PMS and Binge Eating - real or just an excuse?
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"Women should have more control"
Well yes in an ideal world we would, but not all of us do, and the tone of this post is so judgmental it's ridiculous.
Do you think people who binge eat enjoy it? From personal experience, it makes me feel ill and triggers my anxiety, and if it was just as simple as making the decision to control the urge to eat more when I'm upset/stressed/on my period, then clearly I would do, what sense would it make for me to be making up excuses for something that makes me break down in tears and feel worthless?
It's definitely not an excuse, and yes, we do need to try and control those urges, but nobody needs to be judged while their struggling with gaining that control.0 -
My experience - it is an excuse.0
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I for sure am super hungry for about a couple days after I ovulate. PMS week and all that I'm fine. It's just those few days after ovulation.
And to say "just keep the stuff out of the house"...I'd have to keep ALL food out of my house. I don't graze on just junk, I seriously just feel like I can't get full. This actually happened to me this week. Tues, Wed and Thurs were torture days, I was "starving".0 -
It's a total bs excuse for me! I'm craving chocolate cuz I have my period. Or I'm getting it next week. Or I had it last week. That's 3 weeks out of the month! I just love chocolate that's all there is to it.0
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I, personally, think it's kind of just an excuse. Although I do eat more red meat during the TOM, because women can require more iron then, due to blood loss.
You bleed about a tablespoon...hardly enough to make you anemic
Lol! This may be true for some, but not for all. I bled so heavily that tampons were falling out within an hour of insertion on my first two days. (TMI, I know. Sorry.) I've never measured, but I'm quite certain that was more than a tablespoon.0 -
BOTH.
That is all.
Haha! Yes!
Honestly ladies, this is about as pointless as arguing about whether or not EVERYONE should exercise while on their period. We are all so different. What is true for one for person will not be true for the next. Whether you intend to or not, you're making a woman who already feels like crap feel even crappier by telling her that she is just making excuses.0 -
I think PMS makes me more susceptible to giving into my cravings because I'm usually tired, cranky and fed up the couple of days before my period. So I'm not really reasonable. If I want something, it takes a lot for me to say no.
Usually I'm fairly good at saying no to cravings (preempting by not having bad food in the house) but tonight... ah tonight... I am currently experiencing PMS and ate (shamefully) a whole Easter Egg in about 5 minutes. I barely tasted it and felt sick afterwards but I felt like I "NEEDED" it. Total binge. Huge craving. I should not have left that near me at this time of month. I know better...
So knowing I know better, maybe I'm subconsciously using it as an excuse to binge? I'm justifying it to myself.0 -
Just posting so I can find this thread tomorrow when I have time to read it.0
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I, personally, think it's kind of just an excuse. Although I do eat more red meat during the TOM, because women can require more iron then, due to blood loss.
You bleed about a tablespoon...hardly enough to make you anemic
Lol! This may be true for some, but not for all. I bled so heavily that tampons were falling out within an hour of insertion on my first two days. (TMI, I know. Sorry.) I've never measured, but I'm quite certain that was more than a tablespoon.
^Agreed. Some people act like there is no such thing as a heavy flow. From my own personal experience until I was about 28...my periods were so heavy that sometimes I'd have to change my tampon every 20-30 minutes and make sure I had a pad to catch overflow. It was super embarrassing, uncomfortable and WAY more than a tablespoon. And this would be continuous for days...not just a few hours or one day.0 -
Ummm....I've never done the 5000 calorie thing (in the past two years) but I definitely notice patterns of hungrier days throughout the month.0
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Agreed, OP. Cravings are just those, cravings. They don't rule you unless you allow them to. They may get a little stronger for a few days once a month, but to tout that you "have no control" and "just go nuts" is a copout. If you screwed up and binged, fine, we're all human and nobody's perfect. But OWN IT and stop shifting the blame on something other than your own self.0
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I definitely notice an increase in cravings and hunger in the days leading up to my TOM. I'm also very sensitive to hormones - I can't take hormonal birth control because the side effects are horrific - so I definitely think there is something to theory that a woman does experience something biologically and it's not just an excuse to stuff your face. I gained weight each time I tried the pill because the hormones jacked up my hunger cues, and since those hormone levels resemble ones I experience before TOM, it makes sense to me. That doesn't mean I go crazy but it does help me on those days to be able to say "oh, that's what's going on."0
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I, personally, think it's kind of just an excuse. Although I do eat more red meat during the TOM, because women can require more iron then, due to blood loss.
You bleed about a tablespoon...hardly enough to make you anemic
Lol! This may be true for some, but not for all. I bled so heavily that tampons were falling out within an hour of insertion on my first two days. (TMI, I know. Sorry.) I've never measured, but I'm quite certain that was more than a tablespoon.
^Agreed. Some people act like there is no such thing as a heavy flow. From my own personal experience until I was about 28...my periods were so heavy that sometimes I'd have to change my tampon every 20-30 minutes and make sure I had a pad to catch overflow. It was super embarrassing, uncomfortable and WAY more than a tablespoon. And this would be continuous for days...not just a few hours or one day.
If I recall from my sex ed class in high school you bleed about 1/4 to a 1/2 a cup. If anyone really cares that much feel free to measure....
I'm already half way through mine for the month and I can say I'm more hormonal then usual but I take bc to regulate me so I'm never too crazy or hungry or wanting to watch a marathon of Nicholas Sparks movies and cry my eyes out. But before I started bc ( I was 15 at the time) there were times I would bleed for 2 months straight....and once I even passed out. So All that to say, I don't judge a girl for scarfing down a pint of ice cream on her period. Excuse or not let the damn girl eat! :drinker:0 -
Since starting MFP 39 days ago, the ONLY day I have gone over my calorie goal was the day before my last period. I even exercised that day to earn extra calories and still went over by 300. The entire day I felt like I had not eaten anything, like just a burning emptiness in my stomach that wouldn't stop no matter what I ate. I ate fruit, vegetables, chicken, red meat, nuts, dried fruit, rice, greek yogurt... nothing helped. I had NO sweets or chocolate. I finally took Advil PM and went to bed. I know it's normal for me to be hungry right before my period, but I haven't been counting my calories until recently so I have no idea how much I normally eat on those days. So for me, personally, the PMS is real, because every other day for the past 39 days I haven't had any problems sticking to my goal. Of course, I'm on fertility medications, so that may make a difference in my hormones, but this is my personal experience.0
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When I get PMS I want to eat more -salt.- Not chocolate or cake or anything that makes me go over on calories, but pickles.
Pickles. I eat so many. And olives. I don't care because I'm not over in calories but I end up having to drink an extra liter of water to flush my system.
But I've never really binged and I've never been over on calories. I don't know anyone who does just binge eat 5000 a day during PMS so...0 -
the replies because for SOME this is NOT an excuse our bodies are BURNING more calories and therefore we are HUNGRIER then normal. I too overeat/ binge eat and hey, guess what, its not only crap, its ANYTHING and EVERYTHING - biggest c raving roasted chicken, salted nuts, and protein bar, along with cereal (no milk) and pretzel. But truth be told its the nagging hunger that anything thats not nailed down must go in my pie whole because I'm still hungry.
I am also an emotional eater and I know the difference and there is one. if your not sure, rather then insult people check with a doctor or certified nutritionist/ dietitian.0 -
It is so funny how we as women can be so brutal to eachother. NO ONE knows what the other's body goes through at the special time of the month as there are many factors that play into it like your hormone levels, chemistry, DNA, weight etc. So to say that people are using their period as an excuse or copout is kinda harsh. It is like me saying I don't PMS so those that say they do are full of $%^&. It is funny because this whole week I have been fighting urges big time and not being satisfied with my normally satisfying healthy food or getting hungry super quick after I eat. I have been saying all week WTH is wrong. Look at the calendar and... I am due next week. It makes sense. Now I have ate three cookies in two days which I wouldn't normally touch. No it is isn't binging but I sympathize with those that can't control the urges and the hunger like they can normally. I think that admitting that you overate is owning it no matter what the reason you attribute it to. This is a weight loss forum so get off of the pulpit and stop preaching about how you are a rock star and can control your urges and others are just weak excuse makers. What satisfaction is there in putting others down just because you don't struggle like they do? Try being uplifing instead of insulting. This thread is 6 pages long with women who say they suffer from this struggle every month obviously it is real for some. When God made you he didn't clone you or your DNA into all of us so let's stop the madness. #GoingtogetanothercookieandIOWNTHAT0
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the replies because for SOME this is NOT an excuse our bodies are BURNING more calories and therefore we are HUNGRIER then normal. I too overeat/ binge eat and hey, guess what, its not only crap, its ANYTHING and EVERYTHING - biggest c raving roasted chicken, salted nuts, and protein bar, along with cereal (no milk) and pretzel. But truth be told its the nagging hunger that anything thats not nailed down must go in my pie whole because I'm still hungry.
I am also an emotional eater and I know the difference and there is one. if your not sure, rather then insult people check with a doctor or certified nutritionist/ dietitian.
Yeah you also burn more calories the week before your period, don't you?0 -
Speaking from 39 years of experience with this 'business' - I don't even have to check the calendar anymore. Two or three days before P day, I suddenly get a craving to eat almost a pound of old cheese at one sitting and chase it all down with jiggers of Frank's Hot Sauce. YES, I said jiggers. I try not to do that of course, but as soon as I get that feeling - I suddenly clue in after not thinking about my cycle for a month. Hubby knows the sign too, lol.
It's not like I deny myself those foods the rest of the time, they are a regular part of my meals. It's just at that TOM the craving is crazy. I admit at times I have done the pound of cheese with jigger chasers. Don't feel like eating much after that - so I don't usually go too far over on calories or even macros for my maintenance diary.
It's just the way it is... looking forward to menopause, I doubt it's going to be any crazier for me.0 -
Its a total excuse! If I want chocolate I will eat it who cares I don't need my period to want chocolate its like a daily thing for me.. So when I know I will be on my period I seriously will get in arguments with myself no you don't need that cupcake, grande latte, chocolate bar and whatever else... So I try to force myself to not give into the excuse oh im on my period I can eat this it will make me nicer.. chances are I wont be nicer and I will want more.. just sayin lol0
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As a PMSer who just had a bad binging incident yesterday, I would say it is very real. I get cramps when it's my time of the month, some women don't it doesn't mean mine are imaginary.0
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As a PMSer who just had a bad binging incident yesterday, I would say it is very real. I get cramps when it's my time of the month, some women don't it doesn't mean mine are imaginary.
PREACH!!!0 -
Just want to say that as someone knee-deep in all those mood swings/stomach pangs/fatigue and probably minutes from the crimson tide, sitting here curled up reading every single post on the thread has brought me much amusement/reassurance/ slightly more patience AND mindfulness about the infinite shades of experiences human ladies have with hormones and feelings and alllll that *kitten*.
Now, to sit here and focus on waiting for my (planned and logged and somewhat modulated) feast of Chipotle burrito and adult beverages ( I oscillate between any TOM sweet cravings and my usual preference for alcohol not sugar).
Hang in there ladies! :flowerforyou: :drinker: 0 -
I donate plasma and they check nutrient levels prior to make sure everything is up. Mine are always lower when it's period time. They told me to eat more during because I'm losing nutrients. If our body is in need of nutrients we crave food. So I believe we need more food. So here is where a decision comes in. My body is craving protein and I'm feeling like something spicy. Do I pig out on chicken wings or make myself grilled boneless bites and eat to a point of filling full. To me there's no wrong answer as long as I'm willing to live with it after. Whether the body craves quantity or a certain taste is one thing. I don't believe we have a choice on that. But We can come up with better lower calorie ways to feed it. Whether we do it more or less healthy is the decision.
I get what your asking though. After plasma I'm hungrier than usual. But do I even use THAT as a reason to eat cheese fries until I feel like I'm going to explode or do I only eat until what I crave until my body tells me it's full.0 -
I binge every time I get a bunch of private messages. It's the stress.
Conclusion:
Real.0 -
My experience is A, so if you say your experience is B, then you are just making excuses.I don't buy into the "I have PMS so I just ate 5,000 calories!" theories floating around. Yes, when I get PMS I get cravings for salty and sweet things. I crave food with those tastes. HOWEVER, I still manage to keep control of the AMOUNT of those sweet and salty foods I'm eating.
I think overeating and blaming it on PMS is wrong. We should have more control over it than some women like to believe. It shouldn't be an excuse to eat way too much.
I'd like to hear from other women about this topic. All replies are welcome.
*eyeroll*
Until you live in another person's body, you can't have any idea what that person goes through at any given time.
Exactly! stop being so damn judgmental.0 -
As a PMSer who just had a bad binging incident yesterday, I would say it is very real. I get cramps when it's my time of the month, some women don't it doesn't mean mine are imaginary.
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I get really hungry right before....and then don't want to eat anything for the first two days of TOM. So it offsets, right?
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My experience is A, so if you say your experience is B, then you are just making excuses.I don't buy into the "I have PMS so I just ate 5,000 calories!" theories floating around. Yes, when I get PMS I get cravings for salty and sweet things. I crave food with those tastes. HOWEVER, I still manage to keep control of the AMOUNT of those sweet and salty foods I'm eating.
I think overeating and blaming it on PMS is wrong. We should have more control over it than some women like to believe. It shouldn't be an excuse to eat way too much.
I'd like to hear from other women about this topic. All replies are welcome.
*eyeroll*
Until you live in another person's body, you can't have any idea what that person goes through at any given time.
Totally this! Everyone's body chemistry is so different. It's the reason that birth control has no effects on one woman and detrimental effects on another.0 -
It is so funny how we as women can be so brutal to eachother. NO ONE knows what the other's body goes through at the special time of the month as there are many factors that play into it like your hormone levels, chemistry, DNA, weight etc. So to say that people are using their period as an excuse or copout is kinda harsh. It is like me saying I don't PMS so those that say they do are full of $%^&. It is funny because this whole week I have been fighting urges big time and not being satisfied with my normally satisfying healthy food or getting hungry super quick after I eat. I have been saying all week WTH is wrong. Look at the calendar and... I am due next week. It makes sense. Now I have ate three cookies in two days which I wouldn't normally touch. No it is isn't binging but I sympathize with those that can't control the urges and the hunger like they can normally. I think that admitting that you overate is owning it no matter what the reason you attribute it to. This is a weight loss forum so get off of the pulpit and stop preaching about how you are a rock star and can control your urges and others are just weak excuse makers. What satisfaction is there in putting others down just because you don't struggle like they do? Try being uplifing instead of insulting. This thread is 6 pages long with women who say they suffer from this struggle every month obviously it is real for some. When God made you he didn't clone you or your DNA into all of us so let's stop the madness. #GoingtogetanothercookieandIOWNTHAT
I like you!!!0
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