Ladies how do you cope with your diet when on your monthly?

Just a normal day for me.

I have some days (randomly during the month) where I am hungrier than other days. I factor in snacks and/or make meals more filling as needed.

I used to stop exercise during the week before my period due to bad PMS symptoms until I realised that SOME moderate exercise would actually help me! It was also bad for me to stop and start exercise because then I kept getting DOMS. Now, I just lower the intensity abit or do more yoga and walking as opposed to higher intensity workouts. And guess what? My mood is so much better now because of exercise so I strongly recommend it because it will help you with your sluggishness. Oh and eat chocolate because it helps with magnesium levels- go for 60%+ chocolate such as Lindt because it’s higher in magnesium and delicious 🤤 and it satisfies me way more than cake or ice cream. In terms of calories I stick to a smaller deficit of 2/300 calories and then on the day of my period I eat at maintenance. I just finished one week of my diet break and it coincided with my pms week so win win situation. You can also eat at maintenance for a few days too. Do what works for you.

I usually want to eat anything covered in chocolate for a few days beforehand, but with very little in the house I don't usually end up going too crazy. But this month I really struggled mentally, I wasn't hungry, but just wanted to eat crap tbh! Luckily it's just a few days and I don't have lots of things in the house that would allow me to splurge, unless I want to eat endless amounts of cheese or oatbars.

I eat closer to maintenance is all. I don't lose, but I don't gain, and I'm so used to eating less that eating at maintenance feels downright luxurious.

Usually I just have to deal with a lot of pain and mess and various hot flashes and cold chills. (I'm fine with being done any time now, just sayin'....) As far as cravings go, I mostly get what I call the desire to Eat All The Food and I already know that I can't. Physically can't... I'm going with small portions and my stomach has very definitely shrunk. But as was said above, I don't worry about an extra hundred or two hundred calories, and just try to otherwise stay on my schedule so I don't add a migraine to the mess.

KrissDotCom wrote: »

Honestly, I just eat. Lol

My normal calorie intake is 1800ish, during pms I've eaten as high as 2300, 2400.

My maintenence is around 2200.

Pms is about 4 or 5 days for me and it takes 3500 to gain a pound so, 100-200 calories over maintenence isnt going to cause me to gain in those few days, since it would only been 1000ish calories roughly..

Its not hard to return back to normal once your period starts and 1000 calories is two days of my normal 500 calorie deficit.

I agree 100%! I still eat healthy food, I just eat more of it until I feel satiated. In the grand scheme of things, it's no big deal.

A few days before my period and during ovulation, I get hungrier than usual. There are studies out there that say during ovulation your appetite decreases significantly but my body says that would be a no. I used to try and resist it but I realized that my body is going through a process which affects my caloric needs and I'd be silly not to listen to it. If I did ignore it, a few days later I would end up eating like 800 to 1000 calories over maintenance for one to two days because nothing was making me feel full. Now I just eat when I feel hungry. Also when I started eating more during ovulation, the spotting that would occur during it stopped happening.

I abide by the 80-20 principle. If I am diligent about staying at or under my calorie goal for 80-85% of the time, then the remaining 15-20% of the time, I can indulge a bit. I save those indulgences for special treats (like birthday cake) or for that time of the month when I want to eat everything. It does make the weight loss a bit slower than it might otherwise be, but the hunger is ravenous and painful...so I just give in.

meharmahshahid wrote: »

To be honest, just try to go with the flow. Work out, because it helps with the cramps. If you have a craving, go for it, because it is okay to have a cheat meal once in a while because it helps restart the body, but don't go overboard. If you feel sluggish and don't want to work out, then don't. A rest of 2 to 3 days wont hurt at all, and we women deserve a break, this is coming from an 18 year old.

Just wanted to mention that there is no restarting the body, resetting, Jump starting, however you want to put it. That’s not a thing.

And also, there’s no such thing as cheat meals either. There’s calories you eat in a day, week, month... and that’s it. It’s either below, at, or over your maintenance. There’s no single food or meal that does that. It’s a combination of the whole.

Same old, same old. I just give myself permission to swear during my workouts is all.