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How do hormones govern your body? Do you struggle with libido, fatigue and you are not sure why? What can you do to be more aware of the cycles your body goes through, and how to work along with them?

In this podcast episode, Melissa Vogel speaks about feeling happy, horny, and hormonal with Cory Ruth.

Meet Cory Ruth

Cory Ruth is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and women’s health expert. Cory is the founder and principal of The Women’s Dietitian and Instagram account @thewomensdietitian, private practice, and digital platform for women seeking nutrition support for hormone balance, fertility, digestion, and weight management.

She specializes in conditions such as PCOS, endometriosis, Hashimoto’s, and nutrition therapy for infertility and assisted reproductive technology.

Visit Cory’s website. Connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.

In This Podcast

Summary

• Energy levels throughout your cycle
• How do hormones affect libido in women?
• How hormones affect your skin
• PCOS and weight loss
• Shortened menstrual cycles

Energy levels throughout your cycle

Digestion and libido fluctuate throughout your menstrual cycle. With more regular periods – within the typical, although not always legit – the 28-day cycle, it makes it easier to understand where you are at with regards to your period. The four main hormones involved in your menstrual cycle are estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and testosterone.

• Day 1: your period starts, the first phase. This is where you feel the most tired, sex hormones are at rock bottom and you may experience fatigue, and generally feel drained.
• Days 3-4: you notice some energy returning because estrogen has picked up again. Increased clarity, more energy, and motivation.
• Day 14: ovulation, brightest phase. You are going to the gym, being social, planning trips and easily working hard. There is an increase in testosterone, therefore an increase in libido. Ovulation takes place over 12 to 24 hours, and the body starts secreting progesterone to slowly balance out the estrogen.
• Luteal phase: 16 days or less, this is where progesterone is high and you feel calm.

Check-in with yourself over the course of your period and see where you are at in your cycle to help you understand why you may be feeling certain things throughout the month, working alongside your body instead of against it.

How do hormones affect libido in women?

So I tend to find in my practice the more that we work on eating healthy, sleep hygiene, digestion and decreasing bloat, fitness and movement, the higher their libido goes because they’re feeling better in their own skin.

Libido is multifaceted. With hormones, you feel at your most sexual – usually – before ovulation, because this is the best time for you to get pregnant, something your body may biologically want. Cory’s practice uses the Dutch Hormone test to examine a patient’s hormones in full when looking at them in full. It tests metabolism, among others. Testosterone also increases libido in women, and you can get testosterone supplements and trace minerals to keep it on track, alongside zinc, copper, and so forth. Another factor that influences both libido and testosterone is a lifestyle. Keeping an eye on blood sugar levels and regulating it if need be, looking at stress reduction and therapies. All these support and boost the libido.

How hormones affect your skin

Your skin will be the clearest in your ovulation phase. You tend to break out closer to your period, due to PMS symptoms. There are more skin issues with higher levels of androgens, the testosterone hormones, especially when combined with increased sugar levels.

When your blood sugar is not as regulated, it sends signals to your ovaries to produce more male hormones which has a compounded negative effect of increasing the state of upset skin. There is therefore a direct link to what is being eaten, how often you eat, what the composition of your plate, and how androgens behave and therefore, ultimately, how your skin behaves.

Breakfast is an important meal for your hormones because it can help to balance your blood sugar out. Cory recommends creating a breakfast that focuses on protein and fiber and a little bit of fat, instead of carbohydrates, to help regulate blood sugar levels early in the day. Remember that even though something is organic, it does not mean that it has less sugar.

PCOS and weight loss

PCOS is polycystic ovary syndrome is extremely common, 1 out of 10 women have it and is a leading cause of infertility throughout the female population. It can manifest in many different ways and looks different from woman to woman. There are different types of it and some can negatively affect weight loss.

Women with PCOS tend to have higher levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, and anxiety. When your body sits with excess amounts of cortisol, no matter what you do, your body will hold onto the weight. You have to get the cortisol down in order to lose weight, as well as lowering blood sugar levels because those androgens can also affect weight loss.

How to bring those levels down?

• To bring down cortisol, be mindful of carbohydrate intake. PCOS is lifelong, and therefore it is a long and careful process instead of jumping back into carbs once the symptoms decrease.
• Working on consistent stress reduction – what are you doing on a daily, consistent basis to bring stress levels down? Meditation, being outside in nature, exercising, and exploring creativity can help you reduce stress levels.

There is a direct correlation between lifestyle and hormones. When your body is stressed out, it starts making cortisol instead of progesterone. With regards to insulin and PCOS, do not exercise too intensely. Cory recommends working on a combination of cardio, strength, and restorative exercises. If you’re dealing with cortisol issues, Cory recommends once or twice a week to keep cortisol levels in check.

Shortened menstrual cycles

Shortened and irregular cycles are experienced by women across the world. What may trigger a shortened or irregular cycle is progesterone being lowered, and when it drops off you get a period.

You want at least 10 days of a luteal phase. If your luteal phase becomes shorter than that, then there are things that you can try to get it back on track such as lowering that cortisol amount as well as working with vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B6, a good nutrient to support progesterone levels in the luteal phase.

It could also be due to the fact that you may be over-exercising and undereating because it stresses your body out. Lower levels of body fat and lower levels of estrogen and all impact your menstrual cycle length.

Useful Links:

• Hormone Series, Part 1: Hormones, Happiness and Healing with Kim Schaper | BM 35
• G2G Bars – use code ‘Melissa’ at checkout and get 20% off
• BTBFM FREE EMAIL COURSE
• Sign up for Busy to Bomb Fit Mom
• Connect with Melissa on Facebook and Instagram
• Email Melissa: info@melissavogelfitness.com

Meet Melissa Vogel

Melissa Vogel is an energetic keynote speaker, business owner, certified personal trainer, certified group fitness instructor, 1st degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, a mother of three, and a podcaster.

Melissa has been voted as the Best Personal Trainer for 2020 by Inland Empire Magazine, and Built the Busy to Bomb Fit Mom exercise system.

She is quickly becoming recognized for her expertise and influence in her field!

Melissa has contributed to numerous publications and has been featured in the Trail Blazer Magazine, and published in the April 2020 edition of Health Magazine. Her approach incorporates personal experience, energy, humor, and charisma.

Thanks for listening!

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