Hormones are usually blamed when we gain a few pounds. But, truth is, your hormones can also help you reach your weight-loss goals. That’s because they affect your eating habits and metabolism in ways that promote weight loss during certain weeks of your cycle. Once you know how to harness these pound-melting hormonal influences and how to overcome hormonal hurdles that have been blocking your slimming goals, you can finally be successful in dropping a dress size (or two or three)! Read on to learn how to take advantage of your body’s hormonal benefits and get past hormonal diet sabateurs each week of your cycle….

Week 1
First day of period to Day 7
Your slim-down hormonescope: Set your goals and get started!
As estrogen and testosterone rise this week, they boost optimism and inner strength, making you want to create and stick to diet and exercise resolutions. And it’s the easiest week to launch a new healthy eating regimen since progesterone-fueled cravings for sugary, salty, fatty and carb-rich foods that plagued you during the second half of your cycle vanish as this hormone makes a hasty exit. Plus, Tufts University research shows you’re eating 12% less now than you did during the second half of your cycle thanks to rising estrogen, which has a mild appetite-suppressing effect. While pep and endurance start out low in the first half of this week, they grow to full force by the second half.
Your Week 1 weight-loss challenge: If you end up caving in to temptation by eating a food on your no-no list, rising estrogen is giving your brain a bigger buzz from it, making it difficult to cut yourself off before doing real damage to your calorie count. Plus, rising testosterone is making you impulsive, so you may reach for a fat-packed munchie before you even realize what you’re doing!
To reach your weight-loss goal: Start by mapping clear, practical and attainable diet and exercise strategies—don’t let optimism-inducing hormones let you bite off more than you can chew or you’ll lose interest altogether. Then, take advantage of these low-craving days by eating lots of high-nutrient, low-calorie foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats if you’re a meat eater. Finally, monitor your eating habits (for instance, by eating mindfully or jotting down what you eat in a daily diary) to help you become more aware of when you’re about to go overboard with snacks or portion sizes. If you do tuck into your favorite munchies, use portion control dishes or dole out a small serving so you don’t accidentally eat more than you intended.

Week 2
Day 8 to Day 13
Your slim-down hormonescope: Take action!
Peaking estrogen and testosterone amp up the positives from last week—you’re still enjoying a slight-appetite suppressing effect, you have loads of energy and endurance, and your optimism keeps you motivated about reaching your weight-loss goals. These rising hormones also make you more open to trying anything new, including healthy recipes and workout routines.  This makes it a great week to amp up your efforts by joining a support group or exercise class, fitting in an extra workout and challenging yourself to swear off one high-calorie baddie altogether, like soda, ice cream or chips.
Your Week 2 weight-loss challenge: High estrogen and testosterone are also amping up all the negatives from last week—you may eat impulsively and, once you start munching, it may be difficult to keep calorie counts in check. What’s more, you may feel so overly confident about reaching your goals that, if you do overindulge in calorie-rich foods, you’ll try to convince yourself you’ll be able to make up for it by cutting back or exercising more the following day. You have one more challenge to your weight goal this week: Peaking estrogen makes your stress response more intense, which can prompt the production of stress hormones, like cortisol, that trigger food cravings and emotional eating.
To reach your weight-loss goal: Continue monitoring your portion sizes and keep stress levels in check by taking a walk, meditating, doing deep, slow breathing, or sipping chamomile tea at the first sign of tension. Also try decreasing your intake of caffeine, which can amp up your body’s stress response.

Week 3
Day 14 (or ovulation) to Day 22
Your slim-down hormonescope: Munchies vs. fat burn!
The excitement and confidence you had during the first two weeks of your cycle is replaced by fear and self-doubt. That’s because estrogen and testosterone are plunging, taking your confidence with them. What’s more, progesterone rises all throughout Week 3, and this prompts bloat by triggering constipation and water retention, making you feel like you packed on 10 pounds overnight. But, it’s not all bad news: Research shows that progesterone helps your body burn up to 30% more fat during exercise all through Week 3 and most of Week 4!
Your Week 3 weight-loss challenge: You may get suckered into thinking you blew your diet because of the one, two or three pounds you put on this week; the constipation and water retention are the likely culprits, which means the weight gain is temporary. However, this hormone is also triggering cravings for sweets, carbs, fats and salty foods, making them more difficult to resist when you go grocery shopping, to the movies, parties or anywhere else munchies may be within reach. What’s more, this sedating hormone is making your energy drag, so you may not feel like getting up off the couch to exercise.
To reach your weight-loss goal: Combat the diet blahs by shedding those extra progesterone pounds with high-fiber foods (such as whole grains paired with water, fruits and vegetables) to ease constipation and try natural diuretics (such as asparagus, melon and dandelion tea, as long you have no ragweed or rubber allergies) to eliminate water retention or sweat it out through exercise. Also, avoid salt, which exacerbates bloat. As for cravings, when the urge hits, go for a walk—research shows that just 10 minutes (about the time it takes to go around the block once!) will crush those hunger pangs. Finally, motivate yourself to move by reminding yourelf that your body burns 30% more fat during exercise! Then take advantage of this biological blessing by doing fun activities that get your heart pumping, such as hopping on a bike or dancing.

Week 4
Day 23 to the end of cycle
Your slim-down hormonescope: Final stretch!
Okay, so cards on the table: This may be the hardest week of your cycle when it comes to sticking to your diet. That’s because plunging estrogen drags down the feel-good brain chemical serotonin, which can make you feel like you somehow failed in your weight loss efforts and/or that you don’t see any positive changes in your body. If you can get past those negative feelings and not let them sabatoge your goals, you can actually use Week 4′s hormones to help you slim down faster. That’s because progesterone is still making your body burn up to 30% more fat during exercise up to two days before your period!
Your Week 4 weight-loss challenge: To make up for your lack of serotonin, your body will push your toward comforting carbs (such as cookies, bread, cake, pizza, etc.), because they boost serotonin levels back up. (Ever notice how grouchy people get while doing low-carb diets? Mystery solved.) Plunging estrogen is also making you more sensitive to aches and pains during your workout and driving down your pep and endurance. As a result, you may tire out easily or find it harder to do you usual exercise routine.
To reach your weight-loss goal: When you get a hankering for carbs, remind yourself that “simple” carbs (like sugar and white flour) aren’t the only serotonin-lifters around—healthier carbs (like whole grain bread, brown rice, nuts and beans) also boost flagging serotonin back up. Even better, they’re filling, so you’ll naturally eat less at meals. Also, consider eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acid, such as fatty fish (like tuna and salmon), flax seeds and walnuts since this nutrient has been shown to help overcome down moods and anxiety that trigger emotional eating. You’re still experiencing bloating and constipation due to progesterone, so continue with Week 3′s tips for combatting both. And, finally, if you feel like giving up altogether on your weight-loss goals, just remember it’s simply due to plunging hormones. Try journaling your emotions or calling a friend for support. If you keep up the forward momentum, you’ll see in just a few short days you’ll be feeling optimistic and renewed about your waist-whittling efforts once again.

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[photo: D Sharon Pruitt]

Tend to feel down, teary or even downright depressed during Week 4, the premenstrual week of your cycle? If so, you’re not alone. Millions of women feel blue during PMS due to plunging estrogen, which depletes your brain of serotonin, a chemical that regulates mood and sleep. 

To the rescue: Vitamin B6, which is found in fortified cereal, potatoes, bananas, beans, eggs, poultry and sunflower seeds. Two recent analyses of 19 studies—one in the British Medical Journal and one if the journal Family Practice—reveal that women who popped up to 100 mg. daily of a B6 supplement were significantly less likely to be depressed and more likely to enjoy an upbeat mood during PMS than those who took a placebo. The link? Vitamin B6 prompts the brain to produce serotonin, boosting your sagging levels right back up.

For best results, try taking a daily B-complex supplement, since other B vitamins have also been shown to raise levels of mood-lifting brain chemicals, including GABA and dopamine.

[photo: D Sharon Pruitt]

When PMS hits in Week 4 of your cycle, do you get hit with intense cravings for a big bag of chocolate M&Ms, a heaping bowl of salt and vinegar potato chips, or a combination of salty and chocolate snacks? New research reveals the reason: Two separate studies—one from the University of Iowa, the other from the University of California, San Diego—show that chocolate and salt (eaten alone or together) activate pleasure mechanisms in the brain that chase away depression, a common problem women face during their premenstrual week as estrogen and testosterone plunge.

Trying to watch your waistline? Research shows that exercising, shopping, doing your favorite hobbies and spending time with uplifting friends also boost mood-lifting brain chemicals and distract you when cravings hit so you’re less likely to indulge.

Get confused about where you are in your cycle? If so, you’re not alone. A lot of women who I speak with about their hormones have no idea if they’re on Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 or Week 4, let alone which day.

But, knowing where you are in your cycle doesn’t only help you take full advantage of the Daily Hormone Horoscopes, it also helps you predict how tomorrow, next week and so on will be affected by your hormones so you can plan your work, life, family, school, trips, etc., according to your hormones’ influences.

Luckily, it’s pretty easy to figure out where you are in your cycle anytime—even if your cycle is short, long or changes from month to month. Here’s how:

Week 1: Starts on the first day of your period and lasts for 7 days.
What happens hormonally: Estrogen and testosterone rise.
Tracking it is easy: Simply start counting from the day (or night) that you get your period. Start counting even if you don’t bleed a lot on Day 1, since any bleeding is a sign that estrogen has bottomed-out enough to trigger menstruation and that this hormone is now on its way back up.

Week 2: Starts 8 days after the first day of your period, which is Day 8 of your cycle. Week 2 lasts until Day 13 in a traditional 28-day cycle or on the day before ovulation in a cycle that is shorter or longer than 28 days or changes from month to month.
What happens hormonally: Estrogen and testosterone continue to rise and reach their peaks.
Tracking it is easy: You can figure out if you’re thisclose to ovulation by checking vaginal fluid, which becomes slick and thin like egg white to allow sperm to pass through more easily. To double-check, use an ovulation microscope, a reusable lipstick-sized microscope that determines when you’re about to ovulate by measuring the amount of salt in your saliva. When estrogen peaks, so does the salt in your saliva, and that indicates that it’s one day before ovulation. (Your saliva will look like ferns on the microscope lens when it dries.) You can purchase an ovulation microscope at drugstores and amazon.com. (I’ve had one for years and love it. Very easy to use.)

Week 3: This week starts on Day 14 and ends on Day 22 if you have a traditional 28-day cycle or on the day of ovulation if your cycle is longer or shorter than 28 days or changes from month to month.
What happens hormonally: Estrogen and testosterone dip for the first half of Week 3, then rise again until the end of Week 3. Progesterone rises.
Tracking it is easy: Week 3 starts on the day you ovulate. The easiest and most reliable way to determine ovulation is to use a basal thermometer, which measures your temperature upon waking but before you get out of bed.  To use: take your basal temperature throughout your cycle; on the day you ovulate, your basal temperature rises .5 to one degree Fahrenheit. You can find a basal thermometer at drugstores and amazon.com. About one in four women will also feel a dull ache or pinch in one or both ovaries during ovulation, which indicates that your egg or (in the case of me and my fraternal twin sister) eggs are being released. One more clue: Your vaginal secretions begin to get cloudy. That’s progesterone’s influence; as this hormone rises, it makes vaginal secretions thicker and whiter.

Week 4: This premenstrual week starts on Day 23 of a traditional 28-day cycle and lasts till the end of your cycle.
What happens hormonally: Estrogen, testosterone and progesterone plunge.
Tracking it is easy: Week 4 typically starts 8 days after ovulation in a cycle of any length cycle. That’s because the second half of a woman’s cycle is generally a stable 14 days (give or take a day and barring health conditions, stress and other complications). It’s usually the first half of a woman’s cycle that shrinks or expands, determining how long or short your cycle will be in any given month.

Important! I don’t recommend using these cycle-tracking tips as a sole form of birth control. Semen is a particularly hearty bodily fluid and has been shown to survive for up to a week inside your vagina. So, having unprotected sex seven days before or after ovulation can result in pregnancy.

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Two tools to track your cycle:

* Ovulation microscope: Just spit on this lipstick-sized reusable microscope and if your saliva dries into a fern-shaped pattern, you’re about to ovulate, which indicates you’re at the end of Week 2 of your cycle. If all you see are dots, you’re not near ovulation. I’ve used mine for years and show it off to folks like a party trick. Caution: Once you take it out of your purse, everyone will want to try it, so have moist wipes handy to clean the microscope lens between users!Â
One to try: Ovulite, $34.99, amazon.com

* Basal thermometer: Use it to take your temperature before you get out of bed in the morning every day of your cycle. Then, when you see that your temperature has risen half a degree to one degree, you’re ovulating, which means it’s the first day of Week 3 of your cycle. It’s that easy!
One to try: BD Basal Digital Thermometer, $9.29, amazon.com

[photo: +angst]

For decades, women have complained that their hormone contraception was interfering with their sex life, lowering their libido, making it difficult to achieve orgasm or causing dryness or pain during intercourse. And, for decades, many doctors dismissed those concerns.

Now a study of over 1,000 women published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine reveals these complaints were right. According to the results, women taking hormone contraceptives in any form (pill, patch, etc.) are at the highest risk of female sexual dysfunction (FSD), suggesting that the synthetic hormones block your body’s natural sexual response.

Now that doesn’t mean you should go without contraception if you don’t want to conceive. In fact, women using non-hormonal birth control methods (such as condoms and a non-hormonal IUD) were at lowest risk for FSD—more than women not using any contraception at all. The likely reason is that the fear of getting pregnant during unprotected sex leads to stress that understandably makes it difficult to enjoy the intimacy.

I’ll admit that I’m a longtime fan of non-hormonal contraception methods since they allow you the freedom of safe sex without having to put chemicals into your body. I recommend using condoms with spermicide lubricant for short-term partners and the non-hormonal IUD ParaGard for long-term, monogomous relationships. Avoid the Sponge unless you’re using it as a backup method for condoms since it has a much lower effectiveness rate, about 84% to 89%, which is way too low for my liking. And, unless you’re extremely diligent and don’t mind skipping sex on the days in your cycle when soaring testosterone makes it most enjoyable, I’d avoid the rhythm method as well.

[photo: Katie Tegtmeyer]