Annie Conklin Wellness

If this weekend is hard for you for whatever reason, please take a moment to step away from the social media celebrations to honor all that you are, all those who love you, and all that this world is because you are here. ❤️
Your legacy is not of those who came before you or of those that may or may not come after - it is simply you living, breathing, surviving, smiling. I love you ❤️

"Your hormones are doing exactly what they are supposed to do - ADAPT to their environment"⠀ellymichelle
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My cortisol wasn't out of whack. My life was.⠀
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I have chronic issues with cortisol (stress hormone), mostly because I overlook stress in my life as something my body needs to process and recover from. We just have ONE stress bucket & ALL stress fills it up. So whether you are filling it with fun stress like workouts, & caffeine or hard stress like your job - your bucket can only hold so much. Stress of any sort raises your cortisol, and if you don't have breaks from stress, it will stay raised and show up in your body as stubborn weight, trouble sleeping, depression, problems with your cycle, and so much more.⠀
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I have been using test strips for just over a month. The first one I took showed high cortisol, I suspected that & it's the reason I tried the strips. So I shifted into addressing my environment to care for my body. ⠀
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☑️Walking as my only workout for about 3 weeks. ⠀
☑️Focused on eating enough protein daily & eating enough calories in general. Calories are fuel for your body, don't be scared of them. ⠀
☑️Decreased caffeine. I switched to half caff for my coffee & this was the one thing that made a difference right away. Caffeine stresses your adrenals - sorry but it's true.⠀
☑️Made sleep a priority. I had some external issues with getting a full nights sleep (caring for my old pup), so I started squeezing naps in where I could. ⠀
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Today was the first day my cortisol levels were normal since I tested them 5 weeks ago. That's actually a pretty quick turnaround in the scheme of things - it can take months depending on how much you need to lower.⠀
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So now that I'm in a good zone, what do I do? Everything I did for the past 5 weeks. This is what my body needs and it's important to stay here. My fave reminds me "you do you" every time I pass judgement on myself for taking things slow. Reshape your mindset to live from a place of nourishment, not from a place of bigger, better, faster, stronger. Nourish your ONE body. ⠀
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And friends, YOU DO YOU. You're the only one who can 💞