What is a menstrual cycle and why don't I know this?

Valentine’s Day...that holiday of love. Honestly I don’t like this holiday, it makes me annoyed. I think it’s silly that we have one day where everyone is expected to do nice things for their significant other. But none the less it’s the holiday of love (insert eye roll) and what better way to celebrate than we talk about your period!

There are lots of women I’ve talked to that don’t know what a menstrual cycle is- no judgement here, I didn’t even know fully until I started actually giving a shit. I’m here to break it down for you, so that you have a little idea of what’s going on in that beautiful body of yours.

Your menstrual cycle starts on day 1 of your period. The minute you start bleeding, spotting, or gushing; that’s day 1. Your menstrual cycle is roughly an average of 28 days (but can be longer or shorter). So day 1 is when you start bleeding then you count from there until your next day 1-that’s considered your menstrual cycle.

When you bleed the lining of your uterus is shedding or sloughing off. It’s a beautiful thing that our bodies are so smart to do this. I swear it’s a good thing to have your period. It’s something you want. If you haven’t heard this before then here you go, “your period is a report card for your health.” It’s a real thing. It tells you a lot if you pay attention to it. Normal (I don’t like that word-normal because we are all different but we’re going to use it here), actually lets say typical, typical is better. Typical periods are 1-7 days long. Mine is 3-5 days, I sometimes forget it’s coming until it’s here. I get zero breast tenderness and zero cramping. I do sometimes break out though. But a typical period should really seem easy breezy and not all crazy like we’ve been lead to believe. Honestly, I’m telling you the truth-I know it’s a hard truth to face because we’ve been told for so long that cramping, breast tenderness and violent mood swings are normal but I can assure you, it’s not. When your hormones work in harmony life is good! In another post I’ll talk about how you can help some of your symptoms if you are feeling all kinds of cray when you’re on your period.

I don’t want to get too technical here but let’s talk about a few hormones and what’s happening when you’re bleeding and not bleeding. Estrogen (which is important to have in right amounts) does a lot for ya girl. Estrogen is responsible for those sexy curves you got. It’s also important in making sure your bones are strong, keeps your heart functioning, and skin looking good. Estrogen really does a lot so it’s important to keep it in check.

Progesterone is also important, it preps yo body for a bebe. Hence you bleed if no egg is fertilized. Progesterone helps with appetite, makes you calm and relaxed-it’s like a natural antidepressant, helps with bone health and it regulates fat cells (It does a lot too).

Both of these hormones drop when no egg is fertilized, causing a period.

The next hormone we’ll talk about is testosterone. Yep. We have it ladies. We need it. Testosterone should rise around day 9-10 causing you to want to rip off your significant others clothes. Your libido should be up around these days and getting frisky with your partner is exactly what your body wants you to do because it's prepping you to have a baby! Since I don’t want to have a baby I get frisky with protection but that’s why on certain days or times of the month you feel extra excited. This is just a surge so if you’re having sex more often than good for you. I support you. We should all be having more sex (take that as you will but I’m a strong supporter in non-judgmental sex talks).

Let’s make it easier for you to see what is happening in your body.

Day 1: First day of bleed (estrogen/progesterone drops)
Day 1-7: Bleeding
Day 8: Estrogen rises (you get extra curvy)
Day 9-10: Testosterone rises (you get extra frisky and try to rip of your partners clothes)
Day 11-14: Estrogen high, ovulation occurs (fertile for 5-6 days)
Day 15-28: Progesterone high in attempts to have a baby

No baby then day 1 starts back over.

We're just getting started my dear friends, we’ve got lots to go! That will hopefully get you started.

So enjoy your Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day with your people. Now, you have a good Valentine’s Day topic to discuss over some wine!

I hope this sparks some conversations and opens discussions around women’s health, sex, hormones, and really any damn thing you want to discuss.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!!

-D