In the FLO: A 28-day plan working with your monthly cycle to do more and stress less

by Alisa Vitti

healthy testosterone levels

almonds, avocados, dark leafy greens, and watermelon)

salmon, walnuts, sardines, and flaxseeds)

sauerkraut, tempeh, and kombucha)

maca powder, ashwagandha, reishi mushroom, and holy basil—

want them to see a mother who loves them dearly, who invests in them, but who also invests in herself.

PREPARE

Curiosity

supercharged energy

break out of your routine and try new experiences with your kids—

more cerebral and ramp up your curiosity, making this an ideal time to ask more questions when it comes to parenting.

break routines, take novel approaches with your kids, strategize with them, and find playful solutions if you come up against any resistance.

planning home projects, think about what needs to be done this month, and loop your partner into the planning process.

painting a room or building a bookshelf? Lay out your plans to make it happen.

OPEN UP

Nurturing and Play

best time to socialize

inviting kids over for a play date, visiting a family member, or planning an outing with other moms and their kids.

desire to nurture your kids and show them extra-focused love and affection.

special meal for one-on-one time, help the kids with a project, or spontaneously make muffins with them.

emotional check-in and ask them how they’re feeling and if there’s anything they want to talk about.

effortless to be a playful mom at this time, and you can resolve conflicts in a more physical, playful, lovey-dovey way.

communication and social skills shine during this phase,

WORK

Collaboration

you’re a superwoman when it comes to checking things off your to-do list.

include your kids in domestic chores. Ask them to help you fold laundry, chop the carrots, or pick up their room.

look at my task list and complete the items on that list.

give children the opportunity to learn to enjoy this process by helping them learn about sequencing, delayed gratification, skill building, follow-through, and completion.

let your kids practice working through issue...

love and logic questions

strong desire to get things in order. Honor that inner voice by getting organized and completing projects with the kids’ help when appropriate.

deep cleaning once a month and ask my husband to pull out all the furniture so we can dust in places we can’t reach the rest of the time.

REST

Individuation

To be a happy mom, you need some alone time, and there’s no better phase for that than during menstruation.

Giving your children some solo time is good for them, too.

encourages them to use their imagination and to entertain themselves.

lean on my partner and let him do more so that I can try to replenish myself.

Your hormones align at this time to encourage analysis and evaluation.

listening to your inner wisdom, your intuition.

menstrual phase, your heightened intuition gives you the insights you need to catch things that need to be addressed.

subtle changes are under way inside your ovaries. Ovarian reserve—the number of remaining follicles and eggs in your ovaries—may begin to dwindle.

cells within your ovaries secrete lower amounts of two key hormones—inhibin B and anti-Müllerian—which may cause occasional elevation of FSH levels during the follicular phase of your cycle,

During this life stage, your cycle may still be arriving like clockwork every month, or it could begin to vary in length. In the later years of this phase, you could skip a period entirely.

need to start doing it now!

could be dealing with fertility problems, vaginal dryness, crepe-like or wrinkled skin, or bone-dry hair.

critical to start biohacking your way to better-balanced hormones before you transition into the second phase of perimenopause, or you could be faced with unnecessarily intense symptoms.

avoid many of the effects of premature hormonal aging and can reduce the likelihood of developing symptoms in the late phase of perimenopause.

diet high in fish and legumes delays the onset of menopause by more than three years, whereas eating refined rice and pasta results in an earlier end to your reproductive years.