Noelle

Thank you, ladyshanny! I'm pretty stoked. Also, my libido is back in full swing, and it's so nice to feel sexy again. It's encouraging to see that hormonal issues really can sort themselves out. The hard part is waiting.

Guess what? It worked! My doctor (who is an ND) started me on some supplements, and those plus lots of nutrient-dense foods got my body back on the right track. I've had a normal, easy period once a month for the past four months. Yay!

Sugar is the druggiest drug I've ever had. Immediately after I consume it, I am a "happy drunk": relaxed, chatty, less-inhibited, and so on. I feel AMAZING on sugar. The next day, if I don't dose myself again, I am Mr. Hyde. We're talking rage. I find myself yelling for no reason, hating everyone and everything... It's a bad scene. And, of course, eating sugar makes me want to eat more sugar.

Thanks, ladyshanny. I'm totally on board with the health bank account concept—looking back, I can absolutely see all the withdrawals that got me into this mess. Not to toot my own horn, but I feel like I'm really good at the things I can control. Sleep, food, hydration, movement, etc. I'm even getting better at how I react to the stress around me. Without going into a lot of personal details in a public forum, I got hit with some rough stuff yesterday and I handled it with grace and general awesomeness. But the stuff just keeps coming! I guess rather than lament the fact that I can't just push "pause" on the stress and Heal All The Things really fast (my current fantasy), I can have compassion for myself, and appreciate how hard my body is working to heal—it really is! It's trying SO HARD—and do everything I can to support it.

I'm just popping in to complain. I really want to get my cycle back naturally. I know Whole30/paleo eating will help. Nutrient-rich foods. Plenty of carbs (which is challenging right now, as I'm trying to manage SIBO symptoms). Patience, patience, more patience. What I find most...demoralizing, I guess, is that everything I read and hear about boosting progesterone says "de-stress." Want progesterone levels to rise? No stress for you. How exactly do I manage that, when my life seems to be a magnet for stress right now?! Phew. I feel better now. Thanks, ladies.

My 7-1/2-year-old can hold four (large) eggs.

I'm just here to complain. My period—which is normally like clockwork, down to the time of day—is 12 days late. Based on where I was in my cycle when I started this round of Whole30 (and how carb-heavy and sugar-laden my diet had become), I'm guessing my body interpreted the food changeover as stress, and I didn't ovulate as usual. I had a negative pregnancy test last week. It's very unlikely that I'm pregnant, but if I hit the two-weeks-late milestone, I might have to test again.

My family has dinner with my mom and dad on Sundays. Mom knows that my partner and I are doing another Whole30. So we walk in, and it smells HEAVENLY. Me: What smells so amazing? Mom: The pork roast. Me [Not accusing, just genuinely curious]: What did you do to it? Partner: Yeah, it smells almost like...bread. Mom: I don't know why it would smell like bread! It's just pork! [Later, as we're eating, oohing and aahing over the amazing meat...] Mom: Well, the trick is to put it in the pan with some apple juice, nutritional yeast, and a little bit of vermouth... What happened to it being "just pork"? Yeesh.

Yes to everything above. The most important things for me personally are: Supplement with Vitamin D like crazy — I take 8000 IU daily. This alone made a world of difference. No gluten, no sugar — I was gluten-free before my Whole30 and that really helped even out my mood, but being sugar-free has just multiplied that positive effect. Get out of the house — This one is tough, because when I'm depressed I just want to curl into a ball and watch bad movies all day. But being out in the world—especially if it's to do something moderately active like going for a walk or playing with my son at the park—reminds me that I can function pretty normally and get sh*t done, even though I have depression. I'm on Day 26 of my first Whole30, and really the only major change I've noticed so far is with my mood.