The Fashionably Late Friendly Flo

So here you are… you feel like you’ve been doing everything right in dealing with your PCOS and it’s many symptoms. You’ve been exercising, getting your beauty sleep, cleaning up your diet, ramping up those supplements, and drinking plenty of water. Then the downward spiral happens… some cravings here or there hit that you indulge in… stressful days at work, long frigid winter days suck the life out of you, daily dramas with friends, and a love flare up all happens in 1 month (all while “building up” to “the day”)… you find yourself indulging in more cravings, mostly emotional eating, that fuels PCOS/PMS food cravings…. and so goes the vicious cycle.

And now, only a few short days away Friendly Flo shall arrive… you’ve got it marked on the calendar and you have every PMS symptom in the book … bloaty water weight, cramps, pimples, insatiable appetite, fatigue like Mono, sleeping 10-12 hour nights, swollen piggies, headachy, that all over “puss-y achy inflamed can’t get comfortable” feeling, irritability, boobs so swollen and tender it hurts to move them, and a high sex drive. OK.. it’s coming! Can’t wait for some relief!

The “day” arrives …. Flo never showed.

Day 2 of late …. Flo doesn’t even call.

Day 3 of late …. Flo is not picking up the damn phone.

Day 4 of late …. You are walking around the house biting the heads off of anyone who so much as looks at you, let alone says hi…all while telling Flo to go pound salt to anyone who will listen (at this point the only one left was the dog)!

You feel miserable …. you’re in a hazy cloudy daze of hormones.. your eyes hurt, your sinuses hurt.. heck your teeth are even tender. You ache all over, your boobs might just explode, you notice you grew kankles, there’s a heavy achy crampy bowling ball feeling in your abdomen, you’re slightly nauseous but hungry, and you have all you can do to just take a shower, throw on sweats and hit the couch. That bitch. She better get here soon… because I don’t even feel connected to my body anymore. I just feel pain. Worse yet, I feel like a car that stalled out! I was about to get it, engine was revving, and poof! Clutch burned up and the car died…. oooorrrr something!

If you have been here, well then you have been me… just recently I too experienced this (even at the 6 years and counting PCOS DIY stage of success) because, well I’m human, and every month cannot be perfect. I usually have high will power to redirect food cravings or emotional eating for THIS very reason! Because I know that it will only lead to a state of no-mans-land of pure PCOS misery. And to be honest, I cannot remember the last time I had such a rough month hormonally, such a rough month with PMS… I was sooooo down for the count last weekend, I turned off my phone, never left the house, and missed church! Felt horrible… so ladies, yes, this is proof that to correct your body, it’s a daily DAILY commitment that takes discipline, will power, routine, and action!! I fell off my wagon Jan/Feb, but now I’m BACK!

SO…. Saturday (day 3 of late) I slept slept slept …. and when I wasn’t sleeping, I was doing what I needed to do to ramp up my body and send a “shock wave” to “the girls” to loosen the grip on Flo. Saturday night early to bed… Sunday morning felt better, more human like, but still down for the count. I continued to follow my regimen, relax my body, pamper myself, and let the rest ride. Sure shootin’ on Sunday (day 4 of late), pure bliss opened the flood gates of relief and Flo finally joined the party…. better late than never. The fashionably late friendly flo. She wore a sultry red dress and stiletto’s! (Meaning, this one is a doozy honey!)

So here we are on Tuesday …. still enjoying the bliss, inflammation/bloat down by 90%, feeling much better aaaallllll over, sleeping well, and back on track with my daily routine to support my body. SO, the question is… what did I do to start the stalled car you ask? Here’s the general list of tips:

Get off ALL junk food!!
No alcohol!!
Stay off all processed foods too… for me this includes no gluten, sugar, dairy, GMO foods, and anything non-organic.
If you consume animal products, switch to organic everything (butter, milk, eggs, meat).. because conventional is loaded with hormones, antibiotics, steroids etc.. which are ALL hormone disruptors for PCOS women… and if you’re waiting on a period, eating that will ensure it does NOT come:)
Ramp up the veggies!
Ramp up the water!! Drink a minimum of half your body weight in ounces per day, if not more. So if you are 100 lbs, drink 50 oz. per day. Get as clean and pure of water as you can find!
Soothe your body with hot tea… green tea or white tea is fabulous for inflammation.
Rest, rest REST! Your body is fighting a battle right now to kick off a period, which is more taxing on the body than we realize. Stressing over it too will drain your adrenals, kick up cortisol levels, raise blood pressure, and even mess with your blood sugar (which is very important for PCOS)
Take your vitamins and supplements like clock work.
Take a hot bath if that feels good to you… soothing to the body.
Massage helps.. anything that aches, massage it! Have family or spouse massage your back/shoulders/hard to reach areas …. GREAT for circulation of blood flow, hormones, AND lymphatic system! Reduces stress, touches pressure points and sends signals to the body aiding in FLO.
All of the tips listed above are just the starting point… do those at MINIMUM! I like to take it one step further and pack an extra PUNCH of nutritional support… I have found my Nutribullet to be of great GREAT help in supporting and aiding the body in the “jumper cables” department. I made Nutriblasts with these super cleansing/detoxing/anti-inflammation/anti-oxidant/hormone balancing super foods … all organic ingredients … and it seemed to work like a charm! ::

*Handful mixed greens: spinach, green/red lettuce, kale

*2-3 Romaine leaves

*5 stalks Italian Flat Leaf Parsley

*1/2 Large Cucumber

*4 oz. Wheatgrass Juice (approx.)

*Bee Pollen

*Kangen Clean Water

***Berries: Blackberries, Strawberries, Blueberries

***Frozen Pineapple

***Nuts/Seeds/Berries: Chia, Flax, Pumpkin, Sunflower, Goji

*** <~ These ingredients varied and were mixed and matched based on what I wanted to put in at the time. I made Nutriblasts all weekend, so all ingredients got used, however the ingredients with the single stars were the “foundational staple items” that did not vary… each Nutriblast always consisted of these (single star) items.

When I drink these Nutriblasts, plenty if water and take my vitamins on time… I can FEEL the difference in my body almost right away! Skin gets flushed, aids digestion, lifts mood/irritability, better quality sleep, and you can literally feel the inflammation start to reduce in your body with a cooling affect. It’s amazing! I believe this nutritional support calmed the “battle” within, and pushed those hormones over the edge just enough to bring Flo to the party. In the end, I won the wAr! ggggrrrrrrrr!!

The Inner Goddess has spoken!

SO LADIES…. those are my tips on what you can do when you are right on the edge of getting your PCOS-y period, but it stalls out! And you feel miserable because hormones are building up inside with no where to go … this is a lesson in SELF LOVE. We have to know when to pull over and really take care of ourselves… as I did this weekend. I was out of commission for 3 days (Fri-Sun), and it sucks when you have a schedule to keep, but health needs to come first!

You are the only YOU you got! xoxoxo ♥

~Leanne