Cortisol Isn’t the Problem. It’s the Pace We’re Living At.

Lately it feels like cortisol is everywhere. Every time I open Instagram or scroll a headline, someone is blaming hormones for belly fat, exhaustion, cravings, poor sleep, mood swings — all of it. Fix your cortisol. Heal your hormones. Buy this supplement. Try this hack. Cold plunge. Don’t cold plunge. Fast. Don’t fast. It’s loud and overwhelming, and honestly, it makes normal women feel like something must be wrong with them.

I’ve caught myself thinking that too. When my face feels puffy, when my jeans feel tighter even though I’m “doing everything right,” when I’m exhausted but wired at night, when I’m snacking after dinner for no real reason. It’s easy to assume something deeper must be broken.

But the more I pay attention — not as a doctor or scientist, just as a busy working mom living real life — the more I see it’s not that my hormones are messed up. It’s that my life is loud. My stress is constant. My body never really gets a breather.

Early alarms. Coffee on an empty stomach. Back-to-back meetings. Grabbing food when I can. Squeezing workouts in or skipping them. Scrolling at 10pm when I’m exhausted but still wired. We’re “on” all day, every day. Of course our cortisol stays elevated. Of course we feel inflamed and tired and stuck. No supplement fixes that.

A few times a year, when I start feeling off, I don’t overhaul my life or start anything extreme. I actually do the opposite. I simplify. I go to bed earlier. I get outside first thing in the morning. I lift weights instead of punishing cardio. I eat real meals with protein instead of grazing all day. I drink more water. I shut the kitchen down at night. Nothing fancy. Nothing sexy. Just boring, consistent basics.

And every single time, within a few days, something shifts.

My head feels clearer. My cravings calm down. My stomach feels less puffy. I sleep better. I’m more patient. My workouts feel stronger. I just feel… steady again. Like myself.

It’s not that cortisol magically changes in five days — that’s not how hormones work. But five days is enough to change my habits, my rhythm, and my environment. And when those calm down, my body follows. It’s like my system finally exhales.

That’s why I love short resets.

Not detoxes. Not extremes. Not cutting everything out.

Just a handful of intentional days where I tighten things up and give my body a break from the chaos. Real food. Daily movement. Morning light. Better sleep. Less noise. Five days to remember what “good” actually feels like again.

And honestly? Once you feel that difference, you don’t want to go back.

So I’m doing another simple five-day cortisol reset in February. Nothing complicated, nothing restrictive — just structure, accountability, and the basics done really well. A small group of women showing up for themselves for five days straight.

If you’ve been feeling tired, inflamed, wired, or stuck even though you’re trying… this might be exactly the nudge your body’s been asking for.

Not a full life overhaul.

Just a reset.

And sometimes that’s all it takes to get momentum back.