Handling your Hormones

Oh the joys of being a Generation Jones woman. We’re finally seeing the light at the end of our PMSing, moody, crampy time of the month tunnel. The freedom of no longer having strings attached is palpable. We imagine the day after day joy of wearing white whenever we want and not having to carry along any extra bits of emergency gear that go with menstruation.  But nature isn’t done messing with us yet! What lie ahead are months and possibly years of perimenopause which will play havoc with our hormones and kill our weight control.

In particular perimenopause causes our brain to become less sensitive to the hormone estrogen. This triggers all those symptoms we’ve heard about, or may already be experiencing, such as hot flashes, fatigue, depression, loss of libido and for many women an amped up appetite. Horrible but true. Estrogen affects the neurotransmitters that control eating, being out of touch with our estrogen, can send appetite control into a tailspin.

The forces of nature are against us.

Mid-afternoons are a giant danger zone for ALL peri-m women.  As our day ebbs into night cortisol, the stress hormone, levels drop along with testosterone levels. This combination makes us moody and tired. Scientists believe this is the major reason why there is weight gain in this stage of life. The mere mood swing of tired plus cranky increases our desire for sweets and comfort foods and our daily rhythmic defense is at a 24 hour low.

Our mid forties also is a time of upheaval in our brains response to glucose giving us uncontrollable energy surges and drops. This affect can increase the desire for sweets and simple carbs.

Fortunately there is a way to fight back with the right food combinations and fitness. To keep our body in check we need to become the masters of our mind over our matter. The mission is to physically control our eating cycle. We need to be very conscious about what we are eating when and we need to make a conscientious effort to make time for endorphin inducing physical activity.

Keeping our hunger switch at bay is the first line of defense. The experts recommend eating five small high protein and complex carb meals every day. These powerful little meals consumed every two and a half to three hours will keep us from starving. In fact, with this kind of eating plan we should never feel hungry at all. And because our body takes more time to digest proteins than simple carbohydrates, these  meals stay in our system longer and keep us feeling sated. The simple carb that would otherwise only give us a quick boost followed by the inevitable let down and sends us spiraling toward the next quick carb fix don’t look so alluring.

Another key peri-m appetite control fighter is to fill our brain with endorphins. They provide an overall sense of well-being and calm. Endorphins are produced via exercise and the more we workout the more endorphins we produce. This amazing natural high increases metabolism and keeps the simple carb food fixation at bay.

Most importantly don’t be too hard on yourself  and know that you are not alone. If you slip up and succumb to the cinnamon roll do not berate yourself. It’s natural. You can get back on track. Remember its a mental game.

Here is some interesting food facts to keep in mind as you travel throughout your food day.

The combo of sugar and caffeine increases your hunger pang hormone and decreases your stop-eating hormone. This is a weight control killer.

Artificial sweeteners switch on your appetite just like real sugar. Neither is good for weight control.

Lack of sleep leaves you vulnerable to eating more food and making less healthy food choices. A good eight hours of rest could be the best weight control secret of all.