Today I want to talk to you about eating and fasting around my cycle. I will convey to you how I chose to cycle my eating and macros (fats, protein and carbs) around the menstrual cycle. For me, the difference between the ovulation phase and luteal phase is massive. Since I started documenting my cycle and understanding how my hormones impact me this has become extremely obvious.
In my ovulation phase I am strong both physically and mentally, my body temperature is at optimal balance, my blood sugar is stable, and all of this increases my chances of getting a good night’s sleep and maximizing my recovery. All these parameters are inverted once I enter my luteal phase. In the past I have not paid that much attention to my cycle and not really had the knowledge around it as I have now. But reflecting back on my well-being it has predominantly affected me negatively mentally. But it has also affected me negatively physically when it comes to my body composition. We all know that accumulating fat is not a good thing for our health but also, it is not a pretty sight to see when you look yourself in the mirror.

Knowledge is power

So, what I have done with this new deeper insight around me as a woman? Well firstly, all these symptoms I mentioned above does not seem to become easier as I age. Rather it becomes a greater challenge for every year that passes. But I am highly confident in my own ability to make changes. My approach is to equip myself with more and more knowledge. By this I give me the tools I need to mitigate symptoms and give myself my best health. To learn more about fasting for women I can highly recommend Dr. Mindy Pelz and her YouTube kanal.

The sharpest knife in my toolbox

So, one of the sharpest knifes I have in my toolbox is how I chose to cycle my eating and implement my fasting windows. One thing I have learned is that the body does not want things to be static, it needs variation – on all levels really. Whether we talk about food or training, the body needs variation and to constantly be challenged. The key is variation.

What this means to me

In my life this means that in the ovulation phase, my push phase, I will implement longer fasting windows. I will also reduce my carbs to further elevate the effects from my fasting. Low carb gives you low and stable blood sugars hence low insulin levels which in turn gives you access to your fat stores.
Once I enter the luteal phase I will bump up my carbs to assist my body in producing progesterone. I call this the hormone building days. I will also not do any longer fasting, but instead stay around 12 – 13 hours.

It is all about the hormones

The more I learn around health the more I realize that it all comes down to our hormones, they steer our lives to a great extent. But if we learn about them and how they impact our bodies. We can harness them in ways that better align with long-term health.