FEMALES ONLY: That time of the month

Heyo, didn't read all the replies cos I'm working lol

I do weigh myself cos I write it down and I can learn about the average fluctuation on weight during a month.
On the first day I feel a bit less energetic and will definitely not train legs, but other than that, I feel pretty much the same, just a bit greasier on the face boooo

I eat pretty much the same as well

I will throw up if I let the cramps get too bad...so I take ibuprofen at the very first twinge, and that takes care of it. Have you tried a pain reliever to deal with the cramps? Maybe it would make you feel well enough to eat more?

My TOM seems to be different from the majority of people on here. I get loose bowels for a day 3-4 days before hand and often a surge in energy the day before. So I am actually lightest the day before it starts. Appetite doesnt seem greatly different though the day it starts I may have an energy slump (or that could just be because I over did it the day before). Having kids actually fixed my cramping issues as well where as I've been told many people find it worse after kids.

I get horrible food cravings, mostly for potatoes and milk. Other than that and some water weight, I am not too badly inconvienced. I tend to stay on my normal workout plan. Occasionally I will get bad cramps so might have to change things up a bit.

First- hugs. So sorry the cramps are so bad! My daughters are similar.

Second, Celery and cucumber are not easier on the stomach, at least not compared to other foods. Raw veggies in general are on the harder end of digestion, usually, although some veggies are worse, of course. Also, If you are drinking enough, water content of your food is irrelevant.

If you are looking for something that might sit better on you tummy, looking at lists of foods that work for people with gastroparesis or ibs would be helpful- they can’t tolerate a lot of foods that are hard to digest.

From what I’ve seen, white rice is one that gives you some good calories for less digestive effort. Cooked veggies are better than raw. Dairy sits well with some folks and badly with others. Nuts and seeds and whole grains tend to go poorly.

That said, I would ask if you are just low in calori s, or if nutri nts are an issue as well. If you are not taking a multi vitamin, maybe you could try that and see if you feel better, even with the lower calories?

If it does not help, then I wiuld say yeah, it sounds like adding more calories might be inportant.

I have a disease that impacts my stomach, and there is a soup recipe I found once that is supposed to be really anti- inflammatory and help soothe the stomach( and the body a bit)- it has legitimately helped me when my stomach is not doing well. Takes maybe a day to work, if I have it a couple times a day, but it can be made ahead of time and frozen, just thawed out for use, and with rice added, or ground beef if you like, it might be an easy to make soup that gives you some calories but might also help your tummy a bit so you have more appetite.

Recipe for it-
Chop roughly the following:
3-5 zucchini
1 head broccoli
1 fennel bulb
2 onion
2-4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh thyme
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 cup fresh mint( i sometimes do cilantro)
2tbsp fresh rosemary
1/4 lemon, peeled
1/2 pinky finger perled turmeric root ( i sometimes do ginger root as well)
Olive oil.

Heat up olive oil in big pot, then throw everything in and saute for a couple minutes, then add water to cover, plus a bit extra.

Bring to a boil and simmer 30-60 minutes. Cool slightly and blend in a blender until smooth.

If you don’t have some of the herbs, just substitute what you have- they, the onions, and the turmeric are most of the flavor.

I ended up growing an herb garden so I could get the herbs in large amounts like this, but without paying too much money.

Another thing that might be of use to you is natural mast cell stabilzers. Mast cells are the cells that release prostoglandins, that cause a lot of the cramping pain. Mast cell stabilizers can sometimes lower the amount that is released, which can sometimes make things better.

I have a different disorder that causes my mast cells to release more than they should, and I have been helped by these stabilizers myself. Doesn’t help everyone, but some it has a big impact on.

Quercetin, luteolin, and rutin are all mast cell stabilzers. And bioflavonoids. Quercetin you can even find in a supplement now, but olive leaf extract, olive leaf tea, guava leaf tea, or even juicing thyme so you have a little shot glass of it- all of these contain them as well.

I'm the opposite. Two days before my period starts I start starving. STARVING. I want to eat anything and everything. I plan to eat at maintenance on these days and usually ignore my macros. If I want two chocolate bars, I make room for two chocolate bars. With hormones and water retention (and maybe some of the extra food in my belly) I usually go up around 2-4 lbs around this time. But, towards the end of my period, it's all gone.

The week before my period, I'm super cranky. All I wanna eat is chocolate and salt. I'm a sloth like 2 days before it actually hits. But I swear, as soon and it starts, everything immediately starts getting better. I will say it's worse with age. Exercise helps a lot with my cramps and bloating.

Chunkahlunkah wrote: »

It wasn’t until I was in my early 20s that I saw an excellent gynecologist who explained that about 10% of women have cramps this severe and it’s due to producing too many prostaglandins. That triggers cramps that are like contractions. To prevent it, he recommended that about a week before my period was due to take 1 or 2 ibuprofen a day. He said it wouldn’t be nearly as effective to wait until the cramps started to begin taking the meds bc by that point, too many prostaglandins have already been produced.

Sorry to quote myself but I realized I forgot to explicitly state that ibuprofen reduces the amount of prostaglandins that the body produces in the first place. That’s why my dr stressed that it was important to take it the week before the period was due for women whose bodies would produce too much without that intervention. (I’d still need to take it during my period too to help with the pain.)