Dealing with Cravings...

J

Jesais

New member
Hi Ladies, hoping you can help me out. How in the heck do you deal with cravings when your pms'ing???? I have always had very bad pms symptoms. I find I crave carbs (doughnuts, ice cream, etc) like CRAZY for about a week!! It's intense and takes a HUGE amount of willpower to not cave and I find not givingin just makes me really really irritable.

I have tried to allow myself a small portionof something I'm craving. Like if I want ice cream I'll allow myself one skinny cow sugar free ice cream and sometimes if i'm just feeling hungrier in general, which is also common for me around that time, I'll allow myself a couple extra hundred calories that day. I just find I can eat the same thing I did a week ago which left me satisfied, but now i feel cranky and famished!

Help!! Anyone have strategies??






intense! I
 
Cut out all the junk food from your life, and then when you have cravings you might eat an extra bowl of whole grain rice instead of doughnuts.
 
Thanks biggest loser....Since I started my weight loss journey I've only allowed myself a portion of low fat sugar free ice cream occasionaly. Other than that I eat no junk food. Usually I'm ok with that...except during that time of the month. I still don't give in but I go crazy with the cravings!
 
Jesais said:
Thanks biggest loser....Since I started my weight loss journey I've only allowed myself a portion of low fat sugar free ice cream occasionaly. Other than that I eat no junk food. Usually I'm ok with that...except during that time of the month. I still don't give in but I go crazy with the cravings!
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Oh, I see what you're saying. I have cravings during that time of the month as well, but I have been off junk food for a long time now so I don't crave it, I just crave more food.

I have some coping strategies that probably aren't the best, for example sometimes I will not eat all day (not hard for me since I am usually not home all day) but then when I get home I will allow myself to eat "without limit" to satisfy cravings. This will turn into eating at most a 1500 meal of healthy food.

Or alternatively I will exercise a lot more and allow myself to eat more. Going for a walk instead of eating when you're experiencing cravings can help too.

More reasonable approach is also to drink tea or coffee (with milk and sugar for taste), or drink a glass of milk which is filling, or drink a lot of water when I'm feeling hungry, or make a water based vegetable soup and eat a few bowls of it since it has next to no calories but is physically very large.

I don't know if you can make the cravings go away to be honest, but if you don't have any tasty food in your house it will be much easier not to give in to them. Probably don't do things like have pasta around or bread or cheese, or any food that when you eat a lot of you can go way over your calorie limit during that time of the month.
 
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Hey guys! I know what u mean bout craving stuff. I think you shouldn't associate PMS with a time where you can eat whatever you are craving...u know? Like treat yourself every now and then as opposed to letting it all build up during that period (ha ha no pun intended). Maybe you can try chewing gum (like 1 or 2 sticks) then as a way to occupy your mouth w/o causing all that damage...u know? Or try meditating, calling a friend, running outside, listening to your favorite music...You can do it! You have been blessed with a mind and the ability to examine your actions. You don't have to give in every time...but don't be too mean to your body either! =) Lastly, you're not alone...believe me.
 
I take a slightly different stand point with cravings as I find that they don't go away once I eat the said food, they just call for me to eat more and it feels worse as I then have a very vivid reminer of what I want to eat in that I can still taste it!

I decide that if a certain food 'calls' to me repeatidly after eating it, I ban it. I wouldn't advise this to everyone, its not easy at first and its better and far more healthy to make amends with the food and learn to eat it in moderation instead of taking the easy way out and saying "never again!"

I also find that after about 2 weeks the cravings subside, become easier as I sort of forget what the food tastes like- or its not so prominant in my mind. I still want to eat certain foods but its just that little bit easier to say 'no' when its not in my eating habit and its further away from the forefront of my mind.

I have another 'rule' which says I need to get through an entire glass of water or eat a carrot and wait 10 mins before eating what I crave if I do allow myself to eat that food. It doesn't always work as I can decide against it but it can help at moments when I am not sure if I am genuinly hungry and its not a planned meal or snack (eg an extra snack). Normally good for moments of boredom or when your sat at home infront of the TV or computer for a while and you can seem to want to devour everything at close hand!
 
I get really bad cravings for carbs as well. What I will do is try to eat sweet fruit (apples, strawberries, grapes, etc.) and if that doesn't help, I let myself have a cup of dry cereal (100-150 calories). It takes a little while to finish it and I am usually okay for the rest of the day. It tastes good, full of carbs, and doesn't hurt you too much in terms of calories. It usually leaves you pretty full - too.

I really like the Quaker Corn Squares and Blueberry Special K.
 
Very good ideas! I will try to hold off or try the wert fruit idea. I think strawberries would do the trick!

I guess too just knowing the cravings will subside eventually helps me hold off, just so hard sometimes. Lol

Thanks all!
 
That's an interesting article CryingRaven. I always crave chocolate when it's that time. It's almost like that's all I want to eat!
Since I've been on the wagon, I haven't had ANY chocolate, but instead I treated myself to a fat free sugar free Chai Latte. Soooo nice.
 
I thought the only things that women craved while PMSing was chocolate and the opportunity to be mean to their boyfriends.

:leaving:
 
Ha not so much! My appetite doubles around that time and I crave all carbs and cheese. It's not fun.
 
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