Over on Instagram, I’ve been posting a lot about charting. If you get my email newsletters, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been talking about charting a lot there too.
But what even is charting?
Is it creating bar graphs of your family member’s favorite ice cream flavors like you had to do in 2nd grade?
Lol, no!
When I say “charting” I mean charting your cycle. But what does THAT mean?
What Is Cycle Charting?
Cycle charting is so much more than simply entering the start date of your period in an app.
It involves looking at your daily fertility signs and then writing those down on a paper chart or entering them in a charting app.
Fertile signs you can track are:
- Basal Body Temperature (BBT) – This is your temperature first thing in the morning
- Cervical Mucus (CM)
- Luteinizing Hormone (LH) Testing
- Cervical Position
- Cervical Sensation
The signs I currently track are BBT and CM.
Why chart these signs? Why not just use a period tracking app?
Great question!
Tracking your fertile signs can give you such great info! Such as…
- If you have a healthy luteal phase length & other health info
- Accurate period prediction (more about that in this post)
- When you are fertile- this can be great if you are trying to conceive a baby or want to have a natural form of birth control
Doesn’t charting these signs take a long time?
Nope!
In fact, I can chart each day in under five minutes!
My cycle charting routine is the following:
- At night before bed, I sync my TempDrop thermometer and then input that data in my Read Your Body app
- Then I choose the cervical mucus option for the day as well as what my sensation was
- Then I fill out my custom lifestyle data (I track how much water I drank, stress levels, productivity levels, what supplements I took, etc)
- Now I put my phone on my nightstand and put my TempDrop on my arm. I fall asleep.
- In the morning, I take off my TempDrop and set it on my nightstand.
- Throughout the day, whenever I go to the bathroom I check for any cervical mucus.
- At night I repeat the process!
To take a peek into my charting process, watch this reel :)
What’s a TempDrop?
A TempDrop is a thermometer that you wear on your arm while you sleep. It takes readings of your temperature throughout the night and is very accurate.
It’s great if you have changing sleep schedules, such as if you are a nursing mom or a shift worker. I love it because I’m able to sleep in with it!
If you’d like to get 10% off your TempDrop, you can use my link :)
Want to learn more about charting?
Grab your copy of the free Cycle Charting 101 ebook! :)
In this ebook, you’ll learn more about what charting is, which apps I recommend, details about charting your temperature and mucus, why charting is helpful, and MORE!
You also can learn more by listening to the Coffee With Kara podcast episode titled “What is Cycle Charting” below.
