Every Friday I am going to feature a woman that I adore. They exude all the qualities of an Alpha Female and I want to dig into their lives to get some nuggets of knowledge to help us all live happier, healthier lives balancing life & work. For other episodes go here!
Definition of an Alpha Female
An Alpha Female is a powerful and assertive woman. Her confidence is due to being an intelligent and intellectual problem-solver. Being an Alpha Female is a State of Mind based on choosing ambition and being proud of it. She strives for a happy and healthy work/life harmony.
She is the brightest star in her constellation. When an Alpha Female stays true to their authentic selves and their missions they shine. An Alpha Female puts herself first because she deserves self-care and love. She knows that work/life harmony is found by staying true to your priorities and what makes you happy. She is never complacent about striving for better and nurtures relationships with all the people in her life.
Meet Dr. Stephanie Gray!
Dr. Stephanie Gray is the author of the bestselling book Your Longevity Blueprint and the owner of the Integrative Health and Hormone Clinic in Hiawatha, Iowa where she practices. She is arguably one of the Midwest’s most credentialed female healthcare providers combining many certifications and trainings.
In her book Your Longevity Blueprint, Stephanie shares the most progressive functional medicine testing options currently available, as well as Your Longevity Blueprint (LB) nutraceutical products. From gut to hormone health, optimizing your nutritional status to your genetics, and even detoxing the body, Stephanie is excited to share her expertise with the world.
Free Resources: https://yourlongevityblueprint.com/alpha/
And use the code: Thanksalpha to get 10% off purchases at www.yourlongevityblueprint.com (including the book)
What do you think of the definition and how are you an Alpha Female?
I’ll echo a bit of what you said. When I think “
There are many what I’d consider alpha females in my life who are business owners also juggling that work/home balance. When I think of these women, these are the ladies I want to socialize with. They lift you up and empower you. They inspire you to be your best, and to use your talents for good!
I think of an alpha female as a “mover and a shaker” out to change the world for the better. She is someone who won’t take no for an answer. She will find a way to make a difference.
I love how your definition included a woman who is her true authentic self. That is the key to happiness.
What does work/life harmony look like for you?
I think this is definitely different for everyone. I spend more time at work, but I love my work and that is really required at this point in my life.
I’ll be honest the balance is something that I battle daily. In my job
When I can block off time for meal prepping Sunday, cardio 3x/week and yoga a few times I feel like I’m accomplished something for my health, my balance.
Ultimate harmony is not burning out. If I can spend the time I do at work without despising it or dreading it
Share with us a time when you believed in work/life balance and it felt out of whack? What was your aha moment that taught you it was ok to take care of yourself first?
You can hear more of my long answer in my book Your Longevity Blueprint.
I’ll give you the short answer today.
Years ago while building my business I definitely hit a point where I
I had grown my team at the clinic, I was the only revenue producer. I had employees to pay and more importantly patients to help. I had to get my life back on track quick. Conventional medicine has no answers for me other than to take a medication to control my Heart rate. I knew there had to be more to my story. Since I practiced functional medicine I knew I was going to have to treat myself to discover the root cause of my problem and there ended up being many…
Multiple factors contributed to my health challenges, but 1 was stress! I was in fight or flight!
- Reduces stress, backed off on pt load No caffeine, no alcohol, Celiac +, SIBO, needed low fod map diet, lots of magnesium (genetic variants *homozygous for 2 genetic COMT variants)
- My response to stimulants was magnified.
- Very sensitive nervous system. Until I got this under control I couldn’t be around sound, bright light, vibrations as I was so sensitive.
Since I needed to think of myself as a patient and what I needed, I decided to create a blueprint for patients as well. My husband is our office manager and he really emphasized the need to clarify to all of our patients all that we offer. For years patients would come to the clinic for gut health or just hormones and really it was a disservice to them to NOT be able to clarity to them ALL of what they needed to be addressing within their bodies. My goal is that this blueprint will help.
SO really, through my struggles I’ve developed a unique way of viewing how the human body is structured. I needed a blueprint for my health. This was a solution for me and now I’m sharing it with others.
What are you most passionate about?
Functional Medicine truly helping others get to the root cause of their problems and gain their quality of life back. I see so many individuals who have struggled for years, seen numerous doctors and really not gotten anywhere…
I love it when patients have that light bulb moment when they know,
Many of my patients have severe hot flashes, poor sleep, low libido, fatigue and really optimizing their hormones has made a huge difference for them.
I use the blueprint outlined in my book Your Longevity blueprint for each patients to assist us on their health journey. I’m able to empower them to make better choices with lifestyle and diet (to start) which ultimately gives them better quality of life!
How do you nourish yourself?
Start my day with a protein smoothie and a devotional. Have to start the day right. I like to get to work early around 7-715 to get organized for my day before my team arrives. I try to stay hydrated and take all my daily Vitamins twice/day. My husband and I started Your Longevity Blueprint Nutraceuticals.
- Evidence Based Formulations
Using evidence supported by human clinical trials and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, we have raised the standard of the supplement industry to ensure that you benefit most.
- Superior Raw Materials
By using superior raw materials seldom seen in the supplement industry and adhering to strict testing standards for purity, we ensure that you are getting exactly what is on your ingredient list. We choose which countries our ingredients are sourced from and refuse ingredients that do not meet these strict standards.
- Therapeutic Potencies
Our products contain the correct Therapeutic Potencies for each ingredient based on established research.
It’s really important to me that I eat to truly nourish my cells. I avoid caffeine, gluten, dairy (inflammatory foods) and try to get decent protein and veggies into my diet. Have a salad every day for lunch that I make on Sundays.
No matter how clean I eat I know that our food sources are not as nutrient dense as they use to be. I test my patients every day for nutritional deficiencies and I know how we all need to supplement, and I feel the best when I do take my nutrients. I take a mitochondrial complex every day to fuel my mitochondria the powerhouse of the cell to give me energy.
It’s important to me that I’m constantly learning and listening to what inspires me. I love listening to leadership podcasts in the
What is your weekly fitness routine like?
I run 3x/week 3-4 miles and do Yoga once/week. I do a home barre class twice/week. Stretching while watching tv is also important to me.
What are your daily habits for reducing stress?
Eat anti-inflammatory diet
Keeping a task list, staying organized
Deep breathing over lunch with calming music
Gratitude journal
Reading
Magnesium, calming herbs (adrenal support) at night, L theanine PRN
*Learn more about those products at our website YLB.com
What piece of advice would you tell your 20-year-old emerging Alpha Female self?
Take more time for
Hire out, delegate to your weaknesses. Don’t try to do everything.
What are some pain points of being an Alpha Female that you have to problem solve for?
How I approach others in a
I know I am very blunt and I ca be perceived a being a bad alpha female, more as a snot, so I really have to take time with preparing that sort of communication, use emojis or smiley faces etc… 😊
I also have to say no to things, and set boundaries. If it’s not a 100% yes, then I’m learning to say “no!”
For instance, I get calls about students wanting to shadow me and I use to take handfuls of NP students. I can’t do this anymore. It’s too much work for me.
However, time blocking and having a task list really helps me not forget what truly is important!
Favorite Quote: People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily. – Zig Ziglar
What is your definition of Happiness?
Happiness is honoring one’s authentic self in how they approach life which can be different for each person. I find happiness in overcoming difficulties that we face in life, while also challenging myself to reach outside my comfort zone to accomplish various goals and ultimately dreams. I also believe happiness is enjoying and delighting in life daily with an attitude of gratitude and ultimately feeling content and satisfied with how I’ve challenged myself to grow that day.