This video, titled "3 S's to THRIVE," by Deb Ford, discusses the three critical elements for women's health: stress, sleep, and self-care. It explains how chronic stress, lack of sleep, and insufficient self-care negatively impact hormones and overall well-being. The video offers practical tips and strategies to improve each of these areas, emphasizing that these elements are foundational for hormone balance, metabolic repair, and emotional resilience.
Key Takeaways
1
The "triple S formula" of stress, sleep, and self-care is foundational for women's health and often overlooked.
2
Chronic stress elevates cortisol, which can lead to blood sugar issues, weight gain, hormone imbalances, thyroid suppression, and gut problems.
3
Simple daily practices like breath work, walking in nature, saying no, eating regularly, and quiet time can help lower cortisol levels.
4
Sleep is a biological requirement, not a luxury, and is essential for hormone repair, detoxification, blood sugar balance, and emotional health.
5
Improving sleep can be achieved through morning sunlight exposure, a relaxing nighttime routine, an early dinner, and consistent bedtime rituals.
6
Self-care is cellular support, not selfish, and is crucial for replenishing depleted vitamins, minerals, and maintaining hormone balance.
7
Self-care includes practices like eating before starving, resting before crashing, setting boundaries, joyful movement, and prioritizing joy.
8
Gratitude journaling, alone time, nourishing food, hydration, mineral support, and connection with loved ones are hormone-boosting self-care practices.
9
Stress, sleep, and self-care are interconnected and reinforce each other, meaning improvement in one area positively impacts the others.
10
Starting with small, actionable steps like 10 minutes of morning calm, mindful eating, and an evening screen-free wind-down routine can significantly impact overall well-being.
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0:00
Good morning and welcome to another
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edition of Today's Nutrition where we
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look at anything that can help us lose
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weight, feel great, or help us live
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longer better. May being Women's Month,
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I'm going to continue to dive into
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something I call the triple S formula.
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Three things that are often overlooked
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in women's health, but absolutely
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foundational for thriving. the same
0:27
three principles that I talk about all
0:29
throughout my book, Get Out of Hormone
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Hell: Six Heavenly Steps to Lose Weight,
0:33
Feel Great, and Reverse Aging. You have
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to know these. Unless you tackle these,
0:40
health, vitality, and the joy of living
0:43
can evade you. The big three I want to
0:46
talk about today, stress, sleep, and
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self-care.
0:52
If you feel exhausted but can't seem to
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get restored. If you feel stuck in
1:00
survival mode, overloaded, worried,
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frazzled, exhausted, maybe you're
1:08
struggling with mood swings, weight
1:10
gain, hormone chaos. I want you to know
1:13
this. It's not really your fault at all.
1:18
And you're not alone. You've been
1:20
probably taught to just push through, to
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keep going till you just stop, to take
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care of everyone else first. We as women
1:29
have been taught to take care of
1:31
everyone else first and put ourselves
1:33
last. But today, I want to flip the
1:36
script because when you learn to support
1:40
your stress response, your sleep rhythm,
1:43
and self-care practices, your body
1:46
doesn't just feel better. it starts to
1:49
heal and you can take care of everybody
1:51
else so much better, so much longer when
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you've truly cared for yourself. Now,
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let's break down these three pillars and
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why they matter and how they impact
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every other hormone in your body from
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cortisol to insulin to estrogen,
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progesterone, testosterone, and
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thyroid. And just why the triple S
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formula matters, we got to step back and
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look at the big picture. Because you can
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eat all the best in the world. Kale
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everywhere. You can take the best most
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wonderful pure supplements. You can have
2:28
the perfect workout. But if your nervous
2:31
system is fried, your sleep is wrecked
2:35
and you don't have time to rest and
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restore, your hormones are going to stay
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stuck. The triple S formula is the
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foundation of hormone balance. metabolic
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repair and emotional resilience. And
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here's what most women don't realize.
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Chronic stress raises
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cortisol, lowers progesterone, inflames
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the gut, blocks the thyroid, and stores
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belly
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fat. Also, when you can't sleep, that's
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going to raise blood sugar, suppress
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melatonin, and worsen insulin
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resistance.
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Lack of self-care keeps your nervous
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system stuck in overdrive and leaves
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your body depleted. So, if you've been
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spinning your wheels trying to lose
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weight, balance your hormones, trying to
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feel like yourself again, it's time to
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come back to these three roots. Let's
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start with the first, probably the
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biggest in our day and age, stress. S
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number one. Now, I'm not here to tell
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you that all stress is bad. We actually
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need some stress. They call it hormesis.
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In short, manageable bursts. It makes us
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better. It makes us stronger. It allows
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us to give the best to the world, making
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it a better, more enjoyable place. The
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problem isn't stress. It's the
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unrelenting, chronic, lowgrade stress.
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And you got to compare it to chronic
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inflammation. Acute is good. It helps us
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heal. But chronic inflammation is the
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one that produces disease. Chronic
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stress is like that, too. It's mental
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overload. It is the to-do list. It's the
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notification. It's the pressure to do
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everything for everyone. Without rest,
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without reset, post-it notes everywhere.
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And when stress stays high, cortisol
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stays high.
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That one hormone alone can wreak havoc
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on your entire endocrine system. And let
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me show you
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how that high cortisol raises blood
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sugar, triggering insulin resistance and
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weight gain. It steals progesterone,
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creating estrogen dominance, hello PMS,
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anxiety, and heavy periods. Suppresses
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thyroid, so you've got fatigue,
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constipation, cold hands, low
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metabolism, weight gain. It inflames the
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gut. bloating, leaky gut, food
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sensitivities, maybe allergies, maybe
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rashes, all those things. Disrupted
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sleep, tired but wired, middle of the
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night wakeups, shrinks your hippocampus,
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so you get brain fog, memory issues, and
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emotional reactivity. Yeah, you just fly
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off the handle easily. And the worst of
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it all, when you're chronically
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stressed, your body doesn't care about
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digestion, reproduction, or glowing
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skin. It is only focused on survival.
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Nothing for longevity is promoting. Only
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survival to the next moment. Forget the
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next week, the next month, year, or a
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decade. Our body is only emphasizing
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survival. And here's the good news,
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though. Cortisol is trainable. Your body
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wants safety and when you give it enough
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safe signals, it's going to start to
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reset. I'm going to give you a few daily
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reset practices that work perfectly.
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Stress lowering
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tools. Number one, breath
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work. Three slow, deep breaths.
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Three of those can lower cortisol by
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30%. Like
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that. Walking in nature calms the
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nervous system, lowers inflammation, and
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boosts the mood. Just learning to say
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no. Prepare boundaries are a form of
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biological
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self-care. Adaptoens like ashwagandha,
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rodeiola, and holy basil are wonderful.
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They're like band-aids, but they work
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well. eating regularly. You don't want
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to skip meals because that's a stress
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signal. Stabilizing your blood sugar
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with protein. No intermittent fasting
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when we're
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stressed. Finally, prayer, journaling,
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and quiet time. Not optional. It is, and
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I want to italicize this, put it in big
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bold
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letters. Quiet time journaling and
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prayer is like oxygen for your hormones.
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And if you only take one thing from this
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section, let it be this. You cannot heal
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in the same environment that made you
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sick. You've got to create pockets of
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peace. Your body will thank you. Even 5
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minutes here and there is going to help
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a lot. So now let's shift to the second
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S. The one that is wildly underrated in
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the wellness world everywhere. Sleep.
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Number two. Sleep is not a luxury. Sleep
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is not something you earn. It is a
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biological requirement for hormone
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repair, detoxification, blood sugar
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balance, and emotional health. If you
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have ever tried to function on 5 hours
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of sleep, you already know your cravings
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go up, your patience goes down, your
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brain feels foggy, your body holds on to
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fat like it's storing up for winter. And
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here's why. When you don't sleep,
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cortisol goes up, insulin sensitivity
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goes down, melatonin goes down. So that
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messes with your sleepwake cycle,
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inflammation goes up, repair shuts down,
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especially for your brain, your gut, and
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your
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hormones. When you do sleep, magic
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happens. Your body
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detoxifies. Your hormones balance. Your
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nervous system recalibrates.
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So, how do we improve sleep especially
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when life is busy, noisy, and
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anxious? Wonderful sleepup supporting
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strategies. Morning
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sunlight resets that circadian
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rhythm. Nighttime windown routine. No
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screens for 1 to three hours before bed.
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Maybe a calming bedtime tea. Maybe a
9:16
little magnesium. Maybe some soft
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lighting. And oh yes, my heavenly sleep
9:23
new supplement that I've just come out
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with that helps too and it helps reset
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things. An early dinner. You want to
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stop eating 2 to 3 hours before bed. Go
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to bed before 10:00 p.m. Way before 10
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p.m. in some cases, depend on what time
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you get up. You want to give your body
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the most time for the deepest repair
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cycles. And then using some bedtime
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rituals, lavender oil, prayer,
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journaling, something your body learns
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to associate with
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rest. And if you're in the pmenopause,
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menopausal era and your sleep is
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disrupted by hormonal shifts, know this.
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You're not broken. Your rhythms are just
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changing and your body needs a little
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extra support. Moving on to number
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three, self-care. probably the most
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misunderstood hormone strategy. Okay, I
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want to start by saying this. Self-care
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is not a luxury. It is not selfish. It
10:23
is not indulgent. It is cellular
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support. It's how we fill up our take so
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our body, especially our nervous system
10:31
and hormones, can
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function. And let me ask you this, do
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you ever feel guilty for resting? Do you
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ever rush through meals or multitask
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through dinner? Do you push your needs
10:45
to the bottom of the list, take care of
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everybody else first? If so, you're not
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alone. So many women are operating on
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chronic output. Constantly giving,
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doing, fixing, helping, and never
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stopping to ask, "What do I need?"
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Here's the biological truth. When you
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are constantly in fight or flight, you
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are depleting yourself of vitamins,
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vitamin B and C, magnesium, the mineral
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for calm and sleep, adrenal resilience,
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your stress buffer, estrogen and
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progesterone balance, and gut integrity.
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Your body is not going to prioritize any
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of that when you're stuck in fight or
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flight. Over time, body breaks down. So
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what looks like fatigue, mood swings,
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and stubborn weight, lack of joy for
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life, it's actually your body running on
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empty. That's why self-care is not
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fluff. It is fuel. You don't want to run
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on empty. So what can self-care look
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like? It's not always a lavender bubble
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bath and spa days, but hey, if you love
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those, I support it 100%. But true
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hormone nourishing
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self-care can look like this. Eat before
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you're
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starving. Rest before you're
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crashing. Say no and not feeling
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guilty. Moving your body to feel strong
12:15
and not to shrink it with diets that
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deplete you. Making more space for joy
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and pleasure and fun.
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protecting your peace like it's the most
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valuable asset. Let me be real with you.
12:30
The world is going to take everything
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you give and ask for more. Only you can
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create boundaries. So, it's up to you.
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Protect that and know what you need in
12:42
order to function and to flourish. So,
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here's something I love to remind my
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clients of. You don't have to earn rest.
12:49
You're already worthy of it. If you need
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to relax, if you need time to yourself,
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take it. Okay, so now we're going to
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look at a couple hormone boosting
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self-care practices you can start
13:05
today. All right, gratitude journaling.
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And none of these cost a thing. Three
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things that you are grateful for each
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morning. Write them down. Proven to
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lower cortisol.
13:19
Joyful movement. Walking, skipping,
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dancing, stretching. Just move with
13:26
presence. Alone time. Oh my, how
13:29
wonderful. Even 5 minutes in silence can
13:33
reset your nervous system. Nourishing
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food, not restriction, not punishment,
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real
13:40
nourishment, hydration, and mineral
13:43
support. Boy, you need magnesium. You
13:45
need those trace minerals. I love
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electrolytes and connection. Time with
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safe, loving people boosts oxytocin,
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your feel-good bonding hormone. Holding
14:00
those grandb babies, oh my goodness,
14:02
that is oxytocin driven. Every day I
14:06
work at the shop, I get a boost in the
14:07
oxytocin. We love our friends, families,
14:10
and customers, and that feeling of
14:12
gratitude is almost palpable. Here's a
14:15
little mantra that you can use.
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Rest is productive. Joy is medicine.
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Boundaries are like a vitamin. So, how
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stress, sleep, and self-care can work
14:27
together. Let's zoom in and look at the
14:29
synergy between all three. Cuz these
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systems do not work in isolation. They
14:34
reinforce each other like pillars on a
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house. When one is wake, the whole
14:38
system is shaky. When you reduce stress,
14:41
you lower cortisol, which improves
14:43
sleep, supports digestion, and balances
14:46
estrogen progesterone. When you improve
14:49
sleep, you regulate blood sugar, you
14:51
boost melatonin, and you reduce
14:52
inflammation, which makes you more
14:54
resilient to stress and more motivated
14:56
to care for yourself.
14:58
When you prioritize self-care, your
15:01
nervous system shifts from fight and
15:03
flight, helping you to sleep deeper and
15:06
feel less triggered by everyday
15:09
stressors. Each one feeds each other.
15:13
That's why this formula works. It's not
15:15
trendy. It's because it addresses the
15:18
root cause of hormonal dysfunction in
15:20
women. burnout, depletion, disconnection
15:25
from self-denial at the expense of our
15:28
health. So, here I'm going to give you a
15:31
small step action plan. Now, I know this
15:35
can feel like a lot. You might be
15:37
thinking, where do I ever begin? Let's
15:39
start small. You don't have to do
15:41
everything, but you have to start
15:44
somewhere. Morning. Love this one. 10
15:48
minutes of calm. Maybe get up a little
15:51
bit earlier. Nobody's around before the
15:54
screens, before the to-dos start coming
15:57
to mind. Sit in silence. Journal or step
16:00
outside in the morning sun and that
16:03
fresh air. Maybe take a walk around the
16:06
yard. Oh, maybe even barefoot if you
16:08
don't spray for weeds. Maybe take a walk
16:11
around the neighborhood alone. Breathe
16:14
it in. Just delicious. Midday, eat lunch
16:19
sitting down, not multitasking. Make
16:22
sure you've got veggies. Make sure you
16:24
got
16:25
protein. Breathe between bites. Set your
16:28
fork down between bites. Oh my gosh,
16:31
maybe a lunch
16:33
hour. Taste the food thoroughly. Enjoy
16:37
the moment, the smell, the texture. This
16:41
is being mindful. That is a type of
16:44
meditation.
16:45
evening screens off way before bedtime.
16:50
Maybe sip on bedtime tea, light a
16:53
candle, say thank you to your body for
16:56
everything you did that day. Maybe
16:58
journal three more things that you're
17:00
grateful for in that day. Taking a
17:02
little time in prayer and meditation
17:04
wherever you can is powerful. Just
17:08
saying thank you will shift you out of
17:11
many of those stressful things. Your
17:13
body can't feel stress when it's in
17:15
gratitude. That's
17:17
proven. So these things may seem simple,
17:20
but here's the point. Healing isn't
17:24
about doing
17:25
more. Sometimes it is coming back to
17:29
what matters
17:30
most. So think about this. What's your
17:34
strongest S and what's your weakest? Ask
17:37
yourself, of the three S's, sleep,
17:40
stress, and self-care, which one do I do
17:42
fairly well. And which one needs the
17:45
most intention? That's your starting
17:48
point. And if you're not sure where to
17:50
begin, ask your body. It knows. It's
17:53
been whispering, maybe even shouting for
17:56
quite a while now. So, I want to leave
17:58
you with this. You're not broken. You
18:01
are not behind. You are exactly where
18:02
you need to be. And it's not ever that
18:06
you are too far gone. You simply are in
18:09
need of restoration, not restriction.
18:12
Your hormones don't need punishment or
18:15
more. They may just need partnership.
18:17
And your healing begins when you say, "I
18:20
deserve to feel good again." If this
18:22
message resonates and you're ready to
18:24
reset your hormones from the inside out
18:26
and would like a little help, I'd love
18:28
to invite you to join my VIP 90-day
18:31
program. It's a space where you and me
18:34
together uncover your road imbalances.
18:38
Support your nervous system and
18:40
metabolism. Customize your plan with
18:43
optional lab testing. Walk together week
18:46
by week until you feel strong, steady,
18:48
and energized. Again, you don't have to
18:50
do it alone, and you don't have to stay
18:53
stuck. I'll repost this on my website
18:55
debfor.com or on YouTube under Dr.
18:58
Debbforge or any place you listen to
19:00
podcasts under today's nutrition. So if
19:03
you hear anything, hear this. You are
19:07
designed to thrive, not just survive.
19:11
And with a little more peace, a little
19:14
more sleep, and a little more care, your
19:17
body will remember how to glow. Your
19:19
mind will find clarity, and your heart
19:22
will feel full again.
19:23
Today, let's make it happen together and
19:27
we can make America healthy
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3 "S's" to THRIVE
Deb Ford DCN RDN
3 views
May 6, 2025
19:30
You’ve probably been taught to “push through,” to keep going, to take care of everyone else first. But today, I want to flip that script. Because when you learn to support your stress response, sleep rhythm, and self-care practices, your body doesn’t just feel better… it starts to heal. Let’s break down why these 3 pillars matter — and how they impact every hormone in your body, from cortisol and insulin to estrogen, progesterone, and thyroid.