MYF 75 | Overcoming Hypothalamic Amenorrhea: Exercise & Body Weight for Fertility with Samantha Kellgren
Welcome to Episode 75!
In epsiode 75, I interview fertility health coach, Samantha Kellgren, about exercise for fertility and the importance of eating enough and maintaining adequate body fat to balance your cycle, maintain healthy hormones, and support a pregnancy. We also talk a lot about Samantha’s personal experience with hypothalamic amenorrhea and her journey of recovery that involved significant changes to her exercise and nutrition routines. In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why overdoing it on exercise and keeping body fat too low is so detrimental to fertility
Some of the red flags that might indicate a problem with your food or fitness habits
How you can find support to make changes in these areas to support your fertility
What type and amount of exercise is actually recommended for optimal fertility
What it was like for Samantha to make these changes and successfully overcome HA and have a beautiful healthy baby
Free Quiz: Are You Healthy Enough to Get Pregnant?
Free mini-course: How to Choose the Best Prenatal Supplements
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Links to Samantha’s Work
Website: https://simplywellcoaching.com/
Social Media: Instagram
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Show Notes:
3:20 Samantha’s background and how she got started in health coaching with a fertility focus
5:25 Her personal fertility journey and struggle with hypothalamic amenorrhea
11:05 Some of the changes she had to make to get her fertility back on track
17:55 The impact of low body weight/fat, undereating, and over-exercising on hormones and fertility
25:30 How the achievement aspect of exercise can keep us from listening to our bodies in key ways
27:15 The importance of mind-body healing when it comes to undereating or pushing too hard with fitness
30:05 Red flags that your food and fitness habits may be hurting your chances of getting pregnant
36:35 How and where you can get support if you need to make changes in these areas
41:55 What it was like for Samantha to shift her fitness routines and how she came to terms with it
45:45 What types of exercise are best for fertility and how much is OK
49:40 Tips for changing goals and mindset around exercise
54:50 Why culturally ingrained beliefs about exercise can be so damaging and put us on the wrong path
56:45 What it was like for Samantha to intentionally gain weight to support fertility
60:30 How fertility was the catalyst for changes that were ultimately needed to just be healthy overall
62:45 Trying to focus on nutrient-density alongside weight gain, especially when fertility is the goal
65:10 More about Samantha’s practice and social media
67:05 Samantha’s top piece of advice for women struggling with their fertility