Honoring your period? What is that…
It’s crazy to think that some cultures may honor periods, and yet we are still stuffing our tampons up our sleeve after we run off the bathroom.
We’ve all done it; and to be fair, I’m not sure that it is really even our faults.
Since as far back and I personally can remember I never felt proud of my period, talking about my menstrual cycle, or the difficulties that I had. Until one day, I just started talking.
Now, this takes a lot more “unlearning” than I could quite possibly type into a whole blog piece, but I did want to give you tangible things that you can do this month, or should I say this cycle, to honor your period.
If you haven’t started tracking, I would 100 percent start there. I cannot express enough how important the different stages of the cycle really are. Remember, as cyclers we live in just that, a cyclic rotation. It’s important to know all of the stages, but for the purpose of this newsletter we are going to specifically hone in on the Luteal phase.
The Luteal phase is the longest phase of the cycle. This phase is directly after you ovulate up until the start of your next period. Most commonly (but not always since we are not all on a 28-day cycle) lasts 12-14 days, but can last 11-17 days. What you do in this phase will directly impact how your period goes.
Movement during the Luteal phase:
Within the first 5 days of your luteal phase, you still are benefiting from the higher estrogen and testosterone levels-meaning you will still have sufficient energy. BUT, contrary to what you may think, HIIT workouts, will actually tell you body to create more cortisol; our stress hormone. This will essentially lead to fat storage, and muscle wasting… not exactly what you are looking for. On top of that, your poor adrenals will be pushed to work harder leading to that “burnt out” feeling. Focus efforts more on strength training, or more intense yoga, versus cardio.
Once you have reached the second half of the luteal phase you will start to feel your estrogen, testosterone, and now progesterone diminish in strength. Focus your efforts on stretching, gentle yoga, pilates, or even a nap!
Moods/Productivity:
Hormonally this is when your progesterone is at it’s highest. So essentially in the beginning of this phase, up until a few days before your bleed, is the time to “get shit done.” It’s the time to finish tasks, focus inward on projects at work that need to be wrapped up, and really learn to honor your cyclical nature. As you approach your period, STOP making too many plans. Essentially, “winter” aka your menstrual phase is coming, and this is not the time to be overtly social. The goal here is to remind your ovulatory self, not to over commit.
Foods to support your luteal phase:
In general, you need more calories in your luteal phase. It’s important to focus on slow-burning carbs in order to help stabilize blood sugar. This promotes adequate production of progesterone. Slow burning carbs such as brown rice, or sweet potatoes help to proactively promote stabilized blood sugar levels through out the day.
A great idea for breakfast is these tasty blueberry meatballs. Make substitutions as needed.
Blueberry Breakfast Meatballs
For lunch you can try this recipe- adding in high-fiber foods is a great way to help the liver and intestine flush out any excess estrogen. I’d add in some chicken for protein, and or even chickpea to increase the fiber intake.
Apple Pear Salad
For dinner, you can give these bowls a try! They would be great for left over lunch the next day.
Ground Beef+Sweet Potato Bowls
So, as you can see the world that we live in does a great job at working against our cycle. At no point did a fitness instructor tell me to slow down, or focus on flexibility. There was no pre-made recipe book to follow, and we sure as hell were not taught to manage each phase of the cycle differently in school.
BUT, you can take control of your health and your hormones, by starting to honor the cycle in your own day to day life.
