Most women don’t celebrate the monthly red-tide.
But when you haven’t had a cycle for over a year…you do.
Those words: “I got my period back” were music to my ears when I received the message from a client recently.
After feeling like all hope was lost to get it back” despite “eating healthy and exercising right”, when we first met a few weeks prior, she was skeptical (to say the least) that I could help her at all.
Enter: Myth busted!
Stop Fighting Yourself
Sara* (name has been changed) was doing “everything right” on paper.
- Eating 4-5 small meals each day.
- Avoiding too much fat in her diet.
- Eating carbs only around workouts.
- Weight training 4-5 days per week, and hopping into a bootcamp or circuit class a few times each week for cardio.
- Taking a rest day every week.
- Maintaining a healthy weight.
So when she “lost” her period, over a year ago, seemingly from out of nowhere, she had no idea what was going on.
“Is something wrong with me?” she asked.
After seeing specialists who prescribed her various hormones, and Google searching the answers to her own health for months and months—with no change, she reached out to me as a last resort:
“I need to get my period back, and I don’t want to gain weight, can you help?” her email simply stated.
To which I suggested we set up an initial free consultation and go from there.
Upon our initial meeting, Sara was motivated, but frustrated.
“I’ve tried everything. And not even the doctors can help me,” she said.
I told her I had a couple ideas up my sleeve, and thus we decided to jump in—working together to help her get her health back on track.
Fast forward to just three weeks later, and I received her message: “I can’t believe it!…I got my period back.”
Boom—another day in the life of fighting “crime” of stress, the diet mentality and unhealthy lifestyles (no medicines or hormonal replacements needed).
So how did she do it? How did Sara restore her period—after missing it for a year?
A few simple lifestyle hacks. I’ll share the big ones:
- De-Stressing. Stress is the #1 enemy when it comes to disease and body imbalances—of any sort. When our body is stressed, other systems in our body shut down. What are your top stressors in your life right now? How are they impacting you? In Sara’s case, we discovered several triggers of stress that set off her hormonal imbalances, included: A recent move, a new job and starting a fitness routine—after a previously sedentary lifestyle. Although moves, and new jobs and exercise happen (and can be good things), the ways Sara managed this stress through increased anxiety and willpower. Not one to complain or be “lazy”, Sara is a natural pusher. And, in being so, she began to push her own limits in the workplace, gym and her life to “keep it all together.” I challenged Sara to begin working on a few things:
- Being “ok” with an extra rest day if she really was feeling it
- Taking a “time out” of at least 30-60 minutes each day just for her
- Practicing a 5-10 minute meditation, prayer time and reflection time each day
- Eliminating coffee and caffeine (a natural stressor)
- Not Fearing Fats (or carbs). Two words: Diet mentality. Sara was no different from 90% of women I see in my practice. Even though she knew fats were good for her—at least the “healthy kind”—fat was still a scary word for her—other than the occasional avocado. At most a meal included a ¼ tsp. of coconut oil or ¼ of an avocado—nothing significant. And most meats and eggs consisted of egg whites only, or a lean protein source—like chicken, turkey or white fish. Sara’s new nutrition blueprint consisted of:
- 1-2 healthy fat sources with each meal (and a full serving at that), like coconut oil, ghee, butter, olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds, coconut butter, lard, tallow, olives, chia, flax, egg yolks, organic animal meats
- An additional carbohydrate source each day (2 total each day) to the 1 she was allowing herself only on workout days
- Healing the Gut. The gut is the gateway to health. Every malady, from stress and anxiety, to focus and concentration, to allergies and skin breakout, to hormonal imbalances and blood sugar regulation, find its roots in the gut. Knowing this, as a practitioner, it is vital for me to empower a client to heal their gut, in order to keep the body from attacking itself or continuing to fight inflammation. Unfortunately, at least 3 in 4 Americans report some sort of GI dysfunction connected with a “leaky gut.” A “leaky gut” happens when the gut lining takes a hit over the years from stressors—like processed and refined foods, poor variety in diet, medications and antibiotics, not chewing our food enough and eating too fast, eating foods that we are intolerant to or that irritate our gut lining, etc. These stressors irritate the gut so much that the gut lining becomes more porous—allowing foods particles to seep into our bloodstream, and preventing the proper delivery of nutrients to our cells (including our hormones). How to get started healing the gut? Sara started out simply:
- Taking a probiotic two times per day and incorporating fermented foods into her diet throughout the week
- Chewing her food and increasing mindfulness with meals
- A tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar in a shot glass of water in the mornings
- Increasing water intake to half bodyweight in ounces of water
Stop fighting yourself.
Want to learn how? Thrive is all about helping girls and women—like you—make simple changes and support your body with the right tools it needs to help you thrive for a lifetime.
Book a free consult today.
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