Why You’re Doing Everything ‘Right’ and Still Not Getting Results: The Hidden Factors Sabotaging Women’s Health
You’re eating clean, exercising when you can, taking your supplements, and trying to keep it all together. But still, your energy is on the floor, your moods are unpredictable, your cycle feels off, and your weight won’t budge.
Sound familiar?
You’re not lazy. You’re not making it up. And you’re definitely not alone.
At Legacy Nutrition, we see women every week who are doing everything right—but not getting the results they deserve. There’s a reason for that. In fact, there are usually several.
Let’s unpack the hidden health saboteurs that are quietly working against women, and what you can do to finally start feeling better.
1. Nutrient Depletion: The Invisible Deficiency Epidemic
Even with a healthy diet, many women are unknowingly undernourished. Why?
Soil depletion means food has fewer nutrients than it used to
Stress burns through B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin C
Hormonal contraception, medications, alcohol, and caffeine all block or deplete nutrient absorption
Pregnancy and breastfeeding create massive nutritional demands, and they’re rarely fully replenished
The result? Fatigue, poor sleep, hair loss, mood swings, anxiety, low libido, thyroid dysfunction, and painful cycles.
What to do:
Prioritise nutrient-dense whole foods: leafy greens, organ meats, oily fish, nuts, seeds, colourful vegetables
Consider functional testing for iron, B12, folate, magnesium, and zinc
Choose high-quality, practitioner-grade supplements tailored to your needs, not generic multivitamins
2. The Gut-Hormone Connection: Why Your Cycle’s All Over the Place
If your gut is out of balance, your hormones will be too.
Poor digestion, bloating, constipation, food sensitivities, or post-antibiotic fallout can impact how your body detoxifies hormones, especially oestrogen.
When oestrogen builds up in the body (because it isn’t being properly excreted via the gut and liver), symptoms like PMS, breast tenderness, irritability, heavy bleeding, and endometriosis can flare up.
What to do:
Support digestion with bitter foods, fermented vegetables, and enough fibre
Focus on daily bowel movements—every day you don’t poop is a day your body recycles old oestrogen
Avoid ultra-processed foods, inflammatory oils, and sugar, which disrupt your microbiome
Work with a practitioner to assess gut health and detox pathways
3. Blood Sugar Imbalance: The Energy Rollercoaster You Didn’t Sign Up For
You can eat all the kale in the world—but if your blood sugar is on a wild ride, your hormones and energy will be too.
When glucose spikes (from refined carbs, skipping meals, or coffee on an empty stomach), your body produces excess insulin and cortisol. This can:
Trigger fat storage, especially around the belly
Increase inflammation
Disrupt ovulation
Drive anxiety, cravings, and poor sleep
What to do:
Eat protein and fat with every meal to stabilise blood sugar
Ditch “healthy” but unbalanced habits like smoothies without protein or fruit-only snacks
Don’t skip meals during busy mum days—your hormones can’t afford it
Track how you feel after meals: wired? sleepy? Craving sugar again in an hour?
4. Your Thyroid Might Be Whispering (Not Shouting)
Low energy, cold hands and feet, hair loss, weight gain, depression, constipation, low libido… classic signs of an underactive thyroid.
But what if your GP says your labs are “normal”?
Thyroid health is often dismissed when it’s not clinically dysfunctional, but it can still be functionally suboptimal. This is especially true postpartum, during perimenopause, or after a long period of stress.
We often see low-normal TSH, slightly low free T3, or elevated thyroid antibodies—all of which need functional support even if they don’t meet criteria for medication.
What to do:
Ask for a full thyroid panel: TSH, free T3, free T4, reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies (TPO, TG)
Ensure adequate intake of selenium, iodine (if appropriate), tyrosine, and iron
Reduce stress, balance blood sugar, and support your gut to calm thyroid inflammation
5. Your Genetics May Be Playing a Bigger Role Than You Think
You may have genetic variations (SNPs) that influence how well you detox, how you respond to stress, how your hormones behave, and how your brain handles neurotransmitters.
For example:
COMT variations affect how quickly you break down stress hormones and oestrogen
MTHFR mutations can impair folate metabolism, B12 absorption, and detoxification
DAO and HNMT variants can contribute to histamine intolerance (think: itchy skin, bloating, migraines, anxiety)
You can’t change your genes, but you can support how they express.
What to do:
Consider genetic testing through a functional lens
Personalise your nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle around your SNPs
Reduce exposure to unnecessary stressors, chemicals, and toxins that your body struggles to clear
6. You’re Living in a Constant State of Fight-or-Flight
Even if you’re meditating and taking magnesium, your body may still be stuck in stress mode.
Between career pressure, parenting demands, poor sleep, and the mental load of everyday life, it’s no wonder so many women feel wired but tired.
When stress is chronic:
Cortisol dysregulation messes with your circadian rhythm, ovulation, and fat storage
Progesterone drops, leading to anxiety and PMS
Your body prioritises survival, not fertility or deep repair
What to do:
Create small moments of safety throughout your day: deep breathing, walking outside, and screens off before bed
Eat regularly and don’t undereat—especially protein
Get support. You're not meant to do it all alone.
Ready to Stop Guessing?
You don’t need to do more. You need the right plan—based on your biology, not just a generic protocol.
At Legacy Nutrition, we specialise in uncovering the root causes using functional testing, nutrition, and personalised protocols. Because you deserve real answers, not just a prescription and a pat on the head.
