Hot Girl's Guide to Cycle Syncing, Hormone Healing & Optimizing Your Life w/ Jessica Suchan

Welcome to the Makeshift Happen podcast.

I'm your host, Samantha Daly, entrepreneur, life coach, and your no BS bestie, here to bring you all things mindset, manifestation, and personal development. This podcast is designed to help you expand your mind and uplevel your life. So turn the volume up and roll the windows down if you're coming along for the ride.

Let's go make shit happen.

Welcome to the show, Jess.

I'm so excited that you're here. Jess is one of my beloved clients. We've worked together one-on-one. She's been inside of Top Tier, and she is a master in her zone of genius, which is why we've brought her on the show today. We're going to talk all things you know, holistic health, wellness, weight loss, cycle syncing, how to optimize your life around the 4 different phases of your cycle, but in a really realistic, tangible, easy-to-do way, because that's what we love here. We're not going to go crazy deep into all of the science and maybe some parts that are just— feel so complex to you. I know for myself personally, when I first learned about cycle syncing, I was taking so many notes and I was writing down all the— like, what hormone is rising, what hormone is dropping, okay, what this means, here's the list of foods that I'm supposed to eat and what I'm not supposed to eat, and I'm supposed to do this kind of exercise and not do this, and have sex here but not here. And it was like very interesting for me to write all that down, but then it was 0% implementable because it was just like a mountain of information that didn't feel like I could easily weave it into my natural, normal everyday life in my existence. So That's what I love so much about your approach, Jess. And what I'm excited to bring to the show today is really like helping women integrate cycle syncing and live in a more synced way with their natural flow of their cycle. But in like the, I'm gonna call it the lazy girl cycle syncing. That's kind of like my perspective of it. Like lazy girl cycle syncing. Okay. Just for like effortless. We just want this to flow and be easy. Um, that's what we're gonna talk about today. But I'm so excited that you're here. And I first want to share with everyone a little bit of your background of why you're qualified in this area and also just your lived experience that kind of led you to doing this work and digging deeper into it because you weren't without your own struggles in terms of body image, weight, yo-yo dieting, all of that stuff. So yeah, can you talk a little bit to our listeners today about why this stuff is actually so important to you? And how it changed your life.

Yes! Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to be here, Sam. This is such a full circle moment. I first somehow found you through your podcast, so to be here now chatting with you and to have gotten to work with you, it's just so exciting. And there's so much to say on this. I mean, my story— I always struggle the most with this because I'm like, okay, how do I distill down this like giant journey into the Cliff Notes? Um, but essentially I was always— I grew up super healthy. My mom, my parents were like baby boomers and hippies, and we would make like fresh juices on Sundays and buckwheat pancakes. And we were only allowed to watch movies on the weekends, but like we had to be creative during the week. We couldn't watch TV. We would do like family plays, and we were always outside. And, you know, that was just kind of built into my life. And I actually grew up in, in London, England, and my parents are from the US, but they were living over there. And I was always really outgoing, and, and then we eventually moved to the US, and I was at that vulnerable age of like 10 years old, and I had this thick British accent, and kids started making fun of me on the playground. There was like these boys that walked up, I think it was like day 2 of school, and they were like, do you even know what the Super Bowl is? And I was like, I don't know, a bowling tournament? And they just start dying laughing. And I was like, oh my God. And then there was like several instances where I was giving presentations in front of class and people would stand up and mock the way that I said certain words. And so it kind of made me go more inward, and I developed this insecurity just in who I was. At that point, it wasn't my body, but it was just, oh my gosh, like this need for external validation and acceptance and approval. And as I got older, we moved around a little bit more, and it was like, I just so badly wanted to have friends and to be liked. And even in middle school, when the popular girls befriended me, I was new again, and it was like I just felt like I was wearing this mask. I don't know if you guys have ever felt that way before, where it was like I couldn't really be me. And I just would go home at night and cry, like, people don't really know who I am. They don't know me. They don't know my personality. And even though I was in the quote-unquote popular group, I always felt like I was an outsider within the group. And when I got into high school and I was still friends with them, it just— I, I felt so misaligned with who I truly was. And people would always make comments about how innocent I was and how shy. And I was truly paralyzed by how shy I had become when in England I was this outgoing kid. And I just was so nervous and worried about being misunderstood. And I think that's part of why too Um, you know, I was in tandem with that. I had always been thin, never had to really worry about my weight. I was on swim team, I played volleyball. And then when I became a senior in high school and quit the sports teams and kept going off campus for lunch eating Taco Bell chalupas and like 24-ounce Starbucks Frappuccinos, it was like boop, for like literally 40 pounds came on my body almost overnight. And it was this shock to the system, and it was like, I don't want people to find out that this has happened to my body. And so I just started covering my body with like layers of jackets and like caking my face with like bronzer and like eyeshadow that matched my lipstick. Like, it was, it was another time in my life.

The fashion in those days was not serving any of us. Oh my God, the 2000s. The 2000s were rough. It was rough.

I would literally take like glitter and put this glue on my eye, like on my eyelid, and then put the glitter, stick it to my eyelid and make sure that that color matched like my lip gloss. Um, slay. It was, it was, it was horrific looking back. But yeah, I was, you know, I got to that place where I had put on all this weight and then I became desperate to get it off. And so I started taking diet pills with my friend. We, we got them for free at this conference, and we started taking them, and we tried not to eat any food, and we got every symptom on the back of the box. We felt like shit. We were like— we even went to like our environmental science teacher who was like a mentor for us because we don't— we didn't want to tell our parents, but we thought we were dying. We were like, we, we really just don't know if we're okay. And he helped us through it, and eventually I was like, okay, that does— that's not really for me, but like, what else can I do? And so that really propelled me into 12+ years of yo-yo dieting, trying every single diet under the sun, going into, into college. I remember this fear that I was going to get, quote unquote, hazed because people used to talk about that where it's like you're going to get like made fun of and people are going to— they're going to like, I don't know, you'll go sleep over at someone's house and they'll dump water all over your head or whatever. And so and guys probably won't like you if you don't look this certain way. So I was just determined to lose weight as quickly as I could, and I did. And one of my very first introductions to college was meeting the boyfriend that I went on to date for my entire college career, for 4 years. And we met through Facebook, which, Sam, this is like truly dating me because you won't even remember this, but Facebook at the time was only for colleges and you could only be friends with someone that went to your same college, and you could only have one profile pic, and you couldn't chat because there was no messaging. So you had to chat with people through AIM Messenger. So you could connect with them on Facebook, but then you had to chat with them on AIM. And so that was how I met my— the guy that became my boyfriend. And I am saying this because it has a big— it played a big role in my journey to where I am now, but he was an incredibly toxic relationship. He was a sociopath. He wouldn't commit to me for 8 months, which looking back, it's like, okay, what did you think? He would not change his status to in a relationship on Facebook. And eventually when he did, it was like, okay, he really loves me, he really loves me. But he treated me like shit. He talked down to me all the time, made me feel stupid, made me feel like I wasn't enough. Made me feel like a slut. Like, we would walk by a guy on college campus and he would say— I would look at the guy and be like, oh, did you fuck him? I'm like, no, he's in my science class. Like, are you kidding? And I'm like, I literally just made eye contact with him. And then he'd be like— I'd wear a shirt that was literally like— I mean, my shirt right now is lower than the shirt that I would wear with him. And he'd be like, whoa, like, you're really asking for it. And I was like, are you okay? Okay.

And then I would go and I bought Men, if men have one thing, it is the audacity.

Oh my God. Like, are you— but looking back, here I am and I don't even talk back to him, which is so funny because that's not me now. Like, if anyone ever said that to me right now, I'd be like, shut the fuck up, get out of my life. Like, I want nothing to do with you, goodbye. But back then I was like, oh, oh, okay, no, no, no, he's, he's in my sci-fi class. I did, I did— of course not. Or my sci-fi, my, um, science class. And I would go and buy like a pack of 10 t-shirts and wear these t-shirts that covered up my entire chest just to prove to him that I wasn't a slut and that I wasn't asking for it. And I was constantly having to prove myself. Meanwhile, he's cheating on me left and right. Um, he's talking down to me. He's convincing me that all of his friend— all of his girlfriends are just, uh, friend girls and nothing has ever happened with them. And, and meanwhile, like, they're in the background.

It's always, it's always the cheaters that are worried about you cheating. Yeah, I said what I said. I'm standing on that. It's always the cheaters that are like, what are you doing? Who are you talking to? You definitely fucked that guy. And it's like, no, cuz you know what you're doing.

Exactly right. You're paranoid because you're like, oh, if I can do it and get away with it, quote unquote, then she could do it and get away with it too. And so he, he was, he was constantly paranoid. It was like I couldn't go out with my friends without being questioned. Nonstop. And, and here I am being overly trusting. And, you know, there's just so many stories. And so eventually it got to this place where, you know, my weight was yo-yoing, I was still doing all these diets, and he was cheating on me, and I kept getting back together with him. And then I developed this belief that when I lose the weight, then my boyfriend will stop cheating on me. When I lose the weight, when I look hotter, when I look like the girls that he's checking out on campus then maybe he'll love me more. And if he doesn't, then at least I'll be in a position where if I have to be single, someone will like me. And so I approach these diets and changing my body from a place of, again, constantly seeking external validation, wanting to be loved, wanting to be approved, wanting to be enough. And the thing with that is that, yeah, I lost a shit ton of weight. I lost 45 pounds, but it was multiple times. I would gain 20 pounds, lose another 10, gain 15, lose 10, because when you are trying to lose weight or change your body from this place of wanting to please or prove, there's gonna be a lot of resistance because you're not doing it for you. And so you're gonna start self-sabotaging, which is what happened to me. It was this constant rollercoaster of being quote unquote perfect in the week and then sabotaging myself every weekend. And it was almost looking back, this rebellion of like, I don't wanna do this, I'm doing it for you, but I feel that I need to. And so when I would binge eat and binge drink on the weekends, it was almost like a fuck you to him. And I would go out with my friends and get like completely hammered and blackout. And like, I remember one day I woke up and I opened my drawer to get dressed and there was just vomit filling the drawer with all my clothes. And I was like, when did I do that? And it was this— yeah, it was this cycle that went on for a really long time. And eventually I, I got the courage to break up with this boyfriend, but it wasn't until the end of college. It took way too long. And I kind of— it always does, like 4 years of this. But at the same time, do we regret those relationships or those experiences? I don't, because I am who I am today in part because I went through that and I had to learn what I was no longer available for, what I wouldn't put up with.. And in this year and a half of being single before I met my now husband, who I've been with for 12 years, I just learned to love myself again. I learned to date myself. I learned to love my own company. I wore so many low-cut shirts with short shorts. I went out dancing and drinking with my friends every weekend. I always loved dancing on tables and dancing on a pole and just like getting low and like Blow the Whistle by Too Short has always been my song. And it was like, yes, I get to do all of this. And I really didn't— I wasn't looking for anybody. I didn't need someone to complete me. I felt so complete by myself, and I felt so happy, and I loved being single. And I remember thinking, I want this forever. And that was when I met my husband. And it's always that like cliché, when you're not looking, you find them. And I didn't know what that meant.

This reminds me so much of my story. Really? Yes, because I, yeah, like there's a lot of parts of it where I'm like, okay, that's literally it. Like I had a high school boyfriend who I dated into college, not through college, but once we were like long distance, that's when he started to get super paranoid about, you know, not wanting me to be in a sorority. You're not allowed to do this, that, or the other thing. I always did all the things that he told me I couldn't do, because I basically was like, well, I'm gonna do it, so either get over it or we're done here. That was basically like my response. So I just kept doing me, because I wasn't doing anything wrong, right? He'd be like, why'd you wear a crop top out? Like, all these guys are just gonna want to fuck you. And I'm like, okay, I'm literally not looking at them. I'm not even like talking to them. I'm literally like dancing with my friends, having a fun time. So yeah, you know, deal with it, or like, I guess we're done here. Like, I don't really know. But I, I also feel like I stayed in that for too long. Like, that was— I, I didn't need to be doing that. But then once I finally became single, I was having so much fun, but just like living for me, like doing all the things for me. I wasn't like feeling like I needed someone, or was like— I wasn't looking for someone at all. And And that's when I studied abroad in Spain and was just like, yeah, like best life ever, you know, doing all the things that I always wanted to do— traveling, meeting new people, going out to clubs, parties, dancing, like just doing things that felt fun for me being like a young woman. And of course I stumbled into my partner who I ended up being with now still today for a decade.

So, and you're almost—

I think there is—

sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but you're almost like, fuck, when you meet them, because you're like, I was having so much fun.

I literally, I literally was like, this was not the plan. Like, I would— this was such a vibe. Like, I think if you are someone in your single era, there's something to be said for— I'm sure, you know, after a while maybe that gets old when you really start desiring like the life partner and all of that. But also there's so many women that I know that have such fond, beautiful memories of like reminiscing on those times when they really did just like love themselves and love their life. And so if you are in that phase too, I think like not wishing it away because it will end someday, and it's not forever, but it is a really, really fun phase of life to be in.

It's so fun.

For sure.

It's so fun. Yeah. And I think that the person I was when I met my husband, he wouldn't have been attracted to me previously because I was the person that apologized for everything. I— it was like, looking back, I feel like I was apologizing for being who I was, and everything was a sorry. Everything was, oh, oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. You know, it was like I was constantly walking on eggshells, and that wasn't who I was at my core. And so to meet my husband and to just be who I was and to just have that be received and to connect— like, it was like night one, and then we were together ever since that night, and it felt effortless and it was fun. And he never come commented on my clothing or, um, you know, the way that I— the things that I wanted to do. Like, we went out to house shows every weekend together, our friends combined groups. Like, we just had so much fun. I remember being so— like, it was like this light bulb moment of, oh, when you meet the right person, they don't demean you, they don't put you down, they don't talk down to you. You don't have to prove yourself, you don't have to put on this persona of who you think you should be. And it was such a freeing feeling to just be myself. But at the same time, I was still struggling. I was still struggling with my weight. I was still struggling with confidence in my body. Even though I had lost quite a bit of weight when I met him— I was, you know, 40 pounds down from that point in high school— I still wasn't like fully confident in my body and still felt that I needed to fit a certain box to, um, you know, to really feel, um, accepted and worthy. And so my story continued on from there, um, and I, you know, we eventually moved to LA and I got a job in PR and marketing, and it was in West Hollywood, and there was a lot of models and hot girls. And again, I started getting in my head and like, oh, now you need to be thinner, and oh, now you need to work out more, and oh, we got to do Barry's Bootcamp and SoulCycle, and oh, but you also want to drink bottomless mimosas on the weekend to like fit in and have a good time. And go out and, you know, get hammered and then show up the next day and put on the face and get the job and, you know, do all the things and then still go back and be a great partner. And I started, yeah, binge drinking on the weekends again with bottomless mimosas. I started HIIT training because I felt like that's what I needed to do to balance it out. I would intermittent fast. I remember counting down the hours until 12 o'clock. I was like, okay, just like 10 more minutes. 9 more minutes, 5 more minutes, 1 more minute, then you can eat. And then, um, just constantly thinking about food. And for any of you listening, when you're always thinking about what you should and shouldn't be doing, it takes up so much mental capacity that you can't really show up as your best self in business or in your relationship. I was never present. I would go out to lunch with friends and I would hear them telling me stories, but it was like in one ear and out the other a lot of the time, because I was thinking, Oh, should I order the avocado toast or should I just get the salad? Or they're having drinks and I really want one with them, but maybe I shouldn't because it's not a Friday, it's Thursday. And you know, it really takes away from your ability to be authentically who you are, to be present, and to really put your energy into the areas of life that you want to show up for and to be able to enjoy life. And on top of it, I was working an incredibly stressful job that didn't turn off in marketing and social media. And I've always been I'm a recovering people pleaser, but back then I was still very much a people pleaser. I would show up at 8:00 AM before everyone got to the office and leave at the latest at 6:00 PM after everyone left because I felt like I needed to prove myself. And I was always available. I didn't have boundaries. And eventually this really catapulted me into severe hormonal imbalances where not only had I been on hormonal birth control for about 10 years, but I also, I didn't have, you know, a real cycle anymore. I had zero libido. My energy levels were in the tank. I had debilitating migraines. I just didn't feel like myself. And so, long story, but I ended up transitioning off hormonal birth control. I had to take a leave of absence from my job because of my— how debilitating my migraines had gotten. And I ended up going back to ask my mom, who's now my business partner in many ways. She's a a hormone health educator and has been for over 30 years. I was like, Mom, I'm finally ready to listen to you. I rebelled so for so long. She always recommended that I try coming off hormonal birth control, and she was always, you know, really concerned about my yo-yo dieting tendencies. And I just wasn't— I wasn't available to listen to her. I cared so much more about being thin and accepted than being healthy, sadly. And so I came to her and I said, I'm ready to listen. I wanna come off hormonal birth control. I wanna add back in fear foods like carbohydrates. I wanna be healthy. I wanna feel good. I don't wanna feel like this anymore. And so that's really what propelled me into becoming so fascinated about our cyclical body and our hormones and how we actually need carbohydrates as women for our bodies to feel safe enough to ovulate and to have, you know, healthy fertility, which really, I think still a lot of women don't realize that even if you don't wanna have kids, fertility healthy fertility is so, so important. And, you know, it just became so much more about being well and vibrant and confident in who I was without the need to look a certain way. And through healing my own body and transforming my own life and finally going on to be able to lose and maintain that 45 pounds without the effort, um, actually so easily without all of the high-intensity exercise, without the intermittent fasting, without the no-carb diet, without these extremes, I just was like, whoa, I have to help other women do the same thing. And so I took a leap of faith from that corporate job and I quit. I went back and started serving tables at a restaurant in LA. And, you know, it was like a shock to my pride. I'm like, I never thought I would go back and be a server again. I thought I was gonna like start the corporate ladder and just start making all this money and up and up and up from there. And I just felt like this inner knowing that I had to do this. There was no Plan B, there was only a Plan A. And I've always said that when people ask me, well, what if it doesn't work out? What if this idea that you have to become a health coach— I'm like, there's no Plan B, so it better fucking work out, otherwise I don't know. And so that was the mentality that I took, and it's grown from there. But I'm so grateful because I've gone on to be able to work with hundreds and hundreds of women at this point. Work alongside my mom and sister who now are founders of our family business, Your Hormone Balance, where we do at-home hormone testing and rebalancing strategies that are all natural and holistic and kind of morphing into also becoming a health and mindset coach. Because when I look back, people always want to know, oh, you must have just changed your exercise and your diet to lose all that weight and keep it off. And I'm like, no, the most important thing that I changed was my mindset. My thoughts, and the people that I spent time with. And that's, that's truly what changed my body in a way that was actually sustainable and allowed me to show up authentically and not apologize for who I was and not be constantly seeking external validation. And so while yes, health coaching has always been so incredibly fulfilling, it wasn't until I really decided to embrace the mindset peace and the, the minds, the subconscious reprogramming and the cycle syncing as part of that as well, that I felt like, okay, this is exactly what I'm meant to be doing. And, and then I met you, and you've also helped me to, you know, not only trust in myself and, and grow my confidence as a business owner, but to know, like, it's just so great to work with someone who has those huge visions and dreams and doesn't let anybody step in your way. Like, you know, you also have decided, I believe, that there is no plan B, there's a plan A. And I love being around expanders like that because they show me what's possible. And also, even in the darkest times, to know that I've done it before, I can do it again.

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I think Plan B is, is faith, right? It's like, well, if this doesn't work out, then I just have to trust that I'm going to be held, I'm going to be taken care of, that I'll find a way, that I'll be smart enough, resourceful enough to take the next right step and, you know, redirect myself or pivot, or, you know, God, Source, Universe will support me in some way. Like, that's it.

That's—

Plan B is like faith that it'll all be okay. Yeah, it's like, I don't know, I don't know, like, what— okay, if this doesn't work out, it's not like I have a perfectly curated, like, okay, well then I would go over here and I would do this and this would be my first step. It's like, no, it's just, it's just trust.

It's just faith, right?

Walking by faith rather than fear is like you trust in something that you can't see yet, which is like, I also, I believe that I'll be fine even if this doesn't work out. But to kind of bring it back to you know, the piece around like mindset and everything that you were sharing there, I just, I find that to be so true for me as well and just my own journey of like body image and stuff and how much when I was in college and I had gained weight from studying abroad and, you know, just like eating and drinking and partying and restricting and then doing all the HIIT workouts but then binge drinking, like it just, it was a formula that unfortunately a lot of us like went through that was never, it was never going to pan out really well, like doing, doing the Kayla Itsines, like bikini body, like HIIT thing, which those workouts are really intense. Like when I look back and doing that like the morning after you just like, you know, drank 2 bottles of wine or something. I'm like, wow, girl, I don't know. I don't know what we were on, but we were on some fucking superhuman shit. It's a miracle that we were doing that, but it was never going to work for us to like lose fat, feel good about ourselves, any of that. And to your point, like, for me, it was really when I moved to Spain and I finally decided, like, okay, this is not working. I need to just take a pause from the gym, from trying to work out, from burpees, from jump lunges, from running, from all these things. And I think I just need to figure out how to change the way that I think about myself. Like, I think I just need to do something that's going to reconnect me to, like, an inner version of myself, to like feel some sort of love for myself. Self-love wasn't even like a common term at the time, um, but that's when I canceled my gym membership and I like joined my first— I guess it was like a coaching program.

I didn't even know what coaching was.

I didn't even know that this woman was a coach. She was definitely selling coaching programs on Facebook, and I bought one. And, um, it was like a 30-day challenge, and, and it was like there was food and recipes, but it was really around like the affirmations and the rewiring of the way that you see yourself and like really slow, intentional movement that was not vigorous, that was not hard, that was not sweaty. Like all I was doing was basically like 15 minutes on, on my yoga mat and I dropped my 15 extra pounds like that, like so fast. And it was so crazy to me. And it really like when looking back, this is what sparked my thinking about this was because you said like really it was like mindset. And so yes, it was, it was mindset for me as well. Like, that was the main— that was the core of it, right? Was I stopped having this narrative around what I can and can't eat, wanting something but not allowing it, occupying so many of my thoughts around food, or looking in the mirror telling myself that I look so fat, this is so bad, oh my gosh, like, I have to fix this. Uh, just being obsessive all the time. Like, I just completely changed all of that, and it was like it melted. Melted away. Like, I was not doing anything hard. I was literally like on my, on my yoga mat for 15 minutes a day. So it's crazy what that can do. And I think to get into our conversation about cycle syncing, there's this element of, you know, being more in your feminine energy, if you will, like being more in the rest and digest. I think what we're both speaking about was really being in a constant state of fight or flight where you're stressed about how you look, about what you're eating, about what you should and shouldn't do all the time. About the way that you're looking and appearing to other people. Um, then you're doing these really intense workouts that are spiking your cortisol. So you're just constantly in this like stress response. And when you are stressed, it's not possible for you to lose fat. Like your body just holds on. It like holds on for dear life. It's like, okay, everything, all the resources that we have, we better hang on to them. They're not going anywhere because we're in a danger zone. Like we don't know how long this fight or flight is gonna last. And how much of these resources, aka the fat on your body, that we need to preserve. Because this basically feels like we are in terror, like we are in like a war zone, we're being chased by a tiger right now. So I think that's a huge element of it. And when you can learn to like live in the cyclical nature that we are meant to live in as women, I think that's one of the things that really allows you to relax more, to be in rest and digest, and to allow your body to actually make those changes because of the way that it's rebalancing your hormones, which you can speak to way more intelligently than I can. But let's get into this conversation about cycle syncing, 'cause I'm excited to break some of this down for everyone listening.

Yeah, definitely. I love what you said about the nervous system because it's true. It's like you are training yourself to be in this hypervigilant state. And our bodies are, as women, we are so sensitive to our surroundings because our body is essentially trying to protect this potential fetus. And it's like, we don't know, you know, if we're going to be able to get pregnant. And so we're going to downregulate all of these quote unquote nonessential functions like reproduction. And, you know, it's— and so that's the other thing is that not only in digestion and not— so not only will our bodies hold on to fat as a survival mechanism, but it will stop us from ovulating. And when we're not ovulating, we're not able to get pregnant. And so that was something that had happened to me as well. And I'll get into cycle syncing, but, you know, and I think a lot of— I've worked with a lot of clients that have also had this where they're not having regular cycles or they're having missing periods and they're in their 20s, you know, or 30s, and they don't know what's going on. And You know, maybe they have been on hormonal birth control at one point, or maybe they haven't and they just don't have a cycle. I'm actually thinking of one client in particular who had never had a cycle until we started working together, and she was in her 30s. She just got her cycle back at 35, and she's been a huge marathon runner her whole life, um, under eating and, you know, bouts of eating disorders, and really hired me to keep her accountable to eating more. And she didn't know that I was going to be ending up helping her with hormone balance and cycle syncing and bringing— helping her bring back her period. But we had to teach her that her body could be safe again. And that's essentially why I believe that even though I was on hormonal birth control for a long time, and when I transitioned off, it took me almost— it took me 8 months to get back a natural cycle. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that for 12 years my body didn't feel safe. It didn't know when the next meal was coming. It was constantly in this hypervigilant state. And so we have to remember that in order for our bodies to ovulate again, we have to create this safe cocoon. And so if we're overexercising, that's a stress on the body. If we're under eating, that's a stress on the body. If we're constantly showing up for other people, people pleasing, you know, saying yes to every single thing, and then maybe we're layering on like toxic skincare all over our body and, you know, hair products and all this, or like a really stressful job, stressful job, or being a parent, being a parent, stressful. All of these things are stressors on the body. And then, you know, a lot of us are, are then drinking energy drinks and coffee and trying to power through the day, and then coming home at night and wanting to wind down with a glass of wine every night. And these are all stressors on the body. And so it's, you know, I think we can turn to this feeling of frustration of like, my body is rebelling against me, why is this happening to me, this isn't fair, like, this is so frustrating, and like, what can I do to fix it? Like, what can I— what pill can I take, or what can I do? And it's like, I, I hate to say it, but this is going to be extremely uncomfortable at first, but we have to get you to slow down. And, you know, we might think that slowing down would be the easy thing to do, but often slowing down is the most challenging thing to do. And it's so confronting for so many of us because we're used to being on the go all the time, saying yes, like, you know, driving through Starbucks and grabbing a coffee and then grabbing like something quick and easy on the go and then going out, meeting friends for drinks and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and then working out and just pummeling our bodies with the stress that the idea that slowing down and actually laying down for 5 minutes to breathe or meditate or go for a walk without your phone is extremely uncomfortable and actually is— almost feels dysregulating to the nervous system. Because what's going to happen when you start to slow down? You're going to start feeling things. You're going to start having these emotions that come to the surface that have been bubbling for so long. And then, oh, what do I do with this, this emotion of anger or sadness or frustration? And, and that feels uncomfortable. And then it's like, oh, well, do I need to get to the root of Do I need to go back to that old story of where did this come from? And, you know, the mindset work of getting to these, these limiting beliefs and understanding why we operate the way that we do is such an important component of being able to balance our hormones and balance our bodies and release weight. But oftentimes it feels like the very last thing that we want to do. And so one of the reasons that I love Cycle Syncing is that As women, we have these 4 unique phases of every menstrual cycle, and during each phase, our hormones are fluctuating and changing, um, all to support a potential pregnancy. So the main event of the menstrual cycle is ovulation. It's the queen bee of the menstrual cycle. And what I love when I first found out about this and cycle syncing— one, okay, we have these 4 unique phases, our hormones are fluctuating and changing throughout the month for a purpose. And men operate on a 24-hour circadian rhythm. So their hormones are doing the exact same thing every 24 hours. So their testosterone rises in the night, and that's why they wake up with a hard-on and like ready to have sex. And they are good usually to maybe crush a workout. They get really in the zone with work. And then towards the end of the day, their estrogen rises, which is— I've heard hormone educators say that the— I don't know if this is true, but that Happy hour was created around the male circadian clock because around 5 PM is when their estrogen rises and they're more in their feminine and they're more likely to have like emotional conversations. And so we have created this society that really does revolve around the 24-hour clock of a male body. And almost all the studies that have been done on these like high-intensity workouts and these fad diets have been done on male bodies. Not on female bodies. And then as females, we're replicating the exact same workout programs, the exact same nutrition guides, and expecting the same results and not getting it.

Because feminism— we can do everything that they can do but do it better.

But it's like, hey, don't forget that every month we are picking a Listener of the Month to win $50 in cash just for showing love to the show. All you have to do is leave an epic review of the podcast on Apple Podcasts Screenshot the review before you hit submit and DM that screenshot to us on Instagram @makeshifthappenpodcast. And that's it. I want to thank you for being such a loyal listener and show my appreciation by putting a little extra cash in your pocket. I know it's super easy not to do it, but every single rating and review seriously helps the show rank higher and reach new people, so we appreciate them more than you know. We'll announce the next winner at the end of the month and slide into your DMs if it's you, So keep an eye out and good luck. Love you guys and thanks for supporting Makeshift Happen.

Do we want to be doing that though?

Exactly. Is that good for us? Exactly. And with cycle syncing, what you're doing is essentially you're aligning your— you're optimizing your nutrition, your workouts, the way that you are in business, even your travel schedule with these 4 unique phases because It doesn't make sense that you would work out the exact same way all month long, the exact same way that a man would, when your hormones are shifting and certain times of the month are actually gonna be really optimal for hitting a HIIT training workout and feeling great. Other times of the month, you're gonna be like, wait, I'm doing that exact same workout in the exact same way and I'm feeling so fatigued, so run down. I don't understand. Or, and I'll explain it more, but. And then there's other points where, you know, oh, I'm so— I feel satisfied, I feel full. And then we can eat the exact same thing another time of month and feel ravenous afterwards and not understand why we're still so hungry. And when we don't understand our cyclical body and we don't understand that there's these shifts and changes, we kind of start to blame ourselves. We're like, why am I so hungry? I remember being so frustrated. I mean, like, God, this is so annoying. I have weight loss goals and I'm so hungry and I have no willpower. And what is going on? 'Or like, why am I just so drained after that workout? I should be more fit.' And so it gives you so much more compassion and understanding for yourself. And because I know that we want to give just like some really tangible takeaways and— okay, not necessarily breaking down exactly what's happening during each phase, but giving you some understanding of, okay, what are some of the key changes that are happening and how can you shift some of these elements of your life so that you can show up more confidently, so that you can show up with more energy, so that you can show up with a sunnier mood, so that your nervous system is more regulated, so that not only do you feel calmer and you're not getting sick all the time or feeling run down, but that actually you're able to get after these big dreams and goals that you have in your life, take risks, because as we know if you want to start a business or you have a business or you have just big visions for your life, it's so much harder to take risks that are required in that scenario if your nervous system is dysregulated. So all that to say, we've got these 4 phases. We have the menstrual phase, which we all know is the period week, and that is anywhere between about 4 to 7 days depending on the female. Then after our period ends, the very next day after the bleed ends is called the follicular phase. And this is about 7 to 10 days long. And then we go into the ovulation phase, which is about 3 to 6 days long. There's only one day of ovulation and then up to 6 days where we can actually get pregnant. So there's only 6 days out of the entire month that we can get pregnant. Approximately. It's our fertile phase. And we all grew up, I think, thinking that we could get pregnant any day of the month with these outdated health classes that we took and being afraid. I remember being afraid of even like made out with a guy, potentially get pregnant.

And so it was all of us watching Mean Girls when the, the health teacher, the gym teacher, is like, if you get pregnant, you will die.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And literally the only thing I remember from health class is watching them show us a video of a pregnancy just zoomed into the vagina, and it was like scarring for the remainder of, of my life. Um, but it was, it was for a purpose. It was like to, to make us fear pregnancy. And so yeah, there's really only this one fertile phase, this one time in the month that you can get pregnant. And the reason why it's up to 6 days is that sperm can survive inside of us via this peak cervical fluid. So We, you know, we can get pregnant up to 6 days, but there's only that one day that we ovulate and release the egg to then potentially meet up with sperm to then potentially get pregnant. And then after we ovulate, we move into the fourth and final phase, which is the luteal phase. And this is the longest. It's about 10 to 14 days. I like to break it up into early and late luteal.

Why does it have to be the longest? This pisses me off. I know. Like, why is this— why is this— I think God made a mistake here. Why is this the phase? This is the fucking phase that you chose to be the longest, right? Yeah.

No. Well, and so not approved. I know, I know. Yeah, because that's the dreaded PMS phase. But the reason why it's broken into two phases, because actually the first half after you ovulate, a lot of women still feel really good because there's this still peak in estrogen and progesterone and even testosterone. And so you can still feel pretty good in your workouts, like go about your life. But then as you get closer to your period, the week before, that's where there's this steep decline in estrogen and progesterone. There's this big drop, and in testosterone. And when estrogen drops that way, it also brings down your neurotransmitter. And so it's bringing down your neurotransmitters, and your neurotransmitters like serotonin, for example, actually help with pain and so— and mood, right? So if you are tanking your— if your estrogen's tanking and your neurotransmitters are tanking and your testosterone, which gives you energy and stamina, when all of those are low, that can lead to mood swings, even feelings of desperation and depression. And I have a lot of clients who call it premenstrual rage, where they're like snapping at their kids and they don't even recognize that version of themselves. Or women that will say, I love my husband. I'm super attracted to him. He's hot. But like, I literally have no interest. Like I would rather, you know, put on mascara or like delete emails than have sex. And you know, it's, I can relate to that where I'm just like, mm, you know, should I just check it off the list right now? Because I'm definitely not feeling like it.

But to the point where there's some, there's some women that will say like, at some point every month they think about like breaking up with their partner. And if that is happening to you, it's probably related to your cycle.

Or burning down your business, being like, right, like, just wait a few days.

Oh my God, it's always, it's always like day 21 or 23 where you're like, who am I and what am I doing? Like, what is my purpose? Like, it's— I feel like that's like the imposter syndrome stage. That's probably the day where like all the hormones like take a steep drop and you're just like, oh my God, here we am, I— what am I doing?

Fuck my life. Exactly. Yeah, I always say, I'm like, just give it a few days and see if you still feel that way. Don't make any rash decisions. Don't leave your boyfriend or your husband. Don't go like pivoting your business just yet. Let's like wait and make sure that you're still feeling this way in a few days, because it is crazy how your hormones can literally take over and make you feel like a completely different person. My mom always says like Jekyll and Hyde. And it's true, like, you are just like, who is this version of me? But that's not every woman. And the point that I like to make is that another one is like hormonal acne. Um, for me it was always hormonal migraines. If you are miserable the week before your period, if you have really painful boobs— I used to look like I had breast implants the week before my period because my boobs were so swollen and so painful. And if you're experiencing these crazy breakouts or not just like not being into sex, but literally just having zero interest whatsoever and feeling angry and moody and crying at commercials and like rage texting and, you know, all of these things. If you're feeling extremely fatigued, it's all so common, but it's not normal. What is normal is having fuller breasts. Maybe they're a little bit tender, but shouldn't really impact you that much. Like, if you want to go inward more, you're feeling a little bit more tired, you're not feeling as social, that's totally normal. Um, if you're— if your libido is down, that's also pretty normal. And that's also why it's so important to communicate with your partner where you are in your cycle. That's something I love to do is like, hey, I'm in my, my late luteal phase, you know, maybe, um, our, our sexuality is more sensuality. Like, you know, let's You're like, so maybe just fucking no tonight, okay? Pretty much, pretty much. The other day I was like, can we just lay here?

You're like, act— you know what would be great? If you could just like give me a massage. Yeah, worship my body, and then we both go to sleep.

Oh, for sure. Yeah, actually last cycle we have— we have a bath finally. I've always wanted like a one of those big nice baths, and I got like a little neck pillow that you can put in the bath just so cozy and luxurious. I got one of those little trays where you can put like your book and your mug and your journal, and he had some edible flowers, and he had a couple drinks, and he had a nice buzz. I had my tea, and he was just so happy making me a bath. He was filling the bath and putting the bubbles in and the little flowers, and, um, you know, that was like his way of showing up for me during my luteal phase. But it was like, okay, bye, Bye-bye, you're not a part of this. Um, but it's— it honestly is so awesome when you can start to communicate that in that way, because it's not like, why is this happening to me? Or why are you being such a bitch? Or, oh, she's just PMSing. You know, I think we normalize all of that in society of like, oh, you know, she's just on— she's on her period. Or, you know, even with women in menopause, like, oh, she's menopausal. And just almost like blaming women for what they're going through with their hormones. But if we can start to have conversations that are a little bit more empowering, where yes, we're relating and we're venting and we're like, oh my gosh, is this happening to you too? But then also it's like, okay, but you don't have to be feeling this way. There's things that you can do, and there's a lot that you can do. And so, for example, some of the things that— because I think the premenstrual week in that late luteal phase is really where the most people reach out to me. They're really struggling the most, and they just— it's like, you know, a week to 2 weeks of their lives that they just feel like they're really impacted by. And so we have to look at the cycle as a whole, and the way that you nurture your body in the menstrual phase is going to be so important because it creates a ripple into the follicular phase and then the ovulatory. Like we talked about with ovulation, In order to ovulate, your body has to feel safe. And ovulation is so incredibly important because the first half of the cycle is run by estrogen. The second half is run by progesterone. We only produce progesterone upon ovulation, and progesterone is the great balancer to estrogen. It's the calming hormone. And if we're not ovulating because we're so stressed out of our mind and we're undereating and we're overexercising, all the things that we talked about, and also by the way, like speaking down to ourselves, not having positive self-talk, then we are going to be having anovulatory cycles, which means we won't be producing progesterone regularly, which means that our progesterone will be low relative to estrogen, and that's what causes estrogen dominance. And then when our nervous system is dysregulated, that causes imbalances in our cortisol levels, which can lead to adrenal dysfunction. And those are two extremely common hormonal imbalances that I see. And they are what lead to PMS that's so bad, as my mom calls it, pass me the shotgun, because it can be so terrible. Um, that— but again, like, we— there's things that we can do. So let's back up here and make some little shifts and changes. And some of the ones that you can take away from this podcast this week, at first it might feel a little bit uncomfortable, but even to just start thinking about it, having this greater understanding that during the menstrual week, our hormones are all at their lowest. But after the first couple of days, our hormones start to rise again. And so if your hormones are in a good place, you actually should feel pretty good and be able to go and do your strength training and maybe even do some short sprints because that helps to break up inflammation and release endorphins that can actually help with pain. So there's this big myth that on your period you should just sleep and do yoga and walk and rest and, you know, yeah, okay, to a certain extent. But actually, if your hormones are in a good place, after a couple of days, you can still strength train, which is so— such an incredible form of movement all month long because it helps us to build muscle, which helps us to boost our testosterone levels, which is so important as women for confidence and stamina and libido. And it helps us to maintain bone mass and muscle, which is incredibly important as we age. And it also helps to improve our insulin sensitivity so that we are not so sensitive to, you know, blood sugar imbalance and we can maintain our weight easier, lose weight easier. And so we have to know that with cycle syncing, it comes with caveats. If you are feeling so run down and you feel so shitty during your period week that really you can only sleep and maybe do a little bit of yoga, that's a sign that your hormones need some TLC. And that we need to start really nurturing your body and your nervous system so that you actually do feel pretty good after the first day or two. I have some light cramping, but that's pretty much it on my period. I feel good, like I can work out, I can go and do my normal things, but I do definitely feel a little bit more in my feminine. I feel a little bit more like I want to be resting a little bit more. I want to be doing some more breathwork, some more yoga. I'm not as social., and that's normal. But really heavy, painful periods, that's not normal. A lot of pain, a lot of cramping, that's not normal. And then as you go into that follicular phase and your estrogen starts to rise and your testosterone starts to rise, a lot of people feel like it's like coming out of the cocoon. And that's a really good time to add in when you are feeling good. Again, caveat, when your hormones a little bit more in balance, you should feel that noticeable shift. Shift in energy and stamina and endurance. And you— even if your hormones are out of balance, you may still feel a shift to where you're like, oh, I feel like the fog is cleared and I'm feeling so much better. This is in part because of that boost in estrogen and testosterone, but also because our cortisol levels are naturally lower, so we're more resilient to stress during both the follicular and ovulatory phases. So we can handle a little bit more exercise, like some more HIIT training we can pepper in. We might be able to go out and have some drinks with our friends and wake up the next day and actually feel okay, versus in the luteal phase we do that same thing and we are hungover for 3 days, or we feel like we just can't bounce back as fast. Or maybe you can have some more caffeine and actually feel like you have coffee in the morning, which I always recommend.

We're talking about the follicular phase right now. Yeah, so like after your period, before ovulation.

Yeah. So during the follicular phase, that's when your estrogen and testosterone start to rise, and then your testosterone—

you can handle, you can handle more stress. You can drink some coffee, you can do some harder workouts.

And that applies also for the ovulation phase, because essentially ovulation is just the biggest peak in estrogen and testosterone. So those two phases combined are really great.

That's when you feel hottest.

Yes.

Prime.

Yeah, you do. And there's even been studies that have shown that we appear more attractive to the opposite sex when we're ovulating, that our faces are more symmetrical. We're also producing more collagen because collagen is, uh, estrogen is precursor to collagen. So we produce more collagen in the skin, which can give our skin more of a glow. It can plump our skin, plump our lips. And again, if that's not you and you're breaking out and you're feeling flat or you're low energy, then that's a sign that maybe you're having hormonal imbalances like estrogen dominance. So then when estrogen is peaking, it's a little— it's too much because you're already high in estrogen and then the estrogen peaks and it's going above and beyond. Or testosterone peaks and maybe your testosterone is already high and then that leads to breakouts. So when you— if you notice those things, then that's like, okay, that's a sign that I need to look into a potential imbalance and start to nurture my body and maybe slow things down for a time. Because if you are someone who during follicular and ovulatory is like, yes, I can crush the workout, I can add in more cardio, I can add in more caffeine, that's awesome. But if you're walking away feeling depleted and that's not working for you, then we need to actually still slow things down until your body is in a place where you can actually handle that. And so for me, I don't love HIIT training at all. The only thing I really shift in the follicular and ovulatory phases is that I can lift heavier. Like, I notice that I have more strength, and so I go for those PRs in the gym with my strength training. I'll sign up for a boot camp class that has some cardio boosts in it, but I'm not taking— or bursts— but I'm not taking like a 45-minute HIIT training class anymore. For me, that is very dysregulating any time of the month. It just doesn't feel good, and I just know my body. I don't do well with that anymore. My body does hold on when I am hitting it too hard. So just know that even in follicular and ovulatory phases, yes, add in a little bit more cardio. Um, maybe go on a trip where there's a time zone change and you're not getting as much sleep because you know you can bounce back faster and enjoy a glass of wine every day. But also know that we don't want to take it to extremes. You still want to focus on balancing your blood sugar. You still want to focus on regulating your nervous system through non-stimulation walks walks and intentional breathwork and, you know, taking time to do the things that you love. We really like to go all or nothing in our society and our culture. So again, with cycle syncing, you don't want to be like, oh, feel like you're on ovulatory is like, I'm gonna just go hard and drink all this caffeine and drink alcohol. It's like, we love to take it to extremes, but it's that you just have a little bit more wiggle room. And also you got some more—

you got some more juice.

You got some more juice in the tank. Yeah. So that's really that You know, I like to cycle sync even caffeine. So I don't drink coffee, but I'll have matcha in the follicular and ovulatory phases. And then when I get into the luteal phase, I'm sensitive to caffeine, especially with my headache.

Which— luteal, for anyone who's like, okay, all these names, like, I keep forgetting what's what— luteal is before your period.

Yes. So, yep, so menstrual is first, the bleed, then we go follicular, then ovulatory, which is the only phase you can you can get pregnant, the fertile phase. Then luteal, which is the longest, which encompasses the premenstrual, or as some people call it, the PMS week. So once you get into that ovulation, or the luteal phase that encompasses the premenstrual week, that's where our resting cortisol levels are naturally higher, so we're less resilient to stress. So that's where I like to switch from matcha to like a golden milk latte or a dandy blend, or I found this mesquite coffee blend that tastes just like coffee, but it's the superfood called mesquite, and you can brew it just like coffee, but it has no caffeine. It's a superfood, it's a prebiotic. So I make that as like a mocha, and, um, that's kind of the shift I make in caffeine.

And then you could also do something like a cacao or something like that that's really like warm and nourishing. We talk— I've talked about Dandy Blend multiple times on the show as well, so you guys know I'm a fan of that as well.

Yeah, I love it. And cacao is great because cacao is one of the richest sources of magnesium in the world. And when we get into the luteal phase, most women tend to be deficient in magnesium anyway. And one thing that I love is our bodies are always sending messages. So if you crave chocolate before your period, which a lot of people do, sometimes that can be a sign that your body is craving magnesium. And magnesium is a natural muscle relaxant. It also helps calm the nervous system. It helps sleep, it helps with anxiety, it helps with mood. So magnesium through food, through cacao, through dark leafy greens, but also through supplementation is incredibly important. And I think it's an essential supplement that everybody needs to be taking. And most women need to be taking more than just the recommended daily value. I'll take like 300 to 400 milligrams that whole week before my period, and that can help a lot. Um, So it's thinking about that second half of your cycle as being, okay, let's ramp down a little bit. Let's especially, you know, start to slow down the workouts a little bit. Maybe don't stack your social schedule as much as you did. And during the follicular and ovulatory phases, this could be a time to go a little bit more inward and start planning, um, what you want to do in your business. And, you know, maybe, I don't know, thinking about new ideas for courses that you want to launch or social media posts that you want to create. And I love to do that. I love that being like the ideation phase if possible. And then during those phases of follicular and ovulatory where you have more energy, confidence, stamina, that's a really fun time to, you know, if you are somebody who speaks on podcasts or you're doing a lot of travel or you want to batch record a bunch of content for social media, you're naturally gonna create, feel, launch, sell, travel.

That's like the prime time to do all of your sort of big things. Yes.

Yeah, like I will take out the calendar with my husband and intentionally try to schedule travel around my follicular and ovulatory phases, and I just feel so much better. I have more energy, I'm more into sex, I want to go out later and dance, and I bounce back faster. And it's just fun, and it's just a really great way of also getting your partner, if you have a partner, on board with this stuff too, because I think it's so important that we educate and teach the people in our lives so that they can support us and we can show up as a more fully expressed, authentic, excited version of ourselves. So yeah, I mean, there's just these little shifts and changes that we can make, like during the luteal phase after we ovulate, when progesterone increases, it increases our core body temperature, our basal body temperature. And that revs up our metabolism and that makes us more hungry and we actually need more fuel. We need more energy. And so most women need on average about 300 extra calories during that phase. And we get down on ourselves. We're like, why am I so hungry? Like, this is so annoying. I'm trying to diet. And it's like, no, actually your body needs more fuel. And if you don't give it more fuel, then what's going to happen is that again, it's going to go into that preserve and protect mode. Or you're going to end up binge eating at night because you're so freaking hungry that, you know, you come to the end of the night and you're like, "Rah, like I'm just going to eat anything." So I love with clients that want to lose weight to also cycle sync when they are focusing on weight loss. Like the week before your period is not the time to be restricting and, you know, lowering your calories. But during the follicular and ovulatory phases, that's a really good time if you want to do a detox, if you want to do a cleanse. Your body is more resilient to stress and can handle that stress on the body. Because no matter how you dice it, no matter if you are losing weight in a really sustainable, healthy way, or you're doing it in a restrictive way, it is a stress on the body nonetheless. So you want to do it in a way that is the most supportive possible. And that's like a whole nother conversation that would have to be like another episode of like, how do you nourish and support your body from a nutritional standpoint throughout the phases?. But the biggest thing is blood sugar balance and making sure that at every meal you have protein, you have fats, you have fiber, you have carbohydrates, you have veggies, and that you're not restricting any one macronutrient because I promise you it's going to backfire. And as women, we need carbohydrates for our body to feel safe. And that for me was like the biggest revolution of like, oh, I don't have to restrict any food group. I can actually enjoy everything in moderation and just increase my protein and be intentional about the way that I'm pairing my food and getting in more color and variety. And it can actually be so much more simple than we make it.

Yeah, I feel like blood sugar balancing is another, like, huge topic in and of itself. It's so important, and a lot of people are trying to do it. Just to throw out a couple, like, quick tips that I learned from, like, a non-expert, that's what has been helpful for me to like keep in mind is when I was first like working on balancing my hormones, um, the naturopath that I was working with was really having me focus on making sure that my breakfasts were really based in protein and fat. So higher protein, higher fat, less of like, you know, the bagel with like, you know, cream cheese or like something— cinnamon toast. Oh my God, what I used to order from like Panera when I was in college, like a cinnamon crunch bagel that's just like— same, it's just all— oh my God, like so bad. Like not that stuff, not a sugary bowl of cereal. Like really focusing on like the protein and fats to be your first meal of the day within the first 30 minutes of waking up. And then another thing that I learned that was helpful in terms of blood sugar balancing from Glucose Goddess was kind of just her system of understanding like the order in which you eat foods can really help balance your blood sugar. So that, as you're saying, you can eat all the food groups and you can have everything. You can even have sweets, you can have ice cream, you can whatever, but it will be more optimal if you can eat fiber first. So she calls it like a veggie starter where you eat— make sure that you eat like your portion of vegetables first, something that's really high in fiber, and then protein, and then the carbs come last. Which when you think about when you go out to a restaurant, what they have to eat first is the carbs. They put bread on the table or something like that, and then it kind of spikes the blood sugar, fucks you up, makes you want to eat more, whatever the situation is. So when you have your own plate at home, that's just really easy. And when you go out, it's easy for me to kind of like think about, okay, what has the most fiber, then protein, then carbs, and then sweets obviously come last. And that helps to keep your blood sugar balanced. So those are just like quick little tips.

I'll give you, um, just like one on top of that. Um, yeah, so whenever I'm building a meal, I have something called the, the Sexy 6 Formula that just helps you build a meal for blood sugar balance. We could also maybe put it in the show notes, but it just makes it really easy. But yeah, it's just thinking about like when you go out to dinner, not looking at the menu with the eye of what can't I have, but looking at the menu of like, look at all of these delicious foods that I get to choose from. Not restricting, but to your point, let me optimize my hormones and the way that I want to feel afterwards. And, you know, let's order some meatballs and some salad for the table and have that protein and those greens and fiber first. And then after that, instead of each getting a giant pasta dish, why don't we go family style and each have like try different things? So we'll have some of the meatballs, we'll have some of the salad, then we'll have a little portion of the pasta. Not like tiny, but you're sharing it, right? Make sure it has protein on there. And then at the end, let's all have a bite of dessert, but we don't all need to order our own desserts. And then end with some lemon water, which is really great for digestion, or some tea. And then if you can go for a walk, anytime that you can walk, even 2 to 10 minutes after a meal has been shown to significantly reduce both post-glucose meal spikes. So you can go for a walk and that'll help you to utilize some of those sugar and carbs from your meal so that you are using it for energy instead of storing it directly as fat. So I'm a huge fan of walking after meals instead of going for like one really long walk in the day. It's like, it's splitting it up. And, you know, I always get my clients like, okay, after you've had your lunch break, walk around the building, you know, even just a few minutes. Or make it fun. If you have a family, have a dance party with your kids at night, you know, like get everyone going. Um, or if you're— if you want a bag of chips, okay, sure, have it. But like, even, even doing something like have the bag of chips while you're walking the kids to the park. And like, you know, it's like pairing activity with with your carbohydrates, with your sweets. Or like my sister and her fiancé, every time they work out later in the day, so their fun thing is like that's when they pair their treats. Like they will always have like a little treat after their workout because your body will restore— you can utilize that sugar better because you've just worked out and put that towards rebuilding your muscles. So there's these like fun little hacks that you can do where it's like, oh okay, it's just being more mindful about how you order and also the way that you eat, like slowing down, putting your fork down between bites, being present with the people that you're with, being immersed in the conversation. And, you know, do it— having— taking a few deep breaths before and after your meals and giving gratitude for the food and for yourself and maybe repeating a little mantra. It's, it's how we eat, I think, that is is so often overlooked. We're so focused on what we eat that the how often gets missed.

Yeah, that's such a good point. How we eat, not what we eat. Yes, I love that because it takes the focus away from like, what can I have versus what I can't have. Like, you can have everything. Yeah, but there's, there's a way to eat that's slower, that's more mindful. It's chewing more, it's taking a deep breath first, it's setting your fork down, it's pausing, it's going for a walk after, eating in that kind of order that helps with blood sugar balancing. Like, there's a way to eat absolutely everything and enjoy, um, to where you don't have to have this, like, sense of restriction all the time, which is so, so important. I just did an episode recently about, like, some of my top wellness practices, and one of the things that I talked about in that episode was food freedom, because I think being free around food and just feeling like you can eat absolutely anything is such a game changer, from the stress levels to everything that we talked about today as well. So I'm glad that we also touched on that. Thank you so much, Jess, for coming on the show and sharing everything. I feel like we might have to do a round 2 because there's so many other things. Maybe let's hear from the audience. Um, let us know in the comments below, uh, whether you're on Spotify or YouTube, or if you wanna send me a DM, um, if there's anything that we talked about or touched on in this conversation that you'd love to go deeper into, or other, other topics as it relates to hormone balancing, weight loss, um, menopause, perimenopause. That's also something that Jess can speak really intelligently to. So anything else that you guys would love to hear in this kind of same sort of vein, let us know and maybe we'll do a part 2. But thank you for coming on, Jess. Let everyone know where they can find you online if they're interested in just like following yourself, learning from you, but also maybe if they really want to like dive in and do this work and get some tests and figure out what's going on, uh, where they can work with you.

Yeah, thank you so much for having me on. And yes, I totally agree. I'm like, oh my gosh, like we just scratched surface and all this stuff. So we could definitely do another part. So yeah, curious what your, what your listeners have to say. Um, but yeah, the easiest way to keep in touch with me is over on Instagram @bodyblessedbyjess. I'm also at bodyblessedbyjess.com. Um, we could put it in the show notes, but I can create a link for your listeners to apply for a free curiosity call if you want to chat more. Um, if you're interested in just doing like a deep dive session where we literally just focus on cycle syncing, or weight loss, I offer 90-minute strategy sessions. And so we get to go deep and then you walk away with a bunch of bonus, uh, resources to support you, um, long after the session ends. So those will be available to you. And then if you want to test your hormones, that's just at myfamilybusinessyourhormonebalance.com. And we have a symptom quiz over there. So that's a really good place to start. You can take the quiz, see if some of your symptoms align with a potential imbalance, and then you get some fun free resources, but I'm always happy to help, so you can just DM me with any questions.

Yay! All right, we'll link everything in the show notes for you guys. You can find those resources and find Jess and go give her a follow. If you loved this episode and you know another woman in your life— friend, sister, mom, co-worker, anyone who you think would benefit from listening to this conversation and learning these little tips and tricks, and as it relates to body image, weight loss, cycle syncing, all of that— copy the link, send this episode to them in a message, let them that you were thinking of them and that this episode was really helpful for you. We appreciate every time you share the podcast. It helps us so, so much. If you do want to share it to your Instagram, just take a screenshot, make sure you tag Jess and I so that we can connect with you guys and see you sharing the show. And, uh, we'll talk to you guys next week. Love you.

Bye.