Kelly's migraines gone after changing one thing (and it wasn't food!)

What Are Hormones + Why They Matter?

There’s a moment every woman reaches at some point in her 40s, possibly as early as mid 30. (And this goes for men, too! It might just show up a little later).

You’re doing all the “right” things, eating healthy, exercising, trying to be consistent, and suddenly things stop working.

Maybe your energy dips or motivation feels off. You're still doing all the things but your body holds on no matter what you do.

And you start to wonder, What’s wrong with me?!

I know because I've been there. 

Turning 40 hit me like a ton of bricks.

I was already a nutrition coach at that point, so my eating was dialed in, and I had plenty of muscle mass from strength training multiple times a week for decades. So what happened?

Here's what I came to find out:

My stress tolerance was starting to lower and my body was responding appropriately to my environmental inputs.

And what controls those body processes, including fat-burning and hunger signals? Hormones.

And what is the main driver of proper hormone release? Light.

In other words, I couldn't get away with certain lifestyle habits that I could before turning 40, including missing morning light and sitting indoors most of my day, regardless of my workouts.

I used to get 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day before turning 40.

Now, I consistently get 10,000 steps minimum and feel my best at 15,000 daily or more, mostly outside so light can freely enter my eyes and properly signal all the internal processes via hormones at the right times inside my body.

Fact: all-day low intensity movement like walking is your BFF after turning 40. In many ways, it's just as important, if not more important, than any workout!

And my macronutrients needed to shift as well by that point because my insulin (a hormone) sensitivity had changed.

This doesn't mean that you're broken or doomed to decline thereafter. 

Far from it! 

You just need the right information for how to adapt as you age.

You see, hormones aren't the cause of what you’re experiencing.

They’re the effect.

And the most simple definition of hormones? They are messengers.

They respond to the signals you send them every single day through what you eat, how you sleep, how you move, the light you see when you wake, and the stress you carry throughout the day. 

When those signals are out of sync, your body loses its sense of timing.

That can work for a long time until your body becomes less tolerant of stressors when you reach mid life, which is exactly what happened to me.

It’s like trying to play a song when all the instruments are out of tune.

Your metabolism slows down.

Your energy crashes.

You crave sugar and caffeine just to keep going.

You feel disconnected from your body, like it’s doing its own thing while you’re just trying to keep up.

But your body isn’t fighting you.

It’s asking you to listen more deeply.

It's asking you to prioritize your health in a new way! And it starts with hormones.

Inside your body, there’s a hierarchy of hormones.

At the top are insulin and cortisol, the two that decide how safe your body feels to burn fat, build muscle, and make energy.

And when our clients start Awaken Your Nutrition, those are the exact two hormones that start to balance just from consistent meal timing, meal spacing and meal sizes!

When those two are balanced, everything downstream like thyroid, estrogen, and progesterone starts to fall back into harmony.

That’s why I host a monthly women’s community call all about hormones inside Awaken Your Nutrition, so you walk away with tangible value and practical application to make your life easier.

What I share in these calls goes beyond food and beyond what is in our nutrition course. We talk about other factors that influence your health and metabolism, especially light.

Recently, our long-term client Kelly shared that her migraines have now vanished from one simple trick I shared with her regarding her LIGHT environment and computer.

(For AYN students and alumni: check out what Kelly did during our most recent hormones call on 11/11/2025 in  )

Because you can’t separate metabolism from your light-driven circadian rhythm or your nervous system.

When you begin to understand your body’s language, everything changes.

Your energy rises.

Your sleep deepens.

Your body starts working with you again instead of against you.

This is the work we do inside Awaken Your Nutrition, bringing your body back into alignment with nature, nourishment, and rhythm.

If you’ve been doing everything “right” and still feel off, this is your sign.

It’s not about trying harder.

It’s about coming back into sync.

Ready to learn how to restore balance to your hormones, metabolism, and energy naturally and sustainably?

[Book Your Free Health Audit Call by November 30th ]

This is the best time to start syncing your circadian rhythm and keep hormones balanced as we shift into longer nights and shorter days. 

Here's to balance in all things,

Lisa Kirby

Co-Founder of The Green Door Life