If you’re anything like me and have a tendency to doom scroll AND you're a physically active person, then you’ve seen the videos and posts about how to train and eat based on your cycle, what supplements you need, the best training to support you and do’s and don’ts for success.

Ugh! Don’t you walk away feeling like what’s the point!?

We started training and working out to feel good, get strong and take care of ourselves. Maybe we stumbled a bit and got into a negative spot with health where it wasn’t healthy, but we’re doing better!

However, if you are still struggling with it, I’d check out my blog post Why Diets Don’t Work and then my Sustainable Health Reset program if you’re even more interested in change.

But if you clicked on this blog, then you’re looking for support when it comes to your monthly cycle, wanting to still be healthy while also being a lump on the couch to get through the worst days.

And do I have some help for you!

Because I would feel SO guilty taking time off from the gym, not being super strict with my diet or just taking it easy compared to other days because it wasn’t ‘that bad’. Yes it was.

So I’m going to break down the Food, Movement and Rest that works best for me and will be a great starting point for you when it comes to your Aunt Flow visiting at the worst times.

Food

Healthy and nourishing
Junk and supportive

Movement

Gym training sessions
Walks or from bed to couch

Rest

Productive rest
Lump on the couch rest

Food

Healthy and Nourishing

Believe me, I get it. On your period, nutrition and healthy foods can be the last thing on your mind. So don’t worry! I’ll break down both, but getting in nourishing foods can help things feel a bit better.

Nutrition can absolutely support your period pains and make it a bit more manageable. Does it help everyone, no. But it’s worth a try!

For me, I try and get some fruits and veggies when possible. That can look like a smoothie, cutting up an apple or pear, making a fruit bowl, eating some pre-cut veggies with dip, steamed with your meal.

It’s not always going to be what you want, and I struggle as well, but it does help you in the long term. That and water.

I know I tend to lean towards coffee and energy drinks to help with the in-between on taking pain meds. But staying hydrated with some electrolytes can help just as well.

And you know you should stay hydrated anyways, but having a bit more focus on it can also make a big impact.

All this to say, the first few days of your period are about survival, and whatever that looks like. So eating what you want, which we’ll talk about, but making sure you try to take care of yourself and do whatever you can to make it better is what we want long term too!

Junk and Supportive

Eat the food. Don’t stress about it, just eat what you’re craving. The more you push it off, the harder it’s going to be to deal with. Believe me, I know.

Grab my free ebook Cutting Cravings in 3 Days to see the breakdown of it.

But quickly, your body has cravings for a reason, saying there’s something that it’s lacking. So during your period, you’re losing blood, your body is fighting itself, may not be getting enough sleep, and still having to go through your day like everything’s fine.

So eat the food you want.

Like I said above, getting in nutritious food is great, but there’s balance.

For me, day one is the WORST. So I have no motivation, I’m struggling, and if I’m lucky enough that it comes when I’m not working, I don’t leave the couch. So with my coffee, grilled cheese, and brownies I want to eat all of, I try to get a smoothie in when the drugs kick in, or have an apple and crackers to calm my guts.

So sprinkle in the good stuff with the supportive ones to make it all work together.

Health is balancing with whatever life throws at you.

Am I perfect with this all the time? No.

But I do notice a difference when I try to be better with it all.

Movement

Gym Training Sessions

Like I said, the first few days of my period I’m not good. Some months are better than others, but I still need to be careful with my training. Not that I’m weak or can’t go hard based on my training, but I have a fun little line where I’m fine or I’m in the worst pain possible and my cramps skyrocket.

There’s no in-between when it comes to training on my period.

So sometimes I skip a couple days to just avoid the potential awful day I could have. And others, I’m going SUPER light and slow.

When I was in CrossFit, I would usually tell my coach because I would drastically drop the weight and be the last one done. I didn’t want to get yelled at or encouraged when I’m just trying not to cry or die. And they were fine with it! Would usually leave me alone or just be supportive.

Find people like that!

But when I’m training in the gym, I’ll pick my favorite exercises for the day I’m training, keep the weight light, go slow and have a more chill day.

And for either training styles, if I felt even a little crampy or nauseous I would stop and go home or jump on a piece of cardio equipment casually until I was ready to go home.

Then other days or months on my period, I’m totally fine and can do my normal routine. I’m still really cautious to not make my day worse, but I still train how I want.

Walks or from bed to couch

Remember how I said some days I can’t be bothered to more at all? Well if that’s the case, I just don’t.

AND I don’t eat less because of it, I don’t stress and punish myself for not being more strict or consistent, I don’t wallow in self pity. I just exist.

I’ll try and go for a quick walk, whether it’s a longer one for 45 minutes, or it’s around the block for 10 minutes. If I’m able and wanting to, I'll try and move. Otherwise I’m resting.

Your healthy life is meant to take you through life, not take it over. And you have a lifetime to live. One day or one week isn’t going to make or break it.

In fact, it will make your life better if you’re able to start reading and understanding how it reacts and responds to things better. Because then you’ll be able to adjust and keep making progress as you go.

So take the time to experiment and see how things go.

And if you’re looking for a breakdown on how to experiment with your life, whether it’s with Food or Fitness, check out my YouTube channel! I’m currently working through that process and would love to support you through your own!

Rest

Productive Rest

I know we can’t all just call off life until we’re better. It would be nice if we were allowed the space and time to deal with bad period pains, but we’ll make the most of it for now.

For me, if I’m lucky enough to get it on the weekend, then I just chill, which I’ll talk about more below. Otherwise, the second best option is when I have client work that I do at home. If that’s the case, I’ll usually work from the couch, do the bare minimum work for the day, and take it easy.

Do I have to adjust my week sometimes in order to make that happen? Yes.

But if I know I’ll feel better later in the week and have that luxury to make it more relaxed, then I will. I’ll just get more work done later to let myself be more comfortable now.

Now, if I’m at my part time job, then it’s all about getting through the day with as much comfort as possible. So that’s my water and an energy drink, Ibuprofen before and during my shift, a sandwich after work, and then chill. I don’t worry about getting more done after work unless I want to, and it’s not the forced “want to”. I almost look forward to those days because I’ll usually come home, maybe do a quick walk or call it once I open the door. Then I’ll shower and spend the rest of the day reading, watching shows, then have dinner and go to bed.

It’s making life work for you and allowing yourself the flexibility and choice to make it work for you.

Lump on the Couch Rest

But let’s be honest, this is what I’d rather do. Get up, make coffee, have all my blankets on the couch with a good book or movie, order food, and only get up to go to the bathroom or scavenge for more food.

And that’s ok too.

For SO long I pushed through any and all discomfort, even when I had no energy or strength to do it, even when I was sick for over a week, and even when I was beyond burnt out and couldn’t find any light in the world left.

We’re done with that.

This is honestly why I started Health and Hobbies. Because I had overcome my terrible relationship to food and my body, had started enjoying my training style again, but I still felt so guilty if I wasn’t doing anything that wasn’t going to benefit my future or help me grow.

That’s where reading came into play.

That’s where being a lump on the couch came in.

And that’s where encouraging everything I shared here came in.

All of this will take practice when you’re used to one way of living. And that includes slowing down rather than speeding up.

But if you take anything from this blog for your next period week, please take with you that it’s ok to slow down, chill and just relax when you aren’t feeling good.

Life is too short to just hustle through it.

Allow your body time to rest.

It never will be a bad thing.

Period Prep: Eating and Training on Your Period