Support During Your Cycle Phases

Let’s discuss how to support yourself during both Follicular and Luteal phase

The benefits of supporting yourself in each phase:

• Take advantage of each phase
• Better understanding of yourself
• Customize your lifestyle during each phase

Your Follicular Phase: is the first day of menstruation and ends when an egg is released to signal ovulation. These are days 1 (first day of menstruation) through day 14.   Think of yourself as having a fully charged battery.

You may experience:

• More energy
• Better athletic performance
• Lower appetite
• Generally, more extroverted, and ready to tackle challenging projects (especially as you approach ovulation)

Support your increase in estrogen by:

• Adding more cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, cauliflower)
• High-quality proteins
• If your hormones are balanced and you are not in a stressful season, time to load up on those HIIT classes or endurance training sessions
• Add in 1 tbsp. of flax and pumpkin seeds daily (we love seed cycling!)

 

Your Luteal Phase: is day 14-28 (28 days is an average length). This begins after ovulation. Think of the luteal phase as a time to recharge your batteries.

You may experience:

• Lower energy
• Less confident
• Increased sensitivity and lower mood
• Slower gut movement (more constipation and bloating). We especially like to track this with our 1:1 clients.
• Less extroverted
• Increased appetite
• More cravings (yes that chocolate craving is real, girl)
• Damning your follicular self for packing your calendar

Support your estrogen metabolism and rise in progesterone by:

• Adding more cruciferous vegetables (it’s a theme)
• Balancing your blood sugars with fibrous carbs, healthy fats, and high-quality proteins
• Increased gentle/restorative exercise (less HIIT)
• Add in tbsp. of sunflower and sesame seeds daily
• Make sure you are having regular poops to secrete excess estrogen (more on this later)

Want to enhance your experience?

• Start tracking your cycle
• Start taking your basal body temperature
• Find your Goldilocks amount of exercise. Too little or too much can exacerbate hormonal symptoms
• High quality sleep is underrated
• Stock up on greens and fiber. Pooping helps remove excess estrogen (it’s one of the ways we detox estrogen)
• Stress management – we can’t stress this enough. There are many options find what works for YOU

 

Things to consider:

• A normal cycle is roughly 28 days but some can be longer or shorter
• Painful PMS and/or heavy cycles are not normal – At PPW are very vocal about this
• Try reducing (or eliminating) alcohol and caffeine 1 week prior to your period
• You can have a period without ovulation
• Your gut health and hormone health go hand in hand
• Tracking your basal body temperature is another way to monitor your phases
• Your menstrual cycle is a vital sign 

We know many of you struggle with conditions such as PCOS, irregular periods, or endometriosis. These recommendations can still help and give your body a gentle nudge in the right direction.

Wishing you Health + Happy Hormones

 

 

Noticed something is off? Reach out to us at: info@perfectlyportionedwellness.com