So....I thought I would start the title off with the word I'm about to talk about. May as well kill the elephant in the room first right!
If your reading this, I gather your probably a female! If your not, then welcome to a blog post about periods :)
I get asked a lot to cover this subject and to be honest it is something I am genuinely interested in myself and I have finally got round to writing about it!
Working with lot's of different females online and in person everyday, I obviously come across a lot of different reactions and views on that dreaded time of the month!
As hard as it is, we shouldn't dread it - it's a natural thing to happen to the female body and if your lucky enough to have one (yes I said LUCKY) then your obviously doing something right. Whenever I am on and it's that time of the month I have to remind myself about the reasons we actually have a period in the first place -
> First things first, it helps us to fertilise eggs by making the uterus lining thicker, which in return can give us new life and the chance at becoming a mother.
> If we do not fertilise an egg the lining is then released from the body as blood through the vagina and that is our menstruation or P.E.R.I.O.D.
If we do not have a period for whatever reason - drastic weight loss, obesity, illness, medication etc - we usually have less chance of getting pregnant than someone who has one and we have less chance of really knowing our bodies!
When we are on our period, surprisingly we lose a lot of blood. That process is quite taxing on the female body hence why we start to feel very fatigued, nauseous, dizzy, slow (these are just a few of my symptoms - I mean usually you'll find me slumped in my dressing gown at any given opportunity with a kinder bueno in my hand and a hot microwaved animal sat on my stomach). Some of us suffer worse than others and I for one, do not take it lightly!
Im actually not one to really over eat or really binge when I am on my period as I actually feel quite sick, but you will definitely find me eating more chocolate than the average week. Which leads me to talk about how much we can actually get away with eating when we are on and why lot's of us lovely ladies have cravings which can only be described as eating the inside of the Charlie and the chocolate factory building.
The average female can eat more on her period than she can when not on, but this does not mean to say we can binge and not gain weight. It would also be very responsible of use to eat lots of whole foods and plenty of greens to restore our iron levels.
We naturally need around 300 more calories when on our period........but we do not burn more calories.
We actually burn more calories in the luteal phase of our cycle which is just before our period, so couple plenty of exercise in that phase with a few extra calories when we are on our period then we shouldn't see any or too much weight gain from our over eating whilst that time of the month.
we are all different and we are all going to feel very different............
But what can we do -
1. My number one tip would be to just go with it - let your body take control of the situation, If your craving chocolate - have that chocolate (but just limit it to one day) once you have had your binge, end it there. It doesn't need to carried on into the next few days.
2. Up your carbs and calories by a few hundred a day -
3. Get moving - it seems like the last thing we want to do but it really does help the symptoms. Even if you head to the gym and get on the treadmill for 20 minutes - I promise you will feel so much better for it!
4. Hot soak in the bath - look after yourself, it is taxing on the body and you will be tired. Treat yourself to a nice soak, add some Epsom salts, maybe a bit of lavender oil and then grab an early night!
5. Ignore every male that tells you otherwise - I mean is there ANYTHING WORSE then a man telling you your being soft? Do they have any idea what is going on in there? I think not. So don't listen.
6. Write down some affirmations - like I said earlier, we genuinely are lucky to have periods so just write down 5 things your grateful for to help you stop feeling sorry for yourself a little.
7. Drink more water - I mean, it always helps right? But the less hydrated you feel the more energised you will feel and it will help natural metabolism to kick in!
If you're ever In doubt - just remember you're a strong kick ass female who has the power to let your body go through anything, just ride the wave and go with the flow (see what I did there).
I hope you've all enjoyed reading about one of our favourite subjects as a female, obviously :)
Also just quickly, period poverty is a thing!
Yes, females all across the world struggle to afford to buy tampons, pads etc!
I have listed a few charity's below that help work towards ending this - even if you donate £1 and everyone else reading this blog does, I can imagine it will raise a little bit towards ending period poverty!
If your ever feeling really low or need a kick up the ass - just pop me an email: sophielaa@outlook.com