Innate Rhythm

When tracking your fertile window and ovulation, no matter what tool you’re using — cervical mucus, OPKs, or BBT — you’ll only know it happened in retrospect.

Cervical mucus and OPKs PREDICT (never guarantee) ovulation.

Your BBT is what’s going to help you confirm that it happened.

THE GOOD NEWS ▼
One of cervical mucus’ (many) superpowers is to hold onto s***m for you until you ovulate. For up to 5 days! Even if it’s non-peak CM.

So if you’re trying to conceive, any sort of cervical mucus means it’s go time.

But if you see peak cervical mucus (clear, stretchy, or lubricative) then it’s definitely go time — even better if you also have a positive OPK.

If you've been following me or similar practitioners, you know exactly what I'm talking about:

"Stay away from apps with an algorithm to predict/confirm ovulation." ❌

For good reason! Most algorithms will predict you ovulate on cycle day 14, and the reality is that's just not true for most women. And if you're relying on that to conceive, it can be maddening if pregnancy isn't happening.

But recently one of my besties who was trying for her second babe texted me saying she's pregnant (!!!!). Of course I asked for details and she shared that LH strips were confusing af for her and tracking with a thermometer and cervical mucus wasn't realistic for her lifestyle.

She already had an Oura ring so decided to use their recent integration with Natural Cycles...and conceived using its predictions on the first try!

It got me thinking...

Sometimes it works 🤷‍♀️

What I standby: the best way to predict ovulation is your cervical mucus patterns. Unless an app is using your inputted data on this, it's going to be a general guess.

Remember:
—Your basal body temperature will never be able to predict ovulation (it only confirms it)
—The day you ovulate can be different every single cycle

BUT if you're new to tracking your cycle and FAM feels overwhelming, try out an app!

Just don't panic if it's not happening. Your timing may just need some strategic fine tuning.

***mhealth

Such a different energy reading though the left side list, isn't it? Wishing you more of it in 2024 ✨

⇉ You can enjoy these next couple weeks, let loose, and also continue supporting your fertility.

⇉ It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

⇉ You don't have to start over come January.

⇉ Stay connected to your body, listen to its cues, and loosen the grip on perfectionism.

So much easier said than done, right?

Setting the boundary often seems easy compared to the backlash you may receive after voicing it—especially if it’s the first time you’ve set it.
⁠
Your friends and family may be shaken, taken back, or offended that you’re choosing not to tell them exactly where you’re at in your fertility journey, what your next move is, or how you’re feeling about it; but you are not responsible for their reaction to your boundary.
⁠
If you know questions will be coming this holiday season, equipping yourself with ready to go boundary statements may be helpful so they’re at the forefront of your mind and you don’t have to come up with them on the spot ▼⁠
⁠
“I love how much you care, but this is really personal for me and something I’m not always up for talking about. I’ll reach out when I’m ready.”⁠
⁠
“I’m so happy that worked for you, but we have a plan of our own that is best for us right now. I’ll reach out if I need different advice.”⁠
⁠
“It’s ok that you’re curious, but it’s not ok to constantly be bringing this up to me. I’ll initiate the conversation when it feels best to.”⁠
⁠
Their feelings about it is for them to work through.
⁠
What else has worked for you in these situations?⁠

Slow it down, take a breath, focus on taking just one mindful action and let it ripple effect into the next.

PMID 26926253 showed that increasing whole grain intake prior to IVF treatment was related to higher probability of implantation and live births likely due to increased endometrial thickness.

There’s 3 components of a whole grain, the bran, germ, and endos***m.

This result was driven by bran intake as opposed to germ.

The bran is the outer most layer and is what’s often stripped away in refined carbs.

Common sources of bran are
—Wheat
—Oats
—Rice
—Rye

Always opt organic where possible with grains (especially wheat—don’t eff with glyphosate) and use strategies lessen blood sugar spikes like pairing with fat and protein, taking 1 TBSP of apple cider vinegar 20 minutes beforehand, and gentle movement after carb heavy meals.

Carbs also support the production of tryptophan, an essential amino acid that is the precursor to making serotonin — aka our happy hormone. In other words, carbs will light up your brain's pleasure centers (a reason we crave them during times of stress).

Nothing is ever TMI over here — promise!

If 2024 is your year to get pregnant and you want:
⇉ to do things differently
⇉ proactive mind-body support
⇉ to break free from generational patterns
⇉ to change your family's narrative about body image
⇉ to feel in control of your journey from the get go
⇉ to place equal emphasis on s***m health
⇉ preventative care for you and your baby
..send me a DM with your email and I'll reach out to you first when I have new spots open up in the first quarter.

Cheering you on ALWAYS.

Sincerely,
Haley

When eaten regularly, high glycemic carbohydrates (carbs that raise your blood sugar higher and faster) can interfere with regular ovulation - PMID 17882137

Over the holidays, these tips will help you lessen the blow with small mindful actions and supportive tools to ADD IN rather than restricting and taking away.

Enjoy that delicious food with your loved ones!!!

Come on over sister, let's dig deeper.

Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts for systems in your body. A catalyst is a substance that makes a reaction faster.

Digestive enzymes help your gut break down food so you can easily digest and absorb nutrients.

The main digestive enzymes are made in your pancreas and include:
>Amylase (breaks down complex carbohydrates)
>Lipase (breaks down fats)
>Protease (breaks down proteins)

Common reasons for being low in digestive enzymes include:
➤Gallbladder removal
➤Gallstones
➤Environmental toxin exposure
➤Chronic pancreatitis
➤Gastrointestinal surgeries
➤Pancreatic cancer
➤Cystic fibrosis
➤Under active thyroid
➤Chronic stress
➤Excess inflammation
+ more

If you're low and not breaking down food properly - you could be in a nutrient deficiency and your hormones could be suffering because of it (remember protein and fat are the building blocks of your hormones).

A big reason why if you're on a fertility journey AND having gut issues - that's where we'll start.

When I started graduate school for nutrition (shortly after I stopped taking the pill), I was desperate for something or someone to fix how painfully bloated I was all the time.

I tried every diet, herb, treatment out there and jumped around from doctor to doctor hoping it would finally be the thing that did it.

The first hint of relief I got came after a Psychology of Eating class.

I went home, made food, sat down, took 3 deeeeep breathes, chewed my food an obnoxious amount and set my fork down between every bite.

When I was done, it was the first time in months I wasn't uncomfortable.

If you can relate - start here.

Regardless of what you're eating, improving the *way* you eat can make a ginormous difference in the way you feel, absorb nutrients, and support the gut hormone connection.

Your symptoms aren't isolated.

If you're not paying attention to your menstrual cycle but have digestive issues, anxiety, if you're always freezing, have skin issues, etc — the underlying root cause to those symptoms could also be impacting your fertility.

I know you don't want kids yet.

But if you know you do someday, why wait to figure out what's going on?

Start empowering yourself, building up your tools and save yourself the headache and heartache.

In all seriousness, as a society we have to stop normalizing and dismissing PMS and writing it off as "it's just her time of the month”

🙅🏼‍♀️

If you experience moderate to severe:
⇢Anxiety
⇢Mood swings
⇢Depression
⇢Irritation
⇢Breast tenderness
⇢Bloating
⇢Acne
⇢Headaches
⇢Dizziness
⇢Nausea
⇢Pain
⇢Insomnia
⇢Heart palpitations
⇢Back pain

in the days leading up to your period, it is absolutely something to address and could be an indicator of hormone imbalance, specifically deficient progesterone, that may have significant implications like miscarriage or recurrent pregnancy loss.

Start with supportive practices like these ones to address nutrient deficiencies, blood sugar regulation, and optimal hormone production.

And if your doctor or healthcare practitioner is dismissing your PMS or suggesting the pill to “regulate your mood” —find a new one stat.

...or something else.

It's my job to stay open, stay curious, let assumptions go, and let your body and charts do the talking, and listen.

DM's open if you're ready to get started 🤍

The amount of supplements you'll need to take preconception and during pregnancy to meet the nutrient requirements for you and baby is largely dependent on the nutrient density of your diet.

Invest in superfoods like these ones and supplements become less a part of the conversation.

My fav. nutrients highlighted in this bunch:

➤Retinol (preformed vitamin A) ⇢ Supports building a thick and juicy endometrium

➤Iodine ⇢ A must have for proper thyroid function

➤Choline ⇢ Immediately essential upon conception

➤Omega-3 FA ⇢ Cervical mucus production

➤Zinc ⇢ Needed for normal ovulatory function

➤Iron ⇢ Supports building a thick and juicy endometrium

Save and add to your next grocery list!

SAVE THIS IF YOU'RE POST PILL, IUD, IMPLANT, ETC!

I recommend giving yourself at least 6 months before actively trying to conceive to move through these 3 steps —

Step 1:
▶︎Repair and replenish (this list is a good starting point)

Step 2:
▶︎Start tracking your BBT and cervical mucus to identify and interpret ovulation.

Step 3:
▶︎Consider functional and properly time lab work

About 80% of the time in cases of PCOS there will be insulin resistance.

Your pancreas makes insulin. Insulin is responsible for ushering glucose into your cells to create energy. When there’s resistance, your cells become numb to incoming insulin and stop responding to it.

When your cells stop responding to it, your pancreas begins making more and more insulin to try and elicit a response.

So your pancreas is in overdrive and there’s excess glucose building up and floating around your blood with no where to go.

The excess levels of insulin aggravates your ovaries and drives them create excess androgens, specifically testosterone.

This interferes with your ability to ovulate and is why you’ll often experienced delayed ovulation.

Delayed ovulation means super long cycles (often 35+ days).

Chaos 😵‍💫

So what do you do?

One important step will be to manage your blood glucose levels.
Here are some my favorite tips:
➤Have 1 TBSP of diluted apple cider vinegar before meals
➤Take a 10 minute walk after lunch or dinner
➤Always eat your carbs with a fat and/or protein
➤When you have a complete meal, eat your veggies first, fat and protein second, starches and carbs last

The nutrients listed here will also support your thyroid function and follicular development, and therefore ovulatory function. Focus on foods that give you the most bang for your buck and cover most of these like:
➤Meat
➤Liver (all organ meats)
➤Fatty fish
➤Seaweed
➤Eggs

Then consider supplementation.
Save this to talk with your practitioner and decide which may be best for you!

PCOS symptoms on charts will be different from person to person and may be different for you every month.

The first step is to get comfy identifying ovulation so you can better identify what's going on and how to support yourself.

Because cervical mucus and LH can be skewed indicators with PCOS, I recommend using your BBT to confirm when you've ovulated.

If you're just curious to see the temperature shift to confirm ovulation, then a wearable device can do the trick. If you'd also like to gather insight into your metabolic and thyroid health, I recommend using a thermometer to track it.

If you want to be pregnant in 2024, COME SPEND SATURDAY MORNING WITH ME!

> 3 spots left <

90-min. Masterclass: Master Your Menstrual Cycle

Part 1: How to Use Your Cycle as a Diagnostic Tool
Focus ⇢ How to Identify Low Progesterone (back by popular demand)

Part 2: Live Audits
I select 1-2 interested women to do a live audit of their menstrual cycle charts.

You'll discover:
▶︎What I’m looking for
▶︎What it could indicate
▶︎How to up level your charting skills

Part 3: Live Q + A
Get your questions answered and learn if my program Fertility Freedom feels like a good fit to help you reach your goals faster.

I'd love to see you there!!!

Sometimes intricate protocols are necessary — other times slowing down and making small, mindful, soul-fueling choices is really what you needed all along.

When naturally, once your egg is fertilized it takes roughly 10 days for implantation to happen.

If your luteal phase is less than 10 days (a symptom of luteal phase defect) it's often a sign of low progesterone.

This is important to know in "unexplained infertility" cases—

⇢Your cycle is a healthy length (24-35 days)
⇢No obvious period issues
⇢You even confirm ovulation

But it's still not happening.

Even if your progesterone labs come back "normal," but your charts show a less than 10 day luteal phase, there's likely some room for improvement.

⋒ These tips can support you in getting to that optimal 12-14 day luteal phase to allow ample time for implantation to happen.

Save this for your next grocery trip!

IRON ⇢ Supports building a thick and juicy endometrium

OMEGA-3 FA ⇢ Cervical mucus production

FOLATE ⇢ Cervix health

CHOLINE ⇢ Immediately essential upon conception

RETINOL ⇢ Need for optimal corpus luteum development

IODINE ⇢ A must have for proper thyroid function

Not only will these foods support your fertile biomarkers + reproductive hormone production, they will also begin filling up your nutrient stores.

Many women go into pregnancy from an already depleted state, forcing your body to tap into nutrient reserves to pour what it needs to into your growing baby, leaving you feeling fatigued and susceptible.

Rather than focusing on what you need to take away, shift your attention to what you can ADD IN. You with me?

***mhealth

Think of oxidative stress like little fires happening in your body.
Symptoms may include:
▶︎Chronic fatigue
▶︎Frequent headaches
▶︎Joint pain
▶︎Digestive disturbance
▶︎Skin troubles

From a fertility perspective, this can also show up as poor s***m parameters, miscarriage, poor follicular and corpus luteum development (possibly leading to anovulatory cycles or poor progesterone production).

If you think this may be you, save this one to talk with your practitioner about therapeutic supplementation with these anti-oxidant powerhouses.

Free radicals, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), can build up from factors outside of our control like:
⇉Radiation
⇉Air pollutants
⇉Industrial chemicals

And factors in our control like:
⇉Cigarette smoke
⇉Alcohol
⇉A poor diet
⇉Over-exercising

Anti-oxidants (along with smart choices) are the counter to this.

Oxidative stress will occur anytime there is an imbalance of free radicals and anti-oxidants in our body. When left unmanaged, oxidative will damage your DNA, cells, tissue, and egg health.

This is why "eating the rainbow" is so supportive. The different colors in fruits and veggies represent different anti-oxidants and will help make sure you're getting a wide variety to balance out free radicals.

Stay tuned for some of my favorite to protect your egg health specifically!

Rarely do I see it be just one thing that is preventing a couple from conceiving. It's likely going to be perfect storm of multifaceted factors.

Will rare exposure and occurrence of this list be the reason you're not conceiving? Of course not. Your body is incredibly wise and resilient.

But could consistent exposure and occurrence be the straw that broke the camel's back? Possibly.

Where can you lessen the toxic load and burden on your body?

Your small daily choices and actions will add up.
Focus on what you can control and set the rest aside for now.

Symptoms of deficient progesterone can include (but not limited to):
>Luteal phases less than 10 days
>Abnormal post-ov. mucus patterns
>Abnormal spotting during your cycle
>Moderate-severe PMS

It’s associated with insufficient progesterone production and/or action and can give someone trouble who is trying to conceive.

These key nutrients will effect multiple pathways and support common causes like:
—Inflammation
—Poor follicular development
—Poor egg quality
—Poor thyroid function
—Adrenal fatigue
—Poor circulation

There isn’t a magic pill that will turn this around for you. It has to be a multi faced and consistent approach. Save this as your starting guide!

Strong fertility is created bit by bit from your daily habits and decisions.

The intention with each of these columns is to optimize your circadian rhythm, your body's natural antioxidants (crucial for egg health) and your reproductive hormone production.⁠
⁠
When practiced regularly and integrated in a sustainable way, here are the changes in your chart I expect to see:⁠
⁠
>Higher basal body temperatures⁠
>More cervical mucus⁠
>Longer luteal phases⁠
>Less pre-menstrual spotting⁠
⁠
Along with:⁠
>Less PMS⁠
>Healthier period flows⁠
>Reduced period pain⁠
⁠
These will be your clues that your body is ready to conceive, sustain a pregnancy, and set your little one up with a strong foundation of health.
⁠

Your metabolic system’s number one goal is to keep you alive.

It is constantly talking to your reproductive system and telling it to turn up or down based on how far into survival mode you are.

So if your reproductive system is turned down and you’re in rest and repair mode, we need to start by asking why. Why did your metabolism send the message to slow down?

More often than not there’s going to be a significant gap or imbalance in your foundational factors: sleep, stress, diet, exercise.

✨ If this is true for you, know that there is nothing wrong with your body. In fact, it is doing exactly what it was designed to do—survive during times of stress.

The challenge becomes identifying the stressor(s) and committing to sustainable behavior change so your body can trust it’s safe to conceive.