*scroll for a StressLess Lifestyle workout that helps keep your stress down and balance hormones!*** Have your tried carb cycling or have your really considered it but not done well? Even I find that some weeks lower carb days are hard and on others higher carb days are hard to stick to. The weeks that it's harder to stay on the High Fat days are also weeks where my hormonal cycle is fighting me tooth and nail to win the "eat. all. the. things." game. There are some times that I let it win and there are times when I actually feel really accomplished when I finally put my head on my pillow at night and realize: "I made it." knowing I can get up the next day and I get a whole new amount of macros and some more food :)
Whatever helps you get by mentally and physically, find it, and do it. I know that twice a month (yay, lucky me) I get cravings. Once, the day or 2 after ovulation, and then the day before I start- same as always, every month, never fails. I also get super bloated....that's never fun. But when you began really paying attention to how you FEEL rather than the physical signs (acne for example) then you will be much better at realizing the cravings were coming and beating them.
So many of you ladies out there have irregular cycles or have PCOS & many other have hormonal changes/shifts that keep you guessing! If you can really get to figure out how you feel at certain times, or when hormones are shifting (that's what creates the cravings), even if it's not regularly scheduled, then you can try and cut it out before you go ham on the bread :-p. When you begin to eat right and be more in tune with your body, you will notice changes easier.
It took me years of charting on an app and paying super close attention, but once you get a feel for it, you will really understand your body and you will be better prepared for hormonal cravings and can not let them ruin all your progress!
So pay close attention to your body:- when you bloat- how you bloat- for how long are you bloated- is it before or after you start, or both- are you affected by ovulation- when do the cravings hit, a week before or right as you start?- do you get cranky? (that's always a first sign for me)- do you crave chocolate when you otherwise don't?-do you crave salt or crunch? There are SO many things that show you where your hormone levels are at and if you can figure out a rough idea of if you're low or high on estrogen based on how you feel (irregular people) or where you're at in your cycle (regular people) then you can have a better understanding of you nutrition also.
The best part....when you get it all narrowed down, you may even notice it changing because you've balanced so much!! When you balance your nutrition intake, so many other things in the body begin to balance also.... *wait for the next blog on hormones/cycle and how SLFL has help so many women regulate!*
-Nicci
Bellow is one of the ORIGINAL StressLess FatLoss (Now StressLess Lifestyle) workouts from the series that premiered in 2015!! I was at the end of my own hormonal journey, SLLS helped me feel so much better and I was helping others at my own HeartStrong Fitness studio...ahhh, memories! --Grab a set of dumbbells and get ready to sweat. Then take that Leisurely walk for 20 mins afterwards.