Understanding the Basics of Cycle Tracking
- Dr. Ashley Richiardi, DC
- Jun 10
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 11
Tracking your cycle is a powerful way to tune into your body and really understand what’s going on with your hormones. When you understand your menstrual cycle, you can make smarter choices about your fertility, feel more connected to your wellness, and support your overall health. While a lot of women associate cycle tracking with trying to conceive, it can actually be an effective, non-hormonal approach to natural family planning. We will discuss the basics of cycle tracking, different methods, and I’ll share some exclusive discounts on popular tracking tools to help you begin your journey.
What is Cycle Tracking?
Cycle tracking is monitoring your menstrual cycle to become more in tune with your body’s natural rhythms. It helps you understand your monthly hormonal shifts, identify your fertile window for natural family planning, confirm ovulation, predict your period, and spot possible signs of hormonal imbalance or health changes.
Research published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology shows women who track their cycles can predict ovulation more accurately—a game changer for those trying to conceive or avoid pregnancy.
Benefits of Cycle Tracking
Understanding your menstrual cycle provides several significant benefits:
1. Improved Fertility Awareness
Cycle tracking can optimize your chances of conception. By identifying your fertile window, you can know when you’re ovulating, which is the best time for intercourse if you’re trying to conceive. Similarly, if you're looking to avoid pregnancy, tracking can help you abstain during your fertile window without having to rely on hormonal birth control.
2. Health Monitoring
Tracking your cycle also allows you to monitor your health over time. Changes in your menstrual cycle can indicate underlying health issues. For instance, irregular cycles, excessive cramping, or abnormal bleeding can signal hormonal imbalances or other medical concerns that should be addressed.
3. Emotional Awareness
Hormonal fluctuations can have a huge impact on our emotions and energy levels. By being aware of these changes, you can take steps to manage them effectively. For instance, knowing that you tend to feel down in the luteal phase, you can plan some self-care and restorative exercise during that time.
Methods of Cycle Tracking
There are several effective ways to track your menstrual cycle, and the best method often depends on your lifestyle, health goals, and how much data you want to collect. Many women find that combining multiple methods gives them the most accurate insight into their fertility and hormone health.
1. Calendar or App-Based Tracking
Apps like Kindara and FEMM offer free cycle tracking, and are great for logging period dates, symptoms, basal body temperature (BBT), and cervical mucus in one place. These tools can help identify patterns and keep you connected to your cycle.
Natural Cycles is a subscription-based app for fertility awareness, using daily temperature readings and an algorithm to predict fertile days. It’s a convenient, science-backed option for those interested in natural contraception or conception, with different settings based on where you are at in your journey.
Calendar-based predictions alone can be limited—especially if your cycle varies. These apps are most effective when paired with real-time tracking methods, like BBT or cervical mucus observations, to give you a more accurate picture of ovulation and your fertile window.
2. Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Tracking
BBT tracking is a reliable way to confirm that ovulation has occurred. After ovulation, rising progesterone causes your resting temperature to increase slightly. By recording your temperature daily, you can identify ovulatory patterns and better understand your luteal phase.
You can track BBT in two ways:
Traditional BBT Thermometers: These require taking your temperature at the same time each morning before getting out of bed. They’re affordable but best suited for those with consistent sleep routines.
Wearable Devices like Tempdrop: Tempdrop is worn overnight and automatically tracks and averages your temperature. It's especially helpful for those with variable sleep schedules, young kids, or shift work.
While BBT is excellent for confirming ovulation after the fact, it doesn’t predict your fertile window, so it’s best combined with cervical mucus or LH tracking.
3. Cervical Mucus & Position Monitoring
Your body gives real-time signs of fertility through cervical mucus and cervical position. As ovulation nears, mucus becomes clear, stretchy, and egg-white in consistency—ideal for sperm survival and movement. Most women notice 2–5 days of this fertile-quality mucus before ovulation.
Cervical position also changes with your cycle. Around ovulation, the cervix is higher, softer, and more open. Tracking cervical mucus provides one of the most reliable physical indicators of the fertile window and is a key part of methods like FEMM and Creighton.
4. Hormonal Cycle Monitoring
For even more precision and insight, you can track hormonal shifts directly using at-home tools:
LH Strips: LH (luteinizing hormone) test strips detect the surge that typically happens 24–36 hours before ovulation. They are a great option, as they are affordable and widely available. However, they do have some limitations:
they don’t detect the start of the fertile window, when conception is most likely
they can't confirm ovulation
for women with PCOS, high LH levels or multiple peaks are common and can cause false positives
Mira: Mira uses a digital wand, reader, and app to measure multiple fertility hormones in your urine—including LH, estrogen, and progesterone metabolites—providing a detailed, personalized hormone curve. Considered the gold standard for hormonal cycle tracking, Mira can help you identify your early fertile window to better time intercourse. It also detects important hormonal patterns like elevated estrogen, multiple LH peaks, luteal phase defects, and suboptimal progesterone levels. Mira also offers a perimenopause mode to support tracking hormonal changes as your cycles begin to shift.
Inito: Similar to Mira, Inito measures multiple hormone metabolites using a small device that attaches to your phone, offering cycle predictions and in-depth hormone insights. It is currently only compatible with iPhone, and does require your phone to read the test for about 10 minutes.
Hormonal tracking is especially helpful if you're trying to conceive, have irregular cycles, or want a deeper understanding of your body’s fluctuations.
Practical Tips for Effective Cycle Tracking
To make the most of cycle tracking, consider the following practical tips:
1. Be Consistent
Whichever method you choose, consistency is key. Make it a daily habit to input data or check your tracking. The more information you provide, the better your insights will be.
2. Note Additional Symptoms
Go beyond just marking the start and end of your period. Pay attention to things like mood changes, acne, sleep quality, digestion, and energy levels. These details can reveal helpful connections between your cycle and overall health.
3. Advocate For Yourself
One of the biggest benefits of cycle tracking is the insight it gives you into your own body. Even if your cycles seem “regular,” detailed tracking can reveal signs that something’s not quite right. Like not noticing cervical mucus before ovulation, having heavy or clot-filled periods, painful cycles, a short luteal phase, or inconsistent BBT patterns might point to underlying hormone imbalances.
When you track consistently, you’re building a record that can help you advocate for your care. You’ll be able to walk into a provider’s office with real information so you can get the support and answers you deserve.
Insights into Hormonal Changes
Understanding the hormonal changes that are happening during your menstrual cycle can help you recognize what is happening in your body at different points in your cycle.
The follicular phase begins on the first day of menstruation and ends when ovulation occurs. During the follicular phase, the pituitary gland releases follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which signals the ovaries to begin maturing several follicles—each containing an immature egg. As these follicles develop, they produce estrogen, which helps thicken the uterine lining in preparation for a potential pregnancy and gives your brain feedback to select one dominant follicle for ovulation. Rising estrogen also plays a key role in triggering the next phase of your cycle: ovulation.
Ovulation is triggered by a surge in luteinizing hormone (LH), which signals the dominant follicle to release a mature egg from the ovary. As this happens, estrogen—produced by the developing follicle— should reach its peak. This high estrogen level not only stimulates the LH surge but also causes cervical mucus to become clear, stretchy, and fertile, creating an ideal environment for sperm.
The luteal phase begins after ovulation and typically lasts about 12–14 days. After releasing the egg, the follicle transforms into the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone. This hormone thickens the uterine lining and causes a slight rise in basal body temperature (BBT), typically 0.5–1°F. A sustained temperature shift indicates ovulation has occurred. Healthy progesterone levels suggest ovulation of a mature follicle, while a short luteal phase (<10 days) or low/erratic BBT may signal hormonal imbalances that impact fertility.
Taking Action Based on Your Data
Once you start tracking your cycle, you gain powerful insights that can help you take meaningful action. If you notice irregularities, like absent fertile cervical mucus, a short luteal phase, irregular temps, or unexpected hormone shifts, it may be a sign of an underlying imbalance. This is where a trained professional can help.
Cycle Tracking Consultations offer personalized, one-on-one support to help you make sense of your data and move forward with confidence. These sessions are perfect if you:
Need help deciding the best method of tracking based on your goals (fertility, natural birth control, perimenopause monitoring, etc.)
Want support interpreting hormonal cycle charts from tools like Mira or Inito
Are tracking symptoms like irregular periods, fatigue, PMS, or hormonal acne and need help connect the dots
Suspect hormone imbalances but aren’t sure where to start
We’ll review your symptoms, cycle history and patterns to identify potential hormonal imbalances or irregularities, such as luteal phase defects, suboptimal progesterone, PCOS, estrogen dominance, etc.
You don’t have to figure it out alone, I'd love to help you on this journey to your best health.
Thanks for reading, I hope this was helpful! Be sure to grab my exclusive discount codes for the cycle tracking tools I use in my holistic women's health practice.
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