Girl Talk: Fueling Your Cycle

Hello Ladies!

For the past several months I have been eating to heal my body and fuel a healthy menstrual cycle. 

What I want to focus on in this post is how to eat and plan on eating for the different weeks of your monthly cycle. (Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist or doctor, just someone who's taking in the knowledge and sending out my experience of applying the information). 

I'll start by laying out the four weeks of our cycles and the relation between the dominant hormone and the nutritional needs that result from those changes in hormones. Then I'll give some practical ideas for how to fulfill these needs easily and sustainably. Please leave comments below with questions and any thoughts on what would be additionally helpful!!

It's really astounding how off-beat what we think our bodies need is from what our bodies are actually telling us. I've found that with a little meal planning all cravings and needs can be anticipated and met in a sustainable and healthy way, replacing how I used to feel ruled by my body's cravings from week to week.

What's Happening Inside:

Week 1: During our mentration (about 7 days) our bodies are higher in testosterone than any other week of our cycle and this means we need more protein! Protein is testosterone's bread and butter. By increasing our protein intake we can give our bodies what it really needs instead of fueling it with the fillers (sweet/salty) we think we crave. But actually our bodies are telling us we need some protein and some water. 

Week 2: The week after our menstruation is when our body spikes our estrogen to mature the egg follicle. Estrogen results in an amazing surge of energy and to keep is going steady we need to eat for steady energy levels. Our cravings for protein wane over the next few days, but still grounding our meals in protein and fueling with lots of fibrous veggies is great for supporting the natural energy surge we get from the estrogen.

Week 3: The start date for this phase is somewhere around day 14 or whenever you ovulate. At this point your body needs to dramatically increase its progesterone production and to do this it needs extra complex-carbs (whole grains, sweet potatoes, legumes, etc). 

Week 4: This is the grumpy & frumpy week before your period. All your hormone levels are dropping and you feel the pain. You're also supper bloated because your body is retaining water for the comming menstruation. Go figure. What I have found most helpful during this phase is to balance light, detoxifying foods with quality comfort foods. 

Practicle Ideas:

Wk1: During this phase I make sure I have an extra scoop of chocolate protein powder and coco powder with some hot milk for a pre-sleep snack so that my body can use it to heal overnight. I also keep extra unsalted nuts on hand for a snack at all times, and other great options include turkey jerky, protein bars, and nut butters. I also make sure to have 3 eggs for breakfast every morning during this week to put a protein rich focus on my food for the rest of the day.

Wk2: This week you want to ground meals in protein so that your bloodsugar doesn't go out of control, but you want to eat plenty of greens and extra veg to fuel your production of estrogen. For me this looks like increasing vegetable based meals such as fajitas, ratatouille, vegetable soups, and salads with fabulous toppings.

Wk3: This week is when I make lots of hearty "bowls" because layering in whole grains and legumes are inherent to them! Starting with at least 1/2 cup of buckwheat or quinoa, I add at least 1/2 cup of some kind of cooked beans (black beans, roasted chickpeas, etc) and top with extra vegetables: roasted broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, carrots, sweet potato, etc. Sprink with nuts and seeds to garnish! This is also the week to enjoy black bean burgers and homemade sweet potato fries... Just in case you needed permission. ;-) I also like to have an oatmeal breakfast bake on hand to replace the eggs I've been eating for two weeks straight at this point!

One note is to try to avoid non-complex carbs like pasta/flours, regular potatoes, and white rice. Instead of fueling your progesterone production they can attack your metabolism and sabotage your progesterone production.

Wk4: In this last phase I like to balance my craving for comfort food that is triggered by how uncomfortable it is to lower my hormone levels with foods that are detoxifying and inflammation fighting. For example, when I'm meal planning and shopping for this week I'll buy ingredients for organic, gluten free mac 'n' cheese (more often than not it's from a box) and I'll buy ingredients for a light soup (like carrot curry or leek soup). It's also a good idea to increase fresh/frozen fruit consumption during this phase. I don't usually eat a lot of fruit, but adding in some pineapple, or frozen peaches and blueberries is a great way to satisfy the sweet tooth that comes with our dropping hormone levels. This is also the week I splurge on a bar of 80% fair trade chocolate* and handmade bagels from a local coffee shop. 

Three key take-aways: 1) You deserve the food you need. Give it to yourself. Don't let preconcieved notions of healthy/non-healthy foods keep you from giving your body what it's asking for. Budget it in to the plan and enjoy it guilt free. 2) Meal-planning makes it sooo easy to fuel your body according to your cycle by buying the ingredients you'll need for that week a day or two before you'll need them. 3) Keep an ongoing observation of yourself going so that your meal planning can become more precise. 

With love, 

Laney <3

*If you want to know more about why fair trade chocolate, coffee, and just consiencious shopping in general is important, you can look here, here, and here.