Don’t Let Period Pain Get in the Way of Progress

Does your motivation to workout and stick to your diet plan go out the window when it’s that time of the month? You’re not alone. There’s good news: it doesn’t have to be that way. You can bio-hack your way to a cycle that disrupt your healthy flow. Don’t let period pain get in the way of your progress.

When I built the cover image for this article I looked up the word “period” in search of images. You know what I found? Hundreds of images of women holding their bellies, faces screwed up in agony, bodies curled up in the fetal position. It shouldn’t have blown my mind. I am a woman. My best friends are women. Most of my clients are women. We’ve all dealt with period pain before.

The thing is, it did blow my mind.

WHY is it normal that we think it’s acceptable to expect that kind of period pain? WHY do we sit their, month after month, thinking there’s nothing we can do about it?! I call B.S.

In this article I break down:

• Why your period makes you feel like you have bad juju.
• How to use movement and exercise to decrease period pain during menses.
• What to eat, and what supplements you may want to take during your period to ease the pain and boost your body’s natural strengths.

Truth: PMS is not a built in piece of the period puzzle. In fact, PMS is a sign that something is unbalanced. Focusing on the right kind of movement, nutrients and restoration practices you can 100% bio-hack your way to a less painful period.

It doesn’t have to be a given that you eat like it’s going out of style during your period. You shouldn’t have to give up on your exercise progress or your workout routine because you’re expecting to feel like crap. The research on women’s hormonal cycles and how to harness that power is fairly new. But it’s out there and it’s super exciting!

Game Changer: Your Hormones are Your Superpower

Girl, the female body can make an entirely new body inside of it – all while working, playing, moving, eating, growing and carrying on with life. Whether you want to have a baby or not, that’s a really powerful fact. Your very genetic makeup ensures that you are a remarkable work of art.

Your body was designed by nature and has evolved over centuries
to save the human race from extinction. Your hormones are your superpower.

Julia Goss

Your genetic makeup dictates the plan for your hormones: how much you have of each, when they rise and when they fall every month, how they interact with every other system, hormone, process and nutrient in your body. This is where you superpowers take life.

Estrogen: the female body’s MVP.

Estrogen is one of two main sex hormones that all humans have – but because it’s produced mostly in the ovaries, females have in more abundance than our male counterparts. It’s also produced in fat cells and the adrenal glands, but the primary production site is the ovaries.

Estrogen develops and maintains the female reproductive system. Growing boobs…estrogen. Pubic hair…estrogen. Preparing for pregnancy…estrogen. Big jobs in and of themselves. On top of all of that, estrogen also plays a role in cognitive health, bone density, blood pressures and cardiovascular health.

Progesterone: Best Supporting Character

Progesterone is the other main sex hormone in the female body. It’s job is to help regulate your cycle but it’s main role is to prepare your uterus for potential pregnancy. Around ovulation each month, this hormone gets to work building the uterine lining in preparation for a fertilized egg. If the egg is never fertilized, progesterone levels decrease and menstruation begins.

Testosterone: The Unsung Hero

In the female body testosterone doesn’t play a main character role but the whole scene would fall apart without it. For women, testosterone helps the growth and maintenance of reproductive tissue and bone mass. It’s also responsible in many ways for regulating sex drive. Ever noticed that you’re more sexually inclined at a certain time of the month? That is probably because testosterone levels rise around the time that your ovulating. Ovulation is a time when you’re most likely to get pregnant (heyyyyy, evolution).

You have, obviously, more hormones than the three listed here. Certainly there are other hormones that play crucial roles to your reproductive cycle. For the sake of time, I’ll leave it at these three. *If you’re interested in learning more, In The Flo is a fantastic book (I mean a read it again and again and dog-ear that life out of it kind of book) by Alissa Vitti. I highly recommend the read!

Why You Might Feel Like Crap Around Your Period

Want to know why your motivation, will power and energy takes a nose dive once a month? It’s because the hormones that make you so wonderfully female and fantastically powerful work on a month long cycle that we intuitively understand as women, but have never been taught. Instead, we adhere to a 24 hour circadian rhythm. And while yes, you DO have a circadian rhythm, your 28-day infradian rhythm plays a much more influential role in things like motivation, will power and energy.

In short: your body was designed by nature and has evolved over centuries to save the human race from extinction.

Your hormones rise and fall based on that unequivocal fact. Of course your life today does not necessarily revolve around that same fact. We tend to ignore our innate needs in favor of a more modern outlook: go.go.go.

When you don’t take care of your body and it’s needs, your body is going to let you know. One way it does that is in the form of PMS.

If you get cramps, or brain fog, or acne, or have a complete lack of energy during your period – those are symptoms of an out-of-whack hormone cycle. But it goes beyond the pain and the pimples. An out of balance hormonal cycle wreaks havoc on your immune system. It takes a toll on your metabolism, your gut health and how you sense and manage stress.

Today’s go-get-em emphasis on always getting after it can leave us babes at a disadvantage. It’s not your fault! We’re not taught these things in health class. But now that you know…it’s time to take advantage of what you’ve got going on inside.

Exercise and Your Period: Don’t Just Make the Most of It…Make the MOST of It!

I’ve always adhered to the “power through it” method. Not feeling well? Power through. Energy levels down today but you’ve got a leg day scheduled? Girl, power through it. I’ve realized though, that power through might not be the best mantra for myself as a female, or other women I coach.

The rise and fall of your natural hormone cycle dictates not only how you’re feeling energy-wise, but what your body is more suited to at any given time of the month. Recovery, metabolism, stamina – sex hormones play an important role here that’s worth paying attention to if you want make the MOST of your workout and your femininity.

During the 1st half of your cycle…

Estrogen and testosterone begin to rise. Your body is tuned to burn more carbs for fuel which means energy is up and stamina is high. Take advantage of it by focusing on:

• Strength training. Studies have found that women have the potential to gain more lean muscle mass during the first half of their cycle so get after it and build! The more lean muscle mass you have, the more energy your body burns at rest (which is great for your metabolism and fitness goals all month long).
  
• HIIT. High intensity interval training triggers your body to burn fat without sacrificing muscle tissue and your body is primed to respond to this kind of training during the 1st half of your cycle. Join a class or find a workout (like this one) to rev your metabolic engine, build lean muscle and burn more calories.
  
• Learning something new. This is a great time to step into a new class like Spin, Zumba or kickboxing. Energy is up, you’re feeling social and the spontaneity of a new class might be just what you’re looking for.

*You’ll reap the benefits of strength training right up to the last third of your monthly cycle.

During the 2nd half of your cycle…

Estrogen and testosterone have peaked and progesterone is on the rise. You might feel a drop in energy now too making those butt-kicking workouts that you’ve been doing the last two weeks feel exhausting. This hormonal changing of the guard has another effect: your body responds to intense exercise by pumping out the stress hormone cortisol. Too much cortisol prompts your body to store fat instead of burn it and use muscle for energy. Instead of “powering through it”, trying toning down your workouts and playing to your cyclical strengths:

• Work in more recovery. You can maximize lean gains right up to the week of your period by starting to work in more recovery strategies. While you can still build muscle, make sure to include gentler forms of exercise like mobility training, pilates and barre.
  
• Decrease intensity. Your menstrual cycle is not the time to up the intensity level of your workouts. Instead, go for a long walk, stretch, foam roll or simply take a rest day!

*If you suffer tremendously from PMS it might be a sign that your hormones are out of whack. If that’s the case, serotonin levels might drop at this time too. If you that you have mood swings, are more self-critical or just feel sadder during the second half of your cycle, this might be why.

Foods that Fuel Your Body

You know about cravings. The week before your period hits and *boom*, those chips that you never crave move on up in the hierarchy of nutritional needs. That’s because serotonin, your body’s happy energy hormone, starts to drop and you’re physiologically looking for a pick-me-up. Unfortunately, the processed, high-salt, high-fat and high-sugar foods that you might crave during your period are more detrimental to your health and PMS symptoms than they are beneficial to satisfying a craving.

There are different foods that you can focus on consuming during each phase of your cycle to help curb cravings. During your period specifically, here’s what to make sure you include to curb cravings, increase energy and feel your best.

Eat more…

• Protein. Your hormones are at their very lowest levels during menstruation. Protein is made up of amino acids, one of the main components of hormone synthesis. Yep, that’s right! Amino acids are not just for building muscle! Try to include red meat such as bison, beef and lamb which are high in iron, which you lose more of during your period, pork, and seafood.
  
• Healthy fats. Incorporating healthy fats like those found in olive oil, salmon, avocado and nuts provide long lasting energy. Fats are slow to break down which can help to stabilize your mood and energy levels during a low sex hormone phase of the month.
  
• Whole fruits and vegetables are nutrient-dense and a great way to pack in the micronutrients and stabilize blood sugar levels during your period. Including fiber-rich produce is especially key here since your hormone cycle can mess with your digestive system.
  
• Seaweeds, like kelp and nori, provide your body with a powerful supply of minerals that you lose a lot of during menstruation. Iron and zinc specifically, are replenished and can alleviate cramps and bloating.

Eat less…

• Processed and fried food as they are the main source of sodium, trans fats and refined grains in most diets. Choose whole foods as close to their natural state as possible instead.
  
• Carbonated beverages. Carbonated beverages, especially those containing high amounts of sugar, can cause bloating and discomfort. Stick with water to help alleviate cramps, bloating and other period discomforts like constipation.

Supplement Recommendations During Your Period

There’s no doubt that food reigns supreme when it comes to getting the right nutrients into your body. That said, it’s not a bad idea to supplement with high-quality products if you feel like you’re not quite getting enough.

B-Vitamins are involved in energy production, something we all know could use a little kick in the butt during that time of the month. Certain B vitamins have been linked to decreased symptoms of PMS (yay).

Probiotics are important every day, not just during your period. Maybe you’ve heard that your gut is your “second brain” before? That’s for good reason. An unhealthy gut biome disrupts your digestive system, decreases immunity and messes with your hormone cycle.

Omega 3s are another one of those good-everyday supplements for everyone, but that’s especially so for women who are trying to get pregnant.

This supplement, called Harmony, from my favorite supplement company is designed specifically for female hormonal health and balance. It “supports better sleep, energy levels, weight gain management, fertility, complexion, provides vitamins, and so much more” (claims taken directly from the website).

The Truth is…

Your body is as powerful as you let it be. I’m a firm believer that if we, as women, can tune out the noise and dial in to what our bodies really need, we can flourish beyond anything we’ve dreamt of before.