{"id":13444,"date":"2025-02-26T23:30:43","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T16:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=13444"},"modified":"2025-02-26T23:30:43","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T16:30:43","slug":"my-honest-take-on-bht-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=13444","title":{"rendered":"My Honest Take on BHT: The Good, The Bad &#038; The Ugly"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>I tried Bioidentical Hormone Therapy (BHT). Here\u2019s my honest take on BHT: The Good, The Bad &amp; The Ugly.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\">Here\u2019s the backstory:<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">Like many of you, I started noticing some early symptoms of\u00a0<strong>perimenopause<\/strong>\u2014nightsweats, headaches, poor sleep, and mood shifts right before my period. But honestly, looking back, it wasn\u2019t anything too extreme. Still, knowing the benefits of starting BHT earlier than later in perimenopause, I decided to give it a try. I found a local practitioner and began using\u00a0<strong>oral progesterone<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>testosterone cream<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">At first, the\u00a0<strong>progesterone<\/strong>\u00a0felt like magic. I slept better, woke up feeling rested, and my body and mood seemed to really love it. But then,\u00a0<strong>just 17 days in, my period arrived<\/strong>\u2014way earlier than usual (typically I run a 26-29 day cycle). Needless to say, I was panicked. Your cycle is a key indicator of overall health, and I didn\u2019t want to mess with it. Before that, my cycles were regular, with pain-free, easy periods. I want to keep my\u00a0<em>natural<\/em>\u00a0cycle as long as I can to maintain the long-term health benefits, like heart health, bone density, and protection against metabolic disease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Then, there was the\u00a0<strong>testosterone<\/strong>. At first, things were great\u2014more energy, a stronger libido, better focus, and even building muscle (I put on 2 pounds in just a few months). But then, things went haywire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">My skyrocketing testosterone was completely\u00a0<strong>throwing off my blood sugar regulation<\/strong>, making it nearly impossible to control my cravings. High testosterone can increase insulin resistance, meaning my body wasn\u2019t efficiently using the carbs I was eating\u2014leading to constant (!!) hunger, energy crashes, and an endless cycle of eating just to feel normal. I\u2019d even wake up starving in the middle of the night, needing to eat just to fall back asleep. During the day,\u00a0<strong>my cravings were relentless<\/strong>, even though I was eating plenty of protein, fiber, and balanced meals. Despite doing all the \u201cright\u201d things,\u00a0<strong>I gained 7-9 pounds since starting BHT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Here\u2019s what I think was happening:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"unordered_list\">\n<li class=\"list_item\"><strong>Testosterone can drive up your metabolism and hunger<\/strong>, making you eat more, while\u00a0<strong>progesterone promotes fat storage<\/strong>\u2014a perfect storm for weight gain.<\/li>\n<li class=\"list_item\">Too much testosterone can<strong>\u00a0impair insulin sensitivity<\/strong>\u2014sometimes within just a few weeks or months\u2014leading to blood sugar fluctuations, intense cravings, and increased fat storage, much like what happens with PCOS. And I was living proof of how quickly things could spiral!<\/li>\n<li class=\"list_item\">With my body struggling to regulate blood sugar, I was caught in a cycle of eating more just to feel stable, yet still dealing with hunger and fat gain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\">On top of the weight gain, I just didn\u2019t feel like myself. I even told my husband, Mal,\u00a0<strong>\u201cI feel like I\u2019m going through a tough time right now, and something has to change ASAP.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0I\u00a0<em>knew\u00a0<\/em>something was off, so I ran some bloodwork\u2026 and the results were shocking.\u00a0<strong>My testosterone was crazy-high at 441<\/strong>\u2014when normal levels for women in perimenopause are only 20-80. It was a clear sign that my body was out of balance, and I couldn\u2019t ignore it any longer.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\">So, what\u2019s next?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\">As I\u2019m writing this, I\u2019ve decided to\u00a0<strong>stop BHT<\/strong>\u00a0altogether.\u00a0<strong>I\u2019ve been off the testosterone for 2.5 weeks<\/strong>, and already I\u2019m seeing improvements in hunger and cravings. I\u00a0<strong>stopped the progesterone more than a month ago<\/strong>, and I\u2019m happy to report that my last cycle was 28 days and arrived with no symptoms (surprise!). I\u2019m back to focusing on the basics, patience, and consistency. After stopping the progesterone, my sleep hasn\u2019t been great, so I added in some\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/us.fullscript.com\/welcome\/carrotsncake\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">slow-release melatonin<\/a>\u00a0before bedtime to help improve it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Here\u2019s the takeaway:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">I love the idea of BHT, but looking back, I realize I may have jumped the gun. This experience made me see that I was already in a really\u00a0<strong>good place with my health<\/strong>. Sure, I had some minor perimenopause symptoms, but I was doing a great job overall of maintaining balance on my own. It really reinforced\u00a0<strong>how powerful the basics can be<\/strong>\u00a0and that I didn\u2019t need BHT after all.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">What I should have done was take a step back and honestly evaluate how I was living\u2014looking at where I could improve my stress management, nutrition, and consistency. Instead of rushing into BHT, I should have focused on making smart, sustainable changes. I\u2019ve learned that when I stick to the basics, they work. And this is exactly the approach we use in Fit + Fueled. We focus on the four pillars of metabolism\u2014mindset, muscle, minerals, and macros\u2014because when you get these right, your body has what it needs to thrive. These fundamentals have served me well, and they\u2019ve helped hundreds of women do the same. Early enrollment opens on\u00a0<strong>2\/27<\/strong>, and you can\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/carrotsncake.ck.page\/be63efa9bd\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>join the waitlist<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to be the first to know when doors open!<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>I\u2019m not against BHT<\/strong>\u00a0(I actually think it\u2019s\u00a0<em>amazing<\/em>\u00a0for many women), but I know it wasn\u2019t the right time for me. I\u2019ll likely revisit it in my late 40s when it makes more sense for my body. For now, I\u2019m\u00a0<strong>focusing on the foundations<\/strong>, which I know will set me up for long-term success and only make any future interventions more effective when the time comes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Have you tried BHT? I\u2019d love to hear about your experience.\u00a0<\/strong>Hit reply and share how it went for you\u2014I\u2019m always interested to learn from others\u2019 journeys!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/carrotsncake.com\/my-honest-take-on-bht-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I tried Bioidentical Hormone Therapy (BHT). Here\u2019s my honest take on BHT: The Good, The Bad &amp; The Ugly. Here\u2019s the backstory: Like many of you, I started noticing some early symptoms of\u00a0perimenopause\u2014nightsweats, headaches, poor sleep, and mood shifts right before my period. But honestly, looking back, it wasn\u2019t anything too extreme. Still, knowing the &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13444\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}