PMS and Binge Eating - real or just an excuse?
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Really? The answer can't be: "BOTH"? I have been diagnosed with PMDD and can tell you the cravings are VERY real. Do I HAVE to act on them? No. However, my resolve worsens near the start of my period and the dysphoric days can be so unsettling that I don't give a crap if I never lose weight. I can't think clearly when it's really bad. When you're trying to decide if you're insane, really need to kill someone/yourself (not even figuratively speaking, here), or if it's all in your mind, a freaking cupcake doesn't sound THAT bad, does it?
What has helped me:
1. Knowing I have PMDD
2. Tracking my cycles on my Period Tracker App., so I can be prepared for the symptoms
3. Exercise. Since I started exercising, my symptoms are much more tolerable.
4. Sleep. If I feel tired, I just go to bed early.
On the cravings, I'm still working on that, but the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says people who have problems with cravings should alter their diets to lessen the severity of the symptoms.
http://www.acog.org/~/media/For Patients/faq057.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20140410T1606331568
(See: What dietary changes can be made to help relieve PMS symptoms?)
So, that establishes that the craving symptoms are real.
Next, personal responsibility. I get it. There are plenty of ppl who "accidentally" overeat, frequently, and wonder why they can't lose weight. Well, do they really want an explanation of calories in v. calories out, or do they want an excuse? It annoys me, too. When I binge, it annoys me, because it doesn't matter what the reason/excuse is, it STILL affects my end goal. A good excuse isn't going to help you lose the weight. However, in my case, I've managed to lose 35-40 lbs., and I've binged a LOT of times...I just binge less, and eat less overall, than I did when I started trying to lose weight. So, you don't HAVE to be perfect to lose weight (novel concept, huh?); you just have to continually decrease your intake as you hit plateaus.
So, that establishes that excuses are real, too...but not very useful.
1 + 1 = 2
So, that shows us that the answer is "Both."
:bigsmile:0 -
I basically agree with everything you said, just jumping into the amount discussion via your post. Sex ed was more accurate than that tablespoon but usually forgets us outliers. (Btw, maybe the tbsp refers to amount actual blood? I believe a lot of what exits us is slewed off uterine lining and water which might explain the callous references to tablespoons when a lot of us know there's a hella lot more coming through)I, personally, think it's kind of just an excuse. Although I do eat more red meat during the TOM, because women can require more iron then, due to blood loss.
You bleed about a tablespoon...hardly enough to make you anemic
Lol! This may be true for some, but not for all. I bled so heavily that tampons were falling out within an hour of insertion on my first two days. (TMI, I know. Sorry.) I've never measured, but I'm quite certain that was more than a tablespoon.
^Agreed. Some people act like there is no such thing as a heavy flow. From my own personal experience until I was about 28...my periods were so heavy that sometimes I'd have to change my tampon every 20-30 minutes and make sure I had a pad to catch overflow. It was super embarrassing, uncomfortable and WAY more than a tablespoon. And this would be continuous for days...not just a few hours or one day.
If I recall from my sex ed class in high school you bleed about 1/4 to a 1/2 a cup. If anyone really cares that much feel free to measure....
I'm already half way through mine for the month and I can say I'm more hormonal then usual but I take bc to regulate me so I'm never too crazy or hungry or wanting to watch a marathon of Nicholas Sparks movies and cry my eyes out. But before I started bc ( I was 15 at the time) there were times I would bleed for 2 months straight....and once I even passed out. So All that to say, I don't judge a girl for scarfing down a pint of ice cream on her period. Excuse or not let the damn girl eat! :drinker:
*HUGE TMI TO FOLLOW* I am a cup user. My cup holds 12ml. Days 2 and 3 I wear a pad for overflow, empty my cup every two hours and still have to change the pad throughout the day. If all of that was actually blood, I would be in real trouble as I also have a short cycle but in fact, I am not even anaemic and I have never been. Obviously this only applies to me and I understand that. I do feel faint during these times but I attribute that to fluid loss and cramps, mostly./*END TMI
The tbsp refefence is less than helpful and comes off as pretty callous when you fill a mooncup in one hour and struggle to stay upright. When you are, as I must be, a freak of nature it's downright insulting.
tl;dr/ OP is so wrong it's not even funny. The person I am quoting gets it. Uteri vary madly and extrapolating from one uterus is a really bad idea. Zombies can't catch you if they slip on your discharge
Someone is ready for the zombie apocalypse. Your escape plan is unique.
I approve.0 -
YASS
My experience is A, so if you say your experience is B, then you are just making excuses.I don't buy into the "I have PMS so I just ate 5,000 calories!" theories floating around. Yes, when I get PMS I get cravings for salty and sweet things. I crave food with those tastes. HOWEVER, I still manage to keep control of the AMOUNT of those sweet and salty foods I'm eating.
I think overeating and blaming it on PMS is wrong. We should have more control over it than some women like to believe. It shouldn't be an excuse to eat way too much.
I'd like to hear from other women about this topic. All replies are welcome.
*eyeroll*
Until you live in another person's body, you can't have any idea what that person goes through at any given time.
Warranted eye roll0 -
The truth is probably somewhere in between. I feel the same way about pregnancy weight gains. I have a friend who gained 80lbs when she was pregnant. "I'm eating for two!" She always said. Yeah, but does that mean two pints of ice cream, two slices of cake, two Big Macs, etc etc?? Some women really do use it as an excuse to eat.0
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I don't buy into the "I have PMS so I just ate 5,000 calories!" theories floating around. Yes, when I get PMS I get cravings for salty and sweet things. I crave food with those tastes. HOWEVER, I still manage to keep control of the AMOUNT of those sweet and salty foods I'm eating.
I think overeating and blaming it on PMS is wrong. We should have more control over it than some women like to believe. It shouldn't be an excuse to eat way too much.
I'd like to hear from other women about this topic. All replies are welcome.
So you admit something physical actually can make you want to eat more. But, you control that. Good, we are all ultimately in control of what we fuel our bodies with and in control of whether we are going to track it or not. I am a bit confused about where you say you control the amount of those things you crave, do you bump your cals up slightly and make up for it elsewhere or do you radically alter what foods you eat at this time?
Great question! I think that hormonal fluctuations of PMS can and do change what we want to eat (foods normally on our "do not eat" or "do not eat a ton of this" lists), but I don't think hormonal levels cause an increase in the amount of foods we eat. That's still more within our control. When I am experiencing cravings, I will try to satisfy those cravings with things that aren't high in calories: sweet pickle chips cure my sweet tooth and a small handful of nuts cures the salty cravings. As much as I WANT to, I try NOT to open a bag of potato chips or Doritoes and go to town. And I eat slowly, until the craving dissipates, so I am not shoveling too much in at once.
Pregnancy, however, might have that affect -- I believe I was much hungrier when I was pregnant than when I wasn't. Growing a life takes big calories!
It's interesting, because I had an OB/GYN doctor come to my classroom to discuss hormonal changes during PMS and puberty (6th grade health class). The first thing he said was "PMS causes hormonal fluctuations that will make girls feel pretty icky, HOWEVER, the hormones themselves do not cause anger outbursts, poor decision making, and overeating. Those things are still within your control." He made a great point and I've been thinking about that ever since.
That Dr is pretty damn stupid and needs his license stripped right away. Pay attention to the bolded parts below.
PMDD is REAL.
The symptoms of PMDD are similar to those of PMS. However, they are generally more severe and debilitating and include a least one mood-related symptom. Symptoms occur during the week just before menstrual bleeding and usually improve within a few days after the period starts.
Five or more of the following symptoms must be present to diagnose PMDD, including one mood-related symptom:
No interest in daily activities and relationships
Fatigue or low energy
Feeling of sadness or hopelessness, possible suicidal thoughts
Feelings of tension or anxiety
Feeling out of control
Food cravings or binge eating
Mood swings with periods of crying
Panic attacks
Irritability or anger that affects other people
Physical symptoms, such as bloating, breast tenderness, headaches, and joint or muscle pain
Problems sleeping
Trouble concentrating
Thank you for posting this. I suffer from pmdd, and it can make you feel like the ugliest, meanest, most out of control person in the world. I hardly recognize myself when my moods have gone off the deep end. So, sometimes eating some salty chips, or having something sweet will help balance me long enough to centre myself. Maybe it helps because I'm an emotional eater? Maybe there's more to it than that, but really, I'd rather go to the gym and work off the extra calories than to hate myself for being an angry person. I don't really care if people think I'm making excuses because I (and my family) know better.0 -
I don't buy into the "I have PMS so I just ate 5,000 calories!" theories floating around. Yes, when I get PMS I get cravings for salty and sweet things. I crave food with those tastes. HOWEVER, I still manage to keep control of the AMOUNT of those sweet and salty foods I'm eating.
I think overeating and blaming it on PMS is wrong. We should have more control over it than some women like to believe. It shouldn't be an excuse to eat way too much.
I'd like to hear from other women about this topic. All replies are welcome.
So you admit something physical actually can make you want to eat more. But, you control that. Good, we are all ultimately in control of what we fuel our bodies with and in control of whether we are going to track it or not. I am a bit confused about where you say you control the amount of those things you crave, do you bump your cals up slightly and make up for it elsewhere or do you radically alter what foods you eat at this time?
Great question! I think that hormonal fluctuations of PMS can and do change what we want to eat (foods normally on our "do not eat" or "do not eat a ton of this" lists), but I don't think hormonal levels cause an increase in the amount of foods we eat. That's still more within our control. When I am experiencing cravings, I will try to satisfy those cravings with things that aren't high in calories: sweet pickle chips cure my sweet tooth and a small handful of nuts cures the salty cravings. As much as I WANT to, I try NOT to open a bag of potato chips or Doritoes and go to town. And I eat slowly, until the craving dissipates, so I am not shoveling too much in at once.
Pregnancy, however, might have that affect -- I believe I was much hungrier when I was pregnant than when I wasn't. Growing a life takes big calories!
It's interesting, because I had an OB/GYN doctor come to my classroom to discuss hormonal changes during PMS and puberty (6th grade health class). The first thing he said was "PMS causes hormonal fluctuations that will make girls feel pretty icky, HOWEVER, the hormones themselves do not cause anger outbursts, poor decision making, and overeating. Those things are still within your control." He made a great point and I've been thinking about that ever since.
That Dr is pretty damn stupid and needs his license stripped right away. Pay attention to the bolded parts below.
PMDD is REAL.
The symptoms of PMDD are similar to those of PMS. However, they are generally more severe and debilitating and include a least one mood-related symptom. Symptoms occur during the week just before menstrual bleeding and usually improve within a few days after the period starts.
Five or more of the following symptoms must be present to diagnose PMDD, including one mood-related symptom:
No interest in daily activities and relationships
Fatigue or low energy
Feeling of sadness or hopelessness, possible suicidal thoughts
Feelings of tension or anxiety
Feeling out of control
Food cravings or binge eating
Mood swings with periods of crying
Panic attacks
Irritability or anger that affects other people
Physical symptoms, such as bloating, breast tenderness, headaches, and joint or muscle pain
Problems sleeping
Trouble concentrating
Thank you for posting this. I suffer from pmdd, and it can make you feel like the ugliest, meanest, most out of control person in the world. I hardly recognize myself when my moods have gone off the deep end. So, sometimes eating some salty chips, or having something sweet will help balance me long enough to centre myself. Maybe it helps because I'm an emotional eater? Maybe there's more to it than that, but really, I'd rather go to the gym and work off the extra calories than to hate myself for being an angry person. I don't really care if people think I'm making excuses because I (and my family) know better.
^^Hey! Glad to know I'm not alone in the PMDD world!0 -
^^Hey! Glad to know I'm not alone in the PMDD world!
You're not. I was diagnosed last year.
When someone asks how it's different from regular PMS all I can say is, "It's PMS X1000. It's like PMS on Meth".
Every month I look so forward to my period actually starting so my symptoms will ease and I can begin to feel human again.0 -
When I get PMS I go shopping. New running shoes (plus some make up, a lamp, a new leash for my dog, and a fancy tea mix) are way better than binging. According to me. I think my partner would prefer I go after a tub of ice cream (jk). He still hasn't used the vacuum I bought for him last month...0
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^^Hey! Glad to know I'm not alone in the PMDD world!
You're not. I was diagnosed last year.
When someone asks how it's different from regular PMS all I can say is, "It's PMS X1000. It's like PMS on Meth".
Every month I look so forward to my period actually starting so my symptoms will ease and I can begin to feel human again.
agreed. The bonkers feeling goes away almost immediately after starting my period.0 -
My experience is A, so if you say your experience is B, then you are just making excuses.I don't buy into the "I have PMS so I just ate 5,000 calories!" theories floating around. Yes, when I get PMS I get cravings for salty and sweet things. I crave food with those tastes. HOWEVER, I still manage to keep control of the AMOUNT of those sweet and salty foods I'm eating.
I think overeating and blaming it on PMS is wrong. We should have more control over it than some women like to believe. It shouldn't be an excuse to eat way too much.
I'd like to hear from other women about this topic. All replies are welcome.
*eyeroll*
Until you live in another person's body, you can't have any idea what that person goes through at any given time.
Exactly. I often don't know when mine are coming since I've always been irregular. It can be as little as two weeks and as much as two months between them but if I take notice of my food, I always crave savory stuff more the week before. I often find I can eat a whole large bag of Doritos before I know what I'm doing the week before. The week of it and after, yeah I find it very easy not to eat those things.0 -
Damn.. every month there is a thread about PMS and overeating.
I have PMDD, cycles are very irregular which can be a godsend and a curse.. PMDD is very real. It took seven years of being misdiagnosed with various mental illnesses before a doctor actually had my hormone levels tested. When TOM approaches, I eat more but I am also just as active and try to make good choices.0 -
It really bugs me when women post things like this. You don't get cravings, cramps, and mood swings? Well, lucky you. Obviously these are REAL symptoms when there are millions of women who experience them. Your body is not like everyone else's so who are you to judge what's real or not?0
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When someone asks how it's different from regular PMS all I can say is, "It's PMS X1000. It's like PMS on Meth".
Every month I look so forward to my period actually starting so my symptoms will ease and I can begin to feel human again.
+1 SO true. If I wasn't in my 20s, people would think I'm menopausal.. the hot flashes and depressive state are the worse.0 -
Soooooooo, I consumed 500 calories worth of breakfast this morning. I'm sitting here hungry right now. I checked my period tracker app and what do ya know? My period is due to start tomorrow. PMS and being hungrier than usual go hand in hand.0
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Because I had endometrial ablation, I don't bleed anymore, but I still have all my hormones.Soooooooo, I consumed 500 calories worth of breakfast this morning. I'm sitting here hungry right now. I checked my period tracker app and what do ya know? My period is due to start tomorrow. PMS and being hungrier than usual go hand in hand.
I'd been noticing a weekish ever month where I'm STARVING, but also quite tired. I wasn't paying close attention to the when, so for the last few months I have been circling the days when I feel that way.Like clockwork, every 22-25 days it happens.0 -
Because I had endometrial ablation, I don't bleed anymore, but I still have all my hormones.Soooooooo, I consumed 500 calories worth of breakfast this morning. I'm sitting here hungry right now. I checked my period tracker app and what do ya know? My period is due to start tomorrow. PMS and being hungrier than usual go hand in hand.
I'd been noticing a weekish ever month where I'm STARVING, but also quite tired. I wasn't paying close attention to the when, so for the last few months I have been circling the days when I feel that way.Like clockwork, every 22-25 days it happens.
If you don't mind me asking, how long after you had the procedure did you stop having a period?? I had it done in December and my periods are shorter, and it no longer looks like a crime scene in my bathroom for the first couple of days, but I am so looking forward to reaping the full benefits.0 -
It was actually pretty immediate. I was on the pill forever and then ot the IUD. I had that out in August and went back on the pill. Had a period in September and nothing in October, then the ablation at the end of October with some spotting immediately after and that was pretty much it. I do still every once in a while have some spotting (which when it happens is right after that weak of wanting to gnaw my own arm off), but most months nothing.
Because I had endometrial ablation, I don't bleed anymore, but I still have all my hormones.Soooooooo, I consumed 500 calories worth of breakfast this morning. I'm sitting here hungry right now. I checked my period tracker app and what do ya know? My period is due to start tomorrow. PMS and being hungrier than usual go hand in hand.
I'd been noticing a weekish ever month where I'm STARVING, but also quite tired. I wasn't paying close attention to the when, so for the last few months I have been circling the days when I feel that way.Like clockwork, every 22-25 days it happens.
If you don't mind me asking, how long after you had the procedure did you stop having a period?? I had it done in December and my periods are shorter, and it no longer looks like a crime scene in my bathroom for the first couple of days, but I am so looking forward to reaping the full benefits.
You may be one of the unluckies who still gets a period, but being a formerly heavy bleeder, I know light is SO MUCH BETTER, regardless! lol
I asked around before I had it done and I know for some women it just doesn't take and others did say their periods returned after a couple years, so we'll see. It will be two years for me in October, so I'm right at that mark.0 -
I know when my TOM is coming cause my chocolate cravings and or salty craving comes on. I don't beat myself up but I do indulge it...
For me lately I have been stocking the jello sugar free chocolate pudding cups at 60 calories a pop. They are enough for me to get my chocolate fix.
For my salt craving I usually have a philly soft pretzel
I log it all... no matter how many calories I go over. That works for me. Helps to keep me in check and satisfy my cravings.
.WIN/WIN
I do think Binge eating during PMS is real...0 -
Hehe, this is so me :laugh:0
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I don't buy into the "I have PMS so I just ate 5,000 calories!" theories floating around. Yes, when I get PMS I get cravings for salty and sweet things. I crave food with those tastes. HOWEVER, I still manage to keep control of the AMOUNT of those sweet and salty foods I'm eating.
I think overeating and blaming it on PMS is wrong. We should have more control over it than some women like to believe. It shouldn't be an excuse to eat way too much.
I'd like to hear from other women about this topic. All replies are welcome.
I haven't read any of the replies, but I think it's pretty ignorant to think that everyone is just like you.0
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