I’ve tried and tested lots of different training methods and diets. To be honest the best training plan and diet is the one you can actually stick to whilst still maintaining a healthy relationship with food. One that allows you to still be happy without spending hours and hours in the gym! No one can maintain 3 hour gym sessions and silly restrictions in diets.

It’s important to recognise that if your regime is affecting your periods in a negative way then that plan isn’t the one for you. Believe me I’ve gone through pretty gruelling diets and training cycles, and didn’t have a period for months. As a young female this just wasn’t right.

Unless medically you have gone, or are going through the menopause, or have a medically-justified reason why your periods have stopped then periods are a good sign of your health. If they go then it isn’t healthy.

Many years ago when I was just 14, my passion for health, fitness, hormones and mental wellbeing really began. However, I felt pretty lost in what I should be doing. It’s a pretty big minefield! The health and fitness industry is colossal. Even in my early years as a Personal Trainer I questioned a lot.

It’s difficult to know how to train, how to diet, the dos and don’ts to follow. You only have to look at social media to read eggs are bad for you and running puts too much stress on joints. Really?! You definitely can’t believe all your read on Instagram.

So now as a PT of 17 years I stand tall with what my focus is. 1 rep maxes are not part of my training advice and I do not promote 1,200 calories a day with cutting out sugar!

The majority of my client base is female. And as a female myself working with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), joint issues due to hormones, having worked around pregnancy, breastfeeding and hormone challenges such as excruciating periods – I talk from research, lots of personal experience and facts.

Ladies we cannot train like men!

You will struggle with performance just before your period. Your joints will be affected if you’re going through the menopause and are not on the right HRT or training and pregnancy will put you at risk of injury!

Lifting small reps and very heavy weights can negatively affect your biomechanics if fundamentally you haven’t done the basics. It can also increase the growth hormone which can negatively affect our cycles and this is not healthy.

My mission as a PT is to always ensure you enjoy your sessions as well as making good progress. The biggest one is FUNCTIONAL training – to move better for life, if your exercise regime isn’t doing this then why bother.

If you are performance-specific then I agree you will need to lift big maybe or train specifically, but even then I have to ask the question are you improving your longevity? Are you putting yourself at injury? Or are you just simply burning out because you can’t keep to that regime? I’ve definitely been in that place before.

We like to complicate things but it’s really actually very simple.

Improving Fitness and health isn’t complex. It’s a discipline yes, and that’s why we get too complicated with it. We think there should be an easier route but there isn’t.  Same shit, different day!

As females we need to eat. We burn more before our periods (yes that’s a fact!) and that’s why we get sugar cravings. Our bodies become better at burning carbohydrates but that’s not to say eat more chocolate. If you’re dieting around this time it WILL negatively affect you and your hormone function.

Ladies, we need food whether we exercise or not, we need all macros including carbs and fats. If you mess around with this you will most likely take a hit on your mental health, hormones and generally your enjoyment of life.

Three things us ladies should do to ensure hormones are at optimal:

• Consistent exercise – at a moderate intensity.
• Consistency with diet – stop bingeing one day then dieting the next – we’ve all done it! It plays havoc with our hormones.
• Know your body – train to hormones, track periods, track when menopause started, track loss of periods.

Hormone health is a big topic at the moment and I speak from my own experience. I am not a doctor and hormone issues may need medical intervention. You may need further help and support if you’re doing all you can to help your hormones.

Knowing where your imbalances lie is essential for improvement going forward whether it is a synthetic approach or natural.

Ladies we don’t have it easy at times, but I know one thing we got this 👊🏻👊🏻

Natalie Bhangal is a personal trainer who has a passion for health, fitness and strength training. She trains beginners, athletes, pregnant and postnatal women, those with injuries and injury prone clients. For more information email natalie@graftfitness.co.uk