Period cycle tracking and navigating through the phases as an adult.
As an adult, because as a teenager I never bothered.
If there was one thing that I could point out to my younger self, the 16-17 year old self, this is the information I would pass on to her. Sharing some personal insights along with freshly available data.
These are the things I will cover for her; for you.
The cycle phases itself
Why tracking matters
Methods to make your period easier
How digestion and physical activity makes a difference
Look at the cycle as a Blueprint! For how your energy, mood, metabolism and even brain function shifts.
Never imagined I’d be writing about it as I was one of the girls who once disregarded any discomfort relating to periods or ignored it mostly. Not because it’s not important but because it was regarded as something that happens every month anyway so what’s the big deal? Well, well, with the right information it will never become a big deal anyway. You will definitely treat yourself more respectfully and have regards for anyone else going through the cycle facing various hurdles in daily living.
Coming to the phases;
You have the menstruation itself, lasting for 4-8 days depending on the individual. For a healthy woman it is a routinely episode you go through for most months but every woman once in a while even if she’s healthy can face turbulences during menstruating. From simply standing in the middle of an important presentation and suddenly feeling a warm rush of blood making it’s way or when you are on a hike in a very difficult terrain and you completely forgot to carry tampons! Argh, realize why tracking the cycle is useful? But that’s not the only usefulness of tracking, we will come back it that later.
Right now, abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), including heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), imposes a massive burden on society, affecting one in four women of reproductive age.*
That is not the sign of a society with happy women. The women are more stressed and anxious and it is a societal problem. Not just an individual responsibility.
The menstruating endometrium is a physiological example of an injured or "wounded" surface that is required to rapidly repair each month.*
When you are tending to a wound, you’re careful, cautious and even restful.
It doesn’t mean that you cannot push yourself physically when you have your period and you are in a situation, like if you have an event coming up which means it’s race day for you! You are capable of mentally preparing your body to perform at the same level as of any other day, having said that, it takes a lot of mental preparation in order to do that. Remember it is not an ideal situation for the body to give in 100% efforts until exhaustion when you are tending to repair, but you can hit the over ride button in times when you need to.
I remember being on the first day of my period and I had a powerlifting competition, which means that I had a weigh in in the morning, my body weight has to fit an exact number to be able to compete in that category. Now we know that period causes water retention and in my case I usually weigh 1.2kgs heavier during period week, which meant that I had to further cut down my weight before comp so that I don’t end up about the cut off. That being taken care of, it was a first experience for me to lift huge weights for a one rep max (the most weight one can lift for 1rep) competition. So my mindset shift had forgotten the menstruation. Only after the comp was finished and I won my category, I had a little headache and remembered that I needed to now go and chill.
This is just one of the many such experiences. So yeah, you can do everything while menstruating, even win a marathon. But it is still you pushing yourself despite the pain and unpleasant feelings. So if you have the room to take a break or step back for a bit, it’s not silly to down regulate. It’s quite alright. Workout if you’re good but avoid complete exhaustion. Try to avoid extended periods of fasting and take hot showers and pamper yourself with delicious massage oils. Some of that chocolate is fine too!
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Your surroundings should take some responsibility and never make you feel guilty for something you don’t control.
The part of the follicular phase from day 7-14 definitely is when you feel like you’ve come back to life. You know it when nothing seems impossible to do and there’s feelings of hopefulness and a growth mindset which feels quite unshakable.
Technically there’s a lot going on, you’ve already shedded the uterus lining and built a new one, your body is locked in looking for opportunities to take the human race forward!! And your hormones of optimism, strength and immunity (estrogen) risen back up!
Guess whaat, this is also the period when women are more susceptible to drug abuse!* If they are in a bad place or simply become inclined towards by influences. So be a little careful ladies, I know that you’re excited 😉
Ovulation or the fertile window as they call it is just another episode in the cycle, where by nature you can also attempt most difficult tasks and end up doing them with relative ease! Whether it is prolonged fasting, a long practice session for whatever art you do, a long run, swim or anything to do with maximizing satisfaction of results of your work, just put it all in, now. Forget fertility, you will anyway be super horny during these 3-4 days and if you are healthy and looking forward to having many babies you will have it all!
Avoid cheap dopamine at all costs. This goes to cheap snacks, cheap guys, endless scrolling and mindless distractions.
In the luteal phase, the next 14 days is when things begin to shift.
Dry lips, dry eyes, randomly feel like crying while you’re driving from work. Ask yourself, what time of the cycle am I in?
This isn’t lack of willpower, it’s biology! The base body temperature rises, you might feel hungrier, you will become more sensitive to the words spoken to you and start taking everything too seriously… specially close ones. You will judge them right, left and center. You may find sleep disruptions and mood swings where you want something one minute and don’t want it the next!
Fun fact! I need to use specs 4-5 days before I bleed. For almost a year I was clueless for why my eyes felt so strained suddenly once in a while that I got myself a custom pair of specs made until I realized the pattern that this happened only before a new cycle starts. I sometimes even use sunglasses indoors during the time if I am already fatigued and then this tops it up. So my eyes will just look tired and prefer low light settings then.
During the 14th to 27th days of the cycle, don’t under eat. If you are trying to lose weight and following any intermittent fasting protocols which are suiting you then those are fine. But for the most part don’t skip meals randomly or eat too little for your needs.
If you feel low on energy, consider lowering the workout intensity and enjoy some endurance based activities which are moderately impactful, lower heart rate runs(110-130bpm) or uphill walks are the easiest to get in. If you are feeling fine, you don’t drop the intensities much but also don’t ignore the food intake in order to do so! I made this mistake more than I’d like to admit.
HENCE! To track your cycle is to know in advance what you will be dealing with in all of the different phases. Tracking is something that’s available to you as a means to understanding your body’s needs and you don’t want to ignore something that is completely in your hands when there are so many other factors which are out of your control.
Methods to make your period somewhat easier…
Instead of sticking to one single period management product, try to use different things in combination as per how you’re feeling. To give you examples, someone may be comfortable with tampons so they always tend to use that. Someone else always tends to use pads. In my opinion, combinations do better, I’m not a fan of using pads but on easy days like if it’s a Sunday and you are going to be home, doing easy chores and computer work, it’s easier to use it. Go for a tampon or cup on the first few nights when you bleed heavy, they are such a relief to getting a good night’s sleep which dramatically reduces fatigue during the day. If you have never used tampons/cups, do consider it, they will make your life so much easier.
Period panties are as good as the pads or even better for low activity days.
I always prefer to go for tampons or cups during high intensity days, workout sessions or travel during periods. That is the best case scenario use of them.
But, there are days when you are sick on your period and also remember that your immune system is not as robust as it is on a non period day. That is when non invasive products are recommended, specially if you are facing some sort of an infection.
The average amount of menstrual blood is 30ml, and over 60 ml is considered abnormal.* If you feel like you bleed excessively or while tracking you realize that you don’t have a consistent cycle, that is a sign that you need to pay close attention to the methods of your upkeep like dietary intake, sleep and exercise and track it in a 6-9 months duration to see positive changes. If nothing changes even after making sustained attempts to change your lifestyle, it will be a good idea to consult a gynecologist along with making your own lifestyle modifications continually.
TIPS TO USE DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
There are quite a few signs that will show what your cycle experience is going to be like. Of all the symptoms and different things that you read about so far, these changes are happening within just 4 week spans, a very tight window for so many experiences that push you off here and there.. on top of it our current lifestyle doesn’t even allow us to feel everything vividly and we are almost thrown off the chair with surprises when we cannot attend to the warnings that our bodies are giving us. A girls worst nightmare is a vaginal fungal infection, affecting 8 in 10 adult women globally, I mean, 8 in 10, what! And Why?
A fungal overgrowth, also known as candida, is a lifestyle induced problem. It is persistent. Ever face bloating in your stomach? Don’t ignore it. Acidity on and off? Don’t ignore it. Constipation or diarrhea? Don’t ignore it. Feel depressed for no good reason? Don’t ignore it. Feeling tired even after sleeping well? Don’t ignore it. Joints feel rigid and achy? Don’t ignore it!!
Damn it, these are the signs that you are going to get gut issues leading to severe reproductive and menstrual cycle issues which will feel very confusing and frustrating if they are ignored. So on the first signs of any of them, you would want to take a step back. Scan the premises, say no more often, be picky, be fussy, think and decide for yourself. Put your needs above and forward. Maintain your health.
Easier said than done.
If your HBA1C, the avg. blood glucose levels are higher than 5%, or your lipids are off, any of the inflammatory markers are showing higher than normal, you want to consider making healthier habits as an urgent decision in life. Not to be taken lightly.
Again, easier said than done.
Consumption of frequent high sugar foods, processed meats foods, high sugar fruits and alcohol cause a major impact. Instead find low sugar fruits like berries, jamun, vegetables, fish and lean meats are encouraged. Dahi, yogurt, kefir are encouraged. Whole grains, cooked potato, brown rice, millets in moderation.
Include healthy fats to support hormone production, ghee, coconut, olive oil, sesame, avocado. Nuts and some greens for magnesium, zinc. Potent minerals for PMS symptoms.
Sweating helps! Cardiovascular fitness, musculoskeletal strength and working your joints mobility on a day to day basis is doing the ground work for self maintenance.
When you understand your cycle, everything starts to make more sense. You can anticipate changes, adjust your schedule accordingly and be more compassionate towards yourself. It can turn what feels like random acts of nature into something rather empowering.
Share what you’re learning with friends or partners to normalize it.
I am a nutritionist and an active PT for 8 years and I can swear by it that YOU don’t have to and should not struggle in silence. Talk about the scenarios which are challenging to you and you will meet many others who have overcome.
Navigating difficult to talk scenarios makes you feel alone. Let’s not leave out anyone on these conversations and keep them open for the young and old.
Coach,
ℳ▲⛄︎
Keep honing your writing skills Mayuri,will share it with my sisters.