A cyclical diet approach for women, aligning higher calorie or maintenance weeks with the menstrual cycle, can improve body composition by working with hormonal fluctuations.

“So, if you're endeavoring weight loss, then you can go hard for three weeks, and then on the week of the menstrual cycle, kind of take it easy. And then give into your cravings, so to speak, for that week. And I'm not saying to use that week to undo the progress you made in the previous three weeks. But I think that if you're going to diet in a cyclical fashion, and this works quite well with women observationally, then your week off, or your higher calorie week, or your maintenance week, just coincide it with the menstrual cycle.”