How to Fix Your Hormones in 80 Easy Steps

Hi.

I've been....away.

Not away away.  But away from here.  But don't you worry!  I haven't backslid and gone back to my old habits.  I'm not hiding any chocolate in my coffee cupboard and I'm still not exercising.

I blame the exercise on the weather.  Holy snow balls Colorado has gotten a lot of snow lately!

My family is still on track.  My son is still refusing french fries and now, thanks to a very informative school assembly....my daughter is monitoring my 'screen time'.  Awesome!

What has been keeping me away....is the PTA.  Hey!  That rhymes.  I'm the Summer Education Chair and with the help of my committee, we've been launching reading programs, selling summer workbooks and setting up field trips!  It's been a blast!

I'm also the coordinator for Kindergarten Field Day. You'd think someone athletic would be great for this job but you'd be wrong.  HA!

And I'm now the PTA co-president.

All of this has been taking a toll on my already jacked up hormones and it's time to do something about it.  I just spent the weekend reading this book.

This book is ground breaking for anyone that doesn't want to be put on a bunch of medications but would instead like to take a million vitamins and try to adjust your wacky hormones with food (or the lack thereof) the natural way.

I'm all for the natural way.  I don't like medicine and I don't trust pharmaceutical companies. Based on the quizes I took in the book, I have symptoms of high and low cortisol, low progesterone and low estrogen.

Here is what I'm going to do about it!

High/Low Cortisol

My symptoms include difficulty sleeping and fatigue, sugar cravings, loss of stamina and muscle weakness.   I'll be correcting this with 500 mg Vitamin B5, 4000 mg Fish Oil and yoga.

Low Progesterone

My symptoms include PMS, irregular cycles, headaches and disrupted sleep.  Correcting this one is going to be tricky.  I requires a huge change on my part but I'm willing to try it if it means I can feel better and not lose whole days of my life every month.

I'll be correcting this with 750 mg Vitamin C, Saffron Extract (15mg twice a day), 600 mg Calcium (twice a day), 200 mg Magnesium, 100 mg B6 ALSO....I'll be cutting way back on caffeine  alcohol, sugar and going paleo.  Goodbye (again) bread and cereal!

Low Estrogen

This is hard to admit and I can't believe that this is happening to me because I have always been kind of a naughty girl, but I'm having....libido issues.  It seemed to start happening around the time I hit 40 and when all of the symptoms I listed above started happening.  This is the symptom that concerns me the most because if you're not having sex with your hubby...then you're just roommates and that sucks!

So...here's the deal.  I'm going on vacation in three and a half weeks.  HOLY CRAP I'm going on vacation in three and a half weeks! We're going to San Francisco, Fresno and Ventura Beach.  It will be very difficult to change my diet so drastically (and not drink around my in laws) so I'll be starting when I return. Seriously, there is a Trader Joe's 2 blocks from my hotel.

In the meantime, I'm starting the vitamins.  Lots and lots of vitamins.

Have you noticed changes since you turned 40? What are you doing about it?

Detoxing is working!

I've been doing Suzanne Summers Detox this week and after only 4 days...I've lost 3 pounds.

I've been eating eggs and veggies (mushrooms, onions and tomatoes) for breakfast and then if I'm hungry..I have a piece of fruit 2 hours later.  But I haven't been hungry and eating the fruit messes up my lunch time schedule because I like to eat lunch while watching The Young and The Restless at 11am.

In the afternoon, I have been eating an apple or strawberries because I have a habit of eating around 3pm. I also want more coffee at this time but I'm trying to resist.  I didn't resist yesterday because it was snowing.

I love to sit with a cup of coffee and watch the snow fall.

Ahem...so for lunch, I've been making lettuce wraps. Hormel Natural Turkey (no preservatives or nitrates!), swiss cheese and avocado wrapped up in a big lettuce leaf.  On the side...snap peas and celery.

For dinner I've been having a 3 oz piece of meat (roast, chicken, pork) and a salad of romaine with a sprinkling crumbled blue cheese and died cranberries. I hope it warms up a little bit because I'm running out of grilled meat and I need to make some more.

Last night I had a glass of wine.  I miss wine.

I did cheat a little bit....I had half of a tortilla, a piece of toast and a glass of wine.  Not too bad!

Now...the good news. I've been feeling....better!  The fogginess has left, I have a little more energy and I've been sleeping better.

Now I just have to figure out how to incorporate some Veganish into this low carb plan.  They don't seem like they can really go together.

Have a great weekend!

I'm Ready!

I'm ready to begin a wheat detox tomorrow.  I'm anxious to see if it alleviates some or all of my problems.  I'm going to really miss bread if this is the issue.  And pizza.  Crap!!!

I think I've discovered one of the main reason that I can't seem to lose weight.  Unfortunately....I can't detox from my husband.

We ate out THREE times this weekend.  Friday we met him for lunch at my favorite restaurant and I had a cream cheese and jalapeno stuffed burger.  Saturday we went out again and today we went to lunch at Popeyes.  I should just tell him no....but I like to eat.

I'm going to be partially forcing my detox diet on him this week....maybe he'll see some improvement too!

Thanks to everyone who gave me links to articles!  Great info!

Getting Old(er)

I'm not feeling well...and I'm up 2.5 pounds again.

I blame Obama. 

Tuesday night, I ordered pizza and drank two Lemon Drop Martini's during the State of the Union speech.

There seems to be more than just pizza going on here.  I'm still not feeling....well.

I'm exhausted.  I'm sweating in bed at night (night sweats?). I'm bloated and I'm experiencing headaches.

I wake up tired. 

I wake up foggy.

I'm craving chocolate and soda.

I need help!

I watched Rachael Ray this week because Susanne Summers was on and she was talking about getting older and being sexy and she looks amazing for 64 years old and I want some of that.

I watched it and it was like she was sitting here in my living room talking to me!

I signed up for a 7 day free trial on her website. I'm not going to link to it because I agreed to some crazy terms that confused me about linking and wording and I don't want some lawyers calling me.

If you are curious.  Google Sexy and Forever. 

Anyway, based on two days of reading on that website...I believe I'm experiencing a hormone imbalance and a food intolerance.  

I'm going to do her detox (it's supposed to last 30 days) this week and see how I feel next Saturday.  If everything seems like it's working out...I'll keep going.

The main part of this detox is that you don't eat *carbs*. What I consider a carb to be bread, pasta, rice.  The carbs that I will be having are fruit.

And she says you can't eat carbs with protein/fat. Interesting.  Also...fruit on an empty stomach or 2 hours after a meal.  AKA a snack.

I'm also going to track down some supplements.  DHEA and Wild Yam.  

Wish me luck!