(women) do you think we really burn more calories on our periods?

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  • mrsnazario1219
    mrsnazario1219 Posts: 173 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    People hearing all this stuff

    Hit google scholar ..find the research ...post it so we can all get up to date and discuss

    I've heard that waist trainers, green tea and juice detox work ..but have been able to completely discount them thanks to real information

    This. Holy cow people. Read up. Don't just sit around wondering. I keep these in my profile. There's more than you asked about OP but it's good reading.


    Menstrual cycle & fitness & other lady stuff
    * http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/impact-of-the-menstrual-cycle-on-determinants-of-energy-intake-reseach-review.html/
    * http://breakingmuscle.com/womens-fitness/what-really-causes-irregular-menstrual-cycles-in-female-athletes
    * http://www.optimumh.co.uk/influence-of-menstrual-cycle-on-strength-training-and-timing/
    * https://www.t-nation.com/training/hormone-cycle-and-female-lifters
    * http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/69538-the-pelvis-abs-and-hormones-walk-into-a-gym/
    * http://www.strengtheory.com/gender-differences-in-training-and-diet/#axzz3kRAhKHG5

    This is great. I get so sick of seeing this on here (my period makes me eat all the food because of 'hormones'). What hormones??? Because progesterone doesn't effect appetite (and I say that as someone who had to have progesterone shots in the *kitten* every day for a month). Leptin and some others do but men have those too. 'Hormones' is not a blanket excuse for stuffing your face.

    So explain to me why I'm so hungry the week before my period. If hormones don't affect appetite, I'm very curious about why it happens.

    Also I can find just as many articles on Google that explain that women can burn up to 15% more calories during PMS.

    So yeah. Who knows. I just know I get hungrier, I don't know if I burn more calories or not.

    YESS! You, me, and most of the rest of us. For me it was the two or three days before. Just as progesterone levels DROPPED.
    That said: (AND TMI ALERT) I'm no longer ovulating. And therefore no longer having progesterone surges and drops, and these days, no hunger and cravings before any eventual flow (that happens randomly these days).

    +1

    I'm starving a few days before my period. I will eat at maintenance at least one of those days. But during i can barely eat 1200cals. I keep hearing "it's all in your head. Excuse to binge" but I don't want to binge. I want to eat healthy and stay on track. But my body is telling me I'm STARVING GIVE ME MORE even after just eating. But again during my period my body is telling me I HATE FOOD STOP FEEDING ME. I don't get it.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Options
    Francl27 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    People hearing all this stuff

    Hit google scholar ..find the research ...post it so we can all get up to date and discuss

    I've heard that waist trainers, green tea and juice detox work ..but have been able to completely discount them thanks to real information

    This. Holy cow people. Read up. Don't just sit around wondering. I keep these in my profile. There's more than you asked about OP but it's good reading.


    Menstrual cycle & fitness & other lady stuff
    * http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/impact-of-the-menstrual-cycle-on-determinants-of-energy-intake-reseach-review.html/
    * http://breakingmuscle.com/womens-fitness/what-really-causes-irregular-menstrual-cycles-in-female-athletes
    * http://www.optimumh.co.uk/influence-of-menstrual-cycle-on-strength-training-and-timing/
    * https://www.t-nation.com/training/hormone-cycle-and-female-lifters
    * http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/69538-the-pelvis-abs-and-hormones-walk-into-a-gym/
    * http://www.strengtheory.com/gender-differences-in-training-and-diet/#axzz3kRAhKHG5

    This is great. I get so sick of seeing this on here (my period makes me eat all the food because of 'hormones'). What hormones??? Because progesterone doesn't effect appetite (and I say that as someone who had to have progesterone shots in the *kitten* every day for a month). Leptin and some others do but men have those too. 'Hormones' is not a blanket excuse for stuffing your face.

    So explain to me why I'm so hungry the week before my period. If hormones don't affect appetite, I'm very curious about why it happens.

    Also I can find just as many articles on Google that explain that women can burn up to 15% more calories during PMS.

    So yeah. Who knows. I just know I get hungrier, I don't know if I burn more calories or not.

    YESS! You, me, and most of the rest of us. For me it was the two or three days before. Just as progesterone levels DROPPED.
    That said: (AND TMI ALERT) I'm no longer ovulating. And therefore no longer having progesterone surges and drops, and these days, no hunger and cravings before any eventual flow (that happens randomly these days).

    +1

    I'm starving a few days before my period. I will eat at maintenance at least one of those days. But during i can barely eat 1200cals. I keep hearing "it's all in your head. Excuse to binge" but I don't want to binge. I want to eat healthy and stay on track. But my body is telling me I'm STARVING GIVE ME MORE even after just eating. But again during my period my body is telling me I HATE FOOD STOP FEEDING ME. I don't get it.

    YES. I never really worried about the starving days, because I knew they would immediately be followed by a few days where food has NO appeal.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Also: many women find their "tolerance" to alcohol changes just before, and then during menstruation.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    Options
    Francl27 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    People hearing all this stuff

    Hit google scholar ..find the research ...post it so we can all get up to date and discuss

    I've heard that waist trainers, green tea and juice detox work ..but have been able to completely discount them thanks to real information

    This. Holy cow people. Read up. Don't just sit around wondering. I keep these in my profile. There's more than you asked about OP but it's good reading.


    Menstrual cycle & fitness & other lady stuff
    * http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/impact-of-the-menstrual-cycle-on-determinants-of-energy-intake-reseach-review.html/
    * http://breakingmuscle.com/womens-fitness/what-really-causes-irregular-menstrual-cycles-in-female-athletes
    * http://www.optimumh.co.uk/influence-of-menstrual-cycle-on-strength-training-and-timing/
    * https://www.t-nation.com/training/hormone-cycle-and-female-lifters
    * http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/69538-the-pelvis-abs-and-hormones-walk-into-a-gym/
    * http://www.strengtheory.com/gender-differences-in-training-and-diet/#axzz3kRAhKHG5

    This is great. I get so sick of seeing this on here (my period makes me eat all the food because of 'hormones'). What hormones??? Because progesterone doesn't effect appetite (and I say that as someone who had to have progesterone shots in the *kitten* every day for a month). Leptin and some others do but men have those too. 'Hormones' is not a blanket excuse for stuffing your face.

    So explain to me why I'm so hungry the week before my period. If hormones don't affect appetite, I'm very curious about why it happens.

    Also I can find just as many articles on Google that explain that women can burn up to 15% more calories during PMS.

    So yeah. Who knows. I just know I get hungrier, I don't know if I burn more calories or not.

    YESS! You, me, and most of the rest of us. For me it was the two or three days before. Just as progesterone levels DROPPED.
    That said: (AND TMI ALERT) I'm no longer ovulating. And therefore no longer having progesterone surges and drops, and these days, no hunger and cravings before any eventual flow (that happens randomly these days).

    +1

    I'm starving a few days before my period. I will eat at maintenance at least one of those days. But during i can barely eat 1200cals. I keep hearing "it's all in your head. Excuse to binge" but I don't want to binge. I want to eat healthy and stay on track. But my body is telling me I'm STARVING GIVE ME MORE even after just eating. But again during my period my body is telling me I HATE FOOD STOP FEEDING ME. I don't get it.

    YES. I never really worried about the starving days, because I knew they would immediately be followed by a few days where food has NO appeal.

    Amen, and ime, the "no food, I hate food, kill it with fire" days outnumber the "If I don't eat I will surely die and dishonor all the former generations of my family" days. So it's easier to get through bearing that in mind:)
  • Hell_Flower
    Hell_Flower Posts: 348 Member
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    Also: many women find their "tolerance" to alcohol changes just before, and then during menstruation.

    God yea. This this.

    One more than one occasion 2 glasses of chardonnay has sent me bat-s h * t crazy and given me a 3 day hangover. Spirits have little to no effect on me during T.O.M but white wine sends me absolutely raging drunk.
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    edited November 2015
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    I am hungrier on some days more than others, but nothing so bad that I can't control my own hand from feeding my face. I don't like the idea that I am not able to control myself in any situation - I find that disempowering. I choose when I eat. Sometimes I have more temptations, but ultimately it is up to me.

    I have to shift around my calories on those days for sure and if I want loads of sugar I eat it, but that is something I am prepared to do any day of the month to stay within calories.

    If there is an extra calorie burn, it is absorbed by my almost total inactivity on those days (terribly debilitating cramps). If I eat more, I think it is because I feel sorry for myself because I am in pain and don't want to deny myself anything. That is a mental battle.

    Men get irritated by our constant griping and excusing ourselves over our hormones. I can see why. We would not accept a man using "hormones" as the reason he gets a girlfriend on the side and cheats on us. Even though we recognize how strong those drives are, we expect him to resist them. I see this as the same sort of thing.

  • TwentyLosingTwenty
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    I honestly tend to consider myself at sedentary/bmr during my period unless I have to be out and about that day. I certainly don't think I'd burn more curled up on the couch with a hot water bottle.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Soopatt wrote: »
    I am hungrier on some days more than others, but nothing so bad that I can't control my own hand from feeding my face. I don't like the idea that I am not able to control myself in any situation - I find that disempowering. I choose when I eat. Sometimes I have more temptations, but ultimately it is up to me.

    I have to shift around my calories on those days for sure and if I want loads of sugar I eat it, but that is something I am prepared to do any day of the month to stay within calories.

    If there is an extra calorie burn, it is absorbed by my almost total inactivity on those days (terribly debilitating cramps). If I eat more, I think it is because I feel sorry for myself because I am in pain and don't want to deny myself anything. That is a mental battle.

    Men get irritated by our constant griping and excusing ourselves over our hormones. I can see why. We would not accept a man using "hormones" as the reason he gets a girlfriend on the side and cheats on us. Even though we recognize how strong those drives are, we expect him to resist them. I see this as the same sort of thing.

    I knew you would post here. As usual, I'm shaking my head. Just because YOU don't have those hunger issues that some of us DO have, doesn't mean they don't exist... Might be a shock, but you're not the center of the universe and everyone isn't like you.

    Infuriating.

    But again, it only started for me once I got close to my goal, so I'm (not so secretively) hoping that karma will be on my side.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Soopatt wrote: »
    I am hungrier on some days more than others, but nothing so bad that I can't control my own hand from feeding my face. I don't like the idea that I am not able to control myself in any situation - I find that disempowering. I choose when I eat. Sometimes I have more temptations, but ultimately it is up to me.

    I have to shift around my calories on those days for sure and if I want loads of sugar I eat it, but that is something I am prepared to do any day of the month to stay within calories.

    If there is an extra calorie burn, it is absorbed by my almost total inactivity on those days (terribly debilitating cramps). If I eat more, I think it is because I feel sorry for myself because I am in pain and don't want to deny myself anything. That is a mental battle.

    Men get irritated by our constant griping and excusing ourselves over our hormones. I can see why. We would not accept a man using "hormones" as the reason he gets a girlfriend on the side and cheats on us. Even though we recognize how strong those drives are, we expect him to resist them. I see this as the same sort of thing.
    I don't equate a desire to eat more two days a week with marital infidelity.

    And as i said, I don't, generally, worry that I have to resist the urge to eat more because I know it's all part of my NATURAL cycle and in a few days food will hold no appeal.

    Again, mostly all in the past for me, due to menopause. Something else that's NATURAL. That'll be a snap for you, I'm sure, lol. <sarcasm>

    Given your comparison, have you tried denying that you have cramps, and forcing yourself to workout through them? It's mind over matter right? And I assume you never, ever mention them to your husband?

    Back to the actual discussion: the fewer sweets and refined carbs I eat, the fewer carby cravings I had with PMS. In fact, I craved salt after I gave up sweets. My go to was roasted garlic, and later salted, roasted kale.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Soopatt wrote: »
    I am hungrier on some days more than others, but nothing so bad that I can't control my own hand from feeding my face. I don't like the idea that I am not able to control myself in any situation - I find that disempowering. I choose when I eat. Sometimes I have more temptations, but ultimately it is up to me.

    I have to shift around my calories on those days for sure and if I want loads of sugar I eat it, but that is something I am prepared to do any day of the month to stay within calories.

    If there is an extra calorie burn, it is absorbed by my almost total inactivity on those days (terribly debilitating cramps). If I eat more, I think it is because I feel sorry for myself because I am in pain and don't want to deny myself anything. That is a mental battle.

    Men get irritated by our constant griping and excusing ourselves over our hormones. I can see why. We would not accept a man using "hormones" as the reason he gets a girlfriend on the side and cheats on us. Even though we recognize how strong those drives are, we expect him to resist them. I see this as the same sort of thing.
    I don't equate a desire to eat more two days a week with marital infidelity.

    And as i said, I don't, generally, worry that I have to resist the urge to eat more because I know it's all part of my NATURAL cycle and in a few days food will hold no appeal.

    Again, mostly all in the past for me, due to menopause. Something else that's NATURAL. That'll be a snap for you, I'm sure, lol. <sarcasm>

    Given your comparison, have you tried denying that you have cramps, and forcing yourself to workout through them? It's mind over matter right? And I assume you never, ever mention them to your husband?

    Back to the actual discussion: the fewer sweets and refined carbs I eat, the fewer carby cravings I had with PMS. In fact, I craved salt after I gave up sweets. My go to was roasted garlic, and later salted, roasted kale.

    I don't crave sweets at all with PMS. I crave bread, lol.
  • Heartisalonelyhunter
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Soopatt wrote: »
    I am hungrier on some days more than others, but nothing so bad that I can't control my own hand from feeding my face. I don't like the idea that I am not able to control myself in any situation - I find that disempowering. I choose when I eat. Sometimes I have more temptations, but ultimately it is up to me.

    I have to shift around my calories on those days for sure and if I want loads of sugar I eat it, but that is something I am prepared to do any day of the month to stay within calories.

    If there is an extra calorie burn, it is absorbed by my almost total inactivity on those days (terribly debilitating cramps). If I eat more, I think it is because I feel sorry for myself because I am in pain and don't want to deny myself anything. That is a mental battle.

    Men get irritated by our constant griping and excusing ourselves over our hormones. I can see why. We would not accept a man using "hormones" as the reason he gets a girlfriend on the side and cheats on us. Even though we recognize how strong those drives are, we expect him to resist them. I see this as the same sort of thing.

    I knew you would post here. As usual, I'm shaking my head. Just because YOU don't have those hunger issues that some of us DO have, doesn't mean they don't exist... Might be a shock, but you're not the center of the universe and everyone isn't like you.

    Infuriating.

    But again, it only started for me once I got close to my goal, so I'm (not so secretively) hoping that karma will be on my side.

    Wow. Are you hangry?
    I think what she's saying is that all women eat chocolate or are a little hungrier during or before TOM, probably because we're in pain, bloated and/or uncomfortable. It evens out though and most women don't stuff their faces uncontrollably then say it's something they can't control because 'hormones'. That's just an excuse. You can always control what you do or don't eat.
    Also are you aware that pregnancy morning sickness is caused by progesterone? I threw up during all my pregnancies and have also thrown up prior to my period and in all cases I can't really eat at all. It's classified as 'progesterone intolerance' and I have had to take anti nausea meds for it and am here because I lost so much weight during my last pregnancy I had to try really hard to get even minimum protein amounts As far as I know progesterone intolerance isn't defined as stuffing your face with food due to insatiable hunger (although there's nothing wrong with doing that if that's what you feel like doing), but please let me know if your Dr says otherwise. I am genuinely interested what you think is causing this.
  • MVY_
    MVY_ Posts: 253 Member
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    I don't know if it does or don't but I won't let it effect my routine. However, each month when auntie flow visits I do notice my body retaining more water...and as I get closer to the end of my menstrual cycle my body loses that and I get my true weight...so I don't weigh myself during her visiting. I will notice my weight will go up at least 5 lbs.
  • krithsai
    krithsai Posts: 668 Member
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    Extra calorie burn or not, I know that I am extra hungry 3 days or so out of the month, typically the days just before. I eat at a smaller deficit on those days. It's not cravings. I'm not eating chocolate and bonbons - just an extra 200-300 calories of whatever I would normally be eating. So, that week, my deficit is reduced by 600-900 calories. I haven't had any issues with the scale because of it.

    This is what I do. I'll just settle for a smaller deficit and eat on the days that I really need to. That being said, I do get very lightheaded on my second and third days and I do need to eat a bit to keep that horrible feeling away.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    I've never heard this.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Soopatt wrote: »
    I am hungrier on some days more than others, but nothing so bad that I can't control my own hand from feeding my face. I don't like the idea that I am not able to control myself in any situation - I find that disempowering. I choose when I eat. Sometimes I have more temptations, but ultimately it is up to me.

    I have to shift around my calories on those days for sure and if I want loads of sugar I eat it, but that is something I am prepared to do any day of the month to stay within calories.

    If there is an extra calorie burn, it is absorbed by my almost total inactivity on those days (terribly debilitating cramps). If I eat more, I think it is because I feel sorry for myself because I am in pain and don't want to deny myself anything. That is a mental battle.

    Men get irritated by our constant griping and excusing ourselves over our hormones. I can see why. We would not accept a man using "hormones" as the reason he gets a girlfriend on the side and cheats on us. Even though we recognize how strong those drives are, we expect him to resist them. I see this as the same sort of thing.

    I knew you would post here. As usual, I'm shaking my head. Just because YOU don't have those hunger issues that some of us DO have, doesn't mean they don't exist... Might be a shock, but you're not the center of the universe and everyone isn't like you.

    Infuriating.

    But again, it only started for me once I got close to my goal, so I'm (not so secretively) hoping that karma will be on my side.

    Wow. Are you hangry?
    I think what she's saying is that all women eat chocolate or are a little hungrier during or before TOM, probably because we're in pain, bloated and/or uncomfortable. It evens out though and most women don't stuff their faces uncontrollably then say it's something they can't control because 'hormones'. That's just an excuse. You can always control what you do or don't eat.
    Also are you aware that pregnancy morning sickness is caused by progesterone? I threw up during all my pregnancies and have also thrown up prior to my period and in all cases I can't really eat at all. It's classified as 'progesterone intolerance' and I have had to take anti nausea meds for it and am here because I lost so much weight during my last pregnancy I had to try really hard to get even minimum protein amounts As far as I know progesterone intolerance isn't defined as stuffing your face with food due to insatiable hunger (although there's nothing wrong with doing that if that's what you feel like doing), but please let me know if your Dr says otherwise. I am genuinely interested what you think is causing this.

    The thing you don't get is that for me there is NO choice. I get dizzy and I get the shakes if I don't eat during that time. I can't function if I don't eat. I mean I guess it's a choice, either feel horrible or eat, but it's a pretty bad one if you ask me.

    So yes, the accusations that it's just an excuse that, at this point, infuriate me. It's no excuse. I don't even enjoy my food when it happens, it's just attempt after attempt to make the symptoms go away. It sucks. And I KNOW it's not in my head because my cycle is late (again), and I didn't have that problem this month (yet). I have no way of predicting when I'm going to have my period, yet when it happens, I always get my period 10 days later. Funny how that works.

    But as I said, it only started happening about a year ago... I had no problem when losing weight. Then I stopped getting my period for 2 months, and it's been a nightmare since (but I only get about 10 periods a year now, which my GYNs have said is normal, and they both said that my symptoms are normal as well).

    Believe me, I typically don't need an excuse to stuff my face when I feel like it. But when you HAVE to eat because you're feeling so sick, it's just not enjoyable at all (and again, I don't crave sugar - just bread/bready things, and they're the only ones that make the symptoms go away, although fruit seems to help a bit too). Believe me, if I used that as an excuse to eat, I'd stuff my face with ice cream and pastries and chocolate, not bread.

    When I was put on progesterone shots for IVF I had the same symptoms than you mention - dizziness, nausea etc. The pills basically put me to sleep. I can't remember honestly if it made me hungrier than normal or not though because it's been a while, but it was not pretty.

    Bottom line is that we all react differently to hormonal changes
    . Don't dismiss other people's issues just because you haven't experienced them. Might be that some of my other hormones are not where they should be so the change in estrogen and progesterone levels cause that. Who knows. All I know is that it's very real for me.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Soopatt wrote: »
    I am hungrier on some days more than others, but nothing so bad that I can't control my own hand from feeding my face. I don't like the idea that I am not able to control myself in any situation - I find that disempowering. I choose when I eat. Sometimes I have more temptations, but ultimately it is up to me.

    I have to shift around my calories on those days for sure and if I want loads of sugar I eat it, but that is something I am prepared to do any day of the month to stay within calories.

    If there is an extra calorie burn, it is absorbed by my almost total inactivity on those days (terribly debilitating cramps). If I eat more, I think it is because I feel sorry for myself because I am in pain and don't want to deny myself anything. That is a mental battle.

    Men get irritated by our constant griping and excusing ourselves over our hormones. I can see why. We would not accept a man using "hormones" as the reason he gets a girlfriend on the side and cheats on us. Even though we recognize how strong those drives are, we expect him to resist them. I see this as the same sort of thing.

    I knew you would post here. As usual, I'm shaking my head. Just because YOU don't have those hunger issues that some of us DO have, doesn't mean they don't exist... Might be a shock, but you're not the center of the universe and everyone isn't like you.

    Infuriating.

    But again, it only started for me once I got close to my goal, so I'm (not so secretively) hoping that karma will be on my side.

    Wow. Are you hangry?
    I think what she's saying is that all women eat chocolate or are a little hungrier during or before TOM, probably because we're in pain, bloated and/or uncomfortable. It evens out though and most women don't stuff their faces uncontrollably then say it's something they can't control because 'hormones'. That's just an excuse. You can always control what you do or don't eat.
    Also are you aware that pregnancy morning sickness is caused by progesterone? I threw up during all my pregnancies and have also thrown up prior to my period and in all cases I can't really eat at all. It's classified as 'progesterone intolerance' and I have had to take anti nausea meds for it and am here because I lost so much weight during my last pregnancy I had to try really hard to get even minimum protein amounts As far as I know progesterone intolerance isn't defined as stuffing your face with food due to insatiable hunger (although there's nothing wrong with doing that if that's what you feel like doing), but please let me know if your Dr says otherwise. I am genuinely interested what you think is causing this.

    I'm not hungry when I'm in pain. I'm hungry when my progesterone and estrogen levels tank just before all of that.
    Given your experience with morning sickness, which, btw, many believe is NOT caused by the progesterone, but rather by the shift in the "symphony" of the hormones, you're keenly aware of how our hormones can make us feel.
    Women given high doses of progesterone supplementation (as high as the THIRD trimester of pregnancy, which is much more than when morning sickness occurs), don't generally experience morning sickness. Why is that?

    During perimenopause I had morning sickness about every four months. Mid-cycle. When estrogen would have been HIGH and progesterone low. My OBGYN said it was because of anovulatory cycles (which meant NO progesterone at all).

    My point: we don't know everything about the symphony of hormones, nor how they affect EACH INDIVIDUAL WOMAN. Princess Kate being a good example. Her symptoms during pregnancy were much more extreme than many. Was it "in her head" or "within her control"?

    That said, I'll say again: reducing my overall consumption of refined carbs/sugar made all of that, and PMS in general, better. Reducing them even more has improved menopausal symptoms. FOR ME.

    ETA: at menopause, progesterone production falls to nearly zero, estrogen falls 40-60%. Women often report an INCREASE in carb cravings and cravings for sugary foods at menopause.
    (as well as symptoms of insulin resistance, which is another topic)
  • GillianLF
    GillianLF Posts: 410 Member
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    I hadn't heard that. I know personally I'm heavier by up to 4lbs sometimes and put this down to water retention.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    GillianLF wrote: »
    I hadn't heard that. I know personally I'm heavier by up to 4lbs sometimes and put this down to water retention.
    Which is what it is. cheers
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
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    I am hungrier when I'm on my period, but I don't think I buy that we're burning any extra calories.

    I let myself eat a bit more though, because I know the week after my appetite naturally dips a little.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    scolaris wrote: »
    I have read that a woman's bmr increases by about 9% during the entire luteal phase leading up to their period. This commonly manifests as hunger only a few days right before menstruation actually commences. I don't see the harm in eating & logging a little more than usual if that's something you experience.
    Extra calorie burn or not, I know that I am extra hungry 3 days or so out of the month, typically the days just before. I eat at a smaller deficit on those days. It's not cravings. I'm not eating chocolate and bonbons - just an extra 200-300 calories of whatever I would normally be eating. So, that week, my deficit is reduced by 600-900 calories. I haven't had any issues with the scale because of it.

    Ya, right before my period my appetite increases and I just eat up to 500 calories more of normal food.