25/07/2026
Day one of your bleed is day one of your cycle. Everything else is measured from here.
Your menstrual phase,the first phase of the four, usually runs three to seven days. Estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest point of the entire cycle, the uterine lining is shedding, and if you’re charting, your temperatures are sitting in the lower pre-ovulatory range. This is the reset. Not the ending.
Low hormones mean low energy, and that’s not a personal failing — it’s physiology. Most people feel more inward, more tired, less social, and less interested in pushing hard. Your body is doing something.
How to support this phase:
Warmth over intensity. Walks, restorative yoga, stretching, rest. If you lift, this is the week to pull back rather than PR.
Iron-rich food to replace what you’re losing — red meat, lentils, dark leafy greens, pumpkin seeds — paired with vitamin C to help you actually absorb it.
Magnesium, hydration, and more sleep than you think you need.
Protect your calendar where you can. Fewer commitments, softer edges.
And if you’re charting: this is when you close out last cycle and open the new one. Note your bleed — length, color, how it started. It’s data, not just an inconvenience. Heavy flooding, severe pain, or bleeding beyond seven days is worth a conversation with a provider, not something to push through.
I’m breaking down all four phases here over the next few weeks — follicular, ovulatory, and luteal are coming. Follow along so you catch them.
And if you’d rather not wait: my fertility awareness method course is self-paced, and it teaches you to read your own chart — temperature, cervical mucus, cycle timing — whether you’re trying to conceive, avoiding pregnancy naturally, or just tired of not knowing what’s happening in your own body.
ivywildwellness.com/fertilityawareness
Your cycle is information. Let’s learn to read it ♡
— Jordan