Most women and people with uteruses are accustomed to the chocolate cravings and lack of exercise motivation that coincides with that time of the month. But most of these people likely don’t have an awareness on how to program hormone-focused health routines to honor such feelings.
Cycle-syncing, a term coined and trademarked by Alisa Vitti, Functional Nutritionist, is when women match their diet and exercise plan to the phases of their menstrual cycle. Following a cycle-syncing plan can help women and people with uteruses better manage the negative hormones that are caused by menstruation as well as achieve their healthiest body.
In regards to the nutrition side of cycle-syncing, Practicing Dietician and Performance Nutritionist Ellie Wiltshire, a professor of nutrition at UO, advises that because nutrition is such an individualized practice, it is hard to generalize one singular diet plan. Wiltshire said cycle-syncing is relatively new in the field of research so she avoids making specific nutrition recommendations around the menstrual cycle.
“People do get carried away a little bit with some of the advice surrounding the menstrual cycle,” Wiltshire said. “I think cycle-syncing is really interesting, and we are going to learn more about it. But to say that we need to do x, y, z during each period of our cycle is taking that research and running with it a bit too far.”
Megan Tuck, UO political science and planning, public policy and management senior, said she heard of cycle-syncing through social media. Tuck is currently training for a half marathon and said she has experienced challenges from being active during menstruation.
“Before I was on birth control, my cycle definitely had an impact,” Tuck said. “I played a lot of sports in high school. The pain and other negative things that come along with your period can be really debilitating especially when you have a game or some sort of big competition where you need to be able to perform well.”
To create a cycle-syncing exercise program, women and people with uteruses must track their periods and create a calendar based on when they start menstruating each month. Nicole Negron, a functional nutritionist and women’s health specialist, set the framework for cycle-syncing in an article for Healthline (Negron’s framework will be referred to throughout the article).
The Cycle-syncing calendar
The calendar for cycle-syncing is four weeks, each week representing a different phase: the menstrual phase, days 1–5; the follicular phase, days 6–14; the ovulatory phase, days 15–17; and the luteal phase, days 18–28. Each person’s cycle is different, and it can take time and careful observation of one’s body to map out your cycle. But once their cycle has been mapped, women and people with uteruses can begin to follow an exercise plan accordingly.
In the menstrual phase, estrogen and progesterone are low and people experience bleeding. In this phase, people are likely to experience low energy levels and discomfort from cramping so light levels of exercise like yoga and walks are best. The menstrual phase is when women and people with uteruses need the most rest, so cutting back on exercise will help to avoid burnout.
There’s often guilt in the fitness community surrounding rest days, but subjecting your body to activity when it is craving rest will more likely have a negative effect on fitness progress and consistency.
“I used to feel a lot of guilt around rest days, but I’ve changed my mindset a lot as I’ve become more educated about health and fitness and what’s best for your overall health and longevity,” Tuck said. “I find I’m able to lift more and I feel stronger when I take rest days. Otherwise I’m just sore and tired all the time which isn’t fun.”
Wiltshire said that throughout their cycles, women and people with uteruses should be focusing on anti-inflammatory foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains to reduce symptoms of cramping and bloating. But in the menstrual phase there aren’t any particular foods she recommends emphasizing or cutting out.
The second phase — the follicular phase — is when bleeding ceases and estrogen and progesterone increase. During this phase, people will likely experience an increase in energy and should begin to incorporate more light cardio like incline walking or slow jogs.
Because the body is recovering from menstruation, endurance might decrease so women and people with uteruses should expect more fatigue than normal. It is important to understand the fluctuation of energy that the menstrual cycle causes when considering progress in the gym. What may look like a set-back or a plateau in fitness progress could simply be a symptom of your menstrual cycle.
“A lot of women don’t really think about taking time to rest during their cycle to rest even though you probably are supposed to,” Tuck said. “We just feel like we have to go along with the normal routine of our week, and we don’t take into account the other things that are going on in our bodies at that time.”
Because women and people with uteruses begin to feel more energy during the follicular phase, Wiltshire said the body is primed to access carbohydrates from the muscles. “Topping up glycogen stores will potentially put women in a good place to get gains from an exercise standpoint,” Wiltshire said. This can be accomplished by consuming high-glycemic carbohydrate foods after a workout.
In the third phase, the ovulatory phase, estrogen peaks and testosterone and progesterone are rising. Estrogen being a feel good hormone, the ovulatory phase dictates high energy and mood levels. Testosterone also increases energy and endurance while decreasing fatigue. In these 15-17 days, with increased energy and decreased fatigue, people will experience success with high intensity cardio exercise like running or HIIT cardio.
“I don’t think there’s necessarily any difference from the follicular phase to the ovulatory phase from a nutrition standpoint,” Wiltshire said. “Typically people are still feeling pretty good.”
In the last and longest phase, the luteal phase, estrogen and progesterone levels are at their peak and then hormone levels decrease and the menstrual cycle starts again. As hormone levels are dropping, energy also decreases, and people may experience more fatigue. During the beginning of the luteal phase, strength based training like weight lifting, pilates and more intense yoga is best but towards the end of their cycle, and the beginning of a new one, people might find they need more rest.
Wiltshire said there has been the most nutritional research on the luteal phase because it is usually when women and people with uteruses experience the bulk of premenstrual symptoms (PMS)— mood swings, bloating, cramping and irritability.
“The luteal phase does get a little bit more focus because this is potentially when you get those hormone fluctuations that are going to impact things like your mood and your sleep and potentially cause gastrointestinal issues,” Wiltshire said.
It depends on the individual, but there are some nutrition strategies that may reduce discomfort. Wiltshire recommends increasing fiber to manage constipation and protein to combat the break-down effect of progesterone.
“The main nutrition consideration for the luteal phase is that a lot of times people may be more hungry and may be burning more calories so they may need a bit more food during that phase,” Wiltshire said.
While the nutritional aspects of cycle-syncing are still being developed, planning an exercise program around your cycle can help with fitness progress and consistency.
“I would definitely look into cycle-syncing and trying to do what workouts make your body feel best at that time because I think that’s what fitness is all about at the end of the day,” Tuck said.
