Ladies only please - TOM question

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Replies

  • Livylove90
    Livylove90 Posts: 14
    If I am feeling ravenous during TOM I usually try drinking a few cups of water and a spoonful of peanut butter. Its a good idea to stock up on healthy snacks like veggies/fruits, no junk food in the house but I still def have days where I go over my calories anyway but I dont dwell too much on it. I just work harder at the gym :)
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    OMG, there are men in this thread! *passes out*
  • lee91356
    lee91356 Posts: 330 Member
    I was told that its ok to up the calories during this time your body need the extra calories. (per my nutritionist/ dietitian) The trick is not to fall into the habit of eating only bad foods and to get more good calories in like more yogurt, fruits, cheese, veggies, ect. Thats my problem though, I crave EVERYTHING but the good calories lol. Hell those day sometimes half my calories come from crap. :embarassed: So in total no I dont have any advice just be mindful
  • sparklingday
    sparklingday Posts: 25 Member
    Ok ladies... been there done all of that! and so glad I am past it.
    However, a couple of things that I picked up along the way that seriously worked like a charm are High doses of B complex and raspberry tea.

    Now, I am not a doc by any stretch of the imagination so I am just telling you what worked for me. I would find the highest dosage of B complex vitamins and take 2-3 times the recommended dosage. B complex is water soluble so it won't hurt you if you are taking too much. You just pee it out. I would take the B complex till my urine turned bright yellow. It would take a couple of months of taking this daily to resolve my TOM stuff, but once it kicked in it relieved my symptoms completely!! You just have to keep taking it. Once you quit after a month or so it all comes back.

    The other thing is red raspberry tea... this you can do for about a week before and all during and it helps a lot! I used these at different times. I wasn't all that good about taking the vitamin supplements all the time... so when I needed something quicker I would take the red raspberry tea. Old herbal remedy.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    OMG, there are men in this thread! *passes out*

    I am going to be honest. After this semester of nursing school I realized I learned more about pregnancy and the function of it than some women out there.


    It is very scary.I am not trying to be cocky its just cause I am a guy lol
  • jillianlamb
    jillianlamb Posts: 29
    Typically during my TOM (which finally started today after being a week late. ugh) I'm either in the bathtub screaming and kicking from the pain, throwing up everything I've ever eaten... Or in the kitchen eating everything. Between the cramps, nausea, hunger, and migraines, it's a pretty terrible week.
    So for the week my new best friend will be copious amounts of tea. And I plan on drowning my sorrows in exercise. Instead of giving in to the binge eating, I'd recommend them both. When your TOM is coming, throw out or give away everything you'd typically binge on.
    Cheers ladies xx
  • Silver14
    Silver14 Posts: 141
    While I am not a lady, I have had talk with some classmates/teachers in regards to change in appetite in TOM during my family and maternal nursing class.

    It is important to get protein in before TOM. Your body anticipates the blood loss and gets ready to produce RBCs.

    Its kind of amazing about how the body has all of these functions and all of these needs.

    I will say bloating with women is hard also do to the fact estrogen controls sodium retention. It sucks, it would drive me crazy.

    Dont stress yourself out too much about it. Its a normal function, you cant do anything to stop it(atleast not dangerously) and nothing good will come from worrying too much about it

    Thanks for the info! Funnily enough I crave protein shakes just before Tom and have an extra one a day... No regrets :)
  • Brianna72994
    Brianna72994 Posts: 887
    I actually researched this before, and (supposedly) the reason you feel more hungry is because your body needs the extra nutrients. When I'm about to have TOM, I eat and I'm literally hungry an hour later. I don't deprive myself. I eat when I'm hungry, I just try to choose healthier foods like fruit.
  • StaycJulia
    StaycJulia Posts: 32
    I get the worst cravings for chocolate during my TOM. I have bought the 86% dark chocolate and grated just a bit of it over strawberries with some fat free whipped topping. It gives me just enough of that chocolate taste to keep me from bingeing.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    OMG, there are men in this thread! *passes out*

    I am going to be honest. After this semester of nursing school I realized I learned more about pregnancy and the function of it than some women out there.


    It is very scary.I am not trying to be cocky its just cause I am a guy lol

    Because women are taught that the natural functions of our body are shameful. Mothers don't often talk about it to their daughters and they are left in the dark. Not to mention the female reproductive system is internal and follows some pretty dramatic cyclical hormone functions in only 28 days throw in puberty, pregnancy, menopause, and abnormal cycles we are a very strong gender.

    I've always been the opposite though starting my period was usually a good thing because the depression and cravings of PMS was so strong. I always like to think of it as a renewal or cleansing of the system. Besides the occasional cramp and feeling messy it's always been a welcomed sign.

    Lots of water, some dairy might help like yogurts, cottage cheese, a 1-2% milk lots of calcium and vitamin D, I think fruit is also a great snack its high in water and gives you a quick boost of energy, maybe a bit of green tea with a bit of caffeine and some analgesic pain killing properties or nice chamomile tea, pretzels, nuts (macadamias MMMMMM), avocados, this is big ol' NY strip steak time too with a spinach salad, dark dark chocolate better yet cherries are in season now melt some and dip them in there LOL!

    Remember it's hibernation and introspection time for women. Don't let other's stress you too much. Take it easy don't worry too much about the natural ebb and flow of your body just listen.
  • SabrinaLC
    SabrinaLC Posts: 133 Member
    I eat chocolate like crazy! Look for Chocolove Sea Salt and Almond bar.
    I think if you eat awesome the rest of the month and have a few bits of chocolate during this time you'll do alright. Just keep up with the healthy eating for 90% of your day and drink loads of water.
  • Dewdropps
    Dewdropps Posts: 111
    I'm an odd one. I don't crave chocolate or anything in particular during my TOM. I do feel a lack of energy, but I made a change 2 months ago that has seemed to help dramatically. In general, I drink 2 protein shakes each day. One right in the morning and another around midway between supper and bed time. During my TOM, I drink 4 each day. I use EAS chocolate with 20g/scoop. I was surprised and happy to see this change. This may not work for others, but hey, figured I'd put it out there.
  • cheesyrunner
    cheesyrunner Posts: 84 Member
    the day before my TOM is the worst... i get so angry and i can't concentrate. during the period, i'm fine and don't have pain or anything like that, but it's this one day, beforehand, which causes me hell and i've learned to live with it. i eat around 2100 calories (all healthy with no exceptions but i normally eat 1200) the day before TOM starts and take it easy, during. so, how i cope is by eating a bit more before it starts and then i find the hunger manageable. the silver lining is finding out you have lost weight (a few days after when waterweight is back to normal) due to your body working overtime. :smile:
  • lize_bird
    lize_bird Posts: 10 Member
    Remove it from the house! I just ate two entire bags of chips almost by myself since they were laying around and I was hungry!!! Ugh. (But they were DELICIOUS!)
  • Xenophonica
    Xenophonica Posts: 79 Member
    I usually remove the "bad" foods from my house, and I like to keep a dark chocolate bar/chips available. I love it but won't eat a LOT of it at once, even during my TOM. I agree with drinking a lot of water, too. I drink a lot of tea and/or coffee during that time too. I'm amazed at what a 20 minute walk will do for the body too, when you're hit with a craving.
  • SutapaMukherji
    SutapaMukherji Posts: 244 Member
    I am expecting mine next week and this will be the first I am having since I started working out 3 weeks back.
    Kind of apprehensive how it shall be cuz I have pathetic cramps.

    I crave for a lot of dark chocolate (I am sucker for dark chocs) but there has to be a limit right?? I just stop eating anything else and keep on munching chocolates the whole day long :-(
  • Lipstickcherry
    Lipstickcherry Posts: 122 Member
    This is normally where I would say something snarky and mean, but I am on strike two.

    Your cravings are caused, in part, by certain deficiencies, such as iron and calcium, and also because of elevated levels of cortisol:seratonin levels.

    To help combat this, eat some snacks with complex carbs and healthier fats, like peanut butter. To help raise your seratonin levels, exercise.

    I often have celery with peanut butter in them. I am trying to cut down on bread and that really satisfies
    I make tofu stir fries with spinach in them (also bell peppers, mushrooms and an iron, with some spices like cumin thrown in). Put some sriacha on that with soy sauce and that really satisfies too.

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