PMS Craving....Help Please.

K

kimmy0169

Cathlete
Please help! I just blew my diet again due to PMS cravings. I don't know how to control them. I crave sweets and carbs like crazy. Is there anything I do. I never used to get these cravings before. Are there supplements I can take? I was doing so well with my eating program and then I blow it. I am so tired going around this mountain again and again.

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
Hm! Have you tried talking to your doc? Maybe there is a supplement, but I don't know. I would at least take a multivitamin. You might also try the pill b/c it evens out your hormones. I have "heard" that if you can make it through a few cycles without giving in to your cravings, they will go away. You could also try healthier alternatives...there is sugar free hersheys now (be careful though, it gave me terrible gas pains, whatever the sweetener is). Don't beat yourself up over one or two days of bad eating per month....if that is it, you are doing pretty well! One or two days of bad eating, even 3, shouldn't kill your overall progress.

HTH
Jen
 
Supplementing with magnesium is supposed to help with chocolate cravings - I don't know the dose so you would have to look into it.

Eating small balanced meals (carbs, protein, fat) every 2 or 3 hours helps because it stabilizes your blood sugar levels. Avoid sugar and avoid missing breakfast because these things play havoc with your blood sugar. I personally think that working out before breakfast is also a bad idea because your sugar level drops too low and it's difficult to stabilize it.

Also, if you can, plan to get some extra sleep and reduce stress - the better you are feeling, the less likely you are to blow your good eating habbits.

One more thing - apperently, we do have slightly higher calorie requirements at that time of the month, so I wouldn't worry about eating a little extra for a few days. It might even boost your metablolism.
 
Yes, but please try to avoid high glycemic index carbs. Even one bite, because the more you eat them, the more you crave them. Not everyone agrees with me, but that's my method.
 
Hi,

This may not work for you, but I have started drinking 3-8oz. of lowfat milk a day. My cravings are almost non-existent now. My beloved m&m's are too sweet to me most of the time.

If you already drink milk, plez disregard !:+ :p :7

I may have just been low in some nutrient in milk. I have read many articles recently - Fitness RX for one - touting the benefits of milk in the diet. I ain't drank mild since grade school. Oh, and I do take a multivitamin...
 
Well, I can tell you what I did when I quit smoking--whenever I felt the craving coming on I'd immediately jump up & do something to take my mind off it. Whether it was cleaning my bathtub, going next door to chat w/my neighbor or folding laundry or whatever.......I don't know if it's the same thing but nicotine cravings go away after about 10 minutes. So I just tried to occupy myself w/something else until the craving passed.
 
And try to remember that having chocolate or high carbs actually makes the PMS worse. And you'll get more cravings. Avoid caffeine, too.

You might want to look into an amino acid supplement called 5-HTP. There's tons of info about it on the net so check that out.

Also, about 2 or 3 days before your period, an Aleve a day helps with the physical symptoms which may help relieve your other PMS symptoms.

If you're not already on a multi vitamin, you may consider that, or at the very least, take a B Complex supplement. That helps tons.

One last thing. If you avoid refined sugars all the time, when it comes time for your time of the month, the cravings don't hit so hard and are avoided a little more easily.

Hope this helps!
 
Sometimes all the willpower in the world 'aint gonna work. The poster who said that women's calorie requirements increased at the time of the month spoke the truth. Also, research has shown that even if we eat 200 calories extra per day during PMS, it does not lead to weight gain at the end of the month. I seem to be living proof of it. During my last monthly bout of PMS I ate a huge 200 gram bar of chocolate for dinner one night, and had a whole packet of cookies for dinner the next night. It's not always that extreme, this was a bad month. But I didn't put any weight on, and after the cravings passed, I put myself through a gruelling sweaty cardio workout and felt right as rain again.

It's short-lived, you should not blame yourself for it and don't make yourself suffer for it. No-one's perfect, and unless you are eating Macdonalds for every meal, your body will cope. Look at it as I do: extra fuel for doing Circuit Max or Imax 2 the next day or in several days time.

I take multi-vitamnins, calcium, magnesium, you name it: none of it ever worked to stop cravings. I am glad these remedies have worked for some, but they didn't for me, so if they don't work for you, don't worry.

I lie low during these days. I eat as much fruit as possible, and go to bed very early, usually because I have nothing to contribute to my family when I'm such a crabby bitch or because I am temporarily disgusted with myself for eating cookies for dinner!

But hey! Such is life....and a good bath and sleep are the only things that work. Oh, and a really good sexy, romantic, beach read!

Clare
 
I use B-6 to help with PMS symptoms. I also do sweaty workouts because for me that PMS bloat is discouraging enough to make chocolate the most powerful substance in the universe! :) Keep the foods that have binge potential out of the house when you know it's coming on. I swear my oldest daughter, who's quite an awesome baker, has to make chocolate chip cookis when I am PMSy. As Clare pointed out, your metabolism increases so stay aware and don't overdo it and you'll be fine. I know that when I am cranky and give into cravings I get crankier so I try to stick to my regular clean diet and keep reassuring myself that this too shall pass! :) It does! Good luck!
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver
 
I have to agree with Clare, I take magnesium supplements to keep migraines at bay, but it does nothing to help curb my intense PMS cravings. The week before my period, I crave salty foods, followed by sweets. I love pretzels, but I have to keep them out of the house. As someone else said in this thread: It seems that the cravings really snowball out of control once I start indulging in a lot of carbs during that time.
I also ride a broom during PMS, but that's for another thread }(
 
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