How Years of Yo-Yo Dieting Led to The Loss of My Period

I totally feel like the word “journey” is overused, but it sticks mainly because we don’t just LAND at our ideal destination and stay in that place happily and forever. It took me a long time to feel as good as I do and man, have I come a long way.

Oftentimes our paths take a serious detour like a health crisis, improvements then relapses, misdiagnoses) you name it I’ve been there. All of that can be really hard, but through it all, I learned so many lessons that not only made me stronger, and taught me so much about how my body is constantly evolving and changing.

Even though I’m in the situation that I thought I’d never have:

•optimal labs

•glowing skin

•an even mood

•easy periods

•weight that’s easily manageable

there will be moments in the future when my body changes and the usual habits and things that have healed fluctuate or I even still have moments where I notice I’m doing something that makes me feel off, I eat foods that don’t serve me from time to time, or we just feel “off” in my skin.

Health is NOT linear and it’s important that even in times that are tough, we give ourselves grace, practice gratitude, focus on the small steps we know are right, and continue speaking up for our health in the doctor's office.

So here’s my story... I was a chronic yo-yo dieter for over a decade. It all started with an eating disorder that led to me trying every fad diet, cleanse, and quick pill. My friends and family were always commenting “why couldn’t I just enjoy life?!” Which added so much guilt and shame to the equation. Also, I went off of the birth control pill at 23 and my periods had disappeared, so my OBGYN encouraged me to get back on.. that that was the answer to getting my period back.

There was so much stress on my body. I was:

• restricting my food (missing key nutrients)

• over-exercising (as a form of punishment)

• working 70 hrs/week

• taking hormonal birth control

...and because of this, my body didn’t feel safe to ovulate and I went years without a natural period!

It wasn’t until I decided to LISTEN to my intuition and get off the pill, start to nourish myself, and changed my mindset that I experienced significant changes in my hormonal health...

After doing a lot of work to shift my mindset, I did a lot of research on my own to heal. Taking online courses, reading books, and working with a functional doctor to:

• get my hormones tested

• add back healthy fats and carbs

• incorporate more whole foods

• scale back at my workouts

• use supplements that would amplify my results

Once I discovered where my hormone levels stood, my thyroid, adrenals, and sex hormones were all off. I knew I wanted to safely transition off hormonal birth control and work to holistically get my period back because one day I wanted kids!! I got my period back and started to feel more like myself again! (Stay tuned for part 2 of my story, coming soon)

But you know what’s been most rewarding? Having the opportunity to coach and support women in making small tweaks to their habits and daily routines often leads to transformations in their hormone health and how they feel in their bodies.

For the past two years, I’ve been helping clients formulate healthier and more abundant relationships with food, exercise, and stress management. With the foundation of mindset through actual tangible changes in lifestyle, diet, and supplements.

It's insane to me how little we're taught about our own bodies, and how many women still believe:

•feeling exhausted/ moody/ anxious is normal

•you can get pregnant all month long

•all women have heavy, painful, irregular periods.

This is why it's my purpose to CHANGE how women understand their health and care for themselves through education, mindfulness, and coaching to help women work for their bodies rather than against them.

Because when we become more in tune with our bodies we have a much better chance of reducing those annoying symptoms like PMS / irregular periods, bloating, anxiety, acne, fatigue, weight gain, salt and sugar cravings, low libido, and infertility.

For the women I work with in perimenopause and menopause, it kills me to hear how many doctors write off their symptoms and say “you’re just getting older” and write prescriptions for things like depression or anxiety without going deeper to investigate hormonally linked root causes…Because the reality is, with the right support and rebalancing strategy, menopause can be a time that you're feeling amazing

My clients have experienced everything from:

✔️ Getting a natural period back without the painful symptoms they once experienced

✔️ Getting pregnant after struggling with their fertility

✔️ Clearing up hormonal acne and creating hormone-supportive skincare routines

✔️ Eliminating bloating and improving digestion

✔️ Healing autoimmune conditions

✔️ Breaking out of restrictive eating and over-exercising habits and maintaining/ losing weight

✔️ Improving energy levels without having to rely on quick fixes like caffeine

✔️ Eliminating PMS (bloating, sore boobs, constipation, etc) and having much easier, pain-free periods

…and the list goes on!

If you’re hearing this and feeling like this could never be you because you’ve struggled for so long, I hear you because I’ve been you! I know what it’s like to feel hopeless, but I promise there is hope in getting to the root cause of your health concerns…and having the right support is KEY!

Sadly, the majority of clients I work with feel that they’ve never TRULY been listened to by doctors, so having someone to talk to can be healing itself

If you’ve thought about getting your hormones tested and/or booking a coaching call, I encourage you to reach out and simply start a conversation with me! Email [email protected]. I genuinely care about your health and happiness and we are here to support you!