6 years ago I was crying uncontrollably ...

A little about my hormonal filled journey

6 years ago I started sobbing uncontrollably.
I had no idea why.
My husband stood there asking what he could do.
Nothing.
There was nothing he could do because I had no idea what was happening. I wasn’t bothered or stressed at work, things were fine at home. Life, as it were, was peachy. Except for this urge to cry for no apparent reason.
I worked more on my mindset….that must be the problem.
I worked more….after all the kids were not around quite so much, high school, jobs and sports.
I started every day with a cup (or 2) of espresso and ended every night vegging in front of the tv with a mega glass of wine.
I couldn’t sleep. Or more accurately, stay asleep, I saw 1-3am every dang day. Was it really a wonder that I needed coffee each morning.
And as I passed that 40th birthday, I realized the only friskiness was obligatory.

Oh snap!

When the heck does menopause start?
What is this phase called peri menopause? And it can last 10 years!!?
Maca root. Black cohosh. Pregnenolon . Progesterone. Estrogen. Testosterone. Insulin. Cortisol.

About this time I met a naturopath who kept saying my symptoms were super common….and completely not natural. Seriously every woman passes through this phase of life, The Creator did not intend for it to be a living hell. Complete with hot flashes, night sweats, memory loss, stubborn belly fat, and a complete disinterest in sex.
Hmmmmmm, food for thought.

So I read up on the subject.
The Hormone Cure. The Hormone Reset Diet. Woman Code. The Menopause Program.
The one quote that sticks with me several years later was in Dr Sara Gottfried’s book “The Hormone Cure”, “if you will not take the time to fix your hormones at a young age, YOU WILL BE FORCED TO DEAL WITH THEM IN MENOPAUSE.”
Is it too late?
Is there a fix now?
Please tell me I can curb some of the horrible promises.

Back to, my now super good friend, the naturopath.
She put me through quite a thorough intake exam, yep, peri menopause.
A couple of intense detoxifying cleanses later I felt pretty good.
Ok let’s take a quick sidebar here when I say intense cleanses….actually they were harder mentally than they were physically. And if I’d have done the first one the way she told me to I might not have had to do it a second time. We’re talking cut out all processed foods and only eat veggies for a week, along with some “cleanse pushing” (I still don’t know what the heck she means when she says this but I am a believer) protein shake. Yeah, and take an easy week at the gym, a few epsom salt baths, chill, meditate, hug a tree.
But you see, I knew just enough to question her and want to interject doing stuff my way. So I didn’t cut out my morning eggs or 1 cup of coffee daily. Or hug any trees (turns out just leaning up against a tree while reading a book is good too😉)
So I got modest results. I lost a little weight, I slept a little better, my hubby was a little hotter, aaaaaaaaaand there was still the uncontrollable sobbing.
I read a couple more books.
Took the tongue lashing from the naturopath and repeated the stinking cleanse….100% her way. No cheating. None. For crying out loud it was no cake walk.
At the end of the second week a veil had been lifted. Seriously. I had never had the clarity of mind, the depth of sleep, the amount of waking energy or the hot as hell horniness I was experiencing.
Never.
Nope, not ever had I felt this good.

I passed the books onto clients in need.
But didn’t really know what else to do.
I got certified as a Hormone Coach, but wasn’t really sure where that might take me.
More clients coming “of age.”
A new doctor out there explaining relatively new studies about menopause and hormones and how we can exercise differently in order to feel better.

Wait.

What?

A double whammy of eating like my naturopath suggested (btw, more than just veggies if not doing the detoxifying cleanses) and exercising like you’re in menopause, not like you are a teenager and suddenly the heavens open up, the choirs are singing, the rainbows are brightened.

So I tested…..I actually did it the doctor’s way the first time.

Was it tough? Yep.
Did it go against everything I’d been taught over the past 15 years? Yep.
Was it a mental challenge? Yep.
Was it a physical challenge? Yep. (Well, at the beginning)

And did I lose weight like a teenage boy? Yep!
Was I frisky as a teenage boy? Yep!
Was I sleeping through the night? Like a rock.
Could I remember where my keys were in the morning? Yesssssssss! Every dang day!

Score!
And WIN!

Now what?
A few lessons learned….coffee and wine are not necessarily my friends.
30 minutes or less of intense gym time a couple days a week and some sprint work (don’t read running here, but do read intense work) along with romantic walks in the park with my husband, epsom salt baths, meditation are all good things.
Quit multitasking.
Eat veggies and protein, skip the donuts…..if you gotta have a coffee eat breakfast first.