Monthly Archives: January 2015

Ever since I first heard about this book coming out from the Red Tent Sisters, I knew I HAD to read it. As you may know, coming off the birth control pill is what led me to discover my PCOS and into the land of natural contraception. I received this book as a gift this past Christmas, and I have to say- it both delighted and angered me.

Now don’t walk away– I’m going to explain the reasoning behind this.

Sweetening the Pill is a book for every woman. Whether you have been, currently are or are considering taking a form of hormonal birth control like the pill or patch, this is a must read. There are countless side effects of hormonal birth control that many women don’t realize are caused by the medication. Things like insane mood swings, weight gain, depression + thoughts of suicide and much more.

Reading this book will empower you to make the right choice in your life for contraception. I love that Grigg-Spall also talks about men. Our cycles affect our partners whether we mean for it or not, so getting them involved in your choice of contraception is key. When I switched over to the Justisse Method of contraception, I talked with my man about it and the implications for our relationship.

Now on to the angry part. . .

“The pill is no longer about birth control; it is about being a better, improved woman.” – Sweetening the Pill, pg. 109

The pharmaceutical industry along with the government and medical industry have pulled the wool over our eyes. The birth control pill is no longer just a means of stopping pregnancy, it’s now a “cure-all” drug that prescribed for heavy and irregular periods, mood issues, acne, weight gain, among many others. Don’t be fooled! Hormonal contraception simply masks these symptoms while feeding us a huge dose of synthetic hormones our bodies aren’t meant to deal with.

Women no longer own their cycles, as Grigg-Spall explains, but rather if we are to be “liberated” we must be sexually and intellectually available 24-7. So what’s wrong with this picture?

We have natural ebbs and flows to our cycle- some weeks we feel energetic + sexy, where other times we may feel calm + introspective or just like a raving lunatic. But that is the BEAUTY of being a woman. If we are expected to be “ON” all the time, we will burn out!

Being on hormonal birth control takes away our choice- to be in tune with our bodies, to manage our life’s activities according to our cycles and much more. We are not actually more liberated by using these prescription drugs, but rather become more docile and easy to “manage”. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

I don’t know about you, but I want to feel my body in its ebbs and flows. I want to take advantage of my different perspectives throughout the month. Simply take responsibility for your body back from your doctor and the pharmaceutical industry. And be persistent! You WILL get your choice and it will be worth it in the end.

“The choice to come off the pill and be well rather than sick does not have to be a political action. To politicize this suggests that achieving personal wellness is not a good enough end in itself.” – Sweetening the Pill, pg. 191

 BUY THE BOOK! You won’t regret it.

Recently British tennis star Heather Watson spoke briefly about having her menstrual cycle and how if affects her athletic abilities. Female athletes train hard, and are expected to be “ON” 24/7. The greatness about what Heather said was that always being “ON” is really impossible.

Every month, women bleed for up to 7 days. During this time, many women feel more tired, more emotional or sensitive. We all know individually how we feel during our period, and if you aren’t a professional athlete- you may just say no to extra commitments or take more personal time for yourself.

Sports being largely male-dominated doesn’t help either. There is no rescheduling of tennis matches because a woman is menstruating- she’s expected to be at the top of her game at all times- just like the men.

Many female athletes may be on hormonal birth control to suppress their menstrual cycle. Hormonal birth control like the birth control pill can be taken continuously to suppress our natural cycles to help us fit into this world of constantly being ready for action. The safety of this is still up for debate.

And this doesn’t just go for athletes- it goes for all women. While hormonal birth control and “pushing-through” our pre-menstrual symptoms is considered the norm, and it supposed to be a part of women’s liberation. This actually just makes us better suited for the busy western lifestyle we are supposed to live.

Another fact that is mostly ignored from the athletic world that the constant stress of training plus an extremely low body fat percentage leads to irregular or absent cycles. This too can cause women to have frequent mood swings, as well as exhaustion and other health issues.

As a menstrual advocate myself, I hope that this spurs change in women- athletes or not. We need to take charge of our cycles and factor in how they make us feel from day to day. With this intimate knowledge of our bodies, we can adjust sport training, or various life commitments accordingly. Wouldn’t life just be excellent if you could do your life tasks in the days where you are most productive? Or to be able to take some more rest or introspective time while we’re menstruating?

This is my call to women- athletes or not: Menstruation is a natural body process, and each woman’s cycle is uniquely hers. Track yourself and become aware of what you can and can’t handle at certain times of the month to increase your success AND happiness.

Because I love you all so much- I want to share some cool factoids about myself so we can get to know each other better (Want 5 more things you didn’t know about me? Get ‘em HERE). So without further ado. . .

1. I love indulgences. As a Taurus, my comfort and security do a lot to make me feel grounded. I’m a sucker for comfy slippers + blankets, and I LOVE fine chocolates and a hot bath with a good book.
2. I’m an artist. All through my life I have been creating. Whether crafts, sewing, painting or drawing- I’m all about the creative outlet. I lost this for some years after high school when the birth control pill had me feeling anxious + numb (post coming soon about this!). In the last year I’ve been making more time for my art, and I find it very therapeutic. My preference is water colour and oil paints, although I use Gouache quite a bit as well. Playing music from this App helps me get in the zone.
3. I have an eclectic taste in music. Music is perfect for every mood and circumstance. I like classical, jazz, oldies and new songs. I have many old burned CDs with music ranging from 80s pop hits (guilty pleasure!!) to indie hits and hard rock. Creating playlists is fun for me- during nutrition school I had a playlist of songs to amp me up for exams + presentations! I still use it now if I’m going to speak somewhere.
4. I’m a tea enthusiast. Hot drinks are so comforting. And while I like a little fair trade coffee now and again (and the odd Starbucks sugary-drink!!), tea is my go-to. I have real teas (made from the camellia senensis plant) like greens, oolongs and black tea from across Asia to herbal infusions for medicinal purposes. I especially like Matcha in the morning as it keeps me alert but relaxed (due to it’s high theanine content). For evening, a mix of lemon balm and holy basil or lavender relaxes me for a good night’s sleep. If you love tea too, check out this great book on everything you need to know about real tea.
5. I’ve struggled with my periods my entire life. My very first period was kind of a nightmare. It was the day that my maternal grandfather died. So needless to say my poor Mother wasn’t in the right frame of mind to help me out. During the first few years, my periods were extremely heavy, lasted a long time but only came every 4-6 months. Of course most things evened out during the 7 years I was on the birth control pill. After stopping the pill, my periods were still irregular and painful. This led to my PCOS diagnoses.
6. I’m getting better at squashing negative self-talk. As women, the media (and pharmaceutical companies) have us believing that being a woman is a disease and we should quash matters of our femininity. So with that, comes negative self-talk that we aren’t enough, aren’t pretty/skinny/hot/wealthy/happy enough. Through lots of personal development exercises (and a good chunk of TIME), I have much better control over this.
7. I think I’m pretty hot stuff. See above! I’ve got better control, and more ways to feel optimistic and happy about me + my life. It’s taken me a long time to get where I am and I feel sexy + smart because of it.
8. I’m a born + raised Canadian. No, I don’t live in an igloo, and it doesn’t snow here year round. We have hot summers and cold winters and everything in between. Living in this for so many years has given me strength and an appreciation for nature.
9. My boyfriend showed me what JOY is like. I’ve been with my hunky man, Kyle, for over four years. We have a symbiosis I never knew could exist between two people. We met online and I haven’t looked back since. His laid-back + positive attitude towards life has given me the gift of JOY in my own life. I am forever grateful for this, as I really never thought such a joyful life was possible.
   
   
10. My family has been through struggles, too. As the youngest in my family, I’ve seen my family members go through a lot of health struggles. Most notably, my mother had a heart attack about 5 years ago (Wow- I can’t even believe it’s been that long). It was a traumatic time for my sister and me but it has strengthened us as individuals and a family.

Thanks for reading! I hope you feel more connected. I also want to get to know YOU better. Drop me a line and tell me all about YOU!

It’s the beginning of 2015 and we are ripe for New Year’s resolutions! Many of us want to lose weight, get healthier, have more energy, be more loving or just want to completely overhaul our lives! While our intentions may be good, we generally forget all about our goals by February. Don’t let this happen again!

Stick to your goals and achieve the healthy body and life that you’ve always dreamed of with my top 5 ways to take charge of your health!

1. Get to your Doc

Getting healthy is hard when you don’t know what’s out of balance. Make an appointment to go to your family healthcare provider for a physical and bloodwork. Having some answers right off the bat is a fantastic way to know where to start. Cholesterol high? You might need some liver help. Iron low? That could be why you’re so tired! Here are some basics you can ask for:

• Blood Pressure
• Blood Sugar (Fasting Glucose, HbA1c)
• Cholesterol (or complete lipid profile)
• Ferritin (this is for your Iron!)
• B12
• Vitamin D
• Estrogen (called estradiol) & Progesterone (best to test on Day 2 of your cycle)
• CBC (complete blood count)

2. Clean out the Fridge

So now you have some physical results. Maybe you realize there are some changes to be made. It’s also possible that your blood values will be normal and you can still feel like crap. So the best place to begin is in the kitchen! Get a big ol’ black garbage bag and start dumping.

Look in your cupboards- are they full of boxes and bags? Toss them! What about your fridge? Do you have outdated food, take-out containers or other processed meals? Get rid of those, too. Anything that doesn’t resemble something that came from the earth (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, meats) should be put in the trash. If you have good food in your house, you’ll eat good food! It’s pretty simple. And if you have that treat drawer (or cupboard!) that you have a hard time staying away from despite your best efforts, get rid of that too.

You will feel Ahhh-MAZING by dumping all that clutter and bad-for-you foods.

3. Get off your BUTT

This is another one we’ve all had trouble with at one time or another- exercise! I’ve always struggled with this, and I’m a personal trainer! Move your body little by little. An example of this might be setting a 30-minute timer, and when that time goes off, get up for 5 minutes and do something active. This helps you from becoming glued to your chair at the office or in front of the TV.

If you want to start an exercise regime, start slow. Try 1-2x per week. Schedule it in. Put on your workout clothes and lock yourself in the room for 20 minutes. Or put in your headphones, go for a walk and don’t come back until your playlist is over. You WILL get to working out 3-5x per week (if that’s what you want)- but take your time. Slow and steady wins the race.

4. Step-by-Step

I’ve talked about this a little bit above. When making any changes, it’s important to do them step-by-step, even if it takes you longer. You may have lots of goals- for diet, exercise, stress management, hormone balance, weight loss or whatever- but trying to fix them all at once is setting yourself up for failure.

Think about this right now. Out of ALL your goals or resolutions for getting healthy, which one sounds the most fun to you?

Whatever popped into your head first is what you should try. Try it for a week, then add in the next thing you want to try. And so on. It really works- I swear! This is the ONLY way I would have ever been able to manage my PCOS, run a business, INCREASE my energy & moods, plus keep my relationships happy and social life going.

5. Keep Accountable

This may be the last item on the list but is certainly not the least important. In fact- it’s the MOST important thing that will keep you on track. We only get out of life (and goals) what we put into it. That means regularly taking stock of goals, progress and next steps.

The bigger the investment you make (for both time & money), the more you will value your progress and continue making strides. Part of this is having someone you can be accountable to. And your spouse or best friend is not always the best idea! Life gets busy, and their priorities might not be helping you get healthy.