28 Days: What Your Cycle Reveals About Your Moods, Health and Potential--Updated and Expanded Paperback – May 3, 2019

It's hard to tell from the picture but there are a LOT of pages in this book and it is FULL of information for each day of your cycle. There are also places for notes. The lack of pictures doesn't do the book justice.

What I love about this book is that Gabrielle Lichterman breaks down the menstrual month by week and by day so that readers stay engaged and aware about their hormonal changes each day--similar to her Hormone Horoscope apps (which I have used for a year or so. If you have the Pro version of her app this book may also still be worth getting because it has more tips). This is valuable information because it allows women the potential to capitalize on the days when she has extra energy and take things easier on the days when her energy is naturally on the lower end. This helps my expectations stay realistic when it comes to making plans! Gone are the days when I would ignorantly schedule appointments during my PMS week and then cancel on people. No more stumbling around in the dark about hormones and wondering why some weeks I have tons of energy and then what follows is a week or so of no energy and enthusiasm. In addition, to being so practical, there is a deeper added layer of gold that comes with knowing about my daily hormonal shifts. I have started to get to know how to better meet my inner needs--they are dynamic rather than static, like I had originally believed (I thought that I needed 8 hours of sleep each night. Nope. It varies depending on where I am in my cycle). I now know when to challenge myself during a work out and when to back off. I know when to eat a little more than normal and when it is OK to eat a little lighter. I even know which days I can do with less sleep and what days I'll need a nap. All these little tweaks that I played around with have improved my health. I used to have excruciating cramps, but after following the cycle based tips, I've actually had pain-free periods! It just goes to show that cooperating with hormones is the way to go if you want less suffering.The one thing that I'd like to note about the Hormone Horoscope app and the book "28 days" is that the Hormone Horoscope app has a calendar, but the book doesn't have that feature. Why is this worth noting? Well, because, with the app you can see how your Cycle Days lines up with the days of the week, but you can't with the book. For instance, if I use the app to plan to take a day off work for my period (one of the perks of being self-employed), thats easy. I just check and see if my period lands on a weekday or weekend. If it lands on a week day then I might just take off early. If it is on a weekend I can note that. But, if I use the book I have no way of telling if my period is going to be on a week day or weekend. I'd have to go refer to the app. It is an extra step, but something to be aware of if you intend to use the book for planning purposes. I still love the book and recommend reading it to further your own understanding of your hormonal shifts. Once you get that down, the book can be a reference guide (it is chock full of research all in one place) you look at when things are off kilter or you need a refresher.

Love this book and author! Was recommended by a friend, and I’m so glad I followed up. Everything explained scientifically and conceptually — easy to understand but backed up by the details we need. After years of trying to learn more about my cycle, I still learned so much from this book. I wish I had this book when I was a teenager!Highly recommend if you want to learn about your body and how your hormones affect every aspect of your life!Note for parents: each day does have a small romance section (split into “if you’re single” and “if you’re in a relationship”) and a sex section. This book is so much more than that (from academics to money spending), but it’s in there, so this might not be best for young teens. Would still recommend to parents to learn more about supporting your daughters, and can share specific sections!

I can’t believe how much info is out there about how our hormones affect us each day of the month, that we were never taught! It pinpoints and explains the hormones fluctuations (day by day format) behind Spending habits, type of thought spirals you may encounter, spatial awareness levels, body temp, social mood, sensitivity, energy, etc etc etc! It also includes suggestions for how to feel best each day. It’s not full of jargon, so it’s very user friendly and helpful.

I am so thankful for this book. It has made me understand my cycle so much better. I wish I had it when I was a teenager. I reference it at least weekly in regards to what symptoms I am experiencing that day and why. I feel seen and not so crazy! One of my favorite book purchases ever :)

"28 Days" has been very insightful, and helped me be mindful of what is happening in my body on a hormonal level each day. As someone who is very sensitive to their hormonal fluctuations, I can say that this is like an operating system manual for my body, and I can gain knowledge of how every hormone will most likely affect me each day. I am emotional, so seeing things from a very scientific and study-backed angle works very well for me. I wish I had this knowledge decades ago instead of unknowingly letting my hormones take advantage of my weaker moments, or thinking something was wrong when it was just the effect of a certain hormone that week. "28 Days" has been so spot-on about little details that I was experiencing that my husband has said "That's spooky" several times.Another great thing about this book is that I can take advantage of the "good" hormonal days, when estrogen is high or rising, to make them even better. We are taught that during our periods, this is a bad time ofthe month where we will be cranky and miserable. Certainly this can be the case for some, but "28 Days" was the first book I've read that actually informed me that menstruation days are those in which estrogen is rising each day, and that it will improve your mood until ovulation - Gabrielle reminds us that the first day of our period is a day to celebrate two weeks of feeling better, or at least the possibility if there aren't any other medical problems you are dealing with. She offers a lot of science-backed advice on how to improve your mood on these days so that you can take advantage of rising estrogen, and when to see a doctor if you're dealing with certain issues. She also helps us look for all the positive aspects of our premenstrual weeks that we can take advantage of to make them more pleasant.I'd recommend this to anyone with a regular menstrual cycle - it truly is a life-enhancing tool!