Welcome to the Four Seasons of the Menstrual Cycle: Part 2

This is a four part series on your menstrual cycle of what is happening within your body and how to complement your hormones with diet and exercise.

You can find the introduction here

This is Part 2:

Part 2: The Follicular Phase (Spring), 6 to 14 days. Your period has stopped, and you feel a burst of energy. YES! This brings you a sense of confidence where you’re ready to explore your surroundings, be with friends and be social. In addition, you may be in the mood for dressing up and going out.

Why is this happening? Oestrogen and progesterone are on the rise. The heaviness within you has lifted, and your brain is focused once again. The follicular phase is when your body prepares an egg to be released.

How to best support phase: Use this phase to be your most active and your most healthyself. This is a great time to watch what you are eating, fuel your body well with vitamins, minerals and nutrients, stay motivated and build strength. You will be feeling vibrant and on top of your game here.

What to Hydrate on: Plenty of water, smoothies, kombucha and herbal teas.

What to consume: In this phase we tend to preserve glycogen stores but have an increased ability to burn fat. Our bodies need carbohydrates in this phase. So, your diet should be higher in good quality carbs like the ones mentioned in part 1 and in wholegrains, with regular intakes of protein. You also need to be mindful of your iron levels during this phase and ensure that they are increasing to make up for the loss that had occurred in the last cycle.

In addition, you want to take in plenty of B vitamins, that are beneficial for energy production.  Foods such as nuts, legumes, and leafy greens. B12 is especially important for red blood cell production and is only present in animal foods. So, vegetarians and vegans or those on predominantly plant-based diets, should make sure you're getting your B12 from fortified foods, like nut milk and nutritional yeast or from a supplement.

Animal Sources to consume: Beef, fish and poultry, lamb, eggs and dairy products (if not intolerant).

Plant Sources: Chia seeds, quinoa, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), peanuts, almonds, walnuts, hemp seeds, banana, apple, apricot, kiwi, blueberries, sugar snap peas, kale, green beans, green peas, carrots, sprouts, artichoke, parsley, sweet potato, brown rice.

How to Exercise: Higher intensity workouts are a GO here, and if you haven’t tried them now is the time to start. You may want to try something new or try a HIIT or weight liftings session. Personal Trainers are great for first timers. 

How to Support Your Mental State: This is a great time to schedule those meetings or workshops as you are ready to embrace the world, you feel social and you may want to solve big problems. In addition, if you have ever wanted to try something new, this is a great phase to start. For example,  start that healthy wholefoods diet, try new foods, be creative with recipes and discover a new form of exercise. 

Check out my recipe ZUCCHINI AND RED SALMON SLICE WITH STIR-FRIED GREENS that complements this time of the month. One serving offers 1.4 µg (microgrmas) of Vitamin B12 which is just over half of the Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) of 2.4µg.

You can read more about Vitamin B12 here.

And keep tune for next weeks blog post on Part 3. The Ovulatory Phase (Summer)

Until next time

Theresa Gray