I can’t think of anything more exciting than talking about hormones! It’s something that I’m deeply passionate about and it is something that I have had to do a deep dive in particularly because I went through so much infertility and recurrent miscarriage when I was trying to get pregnant. I learned how to follow my body’s natural process, the rise and fall of my hormones over a period of 28 days, recognize how my workouts felt at a certain point during my cycle, how my sleep was and how my energy levels were all tied to where I was during my cycle…it all followed a very predictive pattern.  

But last year I started noticing some changes and things were not following the usual pattern. It was a little bit like someone had been gradually dimming down the lights and then all of a sudden last October I felt like everything had changed and nothing was the same. Nothing was working. My workouts were garbage, my recoveries were terrible, my weight started creeping back up and I just was experiencing a deep level of tiredness and anxiety. My capacity for stress was nonexistent, and I was very perplexed by all of this because this it felt like the onset of it was really sudden, but if I look back in hindsight, it was a lot like that dimmer switch. Somebody had turned down the proverbial lights! 

So in October 2023, I went to the doctor and they were so gracious because a lot of doctors can be really dismissive and and say “well, you are a mother of young children and you live a busy life, so this is normal!” But thankfully, my doctor realized that everything I was experiencing was outside of normal and ordered labs to see what was really going on. It took a couple of months to unravel was going on, but the bloodwork revealed that my thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone were all low. It was as if my endocrine system had jumped off a cliff to crash and burn. 

And while it wasn’t what I wanted to hear, it was helpful. Because with conclusive lab results, I could now figure out what was going on and come up with a course of action to get my life back. So these are the four lifestyle changes that I made to start feeling like myself again! 

SLEEP

My sleep had been so bad that even if I slept for over 9 hours, I would still wake up tired. Sleep was not deep or nourishing. So I decided to hone in on my sleep hygiene. I got rid of screen time before bed and started reading instead. Since light triggers our hormone responses and reactions to our body for sleep, I changed the lights in our house so that it would follow the circadian rhythm. I was very vigilant about having a set bedtime and I knew that if I was past my bedtime that that was going to have a profound effect on how my day was going. Now that I have been doing this routine for almost a year, I can tell a massive difference when I don’t follow it….my sleep isn’t as deep or restful and I don’t wake up as refreshed. Sleep hygiene made a much bigger difference that I ever could have know. 

Alcohol 

I have never been a big drinker, especially since I started my whole weight loss journey. I definitely recognized that it had a big affect on my body and on my ability to lose weight or maintain weight. But I really noticed a difference once I started going through perimenopause. My body’s ability to metabolize alcohol was effectively gone. So I had to recognize that my body had zero tolerance for it anymore and I just had to let it go. I hear from a lot of clients who want to see progress but they are feeling stuck fighting against both hormones and alcohol. My biggest suggestion is to just give it up for about six weeks and see how your body responds! 

Workouts

I was doing hard-core CrossFit style classes but when your estrogen is low and when your testosterone is low, those classes will feel pretty miserable because I just didn’t have the energy or reserves to throw at them. So, I had to let them go and reevaluate. Sometimes the workouts that have worked for you in the past will not serve you and your new body chemistry. So it might be a bit of an exploration process to discover what is going to be the best option for you. The general consensus is that lifting heavy is the incredible during perimenopause because we are building muscle mass and facilitating bone density now which will help us as we age!

HRT/Supplements

The topic of Hormone Replacement Therapy is sometimes controversial, but it’s just something that you have to determine for yourself. For me, it really turned things around. I am on an estrogen patch, a testosterone pellet and on high doses of progesterone. All of these things are bringing me back to life! But it’s not everybody…it is a conversation that you have to have with your doctor as they look over your labs and it is something that you have to research for yourself. But it is an option on the table! The other thing you can talk with your doctor about as well is what supplements you can use. Magnesium glycinate is a big one for perimenopause because while it helps with muscle recovery, it also brings a level of relaxation which is so helpful, especially when progesterone is low.  Vitamins B and D are both related to mood and can be supplemented easily! 

The perimenopausal journey can have us all feeling like we are in the dark, but doing some simple things can help you start feeling like yourself again! These are the four things that have turned the experience around for me…what have you been doing that has helped you get your life back!?