Periods suck!

Woman – why it is harder to lose weight:

So basically, as we all know it … it is harder for a woman to lose fat than men! It is science, proven… it’s shit! We all sort of get that its because women are meant to have more fat for childbearing and this is evolution so there is no way of altering this… unless you take hormones or reduce your body fat so low than you get amenorrhea (period stops all together) but that’s another topic.

Basically, a woman’s physiology changes dependant on her menstrual cycle… men don’t have these so don’t really see much difference. In short, say the menstrual cycle is 28 days/4 weeks:

• Week 1-2 is the FOLLICULAR PHASE – This is the period where oestrogen is dominant which is great for muscle repair and oxygenation

• Day 13 is usually when or around when ovulation happens – where you get your highest levels of testosterone … probably around the time of the month you can get your PB in the gym … or get pregnant lol

• Week 2-3 is known as the LUTEAL PHASE your testosterone will continue in peak until….

• Week 4 PMS – we all know what PMS means! Moody, depressed, snappy … and scientifically HUNGRIER! This is the week where your performance is likely to take a hit. Your PB you were smashing a week ago … you can do about 50% of that now! Also, it is when you are more likely to encounter injury.

So, what does it mean?

So, your diet is going well and then you have a shit week in the gym. You have PMT and you don’t realise why that’s effecting you, but it is, you can’t lift shit and you just want chocolate. So…. You GIVE UP!

You start your diet on week 3 of your cycle… starts ok for a few days then bang…. PMT, cravings! You fail and jack it in.

By knowing this information about your menstrual cycle, you can eat, workout and measure your progress accordingly! Understanding why in week 4 you can’t maintain a calorie deficit but can control a maintenance and know that next week you can increase your deficit again. You can control it rather than giving up or become demoralised.

DID YOU KNOW – you are also likely to weigh more in week 4 of your cycle due to hormonal changes. Take this into account if you are weighing yourself and things don’t add up. It is likely you will feel bloated and uncomfortable too, this is unfortunately … very normal. Once you have your period, hormones will regulate, and things should improve.

Moral of the story, track your cycle.

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