Your Period Is Your Monthly Report Card — Are You Listening?

Day one of your cycle begins with the first sign of fresh, bright red blood — not spotting, but a true bleed. This is your body’s signal that hormone levels have dropped, and without conception, it’s time to shed the uterine lining.

What happens next is nothing short of extraordinary…

 
 

Over the next 3 to 5 days, your body channels energy, oxygen, minerals, hormones, and blood flow to release what it has carefully built over the month. It’s a physically demanding process — especially if your body is already running on empty.

For some women, this bleed is calm and consistent — bright red, steady, and over within a few days. But for many of us, it’s a different story.

Maybe your bleed is heavy, clotty, and painful — the kind that leaves you feeling drained, aching, and unable to function. This often suggests your body has struggled to clear oestrogen effectively throughout your last cycle, particularly if you're also seeing brown or purple spotting. It may also reflect low progesterone or thyroid issues.

Or perhaps your period is the opposite — light, pale, or missing altogether. That’s your body quietly signalling that it’s under stress. Not just emotional stress, but also physical depletion from under-eating, intense exercise, poor sleep, or a lifestyle that’s out of sync with your natural rhythms.

Then there are the stop-start bleeds, especially frustrating in the week leading up to your period. These often point to fluctuating oestrogen and progesterone levels during the luteal phase — and supporting these hormones begins with one key focus: blood sugar regulation.

So, Where Do We Start?

This is where Module 1 of Hormone Rebalance comes in — an in-depth look at the foundational nutritional strategies I’ve developed in clinic over the years. These simple, evidence-informed steps have helped my clients transform their cycles and reconnect with their bodies.

Here’s a quick overview:

  • A balanced plate at every meal: Always include protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

  • Breakfast within an hour of waking: No more skipping breakfast and living on caffeine.

  • Coffee and exercise only after food: These should never be your fuel. That fast-track leads to burnout, anxiety, and hormonal chaos.

  • Make lunch your main meal: Skipping it or grabbing something light on the go (we see you, iceberg lettuce salads) simply isn’t enough to fuel your body. You need nourishment, and you deserve it.

A proper lunch might look like:

  • Rocket leaves with roasted beetroot and sweet potato

  • A source of protein like chicken breast or tinned tuna

  • Feta or parmesan for flavour and calcium

  • A dressing made with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Or even better? Leftovers. Just double your evening meal and you’ve got lunch sorted. Easy, satisfying, and nourishing.

 
 

Support During Your Bleed

If you experience pain, bloating, or exhaustion before or during your period, consider these simple yet powerful shifts:

  • Freshly grated ginger tea infused with loose leaf nettle and raspberry leaf — naturally anti-inflammatory, calming, and deeply supportive for the womb.

  • Cooked meals over raw or cold foods — your digestion will thank you, and your energy levels will too.

  • If you love salads, add in cooked root vegetables (even cold), which are easier to digest and far more supportive during this time.

That Crucial Week Before Your Period

To bleed well, you must prepare well — and that means entering your period in a nourished state.

This is the time to focus on minerals, and here are some of my favourite foods for doing just that:

  • Ripe fruit

  • Shellfish — prawns, oysters, crab, clams

  • Liver — beef, lemb, chicken (small amounts, big impact)

  • Parmesan, Greek yoghurt, full-fat jersey milk

  • Bee pollen, Medjool dates, dark chocolate

These foods are rich in the nutrients your body craves: protein, fats, carbs, fat-soluble vitamins, polyphenols, and — importantly — minerals. The kind that make your cycle smoother, your mood lighter, and your energy more stable.

Your Period Is Talking — What Is It Saying?

Each cycle gives you feedback — your own personalised report card:

  • Bright red, pain-free bleed lasting 3–7 days? Beautiful. That’s a sign your hormones are working in harmony.

  • Brown spotting, clots, pain? Let’s look at your oestrogen clearance and progesterone support.

  • Missing or ultra-light periods? Your body may be in survival mode — it’s time to bring in nourishment and safety.

  • Stop-start bleeds? Support your hormones, particularly in the second half of your cycle.

Each cycle, you either build resilience, or you chip away at your body’s reserves. So ask yourself:
Which direction are you headed in?

Building resilience takes time. And consistency. Give your body a solid 3–4 months of focused nourishment. You deserve that level of care.

And if you’re exhausted from doing it alone — overwhelmed, confused, not sure who to trust — you’re not alone. We’re finally talking more openly about hormones and periods, but the information overload is real. It can leave you feeling paralysed and stuck.

If that’s where you’re at — if you’ve tried “everything” and still feel like something’s missing — it might be time for 1:1 support.

Book a free 15-minute discovery call with me. We’ll chat through what’s going on for you, and if it feels like the right fit, I’ll walk you through the options and price points so we can find a path that works.

Your body is ready to heal.
You don’t have to do it alone.

Abby Foreman