HI HORMONES!! I posted this on my story yesterday and I had so many messages and comments about how helpful it is to see this sort of content. So I thought I’d write a post about the dreaded TOTM BLOAT that pretty much all us gals suffer with unfortunately....
⁣⁣ Firstly - we all get bloated! It’s especially normal to bloat around our periods. I have been feeling AWFUL the past few days. I’ve felt swollen and tired and achy and my body image has been rock bottom. BUT GIRLS YOU SHOULD NEVER LET THIS RUIN YOUR MOOD OR LET IT GET YOU DOWN! 💙 We need to accept that it’s a normal part of our biology, it’s temporary, our bodies aren’t going to permanently look like that and we need to embrace it as they’re not going anywhere until we hit the menopause 😅 
When we’re due on/ on our periods, our bodies can change drastically due to an intense drop in hormones. ⁣We can feel extremely low in mood, experience more fatigue and we can bloat out a lot. This is due to:⁣⁣
⁣⁣
1. INCREASE IN WATER RETENTION - A drop in progesterone causes our body to bloat + retain water 2. INCREASE IN APPETITE + HUNGER - This is due to the drop of oestrogen and makes us crave higher calorie foods 3. BODY TEMP CHANGES - we can burn on average 150-300 calories more per day during this time 4. LOW ENERGY - this can result in us subconsciously moving less which can mean our energy output is less than normal

so what should we do??🤔

🫶🏼LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! Don’t try to smash PB’s or push yourself through a heavy workouts. Do some gentle, steady state exercise or take your weight sessions a little bit lighter

🫶🏼Don’t weigh yourself or criticise yourself in the mirror! Throw on a baggy T or jumper and be kind to yourself

🫶🏼Stick to maintenance calories rather than aiming for a big deficit. It’s better to do this to keep cravings/ hunger at bay instead of pushing to stick to your deficit and then ending up binge eating because you’re so damn hungry

🫶🏼Stay hydrated, get some good sleep, manage your stress levels

🫶🏼DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME AND ENERGY THINKING ABOUT IT. The bloat will pass in a few days 💙🫶🏼💙 @emmafituk_ @empower_training