Help it's time of the month

You'll survive

I actually find that I'm lighter when it's TOM and it doesn't affect me too much (might be a little more emotional - but it generally does not affect my workouts or my eating). You'll be fine! Eat a little more if you're hungry but don't go overboard.

I feel ya! Some women can say its fine because it affects every woman differently. I used to get cramps so bad I was immobilized and would just curl up and cry. And I went through natural childbirth with a 9lb baby so I know what freaking pain is haha. Fortunately I have the mirena iud now and don't get my period anymore (thank god) but when i did I did skip weigh in because I did bloat and wasn't able to take any gain without feeling bad because of the mood swing. Bananas help a lot! And exercise actually helps as well

I usually don't weigh myself when it's my time of the month. I do let myself eat a little more instead of forcing myself not to because that just doesn't help anyone when I'm grumpy haha. But when I first start mine I don't want to do anything so weighing myself and eating right is the furthest thing from my mind! Can barely sit up from cramps never mind going and weighing myself.

Exercise helps with cramps a bit, and I've heard hot chocolate does as well. Do what feels right to you, but maybe just eat a little more since you've started so it doesn't make the cravings worse.

* Factor in something chocolate. It's going to happen so might as well plan something in advance. (Halo Top rocks!)
* I'm not likely to be at my best, so I don't expect to do a heavy workout.
* Cramps happen. But I do find that moving around helps, so I try to still do walking and maybe some stretching and yoga.
* I avoid weighing myself. The water weight skews my scale so I don't even bother weighing in.

I don't bother weighing myself then because I know I can retain up to 10 lb in water weight. Why stress myself out with numbers like that? *shrug*. Good news though. Most women's metabolism actually goes UP at that time, itsone of the reasons why we feel extra hungry. So if you don't give in to the cravings to overeat and stay at your deficit, it's like you actually get a calorie burning boost once a month.

Find healthy snacks to curb those cravings. Exercise when you're cranky and take a diuretic to combat the bloating so that you don't have to avoid the scale. Even if you do bloat, why avoid the scale. You know why there might be a gain, so what's the point in avoiding it. It's not something you did, it's that b!tch Aunt Flo visiting!

I've found, for me, if I increase my water intake while taking the diuretic, it not only keeps me from retaining water, but also seems to shorten that wench's length of stay.

I still weigh every day it makes me feel better to watch several pounds go up in about 24 hours and then even better over about 72 hours when the period ends I usually lose all my period wait Plus an additional pound or two. I I am not allowing myself any extra calories however I do make a intentional change to make sure I get more iron as I have found that getting plenty of iron during my period makes me less grouchy and the cramps less painful. So that means red meat instead of chicken it means spinach instead of iceberg small changes like that.

twistedingenue wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

The only difference is the bleeding, so I don't do anything different except manage the bleeding.

I can't lie, I'm pretty envious of this. I wish the only difference for me was the bleeding. Just the cramping alone can sap my day to day willpower.

Oh man twistedingenue I agree so much, this is sort of an unfair post. Bleeding is NOT the only difference for a lot of people, and this post really really makes me hate my body... and sorta hate women who do not experience other symptoms. So not fair, and not the nicest thing to post on this thread!! I get insane cramps that typically put me in bed for 2-3 days curled up in a ball. Therefore I typically cannot workout on day 1-2 because I can barely walk! I am happy with myself if I can manage to take my dog for a short walk one of those days as that is the most mobile I can be.

I typically give in to my cravings but make sure I stay within my calorie goal, sometimes going up a bit from my limit but for sure still beneath my maintenance. I typically crave greasy foods, like Chick-Fil-A crispy chicken, pizza with ranch and red wine. And I allow myself to have it, just maybe 2 slices of pizza and not 5. I adjust the following week accordingly and get back on track. And I do weigh myself daily, but that helps me to know on an average basis how much I am retaining each month. I am 100% confident that I put on 3-5 lbs, so weighing myself even during this time sorta helps me know that okay, your pants are tight but you are in the normal average for this time so don't fret.

I can go up 5-7 lbs in the days leading up to (which are so sporadic I never know when they are). When I see that I suspect that its the "bloat before the storm." As a poster said above, for the first 2 days of the actual TOM I feel so bad from the cramping that I don't want to eat extras, which generally evens it out.

I never weigh during that time. I usually go a little easy with the exercise on my heavier days (1-2 days). I like to use that as a bit of an exercise break since I am usually pretty tired and crampy anyways. I also let myself have a few extra calories (like 300-400). I know when it is coming, so I try to bank up calories the few days before, so I don't ruin my deficit.