Cycle Syncing 101: Honour Your Hormones, Feel Your Best

Ever feel like your energy, mood, and motivation shift throughout the month—and you have no idea why? 🤯 You’re not imagining it. In this episode of Sweet Insights, Alison and Amy break down the powerful concept of cycle syncing—a practice that helps you align your workouts, food, self-care, and lifestyle with the natural rhythm of your menstrual cycle. 🌸

You’ll learn: ✨ What the four phases of your cycle are and how hormones shift in each
 ✨ The best types of food, movement, and productivity hacks for each phase
 ✨ Why listening to your body and tracking your cycle can change everything
 ✨ Real-life stories from Alison and Amy on how syncing helped them ditch the guilt and embrace grace 💛

Whether you're still cycling, in perimenopause, or supporting someone who is, this episode offers relatable, empowering insight into working with your hormones instead of fighting them.

🎧 Tune in now and start syncing with confidence!

Transcript

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(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hi, welcome to Sweet Insights with Allie and Amy. Hello, and today we are talking about cycle syncing, working with your hormones instead of against them. And I can't kick off today's episode with something that isn't planned and is not in our notes, because sometimes I'm just inspired to share random stuff that I expose myself to. So I have been really diving deep into my own time management and my own self-care. And I listened to this really cool thing the other day about how self-care has five different parts. And so I don't remember what they are. I should have written them down because when we write things down, we remember them better. But it talked about like your like mental health, like your physical health, your like so different self-care in each of the different areas. And it got me really to thinking and somehow I landed on a YouTube video that gave me an analogy that really, really landed on me of why sometimes it is harder some days to put myself first than other days. And I think this is going to be something really good for each of us as well as our listeners. And so think about this, Amy, if you had like maybe a neighbor or somebody, you know, you don't really like them, like they're not like, you know, your favorite person, you know, I even challenge to say maybe you hate them, but you know, they needed a favor from you and you're like a decent, kind, giving human being. So you're probably going to be like, you know what, I'm happy to help you out because you're just like that. Right. Now at the same time, what if at the exact same time that this person needed something, your best friend who's been there for you through thick and thin, who's shown up in your life, who's had your back, they also need something, which person are you going to help? Okay. But if you knew me really well, one, my neighbors are all awesome. So I'm not, I'm going to pretend this is like, there is like the wrong thing, but in your life. Okay. Um, but if you knew me really well, what I would try and do is figure out to help both people. So if I had to choose one, cause this is the scenario you're giving me, um, I know, um, well obviously you would choose your best friend because they're always there for you. Exactly. So now I want you to think about as your life has changed, as you have entered, you know, you're coming into perimenopause, I know you're not quite there yet, but like, you've kind of had the things in your life and you suddenly now are looking in the mirror and you're like, Oh, you know, and maybe this isn't you, maybe someone else, but you're like, Oh, I don't like this. I don't like how I've gained weight here. I don't like how this looks here. I don't like how these pants fit here. I don't like, I don't like, I don't like, I don't like. Okay. So then we're choosing that, you know, I'm going to eat healthy or I'm going to exercise or I'm going to do X, Y, and Z because I don't like. And then wonder why these habits or changes that we want to make in our life are not sustainable because let's say one day we're going to do a workout or we're going to eat healthy or we're going to whatever, what if something better comes along, what are we going to pick? We're going to pick the better thing, but what if we looked in the mirror and we said, I love myself so much that I'm going to prioritize me so I can feel like, and be my best self. And if we pour that kind of love into the change that we wanted into ourselves, we would be more likely to pick ourselves over the other thing that's tempting us. Absolutely. So that is my little random fact that I came across this week that I thought was pretty cool. And so I wanted to share it with you and now we can move on and dive into cycle syncing. So I don't know how many people know what cycle syncing is. Yeah. I think that if you just said that people may not, I mean, I feel like the majority of female population who have gone through a cycle and understand may know more, but I don't know that either younger females or males would understand what you're saying when you say cycle syncing and maybe females that are in an environment where they don't have many people around them, like not lots of women or children or anything, maybe they wouldn't know. So to kind of start with it, there are different phases of our menstrual cycle, right? So it's broken down into four different stages. And so hormonally, we go through little things in each of those phases. And in a minute, we'll break down each of those phases for you more in depth. But cycle syncing actually works that you would coincide certain things that you eat. Maybe you've heard of something called seed cycling, exercise. I cycle sync when I get my eyebrows waxed because it hurts differently. Weightlifting, you can weight lift heavier at certain points in your cycle. And if you really start to monitor and listen to your body, which is really a prevalent message that we give, is that you will notice that as these hormone changes fluctuate, you know, we can pair that with different things in our life, whether it's exercise, whether it's food, whether it's making big decisions in our lives. Like sometimes we make better decisions at different times in our cycle. And so to kind of, you know, you know, connect those two things can be really powerful and beneficial. And kind of one of the first steps to doing that is really tracking your cycle. And so what we didn't have when we were younger is we didn't have apps that did that. And so there is a lot of different, I don't even know which one I use because I've switched a couple of cell phones ago. I think I switched to a different one. Mine, I don't even know what it's called, but it has a flower on it. There's one called Flow. I don't even think the one I use is called Flow. Mine has this really cute koala. And I really like him. I don't know why, but the koala makes me happy. And so it tells you, you know, what the different phases are. It tells you how many days left until your period's coming. And so you can monitor within the apps, how you're feeling, emotions, symptoms, those kinds of things. So I encourage everyone, if you aren't using an app, get on the app. And I don't use an app and I've never needed an app, but when I was younger, it would have been very cool to have. And recently, just for the purpose of our podcast, I downloaded Flow. So just because it had some information and it specifically said about understanding perimenopause. So for the purpose of scientific reasoning, I have an experiment. And what happens is, is that I found that I wasn't really paying attention, that my cycles were getting closer together. And my cycles were always 31 days, 31 days, 31 days. So I never tracked in an app. And then suddenly I was like, where are you coming from? Like, what is going on? And when I first started having hot flashes, I was able to see that they were literally happening 10 days. I would have a hot flash and I would go to my app and be like, how many days my period comes. And over months, I realized it was exactly on the 10 day mark, 10 day mark, 10 day mark. And so that helped me to identify some of those patterns. And so you kind of take the brains out of it by, by using the app and it's kind of nice that way. And, you know, when I went to the doctors and they were like, well, how long is your cycle? I'm like, oh, it's 31 days. It's 31 days. And I just naturally said that because that's what it always was my entire life. And then I started looking at the app and I was like, it's 31 days anymore. So then that was significant, you know, feedback for me to be like, oh, you know, I just assumed it was still the same and it's not. Okay. So, um, why don't you tell us about the, um, first of the four phases. So your menstrual phase, which is typically days one through five, um, estrogen, progesterone are low. Um, this is when warming foods like soups or, well, you have items like iron rich foods, leafy greens and red meat, but I would argue like warming foods instead of soups, I would be like pasta. That's where I'm going with warm foods. Um, but also this is where it'd be good for gentle stretching and restful movements and yoga and like light activity would come in handy to clarify for people. Those first five days are your bleeding days. And so the reason why we're looking for warm soups and vegetables and iron rich foods like your meat is because we are iron gets depleted when we bleed. So depending on how heavy your cycle is, that ferritin and your iron levels are going to go lower. So we really want to boost that up and have really good iron rich foods. The reason why we want to not have the passes during this phase much is because it's going to contribute to inflammation. So if you're really bloated, if you're really inflamed during your cycle, um, eating the types of foods is going to, um, contribute more to that. It's true. But this is what we crave during this time. If we're being honest and real with people, this is what I crave. It's interesting that you say that because I crave before my cycle and once my cycle comes, I could care less about it. Oh no. Like when I'm on my period, I want all of the junk food, all of the comfort food. Like when I'm on it, when I'm having my period and yeah. Like I would think that like I could do a full day fast when I had my period. Like I don't care. Nope. I don't think there's ever a day where I could do a full day fast. Like let's be honest. Okay. I love you. Okay. Lifestyle. So it's kind of when you want to take it easy, prioritize, like, um, maybe you don't want to have a bath because you're bleeding. But like sometimes those are the days I want the hot shower. I want the heating pads and everything. And I want to just rest. And like, I want to be sleepy. Well, if you've ever read the book, the red tent, that is the whole concept, right? Women would go and congregate together. And it was a relaxing resting time, um, during this space. And so the next phase is the follicle phase, which is day six to day 14. And it's when your estrogen levels start to rise. So this is a great time to, um, incorporate fresh veggies, lean proteins, and light grains. This is the time that you're more energized. I always find that this is the great time where I'm my more creative side comes out. I'm usually enthusiastic. I usually throw out, you know, that's when I feel like a rockstar, I feel like I'm going to conquer the world and, um, you know, lifting heavier at this time, you know, I was, this is when I go and get my eyebrows waxed and I just am like the queen of the world during that phase. And so I always notice this phase a lot because I just feel so good. And I always remind myself that if I'm on like a different phase, that I remind myself that that phase is coming back. Like, I like, it's kind of that whoosh, um, yeah, that's funny. I never relate. I don't think for me, it's, I can't pin it down to day six to 14. You're going to have to watch because you haven't been tracking. I think you're going to start. But I mean, like, no, I guess what I'm saying is I feel like that a lot of the time. So it is like one through 30. Like I feel about 28 days, but like, I feel like it's almost like it's like, you know how you were someone who's always, always busy. Yeah. It's like your ability to handle the busier that week is easier and more productive and get more done than you do in the other weeks. So, but the thing for me is I wouldn't be able to track it anyway because I haven't had a period for a long time. So I wouldn't really know. I'd have to like, kind of really listen to my cycle to figure out where I am because I don't know, which is another reason I don't use an app. So I don't, I don't know. It's very sporadic and random. And if I do have a period, it's usually because, yeah, your patterns will be different. Yeah. And if I do have a period, it usually syncs up with my daughter. Unfortunately, it's just the way it is and it's annoying as heck. But anyway, so, but yeah, so I can't really relate to that because again, for me, you're altering your natural cycle, right? So you're not getting the four phases the same as someone else would. Nope. Um, but then that brings us to our ovulatory phase. So days 15 to 17, um, so your estrogen peaks, your testosterone rises. Um, you can handle some high intensity and social workouts, like HIIT groups or any type of class. Like if you're doing a spin class, that's high intensity. Um, and then some good foods to have, you want your high fiber veggies, uh, lean proteins, antioxidant rich foods. Um, and yeah, like that's kind of when you have ideas and you want to communicate and maybe be in social group settings again. I don't know. Like, I'm not a good example for this because I'm, I never want to socialize. Like I socialize all day for my job. Like, let's be honest. So when I am done work for the day, which sometimes is like 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock at night, I don't want to go anywhere, socialize with anyone. You could say, Amy, do you want to go get supper? And I'd be like, I love food so much, but I don't want to go. Like I will be the person who orders in the food stays at home, sits on the couch and veggies out. That's me. So I appreciate this. And for the people who are like, yeah, I don't feel that way. At least, you know, you're not alone because I don't follow the typical trend, but it's good because everyone's different. Fair. And I also think that there's that component of you being on an IUD, right? You're not getting those same fluctuations. Yeah. Um, and you know, it's funny because like, um, because you're with people all day, right? Like that affects your socializing. I feel the same way because I talk to clients on the phone all day. I don't love to talk on the phone. Like I'm not a big phone person anymore. Um, and so, you know, and in the winter, I don't love going out. So that will interfere with that. But like, let's say we're at a hockey tournament, like I'm going to be the first one to like, go and find out where's everyone hanging out so that I'm like with the people because we're there. Um, you know, whereas I can definitely be a homebody and like watch TV. Um, but there's different times for, for different things. And, um, so I, I've never actually monitored whether I'm more likely to do that during that phase of my cycle or not, but maybe there is a correlation between that. Um, cause there's definitely times where like, I'm more excited to go to a sporting event where I know I'm going to see lots of people than other times. And people who meet me always think I'm an extrovert and I'm very much an introvert. I, um, you know, really, um, find it exhausting and really need to like come home and be by myself to like refuel myself and re-energize myself. That's what re-energizes me for sure. Um, okay. So then the last phase is the luteal phase. And that is when our progesterone rises, estrogen decreases. This is when we're really looking for comforting and grounding foods, um, like our complex carbs and our roasted vegetables. So again, this is where, like I say that I have a lot of those cravings before my period comes, which is, this is that phase of day 18 to 28. Um, so again, um, you know, someone who's on birth control, someone who's on an IUD, those cycles are going to be different, um, because they're not going through those natural, um, cycles in their flow. Um, this is a great time for strength training, um, slow pace activities like Pilates or yoga. Um, you know, it's kind of the winding down time of projects, finishing things that are off your list, um, before that kind of rest period of your period comes into play. Um, so, you know, that's kind of how like cycle syncing works are kind of honoring that cycle period. Right. And so honoring that, like, you know, you might feel different ways. You might have different strengths during different phases of your cycle, because that's always altering things. Um, and it can explain behaviors. It can, um, be explained cravings it can. And so if we're pre-planning, if we're pre-planning our meals, if we're doing things like that, we can also coincide some of that with those things, right? If we're carb cycling, you know, maybe we're going to carb cycle in coinciding with this, um, seed cycling can be something that's really good for people who are having irregular cycles, who are having irregular moods. Um, if that's something that you're interested in, I can send you a document on seed cycling, reach out to me. Um, but you know, it's kind of just a cool way. It's a cool other concept of how to manage those hormones and how to. Function within your hormone changes instead of against them. Um, so kind of as a, you know, replay back takeaway, you know, tracking your cycle, super important, adjusting your movements. So lighter exercise versus stronger, um, around, um, you know, intensity around ovulation, um, you know, changing up what you're doing when you're, um, menstruating, right? Like maybe you don't want to push yourself to lift heavy and maybe that you're honoring your body that way. Um, and so I had a client once who was a very avid worker outer. Um, and she noticed that she was always motivated to work out. She wasn't one of those people like me who needs that motivation. So she started to cycle, sink her exercises. And instead of weightlifting during her cycle, which was causing inflammation, she started just walking during her cycle and her weight shifted huge because she started using those tools. Um, so that can be awesome. Um, and honoring your energy, right? Giving yourself grace in correspondence with those things, right? Like if you don't feel like doing weightlifting during your cycle on that and go for a light walk, don't ignore movement and do nothing. But like, give yourself that grace, give yourself that time. If you're having cramps, give yourself that heating pad. Do those things, um, to make yourself feel good. It is a form of self-care. Um, and kind of looking like, as we talked at the beginning of the episode about, you know, those different aspects of your life where you can give yourself that self-care. And I personally don't ignore movement. I like to move myself from the kitchen with my snack all the way to the couch. It had to be said, I mean, it had to be said, and then when the bowl is empty, you move again to go and fill it up. Yeah. So like there is movement there. It is so good for you. And again, that's mostly because like, if it's not a nice day out or whatnot, like we don't always feel like going out anyway, like the natural, like human being, normal humans don't want to go out when the weather's not nice. So if you can't do that, walk around your house a bit, like maybe do a little light laundry or a little light tidying, if you feel like it. Or like, if you have one of those baskets on your stairs where like, you know, you put the stuff on the basket and then it goes up, you know, maybe you don't use the basket, maybe you go up the stairs each time something needs to be taken upstairs or downstairs or those kinds of things. Um, because you can like just around your house, get tons of steps in. Yeah, absolutely. Um, so my call to action to everyone today is to take note of where you are in your cycle today and think about how that works with the natural rhythm of your body instead of pushing against it. Yeah. And I think that is an absolute good call to action. And again, even for people who are very in tune with their body are not necessarily in tune with their cycle. And just seeing how that, that connection, um, kicks together and, uh, you know, and even if it's something that you use with your, your other people in your life, like your, your daughter or, you know, um, people to see, like to help them as well. So again, if you found this episode helpful, please share it so that we can get our word out there to more people. Um, you know, we talk about things that a lot of women aren't talking about and we want to, you know, make life easier. We want to make it relatable. Um, so that women aren't alone because, um, it's, you know, too often we don't know what's normal and what's not. And so help us, um, get the message out there so that as women, we can stick together. And we're not doctors and we're just giving some experiences of our own and some research that we've done, but definitely share the podcast. Awesome. Thanks, Amy. Thanks. Bye.