Kenzie Cortes, NTP. PN1. (2026)

02/03/2023

Who’s tracked calories or macros and thought “my goal was 1500 but I finished my day at only 1300!🥳”
Like it was some sort of honorable achievement? ….And then tried to do it over and over again, day after day, month after month…for years …until the end of time. 🫠
(I know I have, and most of you are right there with me)

We thought we were shaving some time off the goal timeline. But really we were just shaving off optimal metabolic function.

When it comes to your metabolic, hormone, and health goals, consistency, accuracy and honesty is key. Just like consistently overeating probably isn’t going to get you to your goals, neither is under eating and they need to BOTH be taken into consideration.

If you’re not sure what your consumption should look like , you probably need to simply learn where you’re at and where you need to go.
Maybe that looks like the fundamental practice of accurate tracking, or maybe it’s working with a practitioner to help you find your path.
Whatever your next step is: it’s time to stop guesssing, to stop beating your head into the wall and your metabolism into the ground.
and for the love of all things holy….stop eating like your high school prom queen- you’re a full grown adult with full grown function to maintain. 😉

Message or if you need to be pointed in the right direction 💗

10/12/2022

Probably the biggest hormonal imbalance is our good friend cortisol! 🫣
Is it bad? Is it good? …is it possible that it’s neither?!

Cortisol is in fact keeping us alive. We need it!!
But just because not all stress is bad and it can often be beneficial, does not mean you need to stuff your face at the cortisol buffet everyday. 🤦🏽‍♀️

We need to be diligent about keeping this hormone in manageable and optimal levels (like most hormones!)

We can do this in many ways but they all basically come back to these two things.

👉Lessening the stressors - we will talk more about the concept of a “stress audit” later. It includes looking at things like your environment, routines, habits, relationships, nutrition, the way you talk to yourself, etc. and adjusting where necessary.
👉Improving resiliency- like I said, stress’ effect is largely the perception of that stress: so if you are constantly in a high stressed state (because you didn’t do your audit or give your body/mind the support, nutrients and tools needed) any little stress will feel BIG …and it’s physiological effects will be larger. Fueling well, participating in activities and practices that support the nervous system, and being willing to take an honest look at yourself are all things that help improve resiliency so when those uncontrollable stressors come.. it’s just a drop in the bucket.

If you know you struggle with stress and are not sure how your body is coping..or maybe you didn’t know your stress actually shows on your labwork and you need that eye opening evidence…it might be time to get an HTMA or bloodwork. Let me know, we got you 👏

07/10/2022

Lets take a look at the components that make up your total daily energy expenditure (aka your metabolism)
Before we get into the nitty gritty and some practical tips to help you optimize your metabolism, first it’s important to begin to understand what the heck metabolism even is, and what contributes to it.
Your metabolism is the sum of all the chemical reactions that take place in your body to create the energy for you to live your life.
** it is so much more than “how much I can eat and not gain weight”…a common oversimplification, but we’ll get there 😉**

Your total energy requirement or expenditure is made up of 4 main components. Take a look at the graph to see the largest to smallest contributors and what they encompass.
We will be diving into plenty of topics regarding all things metabolism and what you can do to NATURALLY support the system as a whole (especially in our FREE mitochondria and metabolism live call happening Oct 11th, you definitely don’t want to miss it).
Make sure to send us a DM saying “count me in!” so I can get you the link!

27/09/2022

Just here for your friendly reminder that your metabolism isn’t broken. It’s adapted.
So how’d we get here? to see some of the MANY reasons you may be in a downregulated state.
When we have awareness surrounding how we got here, we can get to work on aiding the body to up-regulate.

Remember: your metabolism is fluid and ever changing. This is NOT a static thing.
Which is good news!! 🤗 It means we have way more control than we have made ourselves believe.

*please note this is not an exhaustive list* there are MANY more factors that can cause metabolism to adapt (down) to its environment. All of these reasons here play a part in mitochondrial function for example. Chronic infections and other root causes can play a large contributing factor to many of the reasons listed and ultimately down regulate metabolism too.

If you have been reading these posts thinking “ooof this me!” Or you’re wanting to learn more on how to work WITH your body instead of against it, please join us for a FREE live call on Mitochondria and Metabolism on October 11th at 6pm MST.

Dm me “count me in!” And we will get you set up with the link!❤️

02/09/2022

All this talk about lack of/restoring appetite… but how do I know if I’m eating enough? Or nutrient dense enough? Or balanced enough? 🥴

👉When you feel like something was missing from your meal (typically we see this as a cravings for sweets shortly after)- this potentially can mean carbohydrates were not adequate in the meal

👉When you dont feel satiated for about 3-4 hours post meal this could point to inadequate protein or fats. OR your liver is struggling to keep up with balancing your blood sugar.

👉When your energy is too high or too low OR when you cant stay focused on what “you should be” this can point to either a (temporary) food intolerance, portion size was too large causing a drop in energy due to blood diversion, or fat/carb ratio was too far in one direction.

👉When your mood is unstable this can potentially tell us the total caloric intake is too low (or again, the balance between the macronutrients is imbalanced)

👉When you come home from your full day and you’re ready to eat the entire kitchen, this tells us there is too much restriction happening throughout the day or intake is not meeting your body’s current needs.

👉When you find yourself “being good all week” but then the weekend comes around and you feel like you “lack self control” ..this is not a self control issue this is a lack of nourishment through nutrient dense foods throughout the week. Lack of overall nutrients/intake can cause you to seek hyper palatable foods..or large quantities at a time to restore nutrient needs.

👉When you are CONSTANTLY having “next meal thoughts” this can point to a highly restrictive diet or a lack of nutrients again(for the same reason mentioned in the previous point). This is also often present when disordered eating habits have surfaced so please be aware of your actions and seek counsel when needed.

Have you ever experienced any of these symptoms ? Or do you have any to add to the list? ⬇️⬇️

23/08/2022

Raise your hand if you’ve worn your lack of appetite as a badge of honor? 🤚🏼

We have been FALSELY led to believe that not having an appetite is a good thing. (Or definitely not something to worry about)

Well we’re here to tell you…we’re worried.
Your appetite acting like Houdini actually has a cause. 🪄 And it’s time it gets exposed.

While you sleep you are fasting…hence the name break-fast (groundbreaking, I know).
This means you’ve potentially been fasting for 10+ hours right?

Well a liver (working optimally) should be able to have about 8-10 hours of stored glucose locked and loaded to sustain you. Once that is out, your body tuns to other ways to fuel you (which is the main argument for Keto).

So after that nightly fast… your hunger shouldddd be present. … if its not, we know the body has already switched its fuel to fill that time gap.
Now, what the ketosis argument leaves out is that your body is also largely utilizing cortisol…not ideal.

Cortisol is a hormone made by the adrenals (often known as the stress hormone) that has a profound impact on blood sugar (if you’re unsure about the connection here, check out our blood sugar series).

👉But to simplify: not enough fuel? STRESS! Enter cortisol to CREATE the fuel by raising blood sugar. Cortisol can raise blood sugar by breaking down things like muscle and connective tissue.

This is why you’ll often hear that just paying attention to the scale and why “losing weight” doesn’t necessarily mean what you’re doing is working…you can definitely be losing lean mass on your new calorie deficit… but that’s a rant for another time.

ANYWAY, after a while if left unchecked, your body learns your tendencies and doesn’t even bother asking you to feed it by sending hunger cues…it just makes the fuel it needs… with a sassy “forget you girl” tone …Then you’re left as Little Miss “Im just not hungry” with a side of symptoms like hormonal imbalance, weight gain, hair loss, more thyroid symptoms, crappy sleep and mood imbalances.

Like I mentioned in our last post…your hunger cues WILL come back, but you need to start actually eating to signal them and bring balance back to your body / blood sugar. 😊

19/08/2022

“listen to your body” right?
Well…maybe not always. 🥴
Eating upon waking potentially could be the thing where we tell you to break that rule. 😱
Eat, EVEN IF YOUR BODY IS NOT TELLING YOU TO.
Hear me out…you’ll be doing this at temporarily until those hunger queues come back. .. which they will.
(if you struggle with NOT having an appetite in the morning…or at all. Turn on our notifications so you don’t miss next weeks root cause Monday post)

When it comes to healing, adding additional stress on the body by not consuming nourishment upon waking is completely unnecessary.

What makes this worse? Strenuous exercise on an empty stomach. Many of our clients tend to work out in the morning due to schedules and preferring the endorphins to start their day (we love this, movement is medicine!). The hang up happens when you’re diving right into it without letting your body know it is SAFE and it can stop running on cortisol.
Not all stress is bad, but when we stack stressors (fasting, and strenuous exercise) while also holding an intention of healing….we can start to work against ourselves and cause more harm than good.

If your goal is healing, having hormonal balance, and a stronger metabolism…it first starts with eating.

04/02/2022

We asked if you have known blood sugar regulation issues 🩸 …
72% if you said no.
(many of the ones who answered yes were practitioners….skewing my data, cheaters!)

Once symptoms of dysregulation were stated…the yes’s jumped up to 76%!!!

So what does this mean?!

‼️It confirms the fact that blood sugar awareness, understanding and education is pushed off only to diabetics and pre-diabetics far too often! This leaves the door wide open for a host of problems down the line. 🙅🏼‍♀️🙅🏼‍♀️

Blood sugar is something your body works so tirelessly to keep in check for YOUR optimal function…yet years go by without learning how to recognize the alarms while symptoms and dysfunction just pile up😣

If this you, we’re here to help. Check out the blood potential symptoms on slide 3 and let us know if you resonate with any listed!
If so, you’ll want to stay tuned for this series to learn how it works, how this fits in to a root cause approach, how to support it, and some hacks to help you find balance!

25/09/2021

I CANT STICK TO ANYTHING!!!

That’s probably because you’re overhauling too much at once and throwing your body into survival mode!!
Slow it down, have grace and figure out a way to enjoy the process! (I know, YUCK right?)

Everyone wants to get healthier, everyone thinks they “should” be eating xyz, but ….realistically not a damn person wants to suffer and not enjoy their life long term.

I have had great success with clients who have felt kind of like a light switch with nutrition by having them just focusing on mastering one meal at a time. & you can move slowly towards the next meal to focus on.

Think about this, with each meal you master & are consistently making more nourishing choices…you’re improving by at least 30%
(Assuming you eat 3 meals a day)

30% improvement is significant!
Adopt a mindset of sustainability, you’ll be glad you did.
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

31/08/2021

V I S U A L I Z A T I O N
Basically, the act of thinking of something you want in your life.

Feelings, goals, situations, experiences… you name it, you can visualize it.

Visualization is often used for meditative purposes (grounding yourself after a stressful day, getting through an overwhelmingly anxiety ridden situation, and many more)
Which for some of us who think we like things a little more hardcore, it may seem like a woo-woo waste of time but..not so fast.

Did you know that the reason visualization is so powerful is that it’s actually creating new neural pathways in your brain?!
The more you think about something (even without doing the actual activity) the nervous system is stimulated to create new patterns as if you’ve actually done the thing!
Yep, that means when you’re struggling to shut your mind off …you can kind of kill two birds with one stone!
Relax your system by slowing the hell down AND improve your performance or get closer to your goals by utilizing that nervous system and it’s power. 🤯
YOU’RE. FREAKING. WELCOME.

Here’s a few tips on making visualization more powerful for you:
1️⃣ stop what you’re doing.
No, you’re not going to simultaneously be checking emails, Martha. close your eyes, take some deep slow breaths and get specific about what it is that you want to target
2️⃣ go through all the sensations you would feel in that moment. I like to check in with each of my senses to get as specific as possible. Don’t just list them in your head but try to experience each one as you add them to the last.
3️⃣ most importantly….don’t overthink it and start small. We’re trying to reduce stressors here, not add them.

Let me know if you utilize visualization or if you’re willing to give it a shot!
⬇️⬇️⬇️
⁣.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

11/08/2021

“Eat less move more”

11/08/2021

“Eat less move more”

Kenzie Cortes, NTP. PN1.

02/03/2023

10/12/2022

07/10/2022

27/09/2022

02/09/2022

23/08/2022

19/08/2022

04/02/2022

25/09/2021

31/08/2021

11/08/2021

11/08/2021

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