Ladies-ravenous on your period?

Calcium (aka dairy) and water. Two things that have helped me.

You're definitely not alone! Saturday was a struggle and Sunday I got too tired of it and ate 4000 calories (still somehow ate at maintenance for the week). And yesterday was fine and I managed to keep a pretty big deficit. Today so far seems ok, but AF hasn't shown her ugly butt yet...

Honestly... I think I'll stop fighting it from now on, and just eat. I haven't found anything that works - I tried complex carbs, fat, protein, soups, about anything you can think of... You can look at my diary for Sunday. Normally that breakfast would have kept me full for 3-4 hours... it kept me full for 1.5. And that huge 'lunch' I ended up having at 11... I was starving again at 1. 518g of soup is a LOT of soup. Plus pasta, chicken... NOPE. Ok I could have passed on the cookies, but on normal days it's not an issue to fit them in my day... I guess the only thing that worked is that total 1600 calories piggy out I had for dinner (fish and chips and cronuts).

So maybe next time on those days I'll try a huge 1000 calorie breakfast and hope it helps. Usually it lasts longer than 2 days though, so maybe making it a cheat day is what helped.

I'm like this too. I just give in to the chocolate craving and make sure I workout harder on those days.

Always.. and not just for 3 days, the whole week before period. No wonder I do not lose that week and sometimes even gain.. its a constant struggle.

I do notice more intense cravings... but the only tip I have is to make note of how you are feeling and notice that it's because of your cycle. After that, it's a matter of just saying "No". It takes will power, just like any day. You just have to try a little harder and think about it. Also... more sleep! And your body might be craving iron filled foods too so try to eat red meat and dark green veggies.

Just like all those posts asking if people exercise during their period - stop letting something so insignificant (and frequent) run your life. Get used to it, you've likely had it for many years and will be dealing with it for many more to come. Just think of it like having a runny nose for a week.

I understand your pain! I'm a ravenous beast no matter what I eat for 2-3 days a month.

Exercise truly does help, partly because it's a distraction, but partly because if I did eat a metric ton of chocolate at least I burnt some of it off (she hopes).

The other thing I hate at the time of the month, is how intolerable I find things that normally don't bother me. My other half eats all manner foods that I have very much cut down on, and ordinarily I don't care. He doesn't need to lose weight and he doesn't expect me to eat like him. But lord help him if he's eating chocolate in front of me at the time of the month and I've already had my food for the day (he eats supper and I don't). Drives me nuts!

I tend to just assume I'm going to eat 200-300 more calories than usual for 1 or 2 days, and that over the course of a month, that is nothing to fret over. It's better than inevitably going over and feeling rubbish about it.

Yup Yup ... ahhh the lovely 'benefits' of womanhood no?

Try to have healthy go-to snacks so when the muchies DO come on you can at least have some control over the quality if not the quantity.

I also follow the 90/10 Rule (80/20 variation) so I don't have the additional stress of eating out of my norm to make my cravings worse. The LAST thing I'd do is to 'forbid' something because that's when I tend to binge.

Good luck!

Holy cannolis, yes! I can easily out-eat my 6'3" husband if I don't really lay down the willpower hammer on those days. Drinking lots and lots of water to the point where I am so full I can't even think about a cookie sometimes helps... plus it helps with bloating, too!

PRMinx wrote: »

VeryKatie wrote: »

I do notice more intense cravings... but the only tip I have is to make note of how you are feeling and notice that it's because of your cycle. After that, it's a matter of just saying "No". It takes will power, just like any day. You just have to try a little harder and think about it. Also... more sleep! And your body might be craving iron filled foods too so try to eat red meat and dark green veggies.

Just like all those posts asking if people exercise during their period - stop letting something so insignificant (and frequent) run your life. Get used to it, you've likely had it for many years and will be dealing with it for many more to come. Just think of it like having a runny nose for a week.

This.

Periods should not be an excuse to avoid exercise or gorge ourselves. They happen every month for many years - it's not like it's a surprise.

I agree with this. If I am unusually hungry (any time, not just TOM) I have a small additional snack, but not a sugary one. Something like a babybel or greek yogurt, which fills me up and won't feed any sugar craving, which I know is just that, a craving and a not a need. Similar with exercise. During TOM I may find my workouts harder to get through and might not manage as much as I usually do, but I still do them anyway.

get cravings a few days before but I agree with JazzFischer. Birth control can calm it. go for a walk and eat some more...

I just do not let my period control me. Having a period does not eliminate my determination and my mental function. Maybe I am a special snowflake?

dakotababy wrote: »

I just do not let my period control me. Having a period does not eliminate my determination and my mental function. Maybe I am a special snowflake?

So special. But really, some months are harder for me than others.

Also, there are people that get some pretty ridiculous period issues. I have a friend who has cramps that are so bad she doubles over in pain and she's no p***.

Definitely not alone there. I ate a jar of caramel almond butter on caramel rice cakes (which I don't typically like the taste of) over the course of three days before my period >_> No ragrets.

I'm glad that lots of these women have the willpower to just say no, but If I had that I wouldn't need this site now would I? lol

I have to sort of bypass the willpower aspect of weight loss. I hate going to the gym, so I go with a girlfriend that I only see there so it's fun and not work. Same thing with crazy ravenous period Kim. I eat a GIANT breakfast (like half of my days calories) and drink lots and lots of water on those days so I won't feel like eating. If I do that I normally net a bit under my daily limit.

Hope this helps

Sebismom wrote: »

Interesting to hear how others experience this. I feel hunger (not like nursing a baby ohmygod I have to eat everything right now!), but it's a mindless hunger, more of a whimper than a scream. Sometimes I'll catch myself making way too many trips to the kitchen, I'll look over at the calendar, and sure enough, I'm two days away from my period. By period day, I'm just nauseated and bloated, so the eat-a-thon only lasts about two days.

I don't think anything but actual starvation compares to the hunger one feels when nursing a baby. Haha