How to Count Your Menstrual Cycle Days
Okay bestie…. picture this. We are sitting at our local coffee shop. You are sipping on your iced coffee, I am holding my iced oat milk latte, and ask me how to count your menstrual cycle days.
First of all, you are not alone. This is one of the most confusing parts of menstrual cycle tracking, and honestly, no one really explains it well. Most women were never taught how to count cycle days correctly, which leads to a lot of frustration, mixed up apps, and confusion about what is actually normal.
So I am going to explain this to you the same way I would explain it to my little sister. Simple, clear, and without making it weird or overly complicated. Once you understand how cycle days work, everything else about your cycle starts to make a lot more sense.
What Counts as Cycle Day 1
So what actually counts as Cycle Day 1?
Cycle Day 1 is the first day of bleeding.
This part can be tricky because some women spot before their period truly starts. Spotting usually looks like light blood and does not require a tampon, pad, or menstrual cup. Most people can get by with just a panty liner when they are spotting.
Spotting does not count as Cycle Day 1.
Cycle Day 1 is the first day you have true menstrual flow, meaning bleeding heavy enough that you need a tampon, pad, or menstrual cup. That is the day your cycle officially starts.
How to Count Your Menstrual Cycle Days
Now let’s get into the nitty gritty, because this part really matters.
Understanding the menstrual cycle phases makes counting your cycle days easier and more accurate. The more you understand how your cycle works, the better you will be at tracking it. This also becomes really important if you ever have menstrual cycle related issues. When you can clearly explain your cycle to a health care provider, they are much better equipped to treat you accurately based on real information instead of guesswork.
Day one of your period is day one of your cycle.
Bleeding typically lasts anywhere from two to seven days. During your period, you should not have a significant amount of pain that prevents you from completing your daily tasks or activities like work, school, or hobbies.
The first half of your menstrual cycle, meaning from the start of your period up until ovulation, is called the follicular phase. This phase is named that way because your body is working to produce a follicle.
When that follicle becomes mature and ovulation occurs, it then becomes the corpus luteum. The second half of your cycle, meaning after ovulation, is called the luteal phase.
Example of Counting a Cycle
An easy way to think about your cycle is in two halves.
The first half of your cycle is the follicular phase. This is when you bleed and when your body is working to produce a follicle, or an egg, that will eventually become mature.
Then you ovulate.
After ovulation, you move into the second half of your cycle, called the luteal phase. This phase is when your body is trying to support a pregnancy.
If you are not pregnant, your cycle will restart.
The very last day of your cycle is the day before you start full bleeding again. This is important. You can still be spotting and remain in the same menstrual cycle as the one that started with your previous period.
The first day of full period bleeding, not spotting, is the first day of a new cycle.
What Is a Normal Cycle Length
Here are some cycle norms so you know what you should generally expect.
Bleeding, or your period, typically lasts between two and seven days.
Ovulation does not always happen on Day 14. On average, only about 20 percent of women ovulate around Day 14.
After ovulation, your period usually starts up to 16 days later. If the time between ovulation and your period is less than eight days, that luteal phase may be too short to support pregnancy.
Period pain that keeps you from living your life is not normal. Extreme pain with ovulation is also not normal and should be addressed by a health care provider.
How Cycle Days Relate to Ovulation
Ovulation is really the queen of the menstrual cycle.
There are so many health related things tied to whether you are ovulating or not that go far beyond gynecologic health. Your period tends to get all the attention, but ovulation is what actually tells us how well your body is functioning hormonally.
Conditions like PCOS and thyroid conditions are some of the primary issues related to ovulation dysfunction. Both of those conditions impact your entire body and overall well being, not just your cycle. That is why it is so important to know whether you ovulate or if you do not ovulate.
There is the phase before ovulation, called the follicular phase, because your body is producing a follicle.
Then there is the phase after ovulation called the luteal phase because your body has hopefully produced the corpus luteum.
Understanding where you are in your cycle in relation to ovulation makes cycle tracking far more meaningful than just counting bleeding days.
Read more about how to tell if you’re ovulating, here.
Best Ways to Track Your Cycle Days
The best way to track your cycle days is to actually write things down.
I created a simple Google Sheet you can use to track your cycle. It is free, easy to use, and has plenty of columns to track everything I think is important when it comes to the menstrual cycle.
This spreadsheet does ask for your basal body temperature in the mornings. If you do not have something like an Oura Ring, you can take your temperature orally using a regular thermometer.
When your temperature increases by about 0.3 to 0.5 degrees Celsius and stays elevated, that is one way to know ovulation has already occurred. Temperature rise happens after ovulation, not before. The only way to truly confirm ovulation is with an ultrasound, but temperature tracking is still a helpful tool.
Another way to know ovulation is approaching is by watching cervical fluid. Around ovulation, cervical fluid becomes more of an egg white like consistency.
You can also use LH strips, also called ovulation predictor kits or OPKs. These strips detect an LH spike, which tells you ovulation is likely coming soon. LH strips predict ovulation, while temperature changes reflect ovulation after it has already happened.
You can use a spreadsheet or an app. If you choose an app, I recommend Natural Cycles. Many other apps are heavily algorithm based and often assume ovulation happens on Day 14, instead of tracking when you truly ovulate.
If you are struggling with menstrual cycle regularity, have questions about your cycle, or feel like something is off but you cannot quite put your finger on it, you do not have to figure this out on your own.
Understanding how to count your menstrual cycle days is one of the first and most important steps in understanding your hormones, ovulation, and overall health. When you can clearly track and explain your cycle, it gives health care providers better information to work with and helps you get more personalized and effective care.
If you have questions about your cycle, ovulation, or menstrual health, I do see patients both virtually and in person in Sulphur Springs and Rockwall, Texas. You can reach out to schedule an appointment (or fill out a form here) and get a plan that is specific to your body and your goals.
As always, learning how your body works puts you back in the driver’s seat.
