Dr. Lisa Watson, ND

YOU are the greatest influence on your hormones - so my darling, are you a force for good? 👸 Or evil? 😈

Some of the most important ways we can influence our hormones include:
🔥 getting enough sleep
🔥 eating enough protein
🔥 limiting refined carbohydrates and added sugars
🔥 avoiding alcohol
🔥 managing stress
🔥 moving our bodies regularly
🔥 having positive self talk and self compassion
🔥 avoiding plastics and endocrine disrupting chemicals

And can these small efforts really make an impact? You bet they can.

It's true. All those years of irregular periods means that your menopause may come later.

Research has also shown that in perimenopause, people with PCOS might start to have regular periods for the FIRST TIME EVER.

PCOS doesn't end when your periods do though. The additional health risks associated with PCOS continue even after menopause - increased risks for:
🔥 insulin resistance
🔥 diabetes
🔥 metabolic syndrome
🔥 elevated cholesterol
🔥 heart disease

It's never too late to start supporting your PCOS. It's WAY more than just missed periods.

💋 It's time for a fun fact Friday!

Why do you think this is?? Is it because most of us are right handed (I just looked it up and only 10% of the population is left handed)??

Do you tilt to the right? Or do you just go STRAIGHT IN FOR IT? 😘

Either way, kiss this week goodbye and have yourself a killer weekend! 🔥

Have you taken yours yet today? 😉 🔥

Supplements can help you to change markers of health, improve energy, reduce brain fog, support balanced hormones, prevent deficiencies, and so much more.

But only if you take them! Build a routine to taking your supplements. I take mine in the morning when I make my second cup of tea. Never the first cup - I'm not ready to anything before my first cup! ☕️☕️ I also recommend taking supplements when you brush your teeth, an easy way to hit the ones that need to be taken twice a day or on an empty stomach. 🪥🪥

It might be TMI, but I just had a doozy of a period 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Luckily I know why - it's the fluctuating hormone levels of perimenopause.

For women in perimenopause, we can often mature more than one egg in any given month - and each of those eggs produces ESTROGEN. And estrogen thickens the lining of the uterus.

So if in perimenopause, in any given month, I mature 2, 3, maybe 10 eggs, each one of those is producing estrogen and thickening my lining. 🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚

And oh happy day, when that lining finally sheds. (Please note THICK sarcasm) 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

That period is going to be HEAVY because it is dealing with the accumulated estrogen of multiple eggs.

Sometimes just understanding what is happening can help. Sometimes you need more - if you need more, I'm here for you. Reach out and book a meet and greet to see if I can help unf**k your hormones.

**kyourhormones

Have you ever said this to yourself?

You're struggling to:
💧 drink enough water
🍣 get your protein in
🏃‍♀️ exercise daily
💊 take your supplements
⚖️ lose 20 pounds
🙋🏽‍♀️ finish writing your book

Or whatever goal you are trying to achieve.

And I want to say, that this statement is evidence of SELF SABOTAGE. Your brain is working hard to keep you SAFE, to PROTECT you from some perceived harm - the harm of failure? The harm of success? The harm of being seen? The harm of losing someone because you have changed?

Recognizing that your brain is trying to protect you and keep you safe, is an important first step.

But the real work is in recognizing what potential harm you are trying to protect yourself from, and learning to let that s**t go.

Have YOU ever said this statement to yourself? Drop a 🔥 emoji below so we all know we aren't alone!

Want to join my book club? We read books on s*x, relationships, feminism, and everything in between.

In July we're asking if authors could write their s*x scenes anonymously, would they be less reticent? Would they include the stuff they didn’t want their mom to read?

Join us on July 24th. Join the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/awokenbeauty

PCOS is most likely a genetic condition and it is thought that PCOS leads to being overweight more than being overweight leads to PCOS.

Excess levels of androgens associated with PCOS can lead to more fat accumulation around the midsection.

Insulin resistance associated with PCOS can lead to more fat accumulation overall, and again, especially around the midsection. Insulin resistance is also associated with fatigue, difficulty losing weight, and increased carbohydrate cravings.

If you have PCOS and are struggling with your body weight, you likely need to take a multifaceted approach, looking at supporting your hormone balance - androgens, estrogen, progesterone, and insulin - as well as focusing on a healthy and sustainable diet and exercise plan.

PCOS and perimenopause are two of the most common causes of heavy periods, and they both are the result of anovulation.

Anovulation occurs when we do not ovulate. Our ovaries produce estrogen, causing the lining of the uterus to thicken, but without ovulation we don't produce progesterone to regulate the growth of the lining.

And so when we finally do have a period, it can be heavy, with lots of clots, and can be associated with flooding. 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

If you have PCOS, you may be in perimenopause for longer! ⏰⏰⏰

People with PCOS tend to go into menopause an average of FOUR YEARS later than their peers. 🗓

In PCOS the lack of regular monthly ovulation means that you will still have some eggs kicking around in your late 40s and early 50s and may continue to have periods into your mid-50s. (The average age of menopause in North America is 51)

PCOS is about more than just your periods. 🩸

It impacts SO MUCH MORE. Especially energy, metabolism, and heart health.

Symptoms of PCOS can include:
🔥 mood swings
🔥 depression
🔥 acne
🔥 weight gain
🔥 irregular periods
🔥 hair loss
🔥 facial hair growth
🔥 infertility

While a diagnosis of PCOS is typically made based on symptoms, and maybe an ultrasound, I strongly suggest more comprehensive testing to fully understand how YOU are experiencing PCOS. We can do so much better than just "regulating periods". I want to help people with PCOS to impact their energy, mood, insulin resistance, and support fat loss if that's important to you.

**ttystatistics 🔥💩

As if people with PCOS didn't have enough to deal with. We now recognize that they are at increased risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in their lifetime.

PCOS and NAFLD share some risk factors, including:

🔥 insulin resistance
🔥 being overweight
🔥 higher androgen levels

One of the big issues with NAFLD is that there are typically NO SYMPTOMS and it can progress to liver inflammation and scarring without you knowing it is happening.

I recommend liver enzyme monitoring for all my PCOS patients, especially if they have additional risk factors like elevated cholesterol or triglycerides, metabolic syndrome, a waist circumference greater than 88cm, or pre-diabetes.

Repeat after me - all our hormones influence each other! 👩🏻‍🏫

People with PCOS are at a much higher risk of developing Hashimoto's hypothyroidism in their lifetime.

This is a SUPER BIG problem for people who are trying to conceive as BOTH Hashimoto's and PCOS can cause issues with infertility and miscarriage.

Hashimoto's and PCOS can also have similar symptoms such as weight gain and depression, so often one diagnosis is missed.

If you have been diagnosed with PCOS, or you have suspected you have it, talk to your health care team about getting tested for Hashimoto's.

🔥

It’s never too late for - in my defense this pie took WAY longer than the recipe said it would. I did make the crust on pi day… so I’m calling it a win.

Honey lemon chiffon pie.

It's World Sleep Day. Fun fact about sleep - if you don't get enough sleep, our circulating levels of endocannabinoids increase.

These fun little brain chemicals stimulate APPETITE and increase our desire to snack - otherwise known as having the MUNCHIES. 🍕🍩🍟🍰🍭🍪

When lack of sleep becomes chronic, this can contribute to serious weight gain.

Just another good reason to get your ZZZs. 😴

WORD NERD ALERT 🚨🚨

F*ck is a very versatile word. Not only is it a verb, noun, adjective, and my personal favourite curse word, it is the ONLY known word in the English language that is used as an "infix"

Prefixes are used before words, and suffixes are used afterwards. But infixes are inserted right into the middle of words.

Isn't that fascinating? Inf*ckingcredible? Fanf*ckingtastic.

I know I'm not alone in this. 🧙‍♀️

🔥🔥🔥

Hair may be the most luxurious thing your body makes. And I want my health to be LUXE, not just basic.

My journey to becoming a Naturopathic Doctor BEGAN with hair loss. And an incredibly frustrating journey that led me to multiple doctors, all of who mansplained to me that the problem was all in my head.

But it wasn't. I had a staggering iron deficiency - which was totally apparent in lab work when someone finally cared enough to do it.

Once I got the iron levels up - and dealt with some pretty high stress levels - my hair grew back and is as luxe as I want it to be.

Fast forward over 25 years, and working with people experiencing hair loss is still one of the most rewarding things I do in my practice.

Many times it is one of these issues. Sometimes it is more complicated. Sometimes its stress hormone imbalances, autoimmune disease, nutritional deficiencies, or major hormonal imbalances.

MOST of the time it is just giving enough of a damn to look deeper for the cause of the hair loss, and helping find a plan that will work.

Show your love. ❤️💜🧡💛💙

Happy Valentine's Day.

I’m spending my vacation learning how to post reels on Instagram. So join me over there and show me some love for my attempts at learning technology ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Relationships between friends can be as significant to our lives as relationships with our partners. Happy Galentines Day to my other life partner, my bestie . And happy day to ALL the fierce female friendships out there. May we know them, may we nurture them, may we celebrate them. 👯‍♀️💃💃👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👭👸🏻👸🏻🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️

Happy Lunar New Year! Kung Hei Fat Choy!

The only mythical creature in the Chinese Zodiac, I like to think that there is still a chance that dragons ARE real. (Or at least WERE real...)

The year of the Dragon is one of opportunities, challenges, and changes, and asks us to bring our bravest boldest selves forward in this year.

I'm up for it. Are you?

I know your doctor has told you that you DON'T need hormone testing. But did you believe them??

I sure as hell don't. 🔥

How else are you supposed to understand how your hormones are influencing your health?

Tired?? 🥱 - could be low iron, low B12, insulin resistance, or hypothyroidism.

Weight gain?? ⚖️ - could be hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, perimenopause, or PCOS

Irregular periods?? 🩸 - could be perimenopause, PCOS, hyperthyroid or hypothyroid

HOW are we supposed to determine the cause if we don't do lab testing?

No one will ever convince me otherwise. Drop a comment below if you've ever been told there is "no point" in hormone testing.

While the average age of menopause is 52, early menopause can occur (before 45 years old) for many different reasons.

Autoimmune diseases, including autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Graves' disease) and rheumatoid arthritis, can lead to inflammation 🧨 and damage to the ovaries, leading to early menopause.

As if autoimmune disease wasn't a bitch already.

Sit down to stand up for your rights. Today we celebrate Rosa Parks day. She reminds us that small acts of defiance against injustice can have enormous impacts.

Take a stand. Make a difference.