Eat, Move, Work: How to Sync Your Life with Your Cycle

28 Days of Decoding Your Body: The Hormone Balance Challenge 🕯️🍵🕊️ Day 6-7

So I’m just coming off my period and I woke up feeling like…

• The bloat is finally easing up

• My energy’s slowly creeping back

• I’m actually excited to get back to the gym

And nope, it’s not a coincidence or just happenstance

It’s because my hormones are rising again, I’m back in my follicular phase, and my body has way more capacity right now.

This, my friends? This is the power of cycle syncing ✨

Low-impact but long hike in nature? sounds like the perfect Luteal Phase trek

Let’s clear something up.
Cycle syncing is not some “woo-woo” trend and it’s not a rigid set of rules meant to box you in.

At its core, cycle syncing is about body awareness.
It’s about learning to listen and actually honor what your body is asking for, week by week. So consider this your crash course.

We’re breaking down how to know where you are in your cycle, what’s happening under the surface, and how to actually work with your body…not against it

Because believe it or not, this can influence:

• metabolism (how much food you actually need)

• exercise capacity (when to go hard and when to take it easy)

• energy

• sleep (yes, sometimes we literally can’t catch zzzs for a reason)

• mind and mood

• social battery

whereas a 60 minute sweaty, lifting session with burpees? yeah….don’t recommend in your luteal phase unless you want to feel cranky and exhausted

Today’s Hormone Balance Action Steps:

💪🏼 Action Step:

• Start your day with 5–10 minutes of meditation (bonus points if you do a cycle syncing version)

✍🏼 Reflection: energy givers vs. drainers checklist

The 4 Phases of Your Cycle

So our cycle is broken up into 4 main phases:

• Menstrual phase

• Follicular phase

• Ovulatory phase

• Luteal phase

Pst: if you’re on an IUD, you can still practice this :)

Psst. if you’re on the pill, this likely won’t mean much for you. But if you want to get in the habit of cycle syncing anyway, you can count the “menstrual phase” as your period and go from there - but note that you do not actually have these phases.

Menstrual Phase 🩸

Days that you bleed (days 1-5)

🫰🏼 The Gist: you’re on your period so chill the f out

🍵 Hormone recap: hormones (like estrogen and progesterone) are at an all time low.

🧠 Mind + Mood: Energy is often low but not in a bad way. Think reflective, connected, intuitive

🥬 Food: Focus on blood building foods to replenish the blood loss, like meat, animal protein, dark leafy greens, etc. We also love seaweed for an iodine boost here.

pro tip: go for cooked soups, stews and dishes that are easier on your system and warming

🪫 Social battery: prob low-medium low. See people and women that get ya

👟 Movement: Take it easy and rest above all else. Incorporate some gentle movement, like a walk or some yoga, which can help with period cramps and pains

📓 Activities: journal, release, take a bath, stay inward

🌿 Extra Tips: ginger, magnesium and dark chocolate can all help with PMS and cramps

Follicular Phase 🌼

from end of your period to ovulation (days 5-14)

🫰🏼 The Gist: you’re probably gonna be feeling pretty good right about now

🍵 Hormone recap: Estrogen (and testosterone & FSH) are on the rise

🧠 Mind + Mood: Energy is rising so mind and mood feel good and creativity is soaring. The estrogen and testosterone start building up your confidence

🥬 Food: Focus on complex carbs and veggies; bring in cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts and lots of vitamin C (lemon, limes, citrus)

🪫 Social battery: rising!! Go hang with your girlfriends and paint the town red

👟 Movement: You’ve got it. Cardio capacity and strength training are up. Hit the gym hard my girl

📓 Activities: socialize, network, create

🌿 Extra Tips: if you start to experience breakouts around this time, go for some spearmint tea

Ovulatory Phase 💋

ovulation window (days 14-18)

🫰🏼 The Gist: libido is up and you can get pregnant

🍵 Hormone recap: Estrogen and LH peaked

🧠 Mind + Mood: Energy is high, confidence is soaring, and you’re able to hyperfocus

🥬 Food: Lighter meals can satisfy our appetite; focus on anti-inflammatory foods like berries, salmon, cruciferous veg

if you breakout during this time, it’s because of that estrogen-histamine-testosterone connection. Focus on cruciferous veggies to help with detox and bring in spearmint tea

🪫 Social battery: so high my girl. Go on a date night. You’re prob feeling a little frisky

👟 Movement: High energy = high ability to crush that work out. Go for the HIIT, Barrys, etc.

📓 Activities: date night, connection, and implementation (just go for it…whatever “it” may be)

🌿 Extra Tips: great time to put yourself out there, host a party, or advocate for yourself in the office

Luteal Phase 🎢

~2 weeks before your period (days 18-28)

🫰🏼 The Gist: your body and hormones are on a rollercoaster, so hold for the ride

🍵 Hormone recap: Progesterone (and estrogen) rise and then fall.

🧠 Mind + Mood: Mellow and sensitive - take good care of yourself

🥬 Food: Higher protein meals with an extra focus on potassium rich foods like potatoes, banana, avocado, squash, coconut water, etc.

Pst: you literally need more calories during this time. So don’t judge your hunger but honor it. Go for consistent, high protein balanced meals to get ahead of cravings

🪫 Social battery: dwindling. Spend time with “safe” people that won’t rile you up

👟 Movement: Shorter workouts that are more moderate in intensity like that 20 minute mat sculpt class

📓 Activities: meditate, reflect, self-soothe

🌿 Extra Tips: PMS is really common, and often a result of high estrogen or low progesterone. Focusing on the food guidelines can do wonderrrsssss, along with bringing in some seeds for support

Okay so Now What?

If you’re reading through this and you’re like….okay this is overwhelming. Take a breath. This isn’t meant to be implemented like rules.

This is meant to offer guidance to how to listen to your body

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt snappy before your period? ✋🏼

Raise your hand if you’ve ever broken out in the ovulatory phase? ✋🏼

Raise your hand if you’ve felt exhausted during a workout you were able to crush the week prior? ✋🏼

See? You’ve already been tapping into the “what” - now with the “why” we can learn “how” to actually support these things

So for now, maybe you start with just observation. Maybe you start with just some gentle food guidance, eating warm foods on your period and lighter meals mid-cycle. Or maybe you just take note when scheduling workouts so you can be more mindful of your energy.

Or, if you want to start here, we’ll being by easing and supporting our nervous system and mind during our cycle

Put It Into Practice:

Okay, so we’re getting some help from Open here as they literally did the work for us and created a breathwork x meditation x movement guide for each phase of your cycle

Meditate for 5-10 minutes each morning based on where you are in your cycle

It’s that simple. We know you’ve been wanting to slow down your morning anyway, so this is your invitation

How to do it

1. If you haven’t already, down Open and their cycle syncing meditation (pst: I gotchu you a code so it’s free for this whole month while doing this challenge)

2. Find our where you are in your cycle

3. Post morning water with lemon (okay, maybe post coffee if you’re struggling with pushing it back too much) do one of the Open meditations/breathworks

4. Notice how you feel

So now in your line up you have….

1. Drink water with lemon within 30 minutes of rising

2. Take 5-10 minutes to meditate

You’ve got this 💪🏼

I just did this one this morning…

Time to Reflect:

Okay so this is one that I actually do with a lot of my clients…and when I continuously go back to myself.

I find it to be the most important journal entry you’ll do

So maybe post breathwork, take a moment with your journal and really dive in