The Femme's of your Menstrual Cycle
As a hormonal woman, you experience what is called an infradian rhythm, a type of biological rhythm with a cycle longer than 24 hours, in your case, a 28-day cycle that regulates the menstrual cycle. You may be more familiar with a circadian rhythm which cycles every 24 hours (like the sleep-wake cycle). Understanding and tracking these rhythms, particularly the menstrual cycle, can provide significant insights into your health.
Your menstrual cycle is governed by a group of hormones that support reproductive health, influence sexual function, and support processes like pregnancy and childbirth, you may recognize them main sex hormones as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. (Males have these hormones too just in smaller amounts).
Your cycle has four distinct phases that bring on important fluctuations in your brain and body. Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone play particular roles to help you maintain hormonal balance, good energy levels, focus, physical strength, good moods, and fertility.
I love talking about the four phases! It makes the female body make sense and it validates the fluctuations of your energy, moods, appetite, sex drive, and more. It’s also fun to learn that they bring on distinct personalities. It’s truly like you are 4 different women in one cycle. I’m sure you’ve felt that! Totally validating to feel like you’re not crazy when one week you’re dead set about changing careers and the next you’ve gotten over it and moved on. Is this just me?
There is so much to share about your menstrual cycle but I’d like to keep it light this time so you can get the gist and digest them easier.
Your menstrual cycle has 4 phases and 4 distinct personalities
Menstrual Phase
Day #1 of your cycle is the day you start your first day of blood flow. Your hormone levels are low. If you don’t get pregnant, the shedding of your uterine lining breaks down and is discharged from the body, i.e. the blood you see.
Who is this femme?
On the balanced side, she is witchy, inward, reflective, and stable in her body. On the imbalanced side, she can be in pain, isolated, annoyed, and tired.
Follicular Phase
After your period, your body starts preparing for ovulation. Your body starts to develop follicles that produce the hormone estrogen. Estrogen dominates the follicular and ovulation phase.
Who is this femme?
On the balanced side, she is clear, motivated, focused and feels lighter in her body.
On the imbalanced side, she is restless, tired, scattered, and unmotivated.
Ovulation
Around the middle of the menstrual cycle, a mature follicle releases an egg in a process called ovulation. The egg is then available for fertilization by sperm. This is your peak fertile time.
Who is this femme?
On the balanced side, she is outgoing, social, outward, vibrant and feels strong in her body.
On the imbalanced side, she feels flat, tired but wired, nervous, fearful, and FOMO is high.
Luteal Phase
After ovulation, the follicle from ovulation ruptures and the hormone, progesterone is secreted. Progesterone dominates the luteal phase and this phase is where those common pesky PMS symptoms love to flare up. The luteal phase which lasts about 10-12 days, which is why PMS could feel like it takes up half the month! If you don’t get pregnant during this cycle, your hormone levels drop and your next menstrual cycle begins.
Who is this femme?
On the balanced side, she listens to her body slowing down, has great discernment over what she chooses to do to honor her physical and mental energies.
On the imbalanced side, she feels heavy in her body yet she pushes herself to maintain high energy levels and/or she isolates herself because everything is just too heavy to deal with, and PMS feels harder to deal with.
Isn’t this fascinating?!
During your PMS / Luteal time, do you ever feel crappy and tired but instead of resting and nourishing yourself with healthy foods, you push through with lots of caffeine, exercise, and the same intensity of do-do-do to feel “normal” and the same as your partner or your friend who isn’t on her luteal?
When I learned about the menstrual cycle I had so many aha and breakthrough moments. Never feel bad or ashamed about not knowing about your menstrual cycle as an adult. We were never taught about hormones or menstrual phases. I learned about it when I was 33 or 34 years old after I lost my period for a full year. During that time I was still experiencing PMS symptoms that lasted like 2 weeks out of the month. I was so concerned and worried, I took so many pregnancy tests, had many doctors visits, since those were of no help, I did nothing.
That led me to take a year long Functional Medicine training course to learn about hormones and menstrual cycles. That course blended with my nutritional background transformed my body, mindset, and the trajectory of my work to help you understand your hormonal body and how to heal and restore it.
I learned that as your body moves through these hormonal transitions, your body requires specific nutrients to maintain hormone balance, energy levels, and overall health. Certain nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids, are necessary for the production and regulation of hormones involved in the menstrual cycle, including estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
Lifestyle habits, along with food, bring physical, mental, and emotional harmony into each phase. As a result, less menstrual irregularities, pms, stress, fatigue, stubborn weight gain, and moodiness.
Embracing the wisdom of your menstrual cycle empowers you to make informed decisions that honor your body's natural rhythms.
Want to know exactly what to eat for your cycle to have smooth periods, more energy, and better moods?
