a little over a year ago, I received concerning bloodwork results that began my unexpected fertility journey. I received results that my hormone detecting ovarian reserves was in the “very scarce,” range making it statistically unlikely that I would ever be able to conceive naturally. I will be turning 40 this year, and this news was/is tragic and also stirred up a lot of questions about my lifestyle, stress and my hormones in general. what was working? what wasn’t?
In general, my yearly bloodwork remains in the functionally optimal range, I eat clean, I don’t drink alcohol anymore, I work on nervous system regulation and I exercise regularly. What gives?
it was the stress, y’all, and that stress threw my hormones in a frenzy.
I was also hearing the newest buzz word of “cycle syncing” and “eating for your hormones” floating around in the wellness world and it made me wonder- what could I be eating differently to help support my hormones throughout the month?
yes, it’s a thing. and yes, it works. Let me tell you about it…
what is cycle syncing?
one of my fave functional medicine doctors, dr. will Cole addresses cycle syncing as a way to holistically balance your hormones.
He defines “cycle syncing is a practice that involves aligning your daily activities, diet, and exercises with the various stages of your menstrual cycle in order to optimize overall hormone health. The idea behind cycle syncing is that since women’s hormone and energy levels fluctuate throughout their menstrual cycle, supporting these changes with lifestyle adjustments, can help women manage the symptoms associated with each phase while healing any underlying hormone imbalances.”
He says, “Between coming off birth control, poor diets, increased toxin exposure, and heightened stress, there are more factors in our modern world working against women’s hormone health other than championing it.” I can’t agree with this statement enough.
a woman's four stages:
menstrual (the let’s nap phase): the menstrual phase is the beginning stage of 4 stages in a women’s monthly cycle. a “normal” monthly cycle is 28 days although this number can vary- my cycle is 24 days. The menstrual stage is comprised of days 1-5 of this monthly cycle. this is the stage where women usually feel kinda blah and prefer being relaxed and around the house due to lower hormonal levels.
follicular (the let’s travel the world phase): the follicular stage is the second stage of the cycle falling after menstruation and before ovulation falling on days 5-14. this is the stage where women usually feel optimal energy-wise as fell as more self confident and adventurous due to elevated estrogen levels.
ovulatory (the let’s snuggle phase): the ovulatory stage is the third stage and is when ovulation will occur. this is when a women’s body is most fertile for conception and the short window each month to become pregnant- on days 14-17. it’s common for women to have a higher libido and feel more emotionally connected as their body is literally preparing for conception with a rise of estrogen.
luteal (the everything annoys me phase): this is the stage where pms symptoms like tender breasts, breakouts or mood swings and a “kill all the things” mentality can be common with many women. it’s the longest stage of our cycle lasting days 17-28 and a stage that I personally struggled with at times.
after giving birth to my son almost four years ago, I became a lot more triggered in this stage. feelings of hopelessness and loneliness came a lot more often than I would like to admit. although these symptoms are very common, they are not normal and a sign of a hormonal imbalance. If pregnancy does not occur, progesterone levels drop, leading to the onset of menstruation.
foods to eat in each stage?
this is my ongoing list of food items that are specifically helpful in each stage. let me know if I’m missing any of your faves!
menstrual (days 1-7): Foods that are rich in iron, vitamin C, and magnesium can help with the menstrual phase: blueberries, buckwheat, chia seeds, cashews, dark chocolate, flax seeds, ginger, kale, kidney bean, mushrooms, seafood, spinach.
follicular (days 7-14): Foods that can help with hormone balance, energy levels, and overall health during the follicular phase include: avocado, broccoli, cacao, cashews, chicken, citrus, eggs, oats, oranges, oysters, kimchi, kiwi, peas, peppers, sprouted beans/grains, rhubarb, trout, turkey.
ovulatory (days 14-17): iron and B & C vitamin-rich foods to help boost ovulation are necessary including: butter, chard, collagen, eggplant, lamb, legumes, lentils, melon, quinoa, raspberry, red meat, spinach, sunflower seeds, strawberries, tuna.
luteal (days 18-28): complex carbs, fiber and healthy fats are imperative in this portion: apples, beef, carrots, caffeine-free, chickpeas, pears, pumpkins, radish, rice, sweet potato, walnuts.
In addition to eating for my cycle, I also have a daily warm lemon water first thing in the morning to help eliminate any toxins as well as a daily raw organic unpeeled carrot and two Brazil nuts with lunch to help balance estrogen levels.
how I integrate the foods in:
this is my process for meal planning and integrating in foods for my cycle. every Friday morning, I look at the week to come. I see what days of my cycle i’ll be on, (from my period tracker app), and will record those down.
next, I will plan out my meals for the week as normally. you can still incorporate all your favorite meals and recipes. I will then look at the list of hormone helping foods for the days of my cycle, and will simply plug them in to my set dinners, lunches or snacks.
for example, let’s pretend you will be in days 8-12 of your cycle- the follicular phase. I would make sure that chicken, turkey and beans are prominent proteins in most of my dinners. next, I would incorporate veggies like broccoli, peas and peppers into my meal plan. If I was already making a Chicken stir fry, I would simply add in peppers and broccoli.
snacks are also a simple way to incorporate hormone helping foods. it can be just as simple as snacking on avocado rolled with deli turkey, or some kiwi and oranges with greek yogurt, or some cacao powder in your fave smoothie recipe!
what about exercise?
according to Dr. Will Cole, each phase is also a good time to focus on different activities to support the changes in your body.
Menstrual phase: During menstruation, it’s common to experience fatigue and low energy levels. Instead of trying to hype yourself up, take this as an opportunity to prioritize rest and self-care. But that doesn’t mean that all movement should be avoided. Gentle exercises like walking, yoga, or stretching help to promote blood circulation, relieve cramps, and reduce stress.
Follicular phase: As estrogen levels rise during this phase, you’ll likely experience a dramatic increase in energy, stamina, and strength. This is the time to incorporate higher-intensity workouts such as strength training, HIIT (high-intensity interval training), and cardiovascular exercises.
Ovulatory phase: For most women, ovulation is when your energy levels and performance are at their peak. Use this time to try challenging yourself with exercises that push your endurance and focus.
Luteal phase: As your progesterone levels rise during this phase, you’re more likely to experience mood swings, bloating, fatigue, and other symptoms that aren’t conducive to wanting to work out. Low-impact exercises like yoga and Pilates are great during this phase since they offer additional stress-reducing benefits while being easy on your body.
a sample week for me:
here is a sample week of eating for my luteal phase. I thought this phase would be the most helpful as a first example as many women experience most of the negative symptoms here. This particular week fell on days 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 1 & 2 for me which was the last stretch of my luteal phase and beginning of menstrual. my hormone helping foods for the week are bolded.
Monday: day 20- dinner was chicken larb bowls with walnuts with turmeric rice cooked in bone broth. I also had pears with almond butter for a snack.
Tuesday: day 21- dinner was comfort food for NYE- paleo orange chicken bowls with cashews and gf potstickers. I also sipped on bone broth before dinner and had apples with almond butter with lunch.
Wednesday: day 22- dinner was shepherd’s pie with beef and pumpkin puree in the filling. I served it with an arugula salad with pears.
thursday: day 23- dinner was my stuffed beef poblano & rice skillet finished with avocado and radish.
friday: day 24- dinner was my grain-free fried chicken bites with mashed chickpeas with bone broth and steamed broccoli.
Saturday: day 1 of cycle- finishing luteal leftovers. moving on to menstruation foods. had some dark chocolate after dinner and prepped wild blueberry chia seed puddings.
sunday: day 2 of cycle- dinner was my cheesy crunchy beef & bean tacos with kidney beans subbed in. I also had a wild blueberry & chia seed pudding for dessert.
let me know if you want a follow up with the other three stages! i hope this post has provided some inspiration to perhaps begin working on eating for your hormones, too. keep me posted your journey. xoxo- callie
*disclaimer: i am not a doctor, nor do i claim to be. i’m just living proof of these things changing my life.*
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