Did you know that over 80% of women suffer from hormonal imbalances? Estrogen dominance or resistance can top the list when it comes to hormonal issues in women, especially women over 40 and women who are postpartum. A decline in the hormone progesterone is quite common in women over 40. Here is how to get your hormones back into balance.
What is Hormone Imbalance
Hormonal imbalance in simple terms is when our bodies are either not producing the right amount of hormones, this could be in the form of an overproduction of hormones known as hyperthyroidism, or not receiving the hormones being produced due to endocrine disruptors blocking them.
It is said that over 80% of women in the US suffer from hormonal imbalances throughout their lifetime. The most common reasons triggering hormonal imbalance are menopause, premenopause, pregnancy or post-pregnancy, obesity, and chronic stress or trauma.
Of course, most of us suffer needlessly having a handful if not all of the symptoms listed below and if this goes on too long before it is corrected it turns into a full-on autoimmune disease. For more on Hormonal Imbalance in women and how to fix it read 15 Signs Of Hormone Imbalance That Most Women Ignore next.
Understanding how our hormones work helps us to see how delicate that balance is and why we should be focused on keeping it from getting all out of wack!
For a deep dive with Dr. Pelz check out her YouTube series How Fasting Can Help You Balance Your Hormones – PART 1 (then you can check out the rest of the series for a doctor who focuses on Fasting for hormones)
What happens when a woman’s hormones are out of balance?
When we approach hormones we have to take a team approach. Hormones do not work independently of one another. When your thyroid hormones are not working properly, it does not mean it is just your thyroid. People with adrenal fatigue often are also suffering from hypothalamus and pituitary gland problem. Think of hormones like the dominos effect, if one falls it knocks all the others out of balance too.
Some of the most common outer struggles from hormonal imbalance are covered here Hormones and Weight Gain and here Hormonal Imbalance Diet. Hormonal weight gain is often the biggest telltale sign something is off. The weight normally appears mostly in the stomach, known as the hormonal belly, the hips, butt, and thighs giving that pair-shaped figure no one wants! It also can feel impossible to lose hormonal weight gain, if you have been struggling check out those two posts next!
Related Posts to read next on this topic:
How to Heal Autoimmune Diseases Naturally
Progesterone Deficincy in Women Over 40
As women hit perimenopause or menopause around the age of 40 progesterone begins to decline, this is known as progesterone deficiency. The tricky thing about our hormones is they work together as a team, so when progesterone declines it will often lead to estrogen problems.
Estrogen dominance will affect the body in many ways from bloating to abnormal periods, extreme PMS symptoms, headaches, decreased sex drive/decreased production of sex hormones, fatigue, mood swings, and hormonal weight gain.
Our hormones can be looked at like the dominos effect. If you knock one over the rest fall with it. For a deeper dive into this topic and to see all the signs most women ignore check out this post next 15 Signs Of Hormone Imbalance That Most Women Ignore.
If you have more than a few of the listed side effects of estrogen dominance the next step would be to take a hormone panel, this can be done with a doctor’s request at a lab or you can grab one of these at-home test kits and check your hormones at home.
Related posts to read next if you want to start treating hormonal imbalance naturally at-home Estrogen Dominance & Progesterone Deficiency
Progesterone Deficiency Symptoms
Low progesterone, or progesterone deficiency, may cause irregular or absent menstrual cycles, mood changes (particularly anxiety or depression), hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, headaches or migraines, and women who aren’t pregnant.
For a deep dive into Progesterone Deficiency check out this post next Progesterone Deficiency
Progesterone is the “feel good” hormone, and begins to naturally decline around menopause or premenopause. But when we understand our hormones we can reverse that decline and keep progesterone high so you can feel amazing!
What does Progesterone do?
Progesterone is the hormone that calms you, it is also the hormone that keeps estrogen in check which is especially important for women going through the perimenopausal years. Perimenopause is simply the beginning stages of menopause and for most women starts right around the age of 40.
High stress and cortisol spikes are another big reason women experience progesterone deficiencies and if this goes on for a prolonged period of time it will throw all the other hormones out of balance as well which will lead to autoimmune disease.
Progesterone Deficinies signs to look for are:
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Hot Flashes
- Anxiety (not feeling comfortable in your skin)
7 Ways to Use Fasting to Increase Progesterone Production
There are two hormonal peaks (cycles) all women need to know about, we also need to be aware of what type of fasting to do during your progesterone-building time is key here. The estrogen cycle peaks around day 14 of a woman’s cycle this is when ovulation occurs, and a progesterone cycle peaks around day 21 of our cycle.
Remember earlier I mentioned how these two hormones go hand in hand. I like to use the analogy of a seesaw When estrogen is up progesterone is down and vice versa.
This cycle is normal. However, during the progesterone-building cycle, if you are super stressed out, or doing super hardcore workouts this can hinder progesterone production so instead of progesterone being high during the cycle as it should be estrogen is high (again), this can lead to estrogen dominance.
If this continues due to overworking out, staying in ketosis too long, or excess stress to name a few of the top culprits, then our seesaw is stuck with estrogen at the top and progesterone at the bottom
Days 17-21 the Progesterone building cycle best practices:
- Practice intermittent fasting on days 17-21 of your cycle no more than 11-14 hours and pair that with the daily practice of TRE Time Restricted Eating (snacking is BAD!! Just cut that out completely)
- Avoid longer fasting
- Avoid Ketosis (Keto or carb-restricting diets)
- Minimize stress during your progesterone-building cycle
- Avoid super intense workouts (CrossFit, long runs, powerlifting, etc. instead choose something like pilates or a yoga workout with walking at 15,000 step count goal
- Sleep – getting to bed on time, eliminating blue lights, not eating (or drinking alcohol) 3 hours before bedtime, and getting the afternoon sun in your eyes singles your body its time to produce your sleep hormones my husband and I get an after dinner mile in which doubles as connection time
- Incorporate more Grass-Fed Beef and organ meats (don’t worry I linked a supplement below if organ meats gross you out lol) and up the healthy carbs during this cycle things like beans, pumpkin and squash, nuts and seeds, fruits (during the morning), and cruciferous veggies are great during this cycle
If Weight Loss with Hormonal Imbalance, You Have to Get Your Food Right
Odds are pretty good that if you have gained weight and not been able to easily lose it, or have been overweight for more than a year then there is a hormonal imbalance involved. Regarding the question of whether being overweight or obese causes a hormonal imbalance or does hormonal imbalance cause obesity the simple answer is yes!
It doesn’t really matter which came first if you have one the other is soon to follow.
The best diet for hormonal weight gain in my own personal experience, and in helping so many heal their hormones as well is hands down the Clean Keto Diet.
Clean Keto is essentially the keto diet minus the dairy and avoiding highly refined processed foods I like to call Frankin’ Foods. Foods that are not real, are cooked up in a lab somewhere using God only knows what, and they are made to last on the shelf for years and be highly addicting so that you buy more.
When I started Keto almost six years ago now it was the school of hard knocks for me. I spent months researching and meal planning trying to figure it all out myself. Now, I can recommend to you the Custom Keto Meal Planner for weight loss as the big red easy button to start Keto.
Custom Keto Meal Planner quizzes you on your taste buds and weight loss goals and then formulates the perfect done-for-you meal plan to fit your needs. It even emails you the weekly shopping list for less than a dinner out with friends (it’s under $40 per month).
Hormonal Harmony Supplement
If you are really serious about hormonal weight loss you can combine the keto diet with the right supplements to give you a boost right out of the gate.
Hormonal Harmony HB-5 is an all-in-one supplement to support resetting your hormones. Formulated with all-natural ingredients and is essentially a multivitamin for your hormones.
For my full review and in-depth research on this supplement check out this post next Hormonal Harmony Supplement Review
Conclusion
As women, know that 80% will suffer from hormonal imbalance throughout our lifetime and around the age of 40 which for most women is perimenopausal (starting to see the signs of menopause) science shows us that estrogen and progesterone are naturally declining to make it even more important to put into place practices to boost our bodies production.
If this information hit home take some time to read other posts on the blog where I share how I healed my hormones naturally after two complicated pregnancies threw them all out of wack here is a great next read How to Heal Autoimmune Disease Naturally.
Also, check out Dr. Mindy Plez, the GOAT of women’s hormonal studies in her book, “Fast Like a Girl: A Woman’s Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, and Balance Hormones” Dr. Mindy Pelz, reviews how time-restricted eating (TRE) can improve your health and balance your sex hormones. In general, I believe TRE is one of the most foundational strategies to stay healthy, but the devil’s in the details, and Pelz will tease out some of those here.
Post below what resonated with you most, are you seeing signs of hormonal imbalance, and do you have any questions for me about my journey of healing my autoimmune system naturally?
Post in the comments below!
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