My Female Health

If the current pandemic has taught us anything, it's just how important our health is.  And if research into my the health of my own body has taught me anything, it's the surprising difference hormones have on the health of men and women.  The way to stay healthy may be pretty similar for both sexes (eat healthily, exercise regularly, don't drink excessively, and don't smoke), but there's no getting around the fact that the hormones we produce do have an impact and these differ for men and women.

Probably why this fact is so important to me is that I have PCOS and the effect this hormonal imbalance has had on my body has made itself pretty obviously, including being overweight on a healthy diet and hairy enough to probably be able to get an extras part as a werewolf.  I've already written a few posts on having PCOS so I won't go into too much detail here, but if you want to read more the posts are Beating PCOS: the start of my journey, initial treatment, diet, and still living with PCOS.  However, the changes I had made, and been quite good at keeping, have slid just a little bit during the lockdown and I have definitely noticed the difference in the layer of winter blubber I've been forming, the extra dryness in my skin, the quality of my periods (which amazingly I'm still having despite now being off hormonal contraception for a couple of months now), and energy level.  My moods have also been affected and, as someone with depression, it's especially important that I take care of my mental health.  The food might have been nice, but it's now playing with my overall health and well being.

Now, I haven't gone completely back to before 'Beating PCOS', as the regular periods and keeping within my BMI have shown, but if I carry on as I have been it will definitely become a problem again.  There's also the added fact that most of the food that tastes so good and is so tempting is also the food covered in packaging and produced in an environmentally unsustainable way, and that most of the activities I am now doing involve being stuck indoors watching screens and wasting more energy then I should be, which is not the route I want to be going down at all.  All in all, it seems a good idea all round to be getting back to my old ways.

So, the plan moving forward is:

- Finish reading Woman Code by Alisa Vitti.  A slightly strange one I know, but this book has come recommended by a number of women and I first heard about it from Victoria at Femme Head.  I started reading it before the pandemic but, for some reason, haven't gotten round to finishing it.  It has a lot of information in it, not only about understanding the signs your body is giving you and how each stage of your menstrual cycle has an effect on you, but also how you can change your diet to help with the hormonal imbalance you may be experiencing.  I have already done quite a bit of research on this, but I don't think I've come across something as in-depth as this book and so it would be good to start using the information it provides.

- Properly start tracking my cycle and using FAM.  This isn't just something I want to really learn how to do as an alternative to hormonal contraception, but I also want to use it as an indicator of how my overall health is doing.  If I am able to keep up regular, healthy periods and a 'normal' cycle then this will show me that I have been able to keep my hormones where they are meant to be for good overall body health.  Right now I'm using the free version of the Kindara app as it's much more convenient than paper tracking version, especially first thing in the morning.  Yet, despite this, I'm only really managing to get my temperature first thing in the morning (just), but I keep forgetting to measure the other two indicators, which are cervical fluid and cervical position.  Setting alarms don't seem to be working, so maybe I'll just have to write a note on my leg instead.

- Getting back to healthy eating.  This is actually a big one as it's so important on so many levels, but it's also actually quite hard to do as yummy, bad for you food also tends to be very addictive food.  I'm already pretty certain of what I should really be eating, and I will incorporate what I learn from Woman Code into that, but the main thing is just actually starting and saying no to all those tempting treats that float pass you on a daily basis.  The artificial sugar plays particular havoc with my already hormonally imbalanced body, and so that definitely needs to go.  I'll probably write more about this on a future post, but for now, I need to reduce my dairy (I've been good and have kept to not really having milk and cream, but I can't say the same for cheese) and gluten, which also worsens my allergies, and replace chocolate and unhealthy snacks for fruits and vegetables.  Oh, and this also includes drinking a good amount of water as well.

- Lastly, exercise, exercise, exercise.  To give myself credit, I have been doing some exercise it just hasn't been doing it to the same intensity as when I was working and this can be pretty difficult to replicate, but it's this intensity that really seems to work well with my body helping it thrive.  I hate to think about how my stamina and overall strength has declined since lockdown.  Whilst I do like to run on a relatively regular basis, a large amount will be yoga and mat work so I'm not too worried about things like damaging my joints.  However, I do want to add some extra strengthing training in as well and am looking at some callisthenics at the moment.  We'll see if that suits.

So, that is how I am planning on improving my health based on my specific hormone requirements.  I could have really gotten into this during the lockdown, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the excuse of letting these things slide and now I'm paying the price for it.  I could keep pretending that my levels of exercise and unhealthy diet are having no effect on my energy levels, fat gain, muscle loss, and mental health, but we all know that that's a big lie and I should just stop being a child about it.  What's that really annoying saying 'short term pain for long term gain'.  I guess I'm just going to have to get on with it. 😂

The Clothing I Own

Last year I wrote a couple of blogs on my favourite clothing out of my wardrobe.  Since then my wardrobe has reduced in size as I've removed items I no longer use or like and changed slightly as the work I do has changed.  I thought I would do a blog on all the clothes I own (not including my very small collection of work out gear, outerwear, and underwear) now that it's much smaller.  The colour palette of my clothes is mainly blues and greens with the neutrals of blacks, greys, and creams.  This hasn't actually been a conscious choice, but more the route that has naturally occured due to the colours I like.

Work Clothes

Starting with my work clothes - it hasn't been necessary to have a large number of these but these do need to be sturdy enough to take the physical work I put them through.  Most of these (the two army trousers, orange shorts, and two t-shirts) are second hand and the fleece is over ten years old and still going strong.  The long sleeve top was brought new last year in a sale, but the plan is to replace it with a second hand item when it wears out.

New and 'Unethical'

Then there are all the new clothes I brought and still have, but haven't been ethically sourced.  Most of these were brought before I started this process and have had for many years, but some have been items I have brought out of necessity.  Once they fall apart I will try and replace them with more ethical items.

Ethical Material

I'm not really someone who's into the leather look, but there are some items which I want to have either the longetivity you normally get with leather (such as the Elvis and Kresse belt) or the structured look.  All these items were brought new.

I also have some organic cotton items which were brought new.  These items have lasted really well (especially my Thought Clothing jeans), especially with the mount of wear I put them through.  I expect to have these for a long time.

Hand Me Downs

There is only one item in the hand me down section which is from my Nan.  It is a beautiful piece which I like pairing with unexpected items, but it is also special as she is no longer with us and it's a nice way of remembering her.

Handmade

Buying handmade items is a good way of supporting local communities wherever you are.  Most of these are from when I over in Africa, but the jumper is very special as it was made by my Nan (it is also theoretically a hand me down as it started as my older brother's).  The Femme Head is a new piece which has now only been hand printed but the t-shirt itself was thrifted.

Gifts

There aren't many gift items as I am very difficult to buy for clothes wise.  The fleece is a no brained really as I may have a slight obsession with these.  The dress is not necessarily my style, but it's actually the bridesmaids dress that was brought for me when I was a bridesmaid at my brother's wedding.  ImI keeping it for now, but if I really don't wear it I'll think about getting rid of it.

Pre-loved, Charity Shop, and Vintage

The last section is second hand, predominantly brought in charity shops.  This is how I buy most of the clothing I need now, and charity shops are always my first port of call when I need a new piece.  Whilst I am interested in buying new, but ethical pieces in the future, to me buying second hand is the most ethical way of sourcing clothes and I'll only buy new when second hand just isn't possible.

My wardrobe isn't big by any stretch of the imagination, but it still larger then I actually need.  At the moment I wear and like all the items I own so I will keep them, but I don't intend to add to this only to replace when the time comes that I need to.  I expect it to reduce over time and maybe illIdo another blog this time next year to see the change.