this is a subject that's been brought up many times... but maybe we can get some good info in here.

Intro: I have a great time eating low carb - super strict, never hungry, absolutely NO cravings whatsoever.. have to force myself to eat enough calories sometimes. This is when I have a limited menu. (when I start getting creative I stard wanting more food - which is fine for maintaining, but for me I've got to be very strict to see a loss) I even enjoy the feeling of an empty stomach. It makes me feel alert and energetic, so when it eat it is usually in small quantities.

I went for about....2.5-3 weeks without a sniff, lick, bite or desire for anything other than what I decided to eat and then one day pms hit and I became food obsessed. I want to eat all day! I'm actually hungry and have such strong urges to eat that when I follow my set plan ...once night time hits I generally splurge with something low carb high fat. When I make a salad to be eaten over several meals - I'll eat it all at once, and I WANT that stuffed feeling.

It's obviously hormone induced, and I'd say most women have an increased appetite at this time of the month. FOr those of us who don't want to eat a LOT more, what is there to be done? Emotionally I'm not lacking, nothing stressful going on in my life, fulfilling marriage...

I'm taking a cocktail of black cohosh, evening primrose and st johns wort this month and it really seems to be helping severe mood swings, but hasn't done a WHOLE lot for the desire for lots of food.

Lets open this up to experiences and ideas

Meg

If you are not on the pill, you might want to try vitex which is an herb. It is a pretty potent estrogen regulator and when I was taking it, it was the first time I didn't have food cravings. I had to stop when I found out it could interfere with the pill. It made a tremendous difference with pms. I hear you with the hunger and cravings. Eating celery, or red pepper or something crunchy sometiems works and I try to drink a lot of water especially through the evening, but I have to admit a lot of the time the craving is so unbelievably strong that I give in.

is vitex something that you take all the time? What experiences did you have with it? I will do an internet search for more info...

I went off the pill... around May after being on it for about 4 years because I didn't like being "regulated." You know? And I hate things that interfere with my libido (depressing it.)

Pms sucks (I got it on the pill just as bad as I do now) but I love the stage just as TOM ends, and up to several days after ovulation. It feels so wonderful I would hate to interfere with that using hormones the way the pill does.

thanks for the suggestions!
Meg

Yes, I took it all the time (throughout my cycle). The bottle said 1 capsule 3 times a day, but I was very sensitive to it and started out with one, then moved on to two and that's all I needed. The brand I used was called Kroeger Herb Chastetree Berry (another name for vitex) and I got it at the health food store. It was $11.70 for 90 pills, so it wasn't outrageously expensive. I don't know if all brands are the same, I think you just have to make sure it is standardized to 1% which it should say on the bottle. The nanosecond I am off the pill I will take it again, for me, the difference was night and day.

I'm in my PMS week right now and my appetite kicked up yesterday. It's horrible after it being depressed for a few weeks. My husband made some totally carb free beef jerky last night so I have been consoling myself with a little of that today

I read a post from a respected user on another forum website(bodybuilding), that she believes that a woman's metabolism actually increases in the third week, which is what ramps up our appetite.

My unscientific, unthought-out or researched (as of yet) idea is that our bodies are preparing for the loss of nutrients ahead of us in menstruation, so our hormones and chemicals are somehow triggering a desire to have a greater nutrient intake. Like I said, very unscientific!! but a maybe?

The reason I am not sure about the metabolism thing is because I've read from a few different sources that post menstrual and ovulation was when we have the greatest fat burning capacity, the greatest physical strength and best performances in terms of physical and mental ability.
There is even some reference to one the articles in the exercise forums somewhere...

Meg

...munching on homemade carb free gelatine gummies as she does her homework..... and gets distracted by her email program

I have BAD PMS I get my period every 40 days which I consider regular for myself since I used to not get it for months at a time and then bleed for months at a time. I have tried all kinds of herbs and nothing has ever helped me. I start PMSing exactly 10 days before my period. I call it my frankenfood time of the month.

I am happy that I can manage to eat low carb foods still and not go off plan during that time. I just try and limit my caloric intake. Almost always my caloric intake increases by 200-300 calories at that time. I have yet to find anything that will help with my cravings to want to eat and my apetite soars. And if it isnt that its mood swings (anything will make me cry), bad cramps and brast tenderness so bad I cannot lay down on my stomach.

Anything over the counter said to help PMS didnt really help me and I dont want to take any hormones or anything else. I just deal with it mostly and try and control it as best I can.

Ugh...every 3 mos or so I get a terrible TOM (this month for once) where I get terrible stomache aches, nausea and I just feel rotten.

Also, I always get REALLY hungry before TOM, and always have - I know what you mean about wanting to feel stuffed. I tend to not worry too much about it - I try and eat another "mini-meal" before I have something "snacky"... I used to be a terrible grazer, so I find, for me, eating a small meal when I'm hungry tends to curb my grazing all day & night (it's so easy to snack my way to a whole lotta calories & carbs )

I always cook plenty of food so I always have leftovers. This week was pre-TOM and I was STARVING all week - but I made up a huge batch of meatballs & lc lasagna last weekend, so when I was hungry, I ate. I'm definitely higher cal (and even higher carb) the week before TOM, but I don't sweat it. This is a WOL for me, and it has to be livable.

I do try and stay away from too many LC goodies pre-TOM (pre-packaged/bought LC foods)- my daily limit is 1 candy bar, though I also usually eat some of my homemade treats as well. (Mmmmm... cheesecakes with whipped cream).

For me, I figure I'll do what I have to do to get through it



Oh, and question out of curiosity ... I was complaining once about having had a few clumsy days in a row - I broke a few plates and dropped things - and a friend mentioned that she found she always got terribly clumsy a couple of days before TOM - anyone else notice this?

Wynter

I am PMS'ing right now, and my mood swings are TERRIBLE, and add that to the fact that I could not have cake & ice cream at a relatives birthday party & it was pretty bad, but I did not touch the junk food. I am extremely hungry & although I got full off of supper, I am wanting to go snack right now. I hate PMS!!

Eh, I had a bit of a PMS cheat tonight. Oh well, it wasn't huge, and I'm sorry, a life without chocolate just kind of sucks

Whoever suggested to me the whipped cream + cocoa powder for my TOM chocolate craving gets a big f---ing hug from me. That's exactly what I needed. :]

Feel like Cocoa Oracle on a mission here again...

I totally recommend pure unsweetened cocoa as a natural remedy for PMS grumpiness and cravings. Either cocoa powder in whipped cream (sweeten to taste, if needed) or a small piece of real dark (70% cocoa and up) chocolate (between 1.3-3.5g netcarbs/10g depending on cocoa concentration in the chocolate bar - the more concentrated the LESS carbs.) I personally prefer Lindt Excellence 85% cocoa (2g ECC per 10g square.)

Cocoa is a natural "upper" as it helps release andamide - the body's own "cannabis". Cocoa also contains theobromine, which stimulates the central nervous system and has diuretic properties, as well as the "happy hormone" serotonin, a signal substance of the brain (sunlight has a similar effect) and is rich in minerals (cal/mag/iron etc). It's also a great antioxidant (with the flavonoids it contains), similar to red wine.

Stay off it if you're prone to migraine though.

LC junkbars and SF "chocolate" doesn't contain any significant amounts of cocoa and won't "do the trick". An intense dosage of pure cocoa actually curbs cravings rather than trigger them.

/gil

Gililbel it's funny you should mention that!! I used to drink hot cocoa on a regular basis - just hot water, cocoa, cream and sweetner. Since I've laid off the cream (calorie cutting) I haven't had any cocoa.... but now that I think about it, I would go through many mugs of that per night while pmsing I craved it like crazy. Hehe now you ladies have me thinking about lindt dark chocolate...

It may be time to re introduce cocoa for a short while

Is the 85 %Excellence really 2 ECC per square? How is that possible? I always thought it was 5 or 6 or 8 or something???

Yup. It is. Isn't it wonderful.
Cocoa is naturally very fat and the more concentration in the bar, the less sugars. Me and several others eat Lindt 85% on a regular basis without it effecting our weightloss at all. It's all a matter of keeping it to the low dosage of max 10g/daily when needed (for PMS etc.) The lack of "sweetness" in the flavour prevents sugar cravings from occuring too, as opposed to most LC bars.

I've been corresponding with Lindt to get the figures of most of their dark chocolate bars (70%, 85% and 99%) and I've run them through hidden carb counter as well. The 85% one has the following count for 10 gram (one square):

Lindt Excellence 85% cocoa
Nutrition Facts

Amount Per 10 gram
Calories 52.5
Calories from Fat 40.5

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 4.5g 7%
Saturated Fat 2.75g 14%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.175g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.5g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 5mg 0%
Potassium 30mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 2.75g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0.75g 3%
Protein 1g 2%
Alcohol 0g


The 70% variety has 3.25g ECC for a 10g square (3.75g -0.5g fiber) and the 99% one has 1.34g ECC/10g square (1.94g -0.6g fiber) - PM me if you want the full nutrition table for those.

So endulge (well...) and enjoy!

I've always considered myself really lucky as far as PMS is concerned. About twice a year it affects my mood. Usually I stay on a pretty even kiel. This time though, even though my mood was fine, all I wanted to do was eat. I let myself eat pretty much as much as I wanted, as long as I stayed with low carb food. I did okay, I just had some pork rinds with butter, splenda and cinnamon, and an extra mock danish each day. The rest of the time I just ate more meat or salad. I usually have trouble getting enough calories each day, so that actually helped that problem. I did manage to stay under 25 carbs each day so I thought I did just great. I was really worried that I'd end up eating something high carb, but I didn't, so I feel fine about how I handled it.

I'm not a chocolate fan, so eating chocolate or cocoa wouldn't help me. In fact, the thought of eating dark chocolate gags me. Is anyone else here a non-fan of chocolate? What helps you get through it if chocolate's not the answer?