For Daughters: I Wish I Knew This About My Cycle

I wish I knew this when I was 12! 🤯 My daughter literally bolted from our last "talk," so I’m changing the narrative. It’s not about "the talk"—it’s about teaching her the inherited wisdom of her 28-day cycle. 

From the "Go Mode" of the Follicular phase to the "Protection Mode" of the Luteal phase, her moods and energy have a biological purpose. Let’s start flowing with with our bodies. 

✨ Know your cycle. ✨ Speak your truth. ✨ Support your cycle. 

In this Episode:

• The Hormonal "Main Characters": Definitions of Estrogen (the "outward," high-energy hormone) and Progesterone (the "inward," protective hormone).

The Follicular Phase (Days 1-14):

• The Vibe: Increased energy, confidence, and social desire.
• Physical Changes: A shift in discharge to a clear, stretchy "egg-white" texture and a preference for wearing bright colors.
• Exercise & Nutrition: High-energy movement (like sports or running) fueled by light, fresh proteins.

The Luteal Phase (Days 15-28):

• The Vibe: Lower energy and a natural urge for social withdrawal to conserve strength and protect the body.
• Physical Changes: A rise in body temperature, achy or "loose" joints, and a slightly suppressed immune system.
• Emotional Sensitivity: Heightened responses to "threats" (like a slow text reply) and a tendency to feel weepy or irritable due to peaking progesterone.
• Exercise & Nutrition: Gentle movement (like walking or stretching) and an increased need for complex carbohydrates and healthy fats.
• Communication "Truth Scripts": Practical ways to tell friends, family, or boyfriends when she is feeling sensitive and needs extra grace or space.

The Period Brain by Dr. Sarah E. Hill 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Keep Em Healthy with Jamie, your go-to classroom for integrative kids' health and wellness. I'm Jamie, a biology professor, an integrative health coach, and most importantly, a mom who's been through it all. When the conventional medical system couldn't provide the answers my own child needed, I took my background in anatomy, physiology, and nutrition and went looking for a better way. Join me as I chat with experts and physicians to help you decode your child's biology and psychology from childhood through young adulthood. If you're ready to stop guessing and start understanding, you're in the right place. Let's keep them healthy together. Hey listeners, this is gonna be a solo episode. It's just gonna be me. And this is something that is really dear to my heart in my education world and just with my knowledge and understanding of biology and physiology. We're gonna talk about the 28-day cycle of hormones for women, specifically progesterone and estrogen. And I want you to all know about your cycle because there are things that I didn't know when I first got my period, and I really wish I knew when I was younger at your age. So I am recording this episode as if I'm talking to my teenage daughter. And what happened was I was reading this book called The Period Brain by Sarah E. Hill. And I had this like huge aha moment because I was reading about all these changes and your energy and mood. And um I just realized that I could have taken care of myself much better throughout my years of having a period and been nicer to myself in understanding what was really going on and not being so angry at what was going on. So I really wanted to share this not just with my own daughter, but with all the young girls out there who are embarking on this journey and or who are in the middle of it, or who are like us moms right now that need this information so that they can take care of themselves and optimize what is meant to happen in their body. The funny story is that I know my daughter doesn't necessarily want to hear it from me face to face. The last time we had a puberty talk, she slowly but surely sidestepped towards the door and kept her hand on the knob until I was done and I said, Oh, you know, that's all I have, and then bolted. So I thought what worked for when I had the puberty talk with my older boys was I listened to a recording, a podcast recording, and we all sat in the same room. We listened to the recording, but we did not look at each other. And I would pause it and I would say something or I'd ask a question with them. And even though they were different responses and maybe still very uncomfortable, it was a little less of a blow, awkward-wise, because it wasn't just words coming out of my mouth. So I also allowed it to organize my thoughts. I allowed it to make sure I said what I wanted to say because you know, when we're stressed and we're talking to our kids, we may forget something or the kids could change course and then we forgot to mention something important. So I wanted to use this episode as a resource for you guys as parents or as kids just to learn about yourself and to be able to share this information with your daughter who is going to be embarking on this phase. So when we talk about our menstrual cycle, it's more than just bleeding for five to seven days. I really want you to understand like what is the role of each phase and what we are experiencing as we're changing the estrogen and progesterone levels during the follicular and luteal phases. And those are going to be some terms I'm gonna define. So don't worry, I feel like what is she saying? That's okay. But I want you to know that more than just bleeding happens, right? So in these phases, your energy levels can change, your nutritional needs change, your moods can change, your immune function changes, your romantic desires change, and your discharge changes, your joints. There's just so many different things that change. It is a total body situation, and it happens every month for us. So, you know, growing up, I was in a family of a lot of women, but I was never really told what was really going on. I just was told that you get your period, here are your pads or the tampons, and when it shows up, you take care of that. And then when it leaves, you're all done. But that's not really the case. This change of these hormones are happening this entire month. And the first two weeks of that 28 days is totally different than the second two weeks. And so I wanted to explain why. And I wanted to explain how we can meet ourselves in these phases and to give we give ourselves some grace during the phases for what our bodies are doing, and also to respect what's going on so that we can feel our best. Because when we lean into our natural occurrences in our body, then we are only going to optimize our health, our wellness, our mental health. Also, understanding this, you can support yourself, but you can also communicate and have the people around you support you as well. So this is really my push. I, of course, I want to support my cycle and I do communicate it in my home, but I also want to support my daughter. And so this is why I'm explaining this to her now. I'd rather not wait until she's 20 years in for her to have this aha moment, right? So okay. First of all, why do we have a 28-day hormonal cycle as women? So let's pull back to why our body is even doing this 28-day cycle in general. Our bodies are programmed for reproduction. So even if you aren't trying to have a baby, your genes from long ago and your hormones don't care. Your body every month is going to be programmed to want to reproduce. So even though we aren't hunter-gatherers anymore anymore, our biology still acts like we are. Our biology does not know that it is 2026 and that women have careers and that we don't get married at age 13 or 12. So that's something you have to understand first off, is that every month, your genetic makeup, your genetic wisdom is saying this woman needs to reproduce. Okay, so this 28-day cycle, it begins with the first day that you bleed, the first day of your period. So that's day one. And then it works through all the way to day 28, or it can change in the average, but we're just going to focus on 28 days right now, and we're going to make it super simple. The first 14 days is what we call the follicular phase, and the second 14 days is what we call the luteal phase. And now I'm going to explain what each phase entails and the main character hormones that come into play during that time as well. The first two weeks are called your follicular phase. Follicular means you're going to produce an egg and the egg's going to be fertilized to become a baby. So the first half of your cycle, your body is in prep mode to meet a man and to have that man fertilize your egg. So this follicular phase is where the hormone, um, estrogen is going to come into play. And this hormone and this phase is the vibe is going to be increased energy, increased confidence. This is when you're going to want to be more social. This is like the best time to plan any big parties or hangouts. Um, you're going to want to wear bright colors, or you might even notice that you want to show a little more skin. You just have more confidence. During this week, your metabolism is a little bit slower because it's focusing on the rising estrogen. So you actually aren't as hungry this phase. You're going to want light and bright snacks. So I don't know, like a yogurt parfait, apples with peanut butter, hummus and veggies, things like that. Another physical thing that's changing during the follicular phase. So this is again when your estrogen is rising because you're going to produce an egg, you're going to have discharge changes. So discharges is a mucus that comes out of your vagina that is going to appear during the follicular phase. It's going to appear clear, wet, and slippery. It often looks like raw egg whites that can be stretched between fingers. And what the purpose, again, you're like, oh, why is this happening to me? What is this wetness? What is going on? And so it's a good thing. That means your estrogen is rising. That means you're healthy. Your cycle is a healthy signal for your body. So if you have the normal changes in your discharge, that means that you have a healthy body as well. So now let's move on. I'm going to talk about exercise during this phase and how important it is to treat your body a certain way during your follicular phase. So this one we're still focusing on estrogen. So as we continue on here, since your estrogen is rising, you have more natural energy and your body is going to be more resilient. So what should we be doing exercise? This is time for your high-intensity workouts. You're going to want to do your dance classes. You're running the high-energy sports because your coordination and confidence are at their peak. So you're going to feel stronger faster. You're working with your body here. Okay, so to regroup this follicular phase, your hormone is estrogen. It's rising. You're feeling confident, social, high energy. This is when you want to like take your tests, go to your parties, start new projects. You're just naturally in your body wisdom, you're trying to find that mate. So you're naturally more magnetic and communicative right now. So maybe if there's a problem that needs to be solved or you're having issues with somebody in your life, this is the time to dive into your communication skills and you're going to have more natural flow and higher energy right now. This is when you want to do your high energy workouts. This is you're going to have that light and bright foods. You're going to want to wear. Or I want to show a little bit more skin. And I just feel a little bit more higher energy. Like, let's go. That's like, that's what we call this follicular phase, the go phase. All right. So you're wondering, you're like, well, this kind of stinks. Like, why can't I feel this way all the time? Why, why am I having to have a phase that's always like exciting and go and high energy? And then it doesn't just stay that way. And again, it's because this is your body is in a 28 cycle because the first two weeks is prepping to have an egg drop and fertilize that egg. And then the second two weeks is to start prepping your body for pregnancy, regardless again, of where you are in your life. So what's the next phase after this follicular phase, the first two halves of the week? And the second half is the luteal phase. So the luteal phase is going to now bring that character of progesterone into the play. So what's happening now is this is your body protecting itself because it thinks a baby might have been conceived, right? So what is it going to do to try to protect this baby? Well, your energy is going to drop down a little bit lower because you're going to conserve strength. You might feel like, I don't know, withdrawing from people a little bit. You're socially not as excited to be around a lot of people. You might need alone time, your body's trying to protect itself from illness. So in this phase, the luteal phase is where you want to find comfort and you need to fuel. So you're going to notice that in this phase, as the progesterone is rising, our metabolic rate actually increases. So our the way that we break down food and our digestion, it's going to happen faster. Something else that's happening during this luteal phase is what's called basal body temperature rise. So after you drop that egg, your body temperature rises to about a half to one degree Fahrenheit. So this temperature spiked is because at the peak of progesterone, progesterone has a heat-producing effect on the body as it prepares a nest for the potential pregnancy. So this increase in temperature, again, is linked to your body's inherit wisdom for the baby. And you may feel hungrier or notice lower energy because your body is working harder internally. So this slight rise will remain until the end of the luteal phase. So until you get your period. And if pregnancy does not occur, the progesterone will drop, which is going to be that hormone break when you get your period, and your temperature will return back. But let's circle back right now to this luteal phase. As our bodies rates are increasing, we're going to be burning more calories naturally, even while we sleep, because our temperature is higher. So we're going to need more fuel. So we're going to need more snacks to focus on stabilizing our mood. With exercise, this is when you're going to want to kind of scale back. You want more low impact movement because what happens is your joints might feel achy. And why is that? They'll feel achy and loose because progesterone makes your ligaments more flexible. So your joints can hurt and can also feel achy because of that. So you want to avoid heavy jumping or like high-risk moves. You want to opt for more walking, yoga, stretching to support your nervous system too, because your nervous system is also going to be hypersensitive to stress. This is what we're going to talk about that when the progesterone rises and we're trying to protect this baby, we're going to be a little bit more sensitive to threats and to other things. You're going to want to have lower impact exercises so that you don't overstress out your body. During this phase, nutrition-wise, you're going to need more calories. Why? Because as the metabolic rate increases, you need more to support your body. So what are we eating? We're eating complex carbs, things like sweet potatoes, oats, brown rice, because those will help to stabilize your mood. It'll help actually get your progesterone level to that point where it needs to be to get to your period. Now, you need healthy fats for your hormones, period. So healthy fats like avocados or olive or nuts can help support this hormone production. Magnesium is also really, really great for this time to help with cramps and joint aches. So you want that dark chocolate, which I love, but really leafy greens is going to give you your biggest bang for your buck. Something else that's interesting about your luteal phase, again, this is the progesterone that's coming up before your period. Your body in your immune system actually lowers its immune defenses because it doesn't want to attack a potential pregnancy. So this is also another reason why you feel an urge to stay home and you're like not as social because your body is trying to get away from germs when you're more vulnerable. So it's also why I don't know if you've ever noticed, but I have noticed that my whole household can have a sickness and I wind up not getting the sickness until my period begins. And why? It's because during the progesterone phase, my immune system is down. So it's not really fighting things, and then it gets wham-bammed right when the progesterone drops out when the period comes. And then my immune system kicks in and starts fighting it. And that's when I feel the sickness. It's actually like so on point. And every time I got COVID in the past couple of years, it's always been on the day one of my period, which is kind of like such a kick in the butt because you're sick and then you have your bleeding. But this is part of the design. Your immune system does not want to attack the baby. So it's going to be lowered and not so sensitive. But speaking of sensitivity, I want to talk about our mood during the luteal phase. And what happens when progesterone peaks is that emotionally it makes you very hypersensitive to sounds or to quote unquote threats. So like things that maybe would be ambiguous to you in your follicular phase, so that estrogen phase, the first two weeks. So for example, like if your boyfriend doesn't respond to a text quickly or if your friend gives you a weird look, you might just like roll it off and be like, it's fine, like there's a specific reason for it. But during your during your luteal phase, you're not as reasonable. You're super sensitive. And anything that seems that could possibly be a threat, you take into a very serious form. So you might want to cry for no reason, or you might feel like really snappy. So for instance, a couple days prior to my period, I get this, my hormonal sense. That's what I call it. And I make an announcement to the house because I'm like, okay, I feel like I want to cry and I feel like I want to punch someone and like nothing, I haven't even seen anyone today yet, right? I haven't even talked to anyone, I haven't done anything. So obviously I'm feeling this progesterone rise. And so I have to communicate this to the people around me because I don't want to be nasty or to cause a scene for no reason. So I make an announcement. I say, listen, everybody, I'm really feeling hormonal today. I I actually know that I'm not going to respond to things the way that I normally do. So I need some space, I need a little bit of alone time, and I need you to just be kind to me and compassionate if I might respond irrationally. And it's totally true. I will have a outburst. And then two days later, there's my period. And it's like right on track. So this is just something you need to know about. You need to know that when you are approaching your period, that you will have these emotional anxiety drama moments. And it's just your body protecting itself as if it's going to have a baby. So it's saying everything's a threat. Don't trust anybody, you know, things like that. So um this is this is just good to know so that you don't feel crazy and you don't feel like, I don't know why I just did that. I don't know what's wrong with me. Now I feel fine the next day, and it's all hormonal, which is why it's important to communicate it all. So, one thing that I would like to talk about during this sensitive time is some just like explaining your truth, some scripts. If you're listening to talk with your friends, you can just say, like, hey, I'm in a sensitive part of my cycle and I'm feeling drained. I think I'm gonna skip hanging out today. I just need some recharge time. I love you guys, but I this is just my body needing some chill time, right? Or to a boyfriend, you can just be like, right now, I'm feeling sensitive today. It's not you, you know, and just a little patience today would be awesome. Or with your parents, you can say to them, like, hey, I'm in my lluvial phase. I have low energy. I just want to be alone. I want to eat more, and I want to chill. Thank you for understanding. And then everyone's like, okay, yeah, hands off. Like, you got it. We'll give you some space because we all know that give them a couple, like a day or two, and then they're gonna be right back to their normal, non-hypersensitive self. And again, it's not, it's not our bodies trying to work against us, our bodies are trying to reproduce. And so this is what it needs to do to reproduce, and just understand that it's not something to be mad about. This is just, it is what it is. Okay. And then let's talk about our um our discharge in the luteal phase. The luteal phase, we talked about the follicular and how it's like clear, wet, and slippery. Well, it's gonna change. The luteal phase, when progesterone hits, it creates a thick and sticky phase. So again, your body shifts into that protection mode. So you're gonna have white, cloudy, or slightishly yellow um texture. It'll feel like stickier, even like almost like a paste. And so what it is is your body is closing the gates to protect the uterus from bacteria or illness to prepare for that potential pregnancy. It's part of that same inherited wisdom that makes you want to withdraw socially to stay safe and healthy. I mean, it's not a bad thing. It's just, it is what it is. And so, you know, again, these changes can help you know if you see your dish charge change, you can know that your mood's gonna change and that your fitness needs change and your nutritional needs change, and that your social life is might need some changes right now. So I really just want to conclude with this of like flowing with your body, you know, a 28-day cycle and having the first two weeks look very different from the second two weeks and these characters at play, estrogen and progesterone, you know, your body inherited this wisdom to do what it's meant to do. So I just am encouraging you not to be annoyed at your body, but like learn to give it grace, you know, learn which hormones at work. So learn your cycle, learn your days. So that starts with charting your cycle. The first day of your period is the first day of the follicular phase. Okay. So that way you can know, number one, when your period is due next. And so that you can prepare with how you're feeling because you want to flow with your body. You don't want to go against it. So if you know that you're in day 20 of your cycle, you're in the luteal phase. You need to change some things up so that you can support your body for where it's at harmonally. So, and then also speak your truth, communicate with people when you're in that luteal phase for sure. So, my final push, and this is you know, there is so much love for women and their cycles. And it really is amazing that our body just does this naturally. You're not telling it to. It is done and it is just passed down wisdom from one woman to the next, these genetics. And so I know that we live differently than decades prior and hundred years prior, but our bodies are still doing the same thing, and that is really cool. And so, my push here today was really just to sit down and learn about your body, right? Know what it's intended to do, and then pay attention to your cycle. Know what day you get your periods, you can chart it, and then speak your truths in during the month. Let people know what's going on, and so they can give you grace and they can help support you too. Don't be afraid. This cycle of ours is nothing new. It has been with us for forever. The only way that we are here today is because women have a hormonal cycle to help reproduce. So, you know, start the conversation. Get it flowing in your house as part of your new communication skills because I guarantee you it'll help everyone to not feel as on edge when maybe you're in your hypersensitive moment. They can understand what's going on, you can understand what's going on, and everyone can have a little more grace and compassion with each other. And then at the end of the day, when you do know what's going on in your cycle, support yourself. Just the whole point is to optimize your life and just to live the best version of yourself because you are amazing and the way that your body works is amazing. And the more we know, we can share with the community of women around us. And that's what we want to do, right? We want to educate not only ourselves, but the people in our lives. And so whether you are a teenage girl or a mom or just a woman who wants to know more about what's going on with her and just to validate how we feel every month, I hope this episode served you. I hope that you can pass it on to someone else. And if not, also, I just want to say that reading that book, The Period Brain, by Sarah E. Hill, was super helpful. And um, I just hope everyone can have an awesome day in whatever day of the cycle that you're in. Thank you. Listeners, thanks for hanging out with me in the classroom today. If today's episode sparked a new idea for you, please make sure to click follow on your podcast app so you never miss a conversation. If you know a parent who is currently struggling to find answers, please share this episode with them. You just might be that link to help them on their journey. And finally, if you're a wellness expert or mom with a story to share, email me. I'd love to have you on the show. Until next time, keep them healthy.