NOTE READ ME FIRST!: I receive emails and comments regarding this post all the time from readers sharing similar stories to mine. You may feel lost and confused like you’ve tried EVERYTHING when it comes to getting your cycle back I totally get that.
Seed cycling is one tool that you can use to help get your hormones back on track but if there is anything I’ve learned from healing my amenorrhea and working with hundreds of women to help heal their hormones it’s that the approach has to be individualized.
There is no ONE set approach that will help you get your cycle back on track. We need to dive into your personal history and take a unique supplement, diet, and exercise approach. You may need more or fewer supplements, carbs, fat, protein, calories, and exercise to get back on track, it’s a fine balance.
THAT BEING SAID, I hope sharing my experience will help you know that you can get back on track and that you are not alone in the way you are feeling!
Hi, friends! Happy Thursday! How is your week going? Recently, some of you have asked me about the seed cycling regimen I followed and for an Amenorrhea update. (See my previous posts: recovering from 5 years of amenorrhea and post pill amenorrhea update.) So, for the dudes, this will be period talk so if you want to skip it, see you back tomorrow for Friday Fitness & Favorites!
This past month I learned exactly how stress affects my body: turns out A LOT. Last month there were a few days that I felt like my dreams were crashing down on me. You know what happened? I started my period four days early, and it was SUPER light.
Here is a recap of my first five months: 38 days, 26 days, 28 days, 23 days, 24 days, and 28 days.
I think that pretty much proves to me that I’m super sensitive to stress and I need to manage it carefully. Letting myself go down the: my world is ending rabbit hole, has profound physical effects on my body. It proves to me that all this was initially caused primarily by stress and a negative reaction to birth control.
I was kind of scared it would disappear the next month altogether, but the last cycle was exactly 28 days, so we are getting more normal! It was still pretty light but five days this time instead of four. Not that “heaviness” is an indication of everything working normally, but in my mind it totally is. Not exactly logical.
What is logical is tracking my cycle. When I first tried to do this the month after my period came back it was too hard. I was too worried it wouldn’t come back and it put a ton of stress on me. Now that I’m fairly confident things are humming along, I can start tracking (I use an app called Kindara).
I believe that learning the fertility awareness method is something every woman should do, regardless of the method of birth control she chooses. Only because it teaches a woman so much about her body like what is normal and what is not, which can help solve underlying hormone balance issues.
We are Catholic, so I was exposed to NFP during marriage preparation, but it frustrated me because I had nothing to track. I was the same every single day with zero changes, so I eventually gave up.
I think they call it “your basic infertility pattern.” I couldn’t let my mind go there, so while I did not have a cycle, I stopped tracking it, simply to save my sanity. To help me review and get back into tracking, I’ve been reading “Taking Charge of Your Fertility.” (<—–affiliate link) After I understand more about it I’m happy to post about it if you guys are interested.
Despite the little stress hiccup, I feel like my hormones are leveling off. I do not have huge hormonal acne swings, and I can tell my workouts are finally feeling …. um, effective? Moreover, I’m finally getting results from my workouts! Woot woot! Some of that has to do with finally recovering from injury and my new program my friend wrote me.
Over the past ten weeks, I’ve lost 5-6lbs of the 10 I gained from my hormone fluctuation and too much holiday fun. Mr. Hungry’s grandma is still making comments about my weight gain.
I just don’t let it bother me because it just doesn’t matter. I have the best husband in the world who has told me multiple times he can see a big difference in my muscle tone and definition.
We’ve talked so many times about how when I was at my lowest weight when we got married I was so thin but with zero muscle definition (I lifted weights, but it made no difference.)
Now it is becoming more visible every day (yeah hormones!), and I love it. My weight loss is slow but I barely think about it, and I’m not stressed about it. It took six months to gain it; it will likely take that much to lose it.
Seed Cycling
Okay, so I promised to share the seed cycling regimen I used for myself and now use with my clients so here it is! (Note, links below are affiliate links. Thank you!)
Phase 1: Seeds to support the Estrogen Dominant portion of your cycle.
Days 1-14 of your cycle (starting from day one of your period) ingest the following daily:
- 2 Tablespoons of fresh ground flax seeds or chia seeds (I buy mine fresh and grind them in a coffee grinder)
- 2 Tablespoons of fresh ground raw hempseeds
- 2,000mg EPA/DHA (such as fish oil) – I take Nordic Naturals Pro-Omega
- Make sure to clear this with your doctor as FO can interact with medications and thin your blood.
- If you’d like a safe, reliable place to order fish oil and other supplements, you can do so through my online dispensary.
Phase 2: Seeds to support the Progesterone Dominant portion of your cycle.
Days 15-28 ingest the following daily:
- 2 Tablespoons fresh raw sunflower seeds or sesame seeds
- 2 Tablespoons fresh raw pumpkin seeds(pepitas)
- GLA (such as from borage oil or Evening Primrose Oil) 500mg – I take the Life Extension Mega GLA + Lignans
- AVOID IF TRYING TO GET PREGNANT
- Order through my online pharmaceutical grade dispensary.
- 1,000mg EPA/DHA
When I started, I didn’t have a cycle, so I followed the phases of the moon. Days 1-14 are followed during periods of the new moon to full moon. Days 15-28 follow the full moon to new moon. I used this calendar to figure out when to do what.
Tips:
- Only prepare a few days max at a time, seeds will oxidize and become less potent.
- Store the ground seeds in a jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator (I used mason jars.)
A few notes about seed cycling:
There is very little conclusive research supporting its effectiveness for hormone balance and no research supporting it helping with amenorrhea. However, there is some research on the ability of flaxseed and GLA supplements to impact hormone balance. (here is the most useful article I found, but it gets pretty in-depth)
I would also note that the dosage seems to be an issue. For example, I tried seed cycling in the past but with a different protocol. That protocol required only one tablespoon of each type of seed.
While many of my clients got great results (less PMS, more regular cycles, and decreased menopause symptoms), I never responded to it (aka no cycle). For me, I needed a much higher dose to respond.
Since then I’ve cut back on it. I keep up with the supplements, but I’m not doing as many seeds, about one tablespoon of flax in the first two weeks and one tablespoon of sunflower (usually sunflower butter) in the second half.
Have more questions? I wrote a Seed Cycling Q & A’s post with my most frequently asked questions. You can read that or watch the video by clicking here!
This is one of those things that I figure may or may not work for you, but adding these seeds is very unlikely to be harmful, so why not give it a try? Worse case you get more anti-inflammatory healthy fats in your diet, whoopie!
Easy ways to get them in:
- mix into a smoothie
- mix into oatmeal
- mix into yogurt
- eat them by the spoonful (okay for sunflower, pumpkin, and hemp seeds not so much for the others)
I had a hard time doing this, so I got creative and came up with some new recipes! Here is a round-up of the recipes I came up with including how many seeds per serving!
Seed Cycling Phase 1 Recipes
Flax & Hempseed Energy Bites
Supplies full dose of flax and hemp in two bites!
Hemp & Flaxseed Muffins
Supplies 1.3 tablespoons of ground flax and 1.3 tablespoons of hemp seed per muffin.
Cranberry Date Quinoa Bars
Supplies 1T of ground flax per bar.
Anti-Inflammatory Instant Oats
Supplies 2T ground flax, 1tsp chia seeds, 1T hempseed (you could easily increase the hemp seed in it though!)
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
Supplies 2 tablespoons of ground flax in each muffin!
Chocolate Coconut High Protein Chia Pudding
Supplies 2 tablespoons of chia seeds per serving.
Also see: pumpkin chia protein pudding and chia protein pudding
Hempseed Crusted Cajon Baked Cod
Phase 2 Recipes
70% of the time I ate two spoonfuls of sunflower seed butter straight from the jar as my seed cycling, so I was not nearly as creative for phase 2 recipes. I did come up with a couple of versions I liked, though:
Paleo Pumpkin Bread
Two tablespoons of sunflower seeds per serving and one teaspoon of pumpkin seeds.
Sweet Potato Protein Muffins
1/2 tablespoons of sunflower seed butter per serving, I usually eat two muffins, so I get a full tablespoon
That’s it! Let me know if you have any questions, otherwise, I’ll update again in a few months! For those of you who have commented or emailed me, you don’t know how much your support has meant!
Related/Updates:
- Recovering from 5 Years of Amenorrhea
- Post-Pill Amenorrhea Update (4 months later)
- How to Make Your Hormones Work For You (What to eat/how to train)
- Why Your Hormones Need Carbs
- Iron Foods, Functions, and Facts (related)
- My friend Ashley wrote an ebook called Fit & Fertile (affiliate link)about her experience with Amenorrhea as a Group Fitness Instructor and what she did to get pregnant naturally. Her experience was different than mine, but similar in some ways as well. Either way, it was definitely a comforting read.
Click here to pin this for later!
Hi! Just found your blog and this post and others dealing with your loss of period have been so helpfulness and comforting. I’ve been without a cycle for 7 years (on and off BC). I’ve been off for good for 14 months and have had nothing. I’ve reduced stress severely. My diet is on point – low carb, moderate protein, and high fat with very low sugar intake. My weight is normal. Normal BMI. I workout 4-5x week but nothing insane. I listen to my body well. I can feel my hormones starting to come back again (PMS LIKE symptoms-mood swings and terrible acne) so I’m hopeful things are starting to even out. Hoping. This acne is a KILLER!!!
Thanks so much for your post. It’s so very hard to be here but knowing others are there /have been there with me helps a lot.
I have 2 questions for you:
-What brand of primrose oil and fish oil did you purchase? I m going to give your seed cycling approach a try! What do I have to lose?!
-Did you use anything that helped with your acne?
Just emailed you!
Hi Kelli,
I’ve been thinking about starting seed cycling for a while now, but I’ve noticed your protocol is a little different that what I’ve seen on most other sites. The most common thing I’ve read is 1 Tbsp each of flax and pumpkin seeds during the Follicular Phase and 1 Tbsp each sunflower and sesame seeds during the Luteal Phase. Just wondering if you had any insight on this and which version I should try.
Hi Kristin! GREAT Question! So, I personally tried the protocol you mentioned and saw no difference (aka my period didn’t come back). I think the intake isn’t high enough to make a huge difference, but it depends on what your goals are. I’ve had clients get the little boost they needed with the less aggressive protocol you mentioned. However, I obviously got better results on the protocol shared in the post and since switching I think I’ve gotten better results with my clients. Also, the pumpkin seeds have a ton of tryptophan in them which help support healthy serotonin levels in the second half of the cycle so that’s when I recommend them. The protocol I shared was given to me by a Naturopathic doctor that really helped me balance my hormones. You will be safe trying either protocol (it’s just seeds!) but I’m partial toward the one I’ve shared since I tried both and only the one I shared made a difference for me. If you have specific questions you can email me at hungryhobbyATgmailDOTcom! Thanks!
Hi Kelli,
I’ve experienced many of the issues you mentioned, and I haven’t had a period in more than six years. Like Blake, I follow a low-carb, very-limited-sugar diet, exercise 5 days/week, and have a normal BMI. I’d like to give this protocol a try — could you please share which brands of fish oil and GLA you use? Thanks!
absolutely! I use Nordic Naturals for the fish oil and Mega GLA through life extension for the Mega Gla. I absolutely would not recommend a low carb diet if you aren’t having a period. Feel free to email me at hungryhobby@gmail.com for more information, or actually I think I’m going to write a post on this next week!
Hi Kelli,
I’m curious about a few things here. 1) What products do you use for your seed cycling? 2) Do you think this would work in conjunction with using an IUD? I have the Skyla IUD (and need it for birth control) however it has caused me to lose my cycle. I completely lost my cycle from oral BCP, then was irregular for 1.5 years once it finally came back, and then found myself in a place where I really need a form of birth control. Skyla is supposed to be low hormone levels. Anyway, from reading this, I’m wondering if seed cycling could help while I have the IUD!
Hi Sarah, unfortunately, it is unlikely seed cycling will help in conjunction with any additional hormones. I mean it won’t hurt you to try it, but my guess is it won’t help. If you try it let us know the results!
When you say 2,000mg EPA/DHA (such as fish oil) do you mean 200mg of FISH OIL or do you mean, fish oil contains EPA/DHA and you should take as much fish oil as needed to equal 2,000mg of EPA/DHA rather than simply 2000mg of fish oil?
I’m asking bc my fish oil pills are 2000mg of fish oil per 2 capsules but below 2 capsules only contains 500mg of EPA/DHA so really, I’d have to take 8 fish oil pills a day to hit 2000mgs of EPA/DHA.
Any clarity you can provide would be great!
2,000 mg of EPA/DHA per day, so yes unless you have a high potency version like nordic naturals ultra omega. Make sure you check with a doc first because fish oil can thin your blood.
so the answer was yes you would take 8 of the ones you have (just cuz I wasn’t sure if my answer was clear). I used to have similar pills and I ended up buying higher potency ones and then combining them with the old ones!
Do you soak your seeds before grinding? I was told that having unsoaked seeds could encourage leaky gut, but wasn’t sure if grinding had a similar effect?
I don’t soak mine. That’s interesting though, I’ve never heard that one before. I do work with clients with leaky gut and I would try to resolve that before putting them on a seed cycling protocol just because of absorption and general feelings.
hello! I’ve read that the seeds must be raw for this to work. what are your thoughts on that? I love all of your recipe ideas for incorporating the seeds and wasn’t sure if that makes the protocol less effective. thank you!!
thats what I’ve read as well. I think the point is to avoid destroying the really delicate healthy fats in them. In my recipes the heat isn’t so extreme that should be happening. I would start with doing the raw then venture on as you get super sick of the raw stuff!
Hi! I read on another website that the seeds need to be soaked and dehydrated because of the anti-nutrients in them. I’ve been doing so for the past five months but nothing has changed. I’m wondering whether that’s doing more harm than good. What’s your take?
Very interesting Sonia. In my experience using raw seeds and grinding them is enough. The anti-nutrients that they are referring to are probably phytic acid. Phytic acid binds to minerals, decreasing your absorption of them. To be honest, what we are after here are the fats, not the minerals anyway (although they support, they aren’t what we really care about). If you are taking a high-quality vitamin I wouldn’t worry about soaking and dehydrating your seeds, you could be losing some of the healthy fat in the soaking process. Also if you have been following this protocol for over five months with no change I would highly suggest booking an appointment on my nutrition services site http://www.hungryhobbyrd.com Often times seed cycling is supportive, but there are other changes we can make to help balance your hormones or regain your period. If you suffer from amenorrhea there are many many many reasons your period might be gone including GI issues, autoimmune conditions, and a million other things. It’s best to get a comprehensive assessment so you can make sure that what you are doing is hitting all the bucks you need to spark that HPA axis and get things moving!
Thanks! I have a question about the moon phases. Sometimes they last 15 days instead of 14 and the entire cycle lasts 30 days instead of 28. What should I do in those cases?
I found your website through Tina at Carrots n cake and am interested in seed cycling as I’ve been on the pill for several years. Exactly how long would I do this for? Is it a lifelong sort of diet change? I only ask because I’m sensitive to kidney stones and some seeds are on the no no list. Thanks for all the info!!
Hey girl! Great question, I did it for 6-8 months then transitioned to just the supplements which worked out fine for me. I started back up when I wanted to get pregnant (minus the GLA in the second half). With the kidney stone issue, I don’t remember the list of foods that contribute to kidney stones specifically, which seeds are you concerned about? I can say the most important seeds are the flax in the first half and the pumpkin in the second half. Many of my clients get results only following half of the protocol (1 tablespoon of each instead of 2). Hope that helps!
Most plant based foods especially nuts and seeds are higher in oxolates that contribute to stone formation, sadly. But halving the dosages might be OK. Thanks for the tip!!
Hi, I started seed cycling one month ago; I was on a 22 day cycle, now I just got my frenemy 13 days later! I am a bit freaked out–so now I feel like I should change my seed intake back to the flax & pumpkin since I got it again so soon (if I’m following the protocol of taking flax & pumpkin on days 1-14.
If you could give some advice I would be so appreciative!
Thank you!
Hi Sherry, please remember that seed cycling is a gentle push to balance hormones, not a fix all. It’s unlikely you would have been affected so much in just one month. I’m always happy to offer my readers with general advice but in this case, without knowing more about your personal health history I can’t offer any additional advice. If you are interested in a consult you can send an email to kelli@hungryhobby.net or check out http://www.hungryhobbyrd.com.
Will this help for post menopausal women? I can’t take hormones because I smoke and when hormones were tested several years ago, I had none. I ordered herbal testosterone but haven’t started taking it as of now. What is the easiest, simplest blog, book to read to understand all of this information? Thank you for any help that you can provide.
Hi Melissa! Seed cycling in my experience has unfortunately not been very effective for postmenopausal women that I’ve worked with. However, trying it definitely won’t hurt! I would highly recommend you get your levels retested and work with a trusted naturopath to balance them. Herbs and remedies can be extremely powerful, but also harmful if not used right. It’s best to do so under the direction of someone who has dedicated their life to studying them. I hope that helps! Good luck!
I love this article and rings true for me to have a more aggressive approach as I am peri menopausal. Could you please explain, should i follow the lunar cycle with the seeds as other sites suggest if my cycle is irregular? Also Other sites suggest a much higher dose of GLA. Could I take EPO throughout my cycle? Thank oyu very much. I shall be recommending your site for sure!
Yes, you could do the lunar cycle or just start on the first day of your next period, either way should be fine! I think the dose I recommended is very sufficient because it’s of the GLA not EPO. Other sites may be recommending mega doses of EPO in order to get enough GLA. So glad you found the information helpful. You can take EPO throughout the cycle but you don’t really need to.
I don’t know if you will respond to this old post but I was wondering if you would have any recommendation for post menopausal weight gain. I need to lose at least 40 lbs. I am 62 and I don’t exercise. I only walk back and forth to work, which is 30 minutes per day. I sit all day at the office. I have very bad back pain that makes it hard to workout.
Thank you
Hi Maria,
I respond to all comments! I would recommend checking out my nutrition counseling page. Weight loss is never one size fits all, it usually takes a personalized approach.
Best,
Kelli