8 Reasons Why You Should Track Your Cycle

I've been tracking my menstrual cycle since I was 12 years old. Since the first time I ever got my period. I don't even know where I learned how to do this because my mom sure didn't teach me! I think I learned it in that American Girl book. You know, the one you and your friends probably looked at together, laughing at the little drawings of how to wear a bra and insert a tampon. We’ve all been there!

So anyways - the reason I started tracking my cycle since day one was because my former Type AAA personality just wanted to know when my period was coming.  I wanted to be prepared and not have any embarrassing surprises at school. But even in all my obsessive tracking of my period, I still had plenty of embarrassing moments and one that sent me home from school... I'll never forget the girl who lent me her sweatshirt so I could tie it around my waist as I walked to the nurses office. Us menstruators have to stick together!

If you're cycle-tracking curious, this post is for you! Below are 8 reasons why you should track your menstrual cycle.

1- To always know when your period is coming - no surprises.

The start of your period can be predicted down to the exact day. It might even come at the same time each day. If you track your cycle, you'll always know when it is coming (if you have a regular cycle). A regular cycle means your period comes every 25-35 days. If it is more frequent or less frequent, this is the sign of irregular menstruation, a hormonal imbalance you should start addressing now.

The way your cycle tracking works is day 1 starts with the onset of your period. Your period should last between 3-7 days. Ovulation occurs around day 14, give or take a few days. Then you enter your luteal phase for the rest of your cycle until your period comes again.

This is science, this is how it is designed to work. There is an intricate play of hormones responsible for these shifts in phases which I promise to dig into on another post. Right now - I just want you to start tracking!

2- To prevent pregnancy

You cannot get pregnant every day of the month. Let's repeat that: YOU CANNOT GET PREGNANT EVERY DAY OF THE MONTH. This is the biggest lie we were fed as youngins. The fertile window is 6 days long, and that is the maximum time. You can only get pregnant when you're fertile, around your ovulation time.

When you’re tracking, you'll become aware of the day that you ovulate and what your fertile window is. Once you ovulate, there is a 12 hour period of time where that egg can get fertilized for pregnancy to occur. Only 12 HOURS. Some women ovulate twice in one cycle, and if you do the second egg will always be released within 24 hours after the first.

Why the fertile days before? Sperm can live inside the body for up to 5 days, and again that is an absolute max. So if you had sex exactly 5 days before you ovulated, there's a small chance you could become pregnant.

So it's very simple. Figure out your fertile window. Either use a barrier method (i.e. condom) during that time, or abstain. If you don't use a barrier method or abstain during your fertile window, there is a chance you'll become pregnant.

3- To get pregnant

Read all of the above and then just flip the script. Instead of avoiding pregnancy during your fertile window, that's the time to get jiggy with it. There are ways to track your cycle more accurately too which will help with conception.

4- To see if your symptoms follow a cyclical pattern

Do you have crazy fatigue or exhaustion where some days of the month you just can't get out of bed? Or maybe you're always breaking out and can't seem to figure out why. So many of these common signs can pop up mysteriously or seemingly out of nowhere, and it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what is going on.

The good news is that a lot of these symptoms are due to the natural hormonal fluctuations your body experiences. The not-so-good news is that these symptoms can be due to a hormonal imbalance. How do you know what's normal and what's an imbalance? By tracking your cycle.

For example, it's normal to be more constipated and bloated the week leading up to your period because you have a higher level of progesterone which slows your gut motility. But if you’re constipated and bloated EVERY day, that could be a gut issue.

I've been there. I was so bogged down by digestive issues that my symptoms didn't follow a cyclical pattern, but now they do! Once I came out of the depths of my digestive and hormonal issues, I realized that I was finally *in sync* with my cycle and the monthly bloating I get is just good 'ole progesterone doing her thing.

5- To deepen your understanding of your body and overall health

Jumping off of the previous point, you are your best guide. When you start tracking your cycle and develop a baseline of your symptoms, you'll be better able to tell if a shift is happening. This will give you the power to advocate for yourself when something feels "off." You'll be able to communicate better, because you'll know that something has shifted.

Better yet - you'll be able to work WITH your cycle instead of against it. You can sync your work and social life to your cycle. We're more productive and sociable in the first half of our cycle, and in the second half we are more introspective and reflective. By understanding these normal and natural shifts in your body, you can work with your energy.

6- To understand your sex drive

This is a fun one! Your libido, aka sex drive, is going to change throughout the month as your hormone levels change. Some days you probably won't be into it, and then other days you won't be able to be contained! This is all normal and natural. You'll know when you're in the best mood for sex and when a good time to take charge in the bedroom is! And you'll also figure out the best time to just cozy up on the couch instead. Also, if you're tracking, you'll know if you have fluctuations in your libido, or if you really have low libido every day. If you do, that could be the sign of a hormonal imbalance that can be addressed too.

7- To understand your moods and emotions

This is a HUGE! Our society tells us that we as women are "too emotional," or "soooo moody." Well guess what - we are! We are emotional beings - and it's a good thing. Our hormones are shifting on a DAILY basis. We are not going to have the same mood every day we wake up, and that's okay. We hear too much that we need to hide our emotions, keep powering through, not ask for help, and just "man up" and quite frankly that's a load of BS. When you start to track your cycle and get in tune with your body, you'll understand how important it is to allow yourself to feel these emotional shifts. You'll also be able to work WITH these shifts instead of against them - and that is such an empowering feeling.

8- To allow yourself rest

Finally, tracking your cycle gives you the amazing power of rest. To just say no. When we're menstruating, our hormones are at a low and our energy is being utilized to literally shed part of our body. You don't have to hit the hardest workout of your life and get every single task done on your to-do list every single day of the month. You'll probably find that you actually feel more productive month over month when you allow yourself time to rest and reset in coordination with your cycle.

Now that I've told you why you should track your menstrual cycle, you're probably like HOW?! We'll get to that very soon! I have plenty more information like this coming your way. Don't want to miss out? The best way to stay up to date is through my weekly newsletter - I promise you will not get more than 1 email a week from me. Click here to sign up.

❤️ your cycling sista,

- Mar