Okay ladies… I know sometimes this topic can be a little bit TMI but I know most of us have some questions about birth control which, babes, you should.

I mean, it's pretty crazy that so many women are using hormonal birth control of some kind but we don't really ever talk about it or take the time to understand what it does to our bodies!

I wanna change that, especially since I went off birth control earlier this year and have been feeling all kinds of better! Okay, first things first, let's do a little women's ed and talk about our menstrual cycles. Fun stuff, I know.

Menstrual Cycle 101

Don't just skip this part, babe! As a woman, your body is going through this process (or something like it, even if you're on hormonal birth control that affects your cycle). Knowing your ups and downs helps you get in tune with your body.

Your period

Technically, the start of your period marks the first day of your cycle. Most women bleed somewhere between two and seven days (you two-day girls are suuuuper lucky, just FYI). You're bleeding because the lining of your uterus is breaking down and exiting your body as blood. Kinda interesting, right?

Follicular phase

After your period, your body immediately gets to work building a new egg to possibly get fertilized. It also regrows the lining of your uterus. During this time, your estrogen levels go up so your skin is usually clearer. This part of your menstrual cycle lasts for a few days.

Ovulation

At around day 10 of your cycle, your body releases an egg into your fallopian tube. When we talk about ovulation, this is what we're talking about. You usually ovulate for about a week and if you're trying to get pregnant, this is the time!

Luteal phase

Your body gets ready to grow a baby if your egg is fertilized by thickening the lining of your uterus. But when the egg doesn't get fertilized, your uterus also contracts, getting ready to start your period. This is the time when your estrogen and progesterone levels drop, which is what causes PMS (yaaaay…).

After your period, your body immediately gets to work building a new egg to possibly get fertilized. It also regrows the lining of your uterus. During this time, your estrogen levels go up so your skin is usually clearer.

Types of birth control

Okay, now that you know a little bit about your menstrual cycle, it's time to talk about how birth control affects it. There are a whole bunch of different hormone-based birth control options out there, like:

• The pill
• The patch
• The ring
• The birth control shot
• Hormonal implants that go in your arm like Nexplanon
• Hormonal IUDs, which go in your uterus

Why go off hormonal birth control?

All of these birth control methods dose your body with extra hormones to make sure you don't get pregnant. But sometimes you don't need all that junk! So you've got a couple of options.

You can go off birth control entirely. I did and I'm loving it! I take some extra precautions to make sure I don't get pregnant (obvi) but it's seriously been life changing for me!

Or if you wanna try going hormone-free but are worried about getting pregnant, you can try the copper IUD. It gets implanted in your uterus like other IUDs but it's totally hormone-free.

So why did I decide to get off birth control? Real talk, I had been on it since I was 15 and I just felt like I wasn't in tune with my body. So I got off of it and babes, it's been so amazing!! Here are some of the things I've noticed:

• I have a TON more energy
• My skin is clearer (no more cystic acne, THANK GOODNESS!)
• My sex drive is a million times better
• I'm more in sync with my body

Honestly, I would say that if you've been thinking about getting off birth control, you should try it. I just feel like I understand my body so much better now and it's a pretty amazing feeling. And to ease the hormonal transition, I'd recommend taking:

• DIM Complex
• Calcium d-glucarate
• Glutathione

There are a ton of options out there for birth control, so if you're not quite ready to be a mom make sure you find the right fit for you! Remember that every woman is different and everyone's bodies react differently to different birth controls, so my experience could be totally different from yours. But if you are considering taking some time off B.C., I would say try it babe!

Xoxo