The Enchantress

The Enchantress

Hormone Shortfall/Hormone Imbalance

You have difficult cycle symptoms. You have issues with cramps, ache, bloating.  You have a diagnosis of PCOS, endometriosis or have been perscribed the pill for medical reasons.

• PCOS Factsheet
• Endometriosis Factsheet
• The Pill Factsheet

Fat is sticking to places it didn’t used to. In fact you put on weight easily but it feels like it is impossible to get rid of it.  Cravings during cycles sabotage efforts. Energy is a see saw, Struggling to work through plateaus and finding a plan that works. You hold fat on the inside of thighs or outside of thighs.  Your skin is affected with adult acne on jawline and cheeks and your back. Or you have flare ups of  Psoriasis and Eczema.  You often feel bloated with IBS or digestive issues.

Your number one challenge is managing stress and inflammation in your body. That’s because as stress levels rise, estrogen and progesterone fall, and your metabolic see-saw practically grinds to a halt. That makes a big difference in how you should eat.

The best way to get stress under control and rebalance the see-saw is by changing when you eat your carbs. A lot of people avoid carbs because they’ve heard carbs make you fat. That’s not true. No single type of food makes you fat. Obviously, you can’t eat 60 loafs of bread and expect a flat belly…That will cause a nasty spike in insulin – the primary hormone that promotes fat storage.

On the other hand, you can’t swear off carbs all-together. That’s because when your body doesn’t get enough carbs, it can cause an equally nasty spike in the stress hormone cortisol. Your body uses cortisol as an emergency fuel producer when you don’t have enough carbs. And one way it creates that fuel is by breaking down muscle tissue.

Unfortunately, cortisol also interferes with your fat burning hormones. Eat too many carbs and insulin is the problem. Eat too few carbs and cortisol is the problem, so we don’t want you to slash the number of carbs you eat. The trick is to eat them at the right times… when they work best with your Hormone Type.

Here are the rules to follow:

First, count up the average number of carbs you eat in a day. (you will be doing this as part of your Macro calculation later)

Then, eat about half that amount first thing in the morning,

And eat the other half last thing at night.

In between, stick to low carb foods like salads, green smoothies and protein shakes.

This approach will stop your stress hormones from spiking in the morning so you start your day calm and focused, and it will suppress them in the evening so you can easily fall asleep.

You must get these carbs from complex sources i.e. Oats, Rice, Sweet Potatoes, Quinoa and Legumes.  Limit your fruit intake to berries.

You MUST focus on a plant based diet.  This is essential.  Cutting out gluten and dairy from your diet will have MASSIVE effects on your PMT symptoms and reduce those PCOS symptoms including your bloating, acne and skin issues . And adding more fibre from greens (minimum 50g up to 100g a day) will shorten your cycle (if you are 7-10 days) to the usual 3-5 days.  Add Spirulina into your diet to detox and alkaline your gut and eat liver detoxing veggies like celery, green peppers and chinese greens. Focus on healthy fats from oily fish, eggs, avocados and nuts & seeds, supplement your diet with a quality Omega 3,6,9 supplements to manage your inflammation, add fibre from flaxseed oil (not flaxseeds), coconut oil and remove all Omega 6 oils from your diet.  If you are going to eat meat.  Be sure to choose fish or turkey and balance with LOTS of greens.

Shorter and Higher Intensity Workouts but no more than Twice a Week

Focus on building lean muscle through Strength Training Workouts

MAXIMUM 2x 30 min Metabolic HIIT workouts (2x LEAN, 1 x CURVY AND/OR STRONG) NO MORE THAN 4 WORKOUTS A WEEK IN FIRST 90 DAYS.. Do not be tempted to do more- especially the HIIT and don’t just do HIIT be sure you balance with STRENGTH.

 However, you can:

 Add an extra workout on the weeks where Estrogen and energy is high (just after your period) and you can add an extra CURVY or a WARRIOR after 1-2 cycles based on how your cycles balance out.

On the other side of your cycle, enjoy Long Walks- no power walks, easy walks in nature. Even break this up with 30 minutes twice a day.

Focus on Breathing exercises and other stress relieving techniques such as Yoga and Meditation especially in your 2 weeks of higher progesterone.

With your type, there’s one thing you should focus on…Using your breath to de-stress. You have probably heard of meditation, right? It’s a great way to calm your mind and relax your body.

But many women with prolonger low progesterone are wired and tired. They have trouble calming their brain down long enough to get started. So here’s an easier 2-minute option to try:

Take 10 deep breaths… hold for a few seconds at the top… then exhale slowly.

Then, take one deep breath and hold it for as long as you comfortably can.

Listen to your heartbeat or watch the color changes dance around in the back of your eyelids.

That’s it. 10 deep slow breathes. Then one big breath, and hold as long as you can. Repeat this up to three times including before bed to shut down your monkey mind and help you sleep.

High oestrogen types (heavy bleeding and cramping) need to focus on saunas, hot Epsom salt baths to alleviate sweating and bloating and adding more coconut water into your diet.

Your number one priority is to get your estrogen and progesterone balanced again, so the best thing you can do is get more good quality sleep. Sleep puts your body in restoration mode. You can think of it as a reboot for your metabolic hard drive. That means – if possible – you should go to bed an hour earlier and wake up an hour later. There is only one problem…You may have difficulty falling asleep at night, so supplement this with short naps during the week. Research shows that even a 10-minute nap can undo much of the hormonal damage caused by sleep loss.

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Hypothyroidism

Ashwagandha 500 to 1500 mg per day. This herb helps thyroid hormone function better with the cells it interacts with. Ashwagandha also aids the hypothalamus and pituitary. It is best for those who feel what we call “wired but tired”—wired on the inside but physically tired in the body.

Adrenal Fatigue

Rhodiola rosea 300 to 600 mg per day. This is one of the best supplements I have found to restore balance to the HPA. Research has shown that it is an excellent aid to those dealing with fatigue due to overwork, overtraining or long periods of excess stress and strain.

Athlete Triad

Rhodiola rosea 300 to 600 mg per day and L-glutamine powder 5 to 15 g per day. Rhodiola works on the HPA as noted above, while L-glutamine works on the 3-, 4- and 5-star generals of the metabolism: the immune system, muscles and the gut respectively. Glutamine is a key player in all these areas and can make a huge difference.

Menopause and menstrual issues

Vitex (aka chaste berry) 200 to 400 mg per day. This herb acts on the hypothalamus to restore normal function of the HPA and its signaling to the ovaries. In this way vitex can deliver estrogen and progesterone balancing effects. 

Heavy bleeders and high estrogen types

Take Milk Thistle to help the liver to break down excesses of estrogen

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