PMS…Breaking out of the doldrums!

Well, it’s that time of month. I’ll tell you, I have noticed a difference when I eat the right foods and take my few key supplements (especially my Krill oil!) I usually glide through those three days with ease. Past boyfriends have been amazed when I tell them I have PMS…they’re like “Is that all???” But this month though, it’s been rough….and I haven’t been off my regular healthy program. What’s changed is my STRESS level. I’ve had major shifts going on in my personal life and breaking up is hard to do…

Yes…STRESS…it aggravates everything. I hate to say it because it sort of undermines my nutrition business in favor of yoga classes or meditation retreats. You can be eating the healthiest foods in the world but if you’re constantly under stress (fight or flight) you won’t be able to digest properly anyway, so you might as well be eating shoe leather. (Which is what concentration camp survivors did…talk about the ability to cope with stress!!! My heart and soul goes out to my distant Jewish ancestors.. read Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl if you haven’t already..)  Now…that being said, there are foods and supplements that can help buffer your stress response..but the bottom line is that stress will fan the fires of inflammation, making pain worse, and adding to any condition that you may have been working with. 

Today I was driving home from work and the cramps kicked in. Now I am a health professional folks…and yet, when the emotions and the pain kick in at the same time, my plan of exercising and doing my strength circuit was not that appealing. As a matter of fact, it was probably the last thing in the world that I felt like doing. I had to force myself to not visit the multiple bakeries and pizzerias which miraculously had parking spaces right in front. I knew from experience that those indulgences would just make me feel worse in the long run. So I ended up at my circuit gym. Half an hour!! You just can’t make an excuse to not go and just do it!! So I did. And literally, it was a transformation…I walked in haggard, hopeless, and on the verge of tears and left feeling optimistic, excited, and positive. When you get into those doldrums…simply moving your body can make the biggest difference in the world. Oh yeah, and my cramps went away too. Stagnant energy is mitigated by moving your body. And extra magnesium helps with cramps too…(Chocolate has magnesium, hello!! Just make sure you eat the healthy kind!)

And it’s hard. I know. Because every time I’ve ever felt bad in my childhood, I’ve been offered a treat. The brain is deeply grooved in to that kind of instant gratification. (By the way, I don’t blame my lovely parents in any way…they did the absolute best that they could and I love them so much..) 

Getting to that place of choosing to exercise instead of stuffing a brownie into your mouth takes major effort. And I can help you to start those new habits. It’s just a matter of having the experience a few times. The new kind of learning will enable you to make healthy choices for yourself. And even then…you’ll still have moments like I had earlier today. But I’m here to tell you that you can do it! You can take small steps every day to improve your health, improve your mood, and improve your body image.