Hormones are no joke.
The week before last, I was so down on myself. I made the mistake of stepping on a scale (at Publix, of course) for the first time since maybe October. I have been fitting better in my clothes lately and last month I was even able to wear something that hadn’t fit me in over a year! I haven’t taken measurements in years, but I know that I’ve lost inches. Well, the scale indicates that I’ve only lost 8 pounds since October. I’ve made SO MANY changes in the past several months and I’m 20-30 pounds overweight so I was expecting more dramatic results because it’s not like I’m in my last 5-10 pounds where people commonly reach a plateau. Mentally I was spiraling. Logically, I know that my expectations are silly because I can’t expect to undo YEARS of metabolic damage in just a few months.
I haven’t had a sip of alcohol since March. I have cut down on caffeine. I’ve been more carnivore leaning as I’ve eliminated high FODMAP foods (I finally was able to ditch the aromatics in my cooking). I haven’t been eating rice. I’ve also cut down on the amount of fruit I was initially having when I started eating an animal-based diet last year. I think the biggest thing is that I stopped drinking alcohol. I slowed down on the drinking around October or November because I could feel that I was drinking too much on the weekends. I was having some gut issues in January after catching a stomach bug or something from work and a few weeks after that had icky symptoms again. It’s like I didn’t fully heal but I have no idea what was going on except that something wasn’t right with my body. That ultimately is what got me to make the decision to eliminate anything that could potentially be inflammatory to my digestive system. No more seasonings on my food except salt. No more pork. No more alcohol.
On top of the dietary changes I’ve made, I’ve been walking a lot more. My husband and I got into the habit of taking brief walks after dinner so that we aren’t just sitting on the couch immediately after dinner. I’m tracking my protein so that I’m hitting my goals and sleeping through the night. I’ve also quit my Olipop habit that was used to replace my liquor drinks on the weekends. I don’t think Olipops are necessarily unhealthy, but there’s some excess ingredients in those things that I don’t need to have in my body at all times. It’s a nice treat, but there was a point where I was overdoing it.
All this to say, I know that if I keep doing what I’m doing, I WILL see the results I want.
Last month, I shared some ramblings on Instagram about my present disappointment.
Basically, that IG rant was written like right before my period started. And then this month when I weighed myself and was bummed about the numbers, I had just ovulated and was entering the luteal phase where my happy hormones take a crazy dip. I need to remember to always check my brain when it’s spewing negative thoughts– where am I in my cycle? Is everything terrible, or am I experiencing a terrible moment? What are some good things that happened recently?
My hormonal symptoms were better this month than it was in May. I had less brain fog and felt less scattered, though I had a few prominent forgetful moments. I had more external/circumstantial stress last month since we were wrapping up the school year, and I had to think about fully packing up my classroom since I am not returning to that school in August. This is my first summer break since I was a child so I’m looking forward to using this time to get all my ducks in a row! As I previously said, a few months of doing well isn’t going to undo years of damage. I need to keep doing what I’m doing, and maintain a positive mindset so I get those happy hormones flowing through me.
If you’re mentally struggling on your health journey, don’t give up! Keep fine tuning and stay consistent with the main actions you’re taking to improve your body and mind. We will get to where we want to be.
Leave a Reply