Period Power: How to tailor your workouts to your menstrual cycle.

Have you ever noticed how one week you can power through an entire workout easily, and then the next you’re struggling through it? This could be due to what phase of your menstrual cycle you’re in.

Did you know that the term “menstrual cycle” doesn’t only refer to when you’re on your period? It actually refers to
the various phases that your body goes through throughout the month.

Every phase that you go through has an impact on your energy levels, hormones and even your motivation. But there are some fabulous ways for you to maximise your workouts by tailoring them to your cycle.

Little PSA before we get into it, this isn’t going to be one of those blogs that tell you to put the chocolate down and make sure you train every day of your menstrual cycle. A little bit of indulgence and self-love can be the best thing for you during your time of the month.

But if you’re looking for ways to keep active and get the endorphins flowing, then we’ve got the best tips for you.

Everything you need to know about menstrual cycles

Most of us have experienced a complete menstrual cycle but do we understand them and what our bodies are going
through? Let’s take a look.

Generally, a healthy menstrual cycle lasts about 28 days, varying here and there from person to person. Some cycles range from 23 to 35 days, it all depends on your body. The first day of your period is the start of your menstrual cycle, followed by the next 27 days until you begin your next period. The start of one period and the start of the next count
as a complete menstrual cycle.

Every cycle is unique, but they all have the same phases:

● Menstrual phase

● Follicular phase

● Ovulation

● Luteal phase

These phases make up each full month of your menstrual cycle, and every phase comes with its own side effects.

The cycle breakdown

The menstrual phase is from when your period starts until it ends (this can be from about 3-7 days, but this can vary). During this phase, your oestrogen and progesterone hormone levels decrease.

Next begins the follicular phase, which starts on day one of your period and continues until ovulation, which is usually about 16 days. During this phase, the follicle-stimulating hormone is released. Once the follicular phase is complete, your ovulation will begin. During ovulation, the luteinizing hormone is released in response to the follicular phase’s rise in oestrogen levels. You may notice your body temperature increase during this phase.

And then lastly you’ll enter the luteal phase where there is a rise in progesterone and a slight increase in oestrogen levels (the complete opposite of what happens during the menstrual phase). As this phase ends, these hormones will decrease. This is when you’ll experience all those fun PMS symptoms like bloating, headaches and cravings (trying out every product in the Chuckles range probably sounds like the best idea right about now).

Training and your period

Some weeks you feel on top of the world, some weeks you’re exhausted or feel weak. This is all due to the change in your hormones throughout the month. Sometimes, working out is the absolute last thing you feel like doing.

Any form of exercise can have a small or big impact on your menstrual cycle, depending on how your body reacts to physical activity. Everyone reacts differently, and some have a more severe reaction to their hormone change than others.

What many don’t know though is that you can maximise your workouts by simply going with your flow. According to various studies, you can adjust your exercise routine to your cycle. By doing the right workouts at the right time of the
month, you’ll still smash your workouts throughout the month.

How to maximise your workouts

As we’ve mentioned, your hormone levels change throughout your menstrual cycle which in turn makes you feel strong, tired, energetic or moody – it all depends on the phase of your cycle.

The beginning phases

Firstly, high-five for even thinking of doing a workout while on your period because it can be tough.

This stage of your cycle (when you’re on your period) is when your progesterone and oestrogen are at their lowest. This may cause your energy levels to decrease, and your emotions could go a little wild. Make sure you listen to your body during this phase and see what it needs and what you feel like doing.

If you’re really struggling with your energy or motivation, try doing slower forms of workouts like going for a walk, doing yoga or even just hopping on the treadmill for a little. By doing low-impact activities, you’ll still increase your endorphins and keep your body moving (which can often help alleviate any cramps you experience).

If you feel like doing something more, though, strength training is a fabulous option during this phase. Some studies indicate that strength workouts during the follicular phase (days 1-14 of your cycle) can result in higher muscle strength compared to when you train during the luteal phase (days 15-28 of your cycle).

The middle phase

When you’re halfway through your menstrual cycle (during ovulation), you might find your energy levels increase as your oestrogen and testosterone levels increase again. The ideal time to focus on high-intensity workouts and even some heavyweight training.

This is the time to take full advantage of your strength and energy!

The final phase

Lastly, you’ll enter into the luteal phase, which will cause your progesterone levels to rise while your oestrogen
decreases. To be very honest, this is the most problematic time of the month, as this is when you begin experiencing the majority of your PMS symptoms.

The couch and Netflix are going to start calling your name, and the gym will seem like a very distant memory. But don’t give up on your physical health completely.

Opt for shorter workouts, low intensity, or keep your workouts the same but use lighter weights for fewer reps. Be
realistic about what your body needs, and don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re not performing at your best.

Exercise is not the epitome of looking after yourself, though. Self-care is a holistic journey which includes eating nutritious meals that are satisfying and filling.

Menstrual cycles are a frustrating but equally wonderful part of our lives, don’t let them take over, though.

Make your flow work for you, and remember to put your needs and your wellbeing above all else.

August 29, 2022 Gemma Oberholzer Women's Health Comments Off

Checking in: Mental health check-in tips and when to see a specialist

The last couple of years have been draining on everyone. We have all gone through a pandemic, life readjustments and navigated unprecedented circumstances. It’s only natural to sometimes feel like you’re overwhelmed or out of control. There are few things in this life that we have control over but it is so important that you check in on yourself.

We easily think of asking our loved ones how they’re doing and if they’re okay but we rarely check in on ourselves and our own mental health. This is a mini check-in guide to show you how to do daily check-ins with yourself and we’ll highlight if it may be a better idea to seek some professional advice.

What is a mental health check-in?

Have you ever been worried about a friend and decided to give them a call to see how they’re doing?

Well, a mental health check-in works the same but you’re asking yourself how you’re doing. It’s all about taking a moment in every day to reflect on how you’re feeling physically, emotionally and mentally. There are various ways to do a mental health check-in and it’s best to find what works for you. Some people prefer to sit back with a cup of coffee while sitting outside and taking a moment to themselves while others prefer to sit with a journal and write everything out.

We’ve outlined a few things you can do to check in on yourself.

Mental health check-in tips

Important questions to ask yourself

When you’re doing a mental health check-in, it is ideal to find some time in your day where you can be completely mindful and have enough time to truly reflect.

You could spare a few minutes on your lunch break or on your way home, any time where you are on your own and can concentrate on your own needs. Once you have found the time, think about what you would like to ask yourself. Here are a few of our suggestions;

How am I feeling today, really? Both physically and mentally.
What’s taking up most of my headspace right now?
What was my last full meal, and have I been drinking enough water?
How have I been sleeping?
Have I been doing any physical activities lately?
What did I do today that made me feel good?
What’s something I can do today that would be good for me?
What’s something I’m looking forward to in the next few days?
What am I grateful for right now?

There are many other questions you can ask yourself but these questions will give you a sense of how you are doing. Are you stressed? Have you been looking after yourself physically? All of this contributes to your mental health and by asking and answering these questions honestly, you will be more cognisant of how you’re actually managing.

For some more tips on how to be truly present, give this article a read.

Keep a journal

If asking yourself these questions doesn’t really work for you then try writing it down in a personal journal. You can set aside some time in the morning where you write down your daily affirmations (these are positive thoughts about yourself and your life), your goals and what you’re grateful for.

Keeping a daily journal will help you set your intentions for the day and help you start the day on a positive note. You can also use the journal to outline your feelings or challenges you faced that day with possible solutions to help you the next day.

Look at your feelings and behaviours

Has anything changed lately? Have you become impatient and snappy when you’re usually calm and reasonable? Take a look at if your feelings and behaviours that you perceive to be normal for you have changed.

This goes hand-in-hand with asking yourself how you’re feeling but it’s important to take note of if anything has fundamentally changed with you and then you need to ask yourself why.

Assess your physical health

Have you been sleeping enough? Are you drinking enough water? Are you getting in any physical activity?

Your physical health impacts your mental health tremendously and if you have found that you aren’t feeling great mentally but you aren’t sure why, try assessing if you have let your physical health slip.

A healthy body will help keep a healthy mind.

Don’t wait until things are really bad

Mental health isn’t always easy to talk about and more often than not, we’re quite hard on ourselves where we will say “You’re fine, it’s just a bad day” or “I need to just get over it”. Thinking you’re fine and trying to push how you’re truly feeling to the side can be dangerous to your overall mental health.

Treat yourself the same way you’d treat a close friend. When someone you love is having a very hard time, you wouldn’t tell them to get over it, you’d offer advice or tell them to get help. So, why wouldn’t you do the same for yourself?

When to seek professional assistance

Everyone has days where they feel low or depressed or even out of control. So much is happening in our lives every single day, it is normal to not feel 100% all of the time. This then begs the question, “how do I know if I need to see a specialist then?”

Well, a good rule of thumb is, if your “low” or depressed mood lasts longer than a week or two or if you’re struggling to function at work, with your family or in your social life and if daily tasks seem unbearable, it would be in your best interest to seek out some help.

Remember though, getting professional help does not make you weak, it takes a really strong person to admit that they need help.

Are you an emotional overeater? Here are 5 ways to help you overcome it

How often do you find yourself reaching for some comfort food when you’re feeling overwhelmed? It’s often an unconscious action where you’re having a bad day or work is stressful and a bowl of ice cream is just the thing to make you feel better. Don’t worry, you aren’t alone. Emotional overeating is more common than you may think.

Even though eating while you’re feeling stressed, sad or overwhelmed can make you feel better in the moment, more often than not, you’ll find yourself feeling bloated and uncomfortable not long after. This leads to feelings of regret and can make you even more emotional. We’ve got some great ways to navigate through these feelings so you don’t need to rely on food.

What is emotional eating?

Emotional overeating is when you use food to soothe negative feelings and emotions you’re struggling with. It’s when you use food to fill your emotional needs instead of hunger.

We’re talking about overeating though to the point where you feel uncomfortable and know you should have stopped. Reaching for some comfort food when you’re having a bad day is something completely different. A delicious pizza at the end of a disastrous day can be a pick me up but the problem comes in when you have the pizza, followed by some chocolate and then a couple of biscuits and so on because you’re trying so hard to fill the void your emotions have created.

The more regularly you use food to make yourself feel better, the more you rely on food for just that. You begin to fall into a pattern of eating whenever you feel bad which will not help you work through those emotions in a more therapeutic and healthy manner.

Causes of emotional eating

Ever heard of the phrase “trying to fill the void”? In most instances, negative emotions can make you feel empty and food is a way to fill that void and create an illusion of “fullness”, making you feel better temporarily.

When you’re an emotional overeater, this is more than likely due to you developing it as a coping mechanism instead of possibly reaching out to a loved one, using meditation or physical exercise or any other coping mechanism which will help you navigate negative emotions in a healthier way.

The cycle of emotional eating

When emotional overeating becomes a pattern, it can turn into a vicious cycle that often feels like it will never end.

It begins by feeling something upsetting or negative, reaching for food for comfort, overindulging to fill the void which leads you to feel powerless over food or uncomfortable and then you’re back to having negative feelings.

Eating will make you feel good in the moment but at the end of the day, those feelings are still there.

How to overcome emotional eating

There are many ways to overcome emotional eating and it’s important for you to find something that suits you the best. If you feel that your emotional overeating is something you can’t handle or overcome on your own, it is always a good idea to reach out for professional advice.

These 5 tips can help you navigate your way through your emotions and help you overcome overeating;

1. Understand the root cause

This is no easy task but when you’re feeling down and feel the need to reach for food, you need to understand what’s causing that feeling.

A bad day at work or fighting with a friend are temporary problems that you will overcome in time but if there are deeper issues that are causing you to feel stressed, overwhelmed or depressed, it is vital to dive deeper into the root cause of these feelings.

We suggest reaching out to a loved one or a professional for some assistance because our tips may help you with overeating but if you haven’t dealt with your emotions, you’re only rectifying half of the whole problem.

2. Ask yourself why you’re eating

When you find yourself reaching for a snack or taking a trip to the fridge, ask yourself if you’re actually hungry. Why do you feel the need to eat right now?

It might be a good idea to rate your levels of hunger. After you’ve asked yourself if you’re hungry, rate how hungry you are on a scale of 1-5. If you rated your hunger between a 3 and 5, grab something nutritious to eat. Anything lower than a 3, maybe make a cup of tea instead.

This will stop you from “mindlessly” eating at any given moment.

3. Plan

If you know you’re an emotional overeater, plan for it.

Rather than grabbing an entire packet of chips, fill some containers with nuts or fruit for example. Have an allocated amount of snacks as your go-to for when you feel like you need a little pick me up.

You can see these as your emergency snack packs or as snacks for when you’re feeling a little bit peckish but the only way this will work is if you have some control over the number of snacks you are packaging.

4. Practice mindful eating

Most of the time, the act of eating is done on autopilot. You’ll find yourself sitting down in front of a Netflix series chomping on your meal and before you know it, it’s finished and you can’t even really remember eating all of it.

It might be a good idea to really think about when you’re feeling hungry and what you will eat to fulfil that hunger. Try to limit distractions like your phone or TV while you’re eating so you are mindful of what and how much you are eating.

Really engage your senses while you eat and acknowledge the taste and smell of each bite. And try to slow down your eating by chewing for at least 20 seconds and pausing in between mouthfuls. This will help you realise when you are actually full so you don’t overeat.

There is so much to living a mindful life, read up on the art of mindfulness here.

5. Find other ways to cope

Instead of always going to food when you’re feeling overwhelmed, try replacing it with a healthy coping mechanism.

Where you can, try meditation instead or going for a walk. Physical activity has been proven to improve our moods as well. You can also take a look at the link between yoga and self-love for other ways to work through your emotions.

Maybe even distract yourself by reaching out to someone you trust and talk through what you are feeling.

Being a human being filled with emotions is difficult and we all do what we can to get by but sometimes we don’t realise that our coping mechanisms are more harmful than good. We hope our tips help you overcome your emotional overeating but always remember that reaching out for professional help is sometimes the best thing for you!

October 12, 2021 Gemma Oberholzer Women's Health Comments Off

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