Now its Over!

I finally exchanged my Christmas decorations for Valentine's Day decorations today and it made me reflect on the past few weeks. My last post was Dec 28 and I was talking about Christmas being over and how nice that was. But Christmas is never really over at Christmas time. Schedules are busy and inevitably we have to arrange one or two post-Christmas get togethers to appease parents. I understand tradition and I'm glad my sons have had those warm Christmas memories to look back on, but trying to stay on track during these things is tricky! The Friday after Christmas we met my father-in-law and his fiance at a local burger spot. This place is known across the region for their burgers that practically melt in your mouth. Yes please, and fries on the side if you don't mind. Then restaurants with my husband, this hasn't stopped, then last Saturday my dad and his wife came for our final family celebration. We took them out to eat at our favorite spot and I had steak and salad but before the restaurant I ate plenty of cheese, sausage and crackers, candied nuts, and some sweet treats my dad's wife brought. My dad makes his own wine and he gifts us some each Christmas. It is very strong for me, I have such a low tolerance for alcohol, but I drink some each year because I know some day I won't be able to experience that anymore.

I still have no problem staying on track during the week, but the past few weekends have been food and alcohol extravaganza! I have noticed a pattern in the slump in MOJO during the week before my cycle, and it seemed separate from the normal pre-cycle slump. Then I realized that I have been getting sucked into partial information from one of my favorite YouTubers that was causing me to almost pause my entire flow and when things shift from pre-cycle week into my cycle starting, I was feeling like a newbie on her first day of keto and exercise. This doctor wrote a book and started heavily promoting it about 2 months before the release date. I devoured her videos where she explained all the information in the book, and where I ended up somewhat astray is in her videos she would say, the week before your cycle you should not fast, you need to increase your carbs (nature's carbs, not junk food) so your body can produce progesterone to help your cycle start, and no strenuous exercise. The goal is to keep cortisol as low as possible during that particular week. Armed with that bit of knowledge I proceeded to not workout at all and ate junk and drank alcohol on the weekends thinking, 'Since most of what I do is really low carb, I am getting more carbs and even though they are not nature's carbs it should still count' I can say with some certainty that that combo mixed with the progesterone (this is the hormone that makes us want to spend the day in our comfy clothes eating chocolate and watching TV) was making me feel really blue. I finally got the book and devoured it in 2 days.

I was a little perturbed by the demands of how you should only eat all organic, grass fed, raw this or that. Recipes with items I would not be able to find near me. No chemical, no sweeteners,not even stevia, no unhealthy oils (that's not too tricky if you don't eat packaged foods or restaurant food) etc. I felt like this was impossible. Add this, don't ever eat that, and don't forget about polyphenols for your gut biome! My head was swimming! BUT...I got the information I was seeking and I will work things in as I can. I know there is room for improvement in my diet. I know I still seek sweetness even though I am using natural sweeteners that don't typically spike insulin and I have thought about giving up on them. But there was so much valuable information in this book about our hormone cycle and how to use each piece of it to our advantage and also help our body make and use these hormones, that I know I will refer to this book for years to come. It did also clarify that pre-cycle week (which I am almost to the end of as I type) in that I do need to add more carbs but they should be from things like potatoes, legumes, beans, squash or oranges, not tortilla chips and hard cider. She also clarified that instead of lifting heavy weights to change to long walks or yoga during that week. Uh, maybe I shouldn't use that as an excuse to not work out at all. As for fasting, since I have been doing it for a few months now, I can do a 13-hour fast that week without putting stress on my body since my typical fast is 16 hours or more, my body is adapted to a longer fast. I know that 13 hour fast isn't super metabolically significant but it sure helps keep my head in the game! And you can bet I'll be doing yoga and walking more. Knowledge is power! My mind still goes to the places where I know I can do better and it makes me feel bad,but yesterday I stepped on the scale again and it was sitting at that same old familiar place of 185. This is still a 20 pound loss for me and I'm happy but I sure would love to move the needle more. I need to prove that I want that by my actions. The alcohol I have had in the past few weeks has made me feel like crap so why did I keep indulging? Anyway, I have a few plans for eliminating certain things from my diet so I will work on it and try to commit to better choices when we go out, and alcohol is just not a great idea at all and is pointless because it gives me a headache shortly after drinking it and I feel so dehydrated the entire next day. Not worth it! So, more to follow on some more goals. It is a new year, after all, I should get started towards my goals at some point!