Guest post by one of my lovely Fall 2015 apprentices Fatima Mahida, on easy solutions for your PMS cravings!
It’s that time of the month when you start feeling cramps. It feels like someone is drilling on top of your uterus. You’re wondering where all your energy went and there’s the potential for a migraine as well.
On top of that, your belly is swollen and you want to dive into comfort food: the box of cookies or the tub of ice-cream. Not being satisfied, two hours later, you reach for another box, which only further exhausts you.
These cravings all start when changes happen in your sex hormones – estrogen and testosterone levels drop after ovulation and progesterone levels start to rise. Don’t stress though, just kick back and ease into these 6 simple tips to set you up for feeling fabulous and PMS free.
1. Get your beauty sleep
Your body craves more delicious treats and makes poor eating decisions if you’re lacking sleep. Your will power goes out the door and insulin sensitivity drops, which makes you prone to storing more fat. Go to bed an hour early and create a nighttime routine. Turn off all electronics an hour before bed and write in a gratitude journal. Changing your home lights to a yellow bulb or wearing blue blocker glasses are a great way to help reset your circadian rhythm.
2. Take L-Glutamine to stop PMS cravings
L-Glutamine is a kickass nutrient that helps eliminate obsessive food cravings and even alcohol cravings. I recommend combining heavy cream or coconut oil with 500-1000mg of l-glutamine powder to ease your sweet tooth when you’re having cravings. Saturated fat helps beat cravings even more than l-glutamine on it’s own. Check out this brand of l-glutamine powder!
3. Make good fats your BF
Who doesn’t love healthy fats? Not only are they delicious, your body uses cholesterol from fat to balance hormones, which leads to improved metabolism, increased energy and a stronger libido. They also curb cravings. A Win win in all areas of your life.
Fats are found in salmon, nuts, avocados, grass-fed meat, olive oil, grass-fed butter, ghee and my favorite, coconut oil. Not eating enough fats is a common cause of infertility and depression, while eating the wrong fats increases PMS symptoms. Coconut oil and butter contain lauric acid, which is highly anti-fungal and anti- bacterial – they help kill harmful bacteria and pathogens like yeast and help heal infections! Up your fats intake ladies and feel full, balanced and fabulous!
4. Create structure in your daily meals
Having a set meal time improves metabolic health and it helps burn fat when you add in fats and proteins, and remove insulin spiking carbs. So when you’re not eating out of boredom, your body, at rest, burns fat. It also helps you stay on track and not eat out of boredom.
Create a plan where you eat at least every 4 hours. Plan your meals with proteins, healthy fats and fresh colorful veggies, and remove refined carbs that spike insulin. Add in 1-2 snacks between meals if you want.
5. Take fiber to feel full
I know you’ve probably heard that fiber is great for excellent poops! It also helps remove excess estrogen, which causes PMS. This leaves you with a healthier gut, increased energy and a tighter tummy. But that’s not the only benefit here; it also helps manage your blood sugar and it keeps levels of ghrelin (the hormone in charge of hunger) low, which keeps you feeling satisfied between meals. Think leafy greens and root vegetables.
6. Be aware of environmental toxins
In our daily routines we use makeup, perfumes, plastic compounds and breathe in environmental toxins. These toxins can increase estrogen levels in our bodies to harmful levels. Carrying more fat under your glute area is a sign of excess estrogen which leads to PMS, irregular bleeding, cramps and even infertility.
The Skin Deep Database is an extremely useful site where you can find out the safety of many products. Once you know which products are potentially harmful, you can make better choices for your hormonal health!
Give these easy steps a go and say goodbye to the PMS cravings chaos you experience each month. Wishing you a healthy, vibrant cycle!
Fatima Mahida is an online women’s health and wellness coach whose goal is to naturally restore women’s endocrine, digestive and mental health. She focuses on fertility, menstrual cycles, hormonal issues, exercise, nutrition and mindset to empower women.
Her mission is to ultimately revive women into becoming the happiest and strongest version of themselves. You can find her at www.mahidafatima.com and on Twitter & Facebook.
