Tag: menstruation

period recovery story

Client success! Elise’s period recovery story

Leave a comment

To celebrate 50k views at Moon Life, I wanted to share something special with you all that I don’t usually do. Today I will share the recovery story of one of my lovely clients, Elise. This beautiful soul came to me last year because she wanted to recover her missing period which had disappeared after falling into restrictive eating patterns. She was ready to heal her relationship with food and her body and get her period back.

I know that these period recovery stories are inspiring and great motivation for anyone on this path. So I asked Elise if she would be kind enough to share her story here on my blog. She is also incredibly insightful and has a way her experiences and emotions through her writing. I hope her recovery story speaks to you and offers you a glimmer of light if you are finding this journey tough or you feel that it’s not going as perfectly as it “should”.

Elise’s recovery story: The Nature of Recovery

“It’s like you have a shield in front of you. Imagine if you let down that shield.”

The eating disorder was my shield. It was like a protector from everything I could not control in my life. If I felt like my work was not perfect, then I tried to make my food perfect. The smaller I got, the more obsessed I became with feeling like I could control something and that I could achieve something. The achievement of being smaller was a way to isolate myself from the world, to not have to confront the uncertainty of life.

My eating disorder became my preoccupation. People became bodies to compare myself with and the voices inside of my head grew noisier and noisier. What was I going to eat later? Was the food I was eating too much? How would I reject food if someone offered it to me? Holding onto these thoughts and behaviors were painful and each night when I told myself I would do better, I still chose to make the same decisions the next day.

Recovery is not a linear process, but it starts when you decide to make a change and act on it. At one point, I went to Italy with a friend, and she saw that I was struggling. She told me she had been there and that she promised it wouldn’t be like this forever. Hearing her say that and seeing how she recovered made me believe that I could too. Moreso, it was a moment where I realized that this was not how I wanted my life to be.

I woke up each morning feeling like I had been run over by a truck and even with no energy in me, I got on my yoga mat and did pilates. My spine hurt when I rolled, my knees felt sharp pains in them, and it felt like sometimes my bones were popping out of their socket when I walked. Getting ready in the morning meant checking the flatness of my stomach and wrapping my hands around my arms or my thighs to see if they were thin enough.

My camera roll became photos of salads, comprised of lettuce, beans, and avocado. The photos became another thing to stare at for hours, wondering if it was too much. My body was crying for help. I had dug myself into a hole and I was trying to get out but the hole was deep, a culmination of years of negative childhood impressions around food, a desire for self-perfection, and a strong obsessive mentality that was fixated on food, exercise, and remaining thin.

How dark does life need to get before you seek help? The “I’m not sick enough”
mentality constantly permeated in my mind. The state of my body was not in its equilibrium. It did not feel safe and so it stopped my periods to help keep me warm, even though I was always freezing. It stopped my periods to help me think, even though most times I could hardly think clearly. It stopped my periods to help keep me alive.

Not having my period made me think a lot about what it means to have a period and to be a woman. It made me reflect a lot on how much I wanted children and how much I wanted to be a good role model for them one day. Not having my period made realize that my body was shutting down and so was my life. At one point, I remember saying I have had enough. I need to make a change. I tried to get myself out of the hole I had dug, but some holes are too deep and you need someone to throw you down a rope to help you climb out.

Over a year had passed without a period before I decided to get help. Journaling became a big part of my recovery. Hearing the way I talked to myself and changing the narrative became a big part of recovery. Self compassion and perseverance became another really big part. I never stopped trying to do better for myself. After four months of recovery with myself and Amy, I got my period. I got it three months in a row, and it was exciting to see how far I had come.

While now it has been over two months since I have had one, I know recovery is not a linear process. It takes time and patience for your period and your mind to feel normal again. Now, when I see myself slipping, the hole I fall into is less deep. I know as long as I keep reminding myself that I can be healthy, have a healthy relationship with food, and love my body, that sooner or later when I slip, I won’t fall into a hole but I will be there to catch myself before I fall.

Life is about becoming the best versions of ourselves. I have learned it’s okay to let down the shield. Feel the fear and do it anyways.

My thoughts

Can you hear yourself in her words? Maybe your story is different but can you recognise something? What I can say is that after working with many women desiring to recover their periods, is that this idea of perfection is nearly always involved. It played a big part in my story too. Wanting everything to be perfect and organised and never feeling like we measure up to the standards we set for ourselves.

This idea of perfection can then creep into recovery too. We feel that we are not doing well enough if we don’t do recovery “right” or if our period isn’t perfectly regular every month once it comes back. Or we can even feel that we aren’t “perfectly sick enough” to deserve to begin this healing journey. But there can be no perfect recovery story. Or more like, every story is perfect and plays out exactly as it should for us to learn the lessons we need to learn.

Elise’s story is not unusual. She is a great example of the results you can have if you really commit to this work. What is possible when you are open to reflecting on your beliefs, thoughts and behaviours mindfully and witnessing your own patterns without self-blame and judgement. So many of the stories we tell ourselves and the thought patterns we fall into don’t belong to us or simply aren’t true. But they stick and as time passes we become more and more attached to them.

Unravelling these messy entanglements doesn’t happen overnight. But it does happen slowly and surely. One step at a time. And eventually years later you look back and see just how far you have come. I still do this today, many years after I considered my personal recovery story to be over. Some days I reflect on who and where I was before and the journey I’ve been on and I’m still amazed.

So thank you Elise for sharing your recovery story. I’m so proud of you and excited for what’s to come!

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me 1-2-1 to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We will create a plan tailored to your individual needs and vision for your health. I will then be there for support, guidance and accountability as you work towards your goals, whether that is recovering your period, healing your relationship with food and your body, overcoming hormonal imbalances or increasing your fertility naturally.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
  • If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

How does stress affect the menstrual cycle?

How does stress affect the menstrual cycle?

Leave a comment

Many women know intuitively that stress has an impact on their period. But what is stress and how does stress affect the menstrual cycle?

We usually associate stress with particular situations, such as losing a loved one, an intense break up or an overwhelming work schedule. But stress can come in many other less obvious forms:

  • Positive life events e.g. relocating, changing jobs, moving house, having a baby
  • Exercise e.g. exercising too often or too intensely
  • Diet e.g. not consuming enough energy or nutrients
  • Self talk e.g. a loud inner critic, feeling unworthy or inadequate
  • Environmental stressors e.g. chemicals in food, cleaning products, toiletries

All of these things add up to create your stress load. In this fast paced world we live in it can be a lot! Whether they realise it or not, most women today are living with a high stress load. This is one leading factor in many of the menstrual cycle issues we are seeing. Stress can contribute to painful periods, excessively heavy bleeding, irregular or missed periods and unexplained infertility. It may also be implicated in other conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis.

How does stress affect the menstrual cycle?

When we are in a stressful situation, we release stress hormones to help us deal with the task at hand. The most well known stress hormones are cortisol and adrenaline which increase blood sugar and blood pressure giving us that “pumped up” feeling. Every morning a spike of cortisol wakes us up then levels should gradually decrease until the evening so that we can get a good nights’ sleep.

However, when we are under stress we can end up with chronically high levels of cortisol. How does stress affect the menstrual cycle? Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer, authors of the book Wild Power, call the menstrual cycle our “stress sensitive system”. Menstrual issues are like the canary in the coal mine to let us know that something is out of balance within the body. Before we realise it consciously, our bodies are keeping the score.

Stress and your hormones

Our hormonal system is one big interconnected web of chemical messengers. A chronic increase in stress hormone production sets off a hormonal domino effect in the body via the HPO (hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian) axis. When stress hormone levels are high, the sex hormones which control our menstrual cycle can also be affected. This can lead to changes in the length of your cycle and can also contribute to period pain, PMS symptoms and infertility (Reference).

Dr Claudia Welch, author of Balance your Hormones, Balance your Life calls our sex hormones the “yin hormones” and stress hormones the “yang hormones”. Yin hormones are nourishing, calming and promote wellbeing, healing and fertility. Yang hormones are heating and promote activity and survival. When your body perceives stress, survival is the number one priority and having babies comes way down the list. For this reason it puts producing stress hormones ahead of sex hormones and stress can affect the menstrual cycle.

Can stress cause your period to be late?

Stress can cause your period to be late by delaying ovulation. If cortisol levels are high and this disrupts the normal sex hormone production, ovulation will not occur. Often, the body will have a “second attempt” at ovulation a few days later. The luteal phase (the time between ovulation and your period) is consistent for each women between 10 and 14 days. So if ovulation is delayed due to stress, your period will also be delayed.

Can you have a missed period from stress?

In the same way that stress can cause a delayed period, it can also cause you to miss a period altogether. It really depends on your body and how it perceived and handles stress. Most of the time, a missed period is nothing to worry about. With short term stress, menstruation should return as usual the following month when the stressor has passed.

However, when stress continues over a long period of time and menstruation is stopped for 6 months or more, this is known as Hypothalamic Amenorrhea. Many women who experience Hypothalamic Amenorrhea engage in chronic dieting or high intensity exercise. It can also happen in women who are under chronic stress from any of the things on the list above.

Stress and pre-menstrual symptoms

The pre-menstrual phase can be the most difficult part of the menstrual cycle for many women. It’s often when we feel at our most vulnerable emotionally and may be experiencing fatigue and other physical symptoms. When we are under stress these physical and emotional changes can be ramped up, in some cases leading to severe PMS.

As we move towards menstruation, there is this natural call to retreat within ourselves. We tend to become less outward focused, more introverted and less motivated for work or intense physical activities. If we are under stress and we can’t align with this natural shift in pace or if we allow the shoulds and shouldn’ts of the mind to come before the wisdom of the body, we can get into trouble.

The body can fight back with all the weapons it has at it’s disposal – period cramps, mood swings, intense fatigue and exhaustion just to name a few. Often these symptoms are a message that it is all just too much and that is perfectly ok. The last thing we want to do is judge or criticise our bodies for being this way. This only adds to the stress load and can worsen the response.

What to do if stress is affecting your menstrual cycle

The first thing to do is to take a moment to P A U S E.

Grab a journal or use the notes app in your phone to keep track of your stress levels and stressors on a daily basis. When do you feel agitated, rushed, overwhelmed, exhausted or inadequate? Are there particular situations, places or people that are contributing to your stress? Could your current lifestyle be increasing your stress levels? Take your time and get very clear on the big picture of your life.

Once you have identified the the stress which could be affecting your menstrual cycle, it’s time to make a plan. Are there any stressors which can be eliminated from your life? For the ones that can’t, is there a change in approach or perspective which could reduce the stress this thing causes you? Are there any lifestyle changes which could make your life more easeful and nourishing?

Finally, it’s important to have tools to support you in “emptying your stress cup”. This is unique to you but here are a few of my suggestions:

All of these activities can help you to get out of over thinking busy mode and into your body. They help to soothe your nerves and bring your nervous system into a relaxed state. Your body knows how to heal and restore balance when it is given the space.

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me 1-2-1 to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We will create a plan tailored to your individual needs and vision for your health. I will then be there for support, guidance and accountability as you work towards your goals!

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
  • If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

diet for pcos management

What is the best diet for PCOS?

4 Comments

PCOS which stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is one of the most common hormonal conditions affecting women. It is thought to affect 1 in 10 women in the UK although many do not show any symptoms. Nutrition can play a key role in managing PCOS symptoms. However there are a lot of arguments about what the best diet for PCOS is. In this article I will summarise the current research on nutrition for PCOS.

diet for pcos management

Symptoms of PCOS

Some of the most common PCOS symptoms include:

  • Irregular or missing periods
  • Anovulatory cycles
  • Hair loss (male pattern baldness) or thinning
  • Excessive hair growth on the face and body (hirsutism)
  • Weight gain
  • Acne and oily skin

Clinical markers for PCOS include high androgens (male hormones) in the blood and multiple cysts visible on the ovaries during a pelvic ultrasound exam.

Source: NHS

Causes of PCOS

PCOS is a complex hormonal and metabolic condition with no one specific cause. There appears to be a genetic element to a woman’s risk of developing PCOS. Environmental and lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise and exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals also play an important role. Together these lead to imbalances in reproductive hormones, particularly increased testosterone production in the ovaries.

Source: https://academic.oup.com/jes/article/3/8/1545/5518341

Insulin resistance is also common in women with PCOS. This is where the cells become less sensitive to insulin and so levels in the blood are higher than usual. Diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity are also associated with increased risk of PCOS. For this reason blood sugar and weight management is an important part of the diet for PCOS.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5922706/

Diet for PCOS management

The key principles of the diet for PCOS are:

  1. Blood sugar balancing
  2. Ensuring adequate nutrient intake
  3. Healthy weight management
  4. Eating anti-inflammatory foods

These are simple principles of good nutrition and do not need to be taken to the extremes. A balanced diet which is rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, starches, low fat dairy, legumes, nuts and seeds with smaller amounts of fish, lean red meat and poultry is the most recommended diet for PCOS management.

Dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet and the UK Eatwell Guide are all examples of diets for PCOS management. These diets have in common a balance of carbohydrates, fats and protein rich foods to support blood sugar balance. They also highlight the importance of balancing energy intake and output through activity to maintain a healthy weight range.

A wide variety of nutrient dense and anti-inflammatory plant-based foods make up 75% of the diet. Animal-based foods then provide additional nutrients including omega-3 fats and iodine from oily fish and key minerals such as calcium, iron and zinc from meat and dairy. It is possible but not necessary to adapt the diet for PCOS to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

diet for pcos eatwell guide

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8643565/

Low carb diet for PCOS

More recently there has been a trend towards recommending a low carb diet for PCOS management. This idea fits within the principles of lowering insulin levels as diets which eliminate carbohydrates naturally lead to lower insulin levels. Many people have had short term success with energy-restricted, low carb diets such as the keto diet for PCOS management. Such diets can support weight loss, improvement in menstrual cycle regularity and acne symptoms in women with PCOS.

Source: https://bmcendocrdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12902-019-0420-1

However, I see this as sticking a plaster on an injury rather than letting it truly heal. I think in the long term it’s better to maximise the types of foods we eat from natural sources. This way we can ensure a variety of nutrients and our bodies become more adaptive and resilient. Therefore I think a healthy, balanced diet for PCOS including all macro-nutrients is most sustainable in the long-term.

Diet for PCOS or Hypothalamic Amenorrhea?

Finally, something that I think is important to share is the common misdiagnosis of PCOS in women who are experiencing Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA). This is when a woman stops menstruating due to under-eating, over-exercising or too much stress. Both PCOS and HA are marked by a lack of ovulation which can lead to cyst formation on the ovaries.

In HA, reduced hormone levels mean eggs may start to mature and not quite “make it” leading to the appearance of cysts on the ovaries. Therefore a doctor may diagnose PCOS from an ultrasound scan without doing blood tests to check androgen levels. This is what happened to me and this false PCOS diagnosis delayed my recovery process by a couple of years as I continued to control my diet for PCOS and exercise daily, based on my doctors’ advice.

If you have been diagnosed with PCOS yet you are underweight and have a history of dieting and intense exercise, it’s important to make sure you get the correct diagnosis. The treatment for PCOS and HA are completely opposite. The diet for PCOS focuses on low calorie density food and controlling energy intake whereas to recover from HA it’s necessary to increase calorie intake, sometimes dramatically. Exercise plays a role in managing PCOS but in HA recovery, rest should be the priority.

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
  • If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

Powerful Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs to look out for

1 Comment

It’s been over 5 years since I recovered my natural cycles after 8 years of missing periods aka Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (I explained what that is in this post). I remember feeling like I was doing all the right things to recover and just waiting for my period to return. It can be a long wait full of uncertainty and sometimes you just want a sign you are on the right track. So today I want to share a few Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs that indicate your body is healing and your period may be about to arrive!

Physical Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs

Part of the Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery process is reconnecting with your body. With all of my clients, not just women who want to recover their periods, body awareness meditations play a key role. It’s so easy to become disconnected from our bodies and their needs. This can happen due to working in front of a computer all day leading to numbness. We can also experience disconnection when we deny our bodies’ needs for too long e.g. chronic dieting or pushing through fatigue. One of the key Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs is feeling reconnected with your body and it’s sensations.

In general, this can mean knowing absolutely when you are hungry, thirsty or tired and exactly what you need. This might sound obvious to some but I am sure many of you understand how it feels to “lose touch” with your body. During Hypothalamic Amenorrhea you can feel so unsure and no longer trust the signals your body is sending you. Especially if you start the recovery process and feel that your appetite is out of control or you need to sleep all of the time. Building this trust with your body and accepting everything is so important to recovering your periods.

More specifically, experiencing sensations in the area of your womb is one of the most powerful Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs. If you are connected through this part of your body (e.g. through practicing regular womb meditations and breathwork) you will feel when the energy of your womb and sacral chakra come back online before your first period arrives. This can feel like tingling, warmth, heaviness or any other subtle sensation. It’s a deep inner knowing that comes via the physical body and makes you realise what a powerful energetic being you are!

woman suffering from a stomach pain
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Emotional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs

As well as physical changes, you will also likely experience emotional changes during the recovery process. Again there are two facets to this. Generally, one of the Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs is feeling more emotionally stable day to day. Recovery can be a bumpy road where you experience a rollercoaster of emotions. Sometimes you can feel worse than before you started and that’s ok. Deciding to recover your period can bring up a lot of “stuff” as you face fears and challenge your beliefs.

What I experienced personally and see in other women is that once our hormones start to balance out and our period is due to arrive, some of this instability settles down. Partially this is due to a calming of the nervous system once you are well nourished and energy balance is restored. Less mental chatter around food and body weight fears will mean you experience less anxiety and feel calmer overall as you progress through your recovery. Your body and mind reach an equilibrium and it can be such a relief.

a person sitting on wooden planks across the lake scenery
Photo by S Migaj on Pexels.com

That said, another of the Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs is experiencing pre-menstrual symptoms. You might notice some long forgotten signs of feeling moody or irritable and wonder why. This can be particularly surprising if you have started to feel much better emotionally during recovery. It’s important to watch out for a period of feeling not yourself as this could be a sign that your period is about to arrive. Often, we don’t realise until afterwards that it was hormonal changes leading to us feeling off. But as a positive, cyclical mood changes can be a sign that your body is gearing up to menstruate again.

Measurable Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs

Finally, for those of you who like to track and measure things, one of the Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs which is measurable is Basal Body Temperature (BBT). Often during Hypothalamic Amenorrhea, your metabolic rate is lower. Your hypothalamus detects that not enough energy is coming in and turns down the metabolic dials. This is what causes your reproductive hormones to shut down but your metabolic rate also decreases so that you waste less energy as heat.

This can mean that your core body temperature drops from the usual 36.6°C to less than 36°C. I explained more about this in a previous post about signs of a low metabolism. So tracking your BBT under the arm or tongue a few times a week can be a good way to keep an eye on your healing process. Ideally, you want your BBT to reach 36.6°C first thing in the morning before eating anything. If you are resting and eating enough food to restore your hormones, this should happen naturally over time.

Another interesting pattern to watch out for is a sudden rise in BBT. All ovulating women experience this temperature shift each cycle. After ovulation the body temperature can rise by around 0.5°C and remain there until menstruation. This is how the fertility awareness method works to identify ovulation and therefore fertile windows. Towards the end of my recovery process I downloaded a menstrual cycle tracking app to record by BBT. Before my first period I noticed this sudden and sustained shift in temperature and I got so excited as I knew I was on the right track and my first followed 2 weeks later!

Summary

I hope that understanding these Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs gives you confidence in your recovery process. I know how hard it can be to trust your body and wait but I promise you can heal. Your body is a powerful healing machine that it is designed to find balance once it has the right conditions. Keep listening and responding again and again. Build that connection with yourself and your physical body and wait for the miracle to occur. I promise it will be worth it!

Not sure what to eat to recover your period? Check out my period recovery meal plan!

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
  • If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

restorative yoga baddha konasana

How to reduce overwhelm and fatigue with restorative yoga

Leave a comment

This weekend I have really been feeling the dark moon energy. I know many of my female friends have been too. Last night I taught a restorative yoga for the dark moon phase class. I practiced the sequence myself as I was planning the lesson and it was exactly what I needed to ground myself and restore my energy.

Dark moon phase and menstruation

The dark moon phase is the few days either side of the new moon. This moonless sky was on Monday here in Athens. This lunar phase brings with it a more gentle, slow paced and inward facing energy. We often feel more tired, less motivated to work and play and need time to rest and reflect. Just as the moon disappears from the sky, we also want to retreat away from our responsibilities and obligations.

When we align this with our menstrual cycles, the dark moon phase represents menstruation. This is the time when we feel our lowest energy levels. Some women experience cramping and pain as the uterus works hard to shed it’s lining. We often feel more tired and overwhelmed than usual. We might feel like we need a break from work and social activities.

It’s fascinating to me how many women seem to be bleeding with the new moon this lunar cycle. I started my period on Friday and so my menstrual phase spanned the dark moon phase this cycle. I also have friends in Greece, the UK and Germany who have told me that they were bleeding this weekend. Some of them told me they were experiencing more pain and exhaustion than usual. Collectively there seems to be a craving for rest and healing.

Cycle syncing in the dark moon phase

As much as I try to listen to my body and live in sync with my cycle, it can be difficult at times! In Athens right now it’s over 30°C. It’s quite challenge to reconcile that need for cool and calm energy with the fiery hot summer energy that we have right now. I want to do all of the things and sometimes my body just say no…

This weekend I had plans to go and visit an island with some friends. Even though I was bleeding I wanted to make the most of the trip. We went to the beach, ate great seafood and travelled all over the island. We saw endless pistachio groves and a beautiful temple. It was such a lovely weekend but of course when I came home I was exhausted as I hadn’t been able to take the rest I really needed. I experienced cramps into the 3rd and 4th day of my cycle which is unusual for me. Plus I still feel tired a couple of days later.

At first I started to blame myself for not taking more care when “I know better”. But really, there is no such thing as perfection when it comes to living in sync with your menstrual cycle. Sometimes it is just bad timing and there is nothing you can do about it. As much as you would like to hit pause on the world for a few days and continue were you left off, the world keeps on turning. We just have to do our best to take rest where we can and show ourselves some compassion.

Some ways we can nurture ourselves when we are busy during menstruation include:

  • Making time for a daily nap or yoga nidra practice
  • Spending at least an hour alone to reflect and dream
  • A short meditation or breathwork practice to connect with the pelvic space
  • Going to bed early or lying in if possible
  • Switching off electronics and all notifications for a while
  • Taking time to write in a journal or doodle
  • A daily restorative yoga practice

Yoga for the dark moon

One of my favourites is of course restorative yoga. I have incorporated this into my health regime over the last 3 years or so and it has done wonders for my wellbeing. Restorative yoga aligns well with the dark moon energy as it is a very slow, soft practice. We use lots of pillows and props to support the body and hold postures for 5-20 minutes at a time. The practice is designed to restore energy and stimulate healing within the body mind. It really is a transformative practice!

On Tuesday evenings I teach Yoga for Women’s Health at the Mala Centre in Holargos, Athens. With all of these energies in the air, I decided to offer a slightly different style class last night in honour of the dark moon phase. Some yoga practices can be very intense, building heat and strength in the body. It particular, vinyasa and ashtanga styles of yoga can be very dynamic and need a lot of stamina.

These practices are great for creating a strong and healthy physical body and focus and discipline in the mind. But it’s important to also balance this kind of yoga with a slower, cooling and calming practice. This is especially important for women as we cycle through our own monthly ebb and flow of energy. I love how the yoga practice has so much to offer us and can meet us where we are right now.

Healing new moon yoga sequence

restorative yoga baddha konasana

With this in mind, we practiced a kneeling version of lunar salutes or moon salutations instead of the usual sun salutations in a hatha yoga practice. This sequence has a lovely grounding energy to it and includes lots of lunges to open the hips and side bends to create space in the side body. I also included more restorative yoga postures than usual using pillows as props.

As usual, we practiced some postures and breathwork to support healthy menstrual flow and to ease pain in the pelvis and lower back. This includes Badda Konasana (cobblers’ pose), Upavistha Konasana (wide legged seated forward fold) and Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (supported bridge pose). The class ended with a short yoga nidra practice to support deep rest, healing and restoration of that yin, lunar, feminine energy that we are craving right now.

The students left the class with a healthy, happy glow. It’s a good job the class was in the evening as we were all ready for bed afterwards! I plan to teach a similar restorative yoga class for the dark moon next cycle too as it’s such a beautiful practice.

If you live in Athens and want to join me for yoga in Holargos or Filothei, you can check the schedule and book your space HERE.

Until next time, Namaste…

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
  • If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

Express your feminine energy in inner summer

Leave a comment

Today I want to share about my experience with inner summer aka the ovulatory phase. It’s been a while since I shared my experiences with menstrual cycle awareness practice. Part of the reason is that it has become such a habit for me to live this way that I don’t consciously think about it as much as I used to.

Menstrual cycle awareness is exactly that, living with a conscious awareness of your menstrual cycle. I’m not sure I really like the term but at least it does what it says on the tin. In their book Wild Power, Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Wurlizter use the term “Menstruality” which I also love as it brings in the elements of spirituality and mysticism which are directly tied to this practice.

Today I want to share about my experience with inner summer aka the ovulatory phase. Usually the second half of our cycle gets the most attention because PMS and difficult periods can be the most disruptive to our lives and therefore the luteal and menstrual phases are the ones we tend to focus on. The follicular phase or inner spring can also be a time we breeze through as we tend to feel good.

Ovulation is usually forgotten about, until we decide we want to get pregnant and then it becomes the holy grail and something to be measured, analysed and hunted down. However, I think there is such a beauty in the ovulatory phase even for women like me who are not ready to have children yet, or those who have already passed this phase of life.

To begin with the science, ovulation is the process of releasing an egg from one of our ovaries. Ovulation itself can be considered as the main event of the menstrual cycle because if we do not ovulate, we do not menstruate. Yes, you can still experience a bleed during an an-ovulatory cycle but you will not be fertile and it is not considered to be a true period.

To me, ovulation is the creative miracle of feminine energy and something to be celebrated. Ensuring healthy ovulation is an important part of my holistic health coaching practice as it brings so many benefits on all levels of our being: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

The ovulatory phase begins a few days before ovulation and lasts until a few days after. It can also be considered the “fertile window” for women practicing fertility awareness method as these are the days when we are most likely to get pregnant if we aren’t using contraception.

At the beginning of the ovulatory phase, we are dominated by the hormone estrogen but we also experience spikes in Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinising Hormone (LH) which cause a mature egg to be released. Progesterone levels remain low until after ovulation as this hormone is released from the ovary at the site the egg was released.

Image credit: Hello Clue app

For me ovulation brings with it this sense of expansion and super-human capacities. In a good month, I can feel energised and radiant and like I can handle anything life throws at me. There is this almost fizzing creative energy where I feel inspired and have many ideas for creative projects, my business and life in general.

It’s also a time when I feel most social which as an introvert I embrace whole-heartedly. Often I find being around other people exhausting and I need time to recharge afterwards but around ovulation my social capacity increases a lot! I feel like I have more energy for my close relationships and a greater capacity to put myself out there in challenging social situations.

It’s also a time when I feel my most physically attractive and confident. At this time of my cycle I love wearing clothes which feel feminine and taking the time for self-care routines which make me feel beautiful like taking time to style my hair or painting my nails. At other times in my cycle my self-care is more focused on the emotional level like meditation, journalling and relaxation.

During ovulation I feel more liberated and comfortable in my body but there is also this sense of magnetism which I think runs even deeper than the physical level. I think as women we just have this energy during ovulation that attracts others, whether that is sexual partners, friends, work connections or even children.

Before I started to practice menstrual cycle awareness, I did notice these subtle differences but I didn’t understand what I was experiencing. I distinctly remember one week feeling on top of the world and the next feeling it come crashing down around me. I would wonder what was going wrong and point the finger of blame towards others or towards my own body.

In reality the shifts we experience are perfectly natural and more gradual like a tide moving in and out throughout each month, the waxing and waning of the moon or the changing of the seasons. When we have present awareness and consciously go with this flow rather than fighting against it, life can be a truly beautiful experience.

Although awareness is always the best place to start, actually making lifestyle changes can be tough. One of the ongoing problems I have with this phase of my cycle is that I think that I can do it all. I start multiple projects at once and then either don’t finish them or burn myself out trying to finish what I started. I struggle to decide how to spend my energy, whether to focus on work or play.

I fill up my diary for the next few weeks without realising that once my inner autumn aka pre-menstrual phase arrives I am more likely to want to chill at home with a book or spend time writing rather than going out dancing or hosting workshops. This is why using a period tracker app or calendar can be a useful tool because it helps you to think ahead and plan accordingly!

I find that channeling the increased energy of the ovulation phase into one or a few projects is the best way to feel fulfilled rather than overwhelmed by the end of the cycle. It can be extremely satisfying to see a creative project or a specific task through from start to finish over the course of the month.

If we germinate ideas and set goals after our period and focus our energy throughout the cycle, we really can achieve great things. Just like we have this sense of closure and preparation for hibernation at the end of summer, it brings us a sense of fulfillment to tie up lose ends as we approach our next bleed and we can surrender to relaxation knowing that we have put our creative energy to good use.

If you are interested in learning more about living in sync with your menstrual cycle, take a look at my other posts about menstrual cycle awareness category and definitely consider reading the book Wild Power which I recommend to all of my female health coaching clients.

Discovering and syncing with this inner rhythm has helped me so much to understand and connect with my body, my feminine energy and nature itself. It’s something that is rarely talked about and we are not taught in school but yet it is a current that runs under the river of our lives and affects everything we do. Living in a female body comes with many challenges but I would never change it for the world.

Do you currently track your menstrual cycle? What is your experience of ovulation aka inner summer? Is it a time you are consciously aware of or would like to be in the future? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Like this post and follow my blog for more posts on nutrition and yoga for healthy, balanced hormones!

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
  • If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

Let it shine: Embracing inner summer aka the ovulatory phase

Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I shared my experiences with menstrual cycle awareness practice and part of the reason is that it has become such a habit for me to live this way that I don’t consciously think about it as much as I used to. Menstrual cycle awareness is exactly that, living with a conscious awareness of your menstrual cycle. I’m not sure I really like the term but at least it does what it says on the tin. In their book Wild Power, Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Wurlizter use the term “Menstruality” which I also love as it brings in the elements of spirituality and mysticism which are directly tied to this practice.

Today I want to share about my experience with inner summer aka the ovulatory phase. Usually the second half of our cycle gets the most attention because PMS and difficult periods can be the most disruptive to our lives and therefore the luteal and menstrual phases are the ones we tend to focus on. Ovulation is usually forgotten about, until we decide we want to get pregnant and then it becomes the holy grail and something to be measured, analysed and hunted down. However, I think there is such a beauty in the ovulatory phase even for women like me who are not ready to have children yet, or those who have already passed this phase of life.

To begin with the science, ovulation is the process of releasing an egg from one of our ovaries. Ovulation itself can be considered as the main event of the menstrual cycle because if we do not ovulate, we do not menstruate. Yes, you can still experience a bleed during an an-ovulatory cycle but you will not be fertile and it is not considered to be a true period. To me, ovulation is the creative miracle of feminine energy and something to be celebrated. Ensuring healthy ovulation is an important part of my holistic health coaching practice as it brings so many benefits on all levels of our being: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

The ovulatory phase begins a few days before ovulation and lasts until a few days after. It can also be considered the “fertile window” for women practicing fertility awareness method as these are the days when we are most likely to get pregnant if we aren’t using contraception. At the beginning of the ovulatory phase, we are dominated by the hormone estrogen but we also experience spikes in Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinising Hormone (LH) which cause a mature egg to be released. Progesterone levels remain low until after ovulation as this hormone is released from the ovary at the site the egg was released.

Image credit: Hello Clue app

For me ovulation brings with it this sense of expansion and super-human capacities. In a good month, I can feel energised and radiant and like I can handle anything life throws at me. There is this almost fizzing creative energy where I feel inspired and have many ideas for creative projects, my business and life in general. It’s also a time when I feel most social which as an introvert I embrace whole-heartedly. Often I find being around other people exhausting and I need time to recharge afterwards but around ovulation my social capacity increases a lot! I feel like I have more energy for my close relationships and a greater capacity to put myself out there in challenging social situations.

It’s also a time when I feel my most physically attractive and confident. At this time of my cycle I love wearing clothes which feel feminine and taking the time for self-care routines which make me feel beautiful like taking time to style my hair or painting my nails. At other times in my cycle my self-care is more focused on the emotional level like meditation, journalling and relaxation. During ovulation I feel more liberated and comfortable in my body but there is also this sense of magnetism which I think runs even deeper than the physical level. I think as women we just have this energy during ovulation that attracts others, whether that is sexual partners, friends, work connections or even children.

Before I started to practice menstrual cycle awareness, I did notice these subtle differences but I didn’t understand what I was experiencing. I distinctly remember one week feeling on top of the world and the next feeling it come crashing down around me. I would wonder what was going wrong and point the finger of blame towards others or towards my own body. In reality the shifts we experience are perfectly natural and more gradual like a tide moving in and out throughout each month, the waxing and waning of the moon or the changing of the seasons. When we have present awareness and consciously go with this flow rather than fighting against it, life can be a truly beautiful experience.

Although awareness is always the best place to start, actually making lifestyle changes can be tough. One of the ongoing problems I have with this phase of my cycle is that I think that I can do it all. I start multiple projects at once and then either don’t finish them or burn myself out trying to finish what I started. I struggle to decide how to spend my energy, whether to focus on work or play. I fill up my diary for the next few weeks without realising that once my inner autumn aka pre-menstrual phase arrives I am more likely to want to chill at home with a book or spend time writing rather than going out dancing or hosting workshops. This is why using a period tracker app or calendar can be a useful tool because it helps you to think ahead and plan accordingly!

I find that channeling the increased energy of the ovulation phase into one or a few projects is the best way to feel fulfilled rather than overwhelmed by the end of the cycle. It can be extremely satisfying to see a creative project or a specific task through from start to finish over the course of the month. If we germinate ideas and set goals after our period and focus our energy throughout the cycle, we really can achieve great things. Just like we have this sense of closure and preparation for hibernation at the end of summer, it brings us a sense of fulfillment to tie up lose ends as we approach our next bleed and we can surrender to relaxation knowing that we have put our creative energy to good use.

If you are interested in learning more about living in sync with your menstrual cycle, take a look at my other posts in the menstrual cycle awareness category and definitely consider reading the book Wild Power which I recommend to all of my female health coaching clients. Discovering and syncing with this inner rhythm has helped me so much to understand and connect with my body, my feminine energy and nature itself. It’s something that is rarely talked about and we are not taught in school but yet it is a current that runs under the river of our lives and affects everything we do. Living in a female body comes with many challenges but I would never change it for the world.

Over to you…

Do you currently track your menstrual cycle? What is your experience of ovulation aka inner summer? Is it a time you are consciously aware of or would like to be in the future? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Like this post and follow my blog for more posts on nutrition and yoga for healthy, balanced hormones!

If you are looking for guidance, support and accountability on you health journey, please contact me or check out the nutrition and holistic health coaching packages I offer. I am a qualified Public Health Nutritionist and hatha yoga teacher and my specialty is helping women to balance their hormones and heal their body and metabolism after restrictive dieting. I would love to work together with you to move past any health blocks and get you feeling your best again!

Other posts you might like

How to get your period back on a vegan diet

5 Comments

Women often ask me whether it’s possible to heal your hormones and get your period back on a vegan diet. In this post I will give my opinion and explain my reasons why. If you haven’t read my previous posts on the HA recovery diet and how I got my period back, I’d recommend to check those out first before going ahead with this one. There I explain all about the factors that can cause your period to disappear or become irregular. I also explain in detail and the nutrition strategy to recover your menstrual cycle after Hypothalamic Amenorrhea.

So to return to the initial question: can you get your period back on a vegan diet? The short answer is yes, it’s absolutely possible and I did it myself. I went vegan in 2015 after watching documentaries about the environmental impact of animal agriculture and the health benefits of a plant-based diet. At the time I was committed and I chose to maintain my vegan diet whilst trying to recover my period. I did manage to get my period back after 4 months of going “all-in” with my diet and no exercise. So it is definitely possible to get your period back on a vegan diet!

However, does this mean I recommend a vegan diet to my clients? Or that I believe it is optimal to get your period back on a vegan diet? Definitely not! In fact, I am no longer vegan and re-introduced animal products to my diet 3 years ago. Although I have no regrets, if I could go back in time with the information I have now I would definitely choose differently. Here are a few reasons why it might be more difficult to get your period back on a vegan diet. This is a topic I have researched extensively over the years and I have personal experience with.

Why might it be hard to get your period back on a vegan diet?

Eating the amount of calories needed to heal

One of the important factors for many women with Hypothalamic Amenorrhea is eating enough calories. When you lose your period due to an energy imbalance, increasing your energy intake is very important. You need to eat enough to support your bodily functions and daily activities. Plus extra for healing and repair of damage caused by malnourishment. You can definitely do this on a vegan diet simply by eating more food. However, as many plant-based foods are more calorie dilute this can be a struggle!

Fruit and vegetables, starchy carbs and legumes all have a high amount of water and fiber. If you base your vegan diet on these healthy whole foods, you might find that you get full before you consume the amount of calories that your body really needs. This makes a plant-based diet great for weight loss! Unfortunately, it’s counter-productive when boosting your energy intake is your goal. If you want to get your period back on a vegan diet you need to eat a lot of food!

How to eat more calories on a vegan diet

Adding in energy dense vegan foods such as nuts and seeds, nut butters, oil and processed foods helps. These foods are lower in water and fibre. This means they take up less space in your stomach and are easier on your digestive system. But in my experience, bloating and other digestive issues are likely. Even when consuming the minimum calorie intake for healing your hormones. As a vegan I ate a lot of beans, vegetables and nut butters which are all super high in fibre. Actually I forgot how it felt not to be bloated until I finally reduced the amount of fibre I was consuming.

If you want to try to get your period back on a vegan diet, focus on lower fibre foods. Don’t get caught up in the low fat trend. Eat fats from nuts, seeds and coconut. Opt for easy to digest foods such as bread or crackers with jam, processed cereals and plant-based milk. However, as I will come to in the next point, these are not the most nutritious foods. Therefore, you might find that your body needs a large quantity of them to satisfy your nutrient needs for healing.

crackers-pb get your period back on a vegan diet
whole-foods get your period back on a vegan diet

Getting adequate nutrients

Hypothalamic Amenorrhea is an issue primarily of energy imbalance, but as all foods contain both macro and micronutrients, not eating enough food can easily lead to nutritional deficiencies. Part of recovering your menstrual cycle is nutritional rehabilitation. This means flooding the body with as many building blocks for repair as possible. Nutrients that can be difficult to obtain and absorb in a vegan diet include iron, calcium, vitamin A (retinol) and vitamin D.

Under stress our bodies also use some nutrients at a much faster rate than usual. Yes, it is theoretically possible to eat a well planned vegan diet which meets all of the recommended daily amounts. However, we don’t have control of our internal processes. Often hormonal imbalance and compromised digestion go hand in hand. If your digestion is poor, you can’t be sure you are benefitting from all of these nutrients.

Nutritional rehabilitation on a vegan diet

It’s important to reflect on your history with dieting. Consider if your past experience with restricting the amount or types of foods you eat could put you at risk of nutrient deficiencies. If you’re unsure you can also ask your doctor to run a blood test for the key nutrients. If you have the budget, you can also order tests online via companies such as Thriva or Forth. What ever diet you follow, make sure to include foods containing these nutrients to rebuild your stores.

The only problem is that there may also be additional compounds present in animal products which we don’t yet fully understand and aren’t covered by tests. I think it is better to heal your body with a high nutrient, omnivorous diet. Then once your body is healthy and functioning optimally you can consider adopting a more plant-based diet long term if you desire. You want to make the healing process and simple as possible for yourself! You have a whole lifetime to follow a vegan diet once you get your period back and your body is healthy again.

Quantity and type of fat on a vegan diet

In general, a vegan diet tends to be higher in carbohydrates and lower in fat compared to diets including animal-based products. In addition, the fats available in plant-based foods such as nuts, seeds and avocados are generally poly-unsaturated fats. There is some research to suggest that these fats are actually less supportive to metabolic health. Conversely, saturated fats which you mostly find in meat and dairy, are pro-metabolic.

Losing your period is commonly a sign of being in a lower metabolic state. So you really want to be eating a metabolism supporting diet to get your period back. I am by no means saying nuts and seeds are unhealthy and that you should avoid them entirely. But when you want to send the body the signal that the famine is over and its safe to rev up the metabolism and reproductive system, you want to make sure you are consuming enough saturated fat.

Adding in more fat from coconut is a good step towards a more metabolically supportive vegan diet. Eating coconut oil, milk or flakes will make it easier to get your period back on a vegan diet. However, consuming more variety of fats and nutrients from animal based sources will take your diet to the next level.

Low cholesterol on a vegan diet

Animal fats also contain cholesterol which is another nutrient you want to include daily when you are trying to get your period back. Often cholesterol is demonised and nutrition guidelines tell us to avoid high-cholesterol foods if we want to be healthy. When it comes to hormone balancing and especially recovering from Hypothalamic Amenorrhea, hormone production is lower than it should be. In this case, having some cholesterol in your diet is actually beneficial and speed up the healing process.

Cholesterol is a building block for reproductive hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. These hormones are necessary for a healthy menstrual cycle and regular period! Cholesterol cannot be synthesised by plants and is only found in animal-based foods such as meat and eggs. Therefore consuming even a small amount of these foods on a regular basis can support your hormone healing process.

coconut get your period back on a vegan diet
eggs-dairy get your period back on a vegan diet

Overcoming mental restriction

This is a tricky one because personally, adopting a vegan diet was what finally enabled me to let go of restrictive dieting and allow myself to eat an abundance of food. Because I was no longer focusing on choosing food to maintain a low body weight. I was focused on sourcing ethical food which took the focus away from calories and allowed me to eat more. That said, once I finally decided to let go of veganism and re-introduce animal products, I experienced a whole new level of food freedom which I didn’t know I was missing.

Especially in social situations where I had always felt isolated being the only vegan. I think you have to be very honest with yourself about the reason you want to follow a vegan diet. Is there is any chance that a desire to restrict your food is influencing your decision? Are you consuming a balanced vegan diet or are there still rules and restrictions present? Do you still fear certain foods because you believe they are toxic or will make you gain weight?

Restrictive vegan diet rabbit holes

Unfortunately, there are also many rabbit holes to fall down when it comes to the vegan diet. This can lead to some pretty extreme dietary restrictive diets. Raw vegan, starch solution, high carb low fat, 80 10 10, vegan keto just to name a few! So while it is possible to get your period back on a vegan diet, I’d say that for a full mental recovery following a balanced diet that includes all foods is optimal.

Coming back to the idea of safety, you want to create an environment of abundance. You need to really allow your body to relax and heal. This requires abundance both in terms of quantity and variety of foods. If you are 100% sure that you are choosing a vegan diet for ethical reasons only, support your body better by eating a varied and balanced vegan diet. Don’t be being seduced by the health claims of these more restricted vegan diets!

So is it really possible to get your period back on a vegan diet?

So those are my thoughts on why a vegan diet is not optimal when trying to recover your period. I understand that for some, eating animal products is simply not an option. So I hope the few tips for how you can modify your vegan diet to be more hormonally supportive were also helpful. Are you interested in this topic? Would you like me to talk more about my experience with getting my period back on a vegan diet? Leave me a message or email me at lovemoonlife.mail@gmail.com.

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
  • If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

Can you get your period back following a vegan diet?

3 Comments

One of the questions I am often asked by women who are trying to heal from Hypothalamic Amenorrhea and recover their period is whether it’s possible to heal your hormones and regain a healthy menstrual cycle whilst still following a vegan diet. If you haven’t read my previous posts on the HA recovery diet and how I got my period back, I’d recommend to check those out first before going ahead with this one because I explain all about the factors that can cause your period to disappear or become irregular and the strategy to recover. This is a topic I have researched extensively over the years and I have personal experience with so I wanted to share my advice from a public health nutrition perspective.

So to return to the initial question: can you get your period back whilst following a vegan diet? The short answer is yes, it’s absolutely possible and I did it myself. After watching documentaries about the environmental impact of animal agriculture and the health benefits of a vegan diet I was committed and I chose to maintain my vegan diet whilst trying to recover my period. I did manage to get my period back after 4 months of going “all-in” with my diet and no exercise so it is definitely possible! However does this mean I recommend a vegan diet to my clients or that I believe a vegan diet is optimal when try to get your period back? Definitely not! In fact I am no longer vegan and although I have no regrets, if I could go back in time with the information I have now I would definitely choose differently. Here are a few reasons why…

1. Calories

One of the important factors for many women with Hypothalamic Amenorrhea is eating enough calories. When you lose your period due to an energy imbalance, i.e. not eating enough to support your activities, increasing your energy intake is very important. You can definitely do this on a vegan diet simply by eating more food but as many plant-based foods are more calorie dilute this can be a struggle! Especially if you eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, starchy carbs and legumes which all have a high amount of water and fiber, you might find that you get full before you consume the amount of calories that your body really needs. This makes a plant-based diet great for weight loss but not so much when boosting your energy intake is your goal.

Of course, you can add in more energy dense vegan foods such as nuts and seeds, nut butters, oil and processed foods which take up less space in your stomach and are easier on your digestive system, but in my experience, bloating and other digestive issues are likely even when consuming the minimum calorie intake for healing your hormones. Actually I had forgotten how it felt not to be bloated until I finally reduced the amount of fibre I was consuming from beans, vegetables and nut butters. If you are extremely committed to recovering your period on a vegan diet, you can opt for easy to digest foods such as bread or crackers with jam, processed cereals and plant-based milk. However, as I will come to in the next point, these are not the most nutritious foods and you might find that your body needs ALOT of them to satisfy your nutrient needs for healing.

2. Nutrients

Hypothalamic Amenorrhea is an issue primarily of energy imbalance, but as all foods contain both macro and micronutrients, not eating enough food can easily lead to nutritional deficiencies. Part of recovering your menstrual cycle is nutritional rehabilitation which means flooding the body with as many building blocks for repair as possible. Nutrients that can be difficult to obtain and absorb in a vegan diet include iron, calcium, vitamin A (retinol) and vitamin D. Under stress our bodies also use some nutrients at a much faster rate than usual. Yes, it is theoretically possible to eat a well planned vegan diet which meets all of the recommended daily amounts. However, we don’t have control of our internal processes and if digestion is compromised, which is often the case with hormonal imbalance, then we can’t be sure we are really absorbing and benefitting from all of these nutrients.

It’s important to reflect on your history with dieting and if your past experience with restricting your food intake or the types of foods you eat could put you at risk of nutrient deficiencies. Or if you are unsure and you have the budget you can also ask your doctor to run a blood test for the key nutrients. The problem with this is that, there may also be additional compounds present in animal products which we don’t yet fully understand and for that reason, I think it’s just not worth the risk. Personally, I would suggest that if you are determined to follow a vegan diet, it’s better to heal the body with a high nutrient, omnivorous diet then, once the body is healthy and functioning optimally, consider adopting a more plant-based diet.

3. Fat and cholesterol

In general, the vegan diet tends to be higher in carbohydrates and lower in fat compared to diets including animal-based products. In addition, the fats available in plant-based foods such as nuts, seeds and avocados are generally poly-unsaturated fats and there is some research to suggest that these fats are actually less supportive to metabolic health compared with saturated fats which are found in meat and dairy. Losing your period is commonly a sign of being in a lower metabolic state and so you really want to be eating a metabolism supporting diet to get your period back. I am by no means saying nuts and seeds are unhealthy and that we should avoid them, but when we want to send the body the signal that the famine is over and its safe to rev up the metabolism and reproductive system, we want to make sure we are consuming enough saturated fat.

Adding in more fat from coconut is a good step towards a more metabolically supportive vegan diet but getting more variety of fats and nutrients from animal based sources will take your diet to the next level. Animal fats also contain cholesterol which is another nutrient you want to be consuming when you are trying to get your period back. Often cholesterol is demonised and we are told to avoid high-cholesterol foods if we want to be healthy. But when it comes to hormone balancing and especially recovering from Hypothalamic Amenorrhea when hormone production is lower than it should be, having some cholesterol in your diet can actually be beneficial and speed up the healing process. Cholesterol is a building block for reproductive hormones such as estrogen and progesterone which are necessary for a healthy menstrual cycle and regular period. Cholesterol cannot be synthesised by plants and is only found in animal-based foods such as meat and eggs, therefore consuming even a small amount of these foods on a regular basis can support your hormone healing process.

4. Mental restriction

This is a tricky one because personally, adopting a vegan diet was what finally enabled me to let go of restrictive dieting and allow myself to eat an abundance of food. Because I was no longer focusing on choosing food to maintain a low body weight but rather on sourcing ethical food, it took the focus away from calories and allowed me to eat more. That said, once I finally decided to let go of veganism and re-introduce animal products, whilst still allowing myself to eat the amounts of food my body asked for, I experienced a whole new level of food freedom which I didn’t know I was missing, especially in social situations where I had always felt isolated being the only vegan. I think you have to be very honest with yourself about the reason you want to follow a vegan diet and whether there is a chance that a desire to restrict your food is influencing your decision.

Unfortunately, there are also many rabbit holes to fall down when it comes to the vegan diet which can lead to some pretty extreme dietary restriction: raw vegan, starch solution, high carb low fat, 80 10 10, vegan keto just to name a few! So while it is possible to regain your period on a vegan diet, I’d say that for a full mental recovery following a balanced diet that includes all foods is optimal. Coming back to the idea of safety, you want to create an environment of abundance to really allow your body to relax and heal and this means abundance both in terms of quantity and variety of foods. If you are 100% sure that you are choosing a vegan diet for ethical reasons only, you can support your body better by eating a varied and balanced vegan diet and not being seduced by the health claims of these more restricted diets.

Over to you…

So those are my thoughts on why a vegan diet is not optimal when trying to recover your period. I understand that for some, eating animal products is simply not an option so I hope the few tips for how you can modify your vegan diet to be more hormonally supportive were also helpful. Please like and share this post to support my channel and share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

If you are interested in this topic and would like me to talk more about my experience with getting my period back on a vegan diet or the process of reintroducing animal products back into your diet after long-term veganism, leave me a comment or drop me an email and I will do my best to help! If you are looking for guidance, support and accountability on you health journey, please contact me for information on the nutrition and holistic health coaching packages I offer. I would love to work together with you to get you feeling your best again.

Other posts you might like

hypothalamic amenorrhea

Why it is important to have regular menstrual cycles

Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I talked about my favourite topic.. the menstrual cycle. Specifically why having regular menstrual cycles is important for your overall health and the problems associated with not having a regular period. Any guys out there, maybe this isn’t the article for you. Feel free to read on though and you might learn something to help the ladies in your life!

Stress and the menstrual cycle

We usually think of our menstrual cycle as two phases: bleeding and not bleeding. In reality it is a menstrual cycle with levels of several reproductive hormones shifting throughout the month. The amount of these hormones your body produces is sensitive to stress. This includes both physical stress from under-eating and over-exercising and mental and emotional stress.

Not having regular menstrual cycles can therefore be a sign your body is under too much stress. When you lose your period altogether because of a stressful lifestyle is it called Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA). Or you may experience delayed ovulation, anovulatory cycles or a short luteal phase. Either way there are several health problems that come with not having regular menstrual cycles.

Why a regular menstrual cycle is important

Fertility

The most obvious reason to have regular menstrual cycles is of course your fertility. The whole point of your menstrual cycle is to enable you to get pregnant and have a baby. If you don’t have your period, it’s very unlikely you are going to be able to get pregnant. The main event of your menstrual cycle is ovulation. This is the release of a mature egg from one of your ovaries. If you aren’t ovulating, pregnancy is also impossible, even if you do have a period.

But what if you have decided you don’t want children or you’ve already had children? It’s still important for you to have regular menstrual cycles too! I spent many years believing it was “fine” that I didn’t have my period. It was actually pretty convenient to be honest. I didn’t have to buy tampons, worry about getting pregnant or have my period ruin my plans. But once I found out what it means to not have a period and how unhealthy it is for your body I was shocked. I wished I’d been told sooner the importance of regular menstrual cycles.

Bone health and osteoporosis

One of the key hormones that drives your menstrual cycle is estrogen. Apart from it’s role in your menstrual cycle, did you know that estrogen also helps to build your bones? When women enter the menopause and stop producing estrogen they start to lose bone mineral density. As a result, post-menopausal women are at an increased risk of developing osteoporosis or brittle bones.

Not having regular menstrual cycles is a sign that your hormone balance is off and estrogen levels could be low. Girls who don’t have their period due to hypothalamic amenorrhea during their teenage years are at risk of developing early onset osteopenia which can lead to osteoporosis if not treated. This might not mean much when you are young. But trust me, you want to make sure you are building strong bones while you can!

Don’t forget that your if your bones are losing minerals then it’s highly likely that your teeth are suffering too. This puts you at increased risk of cavities and teeth sensitivity. Who thought that periods and teeth were related?! I experienced the worst dental health of my life after following a restricted diet for many years. Post-recovery my teeth have never been whiter and stronger.

Heart disease risk

Another surprising link is between the menstrual cycle and heart disease. Estrogen has an anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory effect in the body. It also acts as a vasodilator meaning it causes your blood vessels to expand. Low levels of estrogen have been linked with a build up of plaque in the arteries and an increased risk of developing heart disease. Most of the research is in post-menopausal women but there are also studies showing the same effect in younger women.

Yes this is even for those who exercise! You might think you are being super healthy and boosting your cardio-vascular system. However, if you are exercising excessively and experiencing hormonal imbalance then you are undoing all of that hard work. Another thing I wish I’d known about in my early twenties when I exercises like a fiend but didn’t have regular menstrual cycles..

Other problems with not having a regular menstrual cycle

Hormonal imbalance

Not having regular menstrual cycles puts you at risk for issues later in life. It can also cause problems in the here and now. Low estrogen can also be the explanation for fatigue, headaches, low sex drive, vaginal dryness, anxiety, depression and insomnia. Plus, not having regular menstrual cycles can be a sign that other things are off in your body. We often think of our body systems acting in isolation. In reality, all of these things are connected. If one falls down it can have a domino effect throughout your hormonal system.

Cortisol

An example of this is raised levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Often women without regular menstrual cycles have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Therefore irregular or missing periods can be a sign from your body that your stress levels are high. Elevated cortisol is associated with bone loss as well as anxiety, insomnia and lower thyroid hormones. In hypothalamic amenorrhea, your metabolism is suppressed leading to symptoms of hypo-thyroidism such as feeling cold all of the time, hair loss and low energy levels.

Digestive issues

Many women who develop irregular or missing periods due to restricting their food intake also experience digestive problems. For example, bloating, stomach pain, constipation and food intolerances. If you don’t have regular menstrual cycles and you feel like you are constantly struggling with digestive issues, then maybe the two could be related.

In Ayurveda, this is described as having an imbalance in vata dosha. This means that the elements of air and ether have become excessive in the body leading to qualities of cold, dryness and lightness.

masculine energy stress and health

What should you do if you don’t have a regular menstrual cycle?

If this is you, don’t worry, now you know you can do something about it! The first thing to do is visit your GP for some tests to discover the reason for your irregular or missing periods. There are many reasons for irregular periods including polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), medications including birth control and menopause. Your doctor can help you to rule out any underlying cause.

If there is no medical reason for your irregular or missing periods, it may be that excessive stress or lifestyle factors are at play. This is where supportive nutrition, fertility yoga and wellness coaching can help you to regain regular menstrual cycles. Learning to track your menstrual cycle and adjust your diet, movement and self-care practices to your natural flow can also help to heal menstrual irregularities as well as PMS and painful periods.

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
  • If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
  • Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration

Book your consultation now

References

Emma O’Donnell, Jack M. Goodman, Paula J. Harvey, Cardiovascular Consequences of Ovarian Disruption: A Focus on Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea in Physically Active Women, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 96, Issue 12, 1 December 2011, Pages 3638–3648, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2011-1223

Nicola Rinaldi. No Period Now What.

Other posts you might like

Shufelt, C. L., Torbati, T., & Dutra, E. (2017). Hypothalamic Amenorrhea and the Long-Term Health Consequences. Seminars in reproductive medicine, 35(3), 256–262. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0037-1603581