WEBVTT - Cycle Syncing 101: The Science Behind a Symptom-Free Period with Alisa Vitti 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.880 PMS is a hormone imbalance. If I tell you, Roddy 0:00:02.920 --> 0:00:05.800 that I have had no PMS for twenty years, I 0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:08.119 just like to share that with people because I want 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:09.480 you to know that that's possible. 0:00:09.880 --> 0:00:13.560 Right. Today's guest is the creator of the cycle sinking method. 0:00:13.760 --> 0:00:17.760 Alisa Vissi is a pioneer in female biohacking, a functional nutritionist, 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:20.560 and the founder of flow Living, a platform that helps 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:22.040 women balance hormones naturally. 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:25.119 You know, we go to the doctor saying I don't 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:27.960 feel right with my cycle. Usually we're prescribe birth control 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.600 pills which don't fix what is wrong, and we are 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:35.839 aging our ovaries so much faster than we realize because 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:38.160 we are not taking care of our cycle phases. We're 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:41.000 putting in too many toxins. We're creating a lot of inflammation, 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:44.839 and it's absolutely messing with ovarian function. Starting to align 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:47.800 your self care with your cycle phases really does work. 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:50.920 Just here living the experiment of what happens when you 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:54.920 support the female hormonal ecosystem for a long time. 0:00:54.920 --> 0:00:57.280 Rather than going against it, you get a lot. 0:00:57.120 --> 0:00:59.080 Of return on your investment, is what I can say. 0:00:59.120 --> 0:00:59.960 From the front line. 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:03.200 I'm RADI Wukiah and on my podcast A Really Good Cry, 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:07.120 we embrace the messy and the beautiful, providing a space 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:11.280 for raw, unfiltered conversations that celebrate vulnerability and allow you 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:14.720 to tune in to learn, connect and find comfort together. 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.360 Alisa, it is so great to have you here. 0:01:17.200 --> 0:01:18.760 On A Really Good Cry. Thank you so much for 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:21.360 being here. I'm so happy to be here. Honestly, it's 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:24.039 been years in the making. It really has been. I 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:27.640 was just telling Alisa that we're reminiscing about the time 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:30.520 that I actually reached out to her because I read 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:34.080 in the Flow what about a good few years ago, 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:37.240 maybe twenty twenty three or twenty twenty two, and I 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.080 reached out to her on DMS and I was like, 0:01:39.120 --> 0:01:40.120 I love you so much. 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:42.760 This book has changed my life, and it really had. 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:45.160 So I know at the time you weren't able to 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:47.080 come here because you had a baby, any baby born, 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:47.919 and you're. 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:48.760 Really prioritizing that. 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:51.360 But I'm so glad that we get to have this 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:54.680 conversation for other people to experience, because I think more 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:56.559 than ever, this is the time that it's so needed 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:56.960 for women. 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:00.360 I mean, I think it's always needed, but I you know, 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:05.120 I'm thrilled to be here, and it's so fun whenever 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:07.360 we get together to talk about these things. I think 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:10.760 everybody is up leveled when women are given permission to 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:11.680 learn about their bodies. 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:12.240 So true. 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:14.760 Yeah, and honestly, that's really what this podcast is about. 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:18.280 I want to stop by talking about In the Flood, 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:22.120 which is a book that made the term cycle sinking 0:02:22.160 --> 0:02:25.520 go absolutely viral because you came up with it. I 0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:28.280 want to talk about what cycle sinking is and why 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:30.280 is it so important for women to know about it. 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:33.960 Yeah. So I created the method because I was researching, 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:37.240 like what are we missing? Why are so many women 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:40.120 suffering with all of these different things versus men? Like 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:43.400 why why are women having more hormonal problems compared to men? 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:46.520 And I uncovered a second biological clock in the female 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:49.880 body called the Infreedian rhythm. And you know, we know 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.600 about our circadian clock. It governs our sleep wake cycles, 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:55.000 but it also governs a lot more nuanced things in 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:58.680 the body and the in freedom rhythm. Yes, it gives 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:01.280 us sort of the timing on our ovulation and menstruation, 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:05.840 but it also impacts our metabolic system, our stress response system, 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:09.160 our immune system, and our brain so it just was 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:12.400 a very logical thing, just like we have a method 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:14.799 of caring for our circadian rhythm. We don't think of 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:17.320 it that way, but our sleep routine is our method 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:21.720 for circadian rhythm support, right. We needed a method to 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:24.680 support this in Fredian rhythm because the fact that we 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:29.000 didn't know we had one and we were not catering 0:03:29.040 --> 0:03:31.760 to it was creating a lot of dysregulation in these 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.040 other systems of the body, which is the answer to 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:37.040 why are so many women compared to men suffering with 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:41.560 hormonal imbalances because we're dysregulating this Infredian rhythm. So I 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:44.280 looked at the four phases of the menstrual cycle, which 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:48.480 each have their own unique hormone ratio, and I wanted 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:51.840 to map out a diet, fitness, and lifestyle program that 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:54.600 would really optimize each of those hormone ratios so that 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:58.680 we could sort of experience a symptom free journey throughout 0:03:58.720 --> 0:04:01.840 the month, because that is really how we're designed to feel. 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:04.840 I feel like when you were saying we forgot that, 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:07.720 we don't even didn't realize that this system existed. I 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:10.720 was thinking about like women back in the days, who 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:13.520 you know, lived without phones and lived without busy environments 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:15.840 where they were traveling. In all of this, I imagine 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:19.680 it was very easy for a woman way back when 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:22.240 to actually live according to their rhythm, because that's all 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:25.240 they were really taught to tune into. Like there wasn't 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:28.599 tuning into other things around them. It was tuning into 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.159 the body. And we're going to wake up when the sunrises, 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:33.200 we're going to go to sleep when the moon comes out. 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:35.520 And it must have been such an easy way because 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:37.760 it was so in tune with nature to also be 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:39.920 in tune with their own body. But somehow that kind 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:42.760 of message has been lost the more and more things 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:44.359 that were introduced into our lives. 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:47.840 Well, it's interesting because if we look at the origin 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:52.000 of the word menstruation, it comes from either the Latin 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:55.400 or the Greek for measure, the unit of measure, and 0:04:55.480 --> 0:05:00.359 so this idea of measuring time is so tied with 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:05.120 lunar phases and the female cycle from you know, ancient cultures. 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:08.080 So yes, I do think that there was a period 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:10.800 of history in which women were much more in tune 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:15.160 with the rhythm of their bodies. But absolutely industrialization has 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:18.800 sort of interrupted that the experience, and so many of 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:23.760 us don't have a good visceral sense of which phase 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:25.679 of the cycle we're in. We know when we're bleeding, 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:29.760 but most women feel like surprised by well, you know, 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:32.159 where am I, and like, oh, my period's coming. It 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:35.039 feels always like an unknown always. 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:35.800 Yeah, even if you. 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:37.600 Know it's coming, Like even if I know the date's 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:39.960 coming up, I don't know what's happened. Something's happening to 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:41.839 me and I'm like, oh, yeah, it comes. And so 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:43.640 the only part you're really aware of is when you 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:46.600 actually mentioned when you actually on your period, like when 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:47.839 you actually get the symptoms. 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:51.760 But when you really start to practice the cycle sinking method, 0:05:51.960 --> 0:05:54.680 you really get to a place where you feel distinctly 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:59.200 each of the phases and their subtle nuances of the energy. 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:00.800 And it's very cool, you. 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.640 Know, it's beautiful. Yeah, it is so beautiful to experience it. 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:06.279 What are some of the signs and symptoms of people 0:06:06.880 --> 0:06:10.719 when they all hormonally imbalance for women? And how would 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:14.599 someone start to recognize it and realize that there's something 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:15.880 a bit off with them. 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:20.520 And maybe to take action. Yes, I mean PMS. We 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:24.560 normalize that as something that you know to expect during 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:28.160 the month. But really, PMS is a hormone imbalance. It 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:33.160 is the It's an inverted ratio of estrogen and progesterone 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:35.760 in the luteal phase, and that is why PMS exists. 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:38.719 If you have the proper balance of those two hormones, 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:40.840 you have no symptoms. If I tell you, Roddy that 0:06:40.880 --> 0:06:44.920 I have had no PMS for twenty years, I mean, 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:47.200 I just like to share that with people because I 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:48.839 want you to know that that's possible. 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:49.360 Right. 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:51.599 And it's not like I'm doing anything special outside of 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:54.800 this method, right. I don't take any special herbs or 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:57.080 you know, I'm a lessers more kind of girl when 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:01.520 it comes to health. So it's really really interesting. And 0:07:01.560 --> 0:07:05.000 we actually just concluded a three month i ORB approved 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:08.920 clinical trial on the cycle sinking method, which is a 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:13.200 big deal. And the preliminary resulting that we're analyzing the 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:16.240 data formally right now, we're incredible. I mean, women in 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:18.840 the first thirty days had an eighty percent reduction in 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:22.400 their PMS symptom burden and severity, and that only improved 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:24.320 over the three months that we were doing the intervention. 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:28.240 It's really exciting because you know, we go to the 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:31.640 doctor saying I don't feel right with my cycle, and 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:35.320 usually we're prescribe birth control pills, which don't fix what 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:38.480 is wrong. In fact, they also shut off your Infredian 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:43.800 rhythm and stop ovulation, which is a huge theft from 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:47.440 your future self, your postmenopausal self, because every ovulation you 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:52.840 have today puts let's say bucks in your health bank 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:57.200 account postmenopausely for your brain, your bone, and your heart. Right, 0:07:57.320 --> 0:08:01.320 so every ovulation is cardio osteo and or protective today 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:04.160 but also for those decades that you will be no 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:07.680 longer ovulating postmenopausala. Yeah, so you want to be you 0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:10.080 want to have a healthy cycle. It's it's your health 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:12.800 insurance for the future, but it's also your current health insurance. 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:16.400 And in twenty seventeen, the American College of Obstetrics and 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:20.040 Gynecologists decreed that your cycle should be considered a fifth 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:22.080 vital sign, like the other things we take in the 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:24.840 emergency room, like your temperature and your blood pressure. So 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:27.360 we do have to look at things like PMS as 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:31.280 a big red flag, like you have something the equivalent 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:34.360 of having a fever. You want to take action around that. 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:35.839 You don't want to joke about it. You don't want 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:38.960 to like downplay it. I am here to validate that 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:42.840 if you're feeling like something is off, it's off, and 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:46.600 to encourage you and give you hope that actually starting 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:49.480 to align your self care with your cycle phases really 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:50.160 does work. 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:51.200 It so does. 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:53.679 I used to when I was younger, have ready a 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:55.400 back paired crops the top where you just want to 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:57.400 the first day or e n two you're just like 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:00.679 wrapped up in a ball, you know, water bottle in 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:02.800 your stomach and kind of not being able to do anything. 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:05.640 And then when I started studying Ibada, and then after 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:09.040 I read your book, the subtle changes that I made 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:11.960 and the difference that I felt I could do everything 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:14.280 that I normally would do to a lesser degree and 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:17.520 some time, but at the time just to protect myself. 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:19.720 But if I want to go through my day, do 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:22.760 my work, get cook do all the things that I 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:25.080 normally do, I can easily do it and I don't 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:27.960 have crumps and I don't feel like the whole world 0:09:28.000 --> 0:09:31.200 is ending around me. And it stabilized my mood so 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:34.000 much more. And it's You're right, It's such simple shifts, 0:09:34.000 --> 0:09:35.760 and I would love to get into. 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:38.240 The cycle and how different phase is. 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:40.400 Yeah, I would love to go through each phase in detail, 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:42.720 if that's okay. Yeah, I would love to discuss what 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:43.320 that looks like. 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:46.800 I just want to share that. A number of women 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:50.320 when we were wrapping up the last study session, they said, 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:52.600 you know, now, what am I going to do? I 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:57.480 don't have like all these symptoms letting me know when 0:09:57.480 --> 0:09:59.760 my period's going to start. I don't have the breast 0:09:59.800 --> 0:10:02.880 ten anymore. I don't have the acne or the mood swing, 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:06.040 so like I have to actually track so that I 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:07.720 know which day of my period's going to start because 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:10.480 I'm not getting any physical suffering as the sign like 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:12.800 it's about to carry. And I was like, well, that's 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:16.120 a good we call that a good problem to have. Yeah. Actually, 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:18.320 so that's what I want for every woman is to 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:21.520 just where you feel like your experience, where you feel 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.360 good every day of the cycle. There is no better 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:28.120 cycle phase than I love them all, like it's like 0:10:28.160 --> 0:10:30.640 having four different children, Like you wouldn't love one more 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:33.240 than the other. They're all beautiful and they have different 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:36.560 you know, energies and properties, and they're different and beautiful 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:37.040 in each way. 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:39.240 When did you stop practicing cycle sinking. 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:41.360 Gosh, I think, well, I'm definitely the person on the 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:45.160 planet who's been doing it the longest I started probably now, 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:48.719 I would say fifteen years ago I started evolving the practice, 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:53.560 so it's been a while, and I absolutely credit this 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:57.800 consistent practice over the past fifteen years to be one 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:00.360 of the main reasons why now at forty eight half, 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:05.520 I'm still ovulating, I'm still menstruating regularly. I'm not on 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:09.000 any HRT, I'm not on any peptides, I'm not on 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.240 anything yet. I may do those things in the future 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:14.480 as needed, but I'm interested in playing the long game 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:19.760 of how can I use basic biological systems support which 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:24.520 cycle sinking really is a great example of that. How 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:29.080 can I use that to extend the functionality of my ovaries. Remember, 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:32.520 the ovaries are the first organ in the body to age, 0:11:32.559 --> 0:11:36.480 and we are aging our ovaries so much faster than 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:38.920 we realize because we are not taking care of our 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:42.360 cycle phases. We're putting in too many toxins, We're creating 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:45.840 a lot of inflammation, and it's absolutely messing with ovarian function. 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.360 And so that's why you have girls at six and 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:50.800 a half who are going through puberty at six and 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:53.760 a half. You have girls in their twenties who are 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:56.880 doubled over in cramps, with major menstrual problems. You have 0:11:56.920 --> 0:11:59.480 women in their thirties who cannot get pregnant. And you 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:03.559 have women in their late thirties early forties who are 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:09.120 showing stage two perimenopause symptoms meaning irregular cycles, hot flashes, 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:14.040 night sweats, major mood disruption, and really just advancing through 0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:19.000 this process of ovarian aging so much faster. And I'm 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:22.200 just here living the experiment of what happens when you 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:26.480 support the female hormonal ecosystem for a long time. 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:27.760 Rather than going against it. 0:12:27.880 --> 0:12:30.160 You get a lot of return on your investment, is 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:32.800 what I can say from the front lines, because I'm 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:37.160 feeling really good and I think that's available to more 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:39.480 of us. Should we start the process as soon as 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:40.240 you know about it. 0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:44.400 Yes, we absolutely should tell us what it entails, please, so. 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:45.200 In phase one? 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:49.480 Yes, So I actually like to consider phase one, you know, 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:51.959 the first phase of the cycle, the follicular phase, because 0:12:52.000 --> 0:12:54.680 doesn't menstruation feel like the completion of the journey. 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:55.360 It really does. 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:58.160 So even and people get tripped up on this, You're like, well, 0:12:58.200 --> 0:12:59.800 but day one is day one of the bleed when 0:12:59.840 --> 0:13:01.959 you're counting for fertility, and that's fine. You can still 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:06.480 count day one as the bleed day one for let's say, 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:10.720 approximating ovulation, if you're using that counting method. Although now 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:15.080 in the world of you know, biometric devices, why guess, 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:18.360 like use a device so that you know exactly when 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:21.800 you're ovulating, whether that be basal body temperature tracking or 0:13:21.840 --> 0:13:24.320 your analysis that you can do at home, or a 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:26.320 ring or a watch. I mean, there's just so many 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:28.760 cool ways now, Like, there's no excuse not to know 0:13:28.800 --> 0:13:32.120 when you're ovulating in which phase you're in. But I 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:35.440 think from an energetic perspective, the way you relate to 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:38.360 your cycle, I'd love for us to reevaluate what we 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:41.240 consider the first phase, which is the follicular phase, the 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:44.520 beginning when all the eggs are developing on the ovary 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:47.840 and you're feeling like your estrogen's kind of coming back 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:52.320 online and you're interested again in starting again. Just like 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:55.120 your overy is starting again, you also are interested in 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:59.240 re engaging with life again in a fresh way. So 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:04.880 then from a let's say metabolic perspective, we actually have 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:07.560 a slowing down of our metabolism in this first half 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:11.679 of the cycle, so we can we are more efficient 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:15.760 calorically speaking, you can eat a little bit less, but 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:17.760 you still going to feel really good from a blood 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:21.560 sugar perspective, and our cortisol levels at rest are lower, 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:24.880 so that's what's happening. And ovulation, of course, we have 0:14:24.960 --> 0:14:28.680 sort of this wonderful ovulatory surge of estrogen and FSH 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:32.200 and LH which stimulates the verbal and social centers of 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:35.360 the brain, making us very social and all of that. 0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:39.080 And then we move into the second half of the cycle, 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.240 the luteal phase and the menstrual phase. This is when 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:46.560 metabolism speeds up and we need two hundred and seventy 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:50.480 nine more calories per day, and this is when progestrone 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:52.760 shows up to the party. The luteal phase is my 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:55.400 favorite phase. Oh okay, it's my favorite phase. It's the 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:57.440 longest phase of the cycle, and when we think about 0:14:57.480 --> 0:15:00.680 just the concept of manifesting, it's also really beautifully baked 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:02.880 into the menstrual cycle. This is the phase of the 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:06.320 cycle where you do things right. You don't just idate 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.680 and speak about it and talk about it with people. 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:13.640 You get to work right. And I love that it's 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:15.800 the longest phase of the cycle because when you think 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:19.440 about the arc of manifesting anything, right, you ideate it 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:23.000 in the follicular phase, you speak it into existence in 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:27.200 the ovulatory phase. Then you do things in alignment with 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:29.800 that vision in the luteal phase, and then you evaluate 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:33.120 and like you know, celebrate in the menstrual phase. Right. 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:37.360 So it's the longest phase, and it should be a 0:15:37.360 --> 0:15:40.240 phase where you feel calm and focused if you have 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:44.040 adequate levels of progestrum resting CORESOL levels are a little 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:46.120 higher at this time, so that's going to affect how 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:48.400 we eat and how we exercise, which I'll go through 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:52.000 in a second. Then menstruation is a beautiful phase as well, 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:54.760 not to be discarded because we're bleeding. No. In fact, 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:57.239 the right and left hemispheres of the brain are communicating 0:15:57.320 --> 0:15:59.720 the most across the corpus colosum. So this is when 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:04.000 you can really evaluate the facts and your feelings about 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:07.680 any situation and just decide what you want to do 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:10.920 right the next cycle. Right, because follicular phase is coming 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:12.600 back up, you want to start planning, like what are 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:15.840 you doing with your major life buckets? Right, So that's 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:18.720 what's happening, let's say ten thousand foot view. How do 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:21.400 you care for each of these phases? In the first 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:23.920 half of the cycle, we eat, you know, there's obviously 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:27.280 the food chart from chapter four of the book is famous. 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:31.280 Everybody's meming it, and there's so many Instagram posts. Everybody's 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:33.560 done such a great job like putting their spin on it. 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:36.840 I love it. But to get the correct one, please 0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:38.960 reference the book or the app, because there's now it's 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:40.640 like a game of telephone. I think a lot of 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:44.240 people are excited about cycle sinking, and they're maybe misrepresenting 0:16:44.240 --> 0:16:45.840 it a little bit. So just make sure you get 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:48.360 the right information. In the first half, you're going to 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:50.600 be eating lighter foods, You're going to be focusing on 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.960 gut health. You're going to be you know, you can 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:56.480 do a little bit of extended fasting in the morning, 0:16:57.320 --> 0:17:00.920 not much past fourteen or fifteen hours, meaning from dinner 0:17:00.960 --> 0:17:05.040 to breakfast. And then from an exercise perspective, you can 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:08.119 go really aggressively with your cardio and your hit workouts 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:11.320 in this phase second half of the cycle. As I said, 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:14.919 since metabolism speeds up, why does it speed up because 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:18.560 you're three D printing a little organ, the endometrium. Right, 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:22.680 you're manufacturing this tissue out of the food that you're eating, 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:26.359 and it takes more effort on your body's part to 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:29.160 do that, so you need more calories. This is why 0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:33.160 stabilizing your blood sugar is critical for progesterone production. We're 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:39.160 very very tightly titrated to glucose and cortisol and progesterone, 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:41.080 so you really do want to watch that in the 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:43.640 luteal phase, which is why you'll see the food recommendations 0:17:43.680 --> 0:17:46.960 here are much more substantive. So if you're the smoothie 0:17:46.960 --> 0:17:48.960 salad girl, you're going to feel really comfortable in the 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:51.159 first half of the cycle. But in the second half, 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:54.520 I want you to get more comfortable with your macro self, right, 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:57.080 because you want to build like a nice bowl of grains, 0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:02.440 root vegetables, legomes, cook leafy greens and proteins and fats. 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:05.119 A really well balanced macroplate is really going to be 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:08.359 the thing that keeps you energized and keeping you away 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:11.960 from any of that like PMS, you know, craving attack, 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:15.920 hang the yeah, all that stuff that's your body trying 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:19.119 to save you from yourself. When you wake up at 0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:21.520 the bottom of a bag of crisps and you're like, oh, 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:25.040 I'm back right after you've gone into a Grellin trance. 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:29.040 That's all you are. You're in a neurotransmitter trance based 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:31.680 on Grellin. Grellen has taken over. Your blood sugar has 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:34.520 become so dysregulated that your brain is like, we got 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:36.280 to help this person out. She doesn't know how to 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:39.080 feed herself today, so we're going to give her an 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:43.840 overwhelming craving to get blood glucose levels up. And that's 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:46.440 why we have this type of sort of irrational craving 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:49.480 during a uteal phase. It's just because we're mismanaging blood sugger. 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:51.720 How might you be mismanaging your blood sugar in this phase? 0:18:52.119 --> 0:18:54.760 Continuing to fast in the morning, right, you need to 0:18:54.840 --> 0:19:00.119 eat within thirty minutes upon waking, and substantial substantially in 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:03.520 the luteal phase, so thirty grams of protein, about thirty 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:07.480 to forty grams of carbohydrates, twelve to fifteen grams of fat. 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:11.560 You really want to actually measure your macros to keep 0:19:11.560 --> 0:19:13.600 your blood sugar balance. And if you don't have a 0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:16.760 good handle on that, I would use a CGM a 0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:20.240 continuous glucose monitor for the first one cycle, just so 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:22.360 you can see how your body is responding to all 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:24.840 these different food changes. That was one of our fun 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:26.880 findings in the study as well. We had everybody wear 0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:30.640 a CGM and they were most women were really shocked 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:33.840 at how, you know, there's resistance to eating. We as 0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:37.240 women have a lot of resistance to nourishing ourselves, and 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:41.040 so there's fear about feeding our bodies. And I said, great, 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:43.040 we're just going to put the dogma aside. You're going 0:19:43.080 --> 0:19:44.880 to eat these things and you're you're going to see 0:19:44.880 --> 0:19:47.280 the data in the CGM if your blood sugar is 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:49.760 happy with this or not. And everybody was like, oh 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:53.000 my god, I can't believe that this is what my 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:57.720 body needs and how good I feel. So that's really 0:19:57.760 --> 0:20:00.320 important too, to just help us break free of the 0:20:00.400 --> 0:20:05.600 sort of conditioning we've received. Let's not under appreciate the 0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:08.040 fact that because we've been left out of all of 0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:11.639 this medical fitness and nutrition research, we've been fed a 0:20:11.720 --> 0:20:15.399 narrative for many, many decades that has been based on 0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:18.120 the assumption that we are just smaller versions of men 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:23.320