Book Review: Period Repair Manual by Lara Briden
Period Repair Manual Review
The Improving Intimacy book recommendation and reviews are written by Latter-day Saints giving a gospel-centered perspective. This book review is provided by both Kelsey Henry and Julie Burgess. They both have very positive things to say about the “Period Repair Manual” by Dr. Lara Briden. Which is one of our most popular book recommendations.
Kelsey Henry says:
I give this book 5 stars!! I learned about Dr. Briden's research from my parents, who attended the Rocky Mountain Sex Summit in November 2019 where she was the keynote presenter. The first thing that caught me about what my parents were sharing was her claim that hormonal birth control (The Pill and hormonal IUDs, mostly), is majorly messing with women's health. I have been struggling with anxiety for most of my life, and it's been pretty bad recently. I also have very bad excema. I of course I wondered if those were among one of the many issues caused by hormonal birth control. I wouldn't describe my "wonder," however, as a hopeful one that looked forward to more information. No, when I read what my parents were sharing, I was quite upset. "Well, I'm screwed." I thought. "So it's either have all these terrible health issues or have children when you aren't planning on them. Great." If that's your initial reaction to the information Lara is sharing, never fear! This book will help you understand your options.
While the book is titled "Period Repair Manual," another title for it could be "Join the Period Revolution!" It talks about more than just PMS and bleeding. I learned what women's health should ideally look like, from everything to period regularity, to diet, to emotions. If you've ever wondered about birth control and its effect on your body and emotions, I highly recommend this book! A few dollars is a GREAT investment in your overall health, and she freely shares loads of research as well as the very same methods she uses with her clients. A period is a vital sign of a woman's health, and Dr. Briden is here to teach you why, along with HOW to help your period be what it needs to be. You'll learn about her approach to all types of periods: non-existent, late, early, heavy, painful, mid-cycle bleeding (yes, it's a thing), and many more. She talks about PMS and getting rid of the stigma that being "hormonal" is bad, as well as the notion that your periods don't have to cause such bad PMS that it prohibits you from enjoying your normal daily activities. She teaches you why and how to love your period. If that seems totally crazy, but you'd like to give it a try, read the book! I wish I had known about it sooner and now I feel strongly I should share it with every woman!
Julie Burgess Says:
You know how when your heart is searching for answers, they come at you from many different places at once?
When I started this blog, it was because I was in search of something that worked. And I thought I'd found the answer in the Paleo lifestyle. Unfortunately, over the years, that success didn't last. No matter how carefully I crafted our Paleo meals, I was gaining fat. So, I turned to macro counting. And for a while, that worked -- until it didn't.
I wasn't sure what was going wrong. I had my bloodwork done. I worked out harder. I increased my protein and decreased my carbs and fats. I weighed and measured and tracked.
BUT I WAS ALWAYS HUNGRY.
I was incredibly frustrated. I felt that someone who works out as hard as I do, who eats as healthy as I do, should be lean and strong. My body fat should be lower. If anything, I should be able to maintain, not watching the number on the scale and the measuring tape go up -- not getting too big around the waistline for my clothes. In addition, my digestive troubles had returned. My trouble with constipation became a daily battle, despite all the vegetables and the fluid intake. I worried that it was out of my control, due to my menopausal body. Or maybe my estrogen patches were to blame. Or perhaps there was an unseen problem, linked to my family history of diabetes and hypothyroidism, and breast cancer. But I didn't want to be doomed to a pudgy middle! I want the way I look on the outside to reflect the things I feel are important on the inside.
Last month, we brought all our kids (and one grandkid!) together for Thanksgiving. I had a great conversation with my son-in-law (Ballerina's husband) about nutrition. He asked lots of questions with great enthusiasm. One of the things he asked struck me deeply -- he wondered what I would change about my current eating habits if I didn't have such strict restrictions on my macros. My answer wasn't that I wanted to sit around eating chocolate or chips or ice cream. I just wanted to add a piece of toast with breakfast. I wanted to not be afraid of oatmeal. I wanted to be able to eat an entire piece of fruit, instead of only being allowed to eat half. Most of all, I wanted to stop feeling hungry all the time. My meals were tasty, but not satisfying. It never felt like enough food.
During that week, Ballerina talked with me about intuitive eating -- about honoring my body's hunger, and not being afraid of food. I was nervous about that, but there was something in the idea that gave me hope.
Then I started reading Period Repair Manual, by Lara Briden. Even though I've had a hysterectomy, I found her book riveting. My uterus and ovaries were removed in 2008 due to endometriosis. There wasn't much research to guide me to other alternatives then. But I thought perhaps her research could still help me.
I started to think about the fact that the human body is remarkably self-healing, with the right circumstances. A few years ago, I cut off the tip of my finger while chopping chard. The doctor at the ER stitched it back on, but my exit instructions weren't very clear. I thought I was supposed to keep the ointment and gauze on my finger until I came back for stitches-removal. I changed the dressing each day, but I kept it carefully bandaged and splinted for two weeks, as I believed I'd been instructed. After two weeks passed, my finger was just as gross and soft and unhealed as the day I cut it. The nurse who saw me told me I was supposed to expose it to air. She told me to come back in a week, and to leave the bandage off. In just a couple of days, my mushy finger started to heal. It was pretty yucky looking for a while, and the nerves still aren't 100% the same, but I didn't lose my finger.
Could I create the right circumstances for my body to heal? Why is it storing fat? Why isn't it eliminating waste? Why am I hungry all the time, in spite of eating plenty of satisfying protein and vegetables?
Dr. Briden writes:
Hunger is normal, natural, and healthy. Hunger is how your body gets the nutrition it needs ... Don't fight your hunger. Instead, honor it by giving your body substantial, satisfying meals.
Later, she cautions against viewing certain foods as dangerous:
Please do not fall into the trap of becoming too rigid or fearful of food. That can lead you into a downward spiral of undereating or being afraid to eat out or visit friends.
It was as if she were speaking directly to me. She goes on to discuss the need for carbohydrates:
You deserve to feel satisfied and be fully nourished. As a woman, you need more food than you've been led to believe.
The more I read, the more I realized -- I haven't known how to create the right circumstances. Armed with better information, perhaps now I can. I'm all done measuring and weighing and tracking my macros. I'm all done feeling hungry all the dang time. Ignoring hunger is not a virtue. Hunger is your body's signal that it requires fuel. Starches are not evil. Potatoes and oats and bananas are not scary foods.
Over the past couple of weeks, I've been nervous that I would pile on the pounds now that I'm not restricting my food intake. But it hasn't happened. I feel happier. And I feel hopeful.
