Dec. 6, 2023

Navigating Your Menstrual Cycle and Weight Loss with Ashlee Sorensen [Ep. 72]

Navigating Your Menstrual Cycle and Weight Loss with Ashlee Sorensen [Ep. 72]
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Live Well

One of the most common reasons my clients give me for having bad weeks? Their periods. You’re not alone. You’re not the only one that wants to crawl in a dark cave and bring all the chocolate with you. 

Ashlee Sorensen is a certified menstrual and hormone coach and an absolute delight to talk with! She lays out the multiple parts of our cycles and talks about the challenges of each one and gives us tips to get started managing and preparing for better periods.  

Ashlee is offering a discount on her signature course: Cycle Strategy 101
ENROLL HERE with 10% off!

BONUS CLIP: Teaching Our Teen Daughters About Periods–tap HERE for this extra convo with me and Ashlee!

CrioBru Ashlee  and I discussed:

Double Chocolate (Ashlee’s favorite)
Starter Kit (to try several flavors!)
A French Press to brew it!
(note: these are affiliate links 🙂)


Free Get UNSTUCK Sessions now available through the end of 2023!

If you haven’t lost your first 5 pounds just by listening to the podcast, you might be stuck. I’ve created this new free session just for you!
Schedule yours  HERE
If you can’t find a session that works for you, send me a quick message on IG or email me with some times that work for you and I’ll see what I can do!

More from Well with Lisa:

More from Ashlee Sorensen:

About Ashlee: 
Ashlee is a certified menstrual and hormone coach for women. Her experience with PMS, debilitating period pain, and perimenopause symptoms ultimately led her to learn more about how food and lifestyle affect hormone health and eventually certify with the Health Coach Institute.

In 2001, Ashlee created her signature course, Cycle Strategy 101, which has helped women worldwide ease uncomfortable symptoms of hormone imbalance and embrace their feminine energy.

Ashlee is passionate about teaching women about the power of the menstrual cycle and the cyclical superpowers that come with being a hormonal woman.

More from Well with Lisa:

Transcript
WEBVTT

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This is the.

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I think, well, live well podcast.

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I'm Lisa Salsbury, and this is episode 72.

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Navigating your menstrual cycle and weight loss with Ashley Sorenson.

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I find one of the biggest factors for my clients.

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When they report to me that it was a tough week was because they were on their period.

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I wanted to really dive into this issue since the vast majority of my clients and listeners are women and understand from an expert how the cycle affects our weight loss and hunger levels and appetite.

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Ashley Sorenson is a certified menstrual and hormone coach and is here with me on today's episode.

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Uh, to give us an overview of our cycles.

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It's way more than your period week and all the rest of the weeks.

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You'll understand much more about your emotions and honestly, just yourself.

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After listening to this episode, women are cyclical in nature and getting in tune with that is going to help you, even if you've been menstruating for decades and thinking you're probably about done with it.

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Stay tuned to the end because I will also let you know about a bonus clip that Ashley and I recorded.

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Just about your teen daughters.

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So get that information at the end of the episode.

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Welcome to Eat Well, Think Well, Live Well; the podcast for women who want to lose weight, but are tired of counting and calculating all the food.

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I'm your host, Lisa Salsbury.

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I'm a certified health and weight loss coach and life coach, and most importantly a recovered chronic dieter.

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I'll teach you to figure out why you are eating when you aren't hungry, instead of worrying so much about what you are eating.

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I am thrilled to have Ashley Sorenson here she is a certified.

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menstrual and hormone coach.

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So I am delighted to finally be talking about the menstrual cycle with my listeners with such a qualified professional.

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So Ashley, welcome, please introduce yourself and let us know a little bit about what you do.

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Thank you.

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Okay.

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Thank you so much, Lisa.

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Thanks so much for inviting me to talk about my favorite subject.

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And that is the menstrual cycle and hormones.

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So yes, I am a, a menstrual and hormone coach.

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I, has certified in, functional nutrition.

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So really using our nutrition, to help our bodies heal.

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And in this case, Particularly we're, we're using nutrition to support our hormones.

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I have always had problems with my hormones.

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You know, I struggled with painful periods, really bad PMS.

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And so it's always been kind of like the forefront of my life.

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And, I just found that, you know, I'm 43 years old and I've never, Really had the support that I have longed for throughout my life.

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it's always been like, here's the birth control pill, take that, it'll regulate, it'll fix things.

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And it wasn't until I got well into my 30s that I realized that that isn't the case.

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And I started doing my own research.

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And studying, on the topic of, women's hormones.

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And that's really led me to my schooling and now here.

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So, I love what I do.

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I love helping women, guiding women, through.

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Understanding their hormones and, really learning to kind of decipher or, interpret their symptoms, because we look at symptoms as a big problem, as an inconvenience, when really they are there for a reason, and that's to let us know that something is off and that something needs attention,

00:03:21.905 --> 00:03:26.965
Well, in so many times, especially with all this women's health stuff, we just figure, well, it happens to everyone.

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And I I've said this a thousand times on the podcast, just because it's common, doesn't make it normal.

00:03:33.159 --> 00:03:33.520
right?

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Yep.

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Amen to that.

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Like, yeah, everybody is suffering.

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How sad is that?

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Right?

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It's terrible.

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Yeah.

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And it's like, I just feel very passionate that God did not create women to suffer.

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And when we are suffering, then we're not able to really fulfill our purpose.

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And be instruments in God's hands and, and do the work that we're here to do.

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And so I want to help women feel their very best so that they can do whatever they feel called to do.

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Perfect.

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I love that.

00:04:09.125 --> 00:04:09.514
Okay.

00:04:09.514 --> 00:04:10.935
Well, let's jump right in.

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First of all, let's get a little educated About the menstrual cycle.

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I think most.

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Women are fairly familiar with, okay, like, I know that like week one is when I bleed, but past that, I don't think we're as educated on the four exact cycles.

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It's just like the cycle week.

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And then the non cycle weeks is how most women I think kind of measure it.

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So tell us about those four phases.

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Okay.

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So yes, there are four phases to the menstrual cycle and I love to compare them to seasons.

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Like nature seasons, and I'll explain a little bit more about that as I kind of move through the cycle here.

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So, yeah, it kind of starts and ends with the bleed.

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You know, we begin bleeding this it the first day that we experience full flow.

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This is day one of our cycle.

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Okay.

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And so I compare this to winter.

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So I call it inner winter because our hormones are low.

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There's not a lot going on as far as like hormones go, right?

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Like it's, as far as our sex hormones go, everything is at its lowest point.

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And so because of that, because estrogen namely is low and testosterone is low, we experience lower energy levels.

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We feel more of this introverted energy.

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We want to be alone.

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We want to do quiet things.

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We, you know, want to stay home and be by ourselves or read a book.

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We don't feel like going out and doing all the things.

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And so, that is inner winter.

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And I, I like to call it inner winter because that's kind of what winter is like, at least here in Utah, just not a lot going on, right?

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Like it's, it's pretty quiet.

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and we feel like more desire to stay home.

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Be cozy and do the introverted activities.

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So then we move into the follicular phase, which I refer to as inner spring.

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And, this is when the egg is maturing and getting ready for fertilization.

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And we start, and estrogen is starting to climb, so we start to feel more energy.

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We want to get out more.

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you may have noticed that like you start to feel more desire to create or you're having a lot of ideas come to you.

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And sorry, let me interrupt for a Okay.

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it depends on how long your cycle is.

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So usually it's days six through 11.

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If you have like a 28 ish day cycle, but this is why one of the reasons why it's so important to track Lisa, because if you don't know, like, if you're not tracking your symptoms, you're not going to know what phase of the cycle you're really in.

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The only 1 that's really telling is the menstrual phase, because you get the bleed, right?

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right.

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Okay.

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so, so yeah, so we're talking here about like these seven ish through 13, somewhere around there for inner spring and estrogen is climbing, it's rising and so we feel that rising energy come up for us as well.

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And like I said, the creativity, the motivation, this is a great time.

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Like if you want to start a new goal, this is a great time to do it because your energy and your motivation are kind of supporting that.

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And then we come into the ovulation phase.

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So this is where most women experience the most energy, because testosterone peaks during this time as well.

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And that gives us a lot of energy, a lot of drive, Our libido, usually we get a spike in libido.

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So we have more desire for intimacy.

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we have more of that extroverted energy.

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We want to get out and do stuff, be seen, have fun.

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It's kind of feels like the natural thing to do.

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So this is inner summer.

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Everything is like carefree, easygoing, super fun.

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You wonder why there was ever a problem at all.

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Then after ovulation, you come into inner autumn.

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So this is the luteal phase.

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And this is You know, usually a danger zone for a lot of women because so many women deal with PMS and

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before

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this is the week before.

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Yeah, the week before the bleed, and we come into this phase shortly after we ovulate.

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I like to think of ovulation like a full moon.

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And as soon as ovulation occurs, that moon starts to get smaller.

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So when we experience a full moon in nature, like, it's not like it's full one day, and then it goes to a dark moon the next day, right?

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Like, it's a gradual waning process.

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And that's kind of how our energy is going to be after ovulation.

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It's going to slow down.

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We are going to slow down.

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Our mood is going to change.

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Our energy level is going to change.

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The, the things that sound fun to do are going to change.

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And that's all because progesterone, the hormone progesterone comes on the scene in the luteal phase and estrogen dips down low.

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And so we feel more of that introverted energy.

00:09:09.910 --> 00:09:12.551
And then we start right back again with interwinter.

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Okay, so I thought progesterone was our kind of more of our calming feel good hormone.

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Is that correct?

00:09:20.298 --> 00:09:25.428
So you're saying when it comes on, we're still not, what did you say about

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the problem with, so yes, progesterone is the calming hormone.

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It is calming, but the problem arises because We are not living in a way that complements that hormone.

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So because we have this progesterone that's like calming and it's also a little bit, more introverted, kind of like the stay at home type of vibe going on, we don't really honor that.

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We don't live in a world that honors that.

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So we keep going on business as usual, doing all the things, having a full schedule, and that's when we run into a problem.

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We're not slowing down our schedule.

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To accommodate for this decline in estrogen, this peak in progesterone.

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So if a woman comes to me with really bad PMS symptoms, that's the first place we look at is her schedule during the luteal phase, because it's usually some tweaking that needs to happen there that really solves the majority of the problem.

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Okay, so here's like where my mind is going.

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Well, how does this even work?

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Because most people do have a job that's the same every single day.

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How do we support our minds, our bodies and all of this in each phase?

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And Still be a mom every single day and still be, you know, whatever your work is every single day, whether that's in the home or out of the home.

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In addition to children, if you don't have children, you're still going to have these phases.

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Like there's just so many things that we do that are expected, that are the same every single day, that it feels hard to me.

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Every time I've looked at Ashley's content, I'm like, I don't know how

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Yeah.

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I don't know how to change my things based on the cycle.

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How do you do that?

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yeah.

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And I think that that's a very fair and valid question because like I said, we're not living in a world that supports.

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A woman's cyclical nature.

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We're living in a man's world for lack of a better term.

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Like we are this, this schedule that we have, it runs on the circadian rhythm, which is perfect for a man.

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It doesn't honor a woman's fluctuating hormones because that's way too quote unquote complex.

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And so as women, it becomes.

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Then our kind of responsibility to decide or figure that out, like, how, how do we do that?

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And so that's what I love to help women figure out.

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if I could offer one piece of advice, a good place to start.

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Is if you can just find a way to slow things down during days one, two, and three of your bleed.

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I'm not saying go to bed for three days.

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I'm not saying cancel all your plans.

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I'm not saying, you know, give your kids away to the neighbors for three days.

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Like that's like life goes on.

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Like we have, like, we've got to go to work and do all the things.

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And so how do we do that?

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We just slow it down a little bit.

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just allow more white space in your calendar on days one through three, because your body is calling for rest during that time.

00:12:34.339 --> 00:12:47.418
And I think it's so beautiful, Lisa, because it's like, we are given this perfect container of time during the cycle where we can rest, like our body, our hormones are supporting that rest.

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But we over.

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Rule it because we think, Oh, we can't like the world's going to fall apart.

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If I slow down

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Well, then we wonder why we're so tired in the

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exactly like this

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Why am I so tired?

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right.

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This is why so many of us feel exhausted, burnt out, overwhelmed.

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Like we're not enough.

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We can't, we don't do enough.

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We'll never catch up.

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It's, it's honestly, because we, we haven't been taught how to live in a cyclical way to honor our, our menstrual cycle.

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Nobody ever taught us that.

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And I think it's so unfortunate.

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So if you can just decide, and every woman is different.

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Everyone woman has to decide what that looks like for her.

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How can you slow things down just a little bit?

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Is it a half an hour in your bedroom, reading a book, laying on the bed?

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Is it an hour to go for a walk?

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Like what is it?

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And and then deciding what that looks like for you, and then delegating if needed, asking for help if needed, but it's not completely wiping your schedule clean.

00:13:56.316 --> 00:13:58.365
You know, it's not going to bed for three days.

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Like I said, it's just slowing down to allow your energy storage to replenish I compare it to like an arrow, like you pull back like a bow and arrow when you pull or a slingshot, when you pull back, it's that slow, steady pull that allows for momentum going forward.

00:14:18.068 --> 00:14:18.859
And so.

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You know, it propels the the arrow further, faster, and that's what we're doing for ourselves is we're slowing down so that we can preserve energy for the rest of the cycle so that we could have a really awesome inner summer.

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You know, if we're rushing, rushing, rushing and not honoring inner winter and inner spring, we aren't going to experience an inner summer.

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We're going to be robbed of really like the most fun part of the cycle for a lot of women.

00:14:48.125 --> 00:14:51.836
And so that would be my first advice is just how can I slow things down?

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I'm thinking for like a working woman looking at your calendar and just kind of blocking off like these aren't the days for heavy, big meetings.

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These aren't, if, if at all possible, you know, reschedule those things just Be like, I'm, I'm not available for those types of meetings.

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And in these days, I can really see how, like, for me, for example, I shouldn't be doing podcast interviews where I need to be like high energy, you know, interacting.

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I should block those off on my calendar and plan for more quiet activities.

00:15:26.696 --> 00:15:27.355
in my work.

00:15:27.355 --> 00:15:45.086
So I don't know what that looks like for, you know, nurses or teachers other than is there some amount of like, okay, if we can pre-plan, like for those days, you know, for teachers, like, okay, let's get lesson plans done ahead for those days, or just anything you can do to pre-plan.

00:15:45.145 --> 00:15:46.316
Would that be helpful?

00:15:46.546 --> 00:15:48.306
So yes, absolutely.

00:15:48.385 --> 00:15:52.605
I mean, like you said, you and I have flexibility with our business, right?

00:15:52.605 --> 00:15:54.926
We can kind of plan it how we want to do it.

00:15:55.416 --> 00:16:00.687
when I used to do consultations, I just did not do consultations during certain times of my, cycle.

00:16:00.687 --> 00:16:02.238
Like it, it didn't feel good.

00:16:02.238 --> 00:16:03.107
It wasn't fun.

00:16:03.418 --> 00:16:04.427
I didn't enjoy it.

00:16:04.508 --> 00:16:09.457
There are times in my cycle when I don't record podcast episodes, because again, it feels really hard.

00:16:09.457 --> 00:16:13.817
It takes me twice as long, but before I had this business, I worked as a nurse.

00:16:14.182 --> 00:16:18.923
And when I started to practice menstrual cycle awareness, I was like, what does that look like for me?

00:16:19.592 --> 00:16:23.383
Because, you know, a day in the life of a nurse is nonstop.

00:16:23.712 --> 00:16:27.092
Like, you barely have time to go to the bathroom or eat your lunch.

00:16:27.322 --> 00:16:32.212
So what does slowing down look like for me working as a nurse, working 10 hour days?

00:16:32.732 --> 00:16:38.602
And what I found through some trial and error was it was usually a walk around the block.

00:16:38.613 --> 00:16:41.783
I could usually find time in my day to do that.

00:16:42.263 --> 00:16:54.232
If it wasn't a walk around the block, I would just go outside, like just step outside of the building and breathe the fresh air I needed to have that disconnect.

00:16:54.638 --> 00:17:06.407
From the hustle of the clinic from my patients from my coworkers, all of these things that were taking so much energy from me.

00:17:06.708 --> 00:17:12.617
I needed to put some separation between myself and them so that I could kind of replenish my energy storage.

00:17:12.968 --> 00:17:15.057
And so for me, that's what it looked like.

00:17:15.107 --> 00:17:19.508
and because during my premenstrum, I felt very irritated.

00:17:19.557 --> 00:17:25.897
My coworkers drove me nuts, you know, and I wanted to, I wanted to just break down and cry sometimes.

00:17:25.897 --> 00:17:27.198
I felt so overwhelmed.

00:17:27.667 --> 00:17:34.748
And so if I just decided, you know, if I can get around the block or I can get outside for a minute, that will do wonders for me.

00:17:35.317 --> 00:17:37.548
And so that would be my..

00:17:37.587 --> 00:17:38.637
advice there.

00:17:39.038 --> 00:17:43.028
I would also offer that, like you said, you know, preparing ahead of time.

00:17:43.637 --> 00:17:49.548
That's 1 of the gifts of the luteal phase or our inner autumn is we know our period is coming, right?

00:17:49.587 --> 00:17:51.498
Like, we know winter is coming.

00:17:51.508 --> 00:17:55.347
The snow is going to fall eventually, and we need to be prepared for it.

00:17:55.357 --> 00:17:56.708
So what does that look like?

00:17:57.038 --> 00:18:02.738
I want you to think of, like, you were forecasted to, like, expected this huge snow storm.

00:18:02.768 --> 00:18:04.087
How would you prepare yourself?

00:18:04.557 --> 00:18:06.087
You probably go to the store.

00:18:06.528 --> 00:18:08.288
and get some essentials, right?

00:18:08.317 --> 00:18:10.218
Like get all the food that you want.

00:18:10.448 --> 00:18:21.208
maybe have like your favorite movies ready, you know, prepare for your bleed in that way so that when your bleed comes, you are all set up where you can rest.

00:18:21.738 --> 00:18:27.097
So for some of my clients that looks like preparing meals ahead of time, like they'll prepare them.

00:18:27.633 --> 00:18:42.319
freezer meals, put them in the freezer so that when they're on their bleed, they can just pull out the meal or their husband or their kids and put it in the oven and they don't even have to think about it because those things feel time consuming, hard and annoying when they're bleeding.

00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:43.240
They don't want to deal with it.

00:18:43.605 --> 00:18:49.214
I feel like even that, even just having meals prepared ahead would be somewhat of a rest for me.

00:18:49.484 --> 00:18:54.795
The other thing I was thinking, as you were talking about that, like just getting outside and just bringing some fresh air.

00:18:55.290 --> 00:19:00.851
I think there's even some amount of just acknowledging, Oh, this is okay.

00:19:00.851 --> 00:19:07.391
What I'm feeling, just being aware of your cycle and what happens and saying what I'm feeling right now.

00:19:07.961 --> 00:19:12.580
Is totally normal and, and it's okay.

00:19:12.580 --> 00:19:14.080
And it's how I'm supposed to be feeling.

00:19:14.151 --> 00:19:15.250
Nothing has gone wrong.

00:19:15.310 --> 00:19:20.451
I, I find that thought helps me so often when my brain is screaming, like, what's wrong with you?

00:19:20.461 --> 00:19:21.451
Like nothing,

00:19:21.776 --> 00:19:22.125
Yeah.

00:19:23.546 --> 00:19:24.236
Yes.

00:19:24.355 --> 00:19:25.945
Like you're a human being, right?

00:19:25.965 --> 00:19:27.326
Having a human experience.

00:19:27.391 --> 00:19:27.840
Yeah.

00:19:27.931 --> 00:19:32.471
So even if you are more tired and you're like, okay, I can't figure out how to slow down.

00:19:32.865 --> 00:19:36.576
on this day, just saying like, it's okay that I'm more tired.

00:19:36.576 --> 00:19:43.905
I know what's going on kind of actually go a long way in giving your brain, that rest of beating yourself up

00:19:44.351 --> 00:20:02.861
we're sure because it's that kind of that expectation that we put on ourselves that makes the inner autumn or the luteal phase that we before our bleed so terrible is because we are expecting ourselves to be the inner summer, Lisa, the inner summer, Ashley.

00:20:02.871 --> 00:20:05.500
And it's like, geez, no wonder we feel burned out.

00:20:05.510 --> 00:20:10.790
the expectation is so high that we're always a certain way.

00:20:11.361 --> 00:20:11.951
And.

00:20:12.351 --> 00:20:15.528
So it's not that the expectation has to be lowered.

00:20:15.538 --> 00:20:16.958
It needs to shift.

00:20:16.958 --> 00:20:18.387
It needs to shift.

00:20:18.387 --> 00:20:28.877
And I think that that is one of the biggest gifts that a knowledge of the menstrual cycle can give a woman is like, Oh, like grace.

00:20:29.107 --> 00:20:32.228
I can give myself grace because like you said, nothing has gone wrong.

00:20:33.137 --> 00:20:34.327
This is okay.

00:20:34.587 --> 00:20:39.820
You know, unless you're dealing with debilitating PMS in the luteal phase, which is not normal.

00:20:40.256 --> 00:20:42.526
You know, it's normal for your mood to change.

00:20:42.536 --> 00:20:48.665
It's normal for your libido to change, for your, your interest and motivation to change.

00:20:48.705 --> 00:20:50.266
And that's okay.

00:20:50.836 --> 00:20:55.316
Like, what would happen if you let yourself change if you leaned into that?

00:20:55.915 --> 00:20:56.296
Yeah.

00:20:56.546 --> 00:20:57.405
Yeah, totally.

00:20:58.980 --> 00:21:19.240
So shifting gears just a little bit, I noticed with my clients, when, when we first start a session and I say like, okay, you know, what went well or what were challenges this week, being on their cycle, being on the bleed week is frequently listed as a challenge for my weight loss clients.

00:21:19.631 --> 00:21:25.250
They tell me like, I couldn't stick to my plan, which of course then they're beating themselves up.

00:21:25.250 --> 00:21:27.681
Or like, I just felt hungry the whole time.

00:21:28.131 --> 00:21:38.789
And So some things that we talk about is like, what we just mentioned is preparing, tracking your cycle so that you know, when it's coming and preparing a couple of days in advance.

00:21:38.819 --> 00:21:45.940
And so we have things that we want to be eating, like with our higher brains, that kind of wanting to be eating, right.

00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:55.759
Not just wanting to eat everything in the house, but with regards to maintaining our weight loss efforts, how does that fit in with the cycle?

00:21:55.799 --> 00:21:57.539
And what do you suggest there?

00:21:58.230 --> 00:22:07.799
I think this is also one of the reasons why we don't see consistent weight loss every single week, that it's the same for women.

00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:12.470
I only have one male client right now, but boy, his weight loss is consistent

00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:13.640
Yeah.

00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:14.420
Yeah.

00:22:14.430 --> 00:22:15.160
I believe it.

00:22:15.809 --> 00:22:18.700
I believe it because their hormones are the same every day.

00:22:18.950 --> 00:22:19.240
every day.

00:22:20.490 --> 00:22:20.960
Yeah.

00:22:21.220 --> 00:22:23.190
How would that be anyway,

00:22:23.595 --> 00:22:24.134
So, yeah.

00:22:24.134 --> 00:22:37.734
And I think that this is such a good question because so many women don't really, I didn't realize this before I studied the menstrual cycle in depth, how, and I'm a nurse, like how our insulin changes throughout the menstrual cycle.

00:22:38.154 --> 00:22:49.984
So surprise, like nobody's going to be surprised by this, that when we are in that week, when we're in the luteal phase, that week before our bleed comes, we are less sensitive.

00:22:50.145 --> 00:22:51.056
To insulin.

00:22:51.455 --> 00:22:54.185
So, we are not as insulin sensitive.

00:22:54.645 --> 00:23:01.566
And so we need to be very aware about what we're putting in our mouth and how that's going to affect our blood sugar.

00:23:02.372 --> 00:23:02.632
let's.

00:23:02.632 --> 00:23:09.343
review too, when you say we're going to be less insulin sensitive, how does that affect what the body is doing?

00:23:09.413 --> 00:23:13.752
Like, basically explain that I haven't talked a lot about insulin sensitivity lately.

00:23:13.863 --> 00:23:14.292
Okay.

00:23:14.472 --> 00:23:22.432
So yeah, so the way that you eat, like you could eat a meal in the luteal phase and eat that same meal in the follicular phase.

00:23:23.123 --> 00:23:25.012
And you may get a different reaction.

00:23:25.722 --> 00:23:46.169
So, because you're less insulin sensitive in the luteal phase, if you have, let's say, like, a baked potato, that can spike your blood sugar higher in the luteal phase than if you were to have that baked potato with the same things on it, the same size potato, the exact same thing, in your follicular phase.

00:23:46.739 --> 00:23:47.088
Okay.

00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:51.338
And so, really, you kind of, you need to shift.

00:23:52.413 --> 00:23:58.693
You would be smart to kind of play around with food and see how it affects your blood sugar.

00:23:59.213 --> 00:24:00.794
Again, this is like trial and error.

00:24:00.794 --> 00:24:07.003
We got to try it and see, there's lots of hacks that you can utilize for stabilizing blood sugar.

00:24:07.403 --> 00:24:41.592
you know, as far as like going for a walk after you eat and some apple cider vinegar before you eat starchy and sweet foods, those are really good hacks to utilize, especially when you're in the luteal phase and you're Not going to be as sensitive to insulin and so, so yeah, like food is going to change the way or our hormones are going to change the way that the hunger that we feel the way that we eat serotonin is something that we reach for a lot when we are in.

00:24:41.886 --> 00:24:44.997
The luteal phase, because we're usually filling a little bit.

00:24:45.856 --> 00:24:50.287
I don't want to say down, but that introverted energy makes us think that something is wrong.

00:24:50.846 --> 00:24:53.507
So we're kind of looking for something to cheer us up.

00:24:53.517 --> 00:24:59.767
So we get the chocolate, we get the salty chips, something that's going to give us serotonin.

00:25:00.346 --> 00:25:05.777
And so one of the ways, like one of my favorite hacks that I love to utilize is drinking brewed cacao.

00:25:06.287 --> 00:25:16.436
So cacao is Like, the cocoa bean that you, like, I drink Creo brew and so you just brew it like coffee.

00:25:16.446 --> 00:25:21.297
It is not caffeinated, but it, it gives you that serotonin.

00:25:21.653 --> 00:25:30.003
And interestingly enough, there has been a link between magnesium deficiency and PMS symptoms.

00:25:30.973 --> 00:25:33.913
And with brewed cacao, it is high in magnesium.

00:25:34.594 --> 00:25:39.384
And so it can help with PMS symptoms, plus it gives you that little boost of serotonin.

00:25:39.394 --> 00:25:43.894
and because that magnesium deficiency has been linked to PMS symptoms.

00:25:43.973 --> 00:25:49.114
I usually tell women to take about 300 milligrams of magnesium every day to support that.

00:25:50.144 --> 00:25:55.124
But I think it's just really good to know kind of what to expect.

00:25:55.183 --> 00:25:59.270
Like, I know that my hunger is going to be different next week.

00:25:59.901 --> 00:26:06.691
Like, maybe in my luteal phase, and I know that I'm going to be wanting all those things, and I'm going to be reaching for sugary things.

00:26:06.951 --> 00:26:07.391
And.

00:26:07.830 --> 00:26:10.411
Carb loaded foods to make me feel better.

00:26:10.971 --> 00:26:13.361
So I need to have a plan in place.

00:26:14.601 --> 00:26:18.580
I need to utilize some of these hacks, learn some of them, utilize them.

00:26:19.441 --> 00:26:29.951
get my happiness, chemicals from other things besides food and support myself, support my body with stable blood sugar.

00:26:29.951 --> 00:26:35.641
And that means no skipping meals, no intermittent fasting during the luteal phase.

00:26:36.010 --> 00:26:45.080
It's so, so important that we're eating three balanced meals luteal phase, some women are like, but I'm not hungry, but then they're eating all the things.

00:26:45.111 --> 00:26:45.661
Right.

00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:48.121
And so like, they're reaching for.

00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:49.681
Granola bars

00:26:50.076 --> 00:26:54.115
It's the snacking all day, the grazing and stuff that happens during this cycle.

00:26:54.385 --> 00:26:54.736
Yeah.

00:26:54.736 --> 00:26:58.385
And, and I have clients tell me like, I don't know, it was just like a hungry day.

00:26:58.385 --> 00:26:59.885
I just felt like hungry all day.

00:27:00.306 --> 00:27:07.435
And I'm like, okay, so did you ever sit down like at a table with a plate and, and eat a whole meal?

00:27:08.316 --> 00:27:13.596
And it's typically no, because they end up like a little bit hungry and a little bit full.

00:27:13.605 --> 00:27:15.306
Cause they're just like snacky all day.

00:27:15.441 --> 00:27:15.780
Yeah.

00:27:16.131 --> 00:27:16.500
Yeah.

00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:23.941
And snacking is one of the worst things that you can do for your blood sugar because it never gets your blood sugar back to baseline.

00:27:23.951 --> 00:27:26.060
And so it's just constantly going up.

00:27:26.601 --> 00:27:30.760
You're on the roller coaster all day long and it's really hard to get off of that once you're on it.

00:27:31.530 --> 00:27:39.415
And so, you know, if you can really, you know, eat the balanced meals where you've got half a plate full of veggie.

00:27:39.756 --> 00:27:47.875
You've got your starch, you've got your protein and, you can keep your blood sugar levels stable that way.

00:27:47.945 --> 00:27:56.536
that will really support you and you won't feel like you're quote unquote falling off the wagon every month and then having to start over again with every cycle.

00:27:57.195 --> 00:28:00.556
And so, yeah, like it can be done, right?

00:28:00.556 --> 00:28:01.566
It definitely can be done.

00:28:01.566 --> 00:28:04.796
You can lose weight as a hormonal woman.

00:28:05.260 --> 00:28:11.471
It's just, it just takes a knowledge of the cycle, what your hormones are doing and having a plan in place, some strategies.

00:28:11.895 --> 00:28:16.826
I think for some women, like I've just noticed like some clients, their cycle really affects them.

00:28:17.246 --> 00:28:19.846
It really affects the way they're eating.

00:28:19.875 --> 00:28:22.705
And for others, they don't notice it as much.

00:28:22.705 --> 00:28:27.165
So if you're like, I don't know, I've never really felt like it affected my eating.

00:28:27.796 --> 00:28:28.875
That's also normal.

00:28:28.915 --> 00:28:29.705
I feel like.

00:28:30.736 --> 00:28:31.266
Because.

00:28:31.901 --> 00:28:35.891
It's also okay if you're like, I don't, you know, feel as hungry or whatever.

00:28:35.961 --> 00:28:36.431
That's okay.

00:28:36.431 --> 00:28:39.651
We can honor our hunger throughout the cycle as well.

00:28:39.651 --> 00:28:45.401
But I love that, like thinking about having three meals and yeah, it's not the time to be fasting.

00:28:45.830 --> 00:28:49.840
It's really not like your, your hormones need the nourishment.

00:28:50.330 --> 00:28:56.030
And I will say, like, I, I do love the, the intuitive eating principles.

00:28:56.441 --> 00:28:58.451
but I will say that, you know, sometimes.

00:28:59.151 --> 00:29:11.307
A lot of women will experience very low appetite as their bleed comes and estrogen starts to rise because estrogen is a natural appetite suppressant.

00:29:12.498 --> 00:29:14.778
And so that's something to be aware of.

00:29:15.397 --> 00:29:27.674
Because you may be like, well, I'm not hungry, but it's also really important for women, especially women coming into perimenopause, that you are getting enough protein every day and you're not going to get that by skipping meals.

00:29:27.964 --> 00:29:30.404
So that is something that I would keep in mind.

00:29:31.295 --> 00:29:35.525
it's such a problem with intermittent fasting is getting enough protein when you're only eating two meals a day.

00:29:36.404 --> 00:29:36.815
Yeah.

00:29:36.924 --> 00:29:37.394
Because.

00:29:37.930 --> 00:29:46.049
As my listeners know the base of your meals, protein, fiber, and some healthy fat, which is exactly what Ashley was describing in that plate anyway.

00:29:46.109 --> 00:29:51.400
So yeah, it's always the, the base is really thinking about what protein you're getting in.

00:29:52.150 --> 00:30:02.920
So, I, I didn't really want to get into perimenopause with Ashley today, even though I think we might talk about it another time, but one of my problems with perimenopause is.

00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:05.210
The erratic cycle.

00:30:05.750 --> 00:30:13.380
And so as we're talking about this menstrual cycle, those of us that are still in the peri part, like we haven't had the cessation yet.

00:30:13.380 --> 00:30:14.410
We're not in menopause.

00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:16.710
I was having like this calendar year.

00:30:16.750 --> 00:30:17.400
I just.

00:30:17.480 --> 00:30:26.109
I feel like all of the perimenopause symptoms like came at me with a vengeance and it got to the point where I was like having a 1718 day cycles.

00:30:26.509 --> 00:30:37.140
So I'm on some hormone replacement therapy now which has been helping, but for those that are still figuring that out or just feeling like even my hormone replacement therapy isn't.

00:30:37.140 --> 00:30:40.279
Working to regulate my cycle.

00:30:41.313 --> 00:30:42.903
how do we figure that out?

00:30:42.962 --> 00:30:51.583
and honestly, this is one of the other reasons why I haven't done a good job with like really looking at my menstrual cycle, because I feel like I'm just not that consistent.

00:30:52.053 --> 00:30:52.873
Mm hmm.

00:30:53.042 --> 00:30:55.643
Yeah, it's easy to kind of just be like, Oh, forget it.

00:30:57.053 --> 00:30:58.732
Because like my cycles all over the place.

00:30:58.732 --> 00:31:00.853
Like, am I really in a season?

00:31:00.863 --> 00:31:02.173
Like what's going on?

00:31:02.512 --> 00:31:05.383
I do absolutely still encourage you to track.

00:31:05.643 --> 00:31:08.012
So I'm currently, I was just looking at my calendar.

00:31:08.032 --> 00:31:10.232
I'm currently on day 26 of my cycle.

00:31:10.262 --> 00:31:11.603
I have no idea.

00:31:11.843 --> 00:31:16.032
This cycle could be 40 days, you know, last month it was 21 days.

00:31:16.042 --> 00:31:16.772
You never know.

00:31:16.782 --> 00:31:18.143
That's part of perimenopause.

00:31:18.583 --> 00:31:20.682
whether you're doing HRT or not, you just.

00:31:21.232 --> 00:31:21.913
You don't know.

00:31:22.298 --> 00:31:23.368
it reminds me of that real.

00:31:23.368 --> 00:31:25.368
It's like, surprise, surprise, right?

00:31:25.419 --> 00:31:25.618
Yeah.

00:31:25.628 --> 00:31:25.929
just,

00:31:27.169 --> 00:31:27.769
Totally.

00:31:27.959 --> 00:31:30.449
here I am the most inconvenient times.

00:31:30.719 --> 00:31:37.278
but I still think that it's really, really smart to track where you are and track your symptoms.

00:31:37.778 --> 00:31:38.439
because I Yeah.

00:31:38.770 --> 00:31:44.621
I do still see patterns in my own schedule or my own cycle and my clients do as well.

00:31:45.250 --> 00:31:53.211
I think that you know, I track myself like in the seasons and then after day 28 I kind of consider myself like in the void.

00:31:53.530 --> 00:32:03.385
I don't know like all the seasons all the seasons just come in, you know, like I have i'm just kind of out there like I don't know what's I could be really happy today.

00:32:03.385 --> 00:32:04.526
I could be really sad.

00:32:04.526 --> 00:32:05.246
Like, we don't know.

00:32:05.675 --> 00:32:13.336
And so perimenopause has been a really big lesson in self compassion for me and also for other women.

00:32:13.365 --> 00:32:16.486
Like, I feel like I look at other women differently that are like.

00:32:17.175 --> 00:32:20.205
Not just my age, but mostly like around my age.

00:32:20.205 --> 00:32:23.096
I'm like, Hey, I'm right there with you.

00:32:23.105 --> 00:32:26.066
Like learning to wait this, you know, cause it's tricky.

00:32:26.076 --> 00:32:32.226
Like, as you know, like our sleep can be, I mean, I don't know anybody our age that's getting a good night's sleep.

00:32:32.266 --> 00:32:36.445
That isn't like, unless you're taking progesterone, you're just not sleeping.

00:32:36.465 --> 00:32:36.865
Right.

00:32:37.276 --> 00:32:43.346
And so I think that, you know, it's been a really good lesson for me to learn how to just.

00:32:43.346 --> 00:32:43.405
Yeah.

00:32:43.625 --> 00:32:44.945
You know what, Ashley, it's okay.

00:32:45.185 --> 00:32:45.976
It's okay.

00:32:46.405 --> 00:32:48.895
If you did less today than you had hoped, it's okay.

00:32:48.895 --> 00:32:52.826
If you don't check off everything thing off the list, it's okay.

00:32:52.826 --> 00:32:54.925
That's the season of life that we're in right now.

00:32:55.365 --> 00:32:56.915
And you've never been here before.

00:32:56.915 --> 00:33:01.486
So of course, you don't know all the ins and outs of it, but I'm learning.

00:33:02.036 --> 00:33:11.076
And I'm, I've just decided ahead of time that I'm going to love my body through this process because it does no, does me no good to be mad at it and resentful toward it.

00:33:11.536 --> 00:33:14.496
So that would be my advice is to keep tracking,

00:33:14.833 --> 00:33:15.942
Like the best you can.

00:33:16.053 --> 00:33:17.192
the best you can.

00:33:17.313 --> 00:33:25.066
I mean, at least I would track what day of your cycle you're on and then like your mood and energy.

00:33:25.165 --> 00:33:27.246
I think that that's smart to do.

00:33:27.836 --> 00:33:29.655
And do you have a recommendation app wise?

00:33:29.675 --> 00:33:32.246
Like, are there certain apps that you think do a good job of that?

00:33:32.276 --> 00:33:36.145
I'm just using the health, like the Apple one that comes in the health,

00:33:36.195 --> 00:33:36.705
oh yeah.

00:33:37.141 --> 00:33:38.330
It's not fancy.

00:33:38.651 --> 00:33:39.671
Yeah, it's not fancy.

00:33:39.671 --> 00:33:40.270
It's basic.

00:33:40.270 --> 00:33:41.020
And that's fine.

00:33:41.080 --> 00:33:45.800
You know, I guess it depends on how much, how intense you want it to go.

00:33:45.810 --> 00:33:53.570
You know, I look at it as like your own me search when people are like, how much track, like, what should I track?

00:33:53.570 --> 00:33:55.151
And it's like, well, what do you want to track?

00:33:55.191 --> 00:33:57.211
What do you, what are you curious about?

00:33:57.750 --> 00:34:02.951
What, you know, if you're getting chronic headaches or migraines, I think it'd be really smart to track that.

00:34:03.346 --> 00:34:07.826
Because depending on where your migraine is showing up in your cycle could mean different things.

00:34:08.315 --> 00:34:08.536
And

00:34:08.891 --> 00:34:15.931
by the way, I was shocked when I started tracking my headaches like a year ago I was like so weird how I keep getting headaches.

00:34:15.971 --> 00:34:45.007
I like didn't used to and I have a Mirena IUD right now, so I don't have a strong flow and So it took me months to realize That the headaches were coming on those days that I just had like a little spotting and that was like my entire period Finally went to the doctor and I was like so I think this is what's happening and like they don't respond to any Medication that I've tried and she's like, oh, yeah, that's called a menstrual migraine.

00:34:45.097 --> 00:34:46.338
I'm like what?

00:34:47.447 --> 00:34:49.268
It's like totally shocked

00:34:50.853 --> 00:34:51.603
Yeah.

00:34:51.793 --> 00:34:53.543
So, it, it does matter.

00:34:53.583 --> 00:34:57.597
Like, you know, when your symptoms show up in your cycle, It matters.

00:34:58.208 --> 00:35:02.697
And so and you're not doing this for anything like you're not trying to get a grade, right?

00:35:02.697 --> 00:35:04.487
Like you're doing it for yourself.

00:35:04.998 --> 00:35:07.927
And so what do you want to track?

00:35:07.947 --> 00:35:09.648
What would be useful for you?

00:35:09.838 --> 00:35:15.737
Maybe you want to start tracking your sex drive so that you can plan a vacation with your spouse around that time, right?

00:35:15.737 --> 00:35:16.887
Like that would be really fun.

00:35:16.887 --> 00:35:19.148
When are you getting your family pictures taken?

00:35:19.277 --> 00:35:24.378
You probably want to have those done during your follicular or ovulatory phase because that's when your confidence is high.

00:35:24.663 --> 00:35:26.302
And we have less wrinkles.

00:35:26.563 --> 00:35:27.083
And so.

00:35:27.478 --> 00:35:29.478
Schedule your family pictures during that time.

00:35:29.489 --> 00:35:30.289
Like it's helpful.

00:35:30.289 --> 00:35:33.818
And for me, and so I do recommend tracking.

00:35:33.849 --> 00:35:40.309
And as far as apps go, I like the one flow it's got like a, the logo is like a feather, a pink feather.

00:35:40.719 --> 00:35:42.329
I think that that one is really good.

00:35:42.608 --> 00:35:55.909
and me, like, I just use a paper, like a calendar and like, just because an app, I, I wasn't very consistent, so there's no right or wrong way to do it, just find a way where you can be consistent.

00:35:58.454 --> 00:36:05.353
which is the same with all of the other tracking we do with food and exercise and all the things you're trying to figure out.

00:36:05.393 --> 00:36:06.514
So good.

00:36:06.554 --> 00:36:06.943
Okay.

00:36:06.954 --> 00:36:09.074
Well, this has been so informative.

00:36:09.094 --> 00:36:16.463
Is there anything else that we've missed on the menstrual cycle that you would like to share for my clients and listeners?

00:36:16.969 --> 00:36:27.018
Oh, man, there's so much that I could share about it, you know, but I think that the thing that I, I just want women to know is that your menstrual cycle isn't.

00:36:27.418 --> 00:36:28.028
A problem.

00:36:28.039 --> 00:36:29.559
It doesn't have to be a problem.

00:36:29.608 --> 00:36:37.115
for many, many years, I felt like my menstrual cycle, my hormones were a problem because I experienced so much pain.

00:36:37.235 --> 00:36:43.503
And then I had PMS on top of it, but nobody taught me how to deal with it all.

00:36:44.322 --> 00:36:48.422
And so I felt like it was starting to affect my mental health.

00:36:48.891 --> 00:37:00.864
So my advice is to learn everything that you can about the menstrual cycle to really understand your body so that you can learn how to support it.

00:37:01.521 --> 00:37:02.840
Nobody taught us that either.

00:37:03.851 --> 00:37:06.880
Nobody taught us how to support our body.

00:37:07.300 --> 00:37:11.681
And so we kind of have to look for that information ourselves.

00:37:12.130 --> 00:37:17.130
And that's the whole reason why I'm just going to put in a little plug here, Lisa for cycle strategy one on one.

00:37:17.181 --> 00:37:17.840
Yes, please.

00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:19.791
I want you to tell people how to find you anyway.

00:37:20.030 --> 00:37:23.041
yeah, so if you, if you want to learn.

00:37:23.286 --> 00:37:28.626
The basics of the menstrual cycle, you know, more going more in depth about the four seasons of the cycle.

00:37:29.036 --> 00:37:31.726
Take my online course called cycle strategy 101.

00:37:32.175 --> 00:37:34.226
it is all online self paced.

00:37:34.226 --> 00:37:39.025
It comes with an ebook so that you can really learn this information.

00:37:39.686 --> 00:37:47.266
Because each phase of the cycle, we didn't even get into this Lisa, but each phase of the cycle comes with its own innate superpowers.

00:37:47.706 --> 00:37:54.545
And so there are traits that we all have that are heightened during different times of our cycle because of what our hormones are doing.

00:37:55.246 --> 00:38:04.115
And so in cycle strategy, one on one, I explain what those superpowers are and the self care practices that are going to help you tap in to those superpowers.

00:38:04.496 --> 00:38:04.996
So.

00:38:05.059 --> 00:38:11.228
learn what you can about your body and about hormones so that you know how you can support your body and your hormones.

00:38:11.489 --> 00:38:14.789
It's going to create so much more ease in your life if you do it.

00:38:15.311 --> 00:38:15.670
Perfect.

00:38:15.701 --> 00:38:16.291
I love that.

00:38:16.561 --> 00:38:16.860
Okay.

00:38:16.860 --> 00:38:20.411
So where can people find that and where else can they find you online?

00:38:20.766 --> 00:38:21.085
Sure.

00:38:21.096 --> 00:38:25.405
So I am always on Instagram except for days one through three of my cycle.

00:38:26.485 --> 00:38:30.155
I always sign off on Instagram days one through three of my cycles.

00:38:30.215 --> 00:38:32.585
That's one of the ways I slow down during my bleed.

00:38:32.585 --> 00:38:33.715
So there's an example for you.

00:38:34.206 --> 00:38:40.016
so I am at, Hey, Ashlee, Noel, it's A S H L E N O E L.

00:38:40.286 --> 00:38:41.536
So you can find me there.

00:38:41.565 --> 00:38:51.025
And, I'll give you the link for cycle strategy one on one so that your followers can sign up for that and I'll give them 10 percent off when they sign up.

00:38:51.460 --> 00:38:51.960
Perfect.

00:38:52.231 --> 00:38:52.481
Okay.

00:38:52.481 --> 00:38:54.050
Well, we'll put all that in the show notes.

00:38:54.050 --> 00:38:55.490
Thank you so much for being here.

00:38:55.490 --> 00:38:58.791
It's been an absolute pleasure to learn about all of this.

00:38:59.096 --> 00:39:00.596
thanks so much, Lisa, for having me.

00:39:01.210 --> 00:39:06.579
So I've got a special bonus for you, Ashley and I kept chatting after we hit stop on the recording.

00:39:06.969 --> 00:39:09.969
And we got to talking about teaching this to our teen daughters.

00:39:10.300 --> 00:39:19.570
I ended up hitting record again, and if you want to hear that bonus five minute conversation about how to help your teen and probably even your young adult daughters with this.

00:39:19.900 --> 00:39:22.090
The link to get that special bonus.

00:39:22.159 --> 00:39:28.969
conversation with Ashley and I about teaching this information to our teens is in the show notes.

00:39:29.454 --> 00:39:33.923
If this episode has helped you in any way, all I ask is for you to share it.

00:39:34.134 --> 00:39:37.614
Share it with one friend or share it on your social media tag me.

00:39:37.943 --> 00:39:39.623
And I'll give you a shout out as well.

00:39:39.954 --> 00:39:48.623
I have been getting a lot of comments lately about how beneficial the free content is that I have been putting out in the world and sharing it can really help someone else.

00:39:48.923 --> 00:39:55.373
You can also leave a five star rating on apple and Spotify and review the show on apple podcasts.

00:39:55.583 --> 00:40:02.094
That also really makes it easier for other people to find it because apple loves that and then they push it out to more people.

00:40:02.094 --> 00:40:04.793
So your review actually helps other women.

00:40:05.184 --> 00:40:10.014
Have a great week and as always, thanks for listening to the Eat Well, Think Well, Live Well podcast.
Ashlee Sorensen Profile Photo

Ashlee Sorensen

Menstrual and Hormone Coach

Ashlee is a certified menstrual and hormone coach for women. Her experience with PMS, debilitating period pain, and perimenopause symptoms ultimately led her to learn more about how food and lifestyle affect hormone health and eventually certify with the Health Coach Institute.
In 2001, Ashlee created her signature course, Cycle Strategy 101, which has helped women worldwide ease uncomfortable symptoms of hormone imbalance and embrace their feminine energy.
Ashlee is passionate about teaching women about the power of the menstrual cycle and the cyclical superpowers that come with being a hormonal woman.