Essential Therapeutics

01/23/2026

She’s been consistent.
She’s losing weight.
And then this week hit.

Heavy period.
Coming off a sleep medication.
Constipation.
Scale noise.

Her first instinct?
“Should I tighten things up?”

Instead, we did the opposite.

We chose one maintenance day — not as a break, but as a strategy.

Why?
Because when the body is inflamed, under-recovered, and hormonally loud, pushing harder doesn’t create more fat loss. It creates more resistance.

That maintenance day wasn’t a free-for-all.
Protein stayed high.
Meals were warm and simple.
Steps stayed steady.
Training pressure came off.

The goal wasn’t fat loss that day.
The goal was regulation.

And here’s the part most people miss:
One maintenance day doesn’t stall fat loss.
It often clears the noise so progress can show up again.

Fat loss isn’t just about creating a deficit.
It’s about knowing when not to add more stress.

Sometimes the smartest move forward…
is a strategic pause.

01/21/2026

She’s 2.5 weeks in.
Down a few pounds.
Doing everything “right.”

And now her brain is getting loud.

Not about hunger — she handled that.
Not about results — they’re there.

About monotony.

Her thoughts this week:
• “This is boring.”
• “I deserve a break.”
• “Maybe I should switch things up.”
• “There must be a better way.”

Here’s the truth I told her:

This stage is normal — and it’s actually a sign the plan is working.

Early fat loss is exciting.
Mid-phase fat loss is quiet.
Quiet progress doesn’t give your brain much dopamine, so it starts looking for stimulation — usually through food, novelty, or over-optimization.

That doesn’t mean the plan stopped working.
It means her system finally stabilized.

We didn’t change calories.
We didn’t add cardio.
We didn’t “tighten things up.”

We moved novelty off the plate:
• New walking playlists
• Different seasonings, same meals
• Non-food rewards
• Less thinking, more repeating

Because boredom isn’t a problem to fix.
It’s a phase to pass through.

Sometimes the most effective thing you can do is keep going exactly as you are.

01/20/2026

This might ruffle feathers, but here it is:
Perimenopausal women don’t usually lose fat faster by doing more — they lose it when they reduce metabolic noise.

In practice, that often looks like:
• Fewer late-night snacks
• Earlier dinners (not rigid, just intentional)
• More daily steps
• Less nervous system stress

No — eating late doesn’t magically cause fat gain.
And no — there’s no study saying women over 40 must stop eating after 7pm.

What is supported is that insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, cortisol rhythms, and sleep quality all shift with age. Perimenopause amplifies this — which means the scale can lie even when fat loss is happening.

Earlier eating doesn’t accelerate fat loss.
It often just lets it finally show up.

Same with steps. Walking lowers stress and improves glucose handling without overloading an already sensitive system.

So no food rules here.
Just physiology, context, and smarter tools.

References: Sutton et al., Cell Metabolism; Morris et al., PNAS; Van Cauter et al., Endocrine Reviews.

01/17/2026

🔴Plot twist: it was the week before her period.

Which explained:
• The scale not moving
• Her waist holding steady
• Hunger showing up (but manageable)
• Constipation lingering
• Her questioning a plan that was actually working

Here’s what didn’t change:
• ~10k steps a day
• Strength training stayed in
• Calories stayed consistent
• Protein stayed high

What she almost did:
• Cut calories
• Add more cardio
• Assume something was wrong

What she did instead:
• Kept walking
• Kept lifting
• Let hunger exist without panicking
• Trusted the plan

Because the week before your period is notorious for:
• Water retention
• Slower digestion
• Increased appetite
• A temporarily uncooperative scale

Fat loss didn’t stop.
It just went quiet.

And quiet progress still counts.

01/15/2026

Let’s talk about hunger.

Our client panicked the first time she felt hungry.
Because somewhere along the way, hunger became something to fear.

But hunger isn’t failure.
It isn’t your metabolism “breaking.”
And it isn’t a sign the plan isn’t working.

Hunger usually means:
• You’re in a calorie deficit
• Blood sugar is doing its job
• Fat is being mobilized
• The body is responding, not rebelling

What matters is context.

If hunger is:
• Mild
• Predictable
• Manageable
• Not paired with dizziness or obsession

That’s normal. Expected, even.

What’s not helpful is reacting to every hunger signal by:
• Eating “just in case”
• Changing the plan too soon
• Assuming something is wrong

Our client didn’t eliminate hunger.
She learned to coexist with it — briefly, calmly, intentionally.

And when she stopped trying to silence every sensation,
her body finally let go.

Hunger isn’t the enemy.
Panic is.

01/13/2026

Update on our scale-spiraling client 👀

One week in:
• ~9,500 steps/day
• Strength + yoga + a bit of spin
• Calories on point
• Protein nailed

Result?
⬇️ 1.5 lbs down
➡️ Waist measurement the same

And that’s… normal.

Early fat loss doesn’t always show up where you expect first — especially with disrupted sleep and stress in the mix.

This is why we don’t:
• Panic
• Slash calories
• Add more cardio
• Chase the scale daily

We look at trends, not single metrics.

Fat loss is rarely loud in week one.
It’s quiet. Boring. Consistent.

And then it shows up.

Stay the course.

01/10/2026

This week a client did everything right.
Calories hit. Protein hit. Steps hit.

And the scale went up.

So she assumed she needed to be more strict.

Here’s the truth most people don’t hear:

Short-term scale changes are rarely fat gain.
They’re usually water, digestion, hormones, stress, or sleep.

Medical research shows:
• Daily weight can fluctuate 2–5+ lbs due to fluid balance alone
• Carbohydrates and sodium temporarily increase water storage
• Stress and poor sleep increase cortisol, which promotes water retention — especially around the waist
• Food volume and bowel changes affect the scale independent of fat

This is why being too perfect often backfires.

Perfect tracking + hard training + poor sleep = more stress, not faster fat loss.

Fat loss happens when the body feels safe enough to let go, not punished into submission.

Perfection creates pressure.
Consistency creates results.

Sources: Cleveland Clinic, Healthline, NIH

01/07/2026

Meet Sarah.
Sarah woke up, did everything right…
And the scale was up 2 lbs.

Sarah immediately:
• Replayed yesterday’s meals in her head
• Considered cutting carbs forever
• Wondered if almonds are “basically cake”
• Thought about adding another spin class
• Whispered “this is why nothing works”

Sarah is spiraling.

But here’s what Sarah did NOT do:
She did not gain 2 lbs of fat overnight.

Because unless Sarah ate 7,000 extra calories in her sleep, the scale is lying to her.

What actually happened:
• Sarah trained → muscles inflamed
• Sarah ate carbs → glycogen + water
• Sarah slept poorly → cortisol said “hold everything”
• Sarah’s body did exactly what bodies do

The scale went up.
Her waist didn’t.
Her fat didn’t.
Her progress didn’t.

So Sarah:
• Ate her protein
• Drank her water
• Went for her walk
• Left the plan alone
• Stopped negotiating with the scale

Two days later?
The weight dropped.
Because it always does.

📌 Moral of the story:
The scale is a data point — not a verdict.
One weigh-in doesn’t mean adjust.
Consistency does.

Be like Sarah after the spiral — not during it 😉

01/03/2026

This is awesome!

✨ The wait is finally over! ✨

We’re beyond excited to announce that Homesteader Health Foods in Downtown Grande Prairie, AB is opening our very own grab-n-go bistro!

🥕🌿 RESTORE BISTRO opens January 19th 🌿🥕

Created with intention, Restore Bistro is all about organic, restorative foods designed to nourish, rebuild, and bring you back into balance—perfect for busy days without compromising your health.

💛 Why “Restore”?
In French, restore comes from “restaurer”, meaning to renew, replenish, and bring back to wholeness. That’s exactly what we aim to do—restore your energy, your health, and your connection to real food.

Grab it. Go. Feel restored.
We can’t wait to welcome you! 🌱

📍 Downtown Grande Prairie
📅 Opening January 19