[Ann]

After breastfeeding my second child I became officially flat chested. I’ve always had A- breast but now I’m literally shocked of what has happened to me. 

I gain weight in pear shape type pattern, and I’m not skinny, but my upper part of the body is thin. I have good amount of fat in my thighs and belly areas. 

What disappoints me more is that my glandular tissue doesn’t respond well to hormonal changes. During breastfeeding and pregnancy it grew only a half size up.. I feel hopeless…

I have only msm and maca root powder because I planned to start my nbe with massage and msm, maca supplementation. I’m confused now because maca increases testosterone which, as I understand, I don’t need. I also have fenugreek seeds but not sure if I will need them so I don’t even include them in my list.

1. Will maca root be still helpful in my situation? Is there any tips how to take it for someone with my body type?

2. Is it better to take maca, during luteal or follicular phase to achieve results in my case?

I can’t afford anything else recently for nbe program.

[Jem Jee]

Maca doesn't affect testosterone levels directly, so I don't think it's likely to cause any great increase in your testosterone.

[leonora]

I think the effects of Maca are unclear. Some women have used it successfully for NBE, but I'm not sure that I'd take it if I was only taking one herb. I think Fenugreek would be a better place to start.

[DustBunny]

I personally responded well to MACA in the past. From my understanding MACA helps with overall hormone balance, hence why it can be taken by both men and women. Its also supposed to help support progesterone in women by balancing estradiol. 

Your body type sounds similar to mine, more fat in the legs/butt/tummy and hardly any in the chest. From my research that could be an indicator of Estrogen dominance, which I assume I have and probably why I responded well to MACA. But that might not necessarily be the case for you.
Try MACA and see how it works for you, I took my all throughout my cycle and didn't notice any negative side effects.
But maybe try taking it during the whole month and stop taking it during your period? 

Also if you're worried about E dominance, you could try taking something like milk thistle, dandelion, licorice, red raspberry in a tea. And eating more cruciferous veggies, supplementing magnesium (most people are very deficient anyways) or taking vitex/chasteberry which also helps support progesterone.  
And if your fenugreek is actual seeds you can sprout them like surferjoe suggests in a lot of his posts, and eat them as well, that combined with MACA might be a better combo for growth rather than just MACA alone. 
Also would suggest massage or pumping, but massage at the very least. I've noticed a significant difference between massaging and not. 

If all else fails, get a hormone test to see where you're actually at and go from there which herbs would be the best options. NBE is all really about what balance of hormones YOUR body needs for growth.

[venus rising]

From my understanding MACA helps with overall hormone balance, hence why it can be taken by both men and women.

Yes exactly, it's a natural hormone balancer. I haven't seen any reports of Maca causing excessive testosterone. It's only supposed to increase testosterone in cases of low testosterone.

[Loretta]

But maybe try taking it during the whole month and stop taking it during your period? 

Hey DustBunny, why do you suggest cycling off maca during menstruation?

[DustBunny]

But maybe try taking it during the whole month and stop taking it during your period? 

Hey DustBunny, why do you suggest cycling off maca during menstruation?

I personally used it throughout my whole cycle and haven't noticed any negative side effects yet, but some people who may have excess E or T may find using MACA during their period or even the weeks before their period spikes certain hormones too much, some people are just a lot more sensitive than others to certain herbs, so I err on the side of caution.  
This is anecdotal and not saying its a fact, I've just read that some people had more success cycling and others were fine using it for the whole month.

Especially if they already suspect themselves of having high T or E. Something that a pear shaped body may have. But obviously that's not 100% and the only way you know is if you're either a personal detective and research everything and track you cycles and symptoms with yourself to monitor the side effects of high T or E like a crazy person (AKA Me lol )  OR just go get a hormone test. 

(and even for myself, suspecting i have high E or T...i still take MACA the whole month and so far no negative side effects, besides increased libido, but i personally like that. Though alone, it hasn't done much for NBE for me )

Though MACA isn't necessarily the herb you'd worry too much about cycling, as I've said before, its more balances hormones overall generally.

Pueraria Mirifica (PM) and Progesterone cream (PC) are the two I WOULD recommend to cycle if you choose to take them, as PC may delay the period, PM may make it last longer or have more spotting and heavier period or more cramping. PM raises estrogen, PC raises progesterone. You need the two in balance to see results essentially, but one higher than the other can throw you off and may even decrease growth in some people, especially if they are higher or lower in one or the other naturally. 

I've had experience of PC delaying my period slightly as i had the timing in my cycle wrong, luckily it was a low dose of PC and didn't cause too much issue for me, but it is def more possible with higher doses, stronger herbs, or a more sensitive body. 
So with everything, just me mindful, do research and listen to your body. Plus taking a hormone test is the easiest way to determine which hormones you lack, or have too much of, and which herbs/sups to look into to support those hormones for growth.