Periods & food. How do you stay in control?

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  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
    I know I am late to this thread, but I am really ravenous the week before my period, yet not very hungry the week or so after my period. In the past I used to make myself eat when I wasn't hungry and then starve when I was craving lots of food, but now I am essentially working on a monthly average and it seems to be working much better. Good luck :-)
  • DaniKaren
    DaniKaren Posts: 79 Member
    I don't see how telling people to "suck it up" is constructive or kind.

    When I have cravings, I eat what I'm craving (usually peanut butter cups). I just don't eat a a bunch of them. I eat one. If I don't feel satisfied with one, I'll drink a big glass of water. If I still want more a couple of hours later, I'll eat another.

    Things that help me not go overboard:
    I keep them out of sight.
    I put them in the freezer, so each time I want one, I have to wait for it to thaw.

    I don't believe that you have to completely deny yourself of more indulgent food...just practice moderation.
  • NancieFeatherston
    NancieFeatherston Posts: 52 Member
    "Suck it up"... a little harsh, but if you are really honest it is kind and helpful... I will never be the only one that struggles with my period and food and pain. Never! However there is so much truth to Suck it up, that I actually laughed... knowing full well if say, my husband said that, he would get a death punch to the throat.( only sort of joking) Coming from another woman though, its kind of like "Come on, you can do this" ... that's how I would take it from another that knows of my grief. Some days are better than others... do your best everyday, every damn day!
  • zivasak
    zivasak Posts: 88
    I welcome my periods with a big affectionate hug ;). This means that I am burning an extra 300 cal. a day and that my body no longer needs to hold on to the fat at night so I can do HIIT, intense cardio, etc. When I hit the gym the first day, my cramps get better and I lose more fat at that time. It is only the night before and the first half of the day that are challenging for me, but I resist the temptations of eating back these calories and more. It goes away after the gym.

    I read it somewhere, there was research on that subject that athletes perform better during that time.

    I use to rely on the pill for the last 12 years. I now decided to take control and work on my hormones. It has been great so far.
  • SouthGaPeach
    SouthGaPeach Posts: 43 Member
    Well when i get my period, i think to myself:

    Am i really extra hungry or just extra miserable and angry at the world and my genitals? If i decide that i am really hungry, I eat.
    If not, i make my boyfriend's life hell for a couple of days.

    Just figure out what your uterus really needs.

    I just laughed hysterically. This is 100% true. My boyfriend always knows without even bothering to ask because I turn into pure evil.
  • shadriel7
    shadriel7 Posts: 20
    These schmucks can go on and on about 'willpower' and 'big girl panties' all they want to. If you're periods genuinely make you ill, and exercising during them is extremely difficult due to either the pain or whatever other complications - don't hurt yourself just to not miss a couple days of exercise. You would do more harm than good and missing a couple of days is not going to upset your routine by much. Yes for some people its only a matter of making up your mind to do something, for others the exercise might even be beneficial, but there are some who are genuinely too sick to be doing it at times. Only you can decide what fits you best.

    During the first 2-3 days of my period every month its all I can do to get out of bed, let alone make it to work if I have to. They leave me extremely anemic and so exhausted I can barely move, and also in some seriously severe pain that 4-6 200mg advils only barely takes the edge off of, and requires knock-out level painkillers to actually get the pain under control - no I do not exercise on those days - it would be completely impossible for me to do so, and I'd more than likely end up in the hospital if I tried. I just try to make sure I eat healthy things that will help me recover quicker. I've also found that since I've started exercising, mine are not lasting as long - 4 days when they used to always be 6 days or more, although, just as painful, miserable and exhausting as always on the first couple of days - however the recovery time is getting shorter, I'm not as exhausted for as long as I used to be.

    The bottom line is, you'll have to decide for yourself what you think is best for your needs - just don't hurt yourself to impress anyone with your 'willpower'.
  • Sarah_HA81
    Sarah_HA81 Posts: 27
    I eat a little more in healthy ways. More calcium, more protein, more fiber. Chocolate milk for a sweet craving and sea salt if i'm really wanting something salty. If you feel you really need something have a few bites. It won;t kill you.

    also if you get bad cramps - take pain medication for several days before you should start your period. I get cramps so bad my pelvis to my thighs get a weird numb sensation, i vomit, and have even passed out. I usually try to walk but period time I take it a bit easier.
  • Sarah_HA81
    Sarah_HA81 Posts: 27
    I don't see how telling people to "suck it up" is constructive or kind.

    When I have cravings, I eat what I'm craving (usually peanut butter cups). I just don't eat a a bunch of them. I eat one. If I don't feel satisfied with one, I'll drink a big glass of water. If I still want more a couple of hours later, I'll eat another.

    Things that help me not go overboard:
    I keep them out of sight.
    I put them in the freezer, so each time I want one, I have to wait for it to thaw.

    I don't believe that you have to completely deny yourself of more indulgent food...just practice moderation.

    ^^^^ and this
  • Eleanorshak
    Eleanorshak Posts: 9 Member
    Hm, well, our uteruses (er...uteri?) may well not be our bosses but my hormones sure as hell alter how I feel and how I want to eat. With great respect to everyone who's posted here (and I /really/ mean that!) I guess I don't find it that helpful to think of my mind as somehow separate from body, hormones, uterus etc or that some mysterious 'me' or 'mind' should be able to control them - it's all me. I've developed a bunch of tricks to play on myself that seem to work better than Willpower - don't know which bit of my body or mind I'm meant to find that in - but I don't think I've found it yet!

    I certainly suffered from period bingeing. I worked out that the day before my period and the first day were the worse for suddenly getting out of control and just ate more good carbs on those days, upping my calories to roughly maintenance level. I found that if I felt ok when my period was due and thought 'oh, I'm fine this time, I won't up the carbs' I would just go crazy with cookies, cake and wine on the first day. So I would plan in the extra carbs and eat them even if I didn't really want to. I wouldn't plan on losing any weight on those two days - but I didn't go crazy and put any on and could then go back to the diet. Am now maintaining pretty happily.

    Good luck!

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