Will Balancing Your Blood Sugar Help You Balance Your Hormones? Short Answer… YES!!
I wish more women knew how important balanced blood sugar is and how having balanced blood sugar is an absolute game changer – even for those that are not diabetic!
If you have heard me talk about blood sugar before, it is not just to help you waive good-bye to those stubborn ponds that have snuck up around your waist, but because blood sugar affects EVERYTHING from weight loss to PMS symptoms, to your imbalanced hormones.
It is actually impossible to balance your hormones if your blood sugar is imbalanced!
How is it That Blood Sugar Balance is so Often Overlooked?
Most people that do not have diabetes or are not pre-diabetic do not realize that their blood sugar matters…
But it does matter!!
Blood sugar is actually a vital part of resolving any hormonal imbalances that you might have. Blood sugar is also rooted to mood swings and any cravings that you might be having!
Do you ever get so hungry that you start to get angry – hangry?
This happens because your blood sugar drops so low that it is now way below where it should be, and your body has put itself into survival mood.
Cravings are usually rooted to no willpower… but your blood sugar is more times than not the cause of those cravings.
Do you ever wait too long between eating? Or start to get hungry again, not long after a meal? But the hunger that you are feeling is wanting sweets – chocolate, cookies, ice cream, etc. this is because you either went too long without fuelling your body, or you ate a meal that didn’t support balancing your blood sugar and now your blood sugar is all out of wack! This is what we call a blood sugar roller coaster.
The Blood Sugar Roller Coaster. What Exactly is That?
Ever hear the expression, “what goes up, must come down?”
Well, when our blood sugar is not balancing, it has extreme highs and lows throughout the day – just like a roller coaster going up and down! When this is happening, it is putting the body into survival mode. When our body goes into survival mode from unbalanced blood sugar, it is desperate to get back on track, which is what causes you to become ‘hangry’ or start to have cravings for all the sweets.
The problem – This hangry-ness and cravings just further fuel the blood sugar roller coaster…
When your blood sugar is crashing and you are craving these sweets, it is because your body needs to quickly bring up its blood sugar and the fastest way to do that is with simple carbs – sugar, chocolate, ice cream, pop, breads, etc.
The problem – These are also the things that spike your blood sugar…
These means, that once you eat the sweets (simple carbs) to quickly bring up your blood sugar and get your body out of survival mode, it is going to spike then start to crash again. Once it crashes your mood swings and cravings for sweets comes back – this is the reason that we call this the blood sugar roller coaster.
How Blood Sugar Plays a Role in Balancing Your Hormones
Cortisol’s relationship to your blood sugar is significant.
I know that it can be super tempting to start your day with a big waffle or pancake breakfast, however, that is not ideal for your blood sugar levels. Now, I am not saying to cut out waffles or pancakes - it’s great to have one or 2 (depending on the size) paired with some protein (eggs, sausages, etc..) and healthy fats like avocado – but to have a big waffle or pancake breakfast in the morning will rapidly spike you blood sugar.
Remember – what goes up will come back down...
After your first blood sugar spike, your blood sugar will crash back down, which will then trigger an increase in cortisol – the stress hormone that everyone loves to hate. This increase in cortisol is your body going into survival mode after stress or a potential threat to your body.
This poses a problem – especially for those who already have hormone imbalances in their body...
When your cortisol levels rise, they then take priority over your other hormones, especially the sex hormones, progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone – they get left behind and become imbalanced making them unable to do their necessary jobs in your body. When these hormones become imbalanced, they can wreck all kinds of havoc on your body.
Another huge thing to consider…
If you are someone who has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), or who has chronically elevated testosterone levels, your blood sugar fluctuations play a significant role in these. This is because your ovaries respond to blood sugar spikes in your body by producing more testosterone, and this testosterone spike is like pouring fuel on a fire in those suffering from PCOS or already heightened testosterone levels.
Therefore, your blood sugar rising and falling has a much bigger impact on the body then most think – it plays a key role in whether your hormones are balanced or all out of wack. This is why it is crucial to understand and manage your blood sugar levels.
Balancing your blood sugar and how you do that…
So, HOW exactly do you do you balance out your blood sugar and keep it balanced?
I know a lot of peoples first thoughts here and cutting out carbs and going with the keto diet and intermittent fasting… but I am here to tell you that not only is that not necessary, but it is also NOT the best way to go about it!
Yes, it seems like many people have success going the keto and intermittent fasting rout – the quick weight loss alone makes it seem super amazing. BUT let us break this down a bit…
Not only is losing weight at a quick pace not healthy for anyone, but it is also not sustainable.
Keto is actually designed for epilepsy, NOT designed for the intricacies of woman’s hormones.
Intermittent fasting might make you feel great at first, but it wreaks havoc on woman’s hormones – skipping meals and not eating enough stresses the body and raises your cortisol levels.
Your body AND your hormones NEED carbs for energy and to thrive – cutting carbs means your body takes from other sources to get energy which depletes the body in other areas causing all kinds of unwanted side effects like: fatigue, anxiety, mood changes, cravings, irritability, problems concentrating, trouble sleeping, and weakness – to name a few
Yes, maintaining blood sugar levels is a HUGE piece of the puzzle to your overall health – NOT just a health recommendation. But NO, despite of what all the influencers tell you on Tic Tok and Instagram, cutting out carbs and intermittent fasting is not necessary to keep your blood sugar balanced!
Carbohydrates are a major food group – and a food group that our body and our hormones need to thrive! Yanking them out of the diet in hopes to balance your blood sugar and loss weight might seem like a fantastic quick fix but… it is NOT.
Carbs are not just buddies with your body’s energy, they are also best buddies with your thyroid and your brain. Ditching carbs, even temporarily, might make you feel great and lighter at first as your body too quickly drops weight, but it will throw your whole body out of wack and that amazing feeling that you have been feeling will start to disappear. On top of that, yes, eventually you will feel fantastic again, but adding carbs back into your diet isn’t a fun process and will come with some not-so-fun surprises… including gaining back all that weight, plus some, that you lost when cutting them out.
That ever so popular intermittent fasting that is making its rounds in the diet culture right now…
Yes, intermittent fasting has come through with some of its promises – weight loss, lowered blood sugar being the big ones, however, intermittent fasting is NOT a one size fits all deal, especially for women.
Men and women have different hormone cycles – men’s being a 24-hour cycle and women’s typically being a 28-day cycle. Any kind of fasting, including intermittent fasting, no matter how “right” you are doing it hugely affects the woman’s hormones and not in a good way – first thing that comes to mind is HIGHER CORTISOL LEVELS and we already know what the negative affect of high cortisol has on the other hormones and the body.
What your body truly wants is balancing your blood sugar in a way that has nothing to do with all the fad diets and everything to do with mindful eating.
What exactly does this mean??
Well, it is easy… Eat balanced, nutrient dense meals that include protein, healthy fats, AND CARBS, throughout the day. Starting with breakfast, within 1.5 hours after waking and ending with dinner, no less than 2-3 hours before you go to bed. Also, not matter what you see all the influencers post on social media – snacking is NOT bad!
No, you do not want to overdo it and snack all day on a bunch of chips, chocolate, and candy but if your body is telling you that it is hungry, EAT! There is nothing wrong with having a light, nutritious snack between meals or before bed. In fact, it is much better for you to listen to your hunger ques and fuel your body when your body needs it than to go hungry waiting for your next scheduled meal or until morning.
Forcing your body to wait until the next meal to get the fuel that it needs when it is telling you that it needs a quick snack is only putting unnecessary stress on your body and in turn that stress is just raising your cortisol levels!
Balancing your blood sugar is about more than just feeling good in the moment…
Yes, balancing you blood sugar will make you feel fantastic in the moment, however balancing your blood sugar is more about the bigger picture – it is about setting the stage for long-term wellness! It is about letting your liver let go of being chained to its blood sugar rescue mission and focus on its other vital tasks in your body like flushing toxins and excess estrogen out of your body. And for a bonus, balancing your blood sugar will help relieve issues like awful period symptoms and those stubborn mood swings that you just cannot get rid of!
Once your blood sugar is balanced, you can easily get your hormones back to normal levels, finding yourself with pain-free periods, stable moods, and a renewed energy!
For more information download my free guide: Balanced Blood Sugar & Balanced Hormones, What is the Connection?
Or connect with me on Instagram, through a free discovery call, or email me at wellnutrition@lindsaychatham.com to chat about how we can work together to balance out your blood sugar and your hormones to help you feel great again!