A Woman with a Cycle Plan by Ella Davar RD
28-day cycle plan with fasting protocol, nutrition advice, exercise, and self-care.
Are you a woman looking to lose weight and feel like a SuperModel? If you’ve tried every diet and are tired of failing, maybe it’s time to get to know yourself more and get the necessary guidance you seek from your own hard-working body. It is time to take your feminine nature into account.
As a busy New Yorker and a dietitian, I struggled with PMS cravings and painful period cramps. While studying at NYU and then working with many women I started to base my nutrition recommendations on 28 days, because the 4 weeks of the female cycle differ dramatically. There are 4 phases of the menstrual cycle: menstruation, follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase. Hormones fluctuate during these phases and affect your mood, energy, and appetite. However, eating the right foods (and knowing when to eat them) and listening to your body can optimize your health and fitness throughout the month.
Nature created us perfectly, that’s why during one month there is
a perfect time to detox, to try a vegan diet, and
the time when you need more animal protein to prevent junk food or sugar cravings.
Also, researchers have found that intermittent fasting can help with PMS symptoms, and may actually improve female health and fertility due to the improvement of insulin sensitivity and reduction in glucose and insulin levels.
If you are feeling confused about where to begin, I created a solution for you! For you to have a better understanding and more control over your body: be A Woman with a Cycle Plan.
Week 1: Menstruation.
Inner Winter – Around days 1-6 of your menstrual cycle when you’re bleeding. Usually begins on Day 1 of the moon cycle as well. This is the first day you begin bleeding, and it’s week one of your cycles. The bleeding phase of your cycle is when your energy and hormones are at an all-time low.
Exercise: Hibernation and rest are two qualities that accurately characterize what this phase is about for a woman, but there’s also a spiritual element woven in. This week be gentle with your body. Practice yin or restorative yoga, meditation, or get out in nature and walk, while reflecting and taking deep breaths.
Self-care: Winter is not a time to give to others, but to ourselves. Learning to be self-loving during this time is the healthiest behavior we can adopt for ourselves and our families. I recommend taking baths, having movie nights at home, spending the days alone creating or writing/reading, sleeping, and being in nature.
Nutrition and Food: Eat foods with magnesium to help with irritability, cramps, constipation, and trouble sleeping, such as quinoa, oats, pumpkin seeds, cashews, and almonds. Foods rich in iron will help to replenish blood and iron lost through menses; add beef liver, oysters, or kale. Don’t forget to eat vitamin C-containing foods for better iron absorption, such as broccoli (make a bone broth-based broccoli soup), strawberries, red peppers, or mango. Drink chamomile or raspberry leaf tea to balance hormones and alleviate cramps. Supplements: magnesium, CBD oil for cramps.
Fasting and Timing: For days 1-7, you can practice circadian fasting for at least 12-14 hours and by the end of the week restart higher-intensity workouts if desired.
Week 2: Follicular Phase.
Inner Spring – Around days 7-13 when you’re in the pre-ovulation phase. Ahhh spring phase! It’s the second week of your cycle, re-emerging after a period of hibernation from the world. Think rebirth, renew, fresh-start, cleansed, energized, and happy. As a woman moves into her inner Spring phase, she’s ready to get back into the world and take on new projects, start planning and organizing your month. Exercise: This week is the best week for high-intensity workouts and maximum training efforts, try a spin class or strength workout! Train like an athlete.
Self-care: During this phase, the hormone estrogen is rising and energy levels come back. This is an optimal time to dedicate focused time to projects, reading and researching, learning, and performing physical tasks. This is the best time to take on a challenge.
Nutrition and Food: This is the perfect time to eat carbohydrate-rich foods as insulin sensitivity is at its peak. Sweet potatoes are a great complex carbohydrate packed with vitamins A, C, and B6, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron. Eat foods that metabolize estrogen for hormone balance, including sprouted and fermented foods like broccoli sprouts, kimchi, and sauerkraut. Also, a great time to try a cleanse, and incorporate vegan or vegetarian days for a detox, because you naturally have enough energy!
Fasting and Timing: this is the time to try a “push” fast—something one to two hours longer than your usual, which can be up to 14-16 hours. This is a time when you feel most disciplined and have no food cravings, that’s why any restrictions feel easier to accomplish. You can also increase your carbohydrates so that you have the energy to work out. Your insulin sensitivity is excellent during this time.
Week 3: Ovulation/Luteal Phase.
Inner Summer – Around days 14-21 during your ovulation phase. The summer phase is when things begin to heat up – literally and metaphorically. This is the third week of the menstrual cycle, where ovulation occurs. Day 14 is the day you ovulate. You will have a higher body temperature and your sex drive and your testosterone levels will be highest! Days 15- 21 is the early luteal phase.
Exercise: During the summer phase, a woman’s energy is more expressive and outward. Because body temperature tends to average higher, be careful not to overheat or overdo exercises this week. Focus on strength training, Pilates, and Barre. Your body temperature may still be high from ovulation for the first couple of days, so be careful of overheating with exercise.
Self-care: you may feel more social, and this is a great time to focus on community building, nurturing relationships, hosting, cooking, or being of service to others. Summer week is the most enjoyable time for taking care of children, offering friends support, and having lots of delicious sex with your partner, with caution of course, because while pleasure is heightened at this time, so is your fertility. Oh, and by the way, some research suggests that ovulation is the best time to ask for what you want – whether that be from your partner, or asking for a raise at work.
Nutrition and Food: This is when you should move to higher protein and lower carbohydrate/glycemic foods. During the luteal phase, your insulin sensitivity starts to decrease, especially in the next phase from day 22 to 28. My favorite protein foods to recommend are grass-fed steak, chicken and beef liver, oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), shrimp, turkey, or chicken. Include foods that are anti-inflammatory and detoxifying to promote hormonal balance including almonds, walnuts, ginger, turmeric, mushrooms, spinach, kale, blueberries, pomegranate, cranberries, cherries, and grapefruit. Supplements: Ashwagandha for stress management (especially if you exercise 3-4 times per week)
Fasting and Timing: Perfect time to get consistent and disciplined for fasting 16 hours with an 8 hours window.
Week 4: Luteal Phase.
Inner Fall – Around day 22-29 during your luteal phase (winding down again). The fourth week of your cycle is when things start winding down. You might notice yourself feeling more inward at this time. You may become agitated by excessive demands, craving more time alone. As an entrepreneur, I schedule my life according to my cycle. I purposefully schedule days off leading up to my cycle, dedicating time to my self-care. I encourage you to do the same. Choosing consciously to acknowledge this inward phase is a courageous act of self-love.
The late luteal phase is known as PMS. The week before your period, your body is most vulnerable to stress. Estrogen experiences a steep drop at this time, which leads to cortisol sensitivity (our stress hormone) and higher sensitivity.
Exercise: this week try a more gentle exercise, like swimming, pilates, or barre nothing too strenuous or stressful, take time off, get out in nature, do yoga, do breathwork, or meditate.
Self-care: listen to your body during the Fall phase, you may feel inspired, and pursue creative ideas. This is a wonderful time to create strategic ideas for your business or career and assert yourself. The week before your period is when you feel natural kind of down, treat yourself with extra compassion this week, and give your body a little rest. Schedule a monthly spa day and a massage during this week, and spend some time in nature. Have some really good self-care time during that week!
Nutrition and Food: to prevent food cravings make sure to have some healthy fats and 2-3 oz of animal protein like steak, beef, and chicken livers, (optional to include hormone-free pasture-raised bacon) at every meal. This is not a time to diet or limit your food intake! Make sure to eat enough fiber-rich vegetables like green leafy vegetables with protein and fats like avocado, olives, ghee, and full-fat dairy products like yogurt, and kefir. Snack on olives, salmon or beef jerky, dark chocolate, walnuts, cherries, and pomegranates. Magnesium-rich foods help fight fatigue and have low libido: quinoa, oats, lentils, black beans, spinach, kale, cashews, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and dark chocolate (70% and up). Add magnesium-rich pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds to your salad or smoothie.
Aim to have high protein meals and incorporate things like soothing peppermint tea or chai latte with no caffeine, which will satisfy your cravings, yet not add a high sugar load.
Fasting and Exercise: I recommend that you steer clear of any additional stressors in your life, including high-intensity workouts and fasting. Reducing your fast if you can't take a break from it entirely. This means fasting only 12 hours instead of your regular 16-18. This is the time to switch to more self-care, soothing exercises, stress relief, and short or no fasting.
Supplements: additional magnesium might be needed, such as Vitex herb, and Evening primrose for painful cramps. Take CBD, GABA, or Valerian root melatonin in the evening to help with sleep.
