Podcast Summary: The JOY Broadcast with Ali Mortimer

Episode: Festive Joy & Happy Hormones with Debbie Townsend

Date: November 24, 2025
Host: Ali Mortimer
Guest: Debbie Townsend

Overview

This festive episode of The JOY Broadcast features an inspiring and practical conversation between host Ali Mortimer and guest Debbie Townsend—a chiropractor, health coach, and hormone expert. Together, they explore how to navigate the stress and expectations of the holiday season while maintaining happy hormones and a sense of joy. The discussion is full of personal stories, scientific explanations, and actionable advice for women juggling menopause, motherhood, and the pressures of Christmas.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Debbie’s Background and Philosophy (02:11–09:41)

• Debbie's Journey:

  • Started as a chiropractor but shifted focus to holistic wellbeing after frustration with limited results from physical adjustments alone.
  • Founded "Complete Lifestyle" to address health through a triad: physical, chemical, and emotional wellness.
  • Emphasizes the power of lifestyle choices over quick fixes for chronic health.

• Notable Quote:

  • "It is unrealistic for a patient to walk through the door with a headache, with back pain, and expect me to fix that in 15 minutes when they pay no attention at all to their lifestyle, their stress, their exercise, their diet." —Debbie (03:25)

2. The Trifecta of Wellbeing: Physical, Chemical, and Emotional (04:40–10:01)

• Focus Areas:

  • Physical: Movement and activity.
  • Chemical: Nutrition, supplements, medication, and toxins.
  • Emotional: Stress and mental health, increasingly prioritized in recent years.

• Lifestyle Transformation:

  • Debbie discusses her work with patients as a privilege and her shift toward retreats and education as she retires from chiropractic practice.

• Long-Term Health:

  • "I’m the person today that I started building in my thirties and twenties, 20 years ago." —Debbie (09:41)

3. The Challenges of Christmas for Women (10:22–15:27)

• Emotional Labor:

  • Women often become the linchpins of festive family activities and logistics, leading to overwhelm.
  • Debbie highlights the compounding effect of these expectations, especially during menopause.

• Primary Stressors:

  • Social and family expectations
  • Dietary changes
  • Sleep disruption
  • Alcohol consumption

• Ali's Reflection:

  • "Women are the centerpoint of everything that happens at Christmas … there is so much that we have to consider." (10:35)

4. Understanding & Managing Happy Hormones (11:51–20:53)

• Key Hormones:

  • Estrogen and Progesterone: Naturally decline during menopause.
  • Cortisol (Stress hormone) and Insulin (Sugar regulation): Play foundational roles and can affect menopause symptoms and overall health more than many realize.

• Christmas & Hormones:

  • The holidays spike cortisol and insulin, often worsening menopausal symptoms and energy crashes.
  • Debbie encourages intentional boundary-setting and reframing what’s truly meaningful during the season.

• Boundary-Setting Advice:

  • "If it’s not a hell yes to something, maybe it should be a no. And don’t feel bad.” —Debbie (14:24)

5. Science of Stress, Blood Sugar, and Practical Tools (15:27–20:53)

• Continuous Glucose Monitoring:

  • Debbie notes how blood sugar spikes are often more responsive to stress than food.
  • Real-life stories from both hosts highlight emotional events causing higher glucose responses than indulgent foods.

• Scientific Explanation:

  • Stress triggers cortisol, which floods the bloodstream with glucose for quick energy ("fight or flight"), but can block insulin and lead to chronically high blood sugar.

• Physical Symptoms of Imbalance:

  • Poor sleep
  • Daytime fatigue and crashes
  • Weight gain
  • Ali: “I need to focus on my stress, not my diet!” (17:28)

6. Creating Joyful, Low-Stress Christmas Moments (22:12–26:09)

• Magic in Simplicity:

  • Free, memory-making activities (e.g., walks, homemade treats) can rival lavish gifts or elaborate meals.
  • Reduce financial pressure and focus on connection.

• "Marshmallow" Game:

  • Ali shares a family strategy for deflecting stressful behavior during gatherings by becoming “giant pink marshmallows” and calling out "marshmallow" to lighten tense moments (26:09).

7. Hormones, Stress, and Digestion during Festivities (28:49–38:46)

• How Stress Impacts Health:

  • Stress downregulates digestion and immunity—contributing to post-Christmas fatigue and illness.
  • Chronic stress during the holidays can create lasting impacts, especially for menopausal women.

• Festive Food Strategies:

  • Eat protein/fat before carbs and sweets to prevent sugar spikes
  • Swap white potatoes for sweet
  • “Cook, then cool and reheat” starches (e.g., potatoes, rice) to create resistant starch, which is easier on blood sugar (31:10)
  • Prioritize “Dirty Dozen” organic produce, especially potatoes

• Notable Quote:

  • “The Christmas coma is where you cannot maintain consciousness and digest your food. The body sacrifices your level of consciousness just to produce enough stomach acid..." —Debbie (36:30)

8. Alcohol and Hormonal Health (38:05–41:53)

• Sensitivity with Age:
  • Alcohol tolerance plummets for many in peri/menopause, worsening sleep, weight, and hot flushes.
  • "If you’re experiencing weight gain, hot flushes, sleep issues, please, please, please drop the alcohol." —Debbie (39:39)
• Alternatives:
  • Embrace quality alcohol-free drinks, sparkling water, and mindful consumption.

9. Beliefs, Behaviors, and Sustainable Lifestyle Change (41:53–47:05)

• Beliefs & Change:

  • Education is critical—changing what you believe and understand enables new behaviors.
  • Curate your social feeds for reliable information and motivation.
  • Science changes beliefs: understanding the 'why' behind recommendations makes new habits stick.

• Health is a "Bank Account":

  • "Your body and your health is very like a bank account. You can’t make constant withdrawals on it without finally seeing that balance very poor." —Debbie (45:12)

• Ownership over Health:

  • Anecdote about Gary Barlow realizing he was the only one who could fix his health (46:28)

• Ali’s Joy Philosophy:

  • “Joy” as an acronym for “Just On You”—focus on yourself to re-center and restore joy.

10. Practical Resources and Upcoming Retreat (47:33–End)

• Connect with Debbie:

  • Instagram: @thecompletelifestyle
  • Website: completelifestyle.co.uk

• Retreat Announcement:

  • End of January retreat with co-facilitator, focusing on hormone health, practical cooking, movement, and self-care.
  • Ali will join as special guest, bringing the “joy” element.

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• "I still think being a mum is the best work I've ever done and will ever do. Nothing will ever come close. So I'm so grateful that door opened for me." —Debbie (02:57)
• "Chronic health is preventable by the lifestyle that you lead." —Debbie (06:24)
• "If it’s not a hell yes...maybe it should be a no. And don’t feel bad." —Debbie (14:24)
• "Take a JOY moment, where joy is an acronym: Just On You." —Ali (15:48)
• "You pump out this cortisol... pushes loads of glucose into your bloodstream because it thinks you’re going to have to run away or fight." —Debbie (17:54)
• "The free stuff can be incredible and maybe this is the year to do it." —Debbie (24:18)
• "My body no longer appreciates too much alcohol… it just shuts down." —Ali (38:23)
• "Your body and your health is very like a bank account. You can’t make constant withdrawals." —Debbie (45:12)
• "Only he could do this. This was the one thing in his life that he had to take ownership of." —Debbie, recounting Gary Barlow’s story (46:28)

Important Sections & Timestamps

• Debbie’s Career & Wellness Philosophy: 02:11–09:41
• Holiday Stress and Hormones: 10:22–15:27, 11:51–20:53
• Family Dynamics & Setting Boundaries: 14:24, 23:36, 26:09
• Science of Stress & Blood Sugar: 15:27–20:53
• Festive Food and Digestion Tips: 28:49–38:05
• Alcohol and Menopause: 38:05–41:53
• Education & Changing Beliefs: 41:53–47:05
• Retreat Information: 47:33–50:34

Tone & Takeaways

Warm, supportive, evidence-based, and deeply practical—Ali and Debbie weave personal stories with actionable steps and empowering mindset shifts. The overriding message: focusing on small, joy-filled, and meaningful choices—especially around food, stress, and boundaries—can transform not just the holidays, but overall wellbeing.

For more joyful inspiration and hormone wisdom, follow Debbie on Instagram @thecompletelifestyle or visit completelifestyle.co.uk. For immersive learning, consider joining their January retreat!