Hormone trap

The thing about being a woman is that two weeks a month can be a challenge fighting the hormones that rage before and during your period. The worst of these is agitation and depression.

It's really important to be mindful of your cycle and your moods around your cycle because they can cause you to think you're feeling down (thus sabotaging your goals) when in fact your moods are physical, not emotional. When you don't recognize the nature of your moods, you can easily try to alter them with positive thinking, which often makes you more frustrated. In addition, women tend to focus on how terrible they feel, which in turn leads to more negative moods.

When depression an agitation are physical, it's best to treat them physically and then remind yourself that it will pass, rather than getting upset about feeling this way. Focussing on how frustrated you are because you feel this way will only make the experience worse.

This is where Pilates and yoga can really help. They loosen everything up, thus having both a physical and emotional positive impact on your body and mind. Eating iron rich foods can also help if you have a heavy period. The important thing is to take action and attack the negative moods before they impact your life.

Be proactive during these two weeks a month and don't allow a physical response to set you back every month.