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?

What We Learned

In mid December, with the help of Leslie Gail, my family made some big changes.  We've individually tweaked our diets in the past but we've never done it as a family.  I'm so proud of my family for embracing these changes and in many cases teaching me valuable lessons along the way.

My 6 year old son no longer eats french fries even when they are offered to him because they aren't healthy and he was really confused when the doctors office gave him a piece of candy after an appointment.   Alex has such a tender heart and has been so concerned about the health of his Daddy.  We've assured him that these changes will help Keith live longer, that he is working with his doctor and that he doesn't have to worry.

I'd like to publicly apologize again to my husband for not giving him instructions for the flax seed I put  in his lunch box.  I intended for him to put it in his yogurt and he ended up adding water to it and drinking it.   For Three Days!!  I've got to give him props for eating (and or drinking) everything I put in front of him.

The results of our three months of being coached by Leslie are amazing, as far as I'm concerned.  Let's see if I can put them into bullet points because that's how I like to do things!

• We doubled the amount of vegetables and fruit that we eat. 
• We drastically reduced the amount of sugar in our diet. 
• We're more active.
• We're eat out less and make much better choices when we do.
• We reduced our serving sizes and size of our plates.
• My 6 year old son lost 5 pounds and his pants fit so much better!
• My husband lost 10 pounds and he has less ailments! 
• My daughter is sleeping so much better.  She didn't have any weight to lose. :)
• I lost and gained the same 3 pounds, but I lost a couple inches.
• I've stopped buying candy and hiding it in my coffee cupboard.

We feel better and know that we're on a good track now!  We have goals for the summer to explore eating more vegetables, being regular visitors to the farmer's market and being active as a family.  Keith and I will also be having blood work done again in May to see how it's really effecting our overall health.

Thank you Leslie for coaching my family and giving us the tools we needed to make these important changes!

Keith and Me with my Dad

If you would like to contact Leslie Gail to assist you with your goals you can find her at New Life Focus, on twitter @gr8lifecoach, and on facebook.  You don't have to live in Colorado to use her services.  She can Skype with you anywhere in the world.

An Update

It's been almost a month since my last confession.

It's been crazy busy around here with school events, spring break, traveling 1800 miles to Texas and back and illness.  Luckily, I was the only one that got it this time.

I had hoped to be in the middle of my 5k training by now but that just hasn't happened.  The weather hasn't cooperating but I'm hopeful that that is changing.  Spring has sprung!  Except for Tuesday.  It's going to snow on Tuesday.

I finished my 3 month commitment to Leslie Gail, Health Coach extraordinaire!  I'll be doing an entire post about what we learned and where we go from here.  Look for that later this week.

As for my weight....I am still holding steady at 210.  My body is bound and determined to stay exactly where it is.  I don't know if this is because of my age, or that I've wrecked my metabolism  but it is what it is and I'm tired of fretting over it.

How are you doing?

His and Her Veggies

For the last 9 years, I've been packing my husband's lunch. 

When we first moved in together, he was on a steady diet of Healthy Choice meals.  He is a creature of habit and likes what he likes.  I packed a cardboard box and a Diet Coke every day and he was very happy. 

At some point I convinced him that he should eat some real food and he took left overs from the night before.  And a Diet Coke.  

He's never been a sandwich guy. 

We moved to Utah and he was diagnosed with Diabetes.  This changed not only his lunches, but our dinners.  This is when he started eating lots of steel cut oats with a tablespoon of peanut butter on top.  He still took leftovers for lunch but they were healthy. 

Now he's moved on to greek yogurt with ground flax seed, almonds, assorted veggies, a banana and a Coke Zero.  He doesn't tolerate leftovers and we don't have many anymore.  I like making exactly 4 servings so that some people can't go back for seconds. Correct portion sizes are one of our New Years Resolutions!

I should be eating more vegetables but I don't like taking the time to cut them up.  I like to grab something easy.  Two weeks ago, it occurred to me that I should be making myself a nice container of veggies everyday at the same time that make one for iKeith.  Why didn't I think of this before? I take the time to care for everyone...but me.

But not anymore.  It takes a couple minutes more to cute up a few extra for me!

His and Her Veggies!

I accidentally packed the Hello Kitty container in his lunch the other day.  Keith was NOT impressed.  In my defense...they are both GREEN!

Goals for March

It's March 5th!  Seriously?  What the heck is going on?  How is it the 5th already?  Time to revisit our goals for February and make new ones for March!

February 2013

Lose 4 pounds GAINED 1.4
Research fitness ideas for my family Looked at Bikes, bought son a scooter
Make Bread Made over Mom's Banana Bread recipe
Make a date with my husband. Set for March 2!
Start C25K and train for a 5K race  Too Snowy

March 2013

Lose 2 pounds

Make Pasta

Drop a Jean Size Challenge

Train for 5K race

Cut carbs by 50%

What are your goals for March?