What can you drink to Save Your Hormones this holiday season?
If this isn't your first holiday season rodeo, you likely already know:
the festive season can be stressful
stress is no friend to your cyclical hormones (especially menstrual and circadian)
good hydration is fantastic for every process in your body
water is your actual best friend because without out it, well...
You also know that during this season your dance card is really filling up with:
...work deadlines (why is everything suddenly urgent and due by 20th December?)
...social life (I'm looking at the texts from half my address book: "I haven't seen you all year, we must have a drink and catch up before Christmas!")
...year-end work functions (with one-too-many sugary celebratory drinks)
... tension building for that *special* family event looming (you know the event I'm talking about - the one where you're the Operations, Logistics, Hospitality, Industrial Relations, Brand, Catering, Activities and Communications Manager).
Phew! To help you manage all of this, it could be a good time to start looking at water in a new way.
Why water?
Let’s look at the alternatives first: When we drink sugar-laden and caffeinated drinks (fruit juice, alcohol, sodas, energy drinks etc) as a delicious, soothing crutch to help us manage our To Do List, then the body responds by making high levels of the hormone insulin to remove the sugar from your blood and deliver the energy to your cells.
Importantly, your body prioritises making insulin (and cortisol) over any other hormones in the body (scroll down for recap on hormone tiers) and we definitely need both these hormones but in a Goldilocks amount - not too little, not too much, just right…
But as we keep regularly consuming these delicious elixirs, over time your body can start getting desensitised to insulin, meaning you have to make more and more insulin to get the job done.
This results in rising levels of insulin, and can lead to pre-diabetes, diabetes and metabolic dysfunction - none of which anyone would want (or need) from Santa this year.
To compound the situation, when insulin goes up, so does cortisol which might already be high because #festiveseason. Dysregulated blood sugar and cortisol are definitely players in a messy menstrual cycle, so it's always my first place to start when working with clients.
Now, even when you know that these cheeky beverages are up to no good in your body, willpower alone isn't going to be enough. It's hard to get past how they taste and feel so good in the moment, never mind the social aspect!
So, what’s a Wonder Woman to do? Like any change worth making, let's do it together and in stages:
Stage 1
Share with your people what your drinking intentions are over the festive season, and that you'd like to ask them for their support. Most people will be happy to pledge support to you when you ask for it directly. Of course, you can merrily remind them of their support pledge, should they forget it and start peer-pressuring you for 'just one glass' at your next catch-up.
Stage 2
If you drink caffeine and enjoy its energy-boosting properties, avoid drinking caffeine on an empty stomach and instead, enjoy a meal containing protein, fats and fibre before you enjoy your caffeinated elixir. For the advanced Wonder Woman, you may like to consider when are the best times to use caffeine – check out my blogpost here.
Stage 3
Ditch the afternoon sodas, juices and energy drinks and switch to water. If you don’t like the taste from the tap or are concerned about the quality of the water, consider a simple and inexpensive Brita water filter. You can also experiment with a squeeze of fresh lemon, fresh lime or herbal infusions and see what works for you.
Stage 4
Time to take a slice of cold turkey and give alcohol the cold shoulder. Truly. I’m so sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that tasty beverage that gets you through a work event or yet another awkward dinner is definitely not playing nice with your hormones.
Now you could practice flexing your “No, thank you, my dance card is full” muscle and consider upgrading your suite of excuses to get you out of places you don’t want to be in...
OR
If you absolutely want/need to be there and you want to drink something that looks the part, try switching to natural sparkling water perhaps with a slice of lemon and fresh mint, a splash of tart cherry juice, topped with a cocktail umbrella in a gorgeous glass (the more outrageous and fun, the better!)
Only you and the bartender will know there’s no alcohol in it. Your smugness will carry you into the next morning feeling fabulous, because you actually managed to sleep through the night, with no racing heart or wakeful dreams from the alcohol. Rinse and repeat at as many events as you can this festive season and over time, your hormones will celebrate your watery wisdom and reward you handsomely!
Stage 5
With every glass of water that you drink, you are one glass closer to your vision of happy hormonal health - and that's something definitely worth celebrating. Give yourself a pat on the back, a smile of acknowledgement in the mirror, or choose something from your Fast Joy list to really light your smug bits up. When you feel good about your actions, you are more likely to continue doing them, so please - celebrate!
Recap on hormone tiers
Your hormones exist in a cascading hormone hierarchy:
Tier One Insulin and Cortisol are prioritised over any.other.hormone, which means that at any time, production of other hormones in the lower tiers will be disrupted so that these two hormones can be made instead.
When your body notices that insulin and cortisol aren't needed so much (there's no lion in your kitchen, no cocktail sloshing around in your tummy, no giant looming deadline), it takes a break from making them, so that...
Tier Two hormones Pregnenolone and DHEA can be made. Consider these the foundational building blocks of your Tier Three hormones - from these two, other hormones get made.
When all is well in Tier Two land, your body meanders down to...
Tier Three hormones of Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone, Melatonin and Thyroid hormones. These TierThree hormones are the hormones critical for healthy ovulation, healthy menstrual cycles, good sleep and overall good health.
As you can see, there's a lot that happens upstream of Tier Three that can impact your overall health. That also means:
there's a lot that you can control by making small, incremental steps.
Like choosing to drink a glass of water during the silly season.
If you'd like more support on handling this holiday season and beyond, take a peak at my coaching services and book a call ASAP. I can’t wait to meet you!