Pre-menstrual tension (PMT) and periods needn’t be awful! Here are some things you can do to make ‘those weeks’ in your life so much better.
(If you can’t get rid of the negative emotions after using these strategies, this could indicate a block or blocks. You are most welcome to have a free 20-minute chat with me to see if I can help you.)
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Food and drink
Avoid sugar
This is probably the most important part of all! It’s best to start getting used to having less sugar at the beginning of your cycle so that you’re adapted to going without it before PMT hits.
Sugar causes false energy highs and quickly-following, damaging lows, meaning your energy levels and moods swing around, and that’s the last thing you need at this time of the month!
More than just a teaspoon or so of sugar in your bloodstream is toxic to your body, so it must be processed before anything else – and that processing takes up valuable vitamins and minerals that are needed elsewhere for your mind and body to function effectively.
Table sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are the worst offenders but avoid anything that has added sweeteners, even if they’re called ‘natural’.
Cut out fruit juices and only have sweeter fruits as a treat. Choose blueberries and other less sweet fruits along with some protein, so the sugar from the fruit gets absorbed more slowly.
Swap out milk chocolate for 90% cocoa dark chocolate – you’ll also find a little goes a long way.
Avoid starchy foods
Starchy foods turn very quickly into glucose, a sugar that’s absorbed very rapidly into your bloodstream, adversely affecting your energy levels. Cut them right down.
Instead, go for green and leafy vegetables and find alternatives for wheat (bread, pasta, pizza, etc). Look up ‘wheat-free keto’ or ‘low carb’ recipes for plenty of delicious options and use herbs and spices to add nutrients and flavour.
Avoid snacking
If you must eat, enjoy a slowly-eaten lump of cheese or a small handful of nuts. Certainly, avoid anything that’s sold as a snack, even so-called ‘healthy’ ones.
Eat fats and protein
Fats and protein are essential for the functioning of your body and mind. They also help even out your energy levels.
You don’t need loads but have some each day, choosing from meat, oily fish, eggs, cheese, nuts, seeds, pulses and lentils.
When cooking, avoid seed (‘vegetable’) oils and use butter, lard, ghee instead. Avoid cooking with cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil unless it’s at low temperatures, though do add it to salads.
Mind
By itself, ‘thinking positive’ is only helpful to a small extent and not at all helpful when you have PMT and are feeling tearful, grumpy or depressed! Instead, you can get better results by acknowledging negative feelings and using the ‘Acknowledge plus AND’ and ‘Shout it out’ strategies.
Acknowledge plus AND
Acknowledge the issue and then add something positive. For example:
- I feel angry AND I know this will pass more quickly now that I have acknowledged it
- Yes, it is painful AND I know I can ease it with deep breathing AND I know it will soon pass
- Yes, I am tired AND I know I have the resilience to move through it
- Yes, I am tired AND I know I can go to bed early and can draw on my inner reserves in the meantime
- Yes, I feel tearful and tired AND I know, as I change my diet, these mood swings will soon pass – and I can start relaxing into that knowledge right now
SHOUT IT OUT!
If you can find somewhere to go where you won’t be heard, then really do shout! Otherwise, use a stage whisper-shout, which also works pretty effectively.
If you feel something negative and squash it down, it causes damage, so it’s far better to let it out – and even better to expel it with force!
Note in the example below, I use the word FEEL and not AM. Make sure you do that too.
For example, say, ‘I feel angry’, ‘I feel upset’ and ‘My belly feels painful’, rather than ‘I am angry’, ‘I am upset’ and ‘I am in pain’.
Here’s what to do:
Stand or stomp along and shout, as loud as you can, ‘I FEEL ANGRY!’
- Do this a couple more times. Get that feeling OUT.
- Now do another one – you will find your voice is getting quieter
- Now try again – and no matter how much you try to yell, the energy of the feeling is diminishing
- Now you’re just saying it loudly
- Now you’re just saying it
- Now it’s a bit more like a forced whisper – and maybe even a little giggle
The situation hasn’t changed but your feeling about it has, so you are in a better emotional and energetic place to deal with it. Now you can deal with the next emotion or just carry on with your day, load lightened.
All the best!
Jacqui
If you can’t get rid of the negative emotions after using these strategies, this could indicate a block or blocks. You are most welcome to have a free 20-minute chat with me to see if I can help you.