Have you been told you need to reduce your stress levels, but haven’t been given tangible steps on how to? Today’s episode will share tips and tricks on how to manage stress, both the physical (hormones) and the mental aspects. . Jenn is joined by women’s health and hormones specialist, Ali Damron to discuss how the mind-body connection works. Ali talks about the 5 pillars of hormone health and talks about how we can calm our thoughts to better serve our nervous system. She gives powerful tips on balancing blood sugar through all areas of your lifestyle, with tangible steps on how to implement healthy habits. Tune in today to learn how to achieve your best health possible. The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store.IN THIS EPISODE:●   [4:40] Ali shares her story and how she got into the health field.●   [8:50] Ali explains the mind-body connection and the internal and external connections.●   [14:58] How does the cortisol, insulin, and adrenaline pyramid all work together?●   [17:18] What are the 5 pillars of hormone health? ●   [21:41] What are some ways that we can calm our thoughts?●   [27:15] How do you balance your blood sugar?●   [30:35] What is the best style of exercise for hormone health and managing stress?●   [33:38] How do you know when you need extra support through supplements?●   [35:28] How do you add mindfulness or other elements into your autopilot?●   [38:40] How do we know if what we are doing is working?KEY TAKEAWAYS:●   Your brain only focuses on what it thinks is important by what you focus on yourself. Take the time to get curious about your thoughts and reflect on if they are true. This can take you out of flight or fight mode, and is an excellent way to calm your nervous system. ●   Balancing your blood sugar happens through a variety of lifestyle activities such as a balanced meal, strength training, walking, and adding micronutrients into your diet found through eating whole foods.●   Hormones are constantly changing, so there is no such thing as fully balanced hormones. Instead, take note of how you are feeling every day and evaluate where you may need to give extra attention.QUOTES: “You get to decide which thoughts you buy into. The goal is not to not have the thoughts anymore, the goal is to decide if this is something I’m going to buy into, is this something that's true and if not then you don't need to do anything else with it.” - Ali Damron“So much about this is just being self aware and honest with how you feel. There's always an expert telling you what's right and what's wrong, and we’re not all the same.” - Ali Damron“Our hormones change on a minute by minute basis, if not a month to month. Like that's slow. Our nervous system is reacting to every single thing in front of you. If you slam on the brakes real quick, your nervous system is dysregulated for a minute and it comes back. It's not a destination. There is no way to say, okay, now my hormones are balanced. It's like a feeling.” - Ali Damron“To be aware of the relief of symptoms does require a moment of pause to reflect...in the moment it's so easy to forget that you're not feeling those things.” - Jenn TrepeckRESOURCES:Become A Member of Salad with a Side of FriesJenn’s Free Menu PlanA Salad With a Side of FriesA Salad With A Side Of Fries MerchA Salad With a Side of Fries InstagramGUEST RESOURCES”Ali Amron's WebsiteConsult InformationAli Amron's InstagramAli Amron's Facebook GroupGUEST BIO:Ali is a wife, mother to two sweet little boys, a licensed acupuncturist and a certified personal trainer. For the last 12 years, she has run my own successful private practice as an acupuncturist. Over the last six years, she has taken my message to the online platform where she does 1:1 consultations on women’s health and hormones and offers digital courses. Ali also has a podcast called The Ali Damron Show and a YouTube channel for lots of free resources.