Females... and diet around your period..

You would think given that this happens every month that I would realise and remember this. But no ... overate last night by a lot and have been in a grouch all day. And didn't even think, Oolou girl, you're due.

Thanks to all in this thread for reminding me what was behind last night's #musteatallthefood raid.

Just a heads up - watch out before the 'it's in your head', 'you're using it as an excuse to stuff your face' posts show up. There are some very mean people on MFP. I envy those people though because they have no idea how awful it is.

I wish I could just eat at maintenance those days, but I often need over 3000 calories in order to stop feeling awful (my maintenance is 2200-2300).. and it lasts 10 days! My usual breakfast that would keep me full for 4 hours normally satisfies me for one... maybe... Some days are worse than others though... The first day I just let myself eat what I want. By the third day, I'm so sick of food and end up eating things I don't want to eat just hoping that it will make the feeling go away. It sucks. Sometimes when I'm lucky having just a piece of bread will help. Often it doesn't. I don't crave sweets at all though, but pizza, bagels, pasta etc. But yeah often I end up binging on sweets because the hormones are driving me completely crazy and I'd just eat anything to feel better. It's not a feeling I can ignore, I get the shakes and hot flashes and I get dizzy and 'hangry' doesn't even start to describe it...

For me it only started when I got close to my goal weight though, which is a good thing as I would never have managed to lose anything otherwise (heck I've been this weight for almost 2 years now and still haven't reached my goal!). I mean I remember a few occurrences before I lost weight, but that's pretty much it... I have to eat less the rest of the time to make up for it, obviously, and even then it's been very difficult to maintain (I really have to be very careful to keep a deficit or I know I will gain that month). Total nightmare and definitely not how I expected my maintenance to be. I've been trying pretty much anything (heck I even bought some 'PMS tea' last month but it didn't seem to help either). Tried low carb/high fat too... It was even worse.

So OP, I sympathize. I just exercise a lot to make up for some of it...

Yes this happens to me. I just eat what I want within reason and drink lots of water and add extra time to the workout. This too shall pass. Only 5 ish days. You'll get through it.

I never tell myself I can't have icecream during my period, just that I can't have that much. So I buy the super small ones (that are still 200-400 calories because its icecream) and I enjoy them. The pain is worth some kind of reward.

I have this as well, plus I crave chocolate. Apparently it's hormones. I don't believe in horoscopes, but thought this site gave a good explanation of what's going on in our bodies. It looks like progesterone is the main culprit:
http://hormonehoroscope.com/the-female-hormone-cycle/

SeptemberFeyre wrote: »

I have this as well, plus I crave chocolate. Apparently it's hormones. I don't believe in horoscopes, but thought this site gave a good explanation of what's going on in our bodies. It looks like progesterone is the main culprit:
http://hormonehoroscope.com/the-female-hormone-cycle/

I don't know how I feel about that article... I don't really notice much of a difference the 2 weeks after ovulation and they're both pretty much horrible to me.

I do like this quote though Not every woman suffers from premenstrual syndrome and symptoms can be milder or more severe from month to month, often due to diet, stress, medications, exercise habits or your body’s personal sensitivity to hormones.. Something a lot of women on MFP seem to forget... (yes I am bitter but I've been called a lot of not very nice things for having this issue).

I've read about it.. it's caused by low progesterone and the brain not producing enough serotonin at that time (the hormone that makes you feel full, and carbs produce serotonin, so that's why you crave carbs and why carbs seem to help). It can also get worse if you have a history of depression and your hormones are already a bit out of whack (might be my problem). I know that my GYN told me that it's one of the reasons he offers anti-depressants to help some women with PMS.. I just have bad experiences with them (with pretty much everything that changes my hormones, really) so I'm reluctant to try it.

brower47 wrote: »

........ diet ...........
diet period diet
........ diet ...........

Yes and I'm quite sure that's why OP is here.. asking for tips. As I said though, I've tried pretty much everything and I haven't found anything that worked for me. I typically eat high protein, lots of veggies, good amount of fat, and I tried high fat and it was even worse.

Francl27 wrote: »

SeptemberFeyre wrote: »

I have this as well, plus I crave chocolate. Apparently it's hormones. I don't believe in horoscopes, but thought this site gave a good explanation of what's going on in our bodies. It looks like progesterone is the main culprit:
http://hormonehoroscope.com/the-female-hormone-cycle/

I don't know how I feel about that article... I don't really notice much of a difference the 2 weeks after ovulation and they're both pretty much horrible to me.

I do like this quote though Not every woman suffers from premenstrual syndrome and symptoms can be milder or more severe from month to month, often due to diet, stress, medications, exercise habits or your body’s personal sensitivity to hormones.. Something a lot of women on MFP seem to forget... (yes I am bitter but I've been called a lot of not very nice things for having this issue).

I've read about it.. it's caused by low progesterone and the brain not producing enough serotonin at that time (the hormone that makes you feel full, and carbs produce serotonin, so that's why you crave carbs and why carbs seem to help). It can also get worse if you have a history of depression and your hormones are already a bit out of whack (might be my problem). I know that my GYN told me that it's one of the reasons he offers anti-depressants to help some women with PMS.. I just have bad experiences with them (with pretty much everything that changes my hormones, really) so I'm reluctant to try it.

I asked you on another thread "Have you tried Prometrium, which is a bio-identical progesterone?" and didn't see your response until just now. You'd asked if it was prescription. Yes, it is. I take it from ovulation to when my period starts. Unlike synthetic progesterones, I have no side effects from it, except the beneficial one that it makes me sleep better.

Yep. I basically have one week where I'm not hungry at all, two weeks of average hunger and one week where I'm starving the whole time. I try to just ride it out but if I'm desperately craving something sweet I'll let myself have something small. I also always allow myself a free meal on Saturday nights so that really helps me to have something to look forward to and doesn't have any long term affect on my weight loss.

I feel lucky in that I don't get excessively hungry at any point throughout my cycle. PMS makes me horrendously bloated though and I feel really awful mentally about four days before my period. So I'm not so lucky in other aspects haha.

Glad to know I am not alone! Feeling this right now, like no matter how much I eat I am hungry again very quickly. I have been off of my calorie counting the last few months, back to logging today, so I have to reign things back in! Its probably a great idea to eat at maintenance for a few days, that way the miserable time of month is a little less terrible. Even more power to you if you can keep going with your calorie goals during this time!!

I'm big offender for this. I get really intense cravings right before my period and during. But, during this time, I also have two extremes: I either have no appetite whatsoever and have no desire to eat anything, or an unquenchable hunger for literally anything I can get my hands on.

kshama2001 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

SeptemberFeyre wrote: »

I have this as well, plus I crave chocolate. Apparently it's hormones. I don't believe in horoscopes, but thought this site gave a good explanation of what's going on in our bodies. It looks like progesterone is the main culprit:
http://hormonehoroscope.com/the-female-hormone-cycle/

I don't know how I feel about that article... I don't really notice much of a difference the 2 weeks after ovulation and they're both pretty much horrible to me.

I do like this quote though Not every woman suffers from premenstrual syndrome and symptoms can be milder or more severe from month to month, often due to diet, stress, medications, exercise habits or your body’s personal sensitivity to hormones.. Something a lot of women on MFP seem to forget... (yes I am bitter but I've been called a lot of not very nice things for having this issue).

I've read about it.. it's caused by low progesterone and the brain not producing enough serotonin at that time (the hormone that makes you feel full, and carbs produce serotonin, so that's why you crave carbs and why carbs seem to help). It can also get worse if you have a history of depression and your hormones are already a bit out of whack (might be my problem). I know that my GYN told me that it's one of the reasons he offers anti-depressants to help some women with PMS.. I just have bad experiences with them (with pretty much everything that changes my hormones, really) so I'm reluctant to try it.

I asked you on another thread "Have you tried Prometrium, which is a bio-identical progesterone?" and didn't see your response until just now. You'd asked if it was prescription. Yes, it is. I take it from ovulation to when my period starts. Unlike synthetic progesterones, I have no side effects from it, except the beneficial one that it makes me sleep better.

I missed it! But I'll definitely ask my doctor about it - thanks! Nervous though, it seems that there's a long list of side effects and when I took it for IVF it pretty much put me to sleep within 30 minutes... but if it can help, it's worth mentioning for sure.

Yes, I take it before bed

I take 100 mg - you may have had a higher dose for IVF.

Did it make a big difference for your appetite? I'm definitely intrigued.

SunnyDayzMomma wrote: »

Yes! Sometimes my period lasts a crazy long time, and the longer it lingers, the longer my hungry days last I try to munch on low cal snacks like veg, some fruit for sweet cravings, and I allow myself some indulgence because I'd go crazy if I didn't (chocolate chips with that fruit anyone?) I'm in this for the long haul, it's not a diet, so if I have a few crazy food days a month, but that allows me (mentally) to persevere throughout the rest of the month, I think I come out ahead at the end of it all.

That's a bit odd, for me a longer period means less days hungry, as the hunger pretty much stops on day 2.

brower47 wrote: »

........ diet ...........
diet period diet
........ diet ...........

IFLY. I can't believe how many people missed this brilliance.