What are the four fixes, and does the order matter?

Yes, the order matters. They are listed in the sequence that produces the least friction: the first one is usually the constraint everything else is waiting on, and starting at number three while number one is still broken is why previous attempts stalled. Run them in order, give each one long enough to actually take hold, and resist the urge to add a fifth. The shortest list you will still be following in three months beats the complete one you abandon in two weeks.

How long before I see anything change?

Different markers move on different clocks, and knowing the order in advance is most of what stops people quitting in week three. Subjective things — sleep, energy, appetite stability — usually shift first. Strength follows. Waist and bloodwork are slower and considerably more informative. We do not publish weight-loss figures or timelines, because honest ones do not exist for an individual. What the research does show consistently is that adherence predicts the outcome better than which framework you picked.

Do I need blood work before I start?

You can start the structural parts — sleep window, protein floor, resistance training, reducing ultra-processed food — without any test at all. None of them require a diagnosis to be sensible. Bloodwork earns its place when it changes what you should do, or when a marker needs watching while you change your diet. If any of the items on the right apply to you, get the labs first and involve a clinician.

Can I run this while I am on medication?

Usually, but not unsupervised. Dietary change alters how much medication some conditions need — glucose-lowering drugs in particular — and that adjustment belongs with the person who prescribed them. Tell your prescriber what you are changing and when. It is a two-minute conversation that prevents the one genuinely risky failure mode in an otherwise low-risk protocol.

What happens if I miss days?

Nothing structural. This is a protocol, not a streak — the physiology responds to what you do most weeks, not to an unbroken chain of perfect ones. Missing a training session or a bedtime does not reset anything. The pattern to watch is not the missed day but the missed fortnight. If one of the four fixes keeps sliding, that usually means it was too big a change to start with, so shrink it until it is boringly achievable and rebuild from there.

How is this different from the paid programme?

The research is identical and none of it is held back. What the free protocol cannot do is sequence twelve weeks for you, read your bloodwork, or notice that your logs stopped matching your plan three weeks ago. Most people should run the free protocol first. If it holds and you want structure and human review on top of it, the programme is there — and if the free version is working on its own, we would rather you kept your money.

Starter protocol · free

The Hormonally Disrupted Protocol

PCOS / thyroid / metabolic syndrome. Treat the upstream, not just the calories.

Is this my profile?All 12 protocols

Fixes first

Week-one actions

Citations

01The mechanism

What is actually happening

PCOS affects ~10% of reproductive-age women and is fundamentally an insulin-resistance condition (Teede 2018 international evidence-based guideline). Thyroid disorders affect basal metabolic rate directly — hypothyroidism reduces RMR; Hashimoto's adds an autoimmune inflammation layer. Both interact with diet but neither is *caused* by overeating in any simple sense. The Petersen-Shulman mechanism work explains the insulin-resistance side: ectopic lipid accumulation in liver and skeletal muscle disrupts insulin-receptor signalling. For PCOS specifically, weight loss of 5–10% restores ovulation in most cases (Moran 2013 review) — but the path to that loss requires addressing insulin resistance directly, not just calorie restriction. For thyroid: medication adherence and proper TSH/T3/T4 management is non-negotiable; nutritional support (selenium, iodine, iron, protein) helps but doesn't replace medication.¹²³⁴⁵

Who this fits

PCOS and thyroid disorders are upstream of weight — fixing them requires addressing insulin resistance, inflammation, and hormonal cascades, not just calorie targets.

Evidence base

This protocol rests on 5 peer-reviewed sources, listed in full further down the page. Where the evidence is mechanistic rather than outcome-based, the text says so.

02Highest leverage first

The four things to fix first

In this order. The first one is usually the constraint everything else is waiting on — starting at number three while number one is still broken is how previous attempts stalled.

01
Treat the underlying condition first
Get proper labs (TSH/Free T3/Free T4, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HbA1c, testosterone if PCOS). Work with an endocrinologist or integrative MD. Diet alone won't fix what's medically off.
02
Lower-glycemic-load whole-food eating
For both PCOS and insulin-resistant patterns, blood-sugar variability matters. Whole-food eating with adequate protein, deliberate carb sources (legumes, whole grains over refined), and consistent meal timing produces durable benefit.
03
Resistance training for insulin sensitivity
Strasser 2013 found resistance training improves insulin sensitivity ~30%. For PCOS this is particularly powerful — addresses both the central pathology and the body-composition outcome.
04
Sleep and stress are not optional
Both conditions are amplified by sleep deficit and chronic stress. Hashimoto's patients particularly note flares with stress. Prioritize sleep window and stress reduction structurally.

03Start on Monday

Week one to two

Not a diet plan — a short daily list. Tick them off as you go; the point is to see how much of the protocol you are actually running before you judge whether it works.

Tick as you go

0 of 5 done today

Nothing here is saved or sent anywhere — it resets when you leave the page.

What to track

Evidence about your own body

01Lab markers (HbA1c, fasting insulin, TSH at quarterly intervals)
02Weight (weekly)
03Energy and mood 1–10 daily
04Cycle regularity (PCOS)

Eight weeks of this gives you data about you, rather than an average from a study population.

04Where to go next

When to consider the full programme

This gets you from zero to functional

The starter protocol is designed to be self-run for two to four weeks. If you want the structured twelve-week curriculum — daily sequencing, meal guidance, lab interpretation by a clinician and a mentor who reads your logs — that is what the Ancestral Reset is.

See the programme Pricing

Related on this site

Other archetypes

All 12

05The receipts

Every claim, sourced

These are the papers this protocol rests on. Follow any of them — we would rather you checked than took our word for it.

References

1.Teede HJ et al. (2018). Recommendations from the international evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. Human Reproduction. PubMed 30052961
2.Moran LJ et al. (2013). Dietary composition in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review to inform evidence-based guidelines. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. PubMed 23420000
3.Moran LJ et al. (2009). Long-term effects of a randomised controlled trial comparing high protein or high carbohydrate weight loss diets on testosterone, SHBG, and erectile and urinary tract function in PCOS. Clinical Endocrinology. PubMed 18811601
4.Petersen MC, Shulman GI (2018). Mechanisms of Insulin Action and Insulin Resistance. Physiological Reviews. PubMed 30067154
5.Strasser B, Pesta D (2013). Resistance training for diabetes prevention and therapy: experimental findings and molecular mechanisms. BioMed Research International. PubMed 24455726

06Before you start

Running this protocol

Questions people ask first

PCOS / thyroid / metabolic syndrome. Treat the upstream, not just the calories. If that sentence describes the last year or two of your life more accurately than it describes anyone else's, you are in the right protocol.

Archetypes overlap on purpose — most people recognise themselves in two or three. The assessment resolves that by weighing the whole combination of your answers rather than one keyword, and tells you which pattern to work on first.

Check with the free assessment

PCOS and thyroid disorders are upstream of weight — fixing them requires addressing insulin resistance, inflammation, and hormonal cascades, not just calorie targets.

Timelines shown are the typical order in which markers move, not promises. Individual response varies with starting point, adherence, medication, age and sex.

Free · 2 minutes

Not sure this is your profile?

The Metabolic Assessment maps your specific answers to the right protocol — including the cases where two patterns overlap.

Take the assessment Browse all 12 protocols

Educational only, not medical advice. This protocol does not diagnose, treat or cure any condition. Consult your physician before major dietary changes or altering prescribed medication. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Individual results vary; no outcome is guaranteed.