Stopping Period Cravings??

dmlas777

Hey all,

This is a question for the ladies. I was wondering what the best ways are to stop period cravings. It seems like I'll lose weight during the month, then once my period comes around, I crave things (and eat them), ultimately gaining back all the weight I lose during the rest of the month. It's quite frustrating and it gets me nowhere. If anyone has any tips on stopping/avoiding the cravings it would really help.

Thanks in advance!

tonightokayalright

Resist them as much as you can. The more you resist, the easier it is, the less you crave them.

casy84

No idea. I just ate like a mad woman last night and it was all sweets. Somebody stop me, lol!

Shirlls123

I wish I had an answer. I crave chocolate like mad before my period and I HAVE to have it, no amount of will power or thought of weight loss will stop me. It sucks

arbata9

I have the same problem, but try to choose healthier options. I eat dark chocolate (80% cocoa), ripe bananas if i want sugary stuff, vinegary rice cakes if i am after crisps and peanut butter cups. It is not easy!!!

NadineSabbagh

I know a lot of people don't agree with the notion of 'clean eating', but since I've started eating about 90% clean I haven't had a single craving when it comes to that dreaded time of the month! I used to crave everything - chocolate, crisps, sweets, baby elephants... and I wouldn't think twice about just giving in to those temptations. But since I've started eating natural, unprocessed foods and cooking everything from scratch I've noticed that I don't crave a single thing any more! I've also noticed that I get less period pain AND my weight doesn't fluctuate at all! I used to be devastated when the scales wouldn't budge, or I'd gain a few lbs from water retention during my period. But for the past 4 months since I've been eating mainly healthy foods my weight has continued to go down, even during my period (which NEVER happened before!)

If that isn't the option for you, then I guess it's down to good old willpower! If I feel like binging, I usually try and remind myself of how bad I'll feel afterwards and how much I will regret it. Sometimes this helps, sometimes it doesn't. You could always go for a walk or something every time you feel a craving coming on - if you've done a bit of exercise you might not feel like eating junk food afterwards? And it might take your mind off it!

Or you could just try to keep things in moderation - have the foods you crave, but be very conscious of how much you're eating. Have enough to satisfy you, eat it slowly and savour it. I frequently tell myself 'Look, Nadine, the world isn't going to run out of chocolate tomorrow. You don't NEED to eat this right here and now, you've got a lifetime ahead of you to eat chocolate'. :P

I hope you manage to figure something out! I know how much of a nightmare it can be each month! Good luck

(Edit - I agree with the 80% cocoa chocolate that someone mentioned ^^. I eat 70-75% cocoa chocolate, as that's the highest cocoa content I can have without finding it disgusting haha, and it usually satisfies any chocolate cravings I have! It's still chocolate, but it's a slightly healthier option than a bar of Dairy Milk! :P )

Mitzigan94

lol.. thats what I hate sometimes. period cravings.. I eat everything like salty foods.. lol.. I know we can do this.. )

sianquin

I just go for smaller portions or subsitutes. Instead of a whole box i'll eat a snack bag of malteasers or if i'm craving sweets frozen grapes helps, and if i'm craving ice cream i'll get a wee pot of frozen yogurt or a weightwatchers ice cream. If i tried to resist i'd just end up binge eating.

beckiern1

i find that if i deny myself, that makes me grumpy and i ultimately eat it anyway, and even more than i would've in the first place. Smaller portion sizes make my life a little easier. i just eat my calories for the rest of the day according to what i ate.

keep drinking water too! it keeps you flushing out.

lauriead215

There is a video on YouTube with Jillian Michaels that talks about helping with cravings.

She says when you are really crave something brush your teeth or use those Colgate Wisps. if you are on the go. If you have to eat something, they used pizza as an example, take 3 bites then walk away from it for 10 minutes. I guess you are supposed to not care about it anymore, but you at least got a taste.

Pearsquared

I try to have healthier options available, so if I do go a little overboard, it's not as bad as it could have been. I really enjoy chocolate-drizzled rice cakes during my TOM, lol.

kirstyfairhead

Depends on whether its craving certain things like sugar, salt, chocolate etc or whether its just plain hungry. I'm always starving at that TOM. I've started increasing protein because I'm lifting and have found I'm less hungry than I've ever been before so maybe try high protein for a few days and see if that helps calm things down!!

tinak33

i find that if i deny myself, that makes me grumpy and i ultimately eat it anyway, and even more than i would've in the first place. Smaller portion sizes make my life a little easier. i just eat my calories for the rest of the day according to what i ate.

^^^ This. If I have period cravings, I eat them. I log it. I move on. If I deny it, I don't just get grumpy, my craving gets bigger.
Sometimes I log it ahead of time if I know it's something I will definitely eat.
Sometimes it sneaks up on me and I end up over in calories. It's ok. Its not that often. It's not like I eat like that every day. And since I end up going over in calories by (at most) maybe 500, I know I didn't just gain a pound. I would have to eat a LOT more to do that.....
If I fill up during the day with the good stuff, then I only have enough room in my stomach for the indulgences. And I won't deny them. Just try to be mindful of the portion size.


ETA:
Example 1 - I craved marshmallows. Bought a bag and I have anywhere from 1-4 each day.
Nice and small portions that I try to fit into my daily calories.

Example 2 - I craved chips. Sour cream and onion chips. My FAVORITE. Bought a bag that held 11 servings. Ate it in 2 days (2 servings). Definitely did NOT fit that into my daily calories... haha But I am not going to do that every day. The chips are gone. No more chips. Probably won't crave them like that for another year.

artsycella

I'm definitely more in the I just eat it category. As others have mentioned, I'll try to eat healthier versions or eat less, if possible. But if I'm craving something very specific and it's unhealthy but it's the only thing I want, I'll eat it.

Another thing I try to do is exercise more frequently so that I can eat more food if I need to. Exercising helps me feel better overall and often lessens cramps.

Of course, some days when I'm on my period and I feel like all I want to do is stay in bed, under the covers, and cry, I'll just eat what I want and know that I'll make it up on another day. In those cases, I log it and don't worry about it. If I'm eating healthfully and well for 20+ days a month and not-that-great for 5, I still make good progress on my weight loss goals.

heytherelameman

Oh this is a good thought! I'm so new to logging (this time around) that I haven't had to worry about it quite yet. During that time of the month I usually eat anything and everything. I sleep a lot and eat a lot, lol.

I like the dark chocolate idea. I might have to go for That!

_Waffle_

It seems like I'll lose weight during the month, then once my period comes around, I crave things (and eat them)

Ah, that explains this.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1010314-woman-eating-her-husbands-ashes

CrankMeUp

It seems like I'll lose weight during the month, then once my period comes around, I crave things (and eat them)

Ah, that explains this.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1010314-woman-eating-her-husbands-ashes

You better start running.

katiedid1226

Check out Metabolic Effect on Facebook - they recommend taking pure cocoa powder (not Nestle's or anything like that) and mix it with hot water.

I bought some organic cocoa powder today & can't wait to try it. I LOVE everything they say at Metabollic Effect. Very helpful.

PlayerHatinDogooder

It seems like I'll lose weight during the month, then once my period comes around, I crave things (and eat them)

Ah, that explains this.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1010314-woman-eating-her-husbands-ashes

Wow!

And this.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1009163-human-flesh?hl=human+flesh&page=3#posts-15472675

Factory_Reset

I just sing and dance naked.

Seems to help.

skullshank

there's no stopping mine! i ALWAYS crave it.

Cliffslosinit

Can't you just cross your legs??

Pixi_Rex

Self control, moderation, exercise.

in those orders. I eat everything I want when I crave it no matter what time of the month it is. If I want chocolate I have chocolate. I portion it out and eat it and log it and move on. Also exercise. When I am moving I cant be eating (not that coordinated and food isn't allowed in the pool generally). You will feel better, and you will have that little extra for the choclate.

If you can't have chocolate in your house you go, buy good quality chocolate (not the dollar chocolate bar), seperate it into proper portions and freeze it. I do that with pretty much everything, separate it into the actual portion and then I don't eat out of the bag/box and if I put it on a shelf that I cannot reach I am required to either have help getting it down or get the step ladder and most of the time if I have to do that I ask myself "do I REALLY want this, is it worth the effort"

fatsnacker

I too had the same problem when I was doing a regular diet (500 calories less per day). I haven't had this problem whilst doing the 5:2 fasting diet but my periods have become irregular which could be due to work stress and / or menopause.

Unknown

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taitmamly

Well generally speaking you crave things because you need them.

Women will crave things high in sugar and high in salt because of the extra work your body is doing and because of the blood loss from your period. Your body needs them to keep themselves in tip top order. Bearing in mind that the average women on a seven day period will burn and extra 200-300 calories a day from all those wonderful cramps you can afford to indulge a little.

My theory is to work out exactly what my body is craving, and give it a healthier option. So one of my general favourites at that time of the month is red meat. I go crazy over bolognaises, lasagne's, steaks, and gods knows what else and knowing the craving is most likely to be the salt and iron in the meat that my body wants, I take an iron supplement every day from the day before and have a bolognaise with extra lean mince (the typically less than 5% fat ones). That usually kicks it for me.

Try making a list of the foods (and drinks!) you commonly crave when you're on your period and do some research about what nutrients are in each item - if you can find something similar in each then you know what you're missing every month and can plan for it

Lone_Wolf70

I have to say, I have never craved a period before. Maybe im odd. Oh wait...

billsica

Just always ask questions, right? then would you need periods?

etoiles_argentees

No cravings, I just go berserk. berserker. berserkly? lol

ber·serkly adv.
Word History: When we say that we are going berserk, we may not realize how extreme a state this might be. Our adjective comes from the noun berserker, or berserk, which is from the Old Norse word berserkr, "a wild warrior or champion." Such warriors wore hides of bears, which explains the probable origin of berserkr as a compound of *bera, "bear," and serkr, "shirt, coat." These berserkers became frenzied in battle, howling like animals, foaming at the mouth, and biting the edges of their iron shields. Berserker is first recorded in English in the early 19th century, long after these wild warriors ceased to exist.

Alex_is_Hawks

I have to say, I have never craved a period before. Maybe im odd. Oh wait...

because you are using them in moderation....look ^^^

Mokey41

I've always wondered how much of it is just mental and how much is real. We've been told all our lives that your period will make you crave junk, be cranky, feel bloated, etc. I had a partial hysterectomy (uterus and cervix only) at 28. I still had ovaries so all the hormone changes etc that get blamed for the TOM madness were still there and happening but after a year or so when I had lost track of when my period would have been I didn't have TOM issues anymore.

Sure there are days that you want to eat sweets, days you feel like crap or are bloated but not being able to tell yourself that TOM is coming so it justifies all the crazy ideas really takes some of the weight out of the idea. Same thing with menopause. I'm 55 now so I'm assuming it has probably happened but while my friends were complaining about all their menopausal dramas, I really can't see that there has been much different going on.

I may be a special snowflake but I really still wonder how much is real and how much is excuses.