Kind of a gross, but interesting question (for women)

I've heard that when a woman is going through TTOTM that her body tends to burn more calories then usual. Is this true? It would explain the cravings and why I get more hungry more then usual and want to binge. Haha. How much more do you think the furnance burns during this time?

Thanks. :)

I don't know whether there are other things causing her to burn more calories but remember that most women lose quite a lot of blood during this time... and replacing that blood does burn extra calories. they tell you this if you've ever donated blood.

edit: unfortunately I don't think it burns enough calories to cover that chocolate bar!!!

lmao. I doubt it either. I wonder why chocolate is the number one craved thing during this time. It's driving me absolutely nuts and I'm about ready to throw that chocolate out thats in the fridge that is tempting me. It's my fiance's chocolate though and he would probably be utterly p*ssed at me if I did because that would be wasteful. Hahaha. Damn temptation!

I've read that the chocolate thing is because our bodies are trying to get us to consume magnesium.  (Does chocolate have much magnesium?  I don't know.)

I definitely get extra hungry and extra tired in the week before TTOM, and I eat extra and sleep extra as a result.  It hasn't had any negative impact on my weight loss that I can tell.  I really don't think that an ounce of dark chocolate every day before your period would hurt.  A giant Snickers/Mars/whatever bar every day probably would, though.  :-)

I've read you burn 300+ more calories a day during your period. I don't doubt it either- your body's working hard. I also think that explains why you're so hungry when it's that time of the month.

Original Post by 4theloss:

I don't know whether there are other things causing her to burn more calories but remember that most women lose quite a lot of blood during this time... and replacing that blood does burn extra calories. they tell you this if you've ever donated blood.

Huh? Am I the only one that finds this assumption incorrect?

Just to clarify, we (women) don't "lose quite a lot of blood" during our period. What we consider bleeding is simply the uterine lining that had been building up for a couple of weeks after ovulation being released from our bodies because the egg was not implanted and therefore there is no blood that needs to be 'replaced'.

^Yea, I remember hearing somewhere that we only lose about a tablespoon of actual blood. This isn't necessarily factual, I don't even remember where I heard it.

Wow! I had no idea. That kind of makes me happy. Hah. Good to know! Thanks!

I don't know about anyone else, but I bleed a Whole Whole lot on my period, and i feel weak and light-headed unless i eat sugar...

Original Post by v_avila:

Original Post by 4theloss:

I don't know whether there are other things causing her to burn more calories but remember that most women lose quite a lot of blood during this time... and replacing that blood does burn extra calories. they tell you this if you've ever donated blood.

Huh? Am I the only one that finds this assumption incorrect?

Just to clarify, we (women) don't "lose quite a lot of blood" during our period. What we consider bleeding is simply the uterine lining that had been building up for a couple of weeks after ovulation being released from our bodies because the egg was not implanted and therefore there is no blood that needs to be 'replaced'.

every woman loses a different amount of blood. i for one have extremely heavy periods and lose far more than a tablespoon. maybe its different for you.

We do lose blood that is why women may get iron deficient and men generally don't. However the amount you use is different from person-to-person.

From Mayo Clinic's website:

The menstrual cycle isn't the same for every woman. Normal menstrual flow occurs every 21 to 35 days, lasts four to five days and produces a total blood loss of 30 to 40 milliliters (about 2 to 3 tablespoons). Your period may be regular or irregular, light or heavy, painful or pain-free, long or short and still be considered normal. Menorrhagia refers to losing 80 milliliters or more of blood during your menstrual cycle.

I think the question of how much extra and why would be a great Ask Mary question.

my periods are very heavy, too.  like, 40 super plus tampons every cycle.  but i don't think i burn more calories during my period; i tend to be more tired and achy (and hungry) a day or two before than during.

but i really have a comment about the OP: what's gross about it?  we shouldn't feel the need to apologize for an involuntary and completely normal bodily function, you know?

I found some info from Mary ....

http://caloriecount.about.com/normal-lose-few -start-period-q12

It is normal to experience a 5 to 10 percent rise in metabolism in the days before your period starts, but it is usually offset by a corresponding increase in appetite. Most women eat an extra 100 to 200 calories a day, and so the temporary rise in metabolism does not affect your weight in the long run. If you can resist the urge to overeat, you might retain a small net loss when your metabolism returns to normal; however, a 5 pound deficit seems like more than you should expect.

I've always been a heavy bleeder. Ever since I started at 11 or 12 I don't think I've ever had a light period. I've also read that it's not actual *blood* we are losing but shedding of the uterine wall. I believe the poster who mentioned the 1 tbsp. thing was right, but I believe it's 2 tbsp. is also another thing I've read. I know though it can seem like a lot more geez I use to think I was losing like a cup. It gets that bad. lmao.

I also hate how when you are going through this time how badly it exhausts you I can barely get off my butt half of the time and want to mostly just sleep. It really sucks and it really interfers with my working out. I think this week I'll take it easy and instead of doing my usual 90 minutes lower it to an hour. Knowing me though I'll probably try to push myself and do the full time. Who knows. If I don't or do though I'm not going to kill myself over it.

I'm actually kind of proud of myself tonight. The chocolate craving was still there so I went and took TWO peanut butter filled Hershey kisses that my fiance had in the refrigerator (and won't eat! ugh.) and savored them slowly and stopped at just the two only going over my calorie limit by 29 calories which isn't bad at all. I'm proud of this because I use to have a serious binge problem and back in the day whether I was hungry or not I would have ate the WHOLE bag in one sitting just to have that sweet taste and then the guilt contributing to eating more. So as I finished the two pieces and didn't look back I had this immense smile on my face that I was able to do this without going completely overboard. Yay me!

 EDIT: Thanks for the informative material NYCgirl! :)

Pgeorgian- I know it isnt really gross..but I figure maybe the men in here would want to glance at it and I was warning them in advance. HA HA.

this is complete BS.  you may "seem" to lose weight because you tend retain a lot of water right before your period.  you don't actually burn more calories.  any caloric burn would be negligible...don't think of eating an extra piece of cheesecake because that still takes a 6 mile run to burn off.

Yeaaahhhhhh I dont knoo about it being completely true or complete BS because like.. Ive always noticed that.. if i eat.. more than i normally do [like double almost] during my TOM, it all gets burned and i gain no weight. If I were to eat the same amount during any regular day.. the pounds add up, fastttttt.

Soo idunno. i think there is some backbone to this theory.

I read somewhere that women don't burn more calories when they're on their period, and I remember it was a source I trusted, but I don't actually remember where it was.  Sorry. :(

However, we do lose blood when we're on our periods, and one of the main paths for losing iron is losing blood.  I always assumed that was where the chocolate cravings came from.