Women are battling this little known issue

Ladies out there, how much do you actually know and understand your hormones and their effect of your physiology?

You might think you have it worked out – but the majority of women I talk to don’t realise that elevated stress releases cortisol and if that stays elevated for long stretches, it begins to negatively impact progesterone.

So think about it like this – estrogen and progesterone operate as if in a dance.

Estrogen gets things going at the start of your menstrual cycle – thickening the uterine lining and promoting tissue growth, preparing the body for ovulation… or getting preggers!

Now, progesterone comes along toward the second half of your menstrual cycle to help the growth phase that estrogen started and turns it into the nurture phase of supporting an embryo.

Obviously if conception doesn’t happen, women will then have their monthly bleed and so the cycle continues until menopause.

But when we have prolonged and elevated cortisol levels, the body becomes depleted and the adrenals can only produce so much before they start to fatigue.

This is when the body will begin to “borrow” progesterone and convert it to cortisol.

It leaves estrogen out of balance and this will often lead to experiences like severe PMS, irregular cycles, heavy bleeds, mood swings and sleep disturbances. Not to mention, excess estrogen is often stored in our fat cells. The more body fat we carry, the worse estrogen dominance can become.

This is actually exacerbated during perimenopause, depleting hormonal reserves and the body seemingly becomes “rigid” and difficult to control.

Why am I telling you all of this?

Because over the years, I’ve spoken to countless women of many age groups and the concept of calorie counting and intense workouts seems to persist in the realm of weight loss and chasing body goals.

The number of women approaching peri menopause who tell me they’re so frustrated with not being able to lose weight because they “hardly eat” and train 5 times a week, is actually heartbreaking.

It’s just not unexpected.

Younger women are burning themselves out more than ever before. And one thing I’ve seen increase over the years is PCOS, endometriosis, insulin resistance, anxiety, gut issues and obesity. Younger women are totally depleting their hormonal reserves, feeling the effects early in their life. By the time menopause comes around, their bodies are broken down, inflamed and struggling.

This might be controversial to say, but a woman’s body is not designed to endure stress the way a man’s is.

Men have a 24 hour hormonal cycle reset that consistently predominantly of testosterone. They may have some depletion over the day and in particular if they’ve had a strong workout. But their hormones reset overnight and their overall recovery and ability to operate at a consistent level is vastly different from a woman’s.

Women have an approximate 28 day cycle and our needs vary considerably depending on which week of our cycle we are on.

For example, women hit peak testosterone in line with ovulation and would in theory be at their physically strongest at this point, optimising strength and conditioning training window.

The wear and tear of high intensity training on a woman’s body is far more prominent over time than it generally is on a man’s body. Men can go and play full contact sports and be ground pounded by 3 full grown men and usually not sustain any serious damage. I don’t think it would be the same for a female.

I’ve watched the rise of hybrid training and the seen so many men and women using their bodies with no connection or awareness.

There’s a mechanical nature to it – a disassociation to survive it – that is only heightening the cortisol response in the body. Given that most women are already battling adrenal fatigue and overload, these workouts are actually adding to the hormonal burden they’re managing.

Which is why movement that is based on mindfulness and connection with the body is the key to unlocking the results so many women are chasing.

My picks are strength training – weights to build muscle mass in a lower rep range, with key compound movements.

Resistance training – this can be performed at higher rep range with lighter weights. My pick for this is reformer or mat pilates.

Yoga – this requires a certain level of slowing down and improves flexibility along the way.

If you’re desiring some cardio, stay low impact, but gradually increase intensity based on menstrual cycle or current stress load. My picks are the bike, aerobics, a brisk walk or swimming.

This is only a small snapshot of a much larger conversation that needs way attention, but the first step is educating ourselves on how our bodies actually work on a biological level and giving them more grace.