LADIES! What are some tips and tricks for that time of the month???

kaitlynncolbourne

When it gets to that point in my moon cycle, I cant help but want to eat all the foods! I really crave salty and sweet snacks. What are some things that you do to help get you past this and not ruin the whole month in one week lol.. any snacks that seem to satisfy your cravings without overeating? things that keep you busy or motivated? exercises that help with cramps? etc.. anything that helps get you through the week!

kommodevaran

I get cravings almost every day, the clue is to learn to not act on (all of) them. I guess painkillers are necessary if you have cramps, and not having a too aggressive deficit if your goal is weightloss.

Unknown

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endermako

i don't have any appetite problems during that TOM. I only put on water weight. My advice is to not look at the scale until at least a few days after it's over.

carakirkey

I find the worse my diet has been throughout the month, the worse my PMS symptoms will be. And if I give into the cravings the symptoms will be increased as well. Often if we crave something, its because we're deficient in a vitamin or mineral. So I started supplementing with magnesium and have noticed a big improvement in my symptoms and cravings. For cramps- walking or yoga seem to help. And as weird as this sounds but it works really well... cold chamomile tea for reducing cramps (brew hot and then cool it off)

the8BitGirl

I also crave salty/crisp things. My advice: avoid too much sodium as much as possible and opt for things like apples with salted peanut butter or radishes with hummus. You're likely already retaining more water than usual because of your cycle - adding a ton of sodium just makes for sad times when you weigh in.

RoxieDawn

I don't do this but you could go to maintenance if you want for a day or two. If I were to eat differently by changing my diet (i.e more carbs or more food in general) including water weight gain in general from TOM the scale will show several pounds fluctuation. I weigh anyways so I can trend my weight. I only get a day or two lower energy, I don't get unusual cravings and I choose to exercise anyways, I will feel worse if I don't.

How you decide to eat (and how much), rather you exercise or not or continue to weigh (if you weight daily) will be completely individual, you will find a strategy that works for you.

strongwouldbenice

I eat at least one jar of pickles every month. Satisfying when I'm hungry and mad at everything, and the sodium doesn't bother me cause I expect my weight to be up anyway.

bbell1985

I stuff my face

PokeyBug

Indulge a little, but don't go over your maintenance calories. That way, you're not going backward, even if you're not going forward. It's only for a few days.

lightenup2016

When you figure out what works, let me know! It's a struggle!

LuckyAndi

I have cravings or want to eat everything in sight a few days to a week before it begins. I go easy on myself and have the things I want, usually putting me closer to maintenance. The actual week of I'm almost always nauseous and have very little appetite at all, so it balances out for me. I do try to drink almost all water that week, but that's mostly because nothing tastes good. The only real craving I get during is for steak.

Hot baths and laying on my stomach are the best cramp relievers for me. Those and my fiance's freakishly hot hands.

tinkerbellang83

Food-wise: I sometimes eat up to maintenance a couple of days around my period and ovulation and I tend to up my carbs a little for quick energy, because I find myself a little lethargic as my cycle messes with my sleep.

Cramps-wise: exercise has been my best friend for cramps and hydration helps massively. I have stopped using my period as an excuse to be lazy (not implying anyone else does this but I certainly did) and continued on with my normal routine. If they are beyond just slight discomfort I'll take a couple of ibuprofen and use a hot water bottle.

yirara

I rarely do a stopweek with my contraceptive pill. I feel so much better.

jgnatca

The herb Black Cohosh. It might be placebo.

Dinklc

I don't weigh myself at all during "Shark Week", I'm obsessed with the peanut butter Power Crunch bars and sugar free jello they help a lot with my sweet cravings.

Enthusiast84

I have the same issue every month and feel your pain. It's really hard to fight it as it's like no other hunger. Before I joined mfp I would eat anything I could get my hands on and keep going as nothing would touch the sides. Now, I still eat more during that time but I will choose food that is going to curb my appetite better such as almonds eggs fruit etc. I still have junk food in moderation but find the healthier choices works in keeping me satisfied that bit longer. I also drink lots of fluid.... tea, water, coffee, herbal teas etc... also find exercising supresses my appetite for a while.

xelsoo

I listen to my body and if I'm craving extra food I will have nice healthy treat food on hand. Raw all-natural snack bars for sweet cravings, or bake some chocolate protein muffins to have at home..I like to prepare nice creamy veggie soups for dinner to fill me up, and will treat myself to sushi (or some other food that won't bloat me more) during that weekend.

At the gym, any exercise that implies a lot of movement actually helps me a lot. Rowing, elliptical, circuit training (with burpees, abs, jumps) make my cramps disappear.

LivingtheLeanDream

I have an iron clad willpower LOL, I generally aim for a small deficit on week days to bank calories for the weekend (I'm in maintenance), so during TOM if I want to have that extra snack I will have it and still aim to stay within my maintenance cals. The cravings for me are a mind over matter thing, I don't give in.

netitheyeti

If I had an otherwise good day with lots of normally filling food (aka didn't "waste" any calories on sweets or salty snacks) and I'm genuinely still hungry I go for a maintenance day (aka eat net 1600ish instead of 1200-1300)
About a day before my time of month I'm usually really hungry and crave sugar a lot... I'm much more likely to grab a chocolate bar towards the end of the day if I'm starving vs if I had 1 more healthy meal/snack in the afternoon - and the chocolate bar is usually more calories that that snack would have been anyway..
I don't really change my exercise unless I'm in "I took painkillers and I still feel sick/dizzy from cramps" kinda pain.. then it turns into a "let's just go for a walk or do some yoga" day

Francl27

I can get really bad cravings and I've yet to find something low calorie that satisfies me. It's been better now that I put a bit more fat on.. it really sucks that I can't seem to stay much under the overweight category (quite sure I'm over right now, and now only the cravings are tolerable!).

For the cramps, I take advil and tylenol every 4 hours, or I'm dying.

jacquiaehall

I swear by apple cider vinegar in the morning to reduce sweet cravings. Read up and try it, nothing to lose. Let me know how it goes.

Nadspee

This might be TMI but I switched to a menstrual cup about a year ago and I find staying active and working out to be A LOT easier. Im 100% confident that I wont spring a leak at the gym, and the cup is way WAY way more comfortable than tampons/pads and that makes me feel so much better. It's already uncomfortable enough sweating and getting swamp crotch on a non-period day, so wearing a diaper pad and getting bloody swamp crotch is the absolute worst. I love my cup. It sounds dramatic but it really changed my life for the better.

smolmaus

Nadspee wrote: »

This might be TMI but I switched to a menstrual cup about a year ago and I find staying active and working out to be A LOT easier. Im 100% confident that I wont spring a leak at the gym, and the cup is way WAY way more comfortable than tampons/pads and that makes me feel so much better. It's already uncomfortable enough sweating and getting swamp crotch on a non-period day, so wearing a diaper pad and getting bloody swamp crotch is the absolute worst. I love my cup. It sounds dramatic but it really changed my life for the better.

Saaaaaaame, it's actually a life changer!

I don't make diet allowances for TOM, if I started at that I'd be making other allowances all over the place and tbh any additional cravings don't compare to my regular everyday hunger-hanger levels anyway.

LW3380

bbell1985 wrote: »

I stuff my face

Amen to that

Fitnessmom82

I have to power through most of the cravings. I won't stop eating if I let myself start. I keep a few small pieces of chocolate in the house for when I really need a chocolate fix. I drink extra water and tea and just try to find something to do to stay busy. Or if I can, I sleep!
Cramps have gotten better every months since starting with diet and exercise. But I usually still need Mortrin the first day. I will try to go lighter with my workouts for the first day or two. But I make sure to make myself workout. I always feel better when I do, and I get some extra snacking calories!

kshama2001

Nadspee wrote: »

This might be TMI but I switched to a menstrual cup about a year ago and I find staying active and working out to be A LOT easier. Im 100% confident that I wont spring a leak at the gym, and the cup is way WAY way more comfortable than tampons/pads and that makes me feel so much better. It's already uncomfortable enough sweating and getting swamp crotch on a non-period day, so wearing a diaper pad and getting bloody swamp crotch is the absolute worst. I love my cup. It sounds dramatic but it really changed my life for the better.

Another fan of menstrual cups here. Before that I used OBs. Cramps have never been an issue for me. Not sure if there's a connection.

I use normal sized cups, widely available on Amazon, for lighter days and this big one for my heavy days: https://gladrags.com/product/451/XO-Flo.html

kshama2001

jgnatca wrote: »

The herb Black Cohosh. It might be placebo.

I'm hungrier premenstrually, but no longer have cravings. I eat at maintenance and take Black Cohosh and magnesium, which is also supposed to help with premenstrual cravings.

I used to chug a pint of Ben & Jerry's a day for a few days premenstrually, but no longer feel the urge to do that.

lightenup2016

kshama2001 wrote: »

jgnatca wrote: »

The herb Black Cohosh. It might be placebo.

I'm hungrier premenstrually, but no longer have cravings. I eat at maintenance and take Black Cohosh and magnesium, which is also supposed to help with premenstrual cravings.

I used to chug a pint of Ben & Jerry's a day for a few days premenstrually, but no longer feel the urge to do that.

I'm also just hungrier during PMS, but I don't really have cravings. During other times of the month, I don't eat until 1 PM, but during PMS, I'm ravenous by 11 AM. It's usually my reminder that PMS is kicking in for the month.

amandaeve

magnesium supplements. Changed my life. That time would come, I'd eat all the chocolate in a 12 mile radius. Now I don't care for chocolate, like at all. I swear the magnesium did it. I also eat iron-rich foods a week before, that seems to reduce cramping, but the evidence for that is not as strong as the magnesium.

kshama2001

lightenup2016 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

jgnatca wrote: »

The herb Black Cohosh. It might be placebo.

I'm hungrier premenstrually, but no longer have cravings. I eat at maintenance and take Black Cohosh and magnesium, which is also supposed to help with premenstrual cravings.

I used to chug a pint of Ben & Jerry's a day for a few days premenstrually, but no longer feel the urge to do that.

I'm also just hungrier during PMS, but I don't really have cravings. During other times of the month, I don't eat until 1 PM, but during PMS, I'm ravenous by 11 AM. It's usually my reminder that PMS is kicking in for the month.

Ha! That's exactly the same for me - I'm ready for lunch at 11 AM instead of 1, and it is the first sign that I am premenstrual.