Ladies what do you do that time of the month?

Curious to see answers on this also. Every time I get mine I feel like I am going to literally die. So I haven't worked out yet while on it.

It is definitely a challenge – I get food cravings and physical discomfort – but I do my best to stick to my plan both with meals and workouts. The only concession I'll make is maybe dialing the intensity back on a workout but I won't skip it altogether. I am always glad I did as exercise and healthy eating seem to alleviate some of the cramps.

I get monster cravings the week before. Sometimes I cave, sometimes I don't. I'm not going to let it derail my progress the other three weeks.

This. And some kind of activity, even if less intense, actually helps the physical blahs and grumpiness. And ibuprofen.

I do the same as every other day. I eat well and train. Take some nurofen if absolutely necessary. No excuses.

I still do my steps and workouts, regardless of TOM. I think most people want to eat more during their time. It's one of those nature things that we have trouble overcoming. I just try to remember that every extra calorie I eat will end up being pounds that take longer to lose. I've spent my life losing the same 50 pounds over and over and over again. Those 50 pounds are dead any buried now. I'm not going to let my period derail my efforts. That being said, if I have a chocolate craving, nothing else is going to satisfy me. Instead of eating 10 things to try not to eat the chocolate, I just eat the dang chocolate. In the long run, it's going to save me calories. Half a candy bar is about 150 calories. I can fit that into my day if I choose.

I did a spin class today and it's that time of the month. This was my third spin class and it was much harder...I had to dial back my normal level of intensity. I'm glad I did it though. I think going through the exercise motions but listening tom your body and adjusting the intensity is a good place to start...based on my one day of experience...

Drink lots of water. That may sound counter-intuitive but it helps. Definitely exercise! It really will help. When I need to satisfy my sweet tooth, I have a bite-size piece of dark chocolate, like a piece of Dove or Hershey's Bliss, or a dark chocolate mini reesee's peanut butter cup. That's just enough to feel like I have indulged, but without too many calories (about 40).

Back in the day (I am getting back into it now) I use to work out through it. Work on Abs and lower torso stuff, then a good bath after it. For me, pressure upon the pain seems to help with it, so does heat.

My TOM use to be so bad that I could barely move then I went on birth control. Now it has been minimized so it isn't that bad right now. I still take a lot of ibuprofen tho. Just try to move even if it's a walk around the block and make sure you drink a lot of water. Then curl up with a heat pad and watch tv.

I drink lots of water and buy a box of milk duds. Five a day is only 65 calories and takes care of my NEED for chocolate. lol

Once every 4-5 months, I get cramps SUPER bad (I get cramps every month, but every so often, one of the months is way worse than the others). Exercising during that time is pretty much impossible. During those really bad ones, I actually don't feel like eating at all because I already feel uncomfortably "full" - like after over-indulging at Thanksgiving. I take ibuprofen and use a heating pad to try to dull the pain. I have skipped work so I can just stay in bed. I also *try* to drink a lot of water, with the hope that will help the bloating to pass faster, but it does make it hurt more right at first when I already feel sooooo over-full.

On the other months, when it's just "sort of" bad, I find that exercising actually helps me take my mind off the pain / cravings. I find that moderately challenging exercise is the best - so spin class or an eliptical machine is good. Running is too hard at that time, so I don't do that... and things like yoga are too easy and don't take my mind off the pain well enough.

As for the food cravings, I have food cravings most of the time anyway (like 28 out of 31 days/month - ha) so I do my best to budget calories for the end-of-the-day cravings that I know are bound to hit me. And sometimes, I just have to tell myself "tough luck" and not indulge... and going to bed seems to work pretty well for me. If I'm sleeping, I'm not craving! ha.

I keep on trucking.

I find that if I don't get up and get moving I feel even worse. I may not go for an intense cardio workout, but getting out and taking a nice long walk with some music that I love helps a lot. Curling up on the couch just makes everything worse for me.
I also crave carbs, but I just make room for the carbs I'm craving in my day and I'm good to go!

I work through it. Exercise helps for me - by the end of a long hard workout any discomfort will be gone. Doesn't help the cravings though! I usually just give in to those. Having a couple bad days a month won't ruin my progress.

Ugh I literally get the same way, I just avoid my kitchen at all costs lol! Unless im making a protein shake I stay away from the kitchen, but I usually don't work out during that time because my cramps are just awful, ssso im usually just in bed relaxing with my laptop and some movies!