Tips & Tricks for a More Enjoyable Menstrual Cycle
Most of us have been there- lower abdominal cramps, back pain, diarrhea or constipation. It’s either the day before you’re starting to bleed or within the first couple of days. Depending on your state— ranging from discomfort to agony— you might be cursing your uterus, your body, and asking why women were born to suffer like this.
We were NOT. Painful periods, though common, are NOT normal. You do not have to suffer month after month.
I followed the typical path of young women existing in the conventional western medical system. At age 18 I was in immense pain during every period. As I lay in my dorm room doubled over in pain I called my mother, who had long been prescribed 800mg ibuprofen for her menstrual cramps. I asked if she thought birth control might help, and she agreed that she had heard it could, so off I went to the on campus medical center. In the span of a ten minute conversation with the gynecologist, I was handed a presciption for a generic birth control pill complete with 7 sugar pills for the week I would bleed. I had heard you could skip those and start your next pack early to skip your cycle entirely. *Sends mental apology to my endocrine system and the havoc I wreaked on my hormones.
What was missing from that conversation?
Questions regarding:
My diet
Exercise
Alcohol & Caffeine Intake
When I was living at home, I ate a largely healthy diet. My parents prioritized home cooked meals with real foods. While we admittedly ate a lot of pasta and bread, there was always fresh vegetables and fruits. Fast forward to my freshman year of college, my main food group was Campbells Tomato Soup To-Go containers with butter crackers. Add in the cheap wine and vodka and my poor digestive system was really just trying to keep it together. I also went from being an athlete who practiced 2.5 hours five days a week to walking across campus as my main form of exercise. The combination of poor diet and lack of exercise led to supreme stagnancy in my body. Of course my periods/moon cycles were terrible— my body had more than ever to detox and limited pathways to do so.
I often described the pain as a little creature inside of my uterus with claws, scraping the walls to release my uterine lining. Looking back, that is an incredibly accurate description. My monthly cycle was one of the only opportunities my body had to detox and due to the stagnancy of my body and energy, it had to work extra hard.
Over the last two years, I have found myself supported by Naturopathic and Chinese Medicine Doctors that have challenged me to look at my health from a more holistic lense. I now use each monthly cycle as a gauge of my physical and mental health & well-being. I have found a few key check-ins can really support my body in having an easeful and oftentimes enjoyable menstrual cycle. Most of these suggestions are geared towards the Luteal Phase of your cycle, which is approximately the last week-two weeks of your cycle. Think particularly the week before you start bleeding.
Diet
As the body starts preparing to bleed- notice your cravings. If you are desiring a lot of chocolate, up your magnesium intake. You can by all means in the chocolate, but strive for higher quality, fewer ingredients. Skip the dairy entirely if you can.
Eating a lot of nutrient rich plants during this time can both fortify your body and support you as you prepare to bleed and release. Increase your nutrient dense veggies—beets and sweet potatoes yes please! Cooked or massaged kale, beans, lentils, iron rich foods are all helpful to support your energy levels as you bleed. Creating an herbal tea blend to drink in the evenings rather than wine can be doubly supportive here- eliminate the alcohol&sugars while nourishing the body with herbs such as nettle, oat straw and rose. This blend by Luminary Wellness is incredibly supportive.
As you start bleeding- Try to eliminate sugars as much as possible. Remember, we are inviting in curiosity here rather than perfection. If you do choose to have sugar during the first day or two of your cycle, take notice of the intensity of your cramps. I notice that if I take in sugar within the next twenty minutes or so I will experience more intense cramping. It does pass as the sugar is metabolized, so I still indulge when I really want to. The important (and fun) part here is to stay curious and aware of how your body is responding to what you are nourishing it with. Be mindful of the sneaky good sugars! Items like kombucha, maple syrup in your latte, and even fruit sugars will usually still intensify your cramps.
2. Exercise
Exercise during our Luteal Phase is SO KEY to a more enjoyable menstrual cycle. I experimented with this one throughout 2022 to bring this information to you. One month I would be super active during the 5 days before my bleed- biking 10 miles with elevation gain a few times a week, going for backyard hikes around Mount Tabor and running. The next month, I would also myself to relish in the stagnancy and softness of reduced movement. Again and again I would reap the benefits of my high movement months. By moving- cardio, sweating, endorphins flowing type exercise- I was supporting my body preemptively in it’s detox and release process. Bonus points if I could get myself into an infrared sauna and really get a good sweat on. Not only did this exercise help me physically— better digestion and either less intense cramps or none at all— but this exercise also supported my mental health. The endorphins were flowing and that carried into my cycle, leading to a more stable mental space as I was bleeding and the few days before.
TLDR: Priortize low-impact cardio and sweating in the 5 days before you’re set to start bleeding. If you don’t know exactly when that will be, stretch it out to a week before. To the best of my knowledge, a little gentle cardio never left anyone saying, “Man, I wish I hadn’t exercised today!”
3. Caffeine Intake
Caffeine restricts blood vessels, including the ones in the uterus, while increasing estrogen, causing cramps to intensify. My go-to replacement for my morning beverage is Dandy Blend, a clean powder made up of roasted barley, roasted rye, roasted dandelion root, and roasted chicory root. It gives the coffee vibes without the caffeine, and with added benefit of liver support. While Yerba Mate tea still contains caffeine, I find the affects are might lighter than coffee. So if you need that energy boost to get through your day, try a cup of that. If you are a hard-core can’t live without it type of coffee drinker, try decaf or half-caf. If you decide to have coffee during your cycle, just take notice of how your body responds. Are your cramps really worse in the mornings vs evenings, or is that just when you have your coffee or latte with added sugars? Remember, this is just an invitation to bring curiosity in and understand what best serves your body.
In the last five days before you start bleeding, experiment with reducing or eliminating your coffee consumption. I have found again and again that this improves my mood going into my bleed and reduces cramping.
Invitation for Curiosity
All of the suggestions in this post are simply invitations for you to explore. As women, we will average 450 menstrual cycles in our lifetime. Rather than being something we dread, our menses can be a time to connect with ourselves, our body, and the innate sacredness held within our womb. Listening to our cycle can give us valuable information about how to best support our body the rest of the month, in addition to when we are bleeding. If you decide to employ any of these tips to support you on your cycle over the next three months, I would love to hear how they land for you.
I would love to go back and tell my 18 year old self that one day I would be surprised by the arrival of my bleed. That the debilitating back pain and cramps leading up to that initial release are now often non-existent. Instead, I will share what I’ve learned with you in the hopes that this work supports you on your journey to a healthy and loving relationship with your cycle, your body, and your womb.
With love and reverence,
Noelle Wallwork
I am not, nor am I holding myself out to be a doctor/physician, nurse, physician's assistant, advanced practice nurse, or any other medical professional ("Medical Provider"), psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist, counselor, or social worker ("Mental Health Provider"), registered dietician or licensed nutritionist. I am not providing health care, medical or nutritional therapy services, or attempting to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any physical, mental or emotional issue, disease or condition. None of the information shared on my website is intended to substitute for medical care.
