This week is going to be a bit of a different one so to all the men that may choose to read these blogs, let me give you the heads up…. This ones for the ladies. Now if you’re a supportive husband or father that wants to learn then you’re welcome to stick around. This blog though, it all about the woman’s period and what we go through for the different phases of our hormone health. It may sound silly to talk about that but we have to share the information that we learn.
Let me start with the fact that I have just been researching this information and I do not have a heavy knowledge but I am also going to be putting in the work to test everything out and give you an updated blog post when I feel like I have a little more information. Also I like the idea of adding in recipes into this blog topic too. So you will see more coming your way down the road but for the current moment let’s go with the basic information!
For myself, I always hear these terms but never understood. I know this is basic information but at the same time I just never felt like anyone really sat down and explained it. I’m the person that heavily learns when someone shows me what I am learning. So to just hear terms and not really even see anything or even really hear details, it has been a bear to understand. Then I stumbled upon someone posting on social media about these phases and explained it a little more on top of the research I have been doing. So with that all pulled together I feel like I have a better understanding and wanted to discuss this incase someone else is in the same boat as I was.
Now let me also buffer and say I do NOT have any sort of medical struggles with PCOS or Endometriosis or anything else of that sort. I have a tilted uterus, to which causes more cramping that typical periods and I’m not fully sure it will be healed through these practices but its worth a try at this point. I also only get cramps typically one day during my period but it usually does take me out completely for the first day. So let’s try some different techniques and see how this goes!
Let’s start with the most basic part of information that I never could fully understand, Day 1, the start of this all, the start of your menstrual phase, is the day you first get your period. Try not to laugh but it’s true, I struggled to even find that information out. At one point I got misinformation so I truly got completely turned around as to when to start. So first day of your period means Day 1 for Menstrual Phase! Now lets start with a break down:
Menstrual Phase: Day 1-6
Follicular Phase: Day 7-14
Ovulation Phase: Day 15-17
Luteal Phase: Day 18-28
Interestingly enough though even with this all, there is a massive baseline for each phase. So let’s talk the baseline of what you can do through out the entire 28 days to support your cycle!
Baseline:
High protein based breakfast.
Fermented Foods are good for gut health
Electrolytes first thing in the morning
Journaling/mindset work to process
Some form of workout can assist!
Ok now let’s break it down a little more into each phase:
Menstrual Phase:
Dark chocolate helps for cramps
Red meats help with cramps
Green Tea help with bloating
Red Raspberry Leaf Tea will help with a healthy cycle
Light work outs like small walks are best in this phase
Do not over work yourself
Naps are ok to add into your mix!
Rest and Nurture your body!
Journaling
Follicular Phase:
Carb Intake needs to be higher as you will have more energy and need fuel!
HITT work outs are best in this time
Give yourself a small warm up before the HITT work out. Like a small walk
You’re most adventurous in this phase!
Vitamins especially during this time!
Journaling
Fish is a great addition in this phase
Fermented Foods are highly recommended during this phase
Ovulatory Phase:
HITT exercise is perfect in this time of the month
Try journaling in the morning to start the day off right!
Cruciferous Veggies are highly recommended in this phase
Luteal Phase:
Dark chocolate to help prepare and relax any cramps
Light work outs: like walking
Journaling
Warming Foods are recommended in this phase
Now if you look at each of these you will also see that Journaling is in each of the phases. This one we can take a few different ways. You can journal and just do a brain dump or you can do a few of the following ideas:
Brain dump
Dreams
Prayer Requests
Prayer Journal
Get out your emotions
Gratitude Journal
Write out bible verses
You truly can’t go wrong with any type of journaling that may spark an interest with yourself. But maybe change it up each week. Maybe just let it flow and see where it takes you!
At this point, I think this is a good place to stop on information as honestly this is my baseline of knowledge that I feel I have a wonderful grasp on. It also is a decent chunk of information that could be overwhelming at the same time. If you’re like me, I need small steps and to only add in one thing at a time so with everything that I have written out, it will definitely give you enough information to work with to start. Take you’re time though. Just because your period is coming up doesn’t mean we have to do absolutely everything right away. This is a lot to add on or to change so take small steps. Maybe we start with the foods that can help lessen cramps. Then we go to something new in the next phase and so on. Don’t make yourself overwhelmed and burnt out so fast because you tackled a lot at once. Small steps!
I hope this is a help to some of you out there! I know for myself I plan to put a lot of this into practice and see where it takes me. I am going to try and do another post either in October or in January. Im leaning towards January as I truly want to take time and see how this works out for myself but seeing as I too am just starting out, I don’t want to rush it all just yet! So let’s go on that journey together!