What if the most frustrating message in your health journey isn’t wrong… it’s just incomplete? In this episode, we unpack the moment so many women know all too well. Finally getting the courage to ask for help, only to be told “everything looks normal.” I share why this experience is far more common than it should be, and why it often leaves women feeling more confused, dismissed, and alone than before.

We break down what standard lab testing is actually designed to detect and why it frequently misses the deeper dysfunction driving symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, bloating, and brain fog. You’ll learn the critical difference between disease and dysfunction, and why you can feel terrible even when nothing shows up as “wrong” on paper. We also dive into the truth about reference ranges, and why “normal” often just means average, not optimal.

I'll walk through real examples, including how thyroid and hormone imbalances can exist within normal ranges yet still disrupt how you feel every day. We explore what standard testing doesn’t look at at all, from gut health to full hormone patterns, and why those gaps matter more than most people realize. This episode also highlights how cortisol, stress, and the nervous system play a role in keeping the body stuck, even when basic labs appear fine.

Most importantly, we talk about the emotional impact of being told you’re “fine” when you know you’re not, and how that message can slowly shift the way you see yourself. There’s a powerful validation that comes from finally understanding what your body has been trying to tell you all along. If you’ve ever felt like your body isn’t responding despite doing everything right, this conversation will give you clarity, language, and a completely new perspective.

You are not the problem and this episode will help you understand why.

Time Stamps:

(1:32) Sharing A Recent Message

(3:52) Why This Is Happening

(16:22) Reference Ranges

(21:17) Detoxication Pathways

(24:42) Gut Testing

(29:20) Key Things To Remember

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Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

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Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

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Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

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Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

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I want to tell you about a woman who was doing everything right. 

Eating clean, working out consistently, tracking everything, taking all the supplements.

She'd been doing this for two years. And in those two years her weight had gone up, her energy had gotten worse, and she'd started waking up every morning with this low-grade dread about her body that she just couldn't shake. 

She went to her doctor. Labs came back normal. 

She went to a functional medicine doctor. Got a supplement list. Came back six months later feeling exactly the same. And at some point she started to quietly believe that maybe she was just the problem.

She wasn't. And if any part of that sounds familiar, stay with us because that's exactly what today's episode is about.

We are going to break down exactly why smart, disciplined women are doing everything right and getting worse results, why the medical system keeps missing it, and what's actually going on in the gut, hormones, and metabolism that standard testing never finds.

Time Stamps:

(1:22) A Story About A Women Doing “Everything” Right

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Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

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Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

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Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

What if the reason your hormones feel “off”… has nothing to do with supplements, diets, or doing more and everything to do with what you’re not doing daily?

In this episode, we break down the five simple but powerful habits that can dramatically improve your hormone health in as little as 90 days. These aren’t trendy hacks or complicated protocols. They’re foundational lifestyle shifts that most women overlook while chasing faster, flashier solutions.

We dive into how your morning routine, movement, and evening habits directly influence cortisol, energy, metabolism, and overall balance. You’ll learn why something as simple as morning light exposure can reset your internal clock and why daily movement doesn’t have to mean intense workouts to be effective.

We also unpack one of the most overlooked disruptors of hormone health: your nighttime routine. From screen exposure to late-night eating, these small habits may be quietly working against your body more than you realize.

This episode challenges the idea that you need to do more and instead shows you how to do what actually matters. Because when your lifestyle supports your body, everything starts to work with you instead of against you.

If you’ve been feeling stuck, exhausted, or like your body just isn’t responding the way it should, this conversation will give you a clear, practical path forward.

Start with one habit, stay consistent, and watch what changes.

Because your body isn’t broken. It’s just waiting for the right inputs.

Time Stamps:

(3:37) Changes In Hormone Health

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Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

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Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

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Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

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Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

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Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

What if the reason your body isn’t responding… isn’t because you’re doing something wrong?

In this episode, I sit down with Vital Spark coach Lindsey Newman to unpack the story behind her journey from “doing everything right” to realizing her body was breaking down beneath the surface. Coach Lindsey shares what it looked like to chase the “fit mom” identity of training harder, eating less, and trying to prove something both to herself and to the world around her. Despite eating as little as 1200 calories, lifting six days a week, and adding in cardio, her body was gaining weight, her energy was crashing, and her hormones were spiraling.

What followed was a season of deep exhaustion, chronic pain, anxiety, and the terrifying feeling that her body was no longer her own. She opens up about the emotional toll of that time, the frustration of being told she was “fine,” and the moment she finally felt seen after receiving a PCOS diagnosis. But even then, she knew there had to be more to the story.

That search led her to functional health, where everything began to click.

Lindsey shares how uncovering deeper root causes like POTS, gut dysfunction, and thyroid issues completely changed the way she understood her body and ultimately how she healed it. We talk about why “calories in, calories out” isn’t the full picture, how systems in the body are deeply interconnected, and what most women are missing when they try to fix their health.

This conversation is for the woman who feels exhausted, frustrated, and stuck despite doing everything she’s been told should work.

Because your body isn’t broken and there is a way forward when you finally start looking at the full picture.

Time Stamps:

(1:22) Coach Lindsey

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Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

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Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

What if the very habits you believe are making you healthier are actually breaking your body down?

In this episode, I sit down with functional health coach Lacey Iskra in our new home and podcast studio (hehe) to unpack the powerful and complicated journey that led her from bodybuilding and extreme dieting to true root-cause healing. Lacey shares how years of intense training, restrictive nutrition, and pushing through stress eventually left her with hormonal dysfunction, autoimmune symptoms, and a body that felt completely out of balance. Like many women in the fitness space, she was doing everything “right” on paper but still watching her health decline.

Her story reveals how early gut health issues, birth control, chronic dieting, and years without a menstrual cycle quietly compounded into bigger problems later in life. After stepping away from bodybuilding, Lacey began searching for answers and eventually discovered the world of functional health and root-cause healing. Through gut testing, lifestyle changes, and deeper emotional and mindset work, she was able to completely reverse her psoriasis and rebuild her health from the inside out.

Throughout the conversation, Lacey and I break down the biggest mistakes women make when trying to fix their health and why fat loss alone is rarely the real solution. We also talk about the missing link most health protocols overlook: addressing the physical, mental, and emotional pieces together.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing everything right but your body still isn’t responding, this episode will help you understand why.

And more importantly, it will show you that healing is possible when you finally start addressing the real root of the problem.

Time Stamps:

(2:19) Who Is Lacey Iskra?

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Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

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Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

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Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

Most women will research every stroller, bottle, and sleep schedule for their baby but spend almost no time thinking about how to support their own body during pregnancy.

 In this episode, I’m sharing a “half baked” pregnancy update and pulling back the curtain on what I’ve actually been doing to support my body while growing this baby. 

The reality is that most prenatal care is focused on monitoring the baby, not optimizing the mother’s health. And while that makes sense medically, it also leaves a huge gap in how women care for themselves during one of the most physically demanding seasons of life. 

Pregnancy is often treated like a time to pause your health goals, but I see it more like a sport that requires intentional preparation and support.

In this episode, I walk through the team I’ve built around me including a functional practitioner, doula, midwife, pelvic floor physical therapist, chiropractor, and massage therapist and why I chose to outsource as many decisions as possible during this season. 

I share what the first trimester actually looked like for me, from fatigue and nausea to the unexpected mental challenge of body image changes. 

We also talk about the simple systems I’m using moving into the second and third trimesters, including strength training, daily movement, blood sugar stability, and pelvic floor work. 

I explain how I’m thinking about nutrition not just for myself, but for my baby’s long-term health and taste development. We’ll also talk honestly about the physical discomforts of pregnancy and the moments that can make you question whether something is wrong. Finally, I share how researching birth options shifted my mindset from nervousness to genuine excitement, and why I ultimately decided on a home birth with a midwife and doula while still working with my OB for imaging. 

If you’re pregnant, planning to be, or just curious about a different approach to supporting your body through pregnancy, this episode offers a real, honest look behind the scenes.

Time Stamps:

(2:54) The Anatomy Scan

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Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

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Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

You are not failing because you lack discipline. You’re struggling because you’re trying to live like a machine. 

In this episode, I’m breaking down why most systems fall apart the moment life gets hard and how to rebuild yours so it actually works for a human nervous system. 

We’re taught to design routines assuming endless energy, focus, and motivation, but real life doesn’t operate that way. You have limited time, attention, and willpower, and your systems need to reflect that reality.

 I explain why the most effective systems are the ones that require the least amount of thinking and decision-making. When stress hits, you don’t rise to the occasion. You default to your systems. If your routine only works on your best days, it’s not a system, it’s a wish.

I walk you through how to design structures that hold you steady when you’re tired, overwhelmed, or distracted. We’ll talk about simplifying your priorities so consistency becomes automatic instead of exhausting. 

I introduce the Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C framework to help you escape the all-or-nothing cycle. Plan A is for high-energy days, Plan B supports you when things feel harder, and Plan C keeps you moving forward on your worst days. 

Success doesn’t need to look the same every day, especially in different seasons of life. This episode will help you build systems that meet you where you are, so you can stay consistent without burning yourself out.

Time Stamps:

(2:32) Moving Updates

(6:22) The Fresh Start Effect

(8:54) Different Levels To Our Goals

(14:29) Beware Of The Comparison Trap

(16:28) Vanessa’s Plan A

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Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

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Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

If you’ve ever felt like your body is fighting you no matter how “perfect” your nutrition or workouts are, this episode will feel like a deep exhale.

 Today, I’m sitting down with Soraya Rufener, one of our coaches at Vital Spark, to share the story behind the safety, trust, and results her clients feel from day one. 

Soraya isn’t just highly credentialed as a registered nurse and functional health coach. She’s lived through chronic dieting, body distrust, and the exhausting pressure to always “do more.” She started dieting at 13, spent years stuck in restriction cycles, and did everything diet culture promised would work. And yet, nothing was actually healing.

In this conversation, we unpack why willpower wasn’t the problem, how postpartum healing changed everything, and what rebuilding a body really requires physically, mentally, and emotionally. Soraya shares the moment she stopped punishing her body and learned how to support it instead. 

We talk about why healing is layered, why consistency matters more than intensity, and how nervous system safety changes outcomes. She also opens up about how her lived experience reshaped the way she coaches postpartum moms and high-achieving women today. Most importantly, we explore what she refuses to repeat from diet culture—and why coaching women differently matters. 

If you’re exhausted, frustrated, or quietly wondering why nothing seems to work anymore, this episode will remind you that you’re not broken.

You’re unsupported.

Time Stamps:

(1:17) Our Incredible Coach Soraya

(6:02) Early Teen Soraya

(9:17) Finding Bodybuilding

(15:02) The Food Noise

(17:09) Shifting To The Healing Phase

(19:55) The Mental Side of Healing

(22:47) 3 Kids In 4 Years and The Postpartum Journey

(31:23) Our Bodies Aren’t The Enemy

(34:15) Where To Find Soraya

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Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

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Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

We wanted to bring back one of our favorite interview episodes this week!

Justin Su'a is a mental performance coach for the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team and host of our daily favorite podcast, Increase Your Impact. He has worked with top NFL, PGA, MLB, and NCAA athletes, as well as top corporate leaders to improve their mental performance game. 

In this episode, we cover the importance of mental performance, the power of self-reflection, doing things by design instead of by default, how to figure out your WHY, and so much more!

Topics Covered:

- What Is Mental Performance and Why It Matters

- How to Train Your Mindset

- The Power of Self-Reflection

- How to Identify Your “Why”

- Doing Things by Design, Not by Default

- Using Your Mindset to Regulate Negative Thoughts and Achieve Goals

- Your Mind Has Limited Capacity: Why Negativity Crowds Out Growth

- The Hidden Habit of Elite Athletes and Top Organizations

- Getting Consistent With Nutrition and Trusting the Process

- Embracing the Boredom of Consistency

- The Law of the Bamboo Tree and Your Fitness Journey

- Stop Beating Yourself Up for Starting Late — Start Now

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Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

If fat loss feels harder than it should and healing seems slow no matter what you try, the problem may not be your discipline. It may be your nervous system.

In this conversation, I explain why a chronically dysregulated nervous system can block healing, fat loss, and hormone balance no matter how perfect your protocols look on paper. 

Your body is always choosing survival first, and when it perceives constant stress, it will not prioritize digestion, repair, or metabolic efficiency. I walk you through how your brain interprets everyday stress the same way it would a life-or-death threat, keeping you stuck in fight or flight. 

This is why cortisol stays elevated, inflammation lingers, and progress feels frustratingly slow. I break down why this isn’t a mindset issue or a lack of discipline, but a physiological response rooted in your nervous system. 

We dive into the role of the vagus nerve and how it connects your brain, gut, hormones, and stress response. I explain what vagal tone is and why improving it creates the conditions your body needs to feel safe enough to heal. 

You’ll learn simple, practical vagus nerve–supporting practices you can use daily without adding more overwhelm. We also talk about why these tools are supportive, not magical fixes, and how they enhance everything you’re already doing. If you’re dealing with stubborn fat loss, gut issues, thyroid challenges, or chronic stress, this episode lays the foundation you may be missing. 

Nervous system regulation isn’t optional or fluffy. It’s essential. When your body feels safe, healing becomes possible.

Time Stamps:

(1:19) Lots of Things Going On

(4:54) Getting Out Of Survival Mode

(7:52) The Vagus Nerve

(13:55) Strategies For Improving Your Nervous System

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Find Out More Information on Vital Spark Coaching

---------------------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

---------------------

Download Our FREE Metabolism-Boosting Workout Program

---------------------

Join the Women’s Metabolism Secrets Facebook Community for 25+ videos teaching you how to start losing fat without hating your life!

---------------------

Click here to send me a message on Facebook and we’ll see how I can help or what best free resources I can share!

---------------------

Interested in 1-on-1 Coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts? Apply Here!

---------------------

Check out our Youtube Channel!

---------------------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!