I hate i hate i hate TOM. Shows up and then ..poof...out come the cravings for sweets and salty things and i feel like eating everything and anything. I convince myself once a week its okay to cheat..but then i feel like its not..just like today.. i felt exhausted and i felt sore with cramps like crazy and bloated..so bloated..i feel like a big balloon and i feel bad..i felt bad that i couldnt stay on track...i mean.. i ate a half a bag of multigrain sun chips and then dinner i ate 6 little fillets beer battered boxed from the freezer and then sugar free fat free pudding..im on south beach but cal counting too..in total ive consumed 2100 calories today..but without exercising today..i just feel like such crap that i didnt feel like i could..cause my workouts are quite intense..

ARghhh! i hate days like this. Im trying to be successful and feel like i fail or give up to easy.

Ugh, I hear you. Last time I was on TOM, I wanted chocolaty things so much I went wayyy off plan. I also online-shopped my way to a stash of protein bars & "diet bars" of various chocolatey or savory nutty flavors... which, when they arrived a week later, I looked at with SUCH skepticism and chucked into a corner.

Basically, sane non-TOM me realized Zone Perfect bars taste wayyy too sweet but TOM me loves them. Have you looked into diet bars to kill cravings "responsibly"? I mean, they're also 200 calories or so each, but the right balance of calories (including protein, fat, carb, lots of vitamins/minerals/fiber) and a pretty intense shot of flavor with enough fat to calm down the hunger.

Zone is the most intensely objectionable / TOM-y I've found, but Clif/Luna makes pretty awesome bars in general and Atkins has a great line of different low-carb versions. Good luck!! Remember... it's only a couple of days!

Yah, i wished i lived in a town that actually had those..my little town is only 4000-5000 people and we dont even have a health food store..let alone more than one grocery store..which is limited to selling slim fast..BLEH..so..i might have to re-think things through..

I don't know how you guys deal with this! I'm on Jolessa so that I never get my period. It is so awesome for many different reasons!

I get bloated (which shows up as about 2-4lbs up on the scale), plus constipated (TMI, lol), and the ragin' cravin's the whole week before my TOM starts. So I'm actually thrilled the day it starts. The first day or two suck with cramps and such, but I know that in a few days I'll see the whoosh on the scale and feel so much better.

Hang in there, we have allllllll had days like this, lol. Sorry you feel so yuck though

This is me exactly. Crazy bad cravings the week before, but my hunger dies the minute I start my period.

At the moment I'm in the 'crazy bad cravings' week.

It's funny because for me, TOM showing up, motivates me more than any other time of the month. I weigh myself every day and when TOM comes along, the scale shows a 3 or 4 pound gain. WHICH I HATE! Rationally I know it's probably just water weight but I see that number and I'm like, "WORK OUT WORK OUT WORK OUT". And sure, I get those sweet and salty cravings too but that number freaks me out too much to eat.

It's probably not all that funny come to think about it because I'm probably pushing myself too hard during TOM....which isn't good either.

Ah, where is that happy medium?? LOL

I dont know where that happy medium is, but right now, i feel so bloated i dont even feel hungry for breakfast and its apporaching lunch..so im sipping
V8 but i cant hack the idea of eating right now.. i feel so..full..but not a full like full from eating.. a full from..feeling so bloated.. BLAH! i wish cravings hit before TOM so i could exercise instead of eat those craving foods but cause its smack in the week of ..i dont feel like exercising at all..in fact.. i feel really tired..just want to sleep..