Do any other ladies experience this?

You know when you get your monthly gift and you want to just eat everything in sight and its so hard not to because you have a terrible case of the munchies? please tell me I'm not the only one that gets like this lol. I don't know how to avoid it how do you do it?

also anybody else get extremely bloated while on their menstrual cycle? I do, and i hate it makes me feel so fat, whats the best way to keep the bloat down? thanks! sorry if this is too much info lol.

You can mitigate against the entire hormonal fluctuation/ PMS thing with targeted healthy eating throughout the month. Aim to keep your blood sugar levels stable, plenty of fibre to sweep waste hormones out of the body, long chain omega-3s from oily fish for hormone production, anti inflammatory effects and mental wellbeing, foods rich in a raft of micronutrients from magnesium to zinc to B complex vitamins to vitamin D. Limit or avoid sugar, white/ refined carbs, caffeine, alcohol, higher intakes of omega-6 fats.

If you want chocolate go for it - cocoa is super rich in many minerals. Just choose low sugar high cocoa options, not sugary milky rubbish which puts the body into a state of stress. Salt cravings can be sign of magnesium or potassium deficiencies/ imbalances, they rarely mean you need more sodium. Some people find it helpful to realise they are self medicating feeding carb cravings with junk food, no different to how many people with mental health problems self medicate via drug or alcohol abuse.

You know when you get your monthly gift and you want to just eat everything in sight and its so hard not to because you have a terrible case of the munchies? please tell me I'm not the only one that gets like this lol. I don't know how to avoid it how do you do it?

also anybody else get extremely bloated while on their menstrual cycle? I do, and i hate it makes me feel so fat, whats the best way to keep the bloat down? thanks! sorry if this is too much info lol.

You can mitigate against the entire hormonal fluctuation/ PMS thing with targeted healthy eating throughout the month. Aim to keep your blood sugar levels stable, plenty of fibre to sweep waste hormones out of the body, long chain omega-3s from oily fish for hormone production and anti inflammatory effects, foods rich in a raft of micronutrients from magnesium to zinc to B complex vitamins to vitamin D. Limit or avoid sugar, white/ refined carbs, caffeine, alcohol, higher intakes of omega-6 fats.

If you want chocolate go for it - cocoa is super rich in many minerals. Just choose low sugar high cocoa options, not sugary milky rubbish which puts the body into a state of stress. Salt cravings can be sign of magnesium or potassium deficiencies/ imbalances, they rarely mean you need more sodium. Some people find it helpful to realise they are self medicating feeding carb cravings with junk food, no different to how many people with mental health problems self medicate via drug or alcohol abuse.

Great advise! That is what I strive for every week...

You know when you get your monthly gift and you want to just eat everything in sight and its so hard not to because you have a terrible case of the munchies? please tell me I'm not the only one that gets like this lol. I don't know how to avoid it how do you do it?

also anybody else get extremely bloated while on their menstrual cycle? I do, and i hate it makes me feel so fat, whats the best way to keep the bloat down? thanks! sorry if this is too much info lol.

Yea my stomach increases by about 3 inches, which is significant.

I never understood why it's considered a "monthly gift". Because I kind of want to shoot that gift giver in the face.

Lol, best description ever!

Great advise! That is what I strive for every week...

Thanks, it does work: there is some decent research, I have experienced it myself and seen it with nutrition clients. Not 100% cure for everyone of course, but any improvement is worth having right? We like to blame Mother Nature, but the reality is we in the west totally ignore what our body evolved to eat and do, we don't exercise enough, we are overweight, we rely too much on our cars and we eat all the wrong things. I often see people claim they don't have any health problems or symptoms as a result of their lifestyle, but they do - stuff like PMS or low energy! I have a number of minor to moderate health issues that are linked to low levels of magnesium and omega-3 so I have to concentrate on selecting foods rich in these.

I crave salt really bad. But I try really hard not to eat anything salty because it just makes the cramps and such worse for me.

I crave really weird stuff that I don't usually like to eat.

Like tahini and white chocolate.

Wtf hormones?

You know when you get your monthly gift and you want to just eat everything in sight and its so hard not to because you have a terrible case of the munchies? please tell me I'm not the only one that gets like this lol. I don't know how to avoid it how do you do it?

also anybody else get extremely bloated while on their menstrual cycle? I do, and i hate it makes me feel so fat, whats the best way to keep the bloat down? thanks! sorry if this is too much info lol.

You can mitigate against the entire hormonal fluctuation/ PMS thing with targeted healthy eating throughout the month. Aim to keep your blood sugar levels stable, plenty of fibre to sweep waste hormones out of the body, long chain omega-3s from oily fish for hormone production, anti inflammatory effects and mental wellbeing, foods rich in a raft of micronutrients from magnesium to zinc to B complex vitamins to vitamin D. Limit or avoid sugar, white/ refined carbs, caffeine, alcohol, higher intakes of omega-6 fats.

If you want chocolate go for it - cocoa is super rich in many minerals. Just choose low sugar high cocoa options, not sugary milky rubbish which puts the body into a state of stress. Salt cravings can be sign of magnesium or potassium deficiencies/ imbalances, they rarely mean you need more sodium. Some people find it helpful to realise they are self medicating feeding carb cravings with junk food, no different to how many people with mental health problems self medicate via drug or alcohol abuse.

Thank you for the information. Very helpful.

Definitely deal with both of these. No matter what I eat, I'm still hungry and I bloat SO bad. The couple days right before I start my period I look like I could be pregnant, lol. I seriously pack on anywhere from 5-8lbs before I start my period.

I get this way every month. About two weeks before, my breasts swell and I'll gain 1-3 pounds. A weeks before I get moody and bloated and pack on an additional 2-5 pounds on top of the 1-3 I already gained from swollen breasts. I don't eat more, but I do tend to want to eat more unhealthy things. I feel that way about food from two weeks before until the day I start. Once I start, well maybe the day after, I am no longer bloated, my breasts tenderness and swelling goes away and I am more thirsty than hungry.

I have only been this way for about two years. After my youngest son was born, I had an IUD placed for birth control and menstrual management. After it came out, all these symptoms started.

I have two children. I heard PMS get worse after each child. AGREED. I only had slight moodiness and tender breasts after my first child. Now, the symptoms are crippling at times.

There's nothing you can do about that stuff, but it's completely normal. Fortunately (for me), I don't go through any of that. I have absolutely no PMS symptoms or cravings. Sorry you have to!

oh my god, i get it terribly about a week before its due...i get super bloated, and want to eat everything bad in sight. I try not to. I usually give in a bit but once in a while, I just dont care and pig right out. I get so bloated, it feels as though I've gained 10 pounds overnight, although I know i didnt... I drink lots of water and sometimes take a herbal diuretic to help with the bloating. My bloating usually goes down a day or 2 before it actually starts. BC has semi-controlled some symptoms, but not the cravings and bloating! Ugh, sometimes it sucks being a woman!!!!

I have not heard of these symptoms during menstruation. Please see your doctor.

Well now you have, loads of women have reported the same on this very thread so I think you can place it in the 'quite common' pile.