When Your Hormones Hijack You, Living and Training with PMDD as a High-Achieving Woman
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Written by Amritta Kaur Dhillon, Online Fitness Coach
Reets is a leading voice in women’s fitness, mindset, and hormone health, and the host of the Get Buff with Reets podcast. As founder of Get Buff With Reets and creator of the Buff Rewire System, she helps ambitious women lose fat, build muscle, and reclaim confidence without sacrificing their careers or personal lives.
For a prolonged period, nothing within my routine indicated inconsistency. For the majority of the month, I felt in control. I was productive, structured, and able to show up fully in both my training, my work and personal life. However, for approximately seven to ten days leading up to my period, a distinct shift would occur, I no longer felt like myself. My productivity declined, my mood lowered, and even relatively simple tasks began to feel disproportionately demanding.
At the time, I couldn’t make sense of that shift. I would move from feeling clear, focused, and capable to feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, and mentally fatigued within a matter of days. Naturally, I responded in the way many high-achieving women do. I questioned my discipline and my standards. I told myself I needed to be more consistent, more focused, and less influenced by how I felt. What I did not recognise at the time was that this was not a discipline issue. It was PMDD significantly impacting my capacity.
What PMDD actually feels like
PMDD is often described as a more severe form of PMS. However, in my experience, it presents as a far more pervasive shift. It is not a mild fluctuation in mood or energy, but rather a marked change in how I think, feel, and function. There are periods where my energy decreases noticeably, my tolerance is reduced, and tasks feel heavier than they objectively are. My appetite and cravings increase, my sleep can become disrupted, and fatigue can become so intense that even getting out of bed can feel challenging. My perception of my body and progress can feel distorted, and my thoughts can feel foggy. It is the combination of these factors that creates the challenge. It is not one symptom in isolation, but the cumulative effect of multiple internal shifts occurring at once.
The contrast that makes it so frustrating
What makes this particularly challenging is the contrast. For the majority of the month, I operate at a high level. I am disciplined, structured, and consistent, with a naturally high level of productivity and an ability to hyperfocus and execute to a high standard. Then, within a relatively short window, that same level of output feels impossible to sustain.
Almost as quickly as it presents, it resolves. By day two or three of my period, it can feel as though a switch has been turned back on. I feel like myself again, and I can often identify the precise moment the mental fog lifts. This is not a loss of ability, but a temporary shift in capacity.
Where most women misinterpret it
At one point, I considered whether this pattern reflected inconsistency. I questioned whether I was falling off track. My response would either be to attempt to maintain the same intensity or to withdraw entirely and experience frustration as a result. Neither approach was effective, as both were based on the assumption that I should be able to perform at a constant level irrespective of
internal changes. This is where many women go wrong. The immediate response is to personalise the experience and assume it reflects a flaw in discipline, rather than recognising it as a physiological pattern.
Why traditional fitness approaches fall short
The reality is that I was applying a rigid framework to a body that does not work in a straight, predictable way. Most fitness approaches are built around consistency that looks the same every week. The same intensity, the same expectations, the same output. However, for women experiencing PMDD, that model does not hold.
What works seamlessly in one phase of the month can feel unsustainable in another. When this is not accounted for, it creates a cycle of pushing, falling short, and restarting. Not because the individual lacks discipline, but because the structure itself is not aligned with their physiology.
It is also important to recognise that PMDD is not the only hormonal condition that can impact a woman’s ability to train, perform, and stay consistent. Conditions such as endometriosis, PCOS, and other hormonal imbalances can present with their own set of challenges, from fatigue and pain to fluctuations in energy, mood, and metabolism. While the experiences may differ, the common thread is that a one-size-fits-all approach rarely works. The more complex the internal landscape, the more intentional and adaptive the external structure needs to be.
Redefining consistency
What actually changed things for me was redefining what consistency meant in the first place. Instead of expecting myself to perform at the same level every single day, I started paying attention to patterns within my cycle and adjusting my approach accordingly. This wasn’t about lowering my standards, it was about applying them in a way that made sense for how my body actually works. Consistency, in this context, is not about showing up at your peak every day. It’s about staying anchored to your habits and routines, even when your capacity isn’t at its highest. That shift alone changes everything.
Training with PMDD
My training varies in alignment with my energy levels and recovery capacity. There are phases where maintaining movement and adherence to routine is more appropriate than prioritising performance. In practice, for me, this primarily comes down to reducing load. I keep the same movements and structure where possible, but lower the weight to match my capacity in that phase. That way, I’m still training, still reinforcing the habit, but without forcing a level of output that isn’t realistically there. I also adjust my rest days based on how I’m feeling, rather than forcing them into a fixed structure.
This allows me to stay consistent without forcing output that is not realistically available. Instead of viewing this as a step back, it becomes part of a longer-term strategy that supports sustainability and protects momentum across the entire month.
Nutrition and PMDD
My nutritional approach also incorporates a degree of flexibility, particularly during periods where hunger and cravings increase. By accounting for this rather than resisting it, I have reduced the cycle of restriction and overcorrection that previously occurred. This shift removes the emotional charge around food during more challenging phases and creates a more stable overall approach.
The psychological shift
The most significant change has been psychological. I no longer attach negative meaning to these phases. I do not label myself as inconsistent or undisciplined, as I understand that my capacity is temporarily altered. This awareness allows for a more measured and stable response. Rather than reacting emotionally to the shift, I respond with structure and awareness.
A more sustainable way forward
Having PMDD does not preclude discipline, physique development, or long-term consistency. However, it does require a more informed and adaptive approach, one that acknowledges physiological fluctuations rather than disregarding them.
Additional pressure is not the solution, nor is the need to prove resilience through force. What is required is a structure that supports performance across the entire cycle, including the more challenging phases. This means building a system that accounts for fluctuations in energy, mood, and capacity, rather than ignoring them or attempting to override them.
When you begin to work in alignment with your physiology, consistency becomes far more sustainable. You are no longer starting over each month or questioning your discipline. Instead, you are operating with awareness, adjusting where necessary, and maintaining momentum over time.
For women who experience PMDD, this shift is not optional, it is essential. Without it, the cycle of pushing, crashing, and restarting will continue. With it, there is a level of control that feels far more stable and realistic. You are not inconsistent. You are not lacking discipline. You have simply been applying an approach that does not reflect how your body actually functions. Once that changes, everything else begins to stabilise.
Consistency, in this context, is not about perfection. It is about remaining anchored, even during the phases that feel the most difficult. That is where real progress is built. This is exactly what I help women with inside my coaching. Building a structure that actually works with their body, so they can stay consistent, make progress, and stop feeling like they are starting over every single month.
Read more from Amritta Kaur Dhillon
Amritta Kaur Dhillon, Online Fitness Coach
Reets is a women’s fitness and mindset coach who began her journey trying to lose weight and feel confident again. After years of chasing every fad diet and extreme approach, she discovered that most fitness advice was male-led and didn’t account for hormones, mindset, or the realities of a busy life and the weight of holding it all together. That realisation led her to create the Buff Rewire System, a method that helps ambitious women get strong, lean, and confident without burning out.
Blending strength training, hormone-informed coaching, and sustainable habit design, Reets now helps women around the world ditch all-or-nothing thinking and finally achieve results that last.
