Some of the worst cortisol advice online sounds very convincing...

If you’ve been waking up between 2-4. AM lately feeling simultaneously exhausted and annoyingly alert while craving carbs and side-eyeing anyone who chews food near you… your physiology may be trying to tell you something.


There’s a weird thing happening online right now where cortisol has become the villain for basically everything.

And listen… cortisol is important! If you've been here a while, you know it's a big part of what I help women with. But the conversation around it has gotten SO flattened lately, and it drives me a bit nuts.

I keep seeing women being told to avoid anything remotely stressful. No fasting. No cold exposure. No HIIT. No intense exercise. No pushing themselves physically. No discomfort ever. The female body is being talked about online like it’s this fragile little thing that can’t adapt to challenge without immediately falling apart hormonally, and that’s just not true.

The problem with that messaging is women then miss out on the benefits of these things too. Better insulin sensitivity. Better mitochondrial function. Better metabolic flexibility. Better resilience. Better body composition. Better energy. Better aging outcomes. We deserve those benefits too, don't we?! (Of course we do!) We just need to understand that female physiology is different and the application may need to be different.

Cold exposure is a perfect example. A protocol built around a 24-year-old guy named Bryce who listens to OptimizeBiohackingMaxxing podcast clips while dry scooping pre-workout and sleeping 5 hours a night maybeeee shouldn’t automatically become the protocol for a 47-year-old perimenopausal woman juggling stress, blood sugar swings, poor sleep, and three kids. 😂 (Seriously ... we know we get solid adaptations at a higher temperature for cold exposure than men's equivalent, and that's just 1 variable).

This is where nuance matters, and unfortunately, nuance is dying on the internet lately.

Especially now that people can type a prompt into AI and suddenly sound wildly confident while giving incomplete, wrong, or outdated information that sounds scientific enough to convince people they know what they’re talking about.



Ugh.

Women’s physiology done well is very, “it depends.” Cycle phase matters. Recovery matters. Blood sugar. Sleep. Overall stress load and capacity. Perimenopause / menopause changes things. Nutrient status matters. Nervous system state matters. A woman doing intense exercise sprinkled into her week while sleeping 8 hours, eating enough protein, recovering well, and supporting blood sugar is very different physiologically than someone running on caffeine until 2 PM, under-eating calories and carbs, sleeping 5 hours, and watching the news 8 times a day.

Cortisol itself is not bad. Cortisol is a survival hormone. It helps regulate blood sugar, blood pressure, inflammation, energy production, wakefulness, circadian rhythm, and immune function. You actually WANT healthy cortisol. You want it elevated in the morning so you feel awake and functional and motivated to exist as a human being. Then ideally it gradually lowers throughout the day so the body feels safe enough to rest and recover later at night.

That daily rise-and-fall pattern is key.

When cortisol rhythm gets dysregulated for long enough, women often start noticing this cluster of symptoms that doesn’t always feel connected at first -- feeling exhausted but wired at the same time, waking up between 2-4 AM, crashing in the afternoons, anxiety that feels incredibly physical, feeling overstimulated by normal life, shallow breathing, poor stress tolerance, cravings, worsening PMS, belly fat that seem impossible to budge, brain fog, heart palpitations, feeling on edge constantly, workouts feeling harder to recover from, and this general sense of their body not responding the way it used to.

One of the biggest things women miss here is how connected cortisol is to blood sugar.

When blood sugar drops too low, cortisol helps bring it back up because your brain needs glucose to survive. So if someone is under-eating, skipping meals, overtraining, living on caffeine, chronically stressed, not sleeping enough, or constantly riding that adrenaline-wave energy, cortisol may stay elevated more often because the body perceives instability.

This is also part of why cortisol gets tied into insulin resistance, prediabetes, PCOS, and abdominal fat storage. The body becomes more likely to store energy centrally when it perceives stress, unpredictability, or resource instability over time.

Something else that gets missed a lot is how much cortisol impacts fluid balance + vascular function. This is a big reason women under chronic stress start feeling puffy, swollen, inflamed, or like their body composition changed overnight. Cortisol interacts with aldosterone (which regulates sodium + water retention), blood vessel tone, circulation, and endothelial permeability — basically how easily fluid shifts in and out of tissues. When stress is prolonged, you can end up with more fluid being pushed into tissues instead of staying properly regulated in the bloodstream, which shows up as morning face puffiness, tighter rings during walks, abdominal bloating, and that 'soft / inflamed' feeling after poor sleep, travel, intense training, or higher sodium meals. And a lot of women mistake that as fat gain — but physiologically, it’s often stress chemistry + inflammation + recovery debt showing up as temporary fluid redistribution. This is also where a lot of “detox” behaviors backfire (over-restricting food, dehydration, over-exercising, trying to sweat everything out), because the body responds better to stability and adequate recovery than more stress.

And cortisol sits pretty high up in the hormone cascade, meaning it influences a LOT downstream. Thyroid function. Sex hormones. Blood sugar regulation. Inflammation. Sleep quality. Appetite regulation. This is why women often feel like everything is suddenly off at once.



And hardly any healthcare professionals will actually connect all the dots across all systems holistically, because that's not how they were trained and that's not how the system is set up.

I had a functional doctor once tell me my cortisol was higher than she had ever seen in anyone before. Not exactly the achievement badge I was hoping to collect... EVER. 😂 Looking back though, it made complete sense. I was overtraining, under-recovering, running on adrenaline, living in chronic stress, working overnights in a clinical setting, blood sugar all over the place, constantly pushing, constantly “on,” constantly in go-mode.

At the time I was also dealing with PCOS (PMOS), insulin resistance, prediabetes, and hypothyroidism — all of which I’ve since naturally reversed to the point that I no longer meet diagnostic criteria for any of them.

But it required understanding physiology differently! And doing things counter to what the professionals said. It wasn't just eat less and move more. It wasn't just “reduce stress.” It wasn't a blanket, "balance your hormones" thing. 

I had to understand circadian rhythm, actual recovery, blood sugar regulation, nervous system state, breathing patterns, muscle mass, stress adaptation, sleep quality, and how women’s physiology responds to different inputs on a cellular level.

One of the most interesting rabbit holes in all of this is breathing and CO2 tolerance.

Most people think oxygen issues are about oxygen. A lot of the time they’re actually about carbon dioxide tolerance. CO2 helps release oxygen from hemoglobin into tissues. When people chronically over-breathe — which is incredibly common in stress and anxiety states — they can blow off too much CO2, which may contribute to feelings of air hunger, anxiety, dizziness, panic sensations, poor exercise tolerance, and poor stress resilience.

This is where the BOLT test can help. It’s a simple and accessible way to look at CO2 tolerance and breathing efficiency. It's not used as a diagnosis, but as another window into nervous system patterns and stress physiology. I shared about how to do that here in this post.

Nervous system regulation is another thing that gets turned into vague internet fluff lately when it’s actually deeply physiological. It doesn't mean, "just be calm all the time." I mean, what?! Doesn't make sense and not possible anyway (have you seen .... things?!)

Nervous system regulation is breathing patterns. Blood sugar stability. Vagal tone. Sleep timing. Light exposure. Recovery. Safety signals. How the brain interprets stress. Whether the body feels like it’s constantly preparing for threat. And if your body responds appropriately -- fight or flight when someone nearly crashes into you on the highway, but back to calm within a few minutes. THAT is nervous system regulation. Appropriate and adaptive.

And interestingly enough, short intentional stressors can often LOWER baseline cortisol over time when appropriately dosed. This is the entire concept of hormesis and adaptation. Strategic stress with adequate recovery often makes the system more resilient, not less.

Strength training can improve stress resilience. Cold exposure can improve immune resilience. Intervals can improve insulin sensitivity and metabolic flexibility. And more.



(This was oversimplified b/c geez ... I can be so freaking long-winded!)



The goal isn’t removing all stress from life. The goal is improving adaptability. That’s a very different conversation.

Now… testing. This part gets complicated because cortisol fluctuates naturally throughout the day, so a single blood draw only captures one moment in time. Salivary testing can sometimes show rhythm patterns more clearly across the day, but results can still be influenced by sleep, illness, caffeine, medications, stress, cycle phase, timing, and lifestyle variables. Urine testing may add additional context in some cases, but none of these are perfect.

And unfortunately, some functional testing isn’t always covered by insurance because it exists outside standard conventional care models.

This is also why symptoms and patterns matter so much. I’ve seen women with so-called-normal cortisol labs who were very clearly physiologically struggling. And I’ve seen women improve massively not by removing every stressor from life, but by improving recovery, blood sugar regulation, sleep, nervous system flexibility, muscle mass, resilience, and overall metabolic health.

So what actually helps here is usually unsexy consistency. Make sure you’re actually eating enough overall — especially protein at most meals (roughly 30–40g is a helpful anchor for a lot of women). No steep calorie deficits. Don’t let the day turn into caffeine + adrenaline + “I forgot to eat until 3 PM” if you’re already waking at night or feeling wired / tired. Build muscle a few times per week so your body has a reason to improve glucose handling and stop behaving like it’s in scarcity mode. Walk daily, especially after meals if you can, because it’s one of the easiest ways to improve blood sugar without stressing your system more. Get morning light fairly early in the day to help anchor your circadian rhythm. And protect sleep like it’s the ginormous foundation it is — because under-recovered women just keep digging the hole deeper. The goal is reducing the constant physiological noise so your body can stop acting like it’s under threat all the time.


Some women also find a few well-chosen support tools helpful during higher-stress seasons — just as a buffer while the foundation improves. Things like magnesium glycinate for sleep and recovery, L-theanine for smoothing the caffeine/stress response, or ashwagandha to help modulate a chronically elevated stress load can be supportive in the background. The goal is never to rely on supplements instead of physiology — it’s to give the system a little more breathing room while the bigger pieces (food, sleep, muscle, stress, recovery) are getting back in place.

This whole space — women’s physiology, metabolism, cortisol, body composition, stress adaptation, hormones, behavior patterns, nervous system regulation — is basically my Roman Empire. I love this stuff so much because when women finally understand WHY their body has been responding the way it has, everything starts making more sense and there’s so much less fear around it. Plus, they start to trust that their body has actually been on their side the whole time and that allows the most beautiful progress.

Speaking of progress, I have a membership called The Metabolic Edge. I open it once a month only. Enrollment is officially open today and tomorrow, and this is exactly the kind of work we do inside.

The Metabolic Edge is my membership community for women who are tired of trying to piece together random health advice from 42 different people online and want one place where things actually connect. Workouts. Meals. Metabolism. Fat loss. Perimenopause. Cortisol. Nutrition. Blood sugar. Nervous system regulation. Mindset. Real-life consistency. It all works together because your body works together.

And one of the things women tell me over and over inside is that it finally feels manageable.

We're not doing overwhelm 'round here, ok? Ok! We're not obsessive. Indulgences are encouraged. So are real, healthy, VIBRANT results.

Most women inside are 35-60+ and they’re rebuilding trust with their bodies again. They want energy back. They want strength back. They want to stop feeling like they’re fighting themselves all day. They want workouts that build instead of deplete and can be done in 30-40 minutes. They want food to feel simpler. They want to understand what’s happening physiologically instead of blaming themselves constantly.

And they want support while they’re doing it.

That’s what this space is! You can join for $59 / month, no contract, cancel anytime, and start wherever feels most helpful for you. Doors close tomorrow night. Would love to have you inside! LEARN MORE AND JOIN HERE. <3



Stay wild + well,

Tara

P.S. In case you missed it:

My (maybe controversial?) take on how to improve the healthcare system


Update: I'll be taking my exam next month to become a Certified Menopause Practitioner through The Menopause Society and holy wow ... it's quite the monster of a vetting process to get this certification. I'm deep in studying daaaaaily and cannot WAIT to be able to serve the peri / menopause women even better. Fingers crossed!

P.P.S. Things I'm loving lately:

I love that a 6-minute session with my Pulsetto (discounted affiliate link) improves my vagal tone and helps bring me back to a parasympathetic state. It's not a necessity! There are lots of ways to do this for free (humming / singing / chanting and more), but having this device is very much appreciated and utilized. As someone who leans very sympathetically-dominant, I'll take all the help I can get!



Hear me out, this is very specific: 5 minutes of grounding and sunshine in a dress. Being barefoot on my grass, getting some vitamin D, a little sun on my legs, and not having to choose a top AND bottom to wear... sometimes it really is the little things, ya know?



L-theanine. I like taking this with coffee for a less jittery experience. It can help with nervous system regulation, cortisol, and sleep too. Just a heads up: some people develop WILD dreams or nightmares while taking this and if it's so vivid that it's troubling, you may want to consider stopping. Also, I'm loving it but that doesn't mean it's great for you. Check with your provider first.

Your body is not impressed by your fasting window

Our body gets efficient FAST!

It learns patterns and starts organizing itself around them — hunger, energy, output, even how it allocates resources day to day.

Fasting is one of the clearest places you can see this happen.

Most days, I naturally land in a 12–14 hour fasting window. Sometimes it’s closer to 15 depending on dinner, schedules, life. It doesn’t feel stressful because it’s supported on the other side. I still get 3 full, spaced-out meals in my eating window—real protein, carbs, fats, fiber, enough total intake that my body isn’t compensating later.

That daily rhythm becomes baseline. The body adapts to it. Hunger lines up. Energy stabilizes around it. It stops feeling like a “stimulus” and becomes just how things are.

This is where the concept of metabolic stressor vs metabolic signal matters.

A metabolic stressor is something the body sees repeatedly. It learns it, predicts it, and reduces the response over time to conserve energy. But a metabolic signal is something that breaks that prediction slightly. It creates a different kind of response because the system isn’t fully adapted to it yet.

At a cellular level, this is where things like AMPK activation, mitophagy, glycogen depletion, and shifts in nutrient sensing pathways come into play. When energy availability drops beyond the usual pattern, cells shift into more of a “resource prioritization” state. They use stored fuel, increasing fat oxidation, clean-up processes and temporarily changing how energy is allocated.

That’s part of why an occasional longer fast can be useful.


O-C-C-A-S-I-O-N-A-L

It creates a clear signal. For me, that could be a 24-hour fast, plus or minus, done occasionally — not on a schedule, but pulsed in. I can make sure when sleep has been pretty solid, stress isn't through the roof, and I’m already well-fed before I do this.

But I don’t do very long fasts daily.

When that becomes routine, instead of a clean signal, it becomes cumulative stress load — higher cortisol response, lower recovery capacity, and diminishing returns. No thanks!

So the way I think about it is simple. A daily 12–14 hour fast supports metabolic stability and routine clean-up. An occasional longer fast creates a stronger signal and a "deeper clean", if you will.



We all practice fasting overnight and in between meals. What's your current routine looking like?

If you’ve ever felt like all of this is too much to think about, confusing, or just not realistic for real life, The Metabolic Edge would be perfect for you! It's my complete method with all the support and guidance you need, and community to carry you through. Enrollment for May is open now. Hit reply if you have questions -- I don’t want you to miss out on the whole month of May and the goals we'll be crushing together inside.

Excited for your future,
Tara

Reality isn't fixed -- you just think it is

I’ve been experimenting with something that feels like bending reality lately.



So obviously, I HAD to tell you about it.



Quantum physics says particles exist in every possible state until we observe them. That blows my brain! Multiple realities are out there in front of us at once, but we only ever experience the one we’re tuned into. Attention, focus, even the energy you put into your day is the dial that matches you to one version of life over another.

I’ve started testing this in small, ridiculously specific ways. When I slow down a hip hinge and feel my glutes firing totally differently, it changes how my whole workout feels. When I really notice my posture at my desk, soften my face, lower my shoulders, open my chest, the next hour flows ... differently!



My sleep feels more restorative when I honor the body’s rhythm instead of racing past it. If I pay attention to how my first sip of coffee actually tastes, it changes the way the morning lands. Every little nudge in my own awareness is tuning me to a different reality -- one that apparently already exists and is just waiting for me to match it.


I’ve also been experimenting with applying this to business opportunities. When I tune my focus and energy toward a specific project or connection, I start noticing doors I didn’t see before — emails that get answered, calls that click differently, ideas that fit better, offers coming through — all aligning with the version of success I’m matching to that day.

I've also been deep-diving on optimism and loving the interaction between these two. Most people think optimism is smiles and denial of stress. But, it's really this stubborn, disciplined act of training attention and energy toward a version of our life that feels alive, strong, and awake. I do love the woo, but biology backs this up too ... the Reticular Activating System, our brain’s filter for what we notice and focus on, is actually shaping what we see, feel, and experience. It's the reason we buy a bright blue Jeep and then start seeing bright blue Jeeps EVERYwhere. Or, we decide so-and-so must hate us and now everything they say and do seems to back that up.




I’m obsessed with tracking these tiny shifts because they are reshaping everything — energy levels, excitement, boldness, mindset, how I feel in my own skin. It's this glorious experiment that's spiritual, physics, biology, and human focus all mixing together in ways I can see, feel, and measure. It's free, always around, and ours for the taking.



There could be a placebo effect overlapping here as well, but hey, I'm ok with that!

Wanna join me? Start with one minute today ... notice a thought that drags your energy down and reframe it, just for that minute. Watch how it ripples. Because your reality is always listening and adjusting.




Stay wild + well,
Tara

I wish I didn't see this ... because now I have to change it

So I’m sitting down to write today’s blog post and I’m like… bump the other topics. The people need to know this!

I’ve been tracking my sleep pretty closely lately and WOW. The difference is not subtle.

On nights I eat after dinner—nothing crazy, just a little something like veggies and hummus mixed with salsa—my REM sleep drops. Consistently! Like 20 minutes gone.

Same exact amount of hours in bed. Same wake-up time. And yet a completely different sleep quality.

This matters, because more REM sleep means better brain recovery, better mood, better memory, better hormone regulation… all things we as women 40+ could really use more of.

And listen, I’ve read the science. I get the physiology. Digestion, blood sugar, all of it. But seeing your own data basically call you out like this is a different story. Haha.

I usually stop eating after dinner. But this might be the thing that makes me stick to that just a little bit more often.... since my body is over here keeping receipts.

I posted a reel breaking down my new watch data here last week if you missed it and want to see exactly what I’m looking at.

So if you’ve been feeling off even when you’re technically doing 'everything right'… this might be one of those things flying under your radar too!


Stay wild + well,
Tara


P.S. We just started a new workout program in The Metabolic Edge and the feedback has been incredible so far. TME is a (virtual) metabolic studio for women 35-60+ who want to get leaner, stronger, and healthier without the restrictive dieting. Workouts, food, group coaching calls, guest speakers. But my FAV part is the community of women sharing their tips, wins, questions, and cheering each other on. If you need support + guidance, come join us!

You can lose weight ... and your body can function worse

This week I figured I’d switch things up and just talk to you on video instead of writing it all out. Maybe it's the push I need to actually start a youtube channel? LOL Who knows.


I’m walking through something I see a lot—how you can be losing fat but still feel kind of… off. I’ll break down what that actually looks like and why it matters, so you get the full picture, not just what the scale says.



WATCH HERE



If this resonated with you, just know there’s a place to get real, effective fat loss while actually supporting your body and health. Inside The Metabolic Edge, women see sustainable results—not just on the scale—but as part of a bigger picture that includes energy, strength, and resilience. Fat loss is one piece, and we focus on making sure it works with your body, not against it.



To great things ahead,
Tara

What does "healthy" mean to you?

Lately I’ve been thinking about how slippery the word healthy has become.

Everyone uses it. Almost no one defines it. And when they do, it usually gets reduced to one thing — labs, weight, discipline, or how put-together someone looks from the outside.

That’s never really worked for me. Here’s how I think about it for myself.

Healthy means three things:

One, you feel pretty good most days.
Two, you’re comfortable enough in your body that it’s not taking up constant mental space.
And three, your biomarkers — labs, blood pressure, resting heart rate, HRV — are doing well relative to you, your history, and your real life.

When those pieces line up, great. That’s the goal.

When one or more of them is off, I don’t see that as something being “wrong.” It's just information. A nudge to pay attention.

The question I ask next is, what could I adjust that would actually make my life feel easier or more enjoyable over time?

Because if a change adds stress, friction, or resentment, it usually doesn’t last — even if it looks good on paper.

Another thing I wish more people understood is timing. Once you make a change — eating a more solid breakfast, training differently, walking more, going to bed earlier — you need enough consistency before you decide whether it’s helping.


For most things, that’s about three to six weeks of being mostly consistent. Not perfect. Just mostly consistent. If that consistency isn’t there, the clock doesn’t keep running. It resets (because bodies need repetition to adapt).

What’s interesting is that the first signs things are "working" almost never show up as body composition changes.

If you’re waiting for the scale or visible fat loss to tell you whether you’re on the right track for a body recomp. goal, you’ll usually quit before you get there.

The early signs are more subtle...

Better energy in the afternoon.
Waking up a little less tired.
Cravings settling down.
Realizing you can go four hours between meals and feel fine.
Less puffiness.
Fewer aches.
Not getting taken out every time a virus goes around.

Those are the signals I look for first. That’s metabolic health shifting under the surface. Body composition usually follows once those are in place — not the other way around.

This is the lens I use.

Do you feel pretty good most days?
Do you feel great / good in your skin?
Are your numbers moving in a direction that makes sense for you?

If yes, we protect what’s working. If not, we adjust — carefully, realistically, and in a way you can live with. We pay attention, stay consistent long enough to actually learn something, and choose changes that don’t require you to disappear from your own life.

That’s what healthy looks like to me. I'm curious ... what does "healthy" look like to you?


XO,
Tara



P.S. I’ll have 2 spots opening up for 1:1 coaching in March — first come, first serve. In coaching, we dive into everything from accountability and custom workouts to nutrition and lifestyle planning, helping you get truly unstuck and making sense of all your data so you know exactly what to tweak for real results. If that sounds like what you need, you can learn more and apply here.

Peanut Butter Strong-Hold

I ate half the PB jar at once!

After both pregnancies, I went from months of hyperemesis gravidarum (IV fluids 24/7, barely keeping water down) to immediate, primal hunger the moment I delivered each baby and the placenta. It was like a switch flipped. I was breastfeeding around the clock, depleted, and my body had one mission: rebuild. I can still see myself in the kitchen with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon, thinking, if I just finish it now, I can eat straight from the jar. This wasn’t a tablespoon or two left. It was half the jar. And yes… I finished it. At the time I labeled it as “being out of control.” Now I know it was biology ... my system hijacking hunger cues to accomplish a goal it decided was urgent: restore, refuel, keep milk flowing, protect the human(s).


The thing is, hunger and fullness cues aren’t moral or fixed… they’re adaptive. Your body will up- or down-shift appetite based on the inputs it’s reading. Live in fight-or-flight and cortisol dulls satiety (quick energy, please). Yo-yo diet or cut too aggressively (big difference between a slight deficit and a harsh one) and ghrelin rises while leptin drops, so the brain focuses on food. Eat a lot of ultra-processed foods and reward pathways outmuscle your body’s “I’m full” signals. Overeat carbs or fats while undereating protein and fiber and you’ll chase swings instead of feeling steady.


And it's not just nutrition! Poor sleep (hunger hormones spike), circadian mismatches (late-night big meals worsen glucose dynamics), low skeletal-muscle stimulus (less carb tolerance), micronutrient gaps like low magnesium or iron (energy production sputters), mitochondrial inefficiency (cells ask for more fuel because they can’t use what they have well).


This just means your biology is trying to help with the data it’s getting. And when you give it better data consistently — protein + fiber, strength training, earlier light and earlier main meals, calm evenings, real food most of the time — the signals can recalibrate. You’ll feel hunger you can trust and fullness that arrives on time.

To make that easier for the holidays, I'm sharing my free Holiday Apps + Sides Recipe Collection with you today ... fast, blood-sugar-friendlier, family-approved. All happen to be gluten-free and vegetarian. Grab it here. And if you want cozy, metabolism-smart comfort food beyond the holidays, my $17 e-cookbook Smart Cookie is available for purchase now and for a limited time. It's packed with the desserts that we make, eat and bring with us all holiday season long (all year-long, tbh).

New in Metabolic Health Worth Knowing...

1) Small, repeatable cold exposure (even lowering your thermostat a few degrees -- what I call "lower intensity cold exposure") appears to nudge brown fat and improve glucose handling.


2) Shifting your largest meal earlier in the day tends to improve fat oxidation and post-meal glucose, even when calories stay the same.


Small levers, pulled consistently, add up over time!

Things I'm Loving Lately

• Nobody Wants This (I enjoyed season 1 more than season 2 so far).

• Yoga pants that masquerade as dress pants (I have these in black and just ordered red - they're super cheap, so hopefully they don't fall apart in another 6 months but if they don't, I'll probably have them for 25 years b/c I wear the heck out of my clothes. LOL).

• A warm evening beverage -- usually dandelion tea with lemon, decaf coffee, or Organifi Harmony hot chocolate. (Psst ... I'm an affiliate and code TARAALLEN gets you 15% off)

• Frownies—they make such a difference in reducing my tension headaches

• My Fall, leaf table runner. No idea where it’s from or how long I’ve had it, but every time I see it, I get a surge of serotonin.

With love and science,
Tara

P.S. Just announced! Next round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind starts in January. Join the waitlist to get early access and any upcoming (ahem) deals or bonuses.

3 women's health myths that need to die

Hola!



How's your September going so far?? Mine is good, minus some women's health myths that drive me bananas and need to be addressed today. Lol



Some myths in women’s health just keep circling ... I hear them from clients, see them on Instagram, and even catch them being recycled in magazines. They sound “science-y,” but they’re half-truths at best. Let’s clear a few up that just won't die.



Myth #1: Eat every 2–3 hours to “stoke your metabolism.”


Truth: Your metabolism doesn’t work like a campfire. The thermic effect of food (tiny calorie burn from digesting) is based on what you eat, not how often. Eating more frequently doesn’t magically make you burn more. In fact, constant grazing keeps insulin elevated and prevents your body from accessing stored energy. Most women feel better with three balanced meals (sometimes plus one snack) spaced 3–4+ hours apart — enough time for insulin to come back down, which supports steadier energy + fat burning.


Myth #2: More cardio = more fat loss.


Truth: Cardio has huge benefits ... heart health, mitochondrial density, circulation, stress relief ... but as a fat-loss strategy on its own, it backfires. Your body adapts by becoming more efficient, meaning you burn fewer calories for the same effort. Over time, this “metabolic adaptation” is why so many plateau despite hours of cardio. The real game-changer is strength training to build muscle (which raises your resting metabolism) plus walking for recovery, fat oxidation, and stress regulation. Cardio is excellent for health … but it’s not a standalone for fat loss.


Myth #3: Hormones are broken and out of your control.


Truth: Hormones absolutely shift ... in perimenopause, menopause, thyroid conditions, or under chronic stress ... but they don’t exist in a vacuum. They’re constantly responding to inputs like blood sugar balance, sleep quality, muscle mass, stress load, and circadian rhythm. For example -- stable glucose helps stabilize estrogen and progesterone, strength training supports testosterone and growth hormone, light exposure anchors cortisol and melatonin. You may not control every fluctuation, but you have far more influence than you’ve been led to believe.



We’re starting off so strong inside TRANSFORM: Body + Mind this week (it kicked off yesterday!). If you missed out and are kicking yourself, it’s not too late to get support.


Join us inside The Metabolic Edge, my monthly membership. It’s less intense than TRANSFORM but packed with strategy, support, and soul — designed to help you keep building momentum step by step.



XO,
Tara

The body trash-talk antithesis

When you watched the ball drop on January 1st (or fell asleep on the couch just beforehand like me), I bet you had at least a few ideas about how you wanted this year to go. Now that we're halfway through 2022, how's it going so far? What are you most proud of? What might you need some help with in the second half of the year?



I want to take you through a VERY quick, but VERY powerful exercise if you'll indulge me. Grab a piece of paper and pen. Yeah yeah, the notes section in your phone is fine too.



I want you to write down 5-10 things your body did for you within the last 24 hours. 

• Did you carry all the groceries into your house in one trip (b/c what kind of a psychopath takes more than 1 trip, anyway??)?

• Did you pick up your kids or grandkids?

• Did you go for a walk or exercise?

• Did you have a long commute on a standing-room-only train?

• Did you simply sleep while your immune "army" came through and saved the day by helping you heal + repair?

• Maybe you felt the beat of your fav. song when it came on Alexa and you realized that, in fact, your hips DON'T lie.

Write down the first 5-10 things that come to mind. If they're flowing, keep going! If you're stuck, think outside the box. But you're not done until there's at least 5 things written down. Because I said so. ;-)


The point of this exercise is simple: when we feel gratitude for our body -- even just a tiny bit -- it becomes harder to trash talk it. Less trash talk = less disrespectful behavior like over-restriction or over-indulgence.


LMK how it goes!


If you've been feeling lately like something needs to change, you're not alone. So many women have been telling me lately that they're tired of the same patterns repeating. Tired of being confused AF about what to eat, when, how much. Tired of not having the energy to workout. Tired of feeling like their health is slipping. And tired of spending their days not feeling sexy + vibrant as they know, deep-down, is possible.



If you're nodding your head, THIS IS YOUR SIGN to learn how to finally stop doing weird things related to food and your body. When you know how you use and store different kinds of food, how to balance your plate, how to exercise without spinning your wheels, and how to tap into other practices that no diet has ever taught you about, you'll realize there's not that much that you can't accomplish with the right combo.



In September, I'll be taking another group through my 28-day course -- TRANSFORM: Body + Mind. I'd like to help you blow your own damn mind then. Whaddya think? Get more details and join the waitlist here. (Waitlist peeps will be getting a discount code when the cart opens.)



You can unlearn and learn SO much about your body in 28 days. It's enough to change your entire trajectory. Go make yourself a PFF breakfast (protein, fat, and fiber), think about it, and click the button below to join the waitlist if you're ready to put yourself first, finally.



XO,
Tara



P.S. Did you know that I send out a weekly newsletter with my top tips and resources around nutrition, exercise, metabolism, fat loss, mindset, longevity, and how to just feeling freaking amazing?? You can join the inbox party too —  right here.

Goodbye, curves!?

Bye bye, curves!? 

At least that's what she was afraid of when she asked me whether or not she's lose her shape as her fat loss journey continued.



Is there some truth to that? Yup! But there is also a bit that's in your control. CHECK OUT THIS QUICK (6 min.) VIDEO for all the curves + fat loss details.



Is this something you're concerned about as well? Let's chat about it so you feel more confident about your strategy. Shoot me an email - tara@taraallenhealth.com - to get right into my inbox. :-)



Happy day,
Tara

Organic Landscaping - weeding through the options

Check out my latest video in which I am asking you for help.

Weeds, and lawns, and organic landscaping…oh my!

Just another decision to make in the "real world".  Another set of priorities to reconcile.  This is life!  We want our children to have a beautiful, lush lawn to run around on, get their fair share of grass stains on, play ball on, and take their obligatory prom pictures on.  We want to have BBQs, cookouts, and fun with friends and family.  We want to sit around the (baby) pool and under the shade while we take too many pictures on our kiddos.

AND, we want to do all of this without the use of industrial pesticides.  No Monsanto.  No Glyphosate.  No thank you!

So, where does this leave us?  What to do?  This is a real question!  Please weigh in and help us with our dilemma.

P.S. We live on Long Island (New York) and are open to both organic landscaping company recommendations and DIY options.

Thanks!

In good health amongst the weeds,

Tara

Caring for your body post-baby and beyond!

I couldn't bring you all to the Blossom Baby Expo this past weekend here on Long Island, so at the last-minute suggestion of my hubby, I recorded my presentation LIVE to bring to YOU!  ;-)

We spoke about nutrition, fitness, sleep, support, and stress - specifically targeted for postpartum women, but these tips will help anyone!  I stopped the video before the Q&A started, for the privacy of our awesome mamas.

Please share this with any of your pregnant or postpartum friends.  This time in your / their lives is simultaneously the most important and yet the most challenging time to turn inward and take care of your own body.  It can be done!  Watch to learn more.

In good health,

Tara

This one is for the ladies...

Ladies, listen up!  Wanna hear something that is so true and also so unfair?  Our biology is sexist! We may have come very far in the year 2016, but our bodies still think we should be barefoot and pregnant from an early age.  Ugh!  Accordingly, we are super-sensitive to energy deficits (too low-calorie, too low-fat, too low-carb) and nutritional stressors.  The body sees this as a threat to reproductive success!

““Nope, no babies during a famine. Let’s make your hormones all funky, make you become resistant to weight loss, lower your metabolism, and make you fatigued”.”

— Your body (if you've ever yo-yo dieted or taken in far too few calories for your needs.

Ok, so what does this mean for YOU?  It means you have to make small, incremental, sustainable changes.  It means you focus on the 'long game' just like your body does so it doesn't see the changes as a threat, but more like a new and comfy norm.  It probably means the results you see won't happen as quickly as you'd like, but it's the only way you can make a lasting change.  It also means your goals must creep into many different aspects of your life - nutrition, movement, stress management, relationships, self-confidence, feelings of fulfillment.  ALL areas of your life affect your relationship to your environment, your food, and the way you treat yourself.

So, that's why you can't just cut soda out and lose 10 pounds like your husband did.  (I actually get asked some version of that question just about every week).

Ladies - respect your biology, but please continue kicking butt and taking names in a very 2016-ish way.  <3

In health,

Tara

Should Women Lift Heavy?

I take a quick dive into this juicy topic in today's video.  Watch up!

Do you know any ladies that want to workout but are afraid of 'bulking up'?  Do you have anyone in your life that you believe would benefit from health talks, healthy recipes, family wellness info, etc.?  Send them this way!  

Do you want the bonus content that I send to my most fabulous and loyal peeps? Be sure to join my email list.  Sign up is over on the home page.  It's free and guess what?  You get a pretty "cool" smoothie formula PDF just for signing up to hang with me.  :-)