Ladies when it comes to our menstrual cycle there really is so much we don’t know. We spend so much time pretending it doesn’t exist or pushing through it when we could be embracing it and even working with it.
Our body is always communicating with us
I believe that our body is always talking to us, keeping us updated on our general state of health, and our menstrual cycle is one of the things we can use to see how well we are. Researchers in medical health care are even suggesting that the menstrual cycle be considered a vital sign for ladies.
Being female gives us the unique privilege of being cyclical beings- we are the same every month but different every day. On any given day in our cycle, our hormones are doing different things.
Let’s start at the beginning.
Week 1- Your bleed week
The first day of your menstrual cycle is the first day of proper bleeding. There may be a few days of light spotting beforehand. Each menstrual cycle is calculated by counting from day 1 of your bleed until the start of your next bleed. A normal menstrual cycle can be anywhere from 21-35 days for an adult and 21-45 days for a teenager.
In general bleed week starts heavy-ish and then tapers off, usually lasting 3-6 days.
It’s normal to feel some gentle cramping in the first few days as the uterus contacts to expel the endometrial lining (which is the blood). But any pain or heavy flow that interrupts the activities of your day is a sign to you that you should dig a little deeper to see what is going on.
Understanding the look and flow of the bleed
In general, we lose 25-80ml of period blood during this week, with 50ml being the average. It is easy to track if you use a menstrual cup, but you could get a rough idea using pads and tampons as well. Each tampon size is designed to hold a certain amount of fluid. A regular tampon or a soaked pad holds roughly 5ml and a super tampon holds 10ml
The colour and texture of the blood may also differ. A faster, heavier flow has less exposure to oxygen which means it’s a brighter red; whereas a light, slow flow is a darker red because it had more exposure to oxygen. If you have a fast and heavy flow you might find that there are more big clots in your flow as the anticoagulants (thing responsible for keeping blood smooth), haven’t had enough time to work. Your flow also naturally slows during sleep.
Besides some mild cramping and bleeding it’s important to know that you have very little oestrogen and progesterone in your system (which is the cause of the bleeding), so it makes sense that you are feeling a little flat as your hormones are flat.
So how can we work with our menstrual cycle during this week?
- Drink more water. Your bleed is not just blood but also fluid so we need to be proactive in replacing that fluid.
- Eat more protein. Especially dark parts of meat (dark lamb, dark chicken meat, red meat). Eat protein at every meal so that your total protein is roughly 70% of your intake. Slow down on the carbs.
- Take the first few days of your cycle off of heavy exercise. Go for a long slow walk or do a gentle yoga flow to keep your body moving. As your flow decreases introduce some moderate intensity resistance training (body-weight, mini bands or dumbbells).
- Mentally and emotionally its a time to mull things over. You may have gotten irritated by some stuff or people last week but this is not the week to take action. Instead reassess your feelings, and think over next steps. We can take action another time.
- Be kind to yourself. Sleep a little longer at night or take a nap if the opportunity presents itself. Take care of yourself and if someone offers help, take it!
I hope that was helpful to you. And if it was, I hope that you share the love and share this with a friend. Because ladies, we have got to help each other out.
Week 2 loading…