Why is my period late?

We all know that the most common reason for a late period is pregnancy. But what are some other reasons your period might be late if you had a negative pregnancy test or you know you’re not pregnant?

Your period might be late because you ovulated late or maybe you didn’t ovulate at all.

So how do you know what’s going on with your cycle?

Better yet, how can you never let your period keep you guessing again?

Tracking your cycle will help you understand exactly what’s going on with your body each month.

I first started paying attention to my cycle when I was 25 and had just stopped hormonal birth control after about a decade of use. I had no connection to my cycle before that; I remember my period always catching me off guard as a teenager.

I went off birth control (as many do) with intentions of getting pregnant. I remember becoming a bit obsessed with learning about my cycle and also being upset with myself for not knowing what my natural cycles were like before birth control.

For YEARS after that, I struggled with long, irregular periods, spotting, and several miscarriages (seriously, I’ve lost count).

But today, after 10 years of studying and learning about myself and all things fertility, cyclical living, cycle syncing, etc. etc. I can finally say I have regular, predictable, and pain-free periods.

My periods are so predictable now that this past month when my period was 5 days late, I was not surprised at all. In fact, I knew the exact date my period was going to come by day 20 of my typically 29 day cycle.

Whether you are trying to get pregnant or you’re trying to avoid pregnancy; whether you have regular cycles or your cycle always keeps you guessing; whether you always know when to expect your period or it takes you by surprise every time….

Imagine what it would be like to understand your body so fully and completely that you were never surprised by your cycle again.

Using a holistic cycle tracker and understanding your energetic & physical shifts throughout your cycle gives you incredible insight into your body – allowing for confidence and ease in your life!

Here are TWO markers you can use to understand your cycle better

Energetic Marker // Your energetic ebbs & flows

Throughout your cycle, your hormones cause your physical energy to rise and fall. Your energy is likely low during your menstrual phase (your period) then it typically rises during your follicular phase, peaking during ovulation and falling again during luteal (the week before your period).

Have you ever noticed that the exact same workout feels amazing on some days, and feels like a struggle on others? Sure there are other factors like sleep, nutrition, or maybe an illness, but next time you notice this difference, see how it lines up with the phase of your cycle that you’re in.

Better yet, start tracking your cycle using a holistic cycle tracker. Not only will this give you a written record of how your energy (among other things) ebbs & flows throughout your cycle, it will also help you to start paying attention to these shifts. For example – in my case this past month when my period was 5 days late this is what I wrote on day 20 of my holistic cycle tracker: still feeling ovulation energy…I think I ovulated later than usual, we will see! This was soon confirmed by the cervical mucus pattern I saw over the next couple days, too!

Physical Marker // Your cervical mucus (CM)

There are a few markers you can use to track your ovulation like cervical position and temperature, but cervical mucus – despite its not so pleasant name – is my favorite. In fact, I was trained in the Creighton Model for over a year which relies solely on cervical mucus for fertility planning.

Every woman has her own individual CM pattern but generally, after your period, CM goes from dry to sticky to wet then to fertile CM which is clear, slippery, and stretchy. My holistic cycle tracker will give you the basics you need to know to get started tracking your CM and therefore being able to discern when you’re fertile / when you’ve ovulated. And once you know you’ve ovulated, your period is 12-14 days away (unless you’re pregnant, of course!).

Bonus // The moon phases

This last tip is for the women who have predictable periods. Once you get a good understanding of your cycle AND your cycle is regular, you can sync with the moon. Syncing with the moon feels so magical to me. In fact, the last reason I knew my period was going to be late is that I always bleed on the full moon, but over time with my 29 day cycle and the moon’s 28 day cycle, we got a little off-sync. So this was the month that my body re-synced up with the moon! Head over here if you want to learn how to sync your cycle with the moon.