Harnessing Your Inner Hormone Power: The Menstrual Cycle
What are the different stages of the menstrual cycle and what are some training & nutrition considerations to make at each stage?
In the final part of the Harnessing Your Inner Hormone Power series, we'll be covering the menstrual cycle.
Phase One: The Follicular Phase (the first half of your cycle)
Start: day 1 of your period
End: when you ovulate (around mid cycle)
During the follicular phase, your hormone levels and fluctuations are at their lowest. Meaning, your mood is the most stable!
You feel: good, positive moods, often with a higher pain tolerance, improved strength and endurance, higher energy levels, and improved insulin sensitivity and glycogen use.
Training tips: use these 10-14 days to go hard in the gym! Lift heavy, push those extra reps, don't shy away from high volume and intense workouts.
Nutrition tips: welcome some extra calories from carbs. This is a great time to enjoy a refeed meal or two.
Phase Two: Ovulation (mid cycle)
Start: mid cycle, usually between days 10-18
End: women usually only ovulate between 12-14 hours
During ovulation, your body releases an egg from your ovaries. Estrogen levels increase, explaining common mood swings, bloating, sensitivity (emotionally and physically), or other physical & emotional changes.
You feel: often a little sensitive and edgy, but extra attracted to your partner (or whoever) as your body prepares to make a baby!
Training tips: use ovulation as a time for restorative exercise like yoga, stretching or lighter gym workouts. As estrogen increases, your body is at higher risk for injury, so if your body's telling you to take it easy, take a few lighter workout days.
Nutrition tips: drink lots of water with freshly squeezed lemon to help combat bloating and detox the extra estrogen. In addition, high fiber foods that are high in DIM (diindolylmethane) like broccoli & cauliflower or ground flax seeds help promote further estrogen detox.
Phase Three: The Luteal Phase aka PMS (the second half of your cycle)
Start: after ovulation
End: day 1 of your period
During the luteal (PMS) phase... well, you already know what happens! It feels like everything is happening, to us, and it's personal. Your body's progesterone levels peak, with an increase of estrogen as well. If the ratio of progesterone:estrogen is off, which is often the case with our bodies producing too little progesterone and too much estrogen, we experience PMS. Did you know that in a totally healthy cycle, we shouldn't feel PMS?!
You feel: everything! Mood swings, bloating, water retention, tender breasts, annoyed from a pimple breakout, low energy, lack of motivation, constipation, disrupted sleep, weight gain.
Training tips: it's ok to take a break. Enjoy a rest day, skip cardio, train lightly or slowly listening to calming muscle and feeling your muscles contract, swim, stretch or do yoga.
Nutrition tips: cravings are normal during this phase, but fight to give in. You can supplement with magnesium to reduce cravings (and cramps), and increase your fat & fiber content to combat cravings as well. Opt for a big scoop of peanut butter with some dark chocolate rather than a donut or cake (choose fats over carbs). If PMS is always a struggle for you, consider supplementing with evening primrose oil to promote progesterone production. Follow the same tips as above for estrogen detox (high fiber foods and plenty of water with freshly squeezed lemon).
Phase Four: Menstruation (your actual period)
Start: day 1 of your period
End: until you stop bleeding, usually lasting 3-7 days
Menstruation is your bleeding and the restart of the follicular phase. The first few days of your period could still leave you feeling the final stages of PMS, but once that passes, the benefits of the follicular phase are experienced once again. The light at the end of tunnel has been reached!
