Syncing your Diet & Exercise with your Menstrual Cycle (Includes video & cheat sheets)

cycle syncing hormone health Nov 20, 2020
 

Hey guys! We are Alaina, Carly and Julie - three sisters and CoFounders of Balanced Beyars Health and the Power of Periodization program. If you don’t know who we are... in our business we like to refer to ourselves as HORMONE HEALTH HYPE GIRLS. We are passionate about empowering women like YOU to achieve PMS-free and predictable menstrual cycles. The way we do this is is by teaching women how to eat and exercise according to the 4 phases of the menstrual cycle (which DON’T WORRY, we’ll give you a mini lesson on that in just a minute)

First things first, did you know that men have a 24-hour hormonal cycle compared to women who actually have a 28-day hormone cycle? Is your mind blown? Women changed constantly throughout the month whereas men actually reset daily!  (INSERT POLL)

We feel like a lot of women experience symptoms such as bloating, acne, mood swings, period pain, heavy flows or missing periods and it’s due to the fact that they just don’t have a good understanding of how their bodies work (which most women don’t) We want to make sure you learn something today to help you better live in alignment with your phases and start living a hormone-happy lifestyle.  

So we’re here to tell you that you are NOT required to be working out the same all of the time, or eating the same way all of the time, or even thinking the same way all of the time. Your hormones are doin’ their natural thaaaang of ebbing and flowing throughout your cycle and when you align your lifestyle with what you NEED during the phases, you can reduce your PMS and achieve predictable periods/flows. 

Let’s tackle the 4 phases menstrual cycle.

We’re going to give you the spark notes and there’s so much to fit. If we’re talking to fast, make sure you stop and rewatch slides if you need to. 

Most women grow up thinking that there are only 2 phases to their menstrual cycle …. Bleeding & not bleeding. 

There are actually 4 amazing phases that all play a part in making your menstrual cycle go round and round. 

  • FOLLICULAR
  • OVULATORY
  • LUTEAL
  • MENSTRUATION

Let’s start with the follicular phase.

This is the phase right after your period ends. It’s kinda like the springtime after a long winter when trees and plants are starting to bud out of the frost…. The follicular phase is about growth and an increase in your hormones (like estrogen) to start your cycle all over again after your period. As women, we feel great during this phase because our energy starts to come back and we feel more jazzy about everything in our life. When it comes to food, stick with light colorful veggies and cooler foods. You can also ramp up your workouts a bit since your body is hormonally ready for more intense workouts. 

Ok so after the follicular phase is your ovulatory phase. This phase is PURE BLISS, ok?

And that’s because this is when our hormones like estrogen & testosterone are peaking, making us feel our most attractive, magnetic, and outgoing.  That’s why we call this the glow phase. This phase is like spring break, but make sure you’re using protection if you don’t want to get pregnant because this is when we’re most fertile. For workouts, nows the time to TURN UP THE HEAT…. You have lots of energy so incorporate lots of HIIT & workouts that jack your heart rate up. When it comes to diet, keep food light, cool, and colorful. Think big crunchy salads, as opposed to big warm grain bowls.

Now let’s move into the luteal phase…. Dun dun dun…. 

This is known as the PMS phase… and if this is you lady, that is a sign that something is off hormonally!!! It’s usually the fact that the ratio of estrogen to progesterone is OFF. But by aligning your life with your cycle, you make some seriously awesome changes to reduce PMS (this is exactly what we do in our POP program).  OK, back to the luteal phase…. This one is long so we like to split in 2. In

  • The first half of the luteal phase, your energy is still going to be riding high from ovulation, so you’ll feel good to continue with strenuous exercise, except you want to switch to more resistance training and less HIIT.
  • Then in the second half of the luteal phase, you’ll notice your energy will start to decline because your hormones are heading down to their lowest points before your period. You want to switch low intensity exercise like barre & pilates. When it comes to food, our metabolism is quicker so we have lots of cravings… sound familiar?

This is when we tend to go off the rails and have a box of brownies. Trust us, that’ll only make things worse. Instead, go for more nutrient-dense comforting foods like root veggies & complex carbs. 

Lastly, MENSTRUATION…. Aka your period.

Every woman knows this one right? We like to call this phase the FLOW phase as your body is shedding the uterine lining that it spent the entireeeee cycle building from scratch.

It’s about 4-7 days and at the start of your period your hormones are all at their lowest point… so this phase is alllll about rest, relaxation, and restoration.

Taking care of yourself is MANDATORY here. When it comes to food during this phase, you want to stick with warm, mineral rich foods that are healing and comforting.  And when it comes to exercise, you want to stick with things that are low and slow like walking, yoga, pilates to keep your body feeling good and easing any discomfort that you may have. But if you’re too tired, don’t be afraid to hibernate a little


WHOA That was a lot of information and you’ve never heard this stuff before, you might be a little overwhelmed. Don’t be afraid to:

  • Reread everything
  • Email us with questions at [email protected]
  • Follow us over at @BALANCEDBEYARS because we talk about this stuff all the time.

Oh and one more thing, our specialty course POWER OF PERIODIZATION (fall 2020 in session) helps women live in alignment with their hormones on a phase by phase basis so that they can kiss PMS goodbye and achieve predictable and painless periods. Sign up for our waitlist below!

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