The Balanced Hormone Solution

Ep 46 Cycle Wisdom: What Your Period is Trying to Tell You

• Tracy Rickstrew • Season 1 • Episode 46

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đź’ˇ Episode Summary:

Did you know you can bleed without ovulating?


This week, we’re digging into one of the most misunderstood aspects of women’s health: your menstrual cycle as your fifth vital sign. Most women have never been taught how to spot the signs of ovulation—or why it matters so much beyond fertility.


If you’re dealing with heavy periods, mood swings, burnout, or feel like your body is out of sync… this episode will change the game. Because ovulation isn’t optional—it’s essential.


You’ll learn:

  • Why getting a period doesn’t automatically mean you’re ovulating
  • What anovulatory cycles are—and how they can silently sabotage your health
  • The hormonal benefits of natural ovulation (hello, progesterone!)
  • How to track your cycle and confirm if ovulation is actually happening
  • Why each ovulatory cycle is like a deposit into your long-term health


Whether you’re still cycling or approaching perimenopause, this episode is a must-listen for any woman who wants to understand her body—not just manage her symptoms.


🔍 Resources & Links Mentioned:



📣 Share this episode if…

You have a bestie who’s tired of hearing “your labs are normal” while her body feels anything but.

You’ll be the friend who gives her actual answers.



✨ Quote Worth Sharing:

“Your symptoms aren’t random. They’re messages. Let’s decode them.”



📲 Connect With Me:

  • IG: @tracyerinwellness
  • TikTok: @tracyerinwellness
  • Website: tracyerinwellness.com


Speaker:

Welcome to the Balance Hormone Solution Podcast. If you're a woman 35 plus feeling exhausted, struggling to lose weight, and wondering where your libido went, this is for you. I am Tracy Aaron, a functional medicine practitioner who helps women balance their hormones naturally. Without prescriptions, guesswork, or trending Nonsense.'cause here's the truth, your symptoms aren't random. They're signals. And if you know how to listen, you can fix the root cause and start feeling like yourself again. If you're ready for real solutions, let's get to it.

Welcome back to the Balanced Hormone Solution Podcast. I am your host, Tracy Erin, and today we are talking about cycle wisdom, what your period is trying to tell you. So would you believe me if I told you that most women don't know if they are actually ovulating? I want that to sink in and I'm gonna repeat it again because it truly is that important. Most women don't know if they're ovulating. This isn't a small detail. It's truly foundational to our entire health picture as a woman. But here's the thing, you maybe have been told that, Hey, you got your period, so you must have ovulated. But here's the truth, you can bleed without ovulating. It's called an anovulatory cycle, and it's more common than you think. And that my friend is the problem because without ovulation, you're not producing progesterone. And without progesterone, your body misses out on a whole host of benefits. All the things that beautiful progesterone brings into our life, like calm and sleep and mood stability, metabolism, our breast health protection, bone health, the list goes on and on and on. So considering everything that progesterone does in our body, and if we're not ovulating, it is a sign of low progesterone. This whole. Crescendo of the monthly cycle called ovulation. It just truly is not optional. The way I look at it is that it's your monthly deposit into your long term health bank account, and that's how I want you to look at it too. So your menstrual cycle, it's more than just a countdown to your next period. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology actually refers to the menstrual cycle as your fifth vital sign, and that's because it's telling you how your hormones are communicating in your body. It's letting you know if your stress is too high, if your body is nourished, and if your systems are running as they should. I mean, think about this gift, right? Most women, the period, the monthly cycle, it all has a reputation, right? Ant flow. You know, everybody has nicknamed their cycle, some sort of annoyance or nuisance in their life. But what if we began to look at our cycle as like a temperature reading or a thermostat, right? Um, or the, uh, the, the check engine light. Of our female health. What if we looked at our monthly cycle as a way to understand how we were doing so you didn't have to go years and years and years and wonder how your hormones are doing? You had a monthly check telling you whether or not you are right on track. Or getting a little bit off base. If you think about your monthly period like that, what if it could actually be something that we could look forward to, and it could be something that could confirm for us the daily decisions we've made, the 30 days prior actually are in our best interest for our best health. Okay, so let's go through the cycle just really briefly, like how it breaks down and how we delineate one day from the next. Because we go through three different distinct phases throughout the month. So the first phase is called the follicular phase. This is starting day one. The day of your period is the follicular phase, and it is going up until ovulation. Ovulation is the next phase, and this is the main event. The crescendo really is the perfect term for it. When you think about a symphony building up to a beautiful release. And then bringing the energetic and the emotions back down to something peaceful and calming. This is what happens on a monthly basis in the female body. So after the ovulation phase, we have that last and third phase, the luteal phase. This is post ovulation, and this entire phase is powered by progesterone. But the big thing I really want you to know is that ovulation is the center of it all. So no ovulation means no true luteal phase, which also means no progesterone. So let's break down what this an. Ovulatory cycle really means. So let's talk about the opposite though. First, in an ovulatory cycle, you produce estrogen leading up to ovulation. So your follicular phase is being dominated by the hormone estrogen. Then you're getting the surge of progesterone after that egg is released. Okay, so after ovulation in the la that second, the last two weeks of your cycle, the luteal phase, this combo is supporting like that brain mood, balance, sleep quality, heart health, bone strength, metabolism, even insulin sensitivity. But let's compare what I just described to a cycle in which you did not ovulate an anovulatory cycle where you made the estrogen but you never ovulated. Okay, so no egg. Means no progesterone, which means none of those benefits that I just listed for you. So eventually you are still going to bleed, but it's not a true cycle, and this is what we call a withdrawal bleed. If there is no luteal phase, there is no hormonal. Balance and listen, you can get your, your period every 28th day, every 30th day and still not be ovulating. So. Please don't just coast on the curtails of a calendar that shows up for you month after month after month, and ant flow arrives on the same day that you expect her to. It doesn't mean that this fifth vital sign that is so important to giving you signals about your hormonal female body's health is in check. So again, if there's no luteal phase, because no ovulation, there truly is no hormonal balance. So what does this look like in our bodies? This can lead to heavier, more painful periods, can lead to moon swings, anxiety, those estrogen dominant type symptoms. This is where we get weight gain or inflammation in the body. Increased long-term risk of osteoporosis or even breast cancer because progesterone is that protective hormone. And yes, it's true ovulation really is that important.

Speaker 4:

Perimenopause got you. Feeling like a hormonal hostage. Your period's unpredictable. Your sleep's trash, your mood's, a mind feel, and no one prepared you for this. Enter the Balanced hormone solution. My 90 day program for women, 35 plus who are done guessing and ready to feel like themselves again.'cause we test not guess. We detox, rebalance, and get your hormones and your life back in check.'cause you're not broken, you're just burned out. So let's fix that. Head to tracy erin wellness.com and let's get started.

So how do you know if ovulation is actually happening? Right? So your body is dropping you clues every single month, and here's what to look for. There's a couple different ways. One is by checking your basal body temperature every morning you can start usually around day seven to 10, look for a temperature spike and. The remaining temperatures, the last two weeks of your cycle should stay above your baseline. That is proof to you that you are making enough progesterone, you likely ovulated, and with those higher temperatures, it's showing that you are truly in the luteal phase, especially if you continue to take those temperatures and you notice a drop on day one of your period as estrogen begins to come in. Another thing to look for is cervical mucus changes. Now this can take women a lot of practice to get very familiar with what their body is trying to tell them. Now, uh, you know, it can get very confusing for a young woman who's just getting her period, who's starting to understand how her. Body has various amounts of, uh, and colors and scents and all kinds of different types of discharge, and it all kind of feels like, wow, this is cervical mucus every single day of the month. But it's not true. There is only one type of cervical mucus that we would consider. Ovulatory mucus, or another way to refer to this is fertile mucus, and this is the type of mucus that you could stretch between your fingers, like egg whites. It's going to be very slippery, very clear, and you could sometimes get at least an inch in between your fingers, all the way up to 4, 5, 6 inches. This is the mucus where. Is only found around the day before, day of and day after ovulation. And that is because that is the type of mucus that is most, um, accessible and hospitable to sperm. And so the whole crescendo of the reproductive, um. System in our body, right, is that we would, the reproductive system root word there being reproduced. That is the primary role. Now, thankfully, all of our hormones have secondary roles as well, but. If we think about all of these signs giving us clues to procreate, to reproduce, then this change in cervical mucus, it's becoming more hospitable to the environment of conception. A third sign is a positive LH surge. Now, oftentimes we need a test. This you can't know, you don't necessarily have signs in your body. What I find is that the best way to go about this is to order LH surge strips off of Amazon. You get them very much like you might order a bunch of pregnancy, um, sticks that you pee on in the morning, and when you get a double line, you know that you have positive ovulation. So that double line. Uh, at a pregnancy test, we're testing HCG, but in a LH surge test, we are testing luteinizing hormone because luteinizing hormone is going to be the strongest, the 24 hours before ovulation. So you can begin to use these strips the day that your period ends, and you can see if you get a double line. From the day your period ends until day one of your next period, did you ever produce a luteinizing hormone surge? This is a cheap and effective way to find out whether or not you're ovulating. These sticks are pennies on the dollar. They're easy to keep in your bathroom, you do a first morning catch, and there's really no barrier to actually using this method to find out whether or not your body is ovulating. The fourth sign though, that we can look for, and this also takes a little bit of detective work and some self-awareness, is that we generally have increased libido, and this is'cause nature knows what it's doing, right? As I said, the primary role of our reproductive organs is that we would reap or reduce. So around the time of ovulation, we're going to have surges of libido. Desire Arousal's gonna come easier. All of this is going to be happening for that primary purpose. So if you have that finetune it to your body, you might notice that there are certain days of the month where you feel more aroused and that generally is gonna line up. When ovulation is happening in your body, a more rare sign is something called middle schmertz, and that's like the ovulation pain. You might find it on the right side or the left side, generally around the location of where your ovaries are. And this is thought to be like the actual release of the egg, although it could happen hours afterwards or even a day later. But some women really swear by the cues of their own body that they felt. Even the moment that they ovulated and have they used other types of measures that I'm discussing right now to check for and assess for ovulation, they find that they actually were correct. So that is one way to build your own intuition and trust in yourself is to check, use data, use external things to actually see whether or not what you think is happening in your body is what's actually happening in your body. There's one other sign too that we can use, and that's the position of our cervix. So again, because we have primary and secondary roles of these hormones in a primary role, our cervix is going to go higher. It's going to soften, and it's going to slightly. Open around the time of ovulation. So I remember a midwife telling me long time ago when I had, when I was pregnant with my firstborn, she had said to me, you know when the cervix is ready to conceive, when it feels like your lower lips. So go ahead and take your um. Your index finger and your thumb, and just pinch your lower lip in between those fingers, and you'll see that it's very gummy and flexible and soft. Right? That's how the cervix will feel around ovulation when it's ready to be open And to receive now, she said go ahead and take your pointer finger and touch the tip of your nose. Go ahead and do that. Do you see how different it feels with that cartilage right there? It's a little bit more stiff, a little bit more firm, and you don't notice a whole lot of pliability and openness with that. That's how your cervix should feel every other day of the month. So with these signs, right, we've got basal body. Temperature, and this requires a specific thermometer. This is not the thermometer that you're using to check temperatures when you have a fever, but we've got basal body temperature, we've got cervical mucus changes, we've got the positive LH surge, we've got increased libido, we've got that ovulatory pain. And lastly, the cervix position shifts. These signs are subtle. But they are very, very powerful. And the more you utilize them, the more comfortable you begin to get with checking the signs of your body and listening to what it's trying to communicate to you. So my message to you is to start tracking, start listening, start learning. What is true for your body growing up? We're all told that ovulation happens around day 14. That is not the case for the average woman. Some have an ovulation around day 10, some day 17 and 18, and guess what? All have normal ovulatory cycles, so truly is in your best. Interest to find out if you are ovulating and when you are ovulating, and what signs is your body giving you to prove to you that it is ovulating. So why does this matter long term? Right. Well, one of my favorite quotes from a hormone researcher, Laura Weschler, she said this, she said the most important thing going into menopause. Okay, so this is later in life, is to do whatever you can to maintain ovulatory menstrual cycles for as long as possible. Do you ever think about that? That a normal ovulatory cycle is not only just a sign of your health, but the more that you have it is deposits in your bank of health for the future.'cause here's the deal, every ovulatory cycle is a vote. For that future health, it's a monthly investment in strong bones, in healthy metabolism, in cancer protection, in clear thinking, in emotional resilience, even after menopause. The cumulative benefit of regular ovulation lasts. It truly is like a deposit into your longevity account. Now, another time we'll talk about how common birth control pills are prescribed on young and middle aged women alike to deal with hormonal imbalance. How wrong that is. But one of the reasons why it really messes up the body is because it puts you into a pill bleed. It puts you into an anovulatory cycle. So imagine what it would be like for years after, years after years of getting your period every 28 to 38, 30 days believing you're having ovulatory normal healthy cycles. When the opposite is actually true, you are stealing from your future health. When you are not ovulating on a daily or on a monthly basis, this routine of this cycle is absolutely important. So if you're still cycling, if you're of age, if you are premenopausal cycle, while you can have a normal. Natural cycle. And listen, there's only one way to know whether or not you are, and that is to test track it. Learn to track it. Learn how to protect it, learn how to support it. This is not just about fertility, right? It's about our full body, long term hormone fueled vitality. So France, your period is talking, your ovulation. Is leading this conversation. So let's stop ignoring this conversation and let's start decoding these signs. Okay? Your body is brilliant. We can help her thrive. Okay? So until next time, I will see you on the next episode of the Balanced Hormone Solution.

Speaker 5:

That's it for today's episode of the Balanced Hormone Solution Podcast. If this resonated, don't just listen. Do something about it. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you know another woman who's tired of feeling like a stranger in her own body. Send her this way for more support. Check out the show notes. I've got resources to help you get started. Just remember, your body isn't broken, you just need the right tools. See you next time.