For The Ladies (Unless the men know)

I keep hearing about these "Skinny Cows" What are they exactly?

Basically low calorie versions of snacks and ice creams from what I've seen. The knock off of the snickers ice cream bars are very good.

Oh man! My boyfriend and I just went to see Dirty Dancing last night at AMC. Skinny Cow was promoting their 25th anniversary. Gave away free ice cream bars in the theater. I've heard about them before, but hadn't tried many of their snacks. We both had the mmmocha chocolate truffle bar, and it was really good! 100cal, and my boy gobbled his up without even questioning it. Haha. They were also promoting their new frozen cookies. Not sure if they're on the market yet, but excited to try them! (by frozen, i mean the DOUGH. You still have to bake them. Haha)

I don't have that problem with my monthly but I did have it intolerabley during my pregnancy with my last daughter. Suddenly I craved chocolate like CRAZY! I was really trying to watch my weight gain and eat healthy though, so I bought a bag of Dark Chocolate Kisses and would allow myself 2 a day. By allowing myself the "goodies" it helped me not go crazy because I knew it wasn't off limits but by controlling how much of it I did eat, I was still able to keep my weight under control. By the time I had her, I had only gained 17 pounds. ;-) Good luck!

My advice is to keep yourself full of good for you things so you won't have room for bad stuff. Also if you are craving that salty kick I suggest getting some potassium chloride powder. It is a salt substitute and work wonders on water retention. Potassium is a great counteraction for any lbs you are carrying due to water weight. That way you can kill two birds with one stone. Get the salt you are craving and get rid of the water all at once.

If you have a sweet tooth and it's chocolate you crave... give in, but give into dark chocolate. It's heart healthy and has more kick than milk chocolate- so you'll feel like you're beeing bad- without breaking the caloric bank. if you're a salty and sweet, melt some of that said chocolate down and dip some low fat preztels in- tah-dah!

Fiber one bars are great also, only 90 calories, and Special K has little chocolate pastry crips that are really good also, 100 calories

Okay... Seriously, I am so mad at myself. I know within the next 1-1and a half weeks aunt flow is coming to visit from red river and the same thing happened last month I crave junk food and because I am avoiding it I will keep grazing the kitchen to try and substitute last night I made a veggie sandwich (not a bad thing) I was still within my calorie intake, but nooOOoOooo I couldn't stop there so I grabbed some trisquit bisquits, could I stop there NOooOoooo I had an apple (not bad) I know, but I have been like this for 2 days in a row the previous night I ate a gigantic amount of popcorn. I weighed myself today and I am sure the popcorn finally caught up with me because now I am 2 more pounds heavier than yesterday morning. So, bottom line... HOW IN THE HECK do you ladies prevent near that time of the month snacking, and I guess it could work for anytime of the month how do you turn off the junkfood craving switch in the brain? I do soooo good for 3 weeks out of the month but then I graze because I am not getting what I truly want a big ol' bag of chips and chocolate. I keep thinking just buy a bag get it out of your system but I know me and cannot be trusted with junk food I will eat it until it is gone or if I do manage to save some I will eat it everyday until its gone. I know I have to stay away from it I havent even bought a bag of chips since the end of May.

I schedule snack times throughout the day so I don't have the opportunity to just graze.

Also (since my monthly visitor is soon expected...sucks the week before my wedding, but whatevs) I schedule "treats" in there. I know I cannot resist chocolate close to that certain time. So for a snack I may do 1-1 1/2 Tbsp chocolate chips with 1-1 1/2 Tbsp peanut butter. It sates my craving and is somewhat heavy (without being TOO bad in calories) so I feel full.

Get some skinny cows for treats. They're chocolatey and delish.

Most important thing is to remove yourself from the situation. Find some way to remind yourself to not pick up a snack even when you feel like it...a note on the fridge maybe?

Though I'm not practicing my own advice at the moment, judging by the nearly empty can of pringles in front of me, I will say what helps when I actually put in the effort is this: Eat high fiber foods to make you feel full, drink PLENTY of water (this helps keep you full and flush out water weight!), and don't deprive yourself completely! If you crave something salty, eat a granola bar or trail mix. If you want sweet, get something like a Hershey bar, M&Ms, something that's easily portioned already, eat a small amount, and save the rest for later if you have the control to. If you know you'll be going back after a few minutes but there's someone else around, offer to split it with them and give them the rest so it won't be there to tempt you later. Also, dark chocolate is the way to go. It's sweet enough to curb the cravings, and I don't eat as much dark chocolate as I would milk chocolate so I don't overdo it. I'm not sure if you're like that, but it's worth a try anyway. Even if you don't eat less dark than milk, dark chocolate is still a healthier alternative. It's also important to keep in mind that the "weight gain" is more than likely just water weight. Unless you eat a *massive* amount, that two pound gain isn't fat gain. As long as you drink plenty of water and wait a little while, the number will go back down and it's NOTHING to worry about.

it's SO hard. I try to keep healthier chocolate options around because that's what I crave - so diet hot chocolate (25 cals), fiber one chocolate brownies (90 cals), chocolate frozen banana slices, etc. I also highly recommend extended cycle birth control, like seasonal, I love only having to see Aunt Flo 4 times a year! :-)

Just curious with the seasonal, I know you only see AF 4 times a year but does that mean no PMS either? I was supposed to have a procedure done to lessen or get rid of AF but I still would have dealt with PMS. I don't need birth control for it's intended use but have thought about going back on it for the PMS reason.

sorry I just saw this. I've been on it for the past few years... I remember with the first cycle (3 months) I was on it I still got PMS... like I'd get super emotional and then realize 'oh this is the week before I would of had my period' and also had some spotting & was ready to give up, but my ob/gyn assured me that it takes your body time to adjust. The next round was great & NO pms or spotting! I don't get PMS or anyting now in between, plus the lightest periods I've ever had in my life! It's different for everyone but it works great for me. I actually switched to a generic about a year ago called "Quasense" and it works just as well!

I fluctuate by HALF A STONE daily, the only way i know my true weight is weighing myself once a month. Your junk food eating wont have made you gain 2lbs, do you know why? Because to gain two pounds of body fat you'd need to have eaten 7000 calories OVER the recommended amount of intake for the day. Now higher sodium levels (salt intake) can lead to retaining water, and also - two cups of water =1lb, and once you've drunk that - it doesn't pass through straight away. Not to mention women retain serious large amounts of water around the time of the month and HORMONES change our weight. Stop beating yourself up, having a treat is a good thing, i've lost 50lbs since July 2011 with PLENTY of treats. Health = Moderation