Align Your Body With "Shark Week" To Make Your Cycle Work For You, Not Against You

Jun 12, 2018 by apost team

Periods can often come with debilitating menstrual cramps, bloating, and fatigue, but your "time of the month" doesn't have to be like this. In fact, "Aunt Flo" can come with extra energy, intuition, creativity, and more. 

In the Women Code book, author Alisa Vitti discusses how she thinks that women get "super powers" each month when they get periods, as their bodies experience hormone changes that can be positive when adequately aligned with proper nourishment and activity. 

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The first step to aligning your period to work for you is to understand the different phases of a cycle and what to eat during them. The cycle is approximately 28 days long and tracking the days and phases of your cycle will help figure out how to harness your hormones. 

The first phase is menstruation, which can last anywhere from three to seven days. During menstruation, women will go through a drop in both estrogen and progesterone as the lining of the uterus sheds. According to author Alisa Vitti, it is at this stage when your "feminine super powers" are at their most powerful. 

During this phase, women should eat foods high in iron to replenish their bodies. This can include meats, dried fruits, leafy greens like spinach or kale, peaches, watermelon, or seafood. Women should also avoid complex carbohydrates during this time, as well as stay extra hydrated, eat more fermented foods like miso or sauerkraut, and exercise with light yoga during the first half of menstruation. 

The next phase is called the follicular phase and last for about seven to ten days after the menstruation period is finished. During this time, women will be able to make new neural connections much easier and have more energy and a good mood. 

Eat foods that support ovulation as well as foods high in potassium and nervous system support. This include foods like apples, blueberries, avocados, lettuce, Brussel sprouts, and leafy greens. 

In the gym, incorporate more high energy workouts and try new workouts to challenge yourself. 

Ovulation is the time in which the eggs are released from the ovaries. It lasts for only three or four days, but these days and the couple days leading up to it are the time in which a woman is most fertile. According to Vitti, a woman's super power during ovulation is the ability to communicate very effectively with others as well as peaked energy levels. 

Women in ovulation should focus on foods that help her recover form estrogen excretion, which includes broccoli, spinach, avocados, asparagus, okra, tomato, and dark chocolate. Exercise should incorporate group workout sessions and classes. 

The luteal phase is the final and longest phase, lasting about 10 to 14 days. Unfortunately, this is usually the stage in which women feel cravings, cramps, and acne breakouts if they haven't aligned their lifestyle to fit their hormones. 

Women who are utilizing their hormone induced feminine super powers will see their mood improve drastically as well as feel organized, energetic, and have great attention to small details. 

Make sure to eat lots of leafy greens, meat like chicken or turkey, garbanzo beans, quinoa, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, and beets. In the gym, focus on less intense workouts like yoga or light cardio. 

Want to harness your feminine super powers? Or do you just want to avoid the cramps and breakouts of periods? Whatever your motivation, it's easy when you eat the right foods that nourish your body.