Dr. Stephanie Estima is a doctor of chiropractic with a special interest in metabolism, body composition, functional neurology, and female physiology. She’s also the author of the book, The Betty Body: A Geeky Goddess' Guide to Intuitive Eating, Balanced Hormones, and Transformative Sex, and she hosts the Better! podcast. Dr. Estima has also been featured on Thrive Global, she’s had over 3.5 million article reads on Medium.com, and she’s helped thousands of women regulate their hormones, lose weight, and get off medications. In this episode, Dr. Estima chats with Chris Irvin about the different hormone changes that take place during a monthly cycle, how women should approach these changes, using keto throughout your cycle, why cravings are drastically different during your cycle, and more.

Dr. Estima also dives into how keto can affect your thyroid, why you may do well on keto for a certain time only to find yourself craving carbs soon after, and what you can do to improve your hormone health starting today.

Here’s a breakdown of the episode with Dr. Estima:

00:00 Introduction to the Keto Answers podcast

00:29 Introduction to this episode’s guest, Dr. Stephanie Estima

02:56 Dr. Estima’s background, how she found herself in this space, and what she noticed in her practice and through her research

09:14 The difference in nutrition for men and women

16:42 Understanding progesterone and its effects on cravings

21:59 Changing your diet throughout your cycle

33:22 The connection between hormonal changes and mental health

42:01 What to do when estrogen is higher in your cycle

47:19 Optimizing keto for women

53:14 Why women shouldn’t do keto forever and a better approach to take

59:29 Is keto bad for your thyroid?

01:05:09 The Estima Diet and Dr. Estima’s training program

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Dr. Stephanie Estima’s website

Dr. Estima’s Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube channel

Dr. Estima’s book, The Betty Body: A Geeky Goddess' Guide to Intuitive Eating, Balanced Hormones, and Transformative Sex

The Estima Diet

Dr. Estima’s certification program

Dr. Estima’s podcast