You know the drill: One day you're kicking butt in the boardroom, the next a puppy chow commercial reduces you to tears and your hormones are calling all the shots. Wouldn't it be great to predict your PMS and beat your body at its own game?
Now you can. Hormonology is a method of planning your life according to your hormone cycle, says Gabrielle Lichterman, author of 28 Days: What Your Cycle Reveals About Your Love Life, Moods, and Potential. Written much like an astrology manual, the book is actually based on hundreds of interviews with endocrinologists and on scientific studies linking hormonal changes in the body to behavioral changes in the brain during the menstrual cycle.
"Estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone have a powerful impact on a woman's mood, brain skills, relationship, libido, spending habits, career, diet, energy, and health," says Lichterman. "Because the rise and fall of these hormones follow the same pattern in healthy, menstruating women, we can predict what effect they will have on any given day."
Day 9
Good day to ask for a raise. Your confidence is soaring thanks to surging levels of estrogen and testosterone.
Day 22
Tackle big issues today. Peaking progesterone keeps you calm in any crisis.
Day 24
Estrogen and testosterone withdrawal has left you moody and anxious. Boost serotonin by carb-loading: Indulge in whole-wheat pasta or bran muffins.
