Is there a way to stop pre-menstrual bingeing?

[TheCowThatLaughs]

I know I could just not eat the chocolate, but it doesn't seem like that at the time! 3 weeks of the month I eat healthily, crave vegetables and fruit, can be arsed cooking etc, and then for the last week it all goes pear- shaped (literally!). Does anyone know of a way of stopping the cravings, please?

[imalostcause]

Watching with interest - I have cravings due to feeling low and I know how difficult it is to fight them and have given in to cravings for a few months, ending up with me gaining more weight than I ever have before.

[TheCowThatLaughs]

Hi imalostcause, I've lost weight this year but want to lose maybe another stone and I'm being thwarted by my hormones! There must be something to be done, does anyone have the answer?

[TheCowThatLaughs]

I've found the answer! Period just started. Now I just need to find a permanent answer before next time

[TheCowThatLaughs]

Hopeful bump

[TheCowThatLaughs]

Does anyone know if there is an answer to this, or is it just down to iron self-control?

[JoycemynameisJoyce]

What might help is remembering that you actually need more calories for a few days. Increase the size of your meals, which should stop you craving the nearest, sweetest thing. Try adding 500 calories of good food to your diet when you know you need it for that one week. It should balance out - you'll probably be less hungry in the days straight after your period.

[TheCowThatLaughs]

Thanks Joyce, I was reading something similar on another site which said to have a small amount of carbohydrate every 2 hours (will have to double check the exact details) it said fruit will not do and it has to be protein-free too. Apparently this enables serotonin to be produced which stops the cravings. I'll try it next time, period has now started and I'm back to normal, thank god!

[TheCowThatLaughs]

Should have said I did do this years ago and it did work and I also felt a lot better. I think it was an unsweetened oatcake every hour.

[JoycemynameisJoyce]

Good news. Next month try planning for an extra 500 calories for three or four days and see how it goes. Treat some buttered oatcakes as vital medicine

[kaykayblue]

Hey OP,

I think it depends at least partly on what you are craving. I tend to want lots of food the week before my period, but I just drink much more green tea, or sugar free squash or whatnot. I might eat a little more, but nothing really noticeable. What I normally really crave is chocolate (which I'm not generally a big fan of the rest of the month). We keep some really dark chocolate (70-80% cocoa solids) in the cupboard and I have some of that. It's too rich to eat that much of, but satisfies the craving.

The other thing you could try would be to make sure you do more exercise the week before you know you're going to be getting cravings. Otherwise surely eating an extra 500 calories a day is going to undo most of your good eating the rest of the month.

And by the way, I was looking at this recently, and apparently you burn more calories during your luteal phase, but it's only roughly a 9% increase from your BMR. I think a lot of the cravings just before periods is due to your emotions going a bit haywire (if you're like me)