Katy is one of the few women on Instagram who actively motivates and educates women about women's health and bodies through her profile. She is followed by over 20,000 women in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Among other things, she teaches women to restore their cycle using the " Reprogram Your Cycle" program , which has already helped more than 180 women. She has also created two other programs that can help women return menstruation or adjust their cycle after stopping hormonal contraception. Her online program is the first in Slovakia and the Czech Republic focused on educating women in the area of a healthy and regular menstrual cycle.
You can also listen to Katy on her successful podcast “Bagniari radio”, which has more than 75 episodes. Here you will find a lot of information about female physiology and the cycle, as well as many interesting interviews with experts and personalities in the field.
Today, we'll talk to Katy aka Bagniari about how she went from being an anthropologist to becoming a women's health coach, what causes PMS and hormonal imbalances, and how her online program can help women.
Katy, thank you for accepting our invitation to speak with us. We are lucky to have women like you helping to educate and motivate women to take more care of their cycles and health. What is your story? How did you get into coaching in the field of women's health and menstruation?
I thank you for the invitation to the interview. My journey to women's health started a few years ago. Actually, by myself. But I see it only today, that as much as I wanted to make myself the best version of myself as a woman, I actually got to the position I am in today, where I educate and help women to have a healthy cycle and get to know their female body. I started as a nutrition coach, even then I started differently than my colleagues. I didn't create diets, but I immediately started coaching, talking to people and teaching them to understand their current state and work with themselves. I didn't line their lives for them. A year ago, I was preparing for a PhD, where I wanted to focus on the missing cycle in female athletes, but in the end, thanks to social media, I realized that the missing cycle or problematic cycle is not only a problem for female athletes, but also for non-athletes. The anthropologist in me woke up and I said to myself that I want to help women who need help and are "out there" outside of my research. And so in 2019 I officially started this mission of mine with the Reprogram Your Cycle program, where everything officially took off.
Many women (including us) experience/have experienced problems with their cycles, whether it's PMS, pain, irregular cycles, hormonal imbalances, or fertility. What do you think is the main cause of premenstrual syndrome (PMS)?
I personally perceive the source of problems before menstruation to be a misunderstanding of female physiology from the advice of experts, from whom we seek advice, which is logical. But the problem arises that the advice given to women is often effective for the male sex, not ours. Women like to reduce their intake to lose weight, limit carbohydrates to lose weight, exercise more to lose weight, but it ends up with loss of menstruation or PMS for example. When PMS is caused by a reduced level of serotonin, zinc or magnesium in our body. And why? Because they tell us the exact opposite. Exercising more and eating less, which is the exact opposite of what a woman really needs.
Many women are taught to see period pain as a “normal” part of menstruation and something they have to endure. You’ve been open about this on your social media, calling it a “symptom.” So what do you think causes period pain?
Menstrual pain is to some extent a part of our cycle, but its manifestation or intensity is another thing to be aware of. It is certainly important to point out that the perception of pain is subjective to a certain extent and we women especially learn to "endure pain" from an early age. On the other hand , pain during menstruation is caused by the hormones prostaglandins, which ensure that the uterus (womb) contracts and thus gets rid of the mucous membrane. The problem is that if there are more than necessary in the body, they cause pain. Their increase is often due to passion.
What are your tips for relieving pain before and during menstruation?
Certainly the overall diet plays a role in the manifestation of menstruation. But I recommend magnesium as a good tip. On the first day of the cycle, if I feel milder pain, I add not only enough fluids but also magnesium.
What role do exercise and diet play for a healthy cycle?
A big one. However, both are tools and nothing that we should exaggerate. If a woman begins to look at exercise and diet as a tool, she will not overdo anything and will supply her body with enough.
Another common topic for women is hormonal imbalance. Hormones play an absolutely irreplaceable role in a woman's body, and their mutual balance and cooperation are key to being healthy and feeling good. More and more often, we meet women who are observing changes in their bodies, but have no idea that it could be a hormonal imbalance. In your experience, how can women best recognize that they have a hormonal imbalance?
The complete ideal is to see your hormonal profile, of course, but you will also notice it when your cycle starts to change. It will be missed, lengthened, new PMS symptoms will occur or any changes with the cycle. You then see other manifestations in your energy, mood or "drive" for life.
What can cause hormonal imbalance in our bodies? Are certain products, foods, or our lifestyles responsible?
In women? Mainly stress. But none of us admit that there is really too much for us. I mean stress first of all at work, in a relationship, in responsibilities. Of course , lack of food, lack of quality food or micronutrients, or lack of sleep is also a form of stress .
We were intrigued by your 12-week program to correct a problematic cycle. How would you define a problematic cycle?
In my opinion, you have a problematic cycle until then, if you cannot enjoy your vacation with it and you want to postpone it, despite the consequences, so that you don't have to "worry" about your cycle.
What do women most often discuss with you regarding menstruation?
In the past, I probably would have named a specific problem, such as loss of MS or insufficient growth of the endometrium , but today when I look at it, a woman is actually solving herself. I don't understand, absolutely. Once they begin to understand what is happening and how the body works, even the pain makes sense and is easier to bear, or the return of MS is not such a pressure on themselves.
Why should women educate themselves about their cycle?
To be themselves, to have happy and functional partner relationships and to live their potential to the fullest.
What can women expect from your program? How could it help them?
Several things can be expected from the Preprogram your cycle program. Everyone finds what they need, some find what they were looking for only on the second run through the program. My program is a journey . A woman's journey to herself. This cannot be changed completely in 3 months (and especially with the amount of materials waiting for them there) and it is important to understand that part of their significant journey to self-understanding began with my program. I was convinced of this by women with university degrees, with whom I returned the cycle and understood their physiology only in my program, but also by women who sought the last solution from me. Women's eyes will be opened in the program and that is the most important thing for me. Because whether we're dealing with pain, PMS or the return of the cycle, it all originates within us. And we are all responsible for our current state, just accept it and start working on ourselves. However, this requires self-understanding. What few will teach you, everyone will give you a solution and "don't ask why and do it". That's not my philosophy.
Do you have any favorite books or podcasts on the topic of women's health?
The book I recommend is, for example , Taking charge of your fertility , which I think is a bible for women for most cycle experts as well.
What are you most proud of in your life?
That I started to believe in myself , because thanks to that everything else came into being for my surroundings, which I help, because I am satisfied and happy.
Finally, what message would you give to women dealing with painful menstruation, PMS, or hormonal imbalance?
Living in pain and trouble is our choice, not destiny.
Thank you Katy for the very informative interview, and to all women who are thinking about their health and want to understand it a little better, we recommend checking out Bagniari's online programs and taking a step towards self-knowledge.
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