Become a ‘Fitr’ Woman
Fitr Woman has changed my life. It’s a bold statement, but after fighting against the symptoms of my period for too long now, downloading this menstrual cycle tracker app was the lightbulb moment that caused a harmonious ceasefire between my battling body and mind.
Your Menstrual Cycle Trend Spotter
Hormonal changes throughout the different phases of your menstrual cycle have dramatic effects on your mood, performance ability, sleep, energy, nutrition and much more. These symptoms are different - at different times - for every women, so it’s important to track your own symptoms and start to spot trends.
I used to assume PMT hit during the days before my period. This left me struggling to make sense of the intense physical and emotional fluctuations I experienced throughout the rest of the month.
Soon after using the app I identified my trends; irritability and a lack of sporting performance at the start of phase 3 (Luteal). I spotted feelings of sadness and low mood at the end of phase 3. On the upside, I noted improved performance and mood during phase 2 (Follicular).
Fitr Menstrual Cycle Phases >>
Adapt to Your Menstrual Trends
Using the Fitr Woman app allows you to input the symptoms of your menstrual cycle every day of the month and spot your own personal monthly trends, allowing you to work with your body not against it.
Thanks to Fitr Woman I have identified regular symptoms in the days my hormones drop off. This allows me to be more forgiving of myself, have a better self-care routine and assign these phases of the month to rest, recovery and self-care.
I can also plan my life to maximise my ‘feel-good’ phases of the month for training, exercise and adventures.
Read my self-care techniques >>
Change Training & Exercise Around Your Trends
Battling with fluctuations in performance throughout the month would leave me vilifying myself. A training session that seemed so easy the previous week could feel impossible to complete later in the month.
I’d fight my way through the hard training sessions anyway and finish frustrated at my lack of ability from one week to the next.
After tracking these symptoms using the Fitr Woman app, I now avoid planning tough sessions in the first two or three days of my Luteal phase and the day before my period when my hormones are low. Instead I cut myself some slack and priorities recovery and good nutrition instead.
I feel like superwoman the week after my period (Follicular phase). Thanks to Fitr woman, I now know when to maximise training gains and plan in exercise that really pushes me.
Alter Nutrition to Ease the Symptoms
Once you’ve started to spot trends in your menstrual cycle, you can adjust your diet to ease the often painful and debilitating symptoms.
Many symptoms caused by hormonal changes are due to an inflammatory response. Prioritising anti-inflammatory foods (leafy greens, berries and colourful fruit and veg) and reducing sugar intake (causing an inflammatory response) at different stages of your cycle can help to ease the symptoms.
As I’m nearing the start of Phase 1 (menstruation) I have nauseating stomach cramps that radiate down my legs. Instead of eating comfort foods (chocolate is my vice) I’ll enjoy proactively eating anti-inflammatory foods and play around with smoothie recipes during this phase of my cycle.
How you metabolise food for energy can also alter between phases of your cycle. In the follicular phase (phase two), your body uses carbohydrates better to produce energy, while fats are better utilised during the luteal phase (phase three).
Tracking your menstrual cycle using the Fitr Woman app and altering your diet throughout the month can increase your energy levels and help you better fuel your training and exercise.
Managing Your Mental Trends
Tracking the psychological symptoms of your menstrual cycle can help to understand your mental health more. It’s very easy for our thoughts and feelings to run away with us - especially during those periods of ‘brain fog’ when nothing makes sense.
Opening the app and noticing the trends in your mood can help you to understand your feelings and be kinder to yourself.
Before I began tracking my menstrual cycle I would always battle to make sense of my emotions. Using Fitr Woman, I soon spotted a trend of irritability at the start of my Luteal phase. At the end of my Luteal phase I also tend to feel sad and emotional.
Tracking your mental health throughout the month isn’t going to stop the psychological symptoms of hormonal fluctuations. However, it does help you to rationalise your thoughts, feelings and emotions.
Now I’ve identified these emotional changes, I can rationalise them, communicate them to those around me and work hard to combat them; apologise to others if I’m irritable or be kind to myself when I’m sad.
Spotting Menstrual Irregularities
Using the app, you input your bleed days, how long your period lasts and how heavy it is. This information is useful to spot irregularities in your period, which can help identify health issues.
At various stages in my life my periods have completely stopped and at other times they have been very irregular. Changes in your period could be caused by psychological stress, over-training or under-fuelling, which will require you to make lifestyle changes.
There could also be other underlying reasons why your periods are irregular or stop and you should always seek your doctor’s advice first. Being able to show your doctor your period records is a helpful identifier for them to work from.
Thanks to Fitr Woman, I’m now better equipped at spotting if my period is lighter, shorter or irregular and then introduce more calories and more rest or up my self-care routine to combat stress and anxiety.
Menstrual Cycle and Massage
Massage can help ease the symptoms of your menstrual cycle. However, the inflammatory response at different stages in the month means pain and discomfort can be heightened. I find I’m more sensitive to pressure and feel ‘less brave’ during my period.
A relaxing soft tissue massage could be just the self-care you need during your period, while a deep tissue sports massage may be more manageable when you’re feeling invincible.
Tell you therapist how you feel and they can adapt the treatment to suit. Tracking all your symptoms using the Fitr Woman app could also help you to book massages appropriate to your menstrual cycle.
Book a relaxing deep tissue massage or a remedial sports massage >>