How to Know If Your Period is "Normal"? 🤔

28 Days of Decoding Your Body: The Hormone Balance Challenge 🕯️🍵🕊️ day 2-3

So when I got off the pill, I started to “track” my cycle

And pretty soon I realized…

• It was trending on 39 days between my periods

• I’d be in so. much. pain I’m talking backaches, lower belly cramps, migraines

• Breakouts were raging at random times

I refused to believe that this was what we were meant to endure month after month…

That God, Source, Evolution (whatever you call it) designed women to feel physical and emotional discomfort monthly for decades of our life

Nope. Not buying it.

Call me an optimist, but I believe we’re meant to live with joy, ease, and alignment - not hunched over nearly crying with a hot water bottle and Advil.

So I started digging….

and slowly learned what a period was actually supposed to be like

🚩 spoiler alert: it was nothing like what I was experiencing.

Taken the day before I finally got off the pill. I had this naive idea that freedom and harmony would follow …man that illusion burned fast

Today’s Hormone Balance Action Steps:

💪🏼 Action Step:

• Track your menstrual cycle (exactly how to do that below)

• Stock up on our hormone balancing grocery list this weekend

✍🏼 Reflection: 3 journal prompts to help you better understand your symptoms and cycle; + a gratitude entry to your body

We’ve been taught that pain is just the price of womanhood - but that’s a lie. Discomfort has been normalized, but that doesn’t make it normal.

It’s not. It never was.

Let’s clear the air: here’s what a normal period actually looks like:

• Cycle length (days between the start of your periods): 26–35 days

• Period length (days of bleeding): 3–7 days

• Color: bright red to dark red

• Cramps: none to mild (you shouldn’t need Midol/NSAIDs to get through the day)

• Flow: little to no clotting (clots should be smaller than a quarter)

• Amount of bleeding: <6 pads/tampons x day. Should be able to go 2 hours without soaking through a pad or tampon

• Mood: mild shifts, more tired, increased cravings (but nothing extreme)

Anything outside of this may be common, but that doesn’t make it normal.

And this matters a lot actually.

Because your period is considered a vital sign for women.

Yep, right up there with blood pressure, temperature, and heart rate.

So when things are off? Your body is speaking to you and then it’s your job to listen.

pst: obviously, this isn’t medical advice. If you’re having severe pain, large clots, or signs of PMDD, please do speak with your doctor

The Language Of Your Cycle

Here’s a quick cheat sheet on what your period symptoms might be trying to tell you:

• Short cycles (<25 days) → High estrogen, poor detox

• Long cycles (>35 days) → Low progesterone/estrogen, stress

• Irregular cycles → PCOS, thyroid dysfunction

• Missing periods → Low estrogen/progesterone, under-eating, stress

• Painful periods → High estrogen, poor detox, inflammation, endometriosis

• Heavy periods/clots → High estrogen, sluggish liver, endometriosis, fibroids

• Light pink period blood → Low iron, low estrogen/progesterone

• Spotting 2+ days before your period → Low progesterone

• PMS → Estrogen dominance, poor liver clearance, inflammation

• Acne around ovulation → High estrogen, high testosterone, histamine sensitivity

• Acne before period → Low progesterone, inflammation

Over the next few days, we’ll dive into how to decode all of this and what to actually do about it. But for now, just start by noticing...

a little insight into my Oura + Natural Cycles tracking while also manually tracking symptoms

Put It Into Practice:

Alright, so we’re giving you two action steps to implement today.

Step 1 is something you’ll continue doing long term
Step 2 is something you’ll do this weekend so you’re stocked up for next week

Let’s start with:

#1 track your menstrual cycle

This is just about one of the most powerful ways to understand your body.

And I’m not talking about opening an app once a in a blue moon or vaguely guessing that your period comes at the end of the month. I mean truly tracking. Bc the truth is, we can't support ourselves if we don’t first understand ourselves.

Here’s how to begin. Choose any two to track:

• When your period starts: Mark it on a calendar and count how many days there are between periods. This helps you track your overall cycle length.

• Your basal body temperature (BBT): Use a BBT thermometer (not your standard one). Take your temperature first thing in the morning before getting out of bed. Increase in temperature happens post ovulation. Or use a wearable device like the Oura Ring paired with Natural Cycles - that’s what I use.

• Cervical mucus changes: Your cervical mucus shifts throughout your cycle, especially around ovulation. Pay attention to the color and texture when you wipe. This gives you insight into your fertile window and where you are in your cycle (more on ovulation later)

Bonus tip: Keep track of your symptoms. Did you experience PMS, breakouts, mood shifts, or cravings? Start looking for patterns

Whether you use a notebook, a notes app, an old-school paper calendar, or a tracking app, try to go back and record the past 3 to 6 months. Notice what trends are starting to appear and continue tracking this month and onward

(Paid subscribers, you’ll find my favorite tracking app recommendations below.)

P.S. if you’re on the pill, unfortunately this one won’t apply to you because you don’t have cycle changes. If you’re on an IUD, you can likely still do this!

Psst: Don’t rely on an app to tell you when you ovulate or when your period should come.Apps are helpful for tracking what you observe and experience - not for predicting what your body should be doing. They’re often inaccurate and definitely shouldn’t be used as a birth control method on their own, especially if you’re not also tracking things like temperature or cervical mucus changes.

#2 stock up on hormone balancing groceries

cause we’ll be bringing in some food introductions and support for our hormones over the next few weeks. And a well stocked kitchen = the best way to do this

Plus, you have alllll weekend so I hope this lines up with your schedule.

Hormone Balance Challenge Grocery List:

Vegetables & Starches

• Carrots

• Arugula

• Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli sprouts or cauliflower (pick 2)

• Potatoes or sweet potatoes

• Ginger

Fruits:

• Lemons or limes

• Dates

Fermented & Gut-Supportive

• Kimchi or sauerkraut

• Apple cider vinegar (ACV)

Nuts & Seeds

• Tahini

• Ground flax, pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame seeds

Proteins

• Organic certified humane eggs

• Wild-caught canned salmon, sardines, or mackerel

Hydration & Minerals

• Coconut water

• Redmond’s sea salt

Make sure this is in addition to all the other beautiful proteins, veg, and fruits you’ll be picking up. This isn’t a complete grocery list, but some items we’ll be highlighting

Time to Reflect:

Okay gals, time to sit in your fav nook in your apartment, grab a cup of matcha, and whip out your notebook - you’ll be here for about 5-10 minutes so settle in

We’ve got 3 prompts for you to journal on today or tomorrow 👇🏼 So take a deep breath, and let’ dive in