Coach Courtney Brown Training, De-load and the Female Cycle

Many women I speak with in clinic tell me they have been on the contraceptive pill for 10 years or more.

I also had this experience, placed on the pill at 15 until 24 years of age.

The past 5 years without hormonal contraception have been interesting.

Initially my period was irregular, maybe every 6-8 weeks but this didn’t bother me, it wasn’t painful or heavy and I was very physically active so it didn’t come as a surprise.
Another year later and I started to think about having children, so I booked myself in to see my GP ... my doctor sent me for a blood test, but what came next was a huge surprise… I was 6 weeks pregnant!

Fast forward 15-16 months and things started to change. My cycle returned 3-4 months after giving birth, and then over the next year became steadily more painful, including sharp lower abdominal pain at ovulation.

I started to notice other symptoms too, especially the week before my cycle was due; constipation, more fatigue, increased anxiety, and difficulty training.

I became interested in research on training and nutrition to support your cycle - and visa versa.
In the past 6 months I have changed my diet (eliminating Soy, Wheat and Dairy), I’ve seen a Naturopath, and modified my training to better support my hormones. The results so far are promising and I’m excited to take it further…

Chatting to Coach Courtney Brown (Director and Nutrition Coach at Human Strength and Nutrition), she has generously provided me with information on the Luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, and how this affects our ability to train, and recover.

Courtney explains the Luteal phase as “the second half of our cycle”. The time between ovulation and our menses (period). During the luteal phase sex hormones (progesterone and oestrogen) will surge, causing our core body temperature to increase.
The result is a 5-10% increase in metabolism, often making us feel hungrier.
For the average female this equates to about 100-300 calories more per day.

Courtney tells me this time (roughly 5-7 days before our menses) is a ideal time to enjoy lighter forms of physical activity.

Physiologically its harder to build muscle mass, and there is increased water retention during the luteal phase.

The message here is to keep moving, but prioritise rest and recovery.

Regarding our nutrition, Courtney offered 5 essential points:

1. As the hormone progesterone increases it draws sodium from our blood. Water follows sodium (via osmolarity) increasing likelihood of dehydration.
Dehydration is a big contributor to headaches, and constipation.
To moderate this try adding some salt into your water and don’t forget to hydrate with other fluids such as OJ, milk, and coconut water.

2. Eat good quality protein and fats. Our body will utelise fats during this phase for energy and to support our hormones. Omega 3s are super important in building healthy, happy hormones.

3. Eat enough protein. For females a great place to start is 2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. Eg if you weigh 70kgs, 140g of protein per day should be your goal. Keep in mind that 100g of chicken is not 100g or protein. There is only about 20g of protein in 100g of chicken.

4. Try eating (cooked) dark green, leafy veg to help support your liver and soak up extra oestrogen.
Another option is eating a raw carrot salad every day. This helps rid excess oestrogen, but also keep the small intestine clear of toxins which can cause more inflammation and pain during our luteal phase.

5. Eat balanced meals and snacks of proteins, carbs and fats regularly (every 2 -3 hours) to stabilise blood sugar levels. Things like:
- a boiled egg and piece of fruit

- hard cheese and piece of fruit

-fruit and protein smoothie

-yoghurt and fruit

I hope that you found this blog interesting, and that you feel really inspired to appropriately train, and fuel your body so it can perform the best it ever has!

If you’d like to learn more about your cycle Courtney has a fantastic 8-week online course starting in Jan (check her instagram out here https://instagram.com/coachcourtneybrown?utm_medium=copy_link)

Thank you so much Courtney for providing such fantastic info for this blog.

I highly recommend and love your work!