For the ladies : How do you control cravings during "the curse"

daisyverma

I have been keeping on track for the most part, in terms of my food and exercise goals, although I still have some way to go.

However, as soon as its that time...all hell breaks loose. Today I found myself in front of Tim Hortons and got a toasted coconut donut . Of course it did not stop there, and as soon as I got home from work, I started looking around for sugary things to eat!

I find it hard to workout around this time as well due to the cramps and just that icky feeling. Normally I would do step class today, but the idea of jumping around and doing tons of lunges...not appealing..

For those that get these cravings, how do you manage it? What works for you and do you tame down your workout?

Sophiasmomma

I allow for treats in my cals for the day.I also sip flavored coffee with milk and it seems to curb my cravings.
I go for long walks instead of jogging or a jumping type aerobic dvd.

ballerinabun

I like hot tea with a little sugar. Usually around that time, I find myself craving sweets, so sipping on something hot, fruity, and lightly sweet is heaven for me. It kills my cravings pretty well and takes a while to get through. Speaking of tea, an unsweetened passionfruit iced tea at starbucks is a cold alternative that also tastes delicious and curbs cravings.

Another thing I like is dark chocolate. And not regular dark but super, 70%+ cacao dark. It's a very rich flavor that's still sweet and like the tea and if you take your time to savor it, lasts a while.

If I'm in the mood for say ice cream or froyo, I'll eat plain, unsweetened yogurt. Totally my jam. On that note, if you really want a treat that'll curve sweets cravings, make a bowl of oatmeal, put a spoon or two of plain yogurt in, and then top with fresh berries and cinnamon. It's heaven in a bowl.

If worst comes to worst and I find myself about to dive into my boyfriend's Ben & Jerry's, I make myself eat a few pickle slices. Kills my sweets cravings immediately. Sounds weird, I'm sure, but something about the sourness of the pickles just turns me off from eating sweets after that.

tc3194

Tea has definitely helped. Especially the stuff from David's tea!

annamicacalcino

Hi, I'm new on here so I don't know if posting on here would be the right thing to do. I wanted to ask people for advice on what I can do to stop eating so much - it seems as though whenever I'm bored I just start eating. I've just turned 19 a few days ago, female if that makes a difference.

tomatoey

I just eat what I want. Your body is using more calories to fuel uterus activity (I think 200ish, something like that?). That time is miserable enough that I'm not about to make it worse. It's only a couple of days, anyway.

tomatoey

annamicacalcino wrote: »

Hi, I'm new on here so I don't know if posting on here would be the right thing to do. I wanted to ask people for advice on what I can do to stop eating so much - it seems as though whenever I'm bored I just start eating. I've just turned 19 a few days ago, female if that makes a difference.

Hey I think you'll have more of a response if you start your own topic

Skycandy86

I know I can't control cravings but I can control my behavior. When a craving arises I feel it and then move on. You don't have to give into cravings. They will go away in a few minutes of you just sit with them.

cindytw

I don't give in to sugar at ALL, because it will only snowball and make me want more and more. Instead I counteract it by eating sour and spicy. Like pickles and hot pickled peppers. If there is still an issue I eat something with fat like almond butter.

arditarose

I don't. I make room. I don't get ridiculous because it's not worth it to me. But eat a whole chocolate bar? Sure. Have a 400 calorie pint of frozen yogurt the next night? Yeah, why not.

CharmaineDelzer

Im using the appetite suppressant phentermine, and ive lost ten pounds in two weeks!, I feel no hunger all day!, and still have plenty of energy, ( though it is pulling from my existing adipose tissue- I am 5' 06" and 190#), this could be an option for you.... I was set up with phentermine through a weight loss clinic, and have regular visits with a doctor, a nutritionist and a dietitian to monitor my progress and my reaction to the medication as well. Check it out if interested.
Im very pleased, as I was jogging 2.2 miles up and down hills cross country to no avail, 1.5 times biweekly to no avail, except killing my knees, ankles, and arches. So until I can nix my weight to a manageable excercise weight ( 140-175#), phentermine is effectively tricking my body into burning my existing adipocytes. look into it, and see if its for you.

ogmomma2012

This month was the first month I really went cray-cray. Mini Dark Chocolate Milky Ways are only 35cals per piece! I usually am content with fitting 2-3 in throughout my day.

Shelgirl001

There is a chart that I've seen that explains what your craving mean, like what vitamin you are missing. I know that if you're craving chocolate, you need magnesium. Here is a pinterest link for it. https://www.pinterest.com/explore/food-craving-chart/

Jennloella

The same as every other day... I dunno I don't get the hype.

Lady_Grell

Maybe I'm odd, but I don't get cravings. It's a good thing I don't because my last one lasted 19 days (saw the doctor about it and had blood work done). If I do find myself wanting something 'naughty,' I just look to see if it can fit into my day. I also look for lower calorie versions of old favorites. I wanted chocolate today, so I had no sugar chocolate pudding made with 2% milk and a tablespoon of light whipped cream. It fit right into my calories and macros - plus was very delicious.

RodaRose

Take walks. Learn Yoga or Tai Chi. Do deep breathing techniques.
It's not a curse -> Change your thinking.

auntyp147

It's human nature, but I can't stand 'my monthly visitor' MISERY!! Well the first day or two are my 'REDRUM days' and the craving I get for CHOCOLATE - anything CHOCOLATE is huge!! I normally just gobble down a couple of pieces of dark chocolate just to keep myself sane and have so far managed to fight the urge to stuff my face with a truck load full of Ferrero Rochers. It is a mind game but it will pass!

Babykeys32

I don't control them! If i really really crave something that badly, i eat it. Mostly, i'm a good girl for the rest of the month so eating what i want/need during that time isn't such a big deal. Although, i try not to let myself to go too out of control...like if i crave cake, i eat some cake...but i don't go and eat nothing but cake all friggin day!

My usual cravings are milk chocolate, donuts and pasta....why oh why cant i just crave carrots?? xxxx

TsaiHo

I cook instead of buying premade stuff. It's really easy to just keep reaching for snacks, but once I limit myself to 90% of the time making my own meals and snacks, I slow down. I think it's being around fresh food and just inhaling the scents that satisfies the cravings, lol.
And most importantly, I find that drinking water helps. I know it's been said time and time again, but if you've had regular meals, and drink enough water, it should shut off some of those hunger signals.

rocknlotsofrolls

tomatoey wrote: »

I just eat what I want. Your body is using more calories to fuel uterus activity (I think 200ish, something like that?). That time is miserable enough that I'm not about to make it worse. It's only a couple of days, anyway.

A couple of days? Shheeeshh! How lucky you are! LOL! Mine lasts a whole week, and OP, I'm just plumb miserable during this time. Knowing that I can eat my treats, as long as I stay in my calorie range, is the only thing that keeps me sane.

randomtai

Jennloella wrote: »

The same as every other day... I dunno I don't get the hype.

This here for me too...

RoxieDawn

randomtai wrote: »

Jennloella wrote: »

The same as every other day... I dunno I don't get the hype.

This here for me too...

+2.

24 hours before "it" hits I actually get an upset stomach and know "tomorrow" is the big day. I actually do not feel like eating alot (I am bloated and feel like I gained 5 pounds...last thing I want to do is eat a lot)

As soon as the day is here I have loads of energy... I could clean the crap out of my house or exercise twice as much..

daisyverma

My friends and I in high school would joke about our monthly visitor... "Aunt Flo" seemed too friendly so we just started calling it "the curse".

Also, the whole experience can differ from one woman to another.

My body goes crazy, and I just want sweets and carbs around this time. I can actually feel the weird cravings hit me a few days before where I find it hard to resist sweets or chips. My stomach also gets upset and I get bloated but that does not stop me from wanting to run to the nearest grocery store and go crazy in their candy aisle.

The pickles thing is interesting..I will try this next time. I do sip chamomile tea with honey but its not the same as a Coffee Crisp or Twix bar..lol.

This time around I bought the snack size chocolate (pack of 10) and tried not to eat more than 2 a day.

Anyone get super tired? Aside from the cravings, I feel exhausted as well and find it hard to hit the gym or even go for a walk. I just come home from work, and become a couch potato. Once the curse is "lifted" then I feel fine.

shrinkingletters

daisyverma wrote: »

I have been keeping on track for the most part, in terms of my food and exercise goals, although I still have some way to go.

However, as soon as its that time...all hell breaks loose. Today I found myself in front of Tim Hortons and got a toasted coconut donut . Of course it did not stop there, and as soon as I got home from work, I started looking around for sugary things to eat!

I find it hard to workout around this time as well due to the cramps and just that icky feeling. Normally I would do step class today, but the idea of jumping around and doing tons of lunges...not appealing..

For those that get these cravings, how do you manage it? What works for you and do you tame down your workout?

I haven't tried stabbing myself, but that might work.

shrinkingletters

Okay, answering seriously now:

I find myself craving red meat and sweets, but I don't deny myself at all. For example, I'll likely have a burger patty on sandwich thins, maybe a piece of dark chocolate, and I have this awesome Red Velvet Chocolate tea from The Republic of Tea that really hits the spot at night.

I actually work a little harder during that time, because I feel it alleviates the pain.

As for as The Flow Flow goes (pm me if I really need to explain that one), I avoid spicy foods and dairy and anything that generally upsets my stomach.

shrinkingletters

tomatoey wrote: »

I just eat what I want. Your body is using more calories to fuel uterus activity (I think 200ish, something like that?). That time is miserable enough that I'm not about to make it worse. It's only a couple of days, anyway.

My uterus burns calories for me too? How sweet!

rocknlotsofrolls

shrinkingletters wrote: »

tomatoey wrote: »

I just eat what I want. Your body is using more calories to fuel uterus activity (I think 200ish, something like that?). That time is miserable enough that I'm not about to make it worse. It's only a couple of days, anyway.

My uterus burns calories for me too? How sweet!

that's good to know! At least one good thing comes out of it!

Unknown

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Francl27

I read somewhere that the reason you crave carbs is because most of your glycogen is directed to your uterus so the rest of your body lacks it... so you crave carbs to refeed it.

I'm weird I guess because I don't get many cravings at all, and really not for sweets, even though I usually have a pretty sweet tooth. What I get is extreme hunger the week before my period, the type where I'm shacking and dizzy and weak if I don't eat something RIGHT NOW pretty much non stop for 5 days. Typically I manage to stay under my goal for 2 of those days, although still going to bed hungry, and the others are so bad I end up eating pretty much anything hoping it will make it go away (and it usually does... after 3000-4000 calories). I've tried everything, lean meats, good fats, fiber, lots of veggies... Basically anything that would keep me full for 4 hours normally keeps me full for 2 if I'm lucky. So typically I end up eating ice cream or something because I'm in some sort of trance where I'd just eat anything to make it stop (and it really doesn't, but when I tried to fill up on veggies I ended up hungry AND terribly bloated and that didn't work out so well).

Feel free to look at my diary for last week... I ended up eating 3500ish over my TDEE. And I still don't have my period, but today is a bit more manageable (cramps are a b**** though). But specific cravings? Nope.

Once my period starts though, the hunger goes away and I end up being full on 1400 calories or something.

noclady1995

Oh my gosh I'm totally the same. Someone made a good suggestion on another post and said to keep something low-cal on hand like sugar-free chocolate pudding. I'm planning to do that. It's weird because aunt flow just left and I have no cravings at all for the chocolate and other things I wanted to stuff my face with. It's literally a physiological response I have during that TOTM!

TiffanyR71

I generally crave red meat and extra sleep; I indulge both!