How Tracking My Cycle Helped Me Honor My Period Instead of Fighting It
Growing up is a series of events where you realize middle school didn’t prepare you for real life.
There’s the time I learned that the Irish potato famine wasn’t actually a famine at all, but was just another example of British colonialism.
Or, the time I learned that Adam Smith’s invisible hand is a load of crap and our economy is a series of choices designed to help those with money.
But, nothing beats growing up and realizing that the way I was taught about my period in my health classes set me up to hate my body and unknowingly be in conflict, instead of harmony, with my cycle.
That anxiety I feel every couple weeks? It’s not random. The insane burst of energy I have every three weeks? That’s no mistake. Those crushing body image issues right before my period starts? Yeah, starting to make sense.
After years of being pissed every month (and celebrating some months), I finally understand what is happening in my body. And, not just when I’m bleeding.
The last year I’ve been meticulously tracking all four phases of my cycle and I no longer dread the monthly tampon run.
When I started listening to my body, honoring and accepting its requests, life got so much easier.
Let’s talk about it.
Menstruation
Obviously, everyone’s body is different. No one period is going to look the same. But for all bleeding people, the menstrual phase is the time when you shed the uterine lining and your hormone levels decline.
And the symptoms that come with that can be interesting to say the least—ifykyk. Over the last year, I’ve given myself permission to fully lean into these days.
To honor the sleepiness and refrain from over scheduling, to acknowledge the coziness and bring out my biggest t-shirts, to respect my body and feed it nutritious meals, and to recognize that it’s probably not the best time to be making big decisions.
I also decided that those cheap, toxic period products weren’t coming anywhere near me anymore. It’s insane that women have to spend at least $20 a month on period products #pinktax, but what’s even more insane is that companies continue selling products that we know aren’t good for women’s bodies.
I highly recommend CORA’s organic products, but do your own research!
The point? I’ve learned that it’s okay to slow down once a month and invest in my health. Considering the average woman has 450-480 periods in her lifetime, it seems about time we stop fighting it and fully embrace the bleed.
Pro-tip: Orgasms help with cramps.
Follicular Phase
If this is the first time you’re hearing about the many phases of the menstrual cycle…well, blame your health teacher.
Before you’ve packed away the tampons, your body is already moving towards developing a dominant follicle in the ovary and preparing the uterus for a potential pregnancy. This is the next phase of your cycle.
For me, this phase is like those memes when bears are exiting their caves at the end of hibernation. My hair is a mess, I’m sore but also craving a long walk, and I have an appetite again.
As energy starts increasing, I like to use this time to plan an adventure for the following week (ovulation baby!), set some goals for the month now that my brain is no longer foggy, and start working out again.
I’ve also noticed this is the start of the glorious two weeks of the month when my face is chiseled, so it’s probably selfie time.
Ovulation
The estrogen surging through your body during the ovulation stage is by design, as an egg is released from the dominant follicle—be warned if you’re avoiding pregnancy!
Ovulating is like combining New York Fashion Week, Christmas, and a three day weekend into one bundle of amazing. At least for me!
After a year of tracking my period, I can definitively tell you that for a few days a month, I’m the most radiant, adventurous, curious, and *ahem* horny, version of Reid. It’s the definition of fun, fresh, and flirty.
For most, this is the time to go on an adventure, execute a goal, and tell that person you’re talking to how you feel.
Knowing when this time of the month is coming has proven so beneficial for planning purposes (and so I know when to break out that cute outfit I’ve been dreaming up in my head).
Luteal Phase
Do you experience a drop every month? One week you feel sexy and free, and the next you’re feeling bloated and low? That could be your luteal phase waving hello!
This is when fertilization of your egg doesn’t occur and the corpus luteum (a gland that starts to form to help pregnancy) begins to break down leading to a drop in your hormones.
In all honesty, this is the worst part of my every month without fail. I typically cry at least once during this phase, want to start a fight with everyone I love, have some intrusive thoughts that feed my disordered eating, and I’m usually starving, but nothing sounds good.
And as annoying as that all is, I finally know why it’s happening after years of thinking I was only impacted by my hormones when I was bleeding.
Now, I can emotionally and physically prepare for this time of the month. I try to have nutritious and yummy snacks in the house, I avoid having emotionally charged conversations so I don’t say something I’ll regret, and I spend a little extra time on my appearance to ease the way my body is going to change during this time as it prepares for a period.
Free the Bleed
From a young age, we’re taught both overtly and implicitly that periods are dirty and will ruin a perfectly good week every month.
What a load of patriarchal crap!
It isn’t easy spending a lot of money on products, learning why you feel the way you do at certain times of the month, and combating societal shame.
But, what a gift that your body works the way it’s supposed to and brings you different versions of yourself throughout the month!
If that doesn’t convince you to start tracking the phases of your cycle, I don’t know what will.
So, let’s give a big ole middle finger to our silly middle school health curriculums and the patriarchy by actually honoring what our bodies are supposed to do, my friends.
