TPP is a resource for tips on managing painful periods, plant-based recipes, and wellness tips. I’m so happy you’re here! It means you’re ready to finally fix those annoying period symptoms that keep you from enjoying life once your cycle starts. Those debilitating cramps that keep you in bed all day. Those cravings that turn into loss of appetite. The excruciating cramps that stop life in its tracks and prevent you from doing much of anything on the first day. Yeah, I’ve been there and don’t want to go back.
Everything changed when I got to college. I ate whatever I wanted to, didn’t exercise, spent my weekends drinking and partying with my roommates (fun times), and like any typical, stressed out student I didn’t concern myself with anything “healthy”. After all, healthy was boring. Above all, food was my joy. I never paid attention to ingredients labels or anything that could turn me away from enjoying my favorite foods like pasta, milkshakes, cheesesteaks, pizza and really anything with lots of cheese on it. Cheese was my favorite. But little did I know, it was causing my body the most harm—especially my uterus.
Up until last year, I never thought I’d have to change my eating habits. I’d been eating the same foods all my life and I was okay.. or so I thought. The worst part about being a woman was getting my period every month. I tried so many things to help with the unbearable pain: birth control pills, taking NSAIDs like Aleve a few days before my cycle began, heating pads, forcing myself to eat bananas, but nothing worked! Also, I loved food way too much haha. My period was an excuse to binge on candy, junk food, ice cream and all my favorite snacks like Cheez-its. But after several doctors visits, worsening pain and irregular cycles, I finally decided that I couldn’t continue to live in constant pain. It was all too much. Sound like what you’re dealing with, doesn’t it?
In September 2019 everything changed for me. I went to see my GYN, got an ultrasound done and when my results came back, she told me I had fibroids, cysts, and possibly endometriosis. It was one of the scariest things to hear because I had no idea what those were. After incessantly researching my diagnosis, it made sense why my periods had been so bad my whole life. At that point, I decided I needed to make a lifestyle change because my body needed it more than ever. If I wanted to reverse these effects and avoid going back on birth control or having surgery, I had to make the necessary changes ASAP.
I started spotting for the first time in September 2019. This was the first signal my body gave me that something was wrong. Spotting caused me to feel constant stress, and my anxiety went through the roof because I’d wake up every day wondering why it was happening to me. Then, came the digestive issues like excessive constant gas, belching, bloating and acid reflux. I was tired of the stomach issues, worsening period pain, random spotting, intense PMS symptoms and feeling overwhelmed with chronic pain. It was depressing and became a nuisance especially while I was at work. After multiple visits to my doctor, the ER (yep that too), GYN and even a gastroenterologist, I decided it was time to do an overhaul on my old life.
Small Lifestyle Habits I Made to Make My Period Better
In October 2019, I started practicing small habits like eating more dark leafy greens such as kale and spinach, making smoothies on the weekends and going to the gym just once a week to start. Building up these little habits was motivating me to keep choosing healthy foods for myself. I’d also spend a lot of time researching ways I could stop the spotting, reduce my period cramps, and get rid of all the pain I was in, especially the acid reflux. I knew I didn’t want to do any fad diets like paleo, keto or even go vegan. It just wasn’t for me. From there, I stayed in touch with my doctor whenever I’d feel a new symptom or if something felt off in my abdominal region. Honestly, every decision I made about my food plan, exercise, and menstrual products I use came from my own research.
In January last year, I finally decided to explore plant-based options, cut out dairy, reduce my refined sugar intake, stop snacking on processed foods, stopped drinking alcohol (yes, even wine), and eliminate gluten as much as possible. Without a doubt, I can say these changes have been some of the best decisions of my life. My womb thanks me for it every day, but especially when my period comes around lol.
So, Why Are You Called The Period Plug?
If you can’t already tell, I’m big on researching, documenting, trying new things out for myself, and sharing my results with others–this is how my Instagram page, What Would Jenn Eat, was born. My mission is that women can find something I do that resonates with them, and try it out for themselves! I created this page to share effective, holistic tips I’ve been using to reduce my severe period pain (and pain related to my fibroids as well). I’ve come across so many posts online by women who describe their period pain in horrific ways and I think back to how I’ve suffered in silence over the years with similar symptoms, thinking that my pain was normal. All this time I thought I was alone because I didn’t know anyone who had really bad periods like I did! I empathize with you because I’ve felt the excruciating cramps, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, back pain, ovulation cramps, bloating and fatigue, to name a few, since the age of 11. On top of that, I’ve always had difficulty swallowing pills, so I hated having to rely on them because the thought of pills would make me even more nauseous (anyone else, or am I just weird??)
My goal for The Period Plug™️ and What Would Jenn Eat is that you find inspiration to begin your unique healthy lifestyle journey as well. I hope you find that plant-based food is delicious and beneficial for your body. I also share effective lifestyle habits that I practice, so you can try them and see what works for you. I’m not a medical doctor, so I can’t recommend anything for you specifically or give out medical advice, but I will show you what works for me. I want all menstruators to suffer less from period pain without thinking about their period as a burden. Many of us dread our periods, but we shouldn’t. It’s a natural, monthly cleansing in order to shed uterine lining that we do not use to grow a baby, so ultimately, we shouldn’t feel like we’re being punished for not having babies.
Severe period pain isn’t normal, so let’s get the idea out of our heads that “nothing works” and make the decision to manage and relieve the pain using natural, holistic methods. Documenting info and writing are my thing, so this page is meant to serve as a reference for you. Only you can make your period better for yourself, and it all starts with what you eat. Many blessings on your health journey 🙂
With love,
The Period Plug