Cycle Planning For An Easeful And More Productive Life | #9

NOTE: This podcast was transcribed by an AI tool. Please forgive any typos or errors. Cycle Planning For Productivity Cara Dempsey: [00:00:00] This episode is going to on how and why I started planning around my cycle. It is a little bit of a, I don't know, woo taboo topic. And I just want to bring the awareness of you don't have to completely shift your life to be able to incorporate this. My goal is to share some micro shifts that you can do in your everyday life, so that it feels easier. You feel more supported because I feel like when you acknowledge and support yourself and your cycle, then everybody else can see the benefit and they will also do the same for you. It's important to set those boundaries for yourself and then that way the people around you can also do the same. So I hope you find some power in it because it certainly has changed my life. I can't wait to get started. [00:01:00] Cara Dempsey: Now, before I get started, I want to make sure that if you're having any problems with your menstrual health, you should see a doctor. You should talk to someone that is specifically trained in that field. I would not suggest going off on your own. It is a lot of work. It is hard, but there are still so many things you can do to get started that would help inform your doctor on your imbalances. I remember a girl I used to work with had requested to change her schedule around her cycle. I laughed. I completely judged her for such a ridiculous [00:02:00] thought though. World doesn't work that way, sweetheart. We're all mental hustle, all the way to burn out. We're supposed to put our bodies in uncomfortable situations and have no boundaries to get somewhere in life. We're supposed to birth the child and returned to work only eight weeks, six weeks, even only four weeks off. These were all things I definitely thought was expected of me. These were things that led me to a place of burnout and left my mental health at stake. These were all things I thought I had no control over until I realized the change was up to me. When I saw I had the power in this change. And I still didn't think planning around my cycle was a part of my plan. Until I realized the change was up to me when I saw the power I had in this change. I still didn't think planning around my cycle was a part of my plan. detoxing my body. Yes. Working out. Yes. Meditating. Yes. Planning around my cycle. Who does that? In the process of finding my way back to wellness. I was doing a lot of self-development including learning about my gut health and that led me right to women's hormones.[00:03:00] I was on birth control at the time. And still didn't think getting off of the pill was anything I'd do in the near future. I had been on the pills since I was in my teens. Uh, 22 years, I was on. The pill to help control my periods. They were long, they were heavy. They were very The thing to do is to get on the pill and I was on it except for when I was pregnant. So months of being on a strict diet to detox my body from the mold and toxins I was still having reoccurring issues. The doctors kept chalking it up to auto immune issues and it left me with more prescriptions, which ultimately made me feel worse at the time. I was also trying to detox and not add anything, not natural. And to be honest, my doctors just wanted to switch my birth control to different types of birth control. At this point, I should have probably seen a natural path doctor or someone that was specifically, Educated with hormones in mind. But my personality is when I can't get help after many, many times of going to the doctor, I'm going to try and figure it out myself.. As I dug into the [00:04:00] world of how women's bodies are built. I realize that birth control could be to a point where it's not helping me. So I talked to my husband about other measures we could do so I could get off the pill. I had no idea how to experience it, period, on my I had reached out to a few people for help, but again, I just did what I could. I read as much as I could about it. Cara 12.wav Cara Dempsey: As I dove into the woman's cycle, I was astounded that it can be used as a gift, but I only could believe it if I saw it. And that meant I had to figure out a way to get off the pill. My first book was wild power. I actually did the audio book at this time, so I don't have the highlighted notes I would normally have on such a powerful book. This book's suggests you to honor the moments you have in your cycle to track it in a way. So you know what to expect. Cara 13.wav Cara Dempsey: So in other words, I am built this way. I'm going to honor these emotions. I'm going to. Honor these ways of feeling exhausted and not push through it. That's ultimately what it is, is so many [00:05:00] women think they're supposed to do all the things all the time. And our bodies are not meant to function that way. And I feel like that is probably the true reason that almost 80% of women have auto immune issues. I'm not a doctor. I am not a specialist in this, in any form, but the research I've done there has to be some sort of correlation. So many women that I know have auto-immune issues. And they also don't realize that when they push through and do these things, it's affecting their body. It affected mine for so long and it wasn't until I took a step back and took a breath to realize that pushing through is not doing anybody, especially myself, any Cara 14.wav Cara Dempsey: So, for example, my cycle is normally between 32 and 34 days. Whereas the average cycle is 28 days. So to hear that I'm not alone is reassuring. And around my day, 28, my energy plummets, I would normally push through thinking, why is this happening? Because [00:06:00] you know, I haven't gotten my period yet, but when I do that, guess what happened? During my period, I would be left, unable to do anything during my period. I would be down for the count and it never felt good. I would have a splitting headache. I would have no energy. I would honestly be sick to my stomach. Cara 15.wav Cara Dempsey: So when I started to realize it was a monthly reoccurance, I would allow myself to rest when my body was like, Hey, your energy is lowering. Let's take a moment. So I would make sure around that time that our meals were easy, our groceries are bought that there wasn't any cleaning that needed to be done. And if it needed to be done, it would wait until after my period. And again, I wasn't a moody mess. And I began to see my period as a gift because I forget to rest. And my period has been a gift so much that it says, Hey, you do a lot. This is the time you need to take a step back, take a breath and allow yourself to receive. And when I did that, my creativity began to spike my space for self care took priority. In that time I [00:07:00] began to feel nourished. I began to feel well taken care of, and I gave myself the permission to take it easy. And it was the most powerful that I have ever put into my world. And I'm forever grateful. Cara 16.wav Cara Dempsey: The next book that I began to read was in the flow by Alyssa Vitty. And she takes the idea to the basis of science and studies. It has so much more information on what to do when to do it. but it's, it was hard to translate into my daily life . She of course has amazing resources like a monthly subscription coaching and supplements. But again, I am someone that needs to do something to help plan this concept in my life. And that is how I learn. So I ultimately created a digital planner that did exactly that, and it's been one of my most powerful things that I've done for myself was to create the ultimate digital planner so that I can function at my highest. Cara 17.wav Cara Dempsey: I do want to share some notes. I highlighted, but remember I read it almost two years ago, so I bet you, if I re-read it right now, [00:08:00] the notes that I would have highlighted would be totally different. So she says, Making these choices, a huge departure from what I had been conditioned to believe, which is simply that I should do everything asked of me at all times it is not realistic or healthy to have so few boundaries that there is no room left in your life for yourself, your dreams and your desires. And that is exactly yet. Like when you live in this hustle mentality, trying to keep up with the job, the kids, the house, all of it. You forget about yourself in the flow of it. So honoring your cycle and understanding and learning about your personal cycles, one of the most powerful things that you can do and what I do for myself, We'll certainly be different for what you do for yourself. And that's the point is we're all different and we all have different cycles. She also says that rising estrogen in the first half of the cycle prompts us to be more outwardly focused and to take care of others. Falling hormone levels. And the second half of the cycle balance that outward focus by [00:09:00] allowing us to turn our attention inward and nurture ourselves. We cannot be in perpetual harvest or , constantly in service of others. Nature demands that we take time to rest and attend to our own needs and has built this balance into our hormonal side. She also says increasing self care in the second half of your cycle, when your immunity is lower, helps offset that normal variance. Remember your metabolism is slower in the first half of your cycle, so you don't need as many calories and we'll feel good with lighter means. Also understanding that excit and depression can be something caused by your hormone imbalances. So if you find that, you know, you are feeling more anxious or Having more depressive episodes. It could be linked back to your hormones. And I can attest to that, two years of my life where life felt really hard, I can guarantee it came down to my hormones and I wish I had the understanding of how that directly impacts myself. And I think I would have been in a different [00:10:00] position. Cara 18.wav Cara Dempsey: She says estrogen makes you feel anxious when it surges in your avatar, your phase, you then can feel depressed when estrogen dips in the luteal phase. During the luteal phase, we need to consider. More complex carbs to help stabilize glucose, insulin, and estrogen levels. Again, this has been a huge game changer in how I nourish my body because I would get to a point, I don't know why in the luteal phase, like I would tend to withhold food and that's when I would plummet in my menstrual cycle is because I was. withholding the nutrients. My body needed, the carbs that I needed to with stands my energy and I would be left down for the count. So understand that the foods you should eat changed throughout your site. Your workouts should also change throughout your cycle. The tasks you focus on should also be in consideration if you have the option to do so. most diet plans are based on men and women who do not experience a women's cycle because women's [00:11:00] hormones are so complex. Cara 19.wav Cara Dempsey: So ever wonder why you start out strong with a diet program, workout program, and then it plummets and you don't keep with it. It's because you're not supposed to do that. You are supposed to take in consideration your different phases within your cycle, and you can make a diet program completely specific to your cycle that would work for you, but just keep in mind. That most diets and programs like that are not based off of women's hormones. So don't beat yourself up for why those things don't work for you because they're not meant to, they don't have us in mind. So also most drug studies are also on men and women who do not experience a cycle. There is so much ignored about women who experienced the second. Did you know that over 78% of auto-immune issues are of women between 15 and 44 years old? It's kind of weird that that's exactly when women experience a cycle. Well, I don't just think planning around your cycle can change this, but I do think if we gave our bodies, the [00:12:00] nourishment and self care around each phase, it could make it easier. It also could help you track that if you decide to see a doctor. To show that you're having a male chances in your luteal phase or your follicular phase, it would help be able to communicate those things. Because I know when I was going to the doctor, I did not have any of those things written out to show my doctor. I'm going to say this again. We aren't meant to do all the things all the time. I'm not advocating for a red tent ceremony. I mean, I wouldn't mind the chance to experience something like that, but if we did just a little planning ahead, we could all feel a little less overwhelmed in our day to day activities. I'm not going to lie. When I mentioned cycle planning to my husband, there was definitely eye roll. And I don't blame him. Like I said, in the story when I started this, I did exactly that as well, but now he knows he has picked up on the cues and he will even inquire to So here are small things that you can do in your cycle that isn't overwhelming. So first you have to start tracking it to understand where you're [00:13:00] at. I will have a free resource so that you can help understand that. Your cycle and the different phases linked in the show notes to get you started. You can find that resource caradempsey.com/nine. So in the folicular phase, which I call the spring phase think planning. This is where I go deep into my digital planning. This is where I set up the month. This is where I do meal planning, brainstorming. This is where I plan my content. The next is the ovulatory or I call summer phase. This is when I plan lunch or dinners with friends. Zoom. Collaborate. I work on projects, our energies at the highest. So you want to best utilize it. That fits you. If I still did hair at this time, this would be the time where I would work extra hours to benefit my clients. Also at the beginning of the fall phase. The luteal or fall phase. it has to have, so it does have a little bit more of that , summer energy that I was just describing. I would wrap up projects. I would organize my work [00:14:00] home life. This is the time to let things go and make room for new. The second half has more of a winter energy. So make sure to listen when the time to reel everything in I would make sure I took extra breaks. I would eat more grounding foods. I would stay away from junk. At this time. When you eat junk during this second half of your luteal phase, you will get more. Symptoms right before your period or during your period. This is when I take a break from social media, we are very vulnerable in this phase. So I just find that it doesn't serve me in any way. And I just take a break and winter, I don't plan anything more than I have to. I would make sure I have plenty of breaks throughout the day. I indulge in more self-care we order out food. I make sure my husband covers some of the cooking. I make sure that my time alone is spent resting and when it comes to work, I analyze and evaluate. And I also will start planning a course of action at this time. So remember we are all [00:15:00] very different. So tracking is the best place to get started. I've used apps, but I found for myself, it helps me to write down what I'm experiencing and it helps me understand my energy versus just plugging in symptoms. I still use free apps to help me keep track when I lose track. So I'll always refer back to them, but I track more in certain times. Of my phases, because that's what makes sense for me. And I don't track every day, but I make sure summer Cara isn't planning an outing for winter Cara because how many times does that ovulatory phase version of yourself? Plan something during your winter. And you're like, Nope, I'm canceling I'm out. So if you're aware of this, you can plan around it so that, you know, you have the energy for that experience. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. I hope you understand about cycle planning, a little easier, a little more, and not thinking that it's such a Wu topic because it really, I think could help a lot of women [00:16:00] understand. Again, I'm going to say that. Again, we are not meant to do all the things all the time when we start to honor and listen to our bodies within that is when real change happens. That's when life gets easier because we are giving our bodies the acknowledgement it is dying for when we pushed down those symptoms, pushed down those feelings, those emotions. Our body screams out for help and it could be in a symptom. It could be just pain. So I encourage you to figure out how to take your cycle. Use it as a tool, and don't get overwhelmed with it Start out with a little bit each day, whatever feels best for you. The point is to feel good about it. Not overwhelmed. Thanks for being here again, you can check out the show notes for, links about my digital planner and the free guide to get you started to learn about your cycle. I'll see you next time. My friend.. Outro for #9: Thank you so much for joining me this week. If this was your first time. Welcome. And if you've joined me for previous episodes, Thank you so much for coming back. Before you [00:17:00] go, make sure you share my podcast with a friend or subscribe. If you haven't yet. Those few seconds make a big impact on my podcast. That I'd be grateful for the support. Check out the show notes for links mentioned in today's episode, visit caradempsey.com/9. I created a free resource to help you plan your work and home life with your cycle in mind. Remember. It doesn't have to be a huge life change. But doing a little bit, each day could make your life have more ease. You could find this resource caradempsey.com/ cycle or in the show notes. Thanks for joining me in today's episode of Floductivity. Until next time.