Progesterone, Pasta, and Power Miles: A Love Story
Carbs.
Carbs, carbs, carbs.
Many a woman (and man) will be rejoicing once the Hackney Half is over. What’s gotten us through this season? Carbs. What’s waiting at the finish line, dressed in marinara and melted cheese? Carbs. (But likely an Aperol spritz first.)
But once the medals are handed out and the adrenaline wears off, we may find ourselves staring at a bowl of pasta, whispering: “Should I really still eat you?”
Let us be clear: yes. Yes, you should.
Carbs have long been cast as the villain in the tragic opera of female wellness. Accused of causing everything from bloating and brain fog to stubborn weight and Donald Trump (okay, maybe not that last one), they’ve become synonymous with guilt.
But it’s time to rewrite the script. Just like butter made its post-90s comeback, carbs are on their redemption arc — especially when it comes to female hormones and our menstrual cycles. Spoiler alert: if you’re constantly craving carbs before your period, it’s not a failure of willpower. It’s literally your biology trying to keep you alive (and sane).
Welcome to the science of carbs, progesterone, PMS — and how carb-loading might just be the hormonal hack you didn’t know you needed.
First, Let’s Talk About Progesterone
Poor progesterone. Always the side character to the Estrogen Show. It doesn’t even make a real debut until the second half of your cycle — aka the luteal phase — when it rises if you’ve ovulated. (Big if. We’ll come back to that.)
Progesterone is the hormone that whispers: “It’s okay, you’re safe, don’t scream at your boyfriend for chewing too loud.”
It’s known for its calming, anti-inflammatory effects and helps modulate GABA, the brain's chill-out chemical. Basically, it’s nature’s own mood stabiliser.
So what does it mean if your luteal phase feels like emotional whiplash — irritability, fatigue, cravings, crying at dog food commercials? Chances are, your progesterone is low. And one way to support it? You guessed it: carbs.
Embrace the Pizza
Carbs help make progesterone in a couple of surprising but science-backed ways:
1. Carbs Lower Cortisol — Which Protects Progesterone
Cortisol and progesterone are both made from the same raw material: pregnenolone. When you’re stressed, your body prioritises survival hormones (cortisol) over reproductive ones (progesterone). This is called the “pregnenolone steal.”
High stress? Low progesterone. Low carb? Also high stress, as far as your body’s concerned.
So eating carbs — especially complex ones — can help reduce stress signals and shift the hormonal balance back toward ovulation and cycle health.
2. Carbs Help You Ovulate
Ovulation is the only natural source of progesterone in a woman’s body outside of pregnancy. But if your body thinks famine is near (hello, low-carb diets or heavy training), it hits pause on ovulation like a conservative uncle on TikTok.
Studies show that very low-carb diets can lead to irregular cycles or hypothalamic amenorrhea. Female athletes often lose their periods altogether when energy intake (especially carbs) is too low. When carbs are reintroduced? Ovulation returns.
So yes, that sweet potato may literally be saving your cycle.
3. Happy People Don’t Shoot their Husbands
Remember Legally Blonde? “Exercise give you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t shoot their husbands.” Well, Elle wasn’t wrong, and the same logic applies to carbs.
Serotonin, the feel-good neurotransmitter, depends on carbohydrates for synthesis. Pair that with progesterone’s GABA-boosting calm, and you’ve got a duo that can actually help smooth out the mood swings of PMS.
Craving Pasta? That’s Your Hormones Talking
Before your period, your metabolism revs up — you actually burn more calories at rest during the luteal phase. (About 100–300 extra per day, depending on the person.) You also tend to become more insulin-resistant, which means your cells are slower to absorb glucose, and your brain starts yelling: “Quick, eat something!”
That’s why your body starts craving carbs. Not because you’re weak. Because your body is wise.
Best PMS-Supportive Carbs:
Sweet potatoes
Quinoa
Brown rice
Lentils
Oats
Bananas
Berries
Dark chocolate (yes, it counts — it’s rich in magnesium and polyphenols)
Low-Carb Diets Can Worsen PMS
Okay, okay, we’re not saying all carbs are created equal (RIP to the pink Tesco donuts we loved in Year 9), but blanket carb restriction can backfire, especially if:
You’re stressed or overtraining (hello, half marathon)
Your cycle is irregular or missing
You experience low mood or irritability before your period
Here’s what low-carb or keto-style eating can do:
Raise cortisol
Impair ovulation (no ovulation = no progesterone)
Slow thyroid function (thyroid hormone is carb-dependent!)
Tank serotonin
Increase cravings and binges
If you’ve ever tried a low-carb diet and ended up more anxious, hangry, or bloated — your hormones were waving red flags. Now you know why.
What About Blood Sugar?
So this is where we have to be a bit cautious about carbs.
When you eat carbs, your blood sugar rises, and insulin comes in to help transport glucose into your cells. Balanced insulin = balanced hormones. But if your blood sugar spikes and crashes all day long? That’s chaos for your cycle.
High insulin can suppress ovulation
Low blood sugar = high cortisol = low progesterone
Blood sugar swings worsen PMS symptoms like fatigue, irritability, and anxiety
So instead of skipping meals or eating beige food on autopilot, try:
Pairing carbs with protein, fat and fibre
Eating regularly (yes, even breakfast)
Choosing low-GI, fiber-rich carbs that give you stable energy
In other words, don’t eat one Popham’s pastry after another. Though, that does sound nice.
A Word on Half Marathon Training and Cycle Syncing
Carb-loading is that magical window where runners eat obscene amounts of pasta on purpose — all in the name of performance. And yes, it actually works. By loading up on carbohydrates, you fill your muscles with glycogen, giving you longer-lasting energy for endurance events like half marathons.
But for women, it’s not a one-size-fits-all spaghetti situation. Thanks to our hormonal cycles, we tend to store glycogen a bit differently — especially in the luteal phase, when our metabolism ramps up and carb needs increase. So instead of just panic-eating bread the night before your race, aim to fuel consistently throughout your training and cycle.
Not eating enough carbs can actually backfire. Running a half marathon while menstruating is basically a feminist protest in motion. But doing it while under-eating carbs? That’s a recipe for burnout, injury, or your period ghosting you.
Fuel properly. Carb-load wisely. And yes, that can still include pizza — just maybe one with actual toppings and not four types of processed meat.
Also, remember: running is a stressor. You need recovery. And that means rest, sleep, and real food — not sad salads with lemon juice dressing … and trauma.
Final Thoughts: Eat the Damn Pasta
If you’re carb-loading this week for Hackney — amazing. But please don’t stop once the medals are handed out. Your hormones don’t care about your race time. They care that you’re safe, nourished, and not living off air and iced coffee. (I may or may not have once run a whole marathon on coffee - disaster obviously ensued.)
The next time you crave carbs before your period, don’t scold yourself. Thank your body for being wise enough to ask for what it needs!
And then — with full feminist conviction — eat the damn pasta.
Because happy hormones need fuel.
And fuel looks a lot like linguine.
