For Women Only - Advice/Need Support

Ariyasnow1

I don’t know how personal (or silly) this might be, but I need help getting through my menstrual period. I’m perfectly fine any other time, but this one week out of the month really, really, REALLY gets to me.

Not only do I feel bad (most of all I have no energy) but this is the ONLY time I ever crave sweets(or salts) and I feel like I slip off the band wagon because I want to EAT everything in sight, and worst of all; I’m just too tired/mentally exhausted to care! It’s quite easy to end up not counting my calories for the day, or to grab something quick & easy and definitely not in my normal diet budget.

Some days I’m super depressed because I did cave in and had that extra latte that I shouldn’t of had, or that Easter candy corn, or that muffin…ect, all because it made me ‘feel better’, and I’m not even a candy/sugar lover! I normally hate sweets of any kind. Then to make things worse I don’t work out that day (or for a few days) because I simply ‘didn’t feel like it’. I’m pretty much a mental mess + unfocused ‘blahness’. It’s not like I go over my calories, however, I do go WAY over my sugar in take (sometimes fat and carbs too).

Any advice on how to stay on track mentally and/or to combat Mother Nature’s cravings?

therobinator

I say give in to it -- but only a teeny little bit (one or two meals, one or two snacks). It'll give you a break from the strictness of a diet and give your metabolism a bit of a boost, too.

JsGordita

if you find an answer let me know, i have the same problem during that awful week, i feel like i am starving all day even when i eat what i would on a normal day i feel like i need much much more or i have tons of cravings and i have no idea how to control it.

TurtlesRule

Jollyranchers do the trick for me

EmmaShorter

Try to fill up on fruit and vegetables. I find if I am not hungry that I don't want treats as much. But this week also gets to me! So annoying isnt it!

breezymom81

First of all...not silly at all! I have a nasty PMS time...it goes for about 3 weeks! The week before/during/and after, so I have to work on this a lot. If you get cramps keep reminding your self that if you work out you will feel better. Try getting up 30 min early and get in a work out then. My fav for week of cycle is yoga, makes me feel good. Then I save 100-150 calories to have a sweet in the evening, if I want it I eat it if not I don't. Find things that may fill your cravings with out being too bad, peanut butter is great...has that salty taste I love.


Keep it up you will master it! Also get on here and vent when you want to eat, feel free to add me as a friend!

Qarol

I have planned cheat days, and a lot of the time, I plan my cheat days around my TOM. It feels better to me to give in when it's planned rather than out of a moment of weakness. Plus it gives me something to look forward to. If you told me I couldn't have junk food ever again, there'd be no way I could stick to a diet. But that week for me is pretty much wasted. You gotta cut yourself some slack. Perfection is just too hard to maintain. Esp when our hormones are going crazy each and every frigging month!

Khiyaemommy

I feel the same way around that time of the month. It's really hard because you can't do some of the same exercises that you would normally do and your craving almost everything in sight. I usually just make sure I walk for a hour everyday , do a lot of upper body and I try to eat salad, grilled chicken, low cal popcorn and trail mix. Periods suck!! Please don't weigh yourself during this time...I made that mistake before. I ended up crying because of the extra 3 pounds...lol.

rkellywhite

One Hershey's Dark Chocolate Bliss... or Two?! Give yourself permission to feed your body ... control your portions. The more we try to NOT do something... the MORE we want it! If you just DO IT... it's surprising how easily the desire goes away.

JPayne53

Maybe that week should be the week you stay away from exercise, let your body re-coup and let your mind re-focus.. I always find myself working hard after a much needed break, and maybe that's what your body may be asking for... as far as the food cravings I totally hear you!!! Have you tried a protein bar of some sort? I find some of them can be quite delicious, they satisfy that sweet craving and can decrease your appetite some... my favorite are the Clif Bar's... YUMM!! They come in a variety of flavors and are just enough to feel full for a good part of the day, and only 240 cals.! Best of wishes to you! :flowerforyou:

sremarie

The same thing happens to me, like hardcore. I crave chocolate covered pretzels like no one's business. I found the best thing to do is give in, just in moderation. Instead of eating the whole bag, I just eat a couple and then look for something healthier to satisfy my cravings For salty I like pickles or olives, for sweet I'll some flavored rice cakes (Quaker oats has a marvelous 90 cal pack of cinnamon struesel flavored rice cakes that make me sooo happy). And if you go over sometimes it's not the end of the world, it the end it just stresses you out more and makes you miserable. But if you do go over and feel really bad just exercise for a little longer than normal.

alexbowser

I've heard taking a multivitamin can help. I had really horrible periods where I was really emotional and fatigued, so my doctor put me on birth control. It helped.

bambee2013

I have the same problem. Although my symtoms last 2 weeks out of the month. I just had the surgery "Novasure", but that only helped with the bleeding. I give myself one day a month & I get to go crazy, for PMS reasons. That seems to help. I cannot keep any junk food in the house, because when I have the cravings, I will eat everything I see. Instead I am keeping healthy snacks in the house. You can do it, if I can!!!!

VegGrrl

Ever since I quit caffeine my PMS/TOM symptoms have lessened considerably. You might wanna try it if you consume caffeine.

If I make sure I exercise hard in the week leading up to my TOM, that seems to help too, even if I slack during my period.

But the biggest difference for me has been bio-identical hormone therapy. I had some female problems (fibroids, super heavy bleeding) and my naturopath started me on BIO-IDENTICAL (important) progesterone during days 14-28 of my cycle. It's been a like a miracle for me.

I also take an herbal/vitamin supplement called SloFlo all month long, plus a higher dose during TOM.

All that stuff helped all the cravings and stuff a lot. The few I have left, I cave in to to be honest!

Gabby215

This is me right now! I have been STARVING this weekend no matter what I have eaten and all I want are carbs and chocolate!! Basically I kept tracking but I didn't eat as "clean" as usual. I LOVE cereal and usually don't even buy it, but I let myself have some and built it into my plan, same with peanut butter M&Ms Yeah, I ate that stuff but I made sure not to eat the whole box or bag and that I was tracking properly. Also, even though I felt like crap I still tried to keep on track with exercising. I have really bad cramps but actually once I get moving I feel much better - it's getting started which is the hardest part. Other than that I just try to make sure I drink a lot of water and I definitely agree with another poster - stay away from the scales!!!!

shonasteele

My tip is to be prepared:

- lots of filling veggies in the house & ready to cook or snack on. If you have to have something unhealthy, eat something healthy first to 'earn' it and to be sure you don't eat as much of the bad stuff.
- your favourite soup (comfort food)
- quick tv-dinner style meals - better to have ready-to-eat food that's quick and low-stress than to get frustrated and scarf down a pizza
- maybe a small chocolate treat (just one) on hand to savour slowly (try freezing it to make it last)
- your favourite sweet cereal might satisfy the sweet tooth without being as evil as a bag of cookies if that's all that's available.

Plan for your moods and cravings in advance and make sure there's nothing to derail those plans in the house. Make sure you do account for some treats and extra calories though or you'll snap. Good luck sweetie.

Kforest0714

I find that Fiber one bars the chocolate and oatmeal ones work wonders. Only 140 cal and 4 g fat and they keep you full. You can eat one slowly or just half then the other half later.

Ariyasnow1

Thanks everyone for the advice and support! I feel better already and got some great ideas.

Aurelina

Ever since I quit caffeine my PMS/TOM symptoms have lessened considerably. You might wanna try it if you consume caffeine.

If I make sure I exercise hard in the week leading up to my TOM, that seems to help too, even if I slack during my period.

But the biggest difference for me has been bio-identical hormone therapy. I had some female problems (fibroids, super heavy bleeding) and my naturopath started me on BIO-IDENTICAL (important) progesterone during days 14-28 of my cycle. It's been a like a miracle for me.

I also take an herbal/vitamin supplement called SloFlo all month long, plus a higher dose during TOM.

All that stuff helped all the cravings and stuff a lot. The few I have left, I cave in to to be honest!

A slight note of caution about low dose progesterone cream. Certainly there are some women who are anovulatory (don't ovulate) and only have estrogen in their system. but Dr. Vliet (herplace.com) said in her practice, the problem the majority of her clients have is too low estrogen during the luteal phase of their cycle (the last two weeks which are the progesterone phase). The most common symptoms of PMS being those from low estrogen. She supplements her clients with a low dose of estrogen during the last week before the menstrual cycle starts again. Some doctors theorize that the reason progesterone cream feels good at first (for those of us that had the initial positive response) is that it provokes better estrogen reception. Initially, Dr. Lee, the doc that popularized over the counter progesterone cream thought it wise to do three cycles of the P and then check to see if the tissues were loaded. None of his work was verified scientifically so his recommendations are based on anecdotal evidence. It's very easy to suck up too much P and because it is the most lipophilic (fat loving) of all the steroids it hides well in the body. The clearance of progesterone is far slower than many doctors realize and ultimately some need urine testing to determine the load. So what? Well, some women find blood sugar levels increase when using P.

Aurelina

It's possible that you don't have enough estrogen in your system. There is a doctor in NYC that gets her clients ovaries working better by achieving healthy Vitamin D levels and supplementing with calcium to stimulate the ovaries. Worth taking a look at your Vit D levels. The Life Extension Foundation is running a sale right now. www.lef.org As well, I find everything in my body runs better when I get enough fat - good ol' saturated fat.

kleavitt1992

i just say F*** it usually i still track every single calorie tho and be sure to at a minimum maintain also Fat free sugar free chocolate pudding lol don't worry you are not alone


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lisa35120

If you need chocolate fat free jello pudding or fudgesicles works for me! Also I've found that I can't have very much caffeine at all (anything more than chocolate or maybe a coke will get to me) during TOM because I get SO jittery and nervous.. normally I can handle caffeine but not then!!

Exercise does help too.. but I find it really hard to exercise the week before, because I get tired so much quicker and get discouraged. I have NO stamina at that time and give up way too easily. But this month I'm going to try to really push & we'll see what happens.

gratenni1

Hi there
I know exactly what you go thru. It was happening to me all the time. When i joined this web site i told mysel that i was going to stick to the calorie count no matter what. I let my friends all view my menu or diary daily. If i have to have have something sweet i have a luna bar. That satifies me. What will satify you. It has to have protein and fiber. low sugar. Do not eat empty calories. We want a happy healthy body. I am giving myself no goal. I want to lose this weight and be healthy.