A Supplement Routine Curated for Female Athletes

Dr. Stacy Sims here!

I'm excited to share with you the new Female Formula that I've designed for us female athletes.

A quick background. I've spent my life's work on the science of exercise physiology and nutrition for the female athlete. I've been known to say, "women are not small men."

Nowhere is that statement more true than when it comes to navigating supplements and nutrient needs.

For years I've been working with my female athletes to support changes in inflammation, iron and creatine absorption, gut microbiome and mood/motivation specific to their hormone profile (natural cycle, hormone birth control, perimenopausal, menopausal).

The problem is this results in a complicated plan where athletes have too many pill bottles, are counting pills each day, and have to know when to switch up their supplements during the month to align with their cycle.

When I heard about what The Feed was doing with Feed Formulas and creating custom daily supplement pouches for athletes, I immediately knew this was the answer.

The daily supplement pouch makes it easy for you to follow the plan. No more pill bottles, no more counting pills. All you have to do is take what's in the pouch each morning. Depending on your hormone profile category, I even vary what supplements you get across the month.

Here is how it works:

Step 1: Go here to get started, and you will answer some quick questions. Don't worry. Your answers are never stored. They are only to pick the right formula for your hormone profile.

For simplicity, you should fall into one of 5 categories regarding menstruation:

• Natural Cycles (21-40 days) without hormonal birth control
• Cycles with hormonal birth control
• Perimenopausal
• Postmenopausal
• Amenorrhea (no periods)

Step 2: Based on your hormone profile category, I've chosen the specific supplements you need and when you should take them during the month.

For example, if you have natural cycles without birth control, you will get 14 days of supplements for your Follicular phase and a different set of supplements for the ~14 days of your Luteal phase.

Don't worry if you have a shorter or longer cycle; it is the Follicular Phase (FP) that changes. To accommodate for the length variations, we always include bonus FP pouches free of charge.

Step 3: Check out, and your monthly Female Formula will arrive in a few days. You can start immediately, and I include a guide on calculating where you are in your cycle and on which pouch you should begin.

What's in your Female Formula?

Each formula is different (and you can also further customize them yourself when checking out). I've worked with the team at The Feed for the past six months to source the supplements I want from the brands I trust. I've hand-picked each supplement you are getting.

Here just a few highlights of how the Female Formulas are designed for your unique needs as a Female Athlete:

1) Iron only when you can absorb it

Iron is critical for many female athletes, yet your body is better at absorbing iron in the Follicular phase, so it makes no sense to take it all month. You will get 28mg of iron in the daily pouches you use during the Follicular Phase.

2) Creatine when you need it for brain and mood support

With the increase of estrogen and progesterone in the Luteal phase your body needs more creatine to help with hormone-mediated neurotransmitter changes which affect your mood, so I've included Creatine in the 14 Luteal phase pouches. It is a low dosage that has been shown to assist in balancing mood and won't have any side effects (i.e., water retention) of high dosage creatine.

3) The ideal probiotic strains for vaginal and urinary health

I've included two distinct species of probiotics, Lactobacillus: Reuteri (RC-14®) and Rhamnosus (GR-1®), backed by clinical studies to help promote a healthy vaginal microflora and support urogenital tract health.

4) Extra bone support for Postmenopausal and Amenorrhea

I've added to your pouches SwissRX Bone Support because low estrogen puts you at a higher risk for osteoporosis. SwissRX Bone Support includes highly bioavailable forms of calcium, magnesium, and Vitamin D alongside Vitamin K2 to help support calcium absorption.

I hope you share my excitement to finally have an easy-to-use solution unique to female athletes' needs and timed specifically to your menstrual cycle.