Feeling irritable? Acne? Adrenal fatigue? Suffering from insomnia? Experiencing bloating, headaches or hot flashes? PCOS? Fatigue/tired? Craving salt or sugar? Waking up tired? Brain fog? Experiencing Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)? Have high blood sugar( type 2 Diabetes)? If you answered yes to any of these symptoms, thereâs a good chance your hormones are out of balance.
When you go into a book store or google âHow to balance my hormonesâ often what comes up is a laundry list of foods that you need to limit and avoid. Typically itâs the usual culprits like red meat, dairy, gluten, sugar, alcohol and caffeine. Usually there are some false promises like if you are super strict for â21â days, all of the sudden your cravings will magically disappear, you will natural just want vegetables all the time, youâll lose a bunch of weight, have more energy and youâll stay like that for the rest of your life. But what happens when you canât give up your morning cup of coffee or you crave Aloo Poori?
As with any diet, you might do well for a few weeks but when you eat something not on âthe listâ guilt and shame strikes. You berate yourself into thinking you have no willpower. You think you are destined to be tired, overweight and a glutton for the rest of your life. Well, I am here to tell you that it doesnât have to be that way! I am a big believer that when we listen to our bodies, tap into our hunger and fullness cues, eat nourishing, satisfying meals and actually consuming enough calories, our hormones naturally come into a balanced place. And the best part is, you also donât have to cut out all your favourite foods either!
So how do we eat intuitively in order to balance our hormones? Letâs define what intuitive eating actually is :
What is intuitive eating?
In short, intuitive eating is tuning into the body, listening to hunger cues and cravings and applying nutrition foundations so we feel full satisfied and nourished.
Intuitive eating would actually just be called eating if we werenât so bombarded with diet culture and misinformation!
So what do we do? How do we learn to eat intuitively and balance our hormones at the same time?
Start with these tips:
Make sure you are eating enough! Donât skip out on meals. This causes cortisol to be released and throws off blood sugar leading to more cravings and low energy. I would never, ever suggest any woman eat less than 1600 (but please tell me youâre not still counting calories?!). This is imperative if you have lost your period or struggle with thyroid issues.
Eat more protein. Most women I see are not eating enough protein in their diets and we actually need more than you think. As a (gentle) rule of thumb, try to have 20-30 grams of protein at each meal. That might look like 3/4 cup greek yogurt or cottage cheese, 3 eggs, a portion of fish, chicken or prawn at lunch and dinner.
Have an afternoon snack in between lunch and dinner. This prevents overeating at dinner times and again balances blood sugar levels.
Balance out your plate with protein, carbs, fat and fibre. This is the tried and true combination for balanced blood sugar, stabilized weight and less sugar cravings. This is a key foundation for any hormone imbalance including PCOS, endometriosis, PMS, PMDD, adrenal fatigue and thyroid issues. Our tasty millet flour staples are a perfect source of protein, calcium, dietary fibre that your body needs.
Take into account your sleep, exercise and self care routine. Working out like crazy? Getting less that 8 hours of sleep? Always feel busy and donât have time for yourself? Truth is, balancing hormones, losing weight and managing craving comes down to more than just what you are eating! Less that 7 hours of sleep increases cortisol by up to 30% and throws off our hunger hormones causing us to crave sugar and eat more.
If you are looking for some support with balancing your hormones but want to do it in a non restrictive way, we are here to help. To book a free 15 minute discovery call, write to us at support@bcosfoods.in .