The terms “glycemic index”, “blood sugar imbalance” and “insulin resistance” are often thrown around on the internet, but what the heck do they actually mean? And furthermore, how do they impact my period and fertility?

I see this question a whole bunch, and it’s really valid.

So what’s the answer? Hint: It’s also the name of a leading adult diaper brand.

That’s right! Depends. (Sorry, was that a bad joke?)

Okay so it depends on a number of factors: Diet, lifestyle, where you live, your relationships, etc etc etc.

BUT. There is always a but girl.

The one thing that I have had incredible success with for myself and all of my clients is blood sugar regulation.

What Is Blood Sugar Regulation?

Blood sugar regulation is the same as blood sugar balancing. It means eating in a way that allows you to step off the blood sugar roller coaster (where your blood sugar and insulin spikes and crashes continuously), and onto a level playing field where your blood sugar and insulin stay stable (at least most of the time).

Symptoms of Unbalanced Blood Sugar

  • Crazy energy highs and crashes
  • Sugar & caffeine cravings
  • Inability to fall asleep or stay asleep
  • Trouble waking up in the morning
  • Moodiness – you’re happy one moment then melting down for no apparent reason
  • Anxiety or panic

Symptoms of Balanced Blood Sugar

  • Consistent energy throughout the day
  • Minimal to no cravings for the “crack”
  • Ability to fall asleep and actually stay asleep
  • Wake up with energy for the day ahead
  • Stable moods – yaaas!
  • Less or no physical pain – especially period cramps

Which one would you choose? I’m going to go with balanced blood sugar yes?

How Does Blood Sugar Affect Our Hormones?

Excellent question my dear! I’ll start with the food first.

  1. It all starts with eating foods that cause a big fat spike in your blood sugar. Y’all know the culprits but here they are again – all kinds of sugary treats (obvi), bread, pasta, and even some high sugar fruit like mango and pineapple. Yes, I’ve had a sugar headache from mango before.
  2. Your blood sugar goes up and your pancreas responds by releasing insulin to move that sugar into your cells so you have energy to do all you do.
  3. A consistent excess of insulin in your body is where the problems begin. Insulin is a powerful hormone that’s not to be messed with, and if it is out of whack, other hormones will be out of whack too.
  4. When blood sugar and insulin levels go up, so do cortisol (the stress hormone) levels. Cortisol competes with progesterone for the same receptors. Unfortunately cortisol always wins this fight. So, you might feel like you’re in a low progesterone state, eventually leaving you  with symptoms of progesterone deficiency or estrogen dominance – think premenstrual mood swings and cravings, heavy and painful periods, headaches and migraines, depressed feelings, anxiety, acne and more.
  5. As if that’s not bad enough, there are insulin receptors on the ovaries so excess insulin causes the ovaries to produce more testosterone and less estradiol and estrone.
  6. This excess testosterone can cause your ovaries to malfunction, which can lead to sporadic ovulation or lack of ovulation. This causes irregular periods and Amenorrhea (no period for three or more months), as well as other symptoms associated with low levels of estrogen and progesterone.
  7. High insulin also lowers Sex Hormone Binding Globulin. SHBG binds up testosterone so that it’s not all available at once. When SHBG goes down, it allows more free testosterone into the bloodstream and this can trigger even more issues.

So as you can see, just about every cell in your body is affected by too much insulin.  This link between too much insulin and your sex hormones, is why hormonal imbalances always improve when you eat to stabilize your blood sugar.

If you want to test your hormone levels, Lets Get Checked is my go-to provider for at-home hormone testing kits for myself and clients. You just order them online, have the kit shipped to you, then do the tests at home and send the kit back in the mail.  One and done.

And after processing, their team of physicians will review your results and a member of the nursing team will call you to deliver the results and discuss treatment options.

Be sure to use discount code Hormones20 to get 20% off all Lets Get Checked tests!

By the way, it’s not just your hormones, but your overall health too!

Research suggests that your immune system is depressed for a full 5 hours after consumption of refined sugar. I used to wonder why I was sick all the time – eventually I figured out my diet had something to do with it!

Eating to stabilize your blood sugar is the #1 step to balancing your hormones naturally

Eating to stabilize your blood sugar is where it’s at and if you’re ready to start feeling ah-mazing in your body again, then I want you to follow these basic steps each morning to set you up for balanced blood sugar throughout the day.

Easy Steps To Balance Your Blood Sugar

Morning:

Wake up –

  • Do drink 8-10oz of water (preferably filtered). You can squeeze some fresh lemon juice into it if you want.
  • Don’t drink caffeine before breakfast!

Within 60 minutes of waking up –

  • Do eat a protein-rich breakfast to set you up for stable blood sugar throughout the day. Think eggs, fruit, veggies, sausage, sweet potatoes, oatmeal with protein powder and nuts and seeds, a smoothie with protein powder and healthy fats (avocado, coconut butter).
  • Don’t eat high-carb foods like bagels, bread, cereal or anything sugary, including juice.

Other helpful tips:

  1. Make sure you include protein, complex carbs, healthy fats and fiber in each meal you consume.
  2. Eat in a calm environment – sit down and chew your food well
  3. You should feel full and satisfied for about 4-6 hours after you’ve eaten.
  4. If you feel hungry sooner, then have a small snack immediately to avoid any blood sugar crashes.
  5. You shouldn’t really crave any sweets or sugar after you have eaten and you should feel energized, not tired.

Insulin Resistance

If you want to get a full morning, lunch and dinner protocol along with the exact steps you need to take to reclaim your energy, sparkle and inner happy girl (TODAY), then check out the Fix Your Period Collective, a first-of-its-kind membership experience that provides an interactive roadmap to help women achieve lasting hormone balance and improve everything from PMS, period pain, and heavy periods to irregular and missing periods.

In the foundational Period Pillars inside the membership, you’ll learn about the best foods for your hormones, and I’ll teach you about caffeine, alcohol, inflammation, cravings, migraines and cramps!

What you’re going to learn inside the membership:  

  • How to test your blood sugar so you can figure out if you are eating the right foods for your body
  • How and why sugar and alcohol (even a little bit) can wreak hormonal havoc & what to have instead
  • The relationship between insulin, hormonal imbalances, PMS, PCOS, & Amenorrhea – and how to kickstart the healing process with food & supplements
  • What is inflammation and how it contributes to migraines and menstrual cramps + the top three food contributors to inflammation.
  • Why “bad cravings” happen and a step-by-step guide on how to crave healthier foods
  • Get a proven plan to begin reducing and eliminating sugar from your diet so you can finally balance your blood sugar.

Join the Fix Your Period Collective today!