Oh Ladies Oh Ladies

This one is for the ladies...I guess it's a call for reinforcement and support that I am not going insane or maybe the only one that goes through this but here is my dilemma.   During my TOM, I have noticed that I am just incredibly hungry (more head hunger than not) during the week but I am really having a very hard time combatting this issue...and don't know what to do.  I have been eating more fruits, drinking more liquids and eating more solid protein, but darn it if it's not helping...ggrrroowwlll.  To top it off I'm really bloated and my pants are tight, so that definitely is a self esteem killer for me.  I've eaten bananas to help with bloating but I am not sure if there is anything else I can do or if any of you experience this.   Do any of you wonderful ladies have any advice or can sympathize?  I feel like I am going .  Thank you so much! ~Shannon 

Oh you mean HELL time....or as my honey calls is Dumpster time....I eat everything in iste and never feel hungry...ok maybe I feel full for a  few minutes but then Im ready again....I truly am able to eat more too...not just graze.... You are NOT alone! Diana

Hi Diana, thank you so much for the response, I am sooo glad I am not alone!!  I really feel like I am gonna go crazy this week. That's a funny term your husband has labeled your TOM, haha.   ~Shannon

Nope...you are NOT alone. I can eat like twice what I normally do...I have been tracking my daily diet for a good week now and I can't wait to see how bad I do on my cycle...It's gonna be a walk of shame onto the boards.  I just know it. I don't normally crave sweets...but that is when I come home with all the sweet crap! That's when I hear potato chips and soda call me too. I can't walk passed anything sweet or starchy or carb happy little balls of fluff and puff and fat and sugar.   Yeah...:::Sigh:::: you are not alone...food speaks to me on my cycle. I cannot escape binge eating during this time. and everything tastes soooo good. Kinda makes me wish I wasn't a girl...but...I don't gain either...Which I find quite weird...I just gain 3-5 lbs water and then I'm back to normal in a week. Do you gain weight at all?  Not including water when you eat like that? Anita

Hi Anita, thank you so much for the response.  I am soooo glad to know I am not alone!   I actually gain weight before my cycle begins, but would return to normal after my cycle ends.  Recently, I have been getting really badly bloated before and during my cycle... and am terrified that I won't be able to lose this pre-gain....   I know in my previous cycles, I would be able to eat a bit more with no weight gain at all, and all water retention would go away, but for some reason this cycle is vastly different.... I am freakin out just a bit.  I haven't really eaten out of the norm at all, except a girl scout cookie here and there... but would that be enough to prevent me from even buttoning my jeans??  I am not sure what to do...

Lately, my hubby keeps telling me he thinks I'm going thru my "mental-pause"....I'm really gonna hurt him...me and my TOM are gonna play a naughty little joke on him if he says it once more!  He always notices when I'm PMSing first...so he loves to rub it in when I say...yup...you're right... So now he thinks he knows all about my TOM and when it will end.... So I have to remind him I am still with TOM....and the next time it gets ready to rain...I'm tying tampons to his wiper blades on his car and see far he gets with nice swollen tampons boinging back and forth! (unused of course) Just had to make that clear!  LOL  If that doesn't work...I'm sticking a big fat pad on his bumper that says I'm on my man period.   He loves me..He's used to my abuse! LOL Just trying to take your mind off eating! LOL Hugs... Anita

That is hilarious!!!! hahaha

Shannon, thank you for sharing this.  It is nice to know so many of us are not alone with these symptoms.  I don't want to complain to still-heavy friends because that's one thing I could never stand...a skinny girl complaining about her tummy bloating up that time of the month.  But I swear...it gets so big!  Like you, I have a gain before and during then after it goes away.  And from ovulation onward I have PMS and want nothing but chocolate and sweets.  Next month I'm going to try to remember the 5DPT and do a bunch of lovely, chocolatey-sweet (splenda!) protein shakes.  Mine taste like milkshakes to me so maybe it will help with the bloat and cravings.  I can't eat more than a couple of inches of banana without dumping---do you think that would be beneficial?  (the banana, not the dumping)    Hang in there! Molly

Hi Molly, your plan sounds like a great one, I think that's a great idea to try and combat these frustrating things before hand.  I know Bananas help with bloating, and I know they don't make me dump which is nice (anything with refined sugar does make me dump badly).  I have noticed that jello has helped me too. Good luck to you too!! ~Shannon

I'm so glad y ou posted this Shannon. I'm a human garbage disposal during the week prior to my period. I can gain like 2-3lbs and then thankfully i lose it during the next week. I gather from what we are all saying it's biological and perfectly normal although very very miserable when you're going through it. ANDI