How to Naturally Balance Hormones, Fix PMS, and Boost Metabolism for Women

In this post

I’m going to show you how you can balance your hormones, fix PMS issues and period issues, optimize your metabolism—and all of that naturally.

Introduction

We’re going to break this down into several parts so you can start today. I’ll also talk about some common symptoms and walk you through what I do with my clients to help you take control of your health and feel your best.

I’m an integrative health coach, hormone coach, strength and conditioning coach, and I’m certified in nutrition. I help active men and women fix their hormones, optimize their metabolism, and improve their health so they can build lean muscle, boost fat loss, regain energy, and perform at their best.

There’s a free eBook you can download (link in the description) that goes through all of this in more detail.

1. Food

This is where it should always start. One of the biggest issues I see in women is low-carb diets.

• Your body needs carbohydrates to create sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone).

• When you go low-carb, it signals a threat to your brain. Your body downregulates sex hormones and up regulates cortisol.

• This leads to low progesterone, which causes:

  • Short luteal phases

  • Insomnia

  • Anxiety

  • Acne

  • Mood swings

  • Breast tenderness

• These symptoms often point to estrogen dominance (even if estrogen is low—it's about the ratio to progesterone).

Another issue: under eating calories and protein.

• Active women need 0.8–1.2g of protein per pound of lean body mass (or goal weight).

• Protein is essential for liver function and hormone balance.

• Not enough protein = your body breaks down muscle for amino acids (catabolic state).

Also, blood sugar dysregulation:

• Comes from skipping meals, fasting, or eating low-carb.

• Leads to higher cortisol and hormone imbalances.

• Every meal should include:

  • Protein

  • Complex carbs

  • Healthy fats

Solution: Balance your meals. Ditch keto, low-carb, intermittent fasting (especially around workouts), and fasted cardio.

Get a saliva or urine hormone panel, not a blood test, to accurately measure hormone levels (which is what I use with my clients).

2. Exercise

Are you doing:

• Long cardio?

• Fasted cardio?

• Strength training?

Issues with too much cardio:

• Adds stress to the body.

• Combined with under-fueling → increased belly fat, high cortisol, poor insulin sensitivity.

• Doesn’t help with metabolic adaptation.

Strength training:

• 3x per week minimum

• Focus on heavy compound lifts (6–8 reps): squats, deadlifts, lunges, presses

• Benefits:

  • Builds lean muscle

  • Improves blood sugar regulation

  • Supports estrogen (which declines with age)

  • Increases bone density

  • Reduces stress

  • Aids fat loss

3. Stress & Sleep

• Aim for 6–8 hours of sleep nightly

• Sleep restores your adrenal glands (where hormones are produced)

• Chronic sleep deprivation leads to:

  • High cortisol

  • Immune breakdown

  • Weight gain

  • Mood issues

Practice mindfulness (e.g., breathwork):

• 5–10 minutes a day

• Focus on belly breathing to activate parasympathetic nervous system

• Calms the body and balances hormones

4. Gut Health

Gut issues can show up as:

• Yeast infections

• UTIs

• Oral thrush

• Acne

• Skin rashes

• Allergies

These can be due to:

• Gut imbalances (candida, SIBO, dysbiosis)

• Estrogen dominance

• Blood sugar instability

• Processed foods, sugar, dairy, gluten

Solution:

• Eliminate processed foods

• Balance blood sugar

• Consider a metabolic test (urine-based) to identify gut bacteria imbalances and use targeted herbal antimicrobials and probiotics to treat them

5. Supplements (Last Step!)

Only use supplements after fixing food, exercise, sleep, and gut health. Otherwise, they won’t absorb properly or help.

Key supplements:

• Targeted Probiotics (specific strains for specific issues)

• Active B Complex (methylated forms that support neurotransmitters, stress, energy)

• Vitamin D3 + K2 (fat-soluble—test levels first!)

• Magnesium:

  • Citrate (AM)

  • Glycinate (PM—helps with sleep)

• Omega-3s (EPA > DHA)—anti-inflammatory, supports metabolism, anxiety, blood sugar

Less is more. Test before supplementing. Personalized approaches yield the best results.

Conclusion

Start with:

1. Food: Protein, carbs, fats at each meal.

2. Exercise: Strength training 3x/week.

3. Sleep: 6–8 hours nightly.

4. Stress: Mindfulness and breathwork.

5. Gut Health: Eliminate triggers, test and treat.

6. Supplements: Only after foundational fixes.

If you need help, I offer personalized protocols. Start by downloading the Free Integrative Hormone & Metabolic Reset Ebook here.