Processed powders, period timing, and being “too healthy”
“Do you still recommend protein/collagen powders even though they’re processed?”
Yes, I do! The biggest piece of finding a place of moderation and true health is to listen to the signs of your body. I spent multiple years avoiding all processed foods and experienced lots of health concerns and side effects. As I worked my way to a place of balance, I reintroduced some processed foods as I needed to. So for example, I was really lacking protein in my diet. I started including many types of meats, but sometimes, I didn’t want to eat much, wasn’t in the mood, or had to run out of the house. Protein powder and things like beef jerky helped so much. I’m always aware of how my gut feels, my cervical mucus, my sleep, my energy, and my basal body temperature are responding and I adjust accordingly. I have found that using the occasional processed food has done nothing but further me into better hormonal health (and I know this by tracking my symptoms and data). I encourage you to do the same to find the appropriate balance.
“My period was a few days late last month and a few days early this month. Is that a problem? Does it technically mean that my period is on time?”
Your period “resets” every time you bleed. Every first day of a bleed is considered day 1, so while it's good to look at your overarching data from cycle to cycle, each cycle in itself is responding to its own section. Look at the data in that first month. You can be late for a number of reasons (alcohol, stress, travel, changes in diet and exercise, etc.). Then the next cycle was a bit early. I would be curious about when ovulation occurred and then take a look at how long the luteal phase was, which is the time period after ovulation until the next bleed. It tends to be that shorter luteal phases mean lower progesterone levels which can also be brought on by stress levels emotionally, physically, and nutritionally. Most girls are able to improve their progesterone levels with natural remedies like increasing their protein.
“Is it possible to be ‘too healthy’ to recover your period?”
Yes! But let’s be clear, many healthy habits can actually push you into being unhealthy; so it’s not actually that you’re ‘too healthy’ because in this case, you wouldn’t be healthy anymore. Especially girls who have suffered with disordered eating in the form of orthorexia, this idea hits home. As someone who suffered with orthorexia, I was obsessed with reading every single health fact about the foods I was eating. I wouldn’t eat anything that wasn’t clean and extremely close to a whole food. I insisted on eating at home as much as possible. I kept track of calories. I avoided all alcohol even at social events. I had such a health regime that I was stressed out emotionally which then bled into nutritionally because I was frequently avoiding a lot of foods. I always felt like I was one donut away from disaster and therefore had many health rules to keep me in the right way. My heart rate was extremely low, my body fat was very low, and so was my weight. All of these, according to everyone else in society, means that you’re as healthy as can be. You’re only as healthy as your hormones are. So if you find yourself in this kind of a place, I would definitely start looking at your habits and releasing a few at a time; measure your success with your basal body temperature.
