Are you feeling more run down? More fatigue? Like you could just crawl into your bed and sleep or yearn to sit on your couch with a hot tea and your favorite comfort shows or a good book?
‘Tis the season my friend!
Winter and the colder months are great for hibernation!
Each season also reflects a different phase in your cycle. Winter is your menstruation phase! Let me explain!
The Misconception
Though we should be slowing down during the colder months as our energy begins to dip, it’s a hard time to slow down.
Think about it. We have multiple holidays, end of year deadlines to meet, celebrations, and social gatherings. Everyone is trying to get things done before the new year and trying to celebrate and see each other during a festive season.
With all of these social gatherings and deadlines, we tend to run ourselves down, wear ourselves out, and don’t listen to the warning signs from our body that we are doing so.
In doing this, we run the risk of impacting our hormones (specifically our cortisol levels), which shows up in our fatigue, cravings, and even unwanted weight gain for some (and yes, not just because of the Christmas cookies).
This is the season everyone is busy when we should be winding down and hibernating.
What to do instead
In the winter months, animals begin to hibernate, seeds freeze in the ground to prepare for spring, and sap pulls into plants. Everything is slowing down, so why aren’t we?
During winter, you have the opportunity to hibernate and reset. However, it is a balancing act.
You have deadlines, celebrations, and holidays. You can still do it all, meet your deadlines, attend the celebrations. But you can also start approaching it a little differently this season.
In your menstruation season, your hormones are at their lowest, which is why most women struggle with lower energy and more fatigue.
When we ignore this, it causes more hormonal symptoms that will impact us over time. This is exactly how I look at the winter months as well.
Instead of pushing through and wearing yourself down, you can use how you approach your menstrual cycle to support your hormones to your winter activities too.
In your menstruation phase, it’s a good time for resting, for introspections. It’s a good time for self-care and reflection.
This aligns with New Years Resolutions when you think about it. When you make resolutions, you are reflecting and planning. But the trick is to not start your new year’s resolution right away and burn out. Take the time to reflect on it, to plan them out, to set up a successful approach.
On top of that, your lifestyle will be a huge factor in making sure you support your hormones, instead of wearing them down.
Your Menstruation Season Protocol
So, how do you use your nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle to continue to support your goals, while also ensuring your hormones aren’t being worn down and impact you in the long run?
NUTRITION
In the winter months, like your menstruation season, it’s important to pick foods that support your energy levels and replenish your hormones.
During menstruation this looks like,
- Focusing on iron-rich foods for support blood loss
- Enhancing your iron absorption with vitamin C
- Supporting your cramps and mood swings with magnesium
- And decreasing inflammation with your omega-3s
Though, I still recommend focusing on certain nutrients during the phases of your cycle, in the winter, there are a few considerations to support your body during the winter months.
Your body is going to naturally lean towards warmer and heartier foods. Soups, chili, and starchier carbs. This is normal. Support your body by leaning into these hearty (and seasonal) foods.
You may also want to get your vitamin D checked, especially if you are feeling more sluggish, and eat more vitamin D rich foods (fatty fish, egg yolks, yogurt, oats), to make sure you aren’t deficient in vitamin D, especially with the darker months.
FITNESS
Your energy levels are lower as it’s colder and darker out. Plus you’re still showing up to meet deadlines, attending events, and more. Your stress levels may be elevated.
And working out is a stress on your body.
Your workouts may not feel as strong or as good as they did in the warmer months or even just a couple months ago. And that’s okay!
For your workouts, it’s important to adjust them to your schedule and your energy levels. If you feel great, have a ton of energy, and are recovering well (including sleeping well!), then carry on!
But if you are dragging through your workouts, wanting to skip them but feel guilty, or you don’t feel like you’re recovering (for example, your sleep is funky or you spend days feeling sore), then it’s time to adjust your workouts accordingly to not do any damage to your hormones.
A few ways you can adjust your workouts down, while still seeing results, are:
- Decrease the number of days you’re working out. For example, if you normally workout 5 days, how about 3 or 4 days instead?
- Decrease your workout time. Instead of an hour lift, can you do 40 minutes?
- Decrease your volume. This could be the number of sets, the number of reps, or the amount of weight that you’re lifting.
If you’re struggling to get going, but still have energy and want to workout, I recommend trying a new class or grabbing a workout buddy to keep you accountable and motivated.
LIFESTYLE
There are some areas of your life that you can slow down with and some that you can’t (like the last minute deadlines from your boss).
The key during your menstruation phase and the winter months is to manage your stress and sleep.
Your body may crave more sleep and it’s important that you embrace that and schedule it in, as well as more couch time to rest. Remember, your sleep is your hormonal rehab. When your energy (and your hormones) are at their lowest, sleep is actually helping to repair them.
Whether it’s the holiday season or you’re on your period during the summer, there are events that come up that you need to make an appearance at. As much as we’d love to say no and not go, sometimes that’s not an option.
If this is the case, you should still go to the event, but know when it’s time to leave, set yourself a curfew. Listen to your body – when your energy levels begin to dip, it’s time to go. The last thing we want is for you to be fatigued longer because you stayed at a party longer than your body was able to handle.
It is a learned skill to know when to leave an event when your body asks, so if you do end up staying too late and you feel like you need several days to recover, don’t be hard on yourself. Take it as feedback for the next event – because there’s always a next one!
Whether it’s the busyness in the winter months or your menstruation season throughout the year, the more you embrace your body and listen to the messages from your symptoms, the more supported your hormones will feel in the long run.
Because it’s the winter season, I’m curious what you struggle with most? Do you struggle with slowing down in the colder, darker months or during your period?
If you’re looking for more support and accountability with optimizing your hormones and reversing your hormonal symptoms, let’s schedule a complimentary hormone analysis call!
