For the past year and a half, I have kept a life log that has, over time, revealed patterns in my life that now completely informs how I live. It all started as a method of birth control called FAM, but soon turned into my own little accountability reference aid that has connected me to my body, and my body to the moon. Basically, I take my temperature with a digital thermometer in the morning before getting out of bed. There is a discernible spike in temperature the day after ovulation, so after a while, you know exactly when you’re most fertile.
What are Fertility Awareness Methods?
Fertility awareness methods (FAMs) are ways to track your ovulation so you can prevent pregnancy. FAMs are also called “natural family planning” and “the rhythm method.” – plannedparenthood.org
Other patterns start to emerge too. For example, now that I know when I’m most likely to have depressed feelings, I will control for it. Perhaps hosting that dinner party would be better suited to this other week, when I know I feel particularly motivated and on top of things. I track all my big headaches, my weight fluctuation, exercise, fasting, pimples, moods, and…other things. It’s a clear way of seeing how this stuff relates to where I am in my cycle, and where my cycle is with the phase of the moon. Just by keeping this log, I feel accountable to this document, and thus, am more likely to keep my goals.
I made a custom chart that I’m giving away for free. It’s in Celsius (Canada, eh?) and includes a weight section with spaces between 130-160 lbs, but you can easily convert it. It’s mostly blank and customizable, so you can write in whatever you want to track! Pick up a digital thermometer (with preferably two decimal places for better accuracy), and get charting for a more informed connection to your body!
I printed it out and made a booklet. It looks like this…
