Hello bluesky and welcome,

I hear you about PMS and cravings. Even though it's gotten MUCH better since I began the SP plan, I still find it difficult sometimes. This is mainly because my sister is doing Carb Addicts and with her reward meal, she gets to eat all that sweet stuff that's usually not allowed when low-carbing. So we have snacks and ice cream etc. in the house, not a whole lot but it's there! It's especially tough when we're sitting in front of the TV and she pulls out her chocolate & yogurt covered raisins or her ice cream cups!

But seriously, my suggestion is this: What is your favorite low-carb thing? Nuts? The Splenda-sweetened cheesecake? Fruit (erm, not low-carb in itself but allowed in small doses...). Etc. Go ahead and have it, but try to a) abstain from pigging out, and b) eat with a protein/fat/veggies to level out the insulin effect. Also, very important to drink a lot of water and have regular meals. If you feel you need more snacks at PMS time then go ahead and eat, but if you make sure you've got protein/veggies/fat each time then it'll help control how much carb you eat.

Hang in there! The carb cravings get easier to resist, although during PMS I'm not sure they ever go away completely (not with me anyhow!).

HTH,

Tal