Cycle Syncing

You might think cycle syncing is complicated, but it's really not. And in fact, I wish I started in my teenage years. Back then, I lived like a man.

I had zero regard for my cycle, and I really didn't pay attention to my hormones or my menstruation or anything like that. I would push myself through hard workouts, even if I was exhausted, even if I was on my period. I was basically doing everything against what my body needed.

Cycle syncing is a concept of living, eating, and exercising in alignment with the four phases of your cycle. The menstruation, follicular, ovulation, and luteal phase. Cycle syncing gives you a framework to align with your hormones.

So in this article, I'm going to share why I started cycle syncing, how you can start cycle syncing, even if you're busy AF, and the mental and physical benefits that I've noticed ever since I've started. So let's get right into this. 

I have always been athletic in my high school years, and the main struggle I would always face every single day is having zero energy to go through training despite feeling like there were weights in my body.

Like, what am I missing? (1:48) And that's when I came across the concept of cycle syncing.(1:51) It was totally new to me. (1:53) Like, I knew nothing about my period because I had relied on the pill (1:56) to tell me when my period was going to come. (1:59) So I didn't know anything about different phases.(2:01) I didn't know anything about different moods (2:03) that you experience because of your hormones level rising and decreasing. (2:07) That's when I really went down the rabbit hole (2:08) of starting to learn about cycle syncing (2:11) and really trying to test it out and see if it made sense for me. (2:15) So I'm not a doctor, but I'm going to try my best (2:17) to explain the four different phases of your cycle (2:19) and break down how long each phase lasts, (2:22) what you can expect throughout each phase, (2:24) and what are the actual changing hormones between each phase.(2:27) And just know that everything I'm about to say (2:28) in this little segment of the video can honestly vary from woman to woman. (2:32) So the first phase is your menstruation phase, (2:34) also known as when you get your period. (2:36) And typically this lasts anywhere from five to seven days.(2:39) This is when your uterine lining sheds. (2:40) Your energy is quite low at first, but near the tail end of your cycle, (2:43) that's when you'll start to feel more energized (2:45) because your period is almost coming to an end. (2:47) So during this time, this is when estrogen and progesterone are at its lowest.(2:51) Then after that is your follicular phase, (2:53) and this is typically around seven to ten days. (2:55) This is when your follicles mature, (2:57) estrogen starts to rise, (2:58) and you'll naturally start to feel an energy and mood lift. (3:01) This is when you start to feel like yourself again.(3:03) Then we have the ovulation phase, anywhere from three to five days. (3:06) This is when your hormones surge, and that's when you release your egg. (3:09) This is really when you get that surge of hormones like LH and FSH.(3:13) A lot of women say that they feel very social, (3:14) they feel like they're glowing, (3:16) their skin feels like it's at its peak. (3:17) They just kind of feel like their best self. (3:19) And then after that is the luteal phase.(3:21) This is anywhere from 10 to 14 days, depending on your cycle. (3:24) So you have very high progesterone, you have a little bit of estrogen. (3:26) Generally, some women report that they feel more grounded, introspective, (3:30) maybe they want to stay at home more, (3:32) maybe they feel a little bit more moody.(3:34) Around this time is when some women also report PMS symptoms. (3:37) For me personally, before I started cycle syncing, (3:39) the luteal phase was the absolute worst for me, (3:42) but I would never understand why. (3:44) I thought something was just wrong with me, (3:45) and that I should just push through it, (3:47) or that I was being lazy, (3:48) or that I was just being not productive, (3:51) and I would like criticize myself internally.(3:53) Once I really started paying attention to the different cycle phases, (3:56) I was like, oh, this is not necessarily me, (4:00) it's the hormones inside of me that are making me feel quite different, (4:04) that are making my energy levels feel different. (4:06) So little things like that helps me realize that, (4:09) hey, maybe I should like stop trying to live like a man, (4:11) and actually just embrace my hormones, (4:13) and embrace my cycle, and live like a woman. (4:16) That's when I really started being able to figure out, (4:19) okay, how can I really create a schedule or a lifestyle for me (4:23) that allows me to live in sync with my hormones and my cycle, (4:27) rather than just brute forcing and hoping for the best.(4:30) You get closer with yourself, you can better serve your body, (4:32) you can better attune to your needs, (4:35) and it just helps your overall physical and mental health. (4:38) So I'm going to break down the four different cycles, (4:39) and within each cycle, I'm going to share exactly how I live, (4:43) what I eat, what I drink, (4:44) and what kind of exercise that I generally like to do. (4:47) But before we even get into how to cycle sync, (4:50) make sure that you're actually tracking your cycle, (4:52) whether it's with a health app like the Apple Health app, (4:56) which I think is kind of mediocre, (4:57) because it doesn't really tell you what day of your cycle you're in.(5:00) There's a lot of other great apps out there. (5:02) The one I like, but it costs money, it's called Lively. (5:05) It's a really pretty app.(5:06) They do have a free version, so you don't get to see all the data, (5:09) but you can kind of see some information. (5:12) They give you tips and things like that. (5:13) Basically, the whole point of tracking your cycle (5:15) is to have a repository of when you get your period, (5:19) when your period finishes, (5:21) and just to log any symptoms that you have.(5:23) So we'll start off with the menstrual phase. (5:25) The first few days, I like to just stay at home, (5:26) because when I'm bleeding, I do not want to be out and about. (5:29) I just want to wear the biggest pants possible, (5:32) the biggest hoodie, and just be at home in a safe space.(5:36) I like to slow down for sure, and I like to shorten the work days. (5:39) So I'm not going to be as much in my grind hustler kind of mode. (5:43) I'm really going to be more inward, just let myself have a bleed, (5:46) and really just focus on sleep, hydration, and eating nutritious food.(5:50) In terms of food, I'm eating cooked foods only during this time. (5:53) So anything like soups, curries, congee, (5:56) lots of protein, lots of healthy fats, good amount of fiber. (5:59) So things like beef, sardines, pumpkin seeds, root vegetables.(6:03) And I'll also drink my flow tea, (6:04) which is a blend of mandarin peel, ginger, and fennel. (6:07) This really helps warm the body, supports my womb, (6:10) just makes me feel nice and cozy. (6:11) So especially if you tend to feel kind of crampy in your lower abdomen area, (6:16) I find that this tea is really great for that.(6:18) And by the way, the teas that I'm talking about in this video (6:20) is actually part of a traditional Chinese tea brand that I'm building. (6:24) So my brand is called Intercode, (6:25) and it is a traditional Chinese tea brand (6:28) that is designed to support each phase of your cycle. (6:30) Right now, I'm in the very early stages.(6:32) I have been documenting how I'm building the brand, (6:35) and I actually just sent out a bunch of free samples (6:37) to some of you guys who wanted to try it out (6:41) and who have shared some of your health challenges with me. (6:43) I'm doing a soft launch this fall. (6:45) So if you want to follow that journey, if you want to try my teas, (6:48) be sure to head over to the Instagram or head on in the link in description.(6:51) I'm going to put a waitlist link there. (6:54) So you can just drop your email there (6:55) and you'll be the first to find out when everything goes live. (6:58) And then in terms of exercise during the menstrual phase, (7:00) I just do long walks.(7:01) I will generally avoid crazy workouts (7:03) because I do not want my pad, my tampon just dangling around (7:08) while I'm doing jumping movements or anything like that. (7:10) Next phase is follicular phase. (7:12) So as I mentioned before, (7:13) this is when you typically have your energy start to rise back, (7:16) your hormones start to slightly increase, (7:18) and this is when we start feeling like ourselves again.(7:20) So during this time, I really like to schedule deep work, (7:23) very strategic work. (7:24) I love socializing. (7:26) I love working on my creative projects (7:28) and basically just back into my work mode.(7:31) I like to eat things that are light and fresh. (7:33) So think a lot of fish, chicken, lentils, chia seeds, (7:37) flax seeds, citrus fruits, leafy greens, (7:40) and still everything is cooked (7:41) because I typically avoid raw foods as much as possible (7:44) just for my personal digestion. (7:46) Berries are also great to start introducing during this time.(7:49) I like to just think of follicular phase as when you're renewing yourself. (7:53) So when I think of that, I think of refreshing foods. (7:56) That's kind of how I remember kind of what to eat during this time.(7:58) And during this time, I will drink my Renu tea, (8:01) which helps with rebuilding the blood after your bleed (8:03) and also clearing over any leftover heat from your menstruation cycle. (8:08) As for exercise, this is when I will start lifting heavy again. (8:11) I'll start strength training.(8:13) I'll do things like running, hot yoga, hot Pilates. (8:15) Then we have the ovulation phase, which is quite a short period of time. (8:18) And I personally find that it's quite similar to the follicular phase (8:22) in terms of my mood and energy.(8:24) For me personally, because I am acne prone and dealing with hormonal issues, (8:28) I find that I might get a surge of breakouts during this time (8:32) because I feel very hot internally. (8:34) And now this isn't true for all women. (8:35) This is just personally something that I feel during this time (8:37) because my hormones are a little bit more dysregulated right now.(8:41) Energy wise, I feel great. (8:42) I feel very stimulated, but sometimes I can feel overstimulated. (8:46) I can overthink a little bit or I can just feel kind of, (8:50) like I'm almost too go, go, go.(8:52) During this time, I like to also make sure (8:53) as much as I'm being very outward and doing things (8:57) and achieving my goals, (8:59) I also like to make sure that I'm having a balance (9:01) and not overexerting myself. (9:04) In terms of what I eat, it's pretty similar to the follicular phase. (9:07) And I actually might prioritize more refreshing veggies and fruits.(9:10) So things like cucumbers or daikon, things like that. (9:14) Very light and cooling. (9:15) Spinach, for example.(9:17) In terms of my tea, I will drink my calm tea. (9:19) This is a tea that is floral based (9:21) and it really helps with soothing my emotions, (9:24) calming down my skin, any inflammation. (9:26) Really great, especially if you're acne prone (9:28) and you find that your temperature gets a little bit warmer during this time.(9:32) And for the exercise, pretty much the same as follicular phase. (9:35) Anything that I'm feeling, I'm usually pretty energetic (9:37) and I feel pretty strong during this time. (9:39) Then we have our luteal phase.(9:40) And this is the longest phase of all the phases. (9:43) During this time, I feel a little bit more introspective. (9:44) So I'll want to focus more on planning work, organizing.(9:48) Sometimes my mood can dip. (9:49) So during this time, I will really prioritize things (9:52) like meditation, breath work, and journaling. (9:54) During this phase, I noticed that I need way more sleep to feel energized.(9:58) So maybe during the follicular and ovulation, (10:01) I can get away with seven to eight hours and feel pretty good. (10:03) But during my luteal phase, (10:04) I definitely noticed that I need like eight to nine hours (10:07) and sometimes even 10 hours and a nap. (10:09) And for nutrition, I am eating a lot of grounding foods, (10:12) a lot of iron, things like beef, fish, magnesium, B6.(10:16) So bananas, chickpeas, and also supplementing if I need to. (10:20) I also noticed that I eat way more during this time. (10:23) I get hungry a lot during this phase, (10:25) and it's because your body is actually using up more energy (10:27) and burning more calories during your luteal phase.(10:30) So it's actually completely normal. (10:32) Before I understood cycle syncing, (10:33) I would actually not let myself eat more during this phase (10:37) because I would be like, oh, why am I eating so much? (10:38) I'm going to eat too many calories. (10:40) I'm going to eat in excess.(10:41) But I realized that was actually just depriving my body (10:44) of nutrients and calories that it actually needed. (10:47) And no wonder I felt so shit all the time during my luteal phase. (10:50) Once I started actually listening to my body, (10:52) giving myself more nutrients during my luteal, (10:54) I actually felt significantly better during my luteal phase (10:58) and got way less PMS symptoms, felt way more energized.(11:01) And honestly, sometimes I felt like my luteal phase (11:04) was like my follicular phase. (11:06) Like I was almost kind of the same person. (11:08) I was like, oh, this is kind of nice.(11:10) I don't really feel moody, tired, and pissed off, (11:12) and low back pain, and all those things that I used to get a lot. (11:15) During the luteal phase, I believe our baseline temperature (11:18) increases anywhere from one to two degrees. (11:20) So I do feel a little bit more hot internally, (11:23) especially at nighttime.(11:25) So I like to bring the AC down to a bit more coolings (11:28) to help me with getting a better sleep. (11:29) Also, the tea that I drink helps with calming the emotions, (11:32) calming the mind, and really helps with cooling internally. (11:35) Because a lot of us get bloated or constipated during our luteal, (11:38) and it's not good.(11:40) You want to be going every day. (11:42) I will still do strength training, but maybe less weight. (11:44) I'm starting to slow down a bit in terms of how hard I push myself at the gym.(11:48) In terms of the changes that I've noticed with cycle syncing, (11:51) it's actually been quite a few. (11:52) So number one is I don't really get PMS symptoms anymore, (11:57) which is kind of weird. (11:58) Because I thought PMS was normal, (12:01) and that every woman was supposed to have it.(12:03) I recently came across this podcast from Chris Williamson, (12:05) where he had Dr. Sarah Hill on his podcast, (12:08) and she's an expert in female hormones, (12:10) and phases of her cycle, and all that. (12:12) So really great podcast if you want to get into (12:14) a little bit more of the science side of cycle syncing, (12:17) and just the different phases of a woman. (12:19) I think she was saying that she believes that (12:20) if women were just living more in tune with their cycle, (12:23) and understood their phases, (12:25) that perhaps they would have less PMS symptoms, (12:27) because we're able to better support our bodies.(12:29) So the biggest thing for me was getting my energy and my mood back, (12:33) and feeling more normal on a day-to-day. (12:35) Like your luteal phase makes up almost half of your entire cycle. (12:39) So if you feel like garbage for half a month, (12:42) that's a lot of time and energy.(12:44) And it's not that we're supposed to be perfect, (12:46) or feel 100% every day, (12:48) but I do think that by living in sync with your cycle, (12:51) you're able to kind of mitigate some of those symptoms, (12:53) so that you can feel more balanced, (12:55) even if you're in your luteal phase. (12:57) Another thing I noticed is that my menstrual cramps were completely gone, (13:00) and I feel like my flow is pretty good now. (13:02) I'm also getting more consistent in terms of the number of days.(13:05) So my period is more predictable, (13:07) more consistent poops, and better digestion. (13:10) And that's probably also with eating more fiber, (13:12) paying more attention to what I'm eating. (13:13) Also with the teas that I've been drinking has really, (13:16) really helped me with bile production, (13:18) with stimulating digestion.(13:19) I also feel way more happier, and calmer, (13:23) and more resilient, if that makes sense. (13:25) Obviously there's a lot of other things that contributed to it, (13:27) but I definitely think cycle syncing helped with my mood, (13:30) and my energy, and just my outlook on my life and day-to-day. (13:33) The biggest shift for me was realizing that there's nothing wrong with my body.(13:37) The hunger that I would get during my luteal, (13:39) the mood fluctuations, the energy changes. (13:43) It's just part of hormones, and part of life. (13:46) And once I started embracing it, (13:48) and stopped penalizing myself for feeling that way, (13:50) or just rotting in bed because I felt like shit, (13:54) I was better able to support my body with food, nutrition, and sleep.(13:57) Almost like giving myself more grace in terms of how I operate, (14:01) has ultimately better supported my nervous system regulation, and my gut. (14:05) If there's one thing you can take away from this video, (14:07) it's that cycle syncing is not about perfection. (14:10) It's just about awareness.(14:11) You don't need to follow a rigid chart. (14:13) You don't have to eat exactly that specific food during that phase. (14:16) You don't have to exactly do that exercise during that phase.(14:19) It's just about checking in with your body daily, periodically, (14:22) and knowing what your body needs based on your energy levels, based on your mood. (14:27) And at the end of the day, the basics is just sleep, (14:29) move your body, eat good food, and take care of your mind. (14:32) That's really what cycle syncing is all about.(14:35) So let me know in the comments if you cycle sync, (14:37) and if you've noticed any benefits from it, (14:38) or if you want to try cycle syncing, and why you want to try it. (14:42) Quick plug, I have a free newsletter that I send out every month. (14:45) And it's just a really fun little snapshot of things that I've learned in the past month, (14:50) whether it's tools, recipes, mindset shifts that I've been going through.(14:54) As I mentioned before, if you're interested in my traditional Chinese teas, (14:58) be sure to follow on Instagram. (14:59) And I'm also gonna be sharing a lot of traditional Chinese medicine tips there, (15:02) cycle syncing tips. (15:03) So be sure to follow there, and also join the waitlist, (15:06) so you can be the first to know when the product launches.(15:08) Everything is linked into the description below. (15:11) Thanks for watching, and I'll catch you guys in the next video. (15:13) Bye-bye.