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Traveling During the Ovulation High
I've received so many questions about how I approach cycle syncing, so I'm starting a new blog journal where I share what phase I'm in, foods I'm eating, my workouts, and how I shift my life based on what my body needs.
My hope is this provides ideas in your life and how you could find success with cycle syncing.
Remember that we're all different, so my experience could be very different from yours. Our cycles are all different, due to the varying lengths all women have (ranging between 21-35 days), and we all process food differently.
Always tune in to your body and do what is best for you!
As I write this, I'm at the tail end of my ovulation phase, which is a great time of month since our energy is naturally higher. I ended up traveling this week to visit my family in Massachusetts, and this was a great time to travel! I've been a bit tired from the jetleg, but it usually hits me worse when I'm about to get my period (when our bodies are less resilient to stress).
It feels like my body was able to recover from the travel much quicker!
To prepare for the week, my food has been a bit different since I haven't been in my own kitchen. There are certain foods we can eat to match our cycle, but really, as long as you're eating foods that are good for your body, you can still balance your hormones. So I didn't stress this week if I couldn't eat something that was "right for this time".
Releasing pressure and getting rid of overwhelm helps me keep my hormones balanced. Especially during times of stress and when I'm taken out of my normal routine, which historically has left my stress hormones high!
I stayed with my college roommate in Connecticut over the weekend, and bless her heart, she had snacks and meals on hand that were gluten and dairy free (two of my food sensitivities). I also traveled with roasted chicken, quinoa, a whole avocado, steamed broccoli and fennel, almond butter, a few dark chocolate squares (I LOVE these on a flight! The magnesium boost helps ease the body tension I feel being around so many people!) and some protein muffins from the Recipe Guide in the Balanced Bombshells Lifestyle Plan. Getting up early to catch my flight - these were a lifesaver!
And yes, I always travel with my own food - haha. This helped me tremendously because during my layover I grabbed a salad and added some avocado and veggies to it. Sometimes airport food doesn't give our bodies the balanced meals we need.
In ovulation, I find I can do much harder workouts, and I tried my best to plan around my flight. Our adrenal glands can take a hit when we travel so I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing strenuous cardio a few days after flying. So I got these workouts in before I left!
Over the weekend, I woke up early to get myself on the new time zone and did a short abdominal HIIT workout and stretched. On Sunday, I walked for an hour to ensure my body was moving, and to lower any stress hormones that may have spiked from getting less sleep.
Each day I also made sure to do minimal caffeine. This can spark our adrenal glands and knowing I just jumped time zones, I didn't want to add any stress to them. I typically will do a little caffeine during ovulation and then scale back the week before and during my period when my body can't handle the stress of it.
Today, I could feel my body switching into the first part of my luteal phase. I felt a little less energetic and needed to take more breaks throughout the day.
For breaks, I closed my eyes for about 10 minutes to steady my breathing, and recited positive mantras in my mind. To take a break from the computer, I ran to the grocery store. We're celebrating my dad's birthday tonight so I wanted to make sure I had his favorite dessert - whoopie pies! A Massachusetts staple 😊
For the rest of the week, I plan on doing some barre classes, two to three 30-minute HIIT workouts, yoga, and lots of walking. It's been a bit rainy here so it's harder to get my daily walk in without my hair frizzing up!
If you want more tips on how to keep your hormones balanced while traveling, you'll love this post.