How to stop comforting yourself during your period?

DKG28

i know the feeling...but i find giving in to it makes it worse. I've found though, that so far, my weight loss has eased my cramps and period symptoms. Not completely gone, but a dose of Midol actually works now! Food cravings...well I'll double up on coffee and tea and the caffeine kick helps. I also have to ask myself to pinpoint the issue...often it's not the nuisance of the period or the cramps that is really the issue, but the fatigue. Fatigue drives me to the fridge, but a binge doesn't cure that when it's hormone-related. I don't actually think I crave chocolate - i think that idea has been planted in female minds by our culture. Cravings in general - totally, but chocolate specifically? Not sure about that...

ElizabethOakes2

I started to write a rant here about the people with the "take an advil and get over it" attitudes, but I decided it wasn't helpful.

Part of why you're here, on MyFitnessPal is to learn how to be kind to your body- how to keep it healthy, provide it with good nutrition and exercise, to love ourselves not just for who we are, but to strive to be better people, right?
Part of being kind to your body is recognizing that sometimes it hurts, sometimes it goes through hormonal trauma that can feel like it's tearing you up. And part of being healthy about that is recognizing it, not 'take an advil and suck it up'. You're working hard to get in touch with your body, to sense when it's hungry, when it needs to stretch and when it needs to run, right? To notice when you're not drinking enough water, or when you're fatigued and need to up your protein.

Having a bad period? Be kind to yourself! Recognize that your body is hurting and needs attention. Grab a bite or two of dark chocolate, go for a walk, take a hot bath and a Midol and just be kind to yourself. Treat your body with kindness and support, generosity and love. Isn't that why we're here? To learn our bodies needs and create healthier stronger relationships with ourselves?

(DKG28- As to chocolate cravings not being 'cravings', there's been a lot of research that suggests that chocolate contains endorphins that help with things like hormonal shifts. I don't think it's something that's been 'planted in female minds by our culture'.)

BrideSept2017

I load up on ibuprofen and use a heating pad for my cramps, and buy low calorie chocolate treats that I can fit into my day so it feels like I'm indulging. I usually get really tired during my period, so I cut back on my exercise if I need to. I basically take it easy for a couple days (while still sticking close to my calorie goals) and know that I will make it up when I'm feeling better.

Stanley1903

It seemed the idea to take magnesium daily. But if you don't want to take it every day I'd start 5-7 days before your period and take it through the first 2-3 days of a period. (I also don't like taking pills every single day if I don't need to. But nutrients need to have a steady supply to keep up stores. I would imagine magnesium is similar.)

tomteboda

benzieboxx wrote: »

If your cramps are that bad buy yourself a heating pad. Getting myself one has helped so much with my menstrual cramps and the lower back pain that comes along with them. No need to comfort myself with food if the problem is solved by just applying some heat to it.

Best advice ever. The heat helps relax the cramping muscles. I use the pad before I go to work out, and after my shower. While I'm not against self-indulgent eating, I've never noticed eating made the cramps less, they just softened my misery factor for the day. However, the pad & exercise work wonders. I'm not saying that they make it pain-free, just a lot more endurable.

jdhcm2006

Heating pads are the best. I know they have some that you can wear inside your underwear so that you can keep going about your day. For me, I get hungrier during my cycle. Some months are easier to control than others. The advice about lowering your weekly loss rate for that time was really good advice. I will probably start to do that myself. For me, I generally eat chocolate daily, so it's already worked into my lifestyle. Just let yourself have it within reason. Have a few pieces, not the entire bag of chocolate.

LKArgh

xveer22 wrote: »

I'm starting to be better at controlling myself with cravings. But during my period... Suddenly the whole world is mean that something like periods exist. And I want to comfort myself with chocolate and other high calorie stuff, because I pity myself for all the cramps I have. (Okay, this sounds as if I'm a really not-nice person, but that's only during my period). How do you women handel these cravings and meanness of what we have to suffer every month?

Eat less calories in your other meals, so you can fit your cravings. And take pain killers for the cramps. Experiment a bit, not everythign is effective for everyone.

xX_PhoenixRising_Xx

I'm in the "suck it up, buttercup" camp here. I just deal with it, without needing to "comfort" myself... blah. Occasionally I'll tune out and watch a movie or something, but usually after I've kicked butt as usual during my workout. I used to be much sookier about it, but then I also used to be 329lbs. Things can change if you want them to, and attitude is a big part of that.

I do often crave sweet things in the week before, but since I've always made sure that I have a sustainable calorie deficit, I just work in chocolate or whatever I want. I find life and weight loss much easier when I'm not starving.

sunnybeaches105

I like to comfort myself when my wife is on her period

amusedmonkey

I have endo, so I'm too high on meds during my period to feel sorry for myself. But then again, I don't get cravings during my periods, in fact my appetite diminishes greatly and I barely make 1200 calories, if that, on the first couple of days. Now right before my period, that's a different story. Hormonal hunger that causes me to shovel food, any food, down my throat and never feel full. On these days I just eat to maintenance.

EleanorLynn1989

The only thing I can do is constantly eat for 1-2 weeks. haha I was about to have a breakdown because I was so hungry even though I ate all my calories. I figured if my body was going through something like that then it must've been hungry for a reason. So I gave up and started eating even if I went over my calorie limit. I'm totally fine now now that I'm not having it. haha

ReadyWillingEager

Larissa_NY wrote: »

It's your period, not a death in the family. You shouldn't need "comforting." I get horrible cramps and mood swings, and I don't love them either, but that's life. It's not unfair, it's not "mean," it's not suffering, and unless you have one of a few specific and diagnosed medical conditions, it's nothing special. Women have been dealing with cramps as long as there have been women with uteruses.

In short: suck it up, buttercup. Stop with the self-pity, because all you're doing is giving yourself an excuse to eat high volumes of all the crap you want to eat during the rest of the month and manage not to. Take Tylenol for your cramps or live with them like half the rest of the human race does. Have some chocolate if you want chocolate. If you think your period is really that intolerable, see a gynecologist. But I've got to tell you, cramps that can be cured by chocolate are not very bad cramps.

I bet you're just a joy. You are being unhelpful! This is the "just stop it" approach which is like the equivalent of saying "because I said so" to a kid asking why: rude, inconsiderate, and slightly bitter.

ReadyWillingEager

Pain killers help a lot. For me, craving usually happen because I am in an immense amount of pain.
I also like working out outside because 1) it gets my mind off it for a while and 2) more calories to eat more.
Lots of hot chai tea with splenda and a little soy milk (low cal and tastes like such a treat).
More pain killers.
Physically yelling when the pain is really intense helps me. Lol. But I don't know if yours is more pain related or specifically just hunger or cravings.

Larissa_NY

ReadyWillingEager wrote: »

Larissa_NY wrote: »

It's your period, not a death in the family. You shouldn't need "comforting." I get horrible cramps and mood swings, and I don't love them either, but that's life. It's not unfair, it's not "mean," it's not suffering, and unless you have one of a few specific and diagnosed medical conditions, it's nothing special. Women have been dealing with cramps as long as there have been women with uteruses.

In short: suck it up, buttercup. Stop with the self-pity, because all you're doing is giving yourself an excuse to eat high volumes of all the crap you want to eat during the rest of the month and manage not to. Take Tylenol for your cramps or live with them like half the rest of the human race does. Have some chocolate if you want chocolate. If you think your period is really that intolerable, see a gynecologist. But I've got to tell you, cramps that can be cured by chocolate are not very bad cramps.

I bet you're just a joy. You are being unhelpful! This is the "just stop it" approach which is like the equivalent of saying "because I said so" to a kid asking why: rude, inconsiderate, and slightly bitter.

Dang, is it Friday again already?

Look, sometimes telling people to just stop being ridiculous is more helpful in the long run than enabling their self-pity. If you're an enabler, fine, you do you, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to be around you either. Enablers usually have a vested interest in seeing other people fail.

Francl27

I'm a bit surprised at all the heating pads comments... sure, they help... but when your stomach is huge (like mine was before I lost weight), it did absolutely nothing, lol.

I'm not understanding the hate about the 'take an Advil' comments though. OP mentioned that it's the painful cramps that make her feel the need to comfort herself... and getting rid of the pain is relatively easy, so why shouldn't it be the first step? I can get some wicked cramps too but once the meds kick in I'm totally fine.

A note though - when I was at my heaviest, I had to take 3 Advils at once for it to go away, and had to alternate with 3 Tylenols... I went way over the maximum dosage once and freaked out, but I was obese so apparently the dose was just fine for me. Now I can take the normal dosage of 2 at a time, but when I think about it, I was probably overdosing for quite a few months after losing weight without realizing that I could make do with 2...