LADIES! What are some tips and tricks for that time of the month???

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kaitlynncolbourne
kaitlynncolbourne Posts: 16 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
When it gets to that point in my moon cycle, I cant help but want to eat all the foods! I really crave salty and sweet snacks. What are some things that you do to help get you past this and not ruin the whole month in one week lol.. any snacks that seem to satisfy your cravings without overeating? things that keep you busy or motivated? exercises that help with cramps? etc.. anything that helps get you through the week! :)
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Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I get cravings almost every day, the clue is to learn to not act on (all of) them. I guess painkillers are necessary if you have cramps, and not having a too aggressive deficit if your goal is weightloss.
  • the8BitGirl
    the8BitGirl Posts: 38 Member
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    I also crave salty/crisp things. My advice: avoid too much sodium as much as possible and opt for things like apples with salted peanut butter or radishes with hummus. You're likely already retaining more water than usual because of your cycle - adding a ton of sodium just makes for sad times when you weigh in. :neutral:
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    I don't do this but you could go to maintenance if you want for a day or two. If I were to eat differently by changing my diet (i.e more carbs or more food in general) including water weight gain in general from TOM the scale will show several pounds fluctuation. I weigh anyways so I can trend my weight. I only get a day or two lower energy, I don't get unusual cravings and I choose to exercise anyways, I will feel worse if I don't.

    How you decide to eat (and how much), rather you exercise or not or continue to weigh (if you weight daily) will be completely individual, you will find a strategy that works for you.
  • strongwouldbenice
    strongwouldbenice Posts: 153 Member
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    I eat at least one jar of pickles every month. Satisfying when I'm hungry and mad at everything, and the sodium doesn't bother me cause I expect my weight to be up anyway.
  • PokeyBug
    PokeyBug Posts: 482 Member
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    Indulge a little, but don't go over your maintenance calories. That way, you're not going backward, even if you're not going forward. It's only for a few days.
  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
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    When you figure out what works, let me know! It's a struggle!
  • LuckyAndi
    LuckyAndi Posts: 203 Member
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    I have cravings or want to eat everything in sight a few days to a week before it begins. I go easy on myself and have the things I want, usually putting me closer to maintenance. The actual week of I'm almost always nauseous and have very little appetite at all, so it balances out for me. I do try to drink almost all water that week, but that's mostly because nothing tastes good. The only real craving I get during is for steak.

    Hot baths and laying on my stomach are the best cramp relievers for me. Those and my fiance's freakishly hot hands.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,136 Member
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    Food-wise: I sometimes eat up to maintenance a couple of days around my period and ovulation and I tend to up my carbs a little for quick energy, because I find myself a little lethargic as my cycle messes with my sleep.

    Cramps-wise: exercise has been my best friend for cramps and hydration helps massively. I have stopped using my period as an excuse to be lazy (not implying anyone else does this but I certainly did) and continued on with my normal routine. If they are beyond just slight discomfort I'll take a couple of ibuprofen and use a hot water bottle.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,398 Member
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    I rarely do a stopweek with my contraceptive pill. I feel so much better.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    The herb Black Cohosh. It might be placebo.
  • Dinklc
    Dinklc Posts: 20 Member
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    I don't weigh myself at all during "Shark Week", I'm obsessed with the peanut butter Power Crunch bars and sugar free jello they help a lot with my sweet cravings.
  • Enthusiast84
    Enthusiast84 Posts: 171 Member
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    I have the same issue every month and feel your pain. It's really hard to fight it as it's like no other hunger. Before I joined mfp I would eat anything I could get my hands on and keep going as nothing would touch the sides. Now, I still eat more during that time but I will choose food that is going to curb my appetite better such as almonds eggs fruit etc. I still have junk food in moderation but find the healthier choices works in keeping me satisfied that bit longer. I also drink lots of fluid.... tea, water, coffee, herbal teas etc... also find exercising supresses my appetite for a while.
  • xelsoo
    xelsoo Posts: 194 Member
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    I listen to my body and if I'm craving extra food I will have nice healthy treat food on hand. Raw all-natural snack bars for sweet cravings, or bake some chocolate protein muffins to have at home..I like to prepare nice creamy veggie soups for dinner to fill me up, and will treat myself to sushi (or some other food that won't bloat me more) during that weekend.

    At the gym, any exercise that implies a lot of movement actually helps me a lot. Rowing, elliptical, circuit training (with burpees, abs, jumps) make my cramps disappear.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    I have an iron clad willpower LOL, I generally aim for a small deficit on week days to bank calories for the weekend (I'm in maintenance), so during TOM if I want to have that extra snack I will have it and still aim to stay within my maintenance cals. The cravings for me are a mind over matter thing, I don't give in.
  • netitheyeti
    netitheyeti Posts: 539 Member
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    If I had an otherwise good day with lots of normally filling food (aka didn't "waste" any calories on sweets or salty snacks) and I'm genuinely still hungry I go for a maintenance day (aka eat net 1600ish instead of 1200-1300)
    About a day before my time of month I'm usually really hungry and crave sugar a lot... I'm much more likely to grab a chocolate bar towards the end of the day if I'm starving vs if I had 1 more healthy meal/snack in the afternoon - and the chocolate bar is usually more calories that that snack would have been anyway..
    I don't really change my exercise unless I'm in "I took painkillers and I still feel sick/dizzy from cramps" kinda pain.. then it turns into a "let's just go for a walk or do some yoga" day
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I can get really bad cravings and I've yet to find something low calorie that satisfies me. It's been better now that I put a bit more fat on.. it really sucks that I can't seem to stay much under the overweight category (quite sure I'm over right now, and now only the cravings are tolerable!).

    For the cramps, I take advil and tylenol every 4 hours, or I'm dying.

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