July 23, 2022







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Our Agenda for Today

How are you managing your body?

#1 Breaking down 28 days

#2 Dieting from month to month

#3 How do i plan my diet?

#4 When you should check your progress?

#5 Your training performance monthly

Breaking down your 28 days!

- There are 2 phases in the menstrual cycle - the Follicular and the Luteal phase.
- Let's call the Follicular side the good side and the Luteal phase the bad side.
- Just before ovulation women have a spike in testosterone which means you will perform better in the gym.

Dieting from month to month

- It takes a woman 33% longer to burn the same amount of calories that a man does when training. This means you would have to add an extra 20 minutes of training to your workouts to achieve the same amount of calories!
-Now let's compare the 2 phases again. In your Luteal phase you will burn 100 to 300 more calories per day compared to the follicular phase. This is because your metabolic rate has increased.
- During the Luteal phase it can be more difficult to stick to a diet because you are generally more hungry due to burning more calories.

How do I plan my diet?

Dieting is already difficult to do so try to focus on a diet that you can be consistent in for the first 2 weeks of your cycle.
I'm not saying completely disregard the other two weeks, try to manage those cravings with foods low in calories like fruit that you can snack on.
Please!! If possible, try to start your diet at the beginning of your Follicular phase. It will set you up positively as it will be more difficult to stick to the diet starting in the Luteal phase.
Just keep in mind that to diet all the time is not a normal thing to do.
REMEMBER! Eating healthy should be a lifestyle. This does not mean you should never enjoy takeaways, just remember to eat everything in moderation and stay in a calorie deficit if weight loss is your goal.

Tip: Listen to the signs your body is showing you!

When you should check your progress?

- We're going to split training into 4 weeks because every week your body is in a different physiology..
-You shouldn’t be tracking your progress by comparing weekly measurements, there are too many variables in each week of your cycle to account for.

- Try to correlate each week differently for example: Week 1 of Month 1 will go with Week 1 of Month 2
and Week 2 of Month 1 will go with Week 2 of Month to 2 and so on.

Its cliché but remember
ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY!
So if you don't see results just keep at it this a long term goal.

Your training performance monthly!!

- It’s normal to have performance dips in the gym and that’s okay! -You need to remind yourself that it’s okay to not be training at 100% all the time.

-In your Luteal phase you will see a decrease in your performance and throughout PMS you could see as much as a 60% difference in your overall strength.
- Please be mindful that your highest risk of an injury during the Luteal phase so try to adjust your training.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

- This affects some women in the process of losing weight and if you think it might be you then you need to consult your GP about it.
- PCOS causes a reduced BMR by 14-40% meaning you don't burn as many calories throughout your day as you should.
- 14% sounds small but equals to 4 gym sessions and thats HUGE!
It Affects 1 in 5 women.
-That would mean you would need to diet on less than 1000 calories which is impossible and very unhealthy.
-Symptoms you need to look out for are:
-An irregular/Discontinued menstrual cycle.
- Excess androgen - this means increased levels of testosterone (you would need to be tested to see this but an indication would be excess facial or body hair).
-Polycystic ovaries - this is when your ovaries are enlarged and this is difficult to see without an ultrasound.
- If you have two of the above symptoms you might have PCOS.
-There are ways to treat PCOS medically with hormone balances but your GP would advise you on that. The Things you can control though is just ensuring you stay active and consume low GI.

Things to remember!

-Your best gym sessions are going to be just before ovulation so make sure you capitalise on it!
-Start your diet at the beginning of your cycle its easier to maintain it that way.
-Focus on your diet from Day 1-14 and from there on after just try manage your cravings the best you can with low calorie foods thats keep you full (but don't beat yourself up about it if you can't stick to it).
-Don't take measurements of your progress daily or even weekly. Instead, compare month to month for a more accurate comparison.
-Change your training based on how you're feeling, you don't want to hurt yourself if you're not feeling 100%.

Just keep on doing what you're doing! And stay patient its going to pay off!!!