Episode 17: You Already Know: Reconnecting to Your Body, Hormones & Cycles with Lottie Davies

There’s a moment in this conversation where Lottie says:

“You already know.”

And I felt it in my whole body.

Because for so many women, the problem isn’t that they don’t know what to eat, how to live, or what they need.

It’s that they’ve been taught not to trust themselves.

In this episode, I sat down with UK-certified naturopath and yoga teacher Lottie Davies to talk about hormones, cravings, nervous system healing, and cyclical living. But what we really spoke about was something deeper:

Coming home to your body.

Your Body Is Not Random

So many women come to this work feeling frustrated.

Their mood shifts across their cycle.
They feel fine for two weeks, then everything unravels.
They crave sugar.
They feel angry in their luteal phase.
They feel exhausted before their period.
They think something is wrong.

But as Lottie explains, your body is not malfunctioning.

It’s cycling.

Nature does not move in straight lines.
It moves in ebbs and flows.
Expansion and contraction.
Summer and winter.
Action and rest.

And your body does the same.

The problem isn’t that you have cycles.

It’s that you’ve been trying to live like you don’t.

PMS Is Not a Flaw. It’s Feedback.

One of the most powerful parts of this conversation is how we reframe the luteal phase.

So often women describe it as:
“I’m crazy that week.”
“I hate who I become.”
“I’m so emotional.”

But what if that phase isn’t dysfunction?

What if it’s clarity?

In the luteal phase, your tolerance lowers. The buffer you have earlier in the month softens. You see what isn’t working. You feel where your boundaries have been crossed. You notice what you’ve been suppressing.

Your body is not sabotaging you.

It’s shedding light.

And if you don’t listen, it will keep bringing it back around next month.

Cravings Are Not Weakness

We also spoke about cravings — something so many women feel ashamed about.

Chocolate before your period?
Sugar late at night?
Salty or crunchy foods when you’re stressed?

Instead of labelling them as “lack of discipline,” Lottie speaks to what they may actually signal.

Chocolate? Often magnesium depletion.
Sugar cravings? Sometimes low iron.
Constant fatigue? Possibly mineral deficiency.

And sweet cravings in particular relate, in Chinese medicine, to the earth element — the mother energy. Nourishment. Nurturing. Softness.

Which is fascinating when you consider how many women are craving sweetness in seasons of stress, loneliness, or over-responsibility.

Your body isn’t greedy.

It’s communicating.

The Nervous System Comes First

You can eat the “perfect” diet.

You can take all the supplements.

You can tick every wellness box.

But if you are stuck in fight-or-flight, your body cannot heal.

You cannot absorb nutrients properly.
You cannot digest fully.
You cannot regulate emotionally.

Healing requires safety.

Which is why something as simple as pausing before a meal — smelling your food, humming softly, placing a hand on your body — can shift more than another restriction ever will.

We are so quick to reach for complex protocols.

But the body responds to simple safety.

Undernourished Isn’t Always What You Think

When women say they’re “eating well,” they often mean they’re eating controlled.

But undernourishment isn’t just about calories.

It can look like:

– Eating on the run
– Never sitting down
– Not connecting to your food
– Being in stress while you eat
– Constant self-criticism
– Emotional deprivation

Digestion starts before you even take a bite.

It begins when you prepare your food. When you smell it. When you allow your nervous system to soften.

If you are constantly braced, your body cannot receive.

And that theme — receiving — runs through everything.

Emotional Eating Is Often a Search for Balance

We spoke about something I see all the time in my work:

Women swinging between control and relief.

Restriction and overeating.
Structure and collapse.
Being “good” and then “losing it.”

But this isn’t moral failure.

It’s the nervous system trying to create balance.

If you expect yourself to operate in “summer” energy all month — productive, pleasant, high-functioning — eventually your body will force a winter.

Often at 10pm.

In the pantry.

Looking for relief.

The problem isn’t that you crave relief.

It’s that you don’t build it in earlier.

Shame Keeps the Cycle Alive

One of the most important pieces of this conversation was about shame.

Shame fuels:
“I was so bad.”
“I ruined everything.”
“I’ll be stricter tomorrow.”

And that internal bullying increases stress.

Which increases cortisol.

Which keeps the body in protection.

Which can even encourage weight retention — especially around the midsection — because the body is trying to feel safe.

You cannot shame your body into safety.

But you can soften it into regulation.

And that starts with the simplest practices:

A hand on your chest.
A pause before you eat.
One kind sentence to yourself.
One moment of stillness.

You Already Know

If the body could speak without interruption, Lottie said it would say:

“You already know.”

And that’s the truth.

Underneath the conditioning.
Underneath the food noise.
Underneath the shame.
Underneath the rules.

You know when you’re tired.
You know when you’re overstretched.
You know when your boundaries were crossed.
You know when you need more softness.

The work isn’t about adding more information.

It’s about creating enough safety to hear yourself again.

Where to Start

If you feel disconnected from your body right now, don’t start by fixing.

Start by noticing.

Before your next meal:
Pause.
Breathe.
Place your hand on your body.
Ask what you need.

Before reacting to a craving:
Pause.
Ask if it’s hunger, exhaustion, stress, or emotion.

Before tightening control:
Pause.
Ask what you’re actually protecting.

Small moments of reconnection build trust.

And trust rebuilds regulation.

This conversation with Lottie is a beautiful reminder that your body is not the problem.

It is always working for you.

If you want to listen to the full episode, you can find Episode 17 — You Already Know: Reconnecting to Your Body, Hormones & Cycles with Lottie Davies — on The Self Led Woman podcast.

And if you’re ready to go deeper into the patterns underneath emotional eating and nervous system dysregulation, you can explore my 1:1 work inside Release & Reclaim.

Because you don’t need more control.

You need support.

And your body has been trying to tell you that all along.