Women’s bodies are connected to the rhythms of nature and the phases of the moon. So how can we get more in sync? We sat down with hormone expert Alisa Vitti of the Flo Living Center and MyFlo cycle tracker app to talk moon phases, women’s wellness and getting in the flow.
in partnership with FloLiving
Just like the moon, women’s cycles have four phases each month. And it turns out that understanding both lunar cycles and menstrual cycles can be the ultimate ladies’ life hack. We recently sat down with Alisa Vitti, hormone expert, functional nutritionist and menstrual maven, to talk about living in sync with your cycle. Watch our video below!
Alisa is the creator of the FloLiving Center and the MyFLO Tracker, which is a period tracking, symptom eliminating and cycle syncing app.
We are obsessed with it because it’s like having a horoscope for your hormones. The MyFLO Tracker guides you through each of the four phases, with specific suggestions for food, exercise, productivity/focus and sex.
If you’re a woman who gets a period, you need this in your life. It’s our new daily guide, along with our horoscope (obvi) because it tells us specifically how to get stuff done without going against the body’s natural and hormonal wisdom. Not to mention, the more you use it, the less pesky period symptoms you’ll have since the app also offers remedies for those.
Moon phases, menstrual phases: they both come in fours
The quality of each menstrual phase corresponds with the energy of a moon phase. Although they don’t always sync up, knowing which phase you’re in can help you with everything from which foods to eat, what kind of romance and sex you’ll crave and how productive you’ll be.
The four phases are:
1. Menstrual (new moon):
Take initiative, prepare for action
2. Follicular (waxing moon):
Begin taking action, initiate creative projects
3. Ovulation (full moon):
Put it out there! Speak up, pitch, collaborate and shine
4.Luteal (waning moon):
Complete tasks, stay focused, finish projects
While your period may not sync with the corresponding phase, there ARE things you can do if you want to start your cycle at the new moon (called the White Moon Cycle) or the full moon (Red Moon Cycle). Read Alisa’s explanation here!
Men’s bodies, women’s bodies: understanding the difference between 24-hour & 28-day cycles
Here’s some hormone science I learned from my conversation with Alisa: Men and women operate on completely different schedules. (She wrote about this in chapter 5 of her bestselling book WomanCode, and this has been a key part of the FLO Living system for years.)
Did you know that men’s bodies were designed to be most productive on a 24-hour cycle? Women, on the other hand, operate on a 28-day cycle, with four unique phases.
Because men make most of their testosterone while they sleep, they wake up in the morning ready for “power breakfasts” or intense workouts that fuel them to go “crush it” in the world. Then by about four or five o’ clock, their T-stash is depleted and they’re done for the day. (Lather, rest, repeat.)
Women, on the other hand, go through four distinct hormonal trends every month. (Yup—just like the moon, which also has four phases!) Each phase makes us especially good at a different kind of productivity. Some weeks we’re more creative; others are best for planning. Depending on the phase, we’re in the mood for different kinds of love and sex, and we can even optimize our health by eating specific foods.
Women make up 57 percent of the workforce, and most of are force to adapt to a testosterone-dictated model in order to stay gainfully employed. Now that we’ve learned these secrets from MyFLO, we’ve started shifting our own schedules, working on strategy during the follicular phase and doing more of our writing during the ovulatory phase, when high estrogen levels grant us improved verbal ability. Hello lady-powered life-hack!
About the Flo Living Hormone Center
If your hormones are out of balance (e.g,, you have PMS, PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, heavy painful periods, are over 35 and going through perimenopause) the Flo Living Center helps you address those hormonal imbalances through food, not medication, to help you take advantage of your four phase superpowers.
Many women grapple with hormonal issues or are affected by hormonal changes. Alisa encourages women to operate their lives according to their own unique female timing. Supported by the proper food and care, you can feel good all month long, no longer having symptoms or feeling like a different person each half of the month.
If you’ve been suffering from any of these conditions, visit The FLOLiving Hormone Center and check out their flagship program, MonthlyFLO, to fix whatever is up with your period. MonthlyFLO has helped tens of thousands of women around the globe and it can help you too! You can start here by auditing your period then learn more about this groundbreaking program.
