How to stop comforting yourself during your period?

I fit chocolate in too. I like the fiber one brownies and hot chocolate.

I change my goal from 2lb to 1.5lb a week, it gives me enough calories to eat, and will change it back once I feel better, this help me a lot, and I don't feel guilty or deprived , I hope this helps.

I try to comfort myself with other things and not food. I tend to do things for myself I don't normally do...like paint my nails, take a looong hot bath with bubbles, scented candles and relaxing music. But I would enjoy a chocolate if I'm really craving it like crazy.

I don't get terrible food related cravings, but my nurse practitioner said to take magnesium to lessen period symptoms (like cramps, digestive troubles, and cravings if you have them). I second the above suggestion to use something besides food. A hot bath is more helpful physically.

It's your period, not a death in the family. You shouldn't need "comforting." I get horrible cramps and mood swings, and I don't love them either, but that's life. It's not unfair, it's not "mean," it's not suffering, and unless you have one of a few specific and diagnosed medical conditions, it's nothing special. Women have been dealing with cramps as long as there have been women with uteruses.

In short: suck it up, buttercup. Stop with the self-pity, because all you're doing is giving yourself an excuse to eat high volumes of all the crap you want to eat during the rest of the month and manage not to. Take Tylenol for your cramps or live with them like half the rest of the human race does. Have some chocolate if you want chocolate. If you think your period is really that intolerable, see a gynecologist. But I've got to tell you, cramps that can be cured by chocolate are not very bad cramps.

Larissa_NY wrote: »

It's your period, not a death in the family. You shouldn't need "comforting." I get horrible cramps and mood swings, and I don't love them either, but that's life. It's not unfair, it's not "mean," it's not suffering, and unless you have one of a few specific and diagnosed medical conditions, it's nothing special. Women have been dealing with cramps as long as there have been women with uteruses.

In short: suck it up, buttercup. Stop with the self-pity, because all you're doing is giving yourself an excuse to eat high volumes of all the crap you want to eat during the rest of the month and manage not to. Take Tylenol for your cramps or live with them like half the rest of the human race does. Have some chocolate if you want chocolate. If you think your period is really that intolerable, see a gynecologist. But I've got to tell you, cramps that can be cured by chocolate are not very bad cramps.

This is the approach I take with myself, because I know I turn into a disproportionately whiny little wimp when I'm on. I can eat the chocolate, but not as much as I want, and I go to the gym first. At the end of the day if it's only a couple of days it's not terrible - a few extra hundred calories can easily be evened out in the grand scheme of things.

Really curious about the magnesium - details please!

If your cramps are that bad buy yourself a heating pad. Getting myself one has helped so much with my menstrual cramps and the lower back pain that comes along with them. No need to comfort myself with food if the problem is solved by just applying some heat to it.

I started to write a rant here about the people with the "take an advil and get over it" attitudes, but I decided it wasn't helpful.

Part of why you're here, on MyFitnessPal is to learn how to be kind to your body- how to keep it healthy, provide it with good nutrition and exercise, to love ourselves not just for who we are, but to strive to be better people, right?
Part of being kind to your body is recognizing that sometimes it hurts, sometimes it goes through hormonal trauma that can feel like it's tearing you up. And part of being healthy about that is recognizing it, not 'take an advil and suck it up'. You're working hard to get in touch with your body, to sense when it's hungry, when it needs to stretch and when it needs to run, right? To notice when you're not drinking enough water, or when you're fatigued and need to up your protein.

Having a bad period? Be kind to yourself! Recognize that your body is hurting and needs attention. Grab a bite or two of dark chocolate, go for a walk, take a hot bath and a Midol and just be kind to yourself. Treat your body with kindness and support, generosity and love. Isn't that why we're here? To learn our bodies needs and create healthier stronger relationships with ourselves?

(DKG28- As to chocolate cravings not being 'cravings', there's been a lot of research that suggests that chocolate contains endorphins that help with things like hormonal shifts. I don't think it's something that's been 'planted in female minds by our culture'.)

It seemed the idea to take magnesium daily. But if you don't want to take it every day I'd start 5-7 days before your period and take it through the first 2-3 days of a period. (I also don't like taking pills every single day if I don't need to. But nutrients need to have a steady supply to keep up stores. I would imagine magnesium is similar.)

Heating pads are the best. I know they have some that you can wear inside your underwear so that you can keep going about your day. For me, I get hungrier during my cycle. Some months are easier to control than others. The advice about lowering your weekly loss rate for that time was really good advice. I will probably start to do that myself. For me, I generally eat chocolate daily, so it's already worked into my lifestyle. Just let yourself have it within reason. Have a few pieces, not the entire bag of chocolate.

I'm in the "suck it up, buttercup" camp here. I just deal with it, without needing to "comfort" myself... blah. Occasionally I'll tune out and watch a movie or something, but usually after I've kicked butt as usual during my workout. I used to be much sookier about it, but then I also used to be 329lbs. Things can change if you want them to, and attitude is a big part of that.

I do often crave sweet things in the week before, but since I've always made sure that I have a sustainable calorie deficit, I just work in chocolate or whatever I want. I find life and weight loss much easier when I'm not starving.

I have endo, so I'm too high on meds during my period to feel sorry for myself. But then again, I don't get cravings during my periods, in fact my appetite diminishes greatly and I barely make 1200 calories, if that, on the first couple of days. Now right before my period, that's a different story. Hormonal hunger that causes me to shovel food, any food, down my throat and never feel full. On these days I just eat to maintenance.