In The Flo

It's been a minute since I've written a new post. The last four months I had an excessive amount of free time. Obviously at some point life had to return to semi "normal" so I'm now back at work full time with a little less free time. Man, it feels good to be back and into a routine though. Over the past year I've become completely obsessed and passionate about holistic health and wellness. I realized how important it is to nourish and take care of the one and only body you'll ever get. My husband and I went grocery shopping on Saturday and we got in a little tiff because I made a really big deal about needing 100% grass fed beef burgers and they didn't have any in stock. I was being a total brat but like it's important. Brian obvi doesn't share the same passion for whole food products or grass fed beef. He prefers big macs and chili dogs which is totally fine. I just made sure we have good life insurance for him. Kidding, kind of. Thankfully he's a pretty calm husband and is very good at letting me be me. He just calls me a hippie fairly frequently. Anyways, moral of the story, he said he's never grocery shopping with me again which I feel totally fine about. Crisis and grocery store fights averted. I recently discovered Alisa Vitti who is a women's hormone expert and I'm so obsessed with her. I wanted to do a little recap of her book In the Flo as I find it to be super helpful, especially for people struggling with acne (my favorite thing to talk about) and hormonal issues and imbalances. I was on birth control to control my horrible periods and bad skin for years before I really realized how horrible it is for you. Hormonal birth control (IUD included) can deplete acne preventing nutrients, mess with your gut mircrobiome and once you stop taking it, testosterone will typically flare up making acne worse. People also commonly take birth control for hormonal issues, but anytime we treat hormonal issues with pharmaceuticals we only temporarily address symptoms. We don't actually get to the root cause. Alisa touches on all of this in her book and created the cycle syncing method. She was able to completely reverse her PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) naturally through this method. It's all about syncing the four different phases of your cycle with the proper diet and exercise for each phase. I recommend downloading her app My Flo to effectively track your cycle. This has made a huge difference in my body and skin as I decided to go off birth control six months ago. As women we have four different phases, the follicular, ovulatory, luteal, and menstrual. In each of these phases we need completely different things. We shouldn't be eating the same things, having the same exact routine or doing the same workout every single day. Our hormones are at all different levels in each phase. We need to focus on proper nutrition for our hormones based on the phase we are in. In the follicular phase your hormone levels are beginning to rise so eating fresh, vibrant, and light foods will help you feel more energized. Focusing on those phytoestrogen foods (like flax seed) will help mimic the body's natural estrogen. You want to stay away from phytoestrogens when you already have high levels (like in the second two phases of your cycle) but in this first phase it can be balancing. Some other foods included in this phase are chicken, and trout. A lot of vegetables and sprouted foods such as sprouted oats. Focus on adding in probiotic rich foods in this phase as well. Think kimchi, vinegar, and sauerkraut. This phase and the foods in this phase help set the stage for ovulation. The next phase you will enter is the ovulation phase. Your estrogen surges during this phase which means your mood should be stable and you should have abundant energy. Something to take note of for people who struggle with acne is that if you aren't feeding your body the proper nutrients to support your body during this phase, your estrogen may surge too high resulting in excess estrogen and acne. Chinese medicine deems this phase the hot one. This means your body can sustain the most raw foods. Fill up on raw veggies like red bell peppers, tomatoes, leafy greens, and fruit filled with fiber (which helps flush out excess estrogen). Think raspberries and strawberries. All these foods are chalk full of fiber. Fiber rich foods support your large intestine which helps flush out the estrogen your liver is working to metabolize. Eating fiber rich foods is what decreases symptoms like acne and bloating. The third phase is your luteal phase. Your body needs more calories in this phase as this is when your metabolism speeds up. You also need more B vitamins to amp up the production of progesterone and to stabilize blood sugar levels. In order to curb sugar cravings in this phase, focus on carbs that burn slowly like sweet potato and brown rice. Fluid retention is also a common complaint for women in this phase so focus on foods with B vitamins, magnesium, and fiber. Eat cooked leafy greens like collards, mustard greens, and watercress which are high in calcium and magnesium and shown to help with fluid retention. Consume fiber rich foods like chickpeas, pears, apples and walnuts to help your liver and large intestine flush out excess estrogen and reduce the effects of estrogen dominance (a common problem in women). Eating more nutrient dense foods that provide more calories in this phase will help prevent the energy dips you can experience during your period. Last but not least is the menstrual phase. In this phase your hormone levels are at their lowest so you want to make sure you're focusing on protein and healthy fats. Focusing on these nutrients will help keep your energy and mood stable while your body adjusts to the decreasing hormones. The foods in this phase set you up for a healthier ovulatory phase during your next cycle. Dietary fat is linked to an increase in progesterone and testosterone along with a reduced risk of ovulatory problems (important for having babies). When your body is involved in the grueling task of shedding the lining of the uterus aka bleeding out and not dying (why being a girl is so awesome, mostly) it's important we focus on nutrient dense foods like kidney beans and red meat. Seafood, kelp and nori can help re-mineralize your body with iron and zinc which you lose when you're bleeding. You guys, I tried kelp on my chicken and it tasted like the sea. I do not recommend to my friends. I'm sure you could put it in soup and it would conceal the taste. In this phase focus on fruits with a low glycemic index like blueberries and blackberries. As far as exercise goes in the first two phases when energy levels surge focus on HIIT, cardio, and strength training. As energy levels decrease in the last two phases be more gentle with yourself. Focus on walking, yoga, barre, and pilates.

To learn more I highly recommend checking out Alisa's In the Flo book along with her book Woman code. You can also learn more on her website.

Here are some charts of food suggestions listed in the book to give you a general idea, also unsure why I decided I needed to highlight the word grapefruit.