Sam starts this episode by talking about her experience with hormonal birth control, which has resulted in her fully feeling each phase of her cycle for the first time in her life. On a mission to manage her hormones and mitigate her PMS symptoms through dietary and lifestyle changes, she explores the best (doctor and dietician-approved) ways to eat, exercise, sleep, socialize, and take care of yourself during the four phases: menstrual, follicular, ovulation, and luteal.

Listen to this episode if you're considering going off of hormonal birth control for the first time in a long time, if you're interested in supporting your reproductive health in line with your body's natural rhythms, or if you think cycle-syncing is BS and want to hear about Sam's journey getting started.

Key moments:

00:36 Sam’s personal journey (prob TMI lol)

04:48 Major upcoming episode about going off birth control

07:32 The surprising thing Sam started experiencing in her cycle

07:49 How we arrived at this episode

08:35 The tiny change in Sam’s routine that changed everything

09:36 Results Sam saw in just 6 weeks of cycle syncing

12:25 Who should try cycle syncing?

13:11 A refresher on the menstrual cycle

15:17 The length of your menstrual cycle and the four different phases

15:59 Menstrual cycle vs. 24-hour cycle (both hormonal)

17:00 Different ways to track your cycle

17:55 This is a good time to start taking notes (plus a simple layout/format)

19:09 Phase 1 - menstruation

19:12 How to eat during menstruation

23:46 Sam’s take on cravings during your period

24:40 How to exercise during menstruation

26:09 Other tips and tricks for managing the menstrual phase (socializing, sleep, sex, etc.)

27:52 Phase 2 - follicular

28:48 How to eat during your follicular phase

30:15 How to exercise during follicular

31:19 Other tips and tricks for managing the follicular phase (mood, making plans with your friends, hormones, etc.)

32:08 Phase 3 - ovulation

33:10 Hormonal changes during your ovulatory phase

33:42 How to eat during ovulation

34:17 Eating to support your reproductive health if you’re trying to get pregnant

34:51 How to exercise during ovulation

35:53 Other tips and tricks for your ovulatory phase (trying to conceive, social battery levels, etc.)

36:42 Phase 4 - luteal (most closely associated with PMS)

37:15 How to eat during your luteal phase (anti-inflammatory diet, healthy fats, etc.)

38:31 How to exercise during luteal

39:22 We should be doing this more during luteal

40:00 Mini feminist rant lol

41:01 Other tips and tricks for luteal (listen to your body!)

Thanks for listening! New episodes are released every Sunday at 8 AM ET, so if you liked this episode, subscribe or follow to get notified about the next one. And please leave me a rating or review, so I can continue to improve the show. Talk soon!

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