PMS and Chocolate
Rhiana1188
Posts: 67 Member
Ladies: How do you deal with chocolate/sweets cravings when it's *ahem* you know, that time? I find I have no self-control for like 3 days straight when it comes to that. If there isn't chocolate in the house, I will literally load up all the kids in the pouring rain and drive to go get some. Any tips, hints, or suggestions?
1
Replies
-
Normally I'd suggest budgeting some chocolate into your calories, but it sounds like you might still lose control. I have had some success stuffing myself with lots of steamed veggies. It doesn't fix the craving, but it can make me too full to do anything about the craving.
FYI Sugar Free Fudgsicles have 40 calories each. You can't eat them too quickly and it would take a very long time to do a lot of damage to your caloric intake.4 -
I know it's not chocolate, but I used to increase my carb intake during those few miserable days. Not necessarily chocolate, because I prob wouldn't be able to control that, but I'd eat bread, pasta, etc., (within calories). It seemed to help with my cravings anyway. Didn't make me feel any less miserable though.0
-
I just fit some chocolate into my goal.1
-
I eat chocolate. I also exercise more. I tend to work out before I hit the candy store, but I want chocolate, so I eat it. (Currently eating a Hershey's)1
-
I make a chocolate protein shake - some of them are low in carbs and there is always the bonus of the extra protein3
-
I'm struggling with the same thing. I usually go a bit over my calories for the 3-4 days before and 1-2 days of my period. I also eat a higher proportion of carbs than my normal. It helps somewhat. I'm still working on a better solution.1
-
Add cocoa to a green smoothie, eat a square or two of dark chocolate, make a healthy snacks and add a few dark chocolate chips1
-
My suggestion is put yourself on maintenance for the days you need and allot yourself as much chocolate as you need.
For me, I had 81 grams of chocolate the other day which was 449 calories. I didn't put myself in maintenance but I just ate less of other stuff because chocolate was what I wanted.4 -
I find low calorie hot chocolate helps me. Options are less then 40 cals and do a variety of flavours then I add my own sweetener too.2
-
i found "Food Cravings" Chart on FB and Pintrest that i'm trying to get used to referring too... for chocolate it says "what you/we need" is Magnesium... then it says "what to eat instead" of the chocolate - Raw cacao, nuts, seeds, veggies, fruits. I have also started looking on my Nutriliving app for smoothies that may help with the cravings.1
-
When I do the following, I don't have cravings premenstrually or any other time. :
1. Get sufficient sleep
2. Exercise regularly - when I get the happy hormones from exercise, I'm not prone to seeking them from food.
3. Get sufficient protein in relationship to carbs. I'm not low carb, but reducing carbs and upping protein worked for cravings for me. See also http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html
4. Eat moderate amounts of fruit. This makes me less interested in higher calorie sweets.
5. Take a magnesium supplement. This can be especially helpful for women premenstrually.
6. Save foods like chocolate for after dinner, in small amounts
When my appetite spikes up premenstrually, I honor it and eat at maintenance for a few days. Most times I add a snack and have a slightly larger dinner, and/or a treat.2 -
Try some magnesium supplements. I honestly very rarely get chocolate cravings.2
-
I eat the chocolate. Fit it into my calories and as dark as I can handle it so it has more of punch.2
-
Fit it into your daily calorie goal.
I like chips and pizza, I make them fit, or eat closer to maintenance for a few days.0 -
WifiresGettingFit wrote: »My suggestion is put yourself on maintenance for the days you need and allot yourself as much chocolate as you need.
For me, I had 81 grams of chocolate the other day which was 449 calories. I didn't put myself in maintenance but I just ate less of other stuff because chocolate was what I wanted.
^^ sound advice I'm going to take myself0 -
Word of caution on magnesium supplements, stomach upset is a common side effect. I cant take them.
I eat more carbs when i have pms- toast. Oatmeal, more bananas etc.0 -
Whitezombiegirl wrote: »Word of caution on magnesium supplements, stomach upset is a common side effect. I cant take them.
I eat more carbs when i have pms- toast. Oatmeal, more bananas etc.
Huh, I've never had a problem with stomach upset from magnesium supplements and I don't even take them with food.
I'm currently taking Now Foods, Magnesium & Potassium Aspartate and used to take Twinlab, Magnesium Caps, 400 mg (magnesium oxide).0 -
LOL! Yeah me too! broke down and got some chocolate...& started 2 days later... Yeah I tend to bloat, also (water weight) feeling blah! Need to get back on track! chocolate and salty chips... ...Get this 3-5 lbs back off!1
-
Whitezombiegirl wrote: »Word of caution on magnesium supplements, stomach upset is a common side effect. I cant take them.
I eat more carbs when i have pms- toast. Oatmeal, more bananas etc.
I have a megnesuim drink mix that I make sometimes. Sometimes it helps with cravings, others it doesn't make a dent. I've also noticed that if I don't break up the dose over the entire day, I'll have extremely and uncomfortably loose bowels...1 -
I absolutely go to maintenance or even over when I "need" to. I know some people like the "if you're going over your calories you must not want to lose weight badly enough" philosophy. I tried that, and this way works way better for me.1
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.7K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.8K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 415 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.6K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions