Why Women Feel Off - And What’s Really Causing It

So many women are doing all the “right” things - eating clean, working out, staying busy - and yet still feel tired, inflamed, foggy, and stuck in a body that doesn’t respond. The frustration isn’t laziness. It’s often a body that’s been running on stress for too long.

In this episode of Grounded Wellness, Bethany McDaniel sits down with Dr. Austin Lake, a functional medicine practitioner who helps women uncover the quiet, compounding drivers behind fatigue, stubborn weight gain, hormone imbalance, and burnout. Instead of chasing quick fixes, Dr. Lake points us back to something both ancient and surprisingly overlooked: our daily rhythms - how we wake, eat, move, and rest in alignment with the sun.

What starts as a conversation about circadian rhythm becomes a bigger invitation: to rebuild the body’s foundation through consistent sleep, morning light, steady nourishment, and a reduced toxic load - not as another “protocol,” but as a way to restore calm, clarity, and resilience from the inside out.

Together, Bethany and Dr. Lake explore why modern wellness trends can sometimes backfire for women - like skipping breakfast, fasting too aggressively, overtraining, and leaning on caffeine to power through the day. They also discuss hidden stressors that can keep women feeling stuck (like mold exposure, hormone-disrupting toxins, and impaired thyroid conversion), and why true healing often requires consistency more than intensity.

This conversation is a reminder that vitality isn’t built in extremes. It’s built in small, repeatable decisions - the kind that bring the nervous system back to safety and the body back to balance.

In this episode, we explore:
Why so many women feel burnt out even when they’re “healthy”
How cortisol, meal timing, and circadian rhythm shape hormones + metabolism
The hidden reasons weight loss can feel impossible (even with effort)
Why “first get healthy, then get fit” matters - especially for women
Detox, thyroid function, and reducing daily toxic burden
Dr. Lake’s most practical first step for feeling better: set a bedtime alarm

00:00 Why women feel “off”
02:15 Where Dr. Lake starts with every client
04:32 Sunlight as a “nutrient” + circadian basics
07:07 Top concerns women bring to his practice
09:27 Burnout + modern stress load
11:11 Liver Smoothie
14:31 Caffeine, cortisol, and better timing
18:32 Why weight loss can feel impossible
22:06 Diagnostic diet + digestion basics
25:40 MTHFR / methylation + B-complex talk
28:21 Bioidentical hormones: tool vs. shortcut
30:13 Cancer question + fasting/autophagy discussion
47:41 Baking soda benefits (and how to use wisely)
49:03 High-heat cooking + why charring matters
53:01 Therapeutic plasma exchange thoughts
55:16 Thoughts on protein powder as meal replacement
56:43 “Fringe” remedies lightning round
01:03:50 First step to start feeling better

Biblical References (NIV translations):
Genesis 1:29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
Genesis 9:3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

Explore Primally Pure:
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Learn More from Dr. Austin Lake:
Website: https://wholly.health/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.austin.l...
Book: https://wholly.health/book

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