Your Period... and those stupid cravings!

Alright... The week before my period, which is unfortunately right now, is the work time of the month for me because I just want to binge and binge and binge!

Does anyone else have this problem? If so, what do you do to keep down the heavy whipped cream, chocolate, strawberry cheesecake ice cream, double chocolate fudge cake, brownie, hot fudge sunday, carmel apple, soft chips ahoy cookie cravings?!

Do you have any alternative? Advice? I'm really trying to actually get rid of this weight and I could use all the advice I could get.

THANKS! :-)

Well the week before mine, I go CRAZY with food. Its a lot harder to avoid food when you have all sorts of cravings.

What I do is I come home from work, hop in the bath with some bubbles and candles, and just relax for a good 30 minutes. Get out and brush your hair, get all cozey in your PJs, then go find something to eat.

You'll find yourself a lot more relaxed and at ease. Maybe sit down with a book or lay outside in the grass. Something to get your mind out of the kitchen.

If I HAVE to give in, I will make popcorn for my 'munchy' fix. I just love it, and I can eat it for a good 20 minutes (you know those 100 cal pack ones) and it doesn't take up a lot of cals.

Another thing I eat when I am pre-menstral is raspberry sorbet and dove chocolates.  I take 1/2 a cup of Sharons raspberry sorbet (found at Trader Joes) and I break up a 35 calorie sugar free dove chocolate in it. SO good and low in cals.

Caramel apple? Glad you asked! I take a small granny smith apple, slice it up, and use 60 cal caramel jello pudding snack as dip. OMG this one is good too.

Cookies? Vitatop muffins work really good. They come in all sorts of flavors and have chocolate ones that make me nearly OD on chocolate. 100 cals, ya cant beat it.

Strawberries and angel food cake with a little dab of FREE cool whip is pretty tasty with a bit of splenda sprinkled on it.

The ideas are endless.

Hey, you know what website might help you out with food alternatives? Hungry-girl.com. They send out a newsletter with all these alternatives for 'bad' stuff that you can try out.

Hope that helps! And hang in there! But most of all, relax and enjoy the flavors of your food. Slow down, ya know?

I think it helps that I don't have a sweet tooth, even when premenstrual. Salt tooth, well, yes...

I promise myself that if I still want an off-limits food in 7 days, then I can have it, but I have to wait until then. By the time the seven days are up, the cravings are usually gone anyway.

The only things I crave right before the period starts are painkillers lol, and the bloating is terrible. However it always helps not having sweets around when you crave them or replacing them with ripe fruit.

An expensive chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, savoured slowly by melting on the tongue.

Really hits the spot and you feel spoilt.

To adequately deal with this you have to understand WHY you crave during this time of the month. Get from the library a book called "When your Body gets the blues," by Marie-Annete Brown PH.D.,RN., and Jo Robinson.  Or check out the website called www.bodyblues.com. The site and book deal with mild depression, however the information is useful for PMS. The book is better than the site for this question because it explains in detail what happens to women as their hormones fluctuate. In short, you crave because your serotonin drops. Unlike men, women have a harder time replenishing serotonin. Your body uses carbs to make serotonin, the brain chemical that makes you feel good and calm. Chocolate also helps with serotonin.  Once you get the science, you then can use more constuctive ways improve your serotonin levels.

Some things deplete or block serotonin... some sources say aspertame, and monosodium glutamate, so avoid large amounts of these foods. The authors of this book say over exercise and stress lowers serotonin. MIT researchers say that protein in excess of 10% of your calories competes with serotonin production.

If you want your chocolate fix, try homemade cocoa made with 1/3 powdered milk, sugar and cocoa to taste (I do 1 tsp of each, but it is not strong enough for most people), is about 100 calories and you get a milk serving. If you want a carb fix, choose a whole grain, like popcorn, 100% whole-wheat bread or oatmeal. Simple carbs give you a quick boost, followed by a sudden crash, which will make you crave more.  Complex carbs give you a longer-lasting supply of serotonin.

Sunlight and moderate exercise replenishes serotonin. The book authors say a 20-minute brisk walk in the sunlight is optimum (more exercise doesn't do more, too much exercise lowers serotonin).  The book authors also suggest some vitamins, particulary some B vitamins and vitamin D, as well as a couple other things (is on the website). Also any activity that makes you feel successful raises serotonin.

I wish I had known about this when I went through menopause blues... my doctor never told me to try these things.

Ugg, Yeah. I'm on my week before the rag. Salt, Carbs, Sweets and anything that comes frozen (ie-pizza, chicken, spring rolls, ect) are not safe in my house. Ive been good today. Starting last Friday and ending today it was not pretty. At. All. Water just doesnt do it for me. My toung is screaming for some flavor. Some Crunch. Some glorious fat. Mmmm. FAT. Ugh, but then after if I give in I remember how I should try and eat healthy things. But its ok to give in once and a whille.

Tonight I'm making Taco's with ground Turkey.

Mmmm.

Dear god I want some Kettle Chips and Cheese and Pizza's and Dark Chocolate and BEER and Spring Rolls and Ice Cream Sandwiches and Cool whip and Pop and and... ugg...

I eat all those things!

100 cal kettle corn pop corn is really yum.
220 cal lean cuisine cheddar potato broccoli fixes my cheese cravings. That or string cheese and laughing cow cheese.
35 cal sugar free dove dark chocolates are YUM
They make 100 cal ice cream sandwiches
Cool whip free
Diet Coke/ Diet Dr Pepper (pop)
340 cal South Beach Diet pizza.

<3 It's do-able!

But tacos also sound yum. I think I'm doing tacos for dinner tonight.

See when I'm on my rag I can tell when I'm eating the healthy stuff. I want the bubbly cheese nachos and the extra butter popcorn... Stuff like that.  Heh. I guess its more in my head... and no I dont really give in. That would really mess me up!

I may be the only girl the in world who doesn't get cravings around my period. In fact, I find it hard to eat AT ALL with my stomach hurting so bad. The cramps are the worse, but have gotten better since taking the pill.

Once the cramps stop, after the first few days, I always feel like I deserve chocolate, and I eat it. I don't even want it, but I eat it anyway because I feel in entitled to it. I'M ON MY PERIOD DAMNIT!

Yeah I had about 150 cals of black chocolate last night... mmm took me like an good hour to eat it.

so

good

mmm dark chocolate. I have a mint 3 muskateers bars with my name on it waiting in the fridge.

if you haven't tried the new mint 3 muskateers you are missing out. It's already split into 2 bars, at 75 calories a piece. A little slimmer than your normal bar but oh so worth it.

It's covered in dark chocolate too. But it's cheap-o chocolate so it's not great quality.

Oddly enough, I'm roughly a week from my period now (assuming that it comes when I expect it, and it may or may not) and I'm feeling fine. Usually my appetite increases little by little 7-10 days ahead of time and for the last two is really strong. But my last period, the change was very mild, and I'm not feeling ANY right now.

Historically, if I've been on a diet for at least 2-3 weeks prior, and sticking to it very well, then the cravings/appetite are vastly reduced when it's time for them to come. This was part of my reason for starting my diet when I did - right after a period ended. My body has time to adjust and doesn't expect no-no foods or large amounts of anything.

my cravings have changed, I used to crave chocolate and sweets, but lately it's been protein.  I've found myself grabbing a piece of chicken instead of a desert now right before or during my period.

For the past several months my period was consistantly late, by at least 2 weeks, but my last one was only 4 days late and I'm happy to see that I'm getting back to my normal cycles.  I just find it odd that my menstration cycle has been changing. 

Maybe I'm just not getting enough protein in my diet and should make some modifications.

 I have the same problem, it's so hard. What do I do? I take anything that gives me a craving and throw it into the trash. Also, destroying it helps you to conquer your cravings. Keep on telling yourself " it's just food, I'm not going to let it control me and make me gain weight! " I know it sounds totally crazy, but if you take your anger out on it, it helps. Also, drinking alot of liquids ( preferably calorie-free, like water or diet products) can fill you up and curve your appetite. Hope I could help :)

keep down the heavy whipped cream, chocolate, strawberry cheesecake ice cream, double chocolate fudge cake, brownie, hot fudge sunday, carmel apple, soft chips ahoy cookie cravings?!

dont buy them?

I get the cravings only a day or so before my period and usually I don't indulge too much. My problem is the unexpected weight gain! I'm on my period now and I gained five pounds in two days! Sure, I get cravings but I didn't eat more than 2000 calories a day, and I worked out more than ever, what's the deal?

Does anyone else have major weight gain during their period? This is my first period while on the pill and my first period gaining this much weight so maybe it is related, but I desperately wanna know if it will go away and when?

my appatite has been through the roof this week. dang TOM is on it's way. it's so rough, but i sit here and just breatheee. i know i can eat more tomorrow. so i'm waiting for tomorrow so i can munch again. how pathetic am i?

I just gained 1.5 kilos! (3.3 lbs) and I had been so good maintaining my goal of 50 kilos for the past 3 weeks.  Still, looking at the two yellow pills that remain before I start the last white strip of my birth control pack means that it's all water.  I've been eating less for the past few days and working out the same 1.5 hrs/day and yet I still gained....it'll come off in a week. 

I use fruit to soothe my cravings, watermelon is my favourite right now and b/c it's all water I think it helps with the bloating :)  also red grapes, high in sugar, but hey, vitamins too.  also lemon granizado is the best!

I have crazy cravings the week before and the week i am on! I try not to buy the sugary rubbish i want, and keep lots of fruit in the house, the sweeter the better just to satisfy the sugar urge!

 

But here is a recipe i saw for chocolate cake Infact check that site for other dessert recipes, their aim is to make lower calorie versions and my word they look awesome.