[TaraLee]

It seems to be all the new rage of current medical studies. Awhile back (when I first started here) I had asked how that TOM effected weight loss. I got a lot of postive responses and a lot of varied responses as well.
While doing more research on it (I'm such a nerd) I've come across a couple studies that have actually indicated that the week prior to TOM women's metobolic rate increases, which is why we feel hungrier. If your trying to lose weight with a restricted calorie diet and you can stay OP during this time you'll actually increase your weight loss compared to other weeks.
I attached to two sites I'm using as a refrence here, but I'm posting this I guess because it gives me a little extra encouragement to avoid those PMS cravings and sloath-ness. And it makes me hate my period just a little less, not much, but a very itsy bitsy tiny amount less.
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/a...d=42321&sc=801
http://www.weight-loss-center.net/we...d-weight-loss/

[JulieJ08]

Earlier in my weight loss, the week and a half before TOM was my best weight loss. It was one long slide downward until the first day of TOM.

But later, when loss slowed, I always gained a little during the week before TOM.

[jewelweed]

I have found this to be true! I didn't know that there are studies on it. But yes, the increased metabolism helps, if you try not to give in to the cravings during your period (it's a struggle for me, I seem to always want strawberry milkshakes only during my period)., and if you continue with your regular routines right through your period. I know even that's a struggle, cos I feel soooo lathargic during that time. But yes, you can work it to your advantage!

[Bonnie+J]

wow thats really interesting. will definitely keep it in mind when i just want to curl on the couch with a coffee and hot water bottle instead of going to the gym! thanks for posting that.

[Judy Lynn]

That's interesting. During the week before TOM I am not really hungrier but all I can think about is food. I just want to eat anything and everything. Like a major case of the munchies. I never knew the reason behind it, I though it was just hormonal.

[kaplods]

I found a different, less uncomfortable solution.

The premenstral/menstral hunger was so insane for me, that staying on plan was virtually impossible, a mental and physical torture.

Using a birth control like Seasonique (to have fewer periods and better control hormonal fluctuations) works a lot better for me than trying to white-knuckle it through TOM (increased metabolism or not).

If I had "normal" periods, I'd probably feel differently, but I have fairly severe PMDD. Not only was hunger an issue, but so where severe mood swings, rather extreme menstrual cramps (regular birth control helped these a lot), and flares of joint pain and skin breakouts. The seasonique has been a miracle, I wish I had tried it much sooner.

[lottie63]

kaplods, I take levora but I run my packs together and so I only get it every 3 months as well, I get very moody, want to eat everything in sight, and joint pain too....soooo nice for this to only happen a few times a year now!

[Lori Bell]

I don't mind white -knuckling it for the sake of a good loss week! I will have to control my eating for the rest of my life if I want to stay fit, so what the heck...I just do what needs to be done.

I have kept a food/weight journal for the last 17 months and the week before my period has ALWAYS been my biggest loss week for the month. Even now as I'm attempting maintaince, (and would still like to lose 10 more pounds) my weight still seems to drop during this time. (yea!)

[WildThings]

If I can keep myself on plan during PMS and the first few days on my period, the only gain I have is from water retention...keeping myself on plan is the issue. In the past, PMS has been near debilitating for me (fortunately due to my weight, hormone problems, I only had it once, maybe twice a year), in addition to wanting to eat everything I can get my hands on, the mood swings, the anger (road rage , although I am not a danger to society, I promise), lethargy, fuzzy head, increased depression/anxiety, hives, acne, intestinal issues, etc. I am doing better at getting everything under control. Now that I have regular periods again and I am getting my health straightened out, I think I can get my PMS eating under control once and for all.

[kiramira]

This DOES beg the question though -- does one HAVE to satisfy hunger every time they feel it? Or can one power through those hungry times and stay on track? I mean, if I ate every single time I was hungry, I'd be 500 lbs, for sure. And my DH who has never had a weight issue OFTEN recognizes that he is starving but says "Dinner is in a couple of hours, so I'll have an apple to tide me over"...probably why he maintains his weight so well...hmmm

Kira

[SkinnyJeansInWaiting]

Originally Posted by jewelweed

I seem to always want strawberry milkshakes only during my period

Have you tried making a healthier strawberry milkshake at home? Maybe use fresh strawberries or frozen without the sugar or anything, some soy milk or 1% milk, and a small amount of the "free" ice cream? This could give you the taste and you can control your calories or blend it into whatever plan you follow.

Originally Posted by kiramira

This DOES beg the question though -- does one HAVE to satisfy hunger every time they feel it? Or can one power through those hungry times and stay on track?
Kira

Very good question that I needed to hear, so thanks for posting. I believe there is real hunger and then emotional hunger, at least for me. I need to learn to feed the real hunger and deal with the emotional hunger without food as it is not real hunger for food, but something else entirely.


As for periods, I am the constant muncher the week before and tend to gain weight, but only because I eat so much more. I thought it was just natural, but now that I hear this great news about metabolism, I will adjust my thinking.

[oseybaby]

Originally Posted by Lori Bell

I don't mind white -knuckling it for the sake of a good loss week! I will have to control my eating for the rest of my life if I want to stay fit, so what the heck...I just do what needs to be done.

I have kept a food/weight journal for the last 17 months and the week before my period has ALWAYS been my biggest loss week for the month. Even now as I'm attempting maintaince, (and would still like to lose 10 more pounds) my weight still seems to drop during this time. (yea!)

holy moly, you lost 175 pounds within a year, how did you do it?

[kaplods]

Does one have to satisfy hunger every time they feel it.

ABSOLUTELY NOT! That being said, I've dieted with insane hunger, and I've dieted without it (finally after more than three decades) and I definitely prefer without it.

I don't think it's a coincidence that I stopped gaining weight when I was first prescribed standard birth control (in my mid-twenties). At the time I thought it was an absolute miracle. I didn't have to waste three to four days a month feeling miserable, and the desire to eat absolutely everything, absolutely all of the time, abated tremendously. At the time, I also was getting into "fat acceptance" and accepted the theory (because it sure seemed true in my experience) that diets only made me gain weight. I would eat when I wanted, good food, not junk, and I'd only eat when hungry - and magically I didn't gain any weight from that point (was it the birth control causing the reduction in crazy hunger that was responsible, or the refusal to diet? I don't know, maybe a bit of both).

If you find you can fight hunger and stay on plan during TOM, that of course, makes the most sense (going onto birth control medications, or deciding to reduce periods isn't a decision to be taken on a whim), but if you find that during TOM you feel like a starved animal no matter how much you DO eat, especially if you have other severe symptoms such as serious pain (not just mildly irritating cramps - more like "you think your appendix may have burst" cramps) and severe mood disorders (indicated perhaps by people in your life being able to tell where you are in your cycle by how civil you are, such as my husband calling me "werewolf") - then consider talking to your doctor about whether your PMS is actually PMDD.

Eliminating periods, I don't even have to have one miserable day a month, my moods aren't crazy, and my hunger isn't either. It's made weight loss a wonderful experience instead of torture. Why choose torture if you don't have to?

If you're only "mildly inconvenienced" by TOM, you don't have PMDD, but if TOM makes your life a living **** (whether it includes hunger or not), then consider seeking treatment for it. You'll not believe the difference it can make.