Hormonology - What your cycle reveals about you

By Hannah Stephenson

Female star gazers who rely on their horoscope to predict the day ahead should forget about the zodiac and concentrate on their monthly hormonal cycle to get an accurate picture.

		So says health writer Gabrielle Lichterman, who has developed a new type of daily horoscope for women, called ‘hormonology’, based on the ups and downs of women’s own hormones. Women aged between 15 and 50 with any length cycle and on any kind of birth control can predict their day and plan their life according to their monthly hormones, she says. “Oestrogen, testosterone and progesterone - three of a woman’s most influential hormones - have a powerful impact on virtually every aspect of her day, including her mood, brain skills, relationships, libido, spending habits, career, diet, energy and health.
Author and health writer Gabrielle Lichterman.

“Since a woman’s hormones repeat the same pattern every cycle, the hormonal influences she feels every day can be easily predicted,” she explains.
The book offers a day-by-day prediction on how women are likely to be feeling and the decisions they should and shouldn’t make, based on their hormone levels.

“Women can capitalise on each day’s strengths, minimise weaknesses and find out the perfect time in their cycle to schedule just about everything, such as asking for a salary increase, picking a wedding date, launching a new business, making an important purchase and even getting a bikini wax.”

On some days your hormones will make you attracted to masculine-looking men with a strong jaw and sexy stubble, while on other days you’ll prefer a more feminine-looking guy. When oestrogen is rising in your system, this hormone revs up the positive feelings which are the trademarks of Days 1-13 of your monthly cycle, she says, including optimism and a desire to have fun.

Oestrogen also boosts your level of testosterone, pumping self-assured feelings such as assertiveness, competitiveness and confidence. When the hormones decline, so do your positive feelings.
Here’s a snapshot view of the 28-day cycle, which begins on the first day of your period.

:: ROMANCE At the beginning of your cycle, you’ll feel affectionate towards your partner, have a high libido and, if you are single, you are likely to fall for a guy more easily. Towards mid-cycle, your eye may be roving if you’re attached, thanks to rising oestrogen and testosterone, while single girls will be most attracted to men who appear virile and career-orientated. At this stage you’re more likely to be attractive to men because your pheromones, unscented chemicals which arouse men, are high. The closer you get to ovulating (traditionally Day 14) the more pheromones your body emits.

Towards the end of the cycle you’ll be much more edgy about your man’s faults, flying off the handle at relatively minor offences. If you’re single, decreasing oestrogen and testosterone undermine your confidence in the latter half of your cycle and can make you feel quite ugly. But a rising libido is urging you to go out and find a man, which may result in you settling for second, or third, best.

:: MOOD

In the first week you’ll feel bright and, while you still get angry, rising oestrogen and testosterone will help you get over it quickly. By the end of your period you will be feeling optimistic, confident and energetic, making you fun to be around.
By the second week you’ll be painting the town red, or at least in the mood to socialise, with increased energy.

By the third week you are seeing life in a more realistic light, seeing situations as they really are rather than how you’d like them to be. You may also experience pre-PMS hormone withdrawal symptoms, such as a down-in-the-dumps mood, weepiness, lack of confidence and temper flares. Progesterone may bring out the nesting instinct in you, as you feel the urge to spend more time at home tidying up and decorating.

But by Day 25 you are as extremely moody, breaking out into spontaneous sobbing, putting yourself down and taking all the world’s problems to heart.

:: MONEY At the beginning of your cycle you are more likely to make impulsive, unnecessary buys due to rising testosterone and oestrogen. But by mid-cycle, when oestrogen and testosterone plunge, that secure millions-in-the-bank feeling disappears as well. Bills begin to worry you and you become concerned you’ll never be able to reach future financial goals. By the third week progesterone has kicked in and is keeping the lid on excited emotions, which means you’ll resist any pushy salesmen, although you may want to buy more home-making luxuries as the progesterone-induced nesting instinct kicks in.

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