Not hungry, but why?

Every time my period starts, I loose my hunger. Always. The weeks before my period, I'm always hungry. I eat my regular meals and I also have snacks in between, like nuts or cheese. But even with that, my measured food doesn't seem like enough and I want to eat more.

But, come my period, it stops. Not hungry, not interested in anything. Can barely eat 2 oz. Does this happen to anyone else?

Oh, and I get super sleepy. So I sleep. Why not?!

 I don't have hunger so I don't lose it.  But I crave and eat it feels like nonstop during that time frame.  I'm sure it's subconscious...

Maybe, but it's happened every time. Not sure if it's normal though cause I never would get my period before all the weight loss.

hormones can mess with your hunger....so leading up to it, your hormones are probably crazy, and by the time the monthly bill arrives, you've normalled out again.

That makes a lot of sense. Man, dealing with these hormones is hard. Never had to deal with it before. But glad to know its normal.

The months that my cramps are accompanied by back pain and loss of energy I lose my appetite. If I have some mild cramps I'm fine, but when I get the ones so bad that my back starts to hurt as well and I curl up with a heating pad food is the last thing on my mind.

Aaah! See that makes even more sense. I never used to get my period, but now that I do, it is accompanied by the most intense cramps that radiate towards my back, so I'm in agony and Tylenol does not help at all. So when I get cramps, food is the last thing on my mind. I can't even function. Usually I stay home from work too. Thanks!

Hormones during the menstrual cycle are really amazing. I mean that our bodies can produce an egg, grow an endometrium, shed the endometrium and dispell the unfertilized egg every month is pretty damn amazing. And the hormones that signal all this action are equally amazing. Google "estrogen graph" and check out the images of how the different hormones ebb and rise and precipitously drop and wow, it's just amazing, really!

Just as the menstrual cycle starts (bleeding), the progesterone takes a sudden dive and all the other hormones are flatlining (estrogen, Follicular stimulating hormone, and lutenizing hormone). I'm pretty sure it is the sudden drop of progesterone with the flatlining of the other hormones that cause the lack of appetite, and conversely the spike in estrogren and progesterone in the week prior to menses is what causes the incredible hunger sensations.

Like I said it's truly amazing what the female body is capable of month after month for nigh on 40 plus years..

I'm always in awe (and hungry one week before menstruation). It's cool to see it graphed out so you can see it...

Yeah, the week right before my period, I'm starving. Always. I'm like, what's wrong with me?! But sure enough the week of, it's gone. It's very interesting how our bodies work.