In my thirties, exercising and eating well were one of my top priorities. I’d followed the Body Coach’s 90-day plan a few times and always maintained my results by following its HIIT and Strength workout plans and balanced approach to nutrition. The combination of food and energetic workouts had worked really well for me for many years, even throughout the IVF process I went through in 2017, and after the subsequent birth of my first son in 2018.
But things started to change during lockdown when my husband and I decided to start the IVF process again to try and have a second child. Before starting the medication needed to prepare my body for treatment, I was feeling in great shape. I’d continued doing home workouts in lockdown and tried to stay as active as possible where lockdown regulations would allow. We already had frozen embryos from the first round of IVF so this time the process would be slightly simpler. I just needed to start taking medication to prepare my body for the embryo implantation.
While it had taken just one attempt back in 2017 to get pregnant with my first son, our attempt for a second child proved to be less straightforward. One of our frozen embryos was implanted in my womb the summer of 2020 and after an agonising 10-day wait, I found out I was pregnant. But sadly, a couple of weeks later, I miscarried. The second attempt, which we went ahead with soon after, also sadly didn’t take. But thankfully, after a third lucky try, I became pregnant in the winter of 2020 and gave birth to a very healthy 9-pound-11 baby boy in August 2021.
This had unsurprisingly put my body under a lot of strain and I was the heaviest I’d ever been. Not only did my body look very different, but after months of breastfeeding and sleepless nights, I hadn’t recovered anywhere near as well as I did after my first pregnancy. I started exercising after getting my six-week postnatal check by a midwife but sprained my ankle quite badly shortly after. I had hit it hard with HIIT workouts and weighted exercises and my body wasn’t back to full strength. A physio told me that to avoid further injury, I needed to get used to the capabilities of my post-pregnancy body and go a little steadier than before. It was going to take time to recover fully. I felt incredibly frustrated.
Fast forward two years later, and while I’d made some progress in getting my fitness back to where it was before, I was still not feeling a hundred per cent. I was napping every afternoon, struggling to keep up in spin class, suffering from low mood and headaches, and holding on to extra weight – even while eating well and exercising regularly. I didn’t recognise my own body, nor did I understand why the usual routine I’d upheld for many years wasn’t working in the same way it once did.
I sought the advice of a nutritionist
It was then that I decided that if the old ways weren’t working, that I’d need to try something different and make some pretty significant changes. My first port of call was contacting a local nutritionist, Sandrine Olmi, to see if she could help me. I filled out a food diary, and talked Sandrine through my lifestyle. She very quickly had an idea of what was potentially happening in my body.
Sandrine suspected that based on the symptoms I’d described, my levels of oestrogen were too high and my magnesium levels were very low. This was later confirmed by conducting a Dutchie test that measures hormone levels and metabolites via a series of urine samples.
Sandrine confirmed my fears that my hormone levels were affected by the IVF treatment – something she says isn’t hugely talked about. “The hormones used in IVF are similar to those used in oral contraceptives, but in higher doses,” she explains. “This can impair glucose and fat metabolism, and promote insulin resistance and inflammation”. The body also uses up its reserve of magnesium when under a lot of stress, and oestrogen also stimulates the utilisation of magnesium. It was no wonder that I was feeling so out of sync.
As such, Sandrine advised that my main nutritional therapy goal should be to help my body release any excess oestrogen and replenish my body with vital nutrients to boost energy, metabolism and mood. While my diet was already quite good, Sandrine gave me recipes and tips to add hormone and energy balancing foods to my diet such as legumes, protein, and healthy fats. The key she said was balance.
I started taking supplements
Aside from my diet, Sandrine advised that to address the oestrogen dominance in my body, I should focus on lifestyle changes such as reducing stress, and adding in gentle exercise. She also suggested adding in high-quality magnesium and oestrogen-balancing supplements. The supplements started to make me feel better quite quickly and I was curious to understand the role they were playing in helping reduce the high levels of oestrogen in my body.
“Research does show that magnesium deficiency is associated with hormone related conditions,” Sandrine explains. “This relaxing mineral acts as a cofactor for more than 300 enzymes, regulating a number of fundamental functions in the body including hormone balance (clearance of oestrogen from the liver), energy production and glucose metabolism”.
“Oestrogen is detoxified in three steps through the liver, before it can finally undergo excretion. It requires adequate levels of magnesium for this step to happen,” Sandrine continues. “So I recommended scientifically-backed supplements with high quality ingredients known to support the liver and hormone balance”. These included ingredients such as non-soy phyto-oestrogens from kudzu and flaxseed to support healthy oestrogen levels, as well as a range of specifically selected vitamins, minerals and antioxidants including vitamin B6, magnesium glycinate, broccoli extract and curcumin, to support the metabolic processes in the liver’.
I started eating more protein and wholefoods
With Sandrine’s advice firmly in my mind, I put greater focus on adding more wholefoods into my diet to help balance my hormones and boost metabolism. I also started snacking on more savoury foods such as boiled eggs, avocados and tomatoes to avoid that late-afternoon crash. By adding more legumes into my diet such as legumes, I also didn’t feel as hungry all of the time – something I was really struggling with before.
Jess Shand, a qualified Naturopathic Nutritionist and Wellness Coach agrees that committing to eating a predominantly wholefood balanced diet and using each meal time as an opportunity to nourish our bodies with the nutrition our hormones need to thrive, is integral to rebalancing hormones.
“To do this, we should be paying close attention to ensuring we are eating enough real high-fibre phytochemical rich whole foods / plant varieties and ensuring we are making ¼ of our plate a complete protein source if eating animal based protein and 1/3 of the plate mixed plant protein sources to help us meet our protein requirements,” Jess explains.
“Protein is essential for hormone balance. Without adequate protein you cannot keep your hormones in check or give your body what it needs to be healthy,” she continues. “Never underestimate the importance of protein on your plate if you want to balance your hormones – and keep them balanced”.
This, she says, is because protein is made of amino acids, the building blocks for female hormones that maintain reproductive health and regulate our cycles, mood, neurotransmitters for mental health and fertility. “Protein also keeps your blood- sugar levels steady, which means you will feel more balanced physically and mentally”.
I ditched alcohol and started eating six times a day
As I started to make changes to my diet and put a bigger focus on protein, wholefoods, and supplements, I did start to feel better. But I was still struggling to maintain a proper routine and I was still indulging in a glass or two of red wine several times a week – something that Sandrine had told me would impact the rebalance of my hormonal health. I needed a goal.
After talking to a friend one miserable Monday morning about the struggles I’d been having and how my body confidence had taken a huge knock, she told me about Six Pack Revolution – a fitness and nutrition programme that had helped thousands of people across the world improve a host of health problems from hormone imbalance, to diabetes, fibromyalgia, and thyroid problems.
After reading more about it, I was drawn to its focus on high protein and whole foods. This was just the kind of structure I needed to put the nutritional advice I’d received into action. What surprised me the most upon signing up, was that I was to be eating six times a day – a meal plan consisting of three whole-food meals and three snacks a day with minimal caffeine and no alcohol. We’d also be working out three times a week and completing five-minute abs challenges every other day. It was more food and less exercise than I was currently doing but I was excited to see how it would help.
Scott Harrison, founder of Six Pack Revolution explains the science behind the method. “Eating six times a day helps maintain steady energy levels throughout the day and prevents blood sugar spikes and crashes,” explains Scott. “It’s really important what is on the plate at the same time making sure there is a balance of lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables and healthy fats, from both animal and plant based sources. This will ensure the body gets essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals and botanicals for muscle repair, hormonal balance, and overall health. Regular eating also supports metabolism,” he continues.
“We include chickpeas, beans and lentils etc along with a huge variety of other protein sources,” Scott says. “These specifically however are packed with fibre, complex carbohydrates and iron too. Variety is key as different foods give us different nutrition and these types of legumes also provide a good alternative to meat along with tofu, tempeh, Quorn and seitan”.
In just a few weeks, I started to notice real results. What surprised me the most was that with just three short workouts a week including battle ropes, weights and cardio, I was finally starting to feel like myself again. I was losing weight, feeling more energised, and my mood was improving. As Scott explains, when you pay close attention to your nutrition, you really can start to make big differences to your health without over training in the gym.
“We have various programmes on The Six Pack Revolution,” says Scott. “And although the style of training is different across the board, we don’t need to train for hours to achieve amazing results. 90% of results are reliant on nutrition”.
I added yoga into my fitness routine
I’m now a year or so on from when I first started to address my concerns and, after just turning 40, I feel happier than ever. I’ve now completed three of the Six Pack Revolution programmes and am maintaining my results by eating ‘on plan’ five days out of the week, and enjoying two days off a week. This means I can enjoy a night out with friends, eat whatever I’m craving and relax while knowing I’m still giving my body all of the nutritional goodness it needs to keep me feeling good. I now also think of what I can add to my meals to make them more nutritionally balanced and fortifying, rather than what I can deprive myself of.
I’ve also started to put more focus on slower types of exercise such as hot yoga – something, to my shame, I didn’t do before because it felt like a waste. If I wasn’t burning high amounts of calories, I used to think it just wasn’t worth it. But my mindset is now so different. It feels so good to nourish my body in an emotional and physical way, and start to heal some of the tension caused by carrying and birthing two babies. I finally feel like I understand what my body needs and it is repaying me in ways I thought were no longer possible. I never thought my forties would be my fittest, but it turns out that’s exactly what they are.