Feminine specific questions for female WISHers

[OregonGirl]

Hi ladies!

Men are welcome to read this thread too, I guess, but I am going to ask some very specific female related questions regarding our female bodies and female systems, and so I'm not sure how much help a man's response might be (unless they are in the medical field).

My motivations behind starting this thread are that I am 14 months into a brand new lifestyle of running, eating better, and in general being more healthy. As some of you from some of the other WISH sub-forums may have read, I have gone from a size 18, 225 lbs, McDonald's eating, slightly high blood pressured, 75 heartbeats per minute, no exercise gal to a size 6, 145 lbs, fruit/veggies/water/proteins, normal blood pressured, 55 heartbeats per minute, 6-8 miles every other day runner at an average 10.5 minutes per pace, hot chicka.

BUT it has come with changes to my body and new desires/cravings and things to look out for and just various female aspects that are all new to me. So, without being too overly personal or sharing TMI or grossing anyone else, my specific questions/concerns that I have that I am hoping other female WISHers can shed some light on are as follows:

1) Running has affected my crimson tide. Anyone else? What is a typical cycle for a runner? Mine seems to have extended out to almost 45 days and lasts only a few days. Any PMS I used to get has since gone away but I swear my body is prepped for the event practically a week before anything happens. Swollen, bloated, occasional cramps... do others who run find this same problem?


2) I use an under armor sports bra that fits tight and squishes the girls. I like this as I have big girls and they are prone to jiggle, but for the first time on my long run yesterday I realized that MAYBE I am also having trouble breathing because the bra is so tight. But then, I was going up a BIG hill and have never had breathing problems before. Nevertheless, what do some of you other bigger chested ladies wear when you run? Do you like them tight and well held? Squished? Cupped? Wired?


3) Ew, when I run outside (which is often) and I sweat a lot (which is often - I blame the sweat glands I inherited from my dad), when I get home I have a ring of salty sweat around my face. I know, ew. I used a makeup cleanser, but have been thinking about a wipe or maybe a cream. What do you ladies use to clean the face after a run? Does anyone clean their face and do cream BEFORE a run? Just wondering what sort of run/walk/exercise specific facial treatments might be out there.


4) Do any of you ladies take any specific vitamins so supplement your exercise routine? For example, do you find extra Iron is really great when you are surfing the crimson wave? Do you take Calcium to combat stress on your bones when you run?

I guess that's enough to start with. Thanks in advance! Other female related question/comments welcomed on this thread.

- Carey (30 yrs, running my first Disneyworld W&D Half in October!)

 

[rubato]

These are all very good questions. I'll see what advice I can offer.

1. Your period can be greatly affected by your body fat percentage. As that drops, which yours obviously has, it is something to be aware of. I don't have any advice on any of this, because I don't have them anymore (ablation surgery is the best), but you should definitely do some reading on this.

2. I have totally been where you are. I am very large chested and run a lot. I want no bounce. But, back when I wore regular sports bras, that meant getting it so tight I could not breath. Now, I buy Moving Comfort bras, which are specific to your cup size (they don't sell mine, but they're close). I have very little bounce and can still breath.

3. Don't have the salt sweat stain issue. I sweat like a pig, but haven't experienced this. Sorry.

Great job on the lifestyle change!

4. I just take a multi vitamin and eat really healthy (well, most of the time, but not for the last few weeks).

 

[pjlla]

Hi ladies!

Men are welcome to read this thread too, I guess, but I am going to ask some very specific female related questions regarding our female bodies and female systems, and so I'm not sure how much help a man's response might be (unless they are in the medical field).

My motivations behind starting this thread are that I am 14 months into a brand new lifestyle of running, eating better, and in general being more healthy. As some of you from some of the other WISH sub-forums may have read, I have gone from a size 18, 225 lbs, McDonald's eating, slightly high blood pressured, 75 heartbeats per minute, no exercise gal to a size 6, 145 lbs, fruit/veggies/water/proteins, normal blood pressured, 55 heartbeats per minute, 6-8 miles every other day runner at an average 10.5 minutes per pace, hot chicka.

Good for you! Super impressive statistics!! It must feel absolutely unbelievable!

BUT it has come with changes to my body and new desires/cravings and things to look out for and just various female aspects that are all new to me. So, without being too overly personal or sharing TMI or grossing anyone else, my specific questions/concerns that I have that I am hoping other female WISHers can shed some light on are as follows:

1) Running has affected my crimson tide. Anyone else? What is a typical cycle for a runner? Mine seems to have extended out to almost 45 days and lasts only a few days. Any PMS I used to get has since gone away but I swear my body is prepped for the event practically a week before anything happens. Swollen, bloated, occasional cramps... do others who run find this same problem?

Monthly flow is definitely affected by body weight. But 145 lbs isn't excessively low (unless you are super tall).... but at age 30 things could also just be changing. Age has a way of doing that! I was a regular "28 dayer" until I was in my late 20's or early 30's.... then I became a regular "24 dayer" (until recently when "mental-pause" started playing games with me!!)

Anyhow, everything you mentioned could be just a normal pattern change from age or something to do with the running/weight loss. Please see your GYN to be sure that nothing else is going on.

2) I use an under armor sports bra that fits tight and squishes the girls. I like this as I have big girls and they are prone to jiggle, but for the first time on my long run yesterday I realized that MAYBE I am also having trouble breathing because the bra is so tight. But then, I was going up a BIG hill and have never had breathing problems before. Nevertheless, what do some of you other bigger chested ladies wear when you run? Do you like them tight and well held? Squished? Cupped? Wired?

I prefer squished, no wire. But I'm a pretty deflated "D" cup (lost 90 pounds myself). I can wear a regular sports bra from Target without any difficulties. The ladies with "bigger" girls over on the BL thread all seem to swear by Enell brand sports bra.


3) Ew, when I run outside (which is often) and I sweat a lot (which is often - I blame the sweat glands I inherited from my dad), when I get home I have a ring of salty sweat around my face. I know, ew. I used a makeup cleanser, but have been thinking about a wipe or maybe a cream. What do you ladies use to clean the face after a run? Does anyone clean their face and do cream BEFORE a run? Just wondering what sort of run/walk/exercise specific facial treatments might be out there.

I'm not a heavy sweater, but I will tell you what I prefer. I prefer to run with a clean face, no creams or lotions. I'm afraid they would drip in my eyes (or mouth) as I sweat.

After running.... if I can't take the time for a full shower, I definitely do a full face wash... at the sink with washcloth and cleanser. Occasionally, when I haven't had time for that (or I'm running on a track away from home or at the Y), I use Olay Regenerist cleansing wipes and do as thorough a job as I possibly can on my face, neck, and cleavage area. I've read that sweat left on the face can be as aging as sun exposure, so I try to not sit around with sweat on my face for long.

4) Do any of you ladies take any specific vitamins so supplement your exercise routine? For example, do you find extra Iron is really great when you are surfing the crimson wave? Do you take Calcium to combat stress on your bones when you run?

Iron should probably only be needed if you are anemic (or borderline anemic). Your doctor can do an easy test to check for that if you are concerned. If you really want extra iron there are plenty of healthy foods that you can consume daily to help with that.

Calcium is GREAT, especially for women, at any age. But don't worry about the stress on your bones. Weight-bearing exercises like running help build stronger bones! Isn't that great?!

If you are taking calcium, be sure to get enough D too.... it helps the body absorb the calcium properly.
I guess that's enough to start with. Thanks in advance! Other female related question/comments welcomed on this thread.

- Carey (30 yrs, running my first Disneyworld W&D Half in October!)

Best of luck with your half marathon!!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Okay, first off, congrats! You're an inspiration to me.

I can speak to the bra issue only. (My periods seem to follow their own rules and laws, kind of like my hair, and will have none of what I want, and I got my tubes tied because I couldn't remember to take the pill - I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to remember a supplement so no point in wasting tears over it for me.)

I'm not huge, but my girls are dense tissue mostly, so they go out but not around, even though they're full enough. And when I lose weight, I lose band size and gain cup size. So the smaller I get, the more I flop, because my hooties are sort of emerging from the flab and don't have their cushioning.

For elliptical, I can wear a comfy sports bra from Target, the medium intensity kind. For jogging I need an underwire high intensity bra. My favorite bras for this came from Walmart several years ago, and I've seriously babied them, although I was just in there yesterday and saw that they have something similar to that now, so I may buy one to test drive for Zumba. The ones I've been babying are long and high and have an extra wide band, heavy duty wide straps and a big t-back, underwire in the cups, lots of protection, and they cover everything.

Enell makes one similar, but just one would cost me more than what I got 5 of my high intensity bras for on clearance (at a Walmart in rural Louisiana). Of course, if I was larger than a DD (I bought these in D, and it's fine.) and still jogging, I know dang good and well that I would fork over the money for a couple of Enells.

You shouldn't have jiggle, but the bra also shouldn't leave deep red band marks on you after you exercise either. I would kind of reccomend trying several cheaper bras out from Walmart or Target that are marked high-intensity with bands that are comfortably tight, not restricting, unless you are beyond DD size.

 

[Rose&Mike]

congrats on the loss and the running!

1. my periods were all over the place when I was losing. It kept getting worse and worse and I finally went to the doctor and I have a gluten issue. The combination of losing weight and gluten intolerance (c-d) wreaked havoc on my periods. Things are back to normal since giving up gluten. (Though it took a couple of months.) If after a few months of maintaining you are still having very irregular periods I would go see a doctor. There might be something else going on.

2. Moving comfort.

3. I am covered in salt when I run. I look at it as a free scrub. I don't do anything special but I use sunscreen and lots of moisturizer.

4. I do not take extra iron but I do take a vegetarian gluten free multi-vitamin.

Good luck!

 

[HockeyKat]

Congrats on the loss and fitness gains!!

I will just speak to my experience (and I am at the 225 stage, unfortunately, not the 145... trying to get there!).

1) Hot mess here so leaving this one be.

2) I like full support, and am a D/DD. I use the Champion dual dry with underwire and I love them. I don't get that can't-breathe feeling that I felt just trying on the Moving Comfort, but I feel completely supported.

3) Covered in salt here too! It makes my cat lick my face. Anyhow, I use face wipes - Equate (Walmart) brand Dove-knockoff. Sometimes I wash my face before, but only if I am going to apply sunscreen. Sunscreen is Bull Frog surfer formula or gel - both are sweat proof and stay put.

4) Multi vitamin and Calcium, per doctor recommendation.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Congratulations on your success so far! I ran the W&D half last year and it was a great race (and I'm sure even better this year when the kinks are worked out).

My period fluctuates with my running, but not by much (I'm on birth control so that keeps me more regular). After a half marathon my period is usually 1-2 weeks later than normal, but not with my normal training runs. I don't normally notice my period though as it seems that the cramps/fatigue is actually less for me now than before I was a runner.

I'm not a big chested girl so I don't know anything about that . I do like my sports bras tight though as I don't want any sagging later in life (or to decrease it as much as possible).

I'm a super heavy sweater and I'm covered in salt usually. But, since I run in the morning before work, I just come home and take a shower and I'm all good.

I take a multi, fish oil, vitamin C throughout the day, and glucosamine (bad knees). Other than that I don't take anything specifically for running.

Hope you have a great race!

 

[MouseDogMom]

Congratulations! Terrific success story.

I'm on birth control, so I stay fairly regular regardless. (Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I'm beginning to hit that time where it's all beginning to change so I'm never sure what to expect.)

Chest size not an issue either, thank goodness.

Salt, wow. All over the body. The dogs LOVE me when I'm done with a run. And the rings around my face are crazy. I usually just rinse with water unless I'm taking a shower, then I use my regular facial scrub. And I've just switched to the clinical strength deodorant to see if I can control some of the dripping. Seems to help just a little, at least in one small area! If only I could use it all over the body...

As for supplements, I take calcium and vitamin D daily. When I was donating blood regularly, I had a problem with iron levels, and one of the nurses there told me that runners tend to have lower iron because you sweat out iron. It makes sense to me! My doctor suggested that I cut back on the blood donations since my iron was consistently borderline.

Good luck with W&D!

Jackie

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

These are all very good questions. I'll see what advice I can offer.

1. Your period can be greatly affected by your body fat percentage. As that drops, which yours obviously has, it is something to be aware of. I don't have any advice on any of this, because I don't have them anymore (ablation surgery is the best), but you should definitely do some reading on this.

I had an ablation done about 5 years ago, and it was the best thing I've ever done in my life!! Only problem now, is I can't tell if I'm going into menopause, because I only have about 2 periods a years since I had the procedure!!

 

[The Running Ann]

Super impressive story!

I think that with such regular, intense sweating it is very important to watch your electrolytes. I don't know if qualifies as a supplement per se, but my internist recommended that i start paying attention to replacement fluids since I was consistently low on my electrolytes during my annual exam. I now make sure that I get at least 8 oz. of replacement every day. Currently, I like Nuun tablets which I dissolve in my own water (I order from REI). They don't have sugar, so I don't have to worry about the syrupy feeling that Powerades, etc. can give you. I also take a multivitamin and calcium / vitamin d supplements. The latter is upon the Dr.'s recommendation for better bone health.

Good luck to you on your new lifestyle.