Unpopular opinion:
Being overweight or obese is bad for your menstrual health.
Actually, let’s not call this one an opinion. Because based on the stats, obese and overweight women have a much higher incidence of menstrual cycle irregularities, symptoms, and diagnosable conditions.
That’s facts.
And obese and overweight women are the women for whom training and nutrition can have the greatest impact on reducing those menstrual cycle issues.
See, menstrual health is tied to body fat levels. You know from last week’s post (here) that your ovaries produce estrogen throughout your cycle. This happens in both obese and normal weight women.
However, there’s a weaker form of estrogen produced by your body’s fat cells that adds to the estrogen burden inside your body overall. And if your body cannot clear itself of the excess estrogen, the hormone gets reabsorbed into the bloodstream.
So the more overweight you are, the more likely you are to have an excess of estrogen.
Excess estrogen causes a thick uterine lining, and high levels of excess estrogen can cause women to go months without ovulating. Add those together, and you get unpredictable periods that can let the floodgates loose at any moment.
Not. Fun.
All that excess estrogen is also tied to increased rates of breast cancer and endometriosis, more painful periods, and higher rates of ovarian cancer and thyroid disease.
Also. Not. Fun.
For obese and overweight women, then, the primary benefits of training and nutrition with regard to menstrual health are simple:
Lose body fat, and you will likely improve menstrual symptoms.
Note, though, that losing TOO MUCH body fat can destroy your menstrual health as well. Women with body fat that is too low or who overtrain will lose their periods, and the lack of hormone cycles can have devastating effects, just as the excess of hormones can.
Used the right ways, then, strength training and nutrition can help support better menstrual health in several ways.
EXERCISE
Most women can improve PMS symptoms, including pain, by exercising throughout their cycle. The theory is that period pain is caused by prostaglandins, the chemical messengers that signal to the uterus to shed its lining and are thought to be responsible for cramps. Prostaglandins are released in the week before menstruation, and exercise may help decrease the concentration of them in the body. The only exception might be women with fibroids; for these women, the shifts in the body’s blood flow during exercise as blood moves preferentially to the heart, lungs, and muscles might cause cramps instead of reducing them.
STRENGTH TRAINING
Progressive strength training—the kind we do at Fit House—adds lean tissue to the body and strengthens joints and bones. Combined with a fat loss nutrition plan, this helps coerce the body into losing fat versus losing other tissue. Reducing body fat removes estrogen from circulation within the body, and lower estrogen leads to fewer PMS symptoms and lighter periods. This can benefit even normal weight women who suffer from PMS and heavy periods—a woman of normal body weight who trains might gain some muscle and lose some fat, causing her scale weight to remain relatively the same. The metabolic shift, however, to a lower body fat percentage overall could still help change her menstrual symptoms, even if she’s never been overweight.
PROTEIN
Like strength training, a diet containing a solid amount of protein protects muscle mass during fat loss. Protein is also helpful in keeping your blood sugar balanced; when the body’s blood sugar drops excessively, the resulting adrenaline rush can prevent efficient progesterone use in the second half of your cycle, interfering with ovulation. Anything that interferes with or prevents ovulation can lead to prolonged, unpredictable, or painful periods—proper ovulation cuts off the rising tide of estrogen in the ovaries, and without ovulation, the body has more estrogen to deal with, the uterus lining gets excessively thick, and PMS symptoms worsen. Steady blood sugar is GREAT for your menstrual cycle.
FIBER & CARBS
Fiber doesn’t just keep your body’s digestion humming along. It also removes waste from the body—including excess estrogen. The standard American diet is too low in unrefined carbs, vegetables, and fruits, and can lead to excess estrogen, leading in turn to prolonged, unpredictable periods. Just like protein, unrefined carbs take longer to digest, leading to more stable blood sugars throughout the month and preventing the blood sugar crashes that interfere with female hormone cycles.
FATS
Women need to eat fats. Period. Pun intended. Your body needs fats, including cholesterol, from your diet to make female sex hormones. There’s much evidence, too, that inadequate amounts of omega-3 fats contribute to menstrual symptoms. So women need all kinds of fats, including cholesterol, in order to support hormone health.
So what, overall, should a woman’s training and nutrition look like to support the best possible menstrual health?
⭐ Strength training 3-4 days per week
⭐ Additional exercise to help relieve stress, such as walking, conditioning, or sports
⭐ A whole foods diet where most meals contain a balance of protein, carbs, and healthy fats, with special attention paid to unrefined carbs, vegetables, adequate omega-3s, and stabilizing blood sugar levels
⭐ A nutrition plan geared toward fat loss, especially if already overweight or obese
⭐ A smart supplementation protocol to address inadequacies or specially address symptoms
This last piece is what we will start addressing next week—but remember, supplements will only go so far. If you aren’t also training AND eating right AND losing body fat, those things must be your first priority. However, if you have specific symptoms or issues for which you want specific answers, let me know.
I’ll be sharing the symptoms I’m currently addressing myself, and how it’s working, and I’ll help you figure out what symptoms you might be able to address, too.
About the author
Kristen Perillo
Kristen Perillo is a teacher by day, trainer and nutrition coach by night. She's also a Star Wars nerd, writer, dog (and cat) mom, peanut butter junkie, and Seinfeld devotee. Fitness has done nothing but make her life better, and she is privileged to show other people that it will do the same for them.
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