While I think lab tests can be extremely valuable, I also think it’s important to have daily and monthly markers that you can use to assess your hormone health at home.
There are three main areas you can use to do this:
1. Tracking your cycles
2. Establishing a baseline basal body temperature (BBT)
3. Evaluating sleep, appetite, mood, and energy
What We Can Learn From Our Cycles:
As women we are cyclical creatures. Our hormones are never the same each day, which can sometimes make it difficult to understand why things are off.
Zooming out and looking at your whole cycle can give you insights into possible imbalances between estrogen and progesterone as well as insights into how your body is responding to stress.
Here’s what I recommend tracking:
✅Cycle length (time from period to period)
✅Period length (time bleeding)
✅Heaviness of period
✅Pain (cramps, headaches, muscles/joints)
✅Mood/PMS symptoms
✅Ovulation
✅Spotting/bleeding between periods
What We Can Learn From BBT:
BBT is your resting temperature, which is a reflection of your metabolic activity with minimal influence from outside factors like digestion, exercise, stress, etc.
Thyroid hormones are made in the thyroid, but turn into active energy AKA heat in the body.
Measuring BBT tells us how much heat is being produced at rest and gives insights into thyroid & hormone health.
If you’re struggling with your hormones and want more guidance on understanding these insights, check out my free Healthy Period Starter Guide that goes into these topics in more detail!
reminder: i’m currently taking on 1:1 clients. if you’d like to explore what it would be like to work together and if we are a good fit, fill out this form to get more details!
