PMS hunger

I can't really offer advice on how to "control" the cravings, honestly, I just give in. Not a full on binge or anything but I often crave ice cream so I will go to Braums vs buying the whole container (so the whole pint/gallon isn't in my house) have a scoop or two, enjoy it, log it, accept it and move on. I usually just have the craving one or two days before my cycle so it doesn't destroy all my hardwork.

Usually the last few days before I'm about to start, I feel like I could eat everything in the fridge!

ladyreva78 wrote: »

To be honest, I capitulated on my PMS hunger and just accepted that that's 3-5 days a month I have to eat at maintenance or I become listless and angry at the same time (which is a deadly combination according to my coworkers because the anger will just jump up out of nowhere) or attack the fridge. Eating at maintenance has helped me keep all of that somewhat in check.

I second this. It isn't always the case with me, only feel exceptionally hungry 1/3 cycles usually, but when I do, I just eat at maintenance for this 3-4 days when it is a problem. One less thing to worry about.

Mine was so bad I was eating up to 3500 calories at times and I was still hungry. I ended up gaining some weight back because I couldn't keep a big enough deficit the rest of the time to make up for it...

Then last month after a very bad day I decided to try some 'PMS tea' (I use Yogi red raspberry leaf), and just cut refined flours or sugars altogether until TOM showed up... and not only the hunger went away, I even managed to keep a deficit that week after that very bad day. It sucks because I love carbs and I'm a 'all in moderation' type of person (and that's how I lost the weight), but even one slice of bread at breakfast (even with eggs) set me off... so it's just safer this way.

This month I started the tea again 10 days after TOM stopped and been mostly sticking to 'no refined carbs or sugars' again (having a treat here and there after dinner), and I honestly have no idea if I'm having TOM soon or not because I just haven't had any PMS symptom. It should be due less than a week and usually by now I'm starving.

I have absolutely no idea if the tea is actually helping though. I know for a fact though that starting the day without refined carbs has made a HUGE difference in my hunger levels. And limiting them at lunch has definitely helped too. I just eat a lot of beans, lentils, steel cut oats... whole grain pasta seems fine too. Fruit doesn't seem to have any effect either (probably because fructose doesn't affect leptin). So yeah a LOT of fiber. And for me artificial sweeteners (except Stevia) have the same effects as sugar... making me crave carbs like crazy at that time.

But yeah on day 3 of TOM I'm back to eating normally.

MommyMeggo wrote: »

O.W.T. about the tea - supposed to help during the later stages of pregnancy by toning the uterus, etc. All it did was give me cramps if I made it too strong. Never once thought how it would help during TOM. Wonder if I still have some from when I was pregnant last year.

That was a 'oh gosh I'm so sick of it, let's give it a shot' thing, LOL. My cramps were way worse last month though, so yeah, now that you mention it, maybe that's why. I typically drink one cup of that and two cups of another kind ('monthly comfort tea' on Amazon). They're tasty and I like tea, so whatever, even if it's not really doing anything, I still enjoy it.

Yeah, I already have dysmenorrhea- the Yogi tea didn't seem to help anything at all.

I give in, eat a little more, and add a little more to my walks when I'm able. I figure, my body is miserable, it's trying very hard to tell me that it's in distress, and I should probably listen and give it what it wants. NOT to the tune of an entire pepperoni pizza and a half-gallon of Moose Tracks ice cream, but, you know, a couple slices of pizza and maybe a cup of ice cream. lol