People just love to hear about other’s routines, so I thought this would be a fun way to let you in a little bit on mine. I’m not saying you need to be doing each of these things, because the beauty about personal routines is that they work for you, specifically. Take from this what you want and leave what you don’t.

As an herbalist who helps people balance their hormones and recover from burnout, I think it’s important for me to be living what I teach. Because of that I have put a lot of effort into trying different things, and self-experimentation, but there are always a couple things that have stuck around through it all and these are them.

Food Before Caffiene

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, whether you have it a 6 am or noon, it is literally the meal that breaks your fast from the night before. I try to focus on protein and whole foods first, and drink my caffeine after. This helps to keep my body from starting off on a cortisol roller coaster. (p.s. high protein breakfast can also stop carb cravings later in the evening)

Prioritize Sleep

So this one has been said a million times over but the truth of the matter is if you are not getting quality sleep your body doesn’t get a chance to reset every day. This means it can’t remove toxins, regulate hormones, or repair damage from daily life. Over time this can wreak havoc on multiple body systems and make you more susceptible to everything from depression to heart disease. I shoot for 8 hours, but anything between 7-9 hours is great.

Drink Herbal Teas

I’m not just saying this because I sell them folks. Nutrient dense herbs like raspberry leaf, nettle, alfalfa, and oat straw can do wonderful things to help your body maintain peak health. I also try to have some liver support herbs like dandelion root. My usual favorites are After Dinner Chai, Raspberry tonic, and Sinus Ease .

Probiotics Daily

More and more we are learning about how the gut affects so many aspects of health, and hormones are no different. I like to make sure I get natural probiotics every day, through fermented foods like pickles or sauerkraut (I love it with pork chops, and potatoes), or probiotic mocktails. Mocktails are the best because they make me feel fancy, and are easy to do daily. Just add 2 ounces of kombucha or my new favorite Awakened Tonics to a glass with plain seltzer, then add fruit or herbs as desired.

Avoid Snacking

For me personally, I know that snacking is the one place I am most likely to eat processed foods (chips, and pretzels are my downfall). Most processed food are void of nutrients and typically carbohydrate heavy, which can spike insulin (a hormone) and put stress on the whole system. New studies coming out even show the theory of having several smaller meals a day might actually be detrimental (See some here and here).

Conclusion

I’ve been doing these super easy hormone balancing hacks for years now and I have no regrets. Any time I stop doing even one, like when the kids have nightmares, or I get into a snackey habit I almost immediately feel the difference in my body. I’m zapped of energy, I’m crabby, and searching for Doritos at 10 pm. That Jess is not a fun Jess, you don’t want to meet that Jess.

So, if you think you might be having some struggles with hormones try some of these out and see if they help. Already doing some of them? Let me know! I love chatting in email or on Instagram!

5 Easy Habits for Hormone Balance