TMI, but girly time of the month

GymBeast2

Hi, Noobie here. Anyone else ever have issues with food as it gets close to your girly time of the month? I was starving and went a bit over calories. I will catch it tomorrow, but I'm thinking it is just that close to girly time that it might happen.

anyone else?

droneofvelvet

Yep, every month. I bloat up, too and act like a monster.

I would indulge in your cravings, but count the serving sizes and enjoy with some tea or coffee (thinking of chocolate here).

I'm actually going through this right now and I feel like I can't stop eating. The will to exercise will probably leave me soon, too.

judykat7

Sometimes over on food, sometimes under on exercise. I just do what I can and feel I deserve a bit of a break. I still eat healthy though, maybe just a little more. For me though it is only 3-4 days every 3-4 months so it shouldn't cause any major issues with progress.

likearadiowave

Hi, Noobie here. Anyone else ever have issues with food as it gets close to your girly time of the month? I was starving and went a bit over calories. I will catch it tomorrow, but I'm thinking it is just that close to girly time that it might happen.

anyone else?

Oh, every month. It's discouraging.

I eat like a ... person who eats a lot. Then as soon as it ends, i'm back to normal.

jonswife0206

Yep, I'm like a camel retaining water for a long haul through hell. Seriously, I can gain a good 4 pounds but it all drops back off. I have learned during these days to really watch my sodium, drink plenty of water, get lots of sleep, stay with my exercise plans and have healthful snacks around in case the munchies just cannot stay away. My thinking ahead has really paid off in terms of keeping me on track.

MarieG2023

I'm always hungry when it's that time of the month...it's either chocolate or salty I crave. I indulge myself just a little bit, but will always make it up with exercise.

PikaKnight

"As you lay in your bed doing nothing at all, your body is burning up fuel, or calories, keeping your digestive system working, helping your heart beat and all of the other wonderful things that happen inside us that we don’t have to think about on a daily basis. Every thirty days or so, the systems in your body pick up another task.

With the menstrual cycle, the week of your period makes your body do some extra work. This extra work burns more calories and your BMR actually goes up. In some women, the week of your period can make you burn up to fifteen percent more calories, and you haven’t changed a single thing about your lifestyle!

Of course, if you’re trying to figure out why your period makes you so hungry, the answer is clear. Your body is doing more work; your body needs more calories. To get the calories it needs, your body sends a message to your brain telling you you’re hungry more often. Since you’re feeling hungry, you eat."

Quoted from http://www.iibc.com/hungry-period/

sgv0918

yep crazy hungry days right before. not so much cravings just urge to eat

verdancyhime

I'm on the Depo shot, so I get that time of the three months.

IMO, you're not going to be "good" all the time. Plenty of people lose weight and live healthy lives overall but eat crazy unhealthy things sometimes. As long as the majority of the time you eat healthy food and eat at a deficit, one day a month is not going to change an overall pattern. Eat a huge bowl of ice cream if you need to. The world will not end and you won't magically gain 15 lbs overnight.

For me it's salty fried things, not sweets. Two weeks ago I ate an ENTIRE BAG OF SOUR CREAM AND ONION POTATO CHIPS!

Still lost weight that week when I weighed in.

If you're going to do this for the rest of your life you have to accept that you won't do it every day.

lynnymcc

I just came off of a 3 day, "eat whatever I want binge"...then got my period and feel so bloated and disgusted with myself.
I'm pleased to say I am back to making healthy choices, eating well, counting my cals! I am on week 6 and this is the first time this has happened to me (although I always get cravings before my period).
Just be gentle with yourself..you may need a few extra cals during that time...
My next cycle, I plan to exercise more to help with the nasty cravings!

djc315

Yup. Every time.

I don't go crazy but I do allow myself an extra 200 or so calories a day during my period. And I also look for things that are high in protein and fat.

BinaryPulsar

I think I am the only person on MFP that this does not happen to. What I have gathered from MFP is, that you should know your own pattern and know this by now, since this has been going on since somewhere between the age of 9-12. My pattern is that I will step back from exercising during that time if it is possible. I don't usually do exercise just for the sake of fitness at that time. I will choose the first day or so to take a rest. I will still dance because that is set in my schedule and I would need to call in sick to avoid that and I am not in the habit of calling in sick because of TOM. As far as eating, I have found that during TOM (similar to pregnancy), my not wanting to eat offsets the bad food choices (as in, I eat whatever I can get in and keep down. I have nausea in response to hormones).

metaphoria

"As you lay in your bed doing nothing at all, your body is burning up fuel, or calories, keeping your digestive system working, helping your heart beat and all of the other wonderful things that happen inside us that we don’t have to think about on a daily basis. Every thirty days or so, the systems in your body pick up another task.

With the menstrual cycle, the week of your period makes your body do some extra work. This extra work burns more calories and your BMR actually goes up. In some women, the week of your period can make you burn up to fifteen percent more calories, and you haven’t changed a single thing about your lifestyle!

Of course, if you’re trying to figure out why your period makes you so hungry, the answer is clear. Your body is doing more work; your body needs more calories. To get the calories it needs, your body sends a message to your brain telling you you’re hungry more often. Since you’re feeling hungry, you eat."

Quoted from http://www.iibc.com/hungry-period/

Pretty much verbatim from our health class in grade six.

candace_ndiaye

Yes, I think all us ladies have this to some degree I've heard and been told by my gyno, though, that you actually are burning more calories when on your period, so as long as you're not binging, it's probably okay.

I have a HUGE sweet tooth, so one thing I try to do is be sure I allow myself to have a small piece of dark chocolate every day. Generally (not always) this helps me to not go crazy with the sweets. If I do, however, I try to not stress about it too much and just get back on track the next day.

One reason alot of women crave things like chocolate during this time is because, with all the bleeding, your body may well be becoming slightly deficient on those days.

Hope this helps!

Candace

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I definitely get hungrier. I try not to eat a ton more but if I do have an extra treat or two I don't sweat it.

It's possible the OP has never counted calories before. I'm not sure I ever noticed the extra hunger until I was trying to meet a calorie goal. I'm sure I did eat more, but I just wasn't very mindful of my habits.

amandammmq

I'm a 41 year old man, and I know the answer to that question.

I'm surprised that as a 39 year old woman, you don't.

I was shocked when a 40+ year old friend of mine was complaining about PMS symptoms and said, "what am I going to have to do, track when I'm going to get my period?" and I was thinking, "um, why haven't you been doing this for 25 years already???" I'm guessing that a lot of women were just never told to keep track of their periods, behaviors, symptoms. I learned a long time ago to track things so that I could anticipate the mood swings and cravings. It helps A LOT.

BeyondThePixels

Once I get it I'm fine. It's about 3-4 days before when I'm constantly craving food. :-s

PikaKnight

I'm a 41 year old man, and I know the answer to that question.

I'm surprised that as a 39 year old woman, you don't.

When you grow a uterus and some ovaries maybe then you could make a witty remark.

What is wrong with what he said? It's true. He is that old and knows the answer to this, just like I'm a 30 year old woman and I've known the answer to that since the 6th grade.

LeggyAmericanGirl

I hit the sweets pretty hard so i blow up my carb macro. I rarely go over goal thou. Biggest thing is its really hard to get a quality workout in.

tageekly

I'm a 41 year old man, and I know the answer to that question.

I'm surprised that as a 39 year old woman, you don't.

When you grow a uterus and some ovaries maybe then you could make a witty remark.

What is wrong with what he said? It's true. He is that old and knows the answer to this, just like I'm a 30 year old woman and I've known the answer to that since the 6th grade.

^ This. It's not a new development what the symptoms of PMS are.

sunsnstatheart

I don't know if it's related but when my wife's TOM comes, I sob uncontrollably and eat more ice cream. I think our hormones are in sync.