Cycle Syncing
If you have a menstrual cycle, you may find that your energy levels fluctuate throughout the month. Changes in hormone levels might affect how you feel at different stages of your menstrual cycle. Syncing your lifestyle and nutrition habits with these stages, also known as cycle synchronization, may help balance hormones and give extra health advantages for menstruating women.
If you’re interested in learning more about cycle syncing, what it might do for your body and what health experts have to say on the practice, you are in the right place.
What Is Cycle Syncing?
Alisa Vitti, an integrative nutritionist and women's hormone specialist, coined the phrase "cycle synchronization" in her 2014 first book Woman Code. The strategy entails altering components of your life, such as how you eat and exercise, to help correct hormone imbalances and reduce hormonal symptoms. There is not any scientific research on cycle synchronizing at the moment, but studies suggest that hormone fluctuations impact energy, mood, hunger, and sleep. In fact, one study linked an increase in sweets, junk food, coffee, and a lack of exercise to premenstrual syndrome (PMS), a condition that occurs during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and causes symptoms such as loss of appetite, abdominal pain and swelling, weight gain, nausea, anxiety, fatigue, and more.
Lubna Pal, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Yale School of Medicine, believes that before you decide to cycle sync, you should question why you want to cycle sync in the first place. Are you always exhausted, having significant mood swings, or thinking of utilizing cycle syncing to become pregnant? Pal advises meeting with your doctor to get to the bottom of these difficulties before choosing if cycle syncing is the best option for you.
The Advantages of Cycle Syncing
According to experts, cycle syncing is thought to provide several potential benefits, some of which include:
Feeling more energized
Feeling more balanced and experiencing less mood swings
Making workouts more effective
Providing fertility support and knowing the best time to conceive
Cycle synchronization can assist anyone who menstruates and routinely has exhaustion, poor mood, or mood swings. According to Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, a registered dietitian and author of The Better Period Food Solution, understanding what nutrients to prioritize throughout different phases of the menstrual cycle is extremely useful in optimizing all of these advantages.
Nevertheless, before attempting to reap these benefits through cycle synchronization, it is necessary to first understand the phases of the menstrual cycle.
How to Cycle Sync
To begin cycle syncing, track your cycle, tracking your cycle will help familiarize you with each phase of your menstrual cycle, and to know which phase your body is currently moving through. You can do this by using a calendar or an app like Flo, Clue or Spot On but I always suggest a simple pen and paper strictly for privacy purposes. It only makes sense to modify your dietary intake to better support these normal monthly swings as your hormones, desires, and energy shift during your cycle.
What is Cycle tracking?
Tracking your cycle helps in learning your personal menstrual pattern. By keeping track of different qualities and time during the menstrual cycle you can begin to predict certain patters for use in future changes.
Check out our pervious article titled Womb Wellness for Woman's History Month by clicking the link below for a more in-depth view on beginning to track your cycle.
Supporting Cluster Post to Include: https://www.trulymindful.co/post/womb-wellness-for-woman-s-history-month
By identifying certain nutrients throughout each phase, you may help alleviate or prevent symptoms such as low mood, period cramps, headaches, or fatigue by consuming the proper meals. After you've become acquainted with the phases of your cycle, you can start establishing rules for how to eat and exercise to best support your body during these times. Making changes to your food and exercise routines based on your current menstrual phase. To save time and irritation, women frequently consume the same items on a daily basis. Yet, the varied estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone ratios during the month necessitate various dietary and detoxifying requirements. Shifting up what we consume on a weekly basis is critical to supporting our cyclical body.This can also mean removing or limiting sugar, alcohol, and caffeine, especially during the menstrual phase.Focus on eating whole foods throughout your cycle to help balance your hormones. Eating every 3 or 4 hours can also help you to manage blood sugar levels and avoid cortisol spikes or mood swings.
Resources
“Cycle Syncing: Everything You Need To Know.” Forbes, 10 May 2022, https://www.forbes.com/health/family/cycle-syncing/. Accessed 17 March 2023.
Kay, Carolyn, and Jillian Kubala. “Cycle Syncing: Hormone Balancing, Exercises, Food, and More.” Healthline, https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/guide-to-cycle-syncing-how-to-start#for-nutrition. Accessed 5 March 2023.
Spitz, Anna. “How To Track Your Menstrual Cycle Without An App.” Planned Parenthood, 21 July 2022, https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-orange-san-bernardino/about-us/blog/how-to-track-your-menstrual-cycle-without-an-app. Accessed 5 March 2023.