How to deal with PMS cravings?

Japandreams

Okay so I'm really battling with my PMS cravings right now. More than ever before since it's my first month trying to lose weight...
I really crave things like chocolate (duh), chips and ice-cream. I've basically eaten none of these things all of January but now the cravings are back with a vengeance.

What are your tips to get through this?
Any other foods that I can substitute the cravings with? Is there maybe any suppressant foods?

Francl27

Have some chocolate, chips and ice cream. Don't deprive yourself.

Honestly, for chocolate I just have 54% dark chocolate and have 50 calories worth... it completely does the trick for me (and I'm a huge milk chocolate fan), and I actually don't need more... whereas milk chocolate might trigger a binge. So, it's worth trying. Or buy some sugar-free chocolate jello or something (doesn't work for me but some people like them - the chocolate mousse is good though). Or heck buy chocolate protein powder and make yourself a shake.

For chips, I like the Quest protein chips. Ok some people don't like them but I'm not a chips fanatic (don't get me wrong, I used to eat the whole bag, but I'm more a sweets person) so they do the trick for me.

Ice cream, the Edy's slow churned stuff is pretty good, and only 100-130 calories a serving. If you can't stop at one serving, just buy an individual serving. Or heck get a small ice cream somewhere, it's still only probably 300-400 calories.

IMO quitting all the foods you love is just a recipe for binges. I could have those 3 things in one day and that would only be 300 calories worth...

TheVirgoddess

I still eat those things when I want to. I like to pre-log my days so I know how much wiggle room I have.

If that's not part of your plan though, I'd recommend trying different things to help - snack on carrots or strawberries, see if that helps. The protein shake suggestion above is a good one, too. I love Quest bars - nice and sweet and packed full of protein and fiber. Good stuff.

Fat4Fuel2

I agree. Give into the craving in a mindful way. Get the taste or texture you want, and then fill up on water or veggies or what ever. Also, if it helps put your mind at ease, a women's metabolism is slightly elevated during PMS (the time when you get your cravings). It's not a lot, maybe 300 cal at the most, but just enough to make you feel more hungry. If you end up over your calories for the day by 100 or so, no big deal.

Another trick that works most of the time for me is to give into maybe one craving and tell myself I can have the others tomorrow if I still want them. Then I drink water/tea and chew gum. Like I said, it works 7/10 for me.

Japandreams

Oh wow, great advices everyone! Thank you so much!!
I thought I'd compromise with my chocolate craving at least, making a hot chocolate with milk and dark chocolate and hey, it totally worked! It tastes delicious even though I'm usually not a fan of dark chocolate (especially 70% eurghh). So yeah that's a tip from me! (:

I've tried the Questbars in the past, I love the cookies and cream one, but oh my god is it just a European thing or is the bars super expensive? One bar costs around $10 at the store! We don't have anything else from their range in Sweden either because we are a deprived country of cool stuff pretty much... I'd love to try the chips!

Oh and hey, I had no idea that a womans metabolism boosts when you have PMS! That makes me feel a lot better actually, because I've only seen PMS like hell on earth before and just dreaded it all month because I was so worried it would ruin most of my progress.
But so far so good! (:

Awesome tips guys~

makinne

I'm a big fan of dark chocolate almonds... They're not chocolate coated like candy... More like dusted in cocoa powder. Very chocolate-y but not so sweet that they trigger more sugar cravings.

kitsilana

GREAT tips everyone!

I also find that increasing my protein intake for a few days and decreasing my carbs really helps me with the sweet cravings.
My two 'cravings fixers' at the moment are individual portioned 0% Greek yoghurts (there's a coconut one that's amazing!) or slices of roast beef.
...Not usually at the same time though

_runnerbean_

I plan in a little chocolate fix for the evening- usually a low cal mint hot chocolate drink (41 cals) and a viscount mint chocolate biscuit (74 cals). That seems to be enough to tell my brain I've had chocolate without doing too much damage. The mint choc is more satisfying than normal choc and less likely to trigger a binge for me.

DeWoSa

I just ate my way through two days. I logged everything and am only 1,500 calories over my "lose weight" intake and only 500 calories over my "maintain weight" intake.

I'll burn those 500 calories in the next couple of weeks just by being under by 50 calories for 10 days.

Counting calories has really freed me from fearing the super-hungry days. They exist, I will eat a lot, and then I will move on to the rest of the days of normal hunger and continue to lose weight.

Cheers!

ZaraxXx88

I don't usually eat as much chocolate but when I'm on my periods I crave chocolate sooo much so I treat myself considering I don't usually have it. Don't deprive yourself completely just know when enough is enough and treat yourself every now again. You'll defo succeed more at your plan.

Mistraal1981

When the PMS cravings attack like stealth ninjas from the shadows I will brush my teeth if I'm at home or have one mint imperial if I'm at work. The minty fresh feeling always triggers a "anything you eat is going to taste like toe jam mixed with belly button lint right now" response and the craving ninjas are left bamboozled!

I then do a bow and say in my best Mr Miagee voice,"until next time food craving ninjas!" I then swirl my badass cape around as I make a dramatic exit.

**disclaimer, if you do any of the mental stuff in real life don't be surprised when you can't find the scissors.

shoddybutterfly

I like to take my fruit (strawberries especially) and dip it in cocoa powder. It's lower in calories and helps curb the cravings for me.

cocates

Francl27 wrote: »

Have some chocolate, chips and ice cream. Don't deprive yourself.

For chips, I like the Quest protein chips. Yes! My co-worker (who had a gastric bypass surgery), introduced these to me. The salt + vinegar ones are awesome. BBQ is pretty good, too. They have impressive macros (nutritional values). You can get them at GNC / health food store.

IMO quitting all the foods you love is just a recipe for binges.

I read that some of the bars at such are very expensive where you are. Perhaps you can order them off of Amazon? IDK what the shipping costs are, but if you have Prime, you probably could get an excellent deal.

Figure out what works for you, and, then order in bulk.

Good luck!

Amerane

Chocolate covered strawberries! That way you're getting mostly fruit, but you're also getting your chocolate fix in a super-indulgent form, at least that's what it feels like for me. Honestly though, I just try to work out/run a little more when I'm on my period/right before it. That way I'm covered if I want to indulge a craving (reasonably), and it's good for cramps and pms.

kitsilana

Mistraal1981 wrote: »

I then do a bow and say in my best Mr Miagee voice,"until next time food craving ninjas!" I then swirl my badass cape around as I make a dramatic exit.

Waha-ha-ha-ha-ha-HA!

LaLa_Ventura

Wonderful advice. I too go overboard with my cravings. Now that I am committed to tracking my diet, I have noticed the spike in sugar, fats and salts before my cycle starts. This app has helped me track it so I can be prepared. Prestock you fridge ladies.

For my chocolate/sugar cravings I eat nutritious cereals with almond milk and I shave dark chocolate on top. #heavenly

Amykins2828

This makes me feel a bit better about the "PMS binge" I had today.. Its been a while since my cravings have been this bad, but I just fed them. I had a day last week where I kind of ate whatever, but was on plan the rest of the week and still lost a pound, so hopefully this one day of cravings wont hurt me too much!

LaLa_Ventura

My cravings this week were horrible. I wanted steak, chocolate, sugars..... everything.

Also for my chocolate cravings -ovaltine and almond milk. 2 TBS of Chocolate Malt Ovaltine 40 calories, 0 fat and only 8 grams of sugar! I wish they would make a dark chocolate version.

_runnerbean_

LaLa_Ventura wrote: »

My cravings this week were horrible. I wanted steak, chocolate, sugars..... everything.

Also for my chocolate cravings -ovaltine and almond milk. 2 TBS of Chocolate Malt Ovaltine 40 calories, 0 fat and only 8 grams of sugar! I wish they would make a dark chocolate version.

Thanks for the idea- that sounds more filling and satisfying than my usual hot chocolate drink. It's on my shopping list!

Foamroller

Just give in...sigh. Log it though.
And maybe substitute the stuff you crave to more nutrient dense or lower kcal types. Celery with PB, make your own chocolate with coconut oil and cream, cocoa powder and roasted nuts (freeze 10 mins in ice tray), sugar free jello, kale/parsnip chips etc, etc. Be creative

Silly rules works for me. 2 kg from goal, yay!

TRIAL AND ERROR FTW

JossFit

sshepro wrote: »

I agree. Give into the craving in a mindful way. Get the taste or texture you want, and then fill up on water or veggies or what ever. Also, if it helps put your mind at ease, a women's metabolism is slightly elevated during PMS (the time when you get your cravings). It's not a lot, maybe 300 cal at the most, but just enough to make you feel more hungry. If you end up over your calories for the day by 100 or so, no big deal.

Beat me to it.

One of my clients was beating herself up about an extra serving of steak and an extra serving of nut butter last week during her period. I let her know that she did the right thing having a small bit of what she craved and that her metabolism was actually elevated during this time, so the damage, if any, was negligible.

Don't let your cravings get so out of control that you end up binging on everything in sight.

kendalslimmer

Japandreams wrote: »

I've tried the Questbars in the past, I love the cookies and cream one, but oh my god is it just a European thing or is the bars super expensive? One bar costs around $10 at the store! We don't have anything else from their range in Sweden either because we are a deprived country of cool stuff pretty much... I'd love to try the chips!

Hi sweetie, I'm in the UK and I order my Quest bars from Amazon - it works out at about £1.80 per bar... So not great, but OK. You could also check eBay prices. Quest bars are fantastic for PMS cravings! I also like fruit - gives me my sugar high, for not too many calories. But really it's a high fibre/protein diet that gets me through that particular week and often, instead of 3 meals a day, I have 6 or 7 smaller ones. I'll munch my way through the day and still stick to my calories that way. Exercise during TOM is awesome - you burn more calories than you normally would AND it suppresses your hunger. Another tip: drink plenty of water (so you're not dehydrated - which can trigger hunger) and have a multivitamin tablet that includes an iron supplement in the mornings. xx

countrymom78

I just recently went through that myself. I've been keeping fiber one bars on hand for when I can't take it. Lol I also just found rice crispies treats crackle snaps are only 60 calories a pack and they are yummy!

abatonfan

Surprisingly, I noticed that I have been having a lot fewer PMS cravings since I started getting back into the habit of logging (this round's cravings have been for sweet potatoes and steak-which is perfect, because I'm always low on my potassium and iron goals). One of the things that has helped is to make healthy alternatives easily available for when cravings strike and make accessing the less healthy foods a lot harder. For instance, if I am craving chocolate, I might keep the pre-portioned coco-dusted almonds out on the counter and ready to grab once cravings strike, while I might keep the chocolate squares hidden in an empty lancet box at the very back of my diabetes supply counter. If I really really really want the chocolate instead of the almonds, then I would have to work to get it (of course, being the lazy person I am, the idea of pulling out all my dia-junk to get to the chocolate is unappealing, and I will go with the almonds instead).

nancygm28

Japandreams wrote: »

Okay so I'm really battling with my PMS cravings right now. More than ever before since it's my first month trying to lose weight...
I really crave things like chocolate (duh), chips and ice-cream. I've basically eaten none of these things all of January but now the cravings are back with a vengeance.

What are your tips to get through this?
Any other foods that I can substitute the cravings with? Is there maybe any suppressant foods?

Thank you for posting these questions. This is totally going to help me too! Keep it up and good luck