What Do You Dream About?
Imagine a life where you feel in tune with your body, effortlessly navigating through the month with energy, clarity, and balance. Imagine being aligned, connected to, and empowered by your body – not held back by it. What would you do? Who would you be?
Welcome to Jihi Cycles — a powerful approach to women’s health that optimizes your well-being by aligning your diet, activities, goals, and self-care with your unique hormonal cycles.
The rest of your life starts now
Our framework is designed to put you in the driver’s seat of your body, helping you stop flying blind and start unlocking your full potential. It can improve your body composition (increasing strength and bone health while decreasing body fat) and reduce or even eliminate hormone-related symptoms like PMS, acne, bloating, low libido, trouble sleeping, mood swings, and hair loss.
Feeling your best shouldn’t be hard, and learning how your body works shouldn’t take a lifetime. That’s where Jihi comes in. Our goal is to blend ancient wisdom with modern science to capture the magic and power that is you.
You Shouldn’t Feel Crappy All the Time
It’s the 21st century, and you deserve to feel good. But the truth is, many women don’t. In fact, we get pretty used to feeling pretty bad a lot of the time. How many women do you know who look rested, happy, and comfortable in their (clear) skin, with energy to spare?
We would like to argue (with absolutely no judgement) that one of the contributing factors might be that today’s menstruating women were largely raised on birth control. How familiar does this sound? You experience a hormone-related symptom (like acne or severe cramps) in your teens or twenties and were put on birth control as the solution. Many of us never have a reason to get off of it (who wants those symptoms to come rushing back?) until years – or even decades – later.
Here’s the problem: your symptoms tell a story. They are the guideposts that help us navigate our unique bodies. We don’t always receive the time and resources we need to dedicate to ourselves and our self-care, and our medical system has a crazy lack of real women’s health data. So, when the default is to give us a pill and make our symptoms disappear, could we actually be being robbed of what might be the signs we need to find our way home, back into our bodies?
Your Symptoms Tell a Story
Did you know that the following symptoms can be impacted by hormone imbalances?
Mood swings, irritability, anxiety, depression, bloating, breast tenderness, lower abdominal pain, back pain, headaches, missed periods, frequent periods, spotting between periods, prolonged bleeding, passing large blood clots, reduced sexual desire, persistent tiredness & low energy levels, breakouts (especially around the jawline and chin), difficulty losing weight, weight gain around the abdomen, thinning hair, constipation, diarrhea, insomnia, waking up frequently during the night, sudden warmth, excessive sweating (especially at night), swollen breasts, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, stiffness, aching, itchy skin, rough patches, increased hunger, cravings for specific foods, swollen hands and feet, puffiness around the eyes, feeling excessively hot or cold, feeling overwhelmed, increased anxiety levels, and needing to urinate more often… need we go on?
This list isn’t even exhaustive. Hormonal health also plays a significant role in fertility, postpartum recovery, and the transition into menopause, which can impact quality of life for up to a decade. Hormonal imbalances can affect nearly every aspect of your well-being, from your mood and energy levels to your skin and digestion.
Understanding and managing your hormonal health is a gift every woman can give herself.
In the Jihi Kitchen, we believe that understanding your hormonal health is the key to unlocking your full potential. Our Cycle Planning™ framework helps you align your diet and activities with your hormonal cycles, promoting optimal health and reducing hormone-related symptoms. By embracing this approach, you can transform how you feel from day to day, improve your body composition, and enjoy a higher quality of life.
I’ll Have what she’s having
Everyone has a unique body clock, and for women, the menstrual cycle is a powerful one. This cycling doesn’t make women “fickle” or “unpredictable”—quite the contrary! You might be surprised to learn that in a healthy woman with a regular cycle, we can predict with relative accuracy how she’s going to feel on any given day of the month.
Assuming all factors are equal (she isn’t sick, hungover, under extreme stress, etc.), we can anticipate with remarkable precision when—due to the natural ebb and flow of her hormones—how her body and mind might feel when the day arrives. We can predict when her sex drive will be highest or lowest, when her gut will best tolerate raw foods, when her immune system will be slightly decreased, or her metabolism will be slightly increased.
These patterns and insights are known to us, but putting them into practice can be challenging. Not every cycle is 28 days, and not everyone experiences PMS. Determining your unique cyclical framework and aligning a targeted eating strategy that incorporates your food preferences, tastes, and health goals can seem insurmountable without expensive nutritionist or functional medicine support. Well, until now.
Cooking for the phases of your cycle
Being at the mercy of your menstrual cycle can be taxing, both mentally and physically. Hormones during different phases can affect sleep, appetite, and energy levels. For example, on the first day of menstruation, you may feel tired and hungry, preferring to rest rather than engage in intense workouts. Estrogen and progesterone are low, so you may feel low too.
After your period ends around day 5, you enter the follicular phase (days 6-14) and often feel more energetic and capable as estrogen climbs. This peak continues until the ovulation phase (days 15-17), where luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone levels are highest. During this time, you might experience bloating, breast tenderness, mood swings, or increased libido.
The luteal phase (days 18-28) follows, with progesterone peaking and a moderate rise in estrogen. This can leave you feeling weak and tired as your body prepares for menstruation again. Remember, everyone operates differently, and symptoms can vary from month to month. Tracking your feelings, mood, skin changes, sleep quality, appetite, attention span, energy, and social desires can help you understand your unique cycle.
Cycle Planning™ can help you figure out what your body needs at each stage of your cycle. The food you eat can nourish your body, support hormone balance, and promote overall well-being. Some foods can disrupt your system, causing imbalances and taxing your body. This is where we help fill in the gaps.
Understanding the Seasons of Your Cycle
Throughout the Jihi Kitchen website, you’ll notice the following “seasonal” icons: ❄️🌷☀️🍂. These icons represent the different phases of the menstrual cycle, helping you align your food choices and activities with your body’s natural rhythms.
- ❄️ Menstruation (Inner Winter): During this phase, your body craves well-cooked, satisfying meals, low-impact exercise, and plenty of rest. Just as winter is a time for hibernation and recuperation, menstruation is your body’s time to slow down and replenish.
- 🌷 Follicular Phase (Inner Spring): The period directly following menstruation is akin to the “spring” of the cycle. Hormone levels begin to rise, bringing renewed energy and socialability. This is a time for lighter, fresh foods that fuel your body’s new growth and vitality.
- ☀️ Ovulation (Inner Summer): Ovulation marks the peak of the hormonal cycle and is like the month’s “summer.” This is a time of celebration and high energy, where your body feels its best. Enjoy vibrant, nutrient-dense foods and embrace physical activities that make you feel strong and confident.
- 🍂 Luteal Phase (Inner Autumn): The luteal phase, following ovulation, is the time to wind down and prepare for the next cycle. Similar to autumn, this phase is about wrapping up and getting ready for winter. Focus on grounding, comforting foods and gentle activities that help you manage PMS symptoms and maintain balance.
By understanding these phases and aligning your lifestyle accordingly, you can better support your body’s needs throughout the menstrual cycle. The seasonal icons on our website serve as a guide to help you choose the right foods and activities for each phase, ensuring you feel your best all month long.
Personalized approaches take time and effort, but it’s worth it to feel and operate at your best. This isn’t about looking your best, though it might be a side effect; it’s about feeling your best. Adapt to yourself and learn how to thrive.
