Seed cycling energy balls for your pre-workout snack!

The perfect pre-workout snack for you cycle syncer’s and seed cyclers alike. seed cycling recipes like These energy balls are a great way to get in some nutrients, protein, and carbs before your workout or yoga session! If you have no idea what seed cycling or cycle syncing is, let me give you a brief overview:

Seed cycling is a way to balance hormones by eating seeds depending on the phase of your cycle you are in. In the follicular phase, one would consume pumpkin and flax seeds and in the luteal phase, one would consume sesame and sunflower seeds.

Cycle syncing is a similar concept except it includes more than just eating phase-specific seeds. It includes a diverse selection of foods per cycle along with exercise suggestions that flow with the energy of your cycle. You can also supplement these specific products to improve hormone balance while implementing cycle syncing into your routine!

Disclaimer: This is not medical advice and should not be taken as such. I am not a doctor and do not claim to be as these are solely based on my experiences. Please consult your family doctor before considering any recommendations listed in this post. Thanks!

Follicular phase: Pumpkin and flax

The follicular phase starts on the first day of bleeding up until ovulation. If you chart your cycle (which I suggest you do) this is the low hormone/temperature phase. For these pre-workout energy balls the recipe will consist of ground pumpkin and ground flax seeds for the following benefits:

Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds are high in zinc to help with progesterone production as you near ovulation

Flax seeds: High in fiber, omega -3’s, and lignans which help bind to excess estrogen. Studies have shown that eating flax seeds can help lengthen the luteal phase and lessen PMS symptoms such as breast pain and cramps.

*Make sure you grind your seeds fresh so your body is able to properly digest and absorb all of the helpful nutrients in the seeds*

Luteal phase: Sunflower and sesame

The luteal phase is the latter half of your cycle or the day after ovulation up until the first day of your next bleed. During this time, we want to support progesterone production and estrogen detoxification. If you have high estrogen levels one can be more prone to heavy periods and painful cramping!

Sunflower seeds: High in selenium which aids in the detoxification of estrogen in the liver and helps with estrogen dominance in the latter half of your cycle.

Sesame seeds: Similarly to flax seeds, sesame seeds contain lignans to aid in the excretion of excess estrogen in the latter half of your cycle. Sesame seeds are also high in Zinc to help thicken and lining of the uterus for a potential fertilized egg.

*Make sure your grind your seeds fresh so your body is able to properly digest and absorb all of the helpful nutrients in the seeds*

pre-workout snacks are important!

In the follicular phase, our physiology is most like our male friends, meaning we can build more muscle, recover faster, and perform at higher intensities. While fuel is important in both phases of our cycle, I would like to put an emphasis on having a pre-workout snack in the luteal phase for a few reasons:

• Due to the increase in progesterone post-ovulation, we actually burn about 300 more calories per day in our luteal phase. Making this seed cycling recipe the perfect snack to fuel your body.
• If we do not fuel our body with enough food during this phase, our body can start to take from amino acids and break down muscle for fuel.
• In the luteal phase, our body has a harder time accessing glycogen stores to fuel workouts. Leaving us fatigued and performing poorly. Therefore if you have an event or hard workout planned in the latter half of your cycle, these protein energy balls are perfect!

Luteal phase recipe

to make a batch of these protein energy balls in your luteal phase, follow the same recipes except sup out the pumpkin and flax seeds for sesame and sunflower seeds. Keep the measurements the same!

Follicular phase recipe

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Equipment you’ll need

This recipe is pretty simple to make, I’m not much of a “make the kitchen a mess just to clean it up” kinda gal. So, you probably have most of this already but if you don’t, you can easily order them below on amazon!

More resources

For more seed cycling recipes to try check out the glowing fridge! I am quite a fan of her recipes and felt inspired by her to recreate these energy protein balls!

As always, if you are looking to balance your hormones, get your cycle to a good place, or achieve your physique goals – check out my services page for ways i can help xx

until next time
Hailee xx

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