Healing My Hormones With Woman Code

I’m not sure how I stumbled upon this book, but I’ve had it in my *stash* for about a year, reading bits + pieces now + then, but never cover to cover. This month, my focus is food as fuel for mind, body + spirit… + reading the Woman Code in its entirety was on the list! [See full list below!]

• Pray before every meal
• Eat from the earth
• Drink lots of water
• Host a dinner party
• One new recipe per week
• Panchakarma [not doing a full one, but have a three day visit at Santhigram Wellness in Chicago — will keep you posted!]
• Read = Woman Code
• Buy a juicer?
• Check in with myself daily… how do I feel?
• Recycle
• Understand my body’s best eating schedule
• Increase iron levels
• Reset during the middle of the day [meditation?] + create night routine
• Mindset of abundance + clarity

I never even considered myself to be someone who might have a hormone imbalance, but what I’ve come to realize is that basically everything has an affect on our hormones, + chances are we aren’t functioning at our most optimal state.

In the book, they discuss “FLO Blockers” — which are defined as obstacles women face that prevent them from living with the best hormone health. These include: #1] Misinformation about your hormones, #2] Cultural conditioning, #3] Our toxic environment + lifestyle, + #4] Our modern diet + the desire for quick-fix solutions to heal our bodies. For most of us, it’s a mixture of 3+4 — too much stress + not enough sleep, as well as our modern diet filled with processed foods, sugars, + caffeine.

The book dives deeper into symptoms that relate to metabolism//stress, elimination, + cycle. The symptoms I related with the most were waking up during sleep, insomnia, anxiety, reliance on coffee, sugar//chocolate cravings, bloating + water retention, + acne. It’s so easy to mask these symptoms with “I run a business — it’s normal to be stressed” PLUS, these symptoms seem trivial compared to hair loss, eczema, fibroids, + diabetes. However, I realized that it was wrong of me to compare my hormone imbalance with someone else’s. Sure, they may be at 20% of their optimal hormone health, while I’m at 70% — but both of us deserve to reach 100%.

The Ovary Oath: I believe in aligning daily with my hormones + using food as medicine to support them. I believe in the power of my cycle + hormones + know that they need to cared for, supported, + nurtured. I promise to pay attention to the signals my body gives me so that I can make small course corrections + avoid larger breakdowns down the road. I promise to use my body + health as a platform for creating an extraordinary life in which I’m living my purpose in the world.

Anyways… wanted to share with you guys some of my fav takeaways!

#1] While alternative medicine can be helpful [think: acupuncture, massage, naturopathy, herbalism, etc] it’s food that is able to generate the deep changes needed to improve our health.

#2] According to a United Kingdom study, women who use makeup absorb almost FIVE pounds of chemicals into their body each year. Yikes. Cosmetic products are subject to FDA approval, so it’s up to us to read the labels [which I’ve never done before…]. Woman Code created a list that shares — item, toss if the label lists…, + why endocrine disruptors are used in the first place. I can’t wait to go through my makeup + get rid of EVERYTHING with toxins.

#3] When you wake up in the morning, drink a glass of water… + you should be able to go to the bathroom within 20 minutes if your hormones are functioning properly. [WITHOUT COFFEE!]

#4] Women have four phases of our menstrual cycle — I always through we had two… “normal + period.” Nope. We have a follicular, ovulatory, luteal, + menstrual phase. Woman Code goes depth on recommended focuses for each body: hormone, body, lifestyle, food, + exercise. This is what *syncing up with your cycle* means.

#5] Woman Code has an app “MyFLO” which I’ve been looooooving. Highly recommend! It shares the recommendations here too, so you don’t even need to buy the book if you are just curious on the basics!

#6] One of the chapters is titled: “Commit To The Feminine Force Within” [love it ; )]. I loved the *essential ingredients for a healthy life plan — a plan that you can use to access how well you’re doing.* Here are the categories…

• Self-care, health, lifestyle + focus
• Support, resources, + abundane
• Creativity + career
• Social connection + community
• Pleasure + fun

#7] Alisa [the author] shares her medicine cabinet which I loved looking at. She also encourages people to take occasional breaks from supplements every 3–4 months to see how your body is doing on its own. My personal advice is to get your blood work checked every 3–4 months [ideally, through an integrative medicine doctor]… this will give you a great overview on your body’s health.

I plan on *syncing up with my cycle* for the next three months [particularly with the food recommendations], + I’m excited to see how my energy levels respond. Have any of you guys read Woman Code, + followed its advice? What were your thoughts? Would love to hear!

Rooting for you always,

Elisabeth