HORMONES: Both estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest
MOVEMENT: Gentle stretching + BODYWORK, walking.
NUTRITION: Eat high iron foods as well as magnesium rich foods to help with cramps. Lots of cruciferous and high-fiber veggies. Healthy fats to balance hormones. B vitamins. Your uterus prefers warming foods while bleeding, like soups, stews, and warm spices — warm foods can reduce uterine contraction caused by prostaglandins, thus easing intense cramps. Too much inflammation in the body increases prostaglandins so it’s crucial to eat anti-inflammatory foods all the time! You are losing iron while bleeding, so ensure that you consume iron-rich foods such as leafy greens, seaweed, shellfish, kidney & soy beans, grass-fed beef, tofu, pork, eggs, mushrooms, turmeric, pumpkin seeds, beets, blueberries, and wild rice.

FOLLICULAR

HORMONES: Estrogen is building.
MOVEMENT: Perfect time for HIST. Do more Intense and longer. You can also workout longer 45-60 mins. Push yourself (higher load)
NUTRITION: Rising estrogen can suppress your appetite. Focus on lean proteins and complex, fiber-rich carbs to fuel your higher activity levels and keep you fuller for longer. Your body is better able to utilize carbs for an energy source during this first half of the month (as opposed to better utilization of fat in your luteal phase, due to higher progesterone)so you can add more whole grains like oats, barley, buckwheat, etc. Think beans, lentils, peas, and raw or steamed veggies like broccoli, carrots, zucchini, celery, and lots of salad.

OVULATORY

HORMONES: Estrogen is super high
MOVEMENT: Anything that helps you feel connected to your body; Goddess lifestyle
NUTRITION: Since estrogen is still high, you may find your appetite continues to be a bit suppressed. Load up on cruciferous veggies like brussel sprouts and cauliflower and detoxifying greens like dandelion, chard, spinach, and cilantro to help flush out any excess estrogen. It’s a great time to try your hand at sprouting broccoli or alfalfa seeds. Salmon, tuna, and shrimp are full of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Sunflower and sesame seeds may help boost progesterone during the second half of your cycle.

HORMONES: Estrogen begins to dip, Progesterone begins to build
MOVEMENT: Workout LESS because we don't want to raise our cortisol and focus on TONING workouts. Gentle strength training; resistance... about 30 minutes. Fat burning but not elevate cortisol
NUTRITION: As you’re probably already aware, this is the time in which cravings can really start popping up. Adding in higher carb roasted veggies and getting lots of healthy fats can help control your junk food cravings. Foods rich in B vitamins can assist in staving off sugar cravings: try some leafy greens (yeah, these keep showing up - basically we should be eating organic leafy greens all the time!), beef, liver organs, turkey, cod, flounder, navy beans, chickpeas, millet, brown rice, nutritional yeast, and sunflower & sesame seeds. B vitamin supplements could be considered, especially if you’re a vegan or vegetarian. Spirulina is my favorite for B vitamins.
As I said before, magnesium is a crucial mineral that can reduce PMS symptoms…it’s also behind your cravings for chocolate before your period! This is a great time to give in by eating a bit of magnesium-rich dark chocolate (70% or more). Avocados, salmon, halibut, and leafy greens (shocking!) are also high in the mineral.

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