It's insane. I chart my cycles and am very in tune with my body in that way. My cycles run between 30-33 days and are very predictable. Without fail, 3-5 days before my period I am SO hungry. I mean, nothing stops the hunger.

I usually power through it and maintain a deficit but some months I just cant.stop.eating it seems -- then I spend the week during my period undoing the week before. Thank God I am typically not very hungry during my period.


Anyone else in this boat? Has anything helped? I feel like I've tried all the tips/tricks but I'm all ears if anyone has suggestions. I'm willing to consider most things except birth control pills -- my cycles are completely healthy/normal other than this!

i always eat like a whale right before my period but i was on birth control until awhile ago so i haven't had it happen yet since ive been dieting. its almost like an undeniable need to feed so im not sure what could help it other than trying to keep busy, go for long walks and hope it will pass or exercise to gain some extra calories for feasting. or give into it but try to atleast feast on filling low calorie food or lots of veggies and some fruits so you dont go over your calories. i normally just keep lots of low calorie treats on hand for those times.

my mom is 110lbs and even she complains about how she cant stop eating 2 days before her "period" ( no uterus >.>) and i think shes 160 years old. gets hard to keep track..haha. just to show you its common and even in the very thin and even they have trouble fighting it. my mom never wants to eat but for those 2 days she claims she cant stop.

Thanks so much for your response -- it helps to know I'm not alone!

That's how I feel too, like I HAVE TO EAT... it's different than a usual craving or boredom eating or even emotional eating (all of which I'm familiar with lol). It's sort of primal. I'm guessing maybe it's my body preparing to sustain a pregnancy? Then the hunger tapers off when my hormones drop. Who knows lol

Thanks again for your response

i also get very hungry before my period even though i'm on birth control pills....i shudder to think how much i'd eat if i WASNT on bc pills lol....because my pills regulate my cycle, i always expect to be hungry on the last day of my real pills, heading into the week of TOM...i want chocolate and i want food and it usually tapers off once my TOM really starts

Omg! I'm starving the week before. The only thing that helps is lots of protein. Like an extra rare steak lol

It various for me. Either right before or during my period I have a black hole of a stomach. No matter how much I eat, I am ALWAYS hungry. It is soooo bad.

During, I totally get that "black hole" feeling too. Honestly, though? Once I stopped struggling against it -- once I realized that it was truly just an insatiable hunger and not going to budge regardless of what I ate -- everything changed. I still feel the hunger, but it doesn't taunt or torment me. I'm in control instead of being controlled by it.

I just accept that I feel hungry for a few days. I mean, before I felt hungry too - but I also felt all this frustration, and annoyance, and then regret/guilt for eating more than I had wanted to. Now all that other mental stuff is gone, and it's just the hunger - and I've learned to tune it out. It's temporary and will pass and doesn't deserve getting my attention or a response. I eat the foods I've planned and move on.

This was seriously such a revelation for me. Dropping all the other mental baggage/frustration has been freeing.

I ate an entire box of Fruit Loops cereal the day before my last period. So, yeah, this feeling is VERY common.

I don't know that I have notices extra hunger but I do want sugar and carbs. I dream about Hershey's and usually can smell the sweets as I pass them in the store. Too funny my hubby must really love me because when he starts feeling like u that usually means I am gonna get Tom. He even cried during movies this last time, and believe me he does not cry! Even before we knew I was pregnant he was throwing up. I always joke and tell him oh sorry I forgot u were on your period too.

YES I'm always incredibly hungry right before AND during my period. Like the period itself isn't enough torture, I also have to stop myself from eating like the cookie monster.

I bought some dark chocolate covered almonds... Hopefully I can manage with a few of these and not sabotage myself. I also make protein shakes with soy milk, Aria Women's chocolate protein powder and some peanut butter, which usually helps me a lot with the chocolate cravings as well.

Wow, thanks so much for your replies. I'm also feeling quite emotional thanks to PMS (cliche much lol) and was feeling down but I'm just going to take an onward and upward approach. Slow and steady wins the race!

I do appreciate all the commiseration

I am insatiable. I try to pump the high-volume, low-calorie foods like veggies, popcorn, etc. But even though I have irregular cycles, I always know when it is coming now, because nothing compares to that constant hunger!

Oh absolutely yes! I seem to crave any and all food, whereas unless I'm sick, the rest of the time I know what I want to eat specifically. It throws my hunger all over the place. I HATE IT. Must be my body demanding nutrients, probably iron, and the crazy amount of water retention throwing everything off balance.

This is part of the reason I can't wait to get down to 175 - I can go back on the pill and will only have to deal with this up to 4 times a year, and I can schedule it for when I don't have anything planned. My TOM's put me in the hospital a few times, so you can see why I'll be happy to get shot of it!

I always remember that I'm about to get my period because I get hungry. I just posted about it, but I'll post it here, too. I've read that you need an extra 200 calories the week before your period. I eat them and they haven't affected my weight loss. I still feel like I'm starving, though. I may give in once, in which case I'll skip the extra calories an other day to make it even, but usually I ignore it. I don't think there's much else you can do.

I'm definitely in the same boat. A few days before my period I'm constantly hungry, however during my period my appetite is considerably less than usual, so I guess it balances out.