Lifestyle-visualization - Untitled

be gentle with your body / mind / soul

Cycle Day 1:

The first day of your cycle begins with the day your period starts.

🍁What’s happening in your body? Estrogen is at its lowest, in fact, it may have dropped drastically enough over the last couple days, you’ve probably noticed a shift in emotional and physical energy.

🍂What does that mean? Estrogen is responsible for increasing serotonin (the “happy😊” chemical), you may be feeling pretty lousy today. Emotional and physical fatigue are very common and should resolve over the next couple of days. (If they last longer than your period, seek medical attention.) Estrogen and cortisol (the stress hormone) are also linked. High cortisol levels can lower estrogen levels and cause or worsen the following symptoms: sleep problems, mood swings, and body temperature regulation.

🤎What should I do? Get plenty of rest. Find ways to relieve stress. Do some flow yoga. Take a relaxing walk. Cuddle up with a good book. Take a bubble bath. Have an at-home spa day. Take a nap. Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate.

Treat yo-self. Lowering stress levels lowers cortisol and helps balance hormones. Avoid trying to boost your mood with sugars or caffeine which will make you crash and burn later. Instead, boost your mood by taking a scenic walk or stretching and meditating with a scene that pleases you from youtube.

Meals for the day: You probably want to dive into those sugary baked goods and salty carbs. And there’s a reason for that! Carbs temporarily increase serotonin levels. Today, we’re treating ourselves and our body. We’ll eat smaller meals more frequently to nourish and replenish. So how about a Snack Day! Create small meals out of the following:

Berries: blueberries, blackberries, strawberries

Cherries

Red and black grapes

Citrus fruits

Nuts: walnuts, pecans, almonds

Dark chocolate

Wild rice

Leafy greens

Broccoli

Mushrooms

Protein: beef, pork, oily fish

I love brewing up a beef soup/stew with mushrooms, spinach, carrots, and potatoes that I can throw together and leave in the crockpot all day.

Planning ahead:

Cycle Day 2 on average = the heaviest flow. Stock up on supplies and plan accordingly. Plan for comfortable clothes and for activities to be close to a restroom in case you need to take care of business. (Heaven forbid you might sneeze.) Good news: you will begin to feel a bit better tomorrow as estrogen levels start to climb.