Hormone Balance and Appetite, Metabolism and Blood Sugar Regulation

When I say hormone balance, you, like most people , probably start thinking about  menopause, PMS, loss of libido  and other female issues.  Yet there is so much more, and often these “female hormone”  imbalances are caused by imbalances in what I call the “survival hormones”.

I never really thought of myself as a hormone specialist because I don’t concentrate on female issues.  Sure I see my fair share of menopausal women and help them balance their hormones.

I specialize in helping people restore their energy, overcome fatigue and  thyroid imbalance get their blood sugars in balance. And, because of my own personal success with cleansing and detoxification, I am really successful with using detoxification with all my patients and clients.

Then one day, it hit me.  I do specialize in balancing hormones.

Only it’s not limited to the sex hormones.

Making Friends with your Survival Hormones

When I’m working with someone who is fat, foggy and fatigued and has symptoms of female hormone imbalance, I often start with what I  have come to term the”survival” hormones. They are the hormones that are vital to our day to day functions and have daily rhythms. Not to say I don’t deal with the sex hormones, which tend to have a monthly cycle. Those are vital too. And they are intimately related to the day to day hormones.

 I’ve observed that there’s a huge misconception when it comes to hormones – what they are and what they do. And there’s especially a lot of confusion about how to bring them into balance.

SO I have planned a series of articles  to educate you about your hormones and empower you to nurture them and love them into balance.

In each article you’ll get a “Hormone 101″ look at the hormone of the week – its function, what can go wrong, how to test it and a few tips on how to bring it into balance.

The how to bring it into balance part is a lot more complex than I can can cover fully in a short blog post, so I’ll point you in the direction of where you can find out more – a book, a recording, an in-depth article or a coaching program.

Hormones in this series

• insulin – blood sugar balance
• adrenaline – quick burst of energy in fight/flight situations
• cortisol- sustained support of fight/flight situations
• DHEA- growth and repair, immune system support and recovery from illness
• pregnenalone – precursor for all other steroid hormones
• thyroid – metabolic rate
• leptin – appetite and fat burning
• ghrellin – appetite
• growth hormone – stimulates fat burning and lean muscle growth, repair
• melatonin – promotes deep sleep
• progesterone – promotes growth of uterine lining in reparation for pregnancy, inhibits tumor growth
• testosterone – promotes male features – muscle strength, facial and body hair
• estrogen – promotes female features, supports ovulation and regulation of female cycle

These are just one liners on the function of each hormone. They are oversimplifications and generalizations. just to give you a idea of how they work together.

My goal is not to turn you an endocrinologist but to put you in charge of your own body so you understand how your day to day choices effect how you feel and how your hormones dance with each other.

A few highlights on what this series will cover:

• How when you’re stressed, your adrenals secrete the hormone cortisol goes up and DHEA goes down, leading to increased insulin production and fat accumulation around your waist
• how very low calorie diets inhibit the enzyme that converts the thyroid hormone T4 to the active form, T3, thus decreasing your metabolism and causing you to gain weight rather than lose it.
• As men age, the hormone testosterone  decreases and more of their testosterone gets converted to estrogen, which naturally slows fat burning ,
• How estrogen slows fat burning and increases fat storage as a part of facilitating fat storage in preparation for fertility, birth and lactation.
• how high levels of insulin, released when you eat sugar and many high carbohydrate foods,  suppresses growth hormone and leads to increased fat storage.
• How eating close to bedtime suppresses your natural growth hormone surge at night, leading to increased fat storage.

There are lots more gems to be shared, including information about leptin and ghrellin, gluten intolerance and autoimmune diseases and their effect on your hormones

Please Post a Comment Below and let me know what hormones you’d most like to learn about.

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

The Power of Appreciation for Restful Sleep Dr. Ritamarie’s Gratitude Journal Day Revisited

Last fall, 2011, I started an Appreciation Journal where I successfully shared my appreciations every day for 30 days. Feeling inspired by the results, I planned to continue to share my feelings of gratitude and thanks once a week.  Well, as all good plans sometimes do, that one fell by the wayside as my “Busyneess “  took over.

Being recently brought back to the understanding of the importance of gratitude and sleep, I started a 30 day sleep journal, and was reminded about how many people were helped by the gratitude journal.

So beginning today, I’ll combine gratitude with my sleep journal.

The Sleep Journal will officially be renamed the “Sleep and Gratitude Journal”

If you’re looking to experience more energy, health and joy, join me on this appreciation journey and watch magical things unfold.

Comment below with 3 things you appreciate today.

And if you want a super sleep boost, before you fall asleep each night, take a few long slow deep breaths and place your right hand over your heart.  Breathe in deep appreciation for a person, place, event or thing in your life.  Experience the joy of that place, and pour your appreciation into it.

Continue to hold the thought, the image and the feeling as yu gently drift off to sleep.

Dr. Ritamarie’s Appreciations for Today

1. I the lovely spring weather that began on Sunday, after three days of rain to fill the reservoir.
2. I appreciate my amazing team that support me in getting my message of health and healing out to the world.
3. I appreciate my glucose meter, which has guided me to identify how my bad sleep habits have effected me and helps me to choose the foods and activities that keep me in balance.

For more information about how to use a glucose meter to get your blood sugars balanced and have the pleasant side effect of increased enenrgy, a flatter tummy and a sharper and more focused mind, take a look at my B4 Be Gone Program that starts soon.

I do so love to read all your appreciations, so let’s get them coming again.

With Great Love and Appreciation,

Dr. Ritamarie

Go ahead, give yourself an energy boost. Comment below about what you appreciate today.

Optimizing Melatonin for a Sound Night’s Sleep: Dr. Ritamarie’s Sleep and Appreciaton Blog Day 4

We sprung the clocks ahead, which means I got out of bed at 11, not 10 as I thought.  I went to bed at midnight.

That means I slept 10 hours.  Congratulations me.

I was full of energy all day, went for a 3 mile run and got a lot of work done.

But there are so many more things I was planning to do.

One critical piece was not working and it needs to be before tomorrow .  SO I stayed up longer than expected trying to fix things.  Urg….

Today’s Sleep Tibbit

Melatonin is a hormone that promotes deep sleep.

To help you fall asleep more easily, turn down the lights beginning no later than 9PM.  Read or do other activities that don’t require bright light by candle light.  Turn off the TV and computer within an hour of bedtime.  Within two hours of bedtime would be even better.  This will increase melatonin.  Melatonin has been found to protect against estrogen related cancers.

Dr. Ritamarie’s Appreciations for Today

1. I appreciate the lovely spring weather that began on Sunday, after three days of rain to fill the reservoir.
2. I appreciate my amazing team that support me in getting my message of health and healing out to the world.

I appreciate my glucose meter, which has guided me to identify how my bad sleep habits have effected me and helps me to choose the foods and activities that keep me in balance

My Sleep Commitments for Tomorrow:

1. In  bed, lights out by midnight
2. No food after 8 PM

I’ll keep trying til I get it right then increase the challenge

What Sleep Commitment are you ready to make? 

Write your comments below

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

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Burn Fat While you Sleep: Growth Hormone Tidbits for Dr. Ritamarie’s Sleep Commitment Blog Day 3

I am happy to report that after going to bed at almost 2 last night, I did indeed stay there for 8 hours.  I woke up at 8 feeling ready to go, but because I committed to 8 hours, I fell back to sleep until 10.

I am doing much better tonight.

After I finish writing this, I am off to sleep so I can make my adrenal glands happy.  It’s 10:56.

One day I will truly follow the healthy habits to balance sleep and hormones that I teach in my B4 Be Gone program for balancing blood sugar and getting rid of belly fat, brain fog and burnout. Skimping on sleep is a sure fire way to give yourself adrenal fatigue.

It’s not that I don’t believe in the value of sleep, it’s just that, like I said on Day 1, I have an addiction and I am working on breaking it.

I am also realistic and aware that it might take a little time and a few falls off the horse.

SO I plan to offer you, my readers, tidbits of important information about sleep and it’s value to us as humans, and also that I might be reminded and stick to my commitment.

Growth Hormone and Sleep

Growth Hormone is secreted by your pituitary gland and is the most important hormone to regulate the rate of fat burning and lean muscle building.  It’s sometimes called the anti-aging hormone, or the fountain of youth hormone.

Growth hormone levels peak about an hour after you fall asleep.  That means you get maximum lean muscle building and repair of vital body parts in the first couple of hours after you fall asleep.  Assuming an 8 hour sleep cycle, you can have 3-4 growth hormone peaks during the night.  If you go to bed past midnight, you miss the first peak which is the highest.  If you eat before bed, you mis the first growth hormone peak entirely because insulin is in your system.  Avoiding food during the last 3 hours before you fall asleep is one of the primary tenants of my  B4 Be Gone System and can quickly lead to weight loss and waking up more energized in the morning.

Listen in for details about Growth Hormone HERE

My Sleep Commitments for Day 4:

1. In  bed, lights out by midnight
2. No food after 8 PM

What Sleep Commitment are you ready to make? 

Write your comments below

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

Dr. Ritamarie’s Sleep Commitment Blog Day 2

I didn’t do so well today.  The main reason is I had a critical email to send and it took me about 3 hours to write.

I sent myself a test to check it out and to my dismay it was back  almost to where I had started 3 hours before.

I had no success retrieving it so I had to start all over.

Now that it’s sent I am going to bed.

It’s 1:51 which is almost 2 hours later than I planned.

However it’s Saturday, so if I sleep til 10, I will have gotten 8 hours of sleep.

Baby steps.

No time today to include a sleep tidbit, other than to mention a hormone called Growth hormone that is at it’s best in the early hours of sleep.

More on optimizing it tomorrow.

What are you willng to commit to regarding sleep habits? Comment Below.

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie