Ladies, is Tom sabbotaging your diet?

beautifulwarrior18

Seriously! Every time my tom comes around there is 2 weeks where all I want is garbage and i completely sabbotage my diet and have zero self control. Does anyone else have this problem? Does birth control help?

19TaraLynn84

It's definitely harder during that week for me. Someone could probably look through my diary and tell when it comes around from all the chocolate on one or two days ????

turtleball

No, every time I see Tom Hiddleston I pretty much drool

Sashoi

I usually lose weight during my TOM. Except for last week because I pretty much drank my body weight in liquer lol.... But only gained 2lbs hopefully it's gone by Sunday weigh in.

CourtDines1

I always gain 2kg during that time frame. and my hormones are all over the place. i dont know how my boyfriend puts up with my constant demands for him to go get me icecream... I turn into a food phycopath haha

red_road

I feel it is a lot harder because i feel so entitled during tom lol." I'm in agony and miserable so ill have my cake if i want to". I try to be good but its hard because as soon as it starts my boyfriend throws chocolate at me to calm the beast:laugh:

CourtDines1

I feel it is a lot harder because i feel so entitled during tom lol." I'm in agony and miserable so ill have my cake if i want to". I try to be good but its hard because as soon as it starts my boyfriend throws chocolate at me to calm the beast:laugh:

haha I think that we need to train our males in 101- dont feed me even if i may kill you! lol

aggiegirl121

I try my best and usually succeed on Tom because our metabolism is said to speed up during this time. However, sugar cravings are the DEVIL! Any advice?

DamePiglet

For the week, yeah. For the month & in the big picture? Nope.

It sure can be frustrating at first, but I found that as time went by, I settled in and didn't stress over it.

Cindyinpg

Yeah, I'll see a 5lb gain that takes a few days or a week to resolve itself. As for the cravings, I just have some of what I'm craving, generally in moderation, and try to get through the experience unscathed.

DamePiglet

I try my best and usually succeed on Tom because our metabolism is said to speed up during this time. However, sugar cravings are the DEVIL! Any advice?

I give in to the craving but -- in moderation -- I actually do so much better this way than if I try to eat something else to replace what I REALLY want.

Jacleepin

After I couldn't stop eating on Tuesday night, I checked my calendar on Wednesday morning, yep! I was due. Oh...now I see why I couldn't control myself. lol. I was like that again last night, but tonight the overwhelming urge to put food in my mouth has subsided. It may help that I worked out early tonight though. Hmm. Maybe I should have done that on Wed. and Thu. ...note to self...

HermioneDanger118

Yup, of late I've turned into a crazy TOM food monster :devil:

red_road

I feel it is a lot harder because i feel so entitled during tom lol." I'm in agony and miserable so ill have my cake if i want to". I try to be good but its hard because as soon as it starts my boyfriend throws chocolate at me to calm the beast:laugh:

haha I think that we need to train our males in 101- dont feed me even if i may kill you! lol

Yeah I'm scared to think of how i will be when im pregnant! Sometimes i try to justify it by " oh well i dont want to be a raging b**** for a week so i should just eat this junk food. Im being selfless really."

sue_stef

for sugar cravings (Im a chocoholic) I use hersheys dark chocolate bakers chocolate powder and mix some inside a cup of dannon light and fit coconut greek yogurt

you can also add some to a smoothie made with frozen strawberries half a banana and some milk (or almond milk )

be careful with the unsweetened bakers chocolate more is not your friend it has no sugar and just gives you a hint of chocolate flavor and the fruit gives you the sweet

walkdmc

I have a lousy 2 weeks out of the month due to my period as well but I'm 41 and learned to deal with it without eating (too much). Routine vigorous exercise probably helped limit my symptoms and cravings the most. However, some things I've learned help me a lot are:

Routine sleep times
Plenty of water
Diurex (it's an over the counter diuretic, I"m not advocating it for everyone but it helps me cut the bloat)
regular vigorous exercise (Yoga, pilates, low/mod. intensity stuff didn't help as much as running and boot camp).
Hot tea, lots of it. I prefer herbals like peppermint (Trader Joe's brand is great and cheap)
David's Teas and Harney and Sons have Chocolate Mint teas that help curb chocolate cravings. David's is more dessert like, with little bits of chocolate that melt, yet there are a tiny amount of calories and carbs.

Good luck! Oh and I never took BCPs so can't comment on that.

beautifulwarrior18

For the week, yeah. For the month & in the big picture? Nope.

It sure can be frustrating at first, but I found that as time went by, I settled in and didn't stress over it.

I wouldn't stress if it was only one week, but its two weeks! That is half the month!!!

kgeyser

I notice a slight uptick in weight (about 2 lbs) and I have the urge to eat everything in sight. Fortunately my cycle is fairly regular so I can identify it and then just work some chocolate into my diet. I've had a terrible time with hormone fluctuations my entire life but I've found that if I'm regularly exercising the symptoms tend to not be as bad - except in an humorous twist of fate, the one thing I never want to do in the days leading up to it is exercise.

naariel

I experience various symptoms during my cycles. Cravings for two/three days mid-cycle (so that would be ovulation period). Then, a few days to more than a week before TOM I have increased water retention and painful breasts. Usually put on ~2lbs or don't lose then lose it all suddenly. That water retention goes away when my period starts (first day, really) and since I have nausea and lack of appetite for the first few days I tend to lose rather than gain any weight. Otherwise it's really mid-cycle rather than TOM that causes my body to go all "let's make babies and fat tissue".

Birth control can help if your cravings are related to the hormonal drop the last week before your period (until about a week after, when it starts going up again, so that could explain your 2 weeks problem). I don't have much empiric experience though, only took BCP a few months and since symptoms were less visible back then I didn't look for differences.

ChancyW

When I was on birth control it did not seem to help but it may work differently with your body chemistry. Talking to your doctor is probably a good idea.

Eating healthy regularly and avoiding processed foods seems to have had an enormous (positive) impact on my cravings. They've pretty much disappeared.

Francl27

My only issue with TOM is that a week before I have a couple days when I am ravenous. Otherwise, I haven't noticed any difference, but I have cravings all the time anyway.

supergirl6

I usually see a 2-3 lb gain that lasts most of the week, and then drops off suddenly when I'm wrapping up. I don't really have crazy cravings, but I am more hungry, so I up my calories by about 250. I tend to eat a lot of nut mixes for about 250 calories throughout the day, and this helps. The salt helps me too. I tend to run low sodium all the time, so during my TOM if I have a little more salt than I'm used to, my crazy mood seems to even out. If I don't have nuts (almonds mostly), I'll have some low sodium chicken broth. I don't have the sweet cravings most people do and most people do not have problems with their sodium levels, so this is just what I have to do. I keep working out during my TOM and I drink a lot of water. When it's over, I usually experience a good loss, mostly water.

I do not let it become an excuse for me to go food crazy and eat everything. I don't like feeling out of control.

mamma_nee

I despise TOM !

mccindy72

Seriously! Every time my tom comes around there is 2 weeks where all I want is garbage and i completely sabbotage my diet and have zero self control. Does anyone else have this problem? Does birth control help?

Back when I was pregnant, I felt like that all the time, gave in to the cravings and ended up gaining 70 lbs. It's okay to have one day of cheat, just make up for the extra with some extra exercise, or else decrease calories another day to keep your deficit steady. But if you continue to give in to that for every day, for a week or two, you'll probably gain weight in the long run.

jennegan1

Oddly enough I dont crave sweets. I crave salts or carbs usually...I notice eating more protein and more veggies and fruits I dont crave salts or carbs as much now

MB_Positif

Nope. And it's called your "period" or "menstruation."

jackieatx

All I want to do is sing some beastie boys right now… for real though, as women, we have fluctuating hormones. It's going to be that way during menstruation, ovulation, honestly, most of the month you're screwed. You've just got to find ways around it. There's an interesting chart floating around the inter webs/ mfp that shows what you're craving (salty, sweet, excess) and what your body really needs (iron, b12, protein). I would look it up but I have my period and I feel lazy

MB_Positif

All I want to do is sing some beastie boys right now… for real though, as women, we have fluctuating hormones. It's going to be that way during menstruation, ovulation, honestly, most of the month you're screwed. You've just got to find ways around it. There's an interesting chart floating around the inter webs/ mfp that shows what you're craving (salty, sweet, excess) and what your body really needs (iron, b12, protein). I would look it up but I have my period and I feel lazy

bbubble5

Well some people say it's all in our head but it's NOT. Take me for example, I have not had my period for almost 3 months due to hormonal issues (thyroid) so I didn't suspect it coming but I kept having chocolate cravings that were strong so I had to have chocolate. Today I see TOM! There is a connection it's not in "OUR HEAD"

mariposa224

Well some people say it's all in our head but it's NOT. Take me for example, I have not had my period for almost 3 months due to hormonal issues (thyroid) so I didn't suspect it coming but I kept having chocolate cravings that were strong so I had to have chocolate. Today I see TOM! There is a connection it's not in "OUR HEAD"

I don't believe anyone was trying to say that it was "all in your head." I agree with those who state that you've got to find a way to deal with it... Because it's a part of life. You know that, for most post-pubescent pre-menopausal women, it's going to come each month. So you need to find a coping mechanism that works for you and doesn't "sabotage" you. Does it suck? Uh, yeah, of course it does... I get ravenously hungry, sometimes I crave salty things... But I know that it happens and I don't allow myself to make excuses. It is what is, if I go over, I go over. I try my best to make good choices, and I move on.

firstsip

This Tom?