Maintaining control when it's that time of the month

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hnahae
hnahae Posts: 38 Member
in Motivation and Support
When it's that time for me I tend to binge horribly and just feel awful. I know it's a mental thing and I should just put the cheesecake down and back away but I struggle with it every month. Anyone have any advice? I don't normally have an issue and I don't usually have a sweet tooth, in fact I dislike sweets. I actually crave healthy foods and love veggies more than anything but that time hits and I just want chocolate, bread, cheesecake, fatty junk food that makes me physically ill. I'm lactose intolerant, have IBS, and have issues with gluten so I usually eat things that are pretty agreeable with my system but TOM hits and I'm just miserable from the food I eat and we'll TOM. Any real advice for me? Anything that works for anyone else?

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  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Up your calories by 200, or even to maintenance, for a few days. Do it either when the hunger starts or, if you're regular enough that you know approximately when the hunger will hit, a day or two beforehand. Doing this can help prevent breakdown binges in the long run.
  • ScotsLass78
    ScotsLass78 Posts: 248 Member
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    I've only been doing this 4 weeks, so I've only had 1 TOM so far, but it was hard. I wasn't expecting the cravings to hit so bad, but I guess the problem was that I always just gave in. I used to think, why fight it and eat terribly for 3/4 days. This time, I did have a small treat, like a chocolate biscuit or a low fat choc mousse, and it helped me get through it. It also made me exercise to cover the extra cals, and that in turn made me feel better. Someone told me a small handful of nuts, or some strawberries dipped in chocolate are good for the cravings so I think I'm going to give that a go next time and see how I get on.
  • BLifts38
    BLifts38 Posts: 248 Member
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    this has always been a struggle for me, but if you walk away, you'll feel in control and very empowered. once you do it a couple times, it WILL get easier. chug some water with lemon or lime.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    This was always a struggle.
    Two things that helped me:
    1. I stopped eating the stuff that was hard to avoid ALL the time. I gave up all that stuff. It wasn't around. I wasn't accustomed to eating it. I found that if I didn't eat it all month, I didn't feel like I "needed" it during TToTM.
    2.
    2. I knew that I would have NO appetite once my period started, so if I ate at maintenance for the 3 days before, and didn't force myself to eat DURING, it all evened out.
  • hzl22
    hzl22 Posts: 157 Member
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    Natures bounty chocolate protein shake helps with the chocolate cravings and also has vitamins and probiotics so it's a healthy alternative to just a chocolate bar .. Less calories too only 110
  • LuckyNumbers
    LuckyNumbers Posts: 208 Member
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    I eat at or close to maintenance during that time. Every time I try to fight it, I end up binging, which makes me feel worse than if I just ate 250 extra calories. And I can use that 250 calories on whatever suits my fancy. Usually salt.
  • BelleCakes2018
    BelleCakes2018 Posts: 568 Member
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    To be honest on those days I pretty much eat whatever I feel I need to. Be it chocolate, cake, whatever. In fact I just did it this week. But to stay in control of my weight, I try to make sure I don't go over my calories too much.. so I maybe skip a meal or so. The thing is, it works for me because at that point I really don't want proper food anyway. I just tell myself.. it's only a week, and then I get back on track. I think if I was strict with myself I would be extremely hard to live with for that week and utterly miserable!
  • Rachelgettingleaner
    Rachelgettingleaner Posts: 26 Member
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    I'll sometimes take whatever I want to eat, split it in half, and see if that's good enough for a while. Sometimes i go back &eat the other half anyway. You can't win em all. and chug water/tea all day. I make an extra effort to at least go on longer walks during mtotm, even though exercise is the last thing I wanna do, I always feel better after. And it burns off some of the popcorn, chips, mixed nuts and pizza I've usually just inhaled.
  • hnahae
    hnahae Posts: 38 Member
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    Thanks ladies
  • DeficitDuchess
    DeficitDuchess Posts: 3,099 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Since our bodies do extra work, I always increase my calories; by 100 daily. I get very thirsty, approximately 10 days before; so that's when I begin because our bodies just aren't doing extra work during but also before. My TOM is about 5 days, so on average I consume 1,500 extra calories over 15 days; which'd be 3 days of maintenance. Also make sure, that you aren't mistaking thirst; as being hunger. I'd recommend drinking, as much as possible; before eating.
  • Kristinemomof3
    Kristinemomof3 Posts: 636 Member
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    Mirabelle1983 wrote: »
    To be honest on those days I pretty much eat whatever I feel I need to. Be it chocolate, cake, whatever. In fact I just did it this week. But to stay in control of my weight, I try to make sure I don't go over my calories too much.. so I maybe skip a meal or so. The thing is, it works for me because at that point I really don't want proper food anyway. I just tell myself.. it's only a week, and then I get back on track. I think if I was strict with myself I would be extremely hard to live with for that week and utterly miserable!

    I eat what I want as well.

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