about me | The Hormone Diva

Where I’m Going

If you missed part one of this post, Where I’m At, check it out here.

I’m excited that I’ve come to realizations about my present life situation because now I can make a PLAN. Being the logical type, lists and plans make me extremely happy. I want to share my plans with you, so you might understand that I’m human too and that having a plan and accountability support are really the keys to lasting success.

Self-Care

I’m starting with self-care. Don’t pass on by and look to the food stuff, this is just as or even more important. As I’m grieving right now, I’m placing big importance on balancing my adrenal glands. The adrenals are two small hat-shaped glands that sit atop our kidneys. They regulate our stress response. When we are chronically or over-stressed, these poor little glands are able to help us manage stress and go with the flow of life. Usually this results in fatigue, mood swings, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, poor digestion, hormonal imbalance, weight gain and more.

So what is my self-care plan? Well, it’s pretty radical.

I’ve started a morning and evening routine, to keep me on an even keel.
I’m doing meditation every single day, for about 10 minutes total.
I’m using affirmations every single day, for about 10 minutes total.
Short workouts prevent me from getting too tired, so I’m using the Seven app
I’m stretching for 5 minutes every day.
I’m getting out in the sunshine as often as Mother Nature permits.
I’m journalling– consistently- for the first time in years.
Near daily art therapy in the form of an adult colouring book
Essential oils like lavender calm me down and citrus lift my spirits.
I hug my kitty as much as possible.
I’ve implemented a laptop curfew, 1.5 hours before sleep
I’m using my acupressure mat for stress release
I’m taking regular breaks during my workday, where I might close my eyes, do some stretching, a workout or some sitting down and doing nothing.

Looking at it, this seems like a HUGE list of things to add to an already busy life. But guess what- it takes me hardly any time to complete everything. It can take me as little as 35 minutes a day (which I break into small chunks) or up to a few hours, depending on my schedule. Usually weekends mean more self-care time for me.

Diet

In the first part of this post I mentioned that the events in my personal life from the first half of this year have exacerbated my PCOS. In order to balance my hormones, I’m working on a few things:

Getting my progesterone up– my Luteal Phase has been shortened and ovulation has been difficult to come by
Balancing cortisol – I’m SUPER stressed/sad/angry about the loss of my grandmother and it’s making every day life harder. I feel much more tired and irritable that I have in a very long time.

I’m trying to do as much support through food as I can. I’m eating leafy greens every single day for their hormone and stress regulating effects. I’m drinking lemon water upon waking to assist my digestion. I’m also eating much more frequently, as my blood sugar has been a little crazy. Lots of healthy fat, protein and fibre with EVERY meal and snack. I’m eating every 2 to 3 hours.

I’ve also cut out dairy, sugar cane, almonds, bananas and yeast after seeing the results of my IgG Food Sensitivity Test. It has been SO difficult as dairy has always been a favourite of mine. My daily leafy greens and addition of coconut products to replace the dairy provides me with most of the nutrients from what I’ve removed.

What my average day looks like now:

Breakfast: Bulletproof Tea (sans butter) and a few pieces of bacon or a couple of boiled eggs

Lunch: A big salad with greens and non-starchy vegetables, plus chicken or fish and maybe a dairy-free homemade fatty dip or dressing (made with avocado, olive oil or organic mayo)

Dinner: Salmon, chicken or other protein with rice, potato or sweet potato and some non-starchy veg

Snacks: pumpkin and sunflower seeds, coconut yogurt with berries and cinnamon, green smoothie (more greens!), coconut milk chia pudding with hemp seed

Dessert: maybe a little coconut milk ice cream or some of the above snacks, plus a cup of herbal tea

Exercise

As my energy is kinda in the tanker right now, very long bouts of exercise are out. In order to nourish my adrenal glands (the organs of our stress response!) I’m sticking to more restorative and shorter bouts of moderately-intense exercise. I’m always looking to choose activities that won’t drain me of my precious energy, but rather energize and uplift my spirit.

I do some form of activity 5-6 days per week, and I’m usually choosing from:

Short HIIT training with Seven app
Rebounding – I’m doing this every morning for 10 minutes
Restorative, Yin or Hatha styles of yoga
20-30 minute nature hikes
Stretching – I’m doing this every morning for 5 minutes

The Diva Dishes

I’m so thrilled to be able to share this information with you. To show you- YES- I am a human. Yes- I get tired, frustrated, upset and hormonal.

Such is life. There are high points and low points for every one of us. It’s all in how we react to a situation that really counts.

I’d love for you all to continue with me on this journey, so I’m starting a new post segment: The Diva Dishes. I’ll do up one of these every month (if you don’t see one every four weeks- email me to light a fire under my ass) to share with you my successes, struggles and opinions. YOU are very important to me, and I want us to get to know each other better.

Want to learn some more about me? Check out my post 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Me.

See you all next month!

What are YOU doing to care for yourself right now? What part of this self-care is the easiest and most difficult for you?

Where I’m At

This is a super long post so I’ve broken it up until 2 parts. Check out Part 2: Where I’m Going.

This is probably the most difficult post I’ve done to date. The posts that share knowledge, ideas and strategies are always my favourite. Being an information junky, perpetual student and kind of left-brained, if I really admit it- the softer, more personal posts are something I struggle with.

If you are one of the fabulous women on my list then you’ve witnessed my attempt at this for the past 6 months. In trying to develop a sisterhood of women who can come together, share and feel supported, I’ve been sharing details of my personal life and struggles with my tribe.

Now I’d like to bring these personal posts out to YOU- the wonderful reader and woman. Let’s get to know each other better. 🙂

Where I’m At

Mama

If you’ve been a part of my tribe in the last 6 months, you’ve known about the health struggles and passing of my beloved grandmother Stella, or Mama, as I called her affectionately. She passed away in the middle of May 2015 after losing her life to lung cancer. Mama was always the woman to push me forward whenever I had an idea, supporting me and trusting that I would succeed. She was the woman who sparked my interest in cooking, homesteading and food.

After going through her sudden sickness in January, through tests and medications and palliative care in the late winter and early spring, to losing her days after my birthday, my world has been turned upside down.

Honestly I don’t think it really hit me until this week- seven weeks after she died.

Her death was a catalyst- for me to bring my full attention to my and my family’s self-care, as well as really moving forward with gusto in my business.

The Hormone Diva

After having a mini-meltdown just two short weeks ago, I came to a realization: I need more ME time and I need more DIVA time. Up until now, I’ve been working a part-time job to supplement extra income as I build my business. I had a number in my head and kept telling myself I would quit as soon as my income reached a certain level.

Life had other plans for me. I realized that devoting my entire work-focus on my own business, and not someone else’s was what I needed to do- desired income level or not. So I QUIT my job. I was so relieved to be finally done and able to focus 100% on The Hormone Diva- my love, my baby.

All of a sudden I had extra space in my head, and extra time on the clock. My emotions took this as a good time to bubble up some more and I feel that the grieving process is really beginning.

My Health

Being a nutritionist, I’m always thinking about my own health. How can I improve it? What foods should I be eating? How can I balance my PCOS?

As you can imagine, being under immense stress had an effect on my health. My cycles have become more irregular in the past months, with shifty ovulation, spotting and shortened luteal phase. My analytical mind immediately went to food: What am I eating that’s causing this?

So I did an IgG Food Sensitivity Test. One of the perks of being a health care practitioner is that I can order these tests for myself (and clients).

My results: Dairy, Sugar Cane, Yeast, Almonds and Bananas are OUT! I was glad to see that the page wasn’t lit up with sensitivities- but I LOVE my dairy. I’ve been off these foods for 3 weeks now, and have noticed some definite differences.More on that in my Where I’m Going post.

I’ve also realized in 3 weeks sans sensitivities that they are not the total picture. My normal self-care routine needs to be AMPED UP. The grieving process must continue, and so must my love for myself.

Please join me on my journey as I share everything I’m doing to balance my hormones, health a happiness in part 2 of this post, Where I’m Going. Thanks to all the sisters reading, supporting and loving!

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

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. . .

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!