Get To Know Your Cycle
Did you know that your hormones are ever-changing throughout the month? They play an essential role in your mood and energy levels. They even affect your motivation, creativity, and appetite! This means by understanding your cycle, you can leverage the power of learning how better to meet your body’s needs throughout the month.
However, our modern society leaves little room for changes day to day. The unspoken expectation of having to show up every day with the same energy and capacity is a poor fit for women who are cyclical beings. No wonder so many women struggle with hormonal symptoms and period problems!
It’s time we reject the idea that “hormones” and “periods” are an inconvenience, and instead, develop a deep understanding of how to reconnect with our bodies so that we can create a life that is supportive of healthy cycles.
HORMONES 101
The Menstrual Phase (3-7 days)
The menstrual phase, or your period, kicks off day one of your cycle. Although technically a part of your follicular phase, this phase is essential in shedding the uterine lining. This is also the phase where estrogen and progesterone are the lowest, which can drive some of those PMS symptoms in the days leading up to and throughout your period. A healthy flow consists of 30-80mL of blood with minimal clots, cramps, or other disruptive symptoms. The color should be bright red and may get darker near the end of your period.
The quality of your period offers clues to your hormone health. It represents how well your body is nourished and can indicate whether physiological systems are functioning properly and optimally. Painful periods, erratic moods, severe cravings, debilitating fatigue... these are all signs that there are underlying issues that need attention. Even if these symptoms have always been present for you doesn't mean that they are normal.
The Follicular Phase (7-21 days)
The first phase of your cycle is called the follicular phase. This starts from day 1 of your period to the day before ovulation. The name comes from the purpose of this phase which is to develop the follicles in your ovaries in order to ultimately trigger a dominant follicle to ovulate. Whether it’s your personal goal or not, your biology’s main goal is reproduction. It’s during this follicular phase that your body scans the environment to ensure safety and ample resources in order to support and maintain an energy-expensive pregnancy. If you’re overexercising, highly stressed, or poorly nourished, you may experience a longer follicular phase as the body delays ovulation.
Estrogen plays the lead role during your follicular phase. Its function is to stimulate tissue growth such as bone mass, muscle mass, and the lining of the uterus, as well as boost serotonin and dopamine. You may find yourself more energized and motivated in your follicular phase which can affect the types of workouts or activities you’re drawn to.
The Ovulation Phase (approx. 24 hours)
If the body gives ovulation the go, then we enter into the next phase of your cycle- ovulation. Ovulation is the main event and occurs when the dominant follicle releases an egg. The lifespan of that egg is only 24 hours as it travels down the fallopian tube. At this point, the egg with either meet a sperm and become fertilized or disintegrate. With sperm’s lifespan of 3-5 days within the female body, the highest potential for conception is within a fertility window of about 6 days -- 5 days before ovulation plus the 24 hours after ovulation. In other words, identifying your fertility window is essential for both preventing unwanted pregnancy and timing conception for getting pregnant.
During this window of time, you may also notice other changes in your body. Your cervical mucus transitions from wet and water to clear, slippery, and stretchy, much like the consistency of egg whites. This type of cervical mucus is purposeful! It holds a pH that is supportive of keeping sperm alive as well as contains structures that help mobilize sperm toward the egg. You may also notice a boost in libido as testosterone peaks.
The sac that is left from the released egg, known as the corpus luteum, then begins to release progesterone.
The Luteal Phase (10-14 days)
The purpose of the luteal phase is to prepare the body for pregnancy. The drop in estrogen after ovulation can sometimes lead to symptoms of anxiety, irritability, or food cravings. Thankfully, progesterone is on the rise and can help combat symptoms of the drop in estrogen. Progesterone offers calming properties that increase the body’s ability to cope with stress and promotes deeper sleep. If fertilization occurs, progesterone helps stabilize the uterine lining so that the embryo can implant and grow. If fertilization does not occur, progesterone will rise and then fall, which will ultimately trigger menstruation, starting the cycle over again.
How to track your cycle
Tracking your cycles can be an incredibly powerful tool for understanding your body and why you feel the way you feel throughout your cycle. It is also essential for confirming ovulation which not only supports fertility but is a vital sign of optimal health. Lack of regular ovulation is one of the first signs that the body is struggling and is in need of support.
Nowadays, there are a number of apps you can use to track your cycle. However, although these apps help you track the first day of your period as well as allow you to note symptoms, they are a poor predictor of ovulation. That is because these apps are either based on a 28-day cycle or rely on past data to predict when ovulation occurs. Contrary to popular belief, not all women have a 28-day cycle! In fact, a normal cycle can fluctuate between 24-35 days. Without clearly identifying ovulation, it will be challenging to know which phase and may lead to poor timing for conception or pregnancy prevention. That is why I recommend Basal Body Temperature Tracking.
Basal Body Temperature Tracking
Basal Body Temperature Tracking, also known as Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) is a practice that allows you to track changes in your body temperature throughout your cycle. By observing these changes, you can:
Determine whether you are ovulating regularly
Identify your fertility window which is essential to know if you are trying to conceive or avoid pregnancy
Confirm which cycle phase you are in which will help you better meet your cycling needs
Predict menstruation aka no more bleed-throughs!
Provide insight into your metabolic and thyroid health
Here’s how to effectively track your basal body temperature.
Purchase a basal body temperature thermometer that measures temps to the 100th degree. Some options include (not affiliated):
Take your temperature every morning before you get out of bed, ideally around the same time.
Use the associated tracking app to observe temperature trends.
What we want to see is a waking temperature between 97.2 - 97.5 F in your follicular phase and a waking temperature between 98.0 - 98.5 F in your luteal phase. The rise of 0.5-1.0 degrees from your follicular phase to your luteal phase indicates ovulation.
This elevation in temperature is an outcome of an increase in progesterone production. Progesterone serves as a thermogenic, acting on the thyroid and increasing body temperature. Therefore low temperatures (i.e. temperatures measuring in the 96’s in the follicular phase and low 97’s in the luteal phase) may indicate sluggish thyroid function.
After ovulation, we can expect that rise in temperature to sustain for about 10-14 days. Once the temperature drops back into the follicular range, menstruation will begin.
Note: If you wake up at different times, you can adjust your temperature accordingly. On average, your body temperature rises 0.1 degrees every ½ hour later you wake up. So the earlier you wake up, the lower your temperature will be.
What about ovulation predictor kits?
Ovulation predictor kits (OPKs) are urine test strips that help indicate ovulation. The perk of OPKs is that you only need to test mid-cycle rather than every day with Basal Body Temperature Tracking. However, the tricky thing about OPKs is that they serve as a means of predicting ovulation by detecting LH surges. These surges can occur without confirmed ovulation, such as in the case of PCOS where we see multiple surges throughout a cycle in the body’s attempt to successfully ovulate. There can also be issues with the urine sample being too dilute in order to detect the LH rise.
Curious to learn more about your hormones? Click HERE to download my free guide: Understanding The Language Of Your Hormones.
