,

is to actually learn how to love the

540

process and not just love the prize.

541

And I say this as a, as a

perpetual like gold star, a plus

542

chaser my whole entire life.

543

I always want the a you, you

want the pound down, you want to

544

see a positive pregnancy test.

545

Think about, think

about that as the prize.

546

And it makes sense that we love those.

547

But if we are not also loving the journey,

even the sticky messy parts and loving

548

our experience, or at least finding how

human it is for us to experience those,

549

then it makes our entire experience.

550

Fairly miserable because the times

that we're gonna have the prize

551

are tiny little spots in time.

552

The process to get the prize

is our whole entire life.

553

So when we do the work of loving the

process, it's being in a growth mindset.

554

This is the work of Carol Dweck.

555

You actually release dopamine in your

brain and dopamine feels really good.

556

So I say this because we can really

leverage a lot of our hormone

557

health by the thoughts we're having

in going through any obstacle.

558

Katie: I love those.

559

Thank you so much.

560

And I think the first two especially

just really anchors in safety in the

561

body, which I think is so important,

especially for fertility and like

562

you said, for weight loss as well,

because our bodies won't release.

563

Any extra pounds or fat or anything

if we're not feeling safe in our body.

564

And yeah, those were beautiful.

565

So thank you for sharing those.

566

And I know you have a freebie for

the listeners, hormone Secrets

567

to Weight Loss and Wellness, if

you wanna share that with them.

568

Priyanka: Sure.

569

So I've just noticed on the internet

for the last year when you know social

570

media on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok,

people are using perimenopause like this

571

buzzword, and then you start going down

the rabbit hole of lab checking your

572

labs and checking your hormone levels.

573

And as an OB, GYN, seeing some of

that has made me cringe so much

574

because I know women are wasting

so many hours of their time.

575

So that in combination with my

experience as a stress and weight

576

loss coach, I put together.

577

I, I think about this as a 30 minute,

really comprehensive training on the

578

three hormone pathways that I think

most impact women in their thirties,

579

forties, and fifties To feel better.

580

The way that I like to describe

it is on the inside out, when

581

we feel better on the inside.

582

We will feel better on the outside.

583

When we feel better on the outside.

584

We feel better on the inside.

585

So it's a cycle that we can actually

start to leverage and your age doesn't

586

have to rob you of that experience.

587

So I get into the three

different hormone pathways.

588

It is really a testament to how you can

hit any goal at any age if you understand

589

how your body and your brain are working.

590

So you can get that at burn

stress lose weight.com/hormones.

591

Katie: Beautiful.

592

And the link will be in

the show notes as well.

593

And tell everyone about your podcast,

the Burn Stress Lose Weight podcast

594

and what they could expect if

they wanted to give it a listen.

595

Priyanka: Yeah, so it's, I think

if I have actually described this

596

podcast, we just celebrated the

three year anniversary of the show.

597

It's.

598

Been, I think about it as like my way of,

of having a, a love letter to my audience

599

on a weekly basis where I share, I think

you know, a lot of what you heard today,

600

I, I talk about these concepts in detail.

601

I get into STR strategy,

actionable steps that you can take.

602

I get into mindset, obstacles that

a lot of women are encountering

603

and I share a lot of my real life,

massive epic fails as I navigate this

604

because I think it's so important to.

605

Let our brain see that there's

no such thing as perfection.

606

So leveraging the idea that we

can actually embrace the journey

607

has been really amazing for me.

608

So yeah, the Burn Stress Lose

Weight podcast, it's available

609

on every podcast platform.

610

Katie: Amazing.

611

And I love that you include mindset,

'cause I think that that's a

612

really important piece that can be

missing for, one avenue or another.

613

And let the listeners know

where they can learn more,

614

find you, and connect with you.

615

Priyanka: Sure.

616

So I am at Burn Stress,

lose Weight on Instagram.

617

I love to chat in the dms so you can

DM me if you found something valuable.

618

Tag us and let us know that you, you

love the show or you took something

619

away and you can find out more

information about how to work with

620

me at burn stress lose weight.com.

621

Katie: Amazing.

622

Thanks so much for your time and

your expert shares today, Dr.

623

Pka.

624

I really enjoyed the episode.

625

Thanks.

626

Thank you so much for tuning into the

Rising into Mindful Motherhood podcast.

627

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gave you an aha moment, stop what you're

628

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629

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630

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631

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632

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633

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634

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635

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636

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637

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638

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