[PinkHoodie]

My period is VERY irregular thanks to PCOS. This is the first one I have had since really trying to lose the weight. Well, the cravings hit hard for me. Especially chocolate. I gave in and had like 5 cookies...I know so bad but I figure I talked myself out of a Mcdonald's meal and a mcflurry so that's good. Cookies are bad, but seriously when I was a teenager I used to buy a big bag of peanut butter m&ms and eat them while TOM was here.
So how do you all deal with the cravings? Do you let yourself have a little something? I just don't know. They are very strong...my body just feels likes its screaming for chocolate....

[Rochester]

My TOM craving is salt. I could seriously eat about 12 bags of potato chips a day! Instead I eat air popped popcorn (no butter, a ton of salt) and it works great for a lot less calories.

Maybe you could find some kind of alternative for your sweet craving? Maybe really dark chocolate? I keep a bar of Green & Black 85% chocolate in the fridge for when I really want chocolate because just a nibble satisfies that need.

[astrophe]

Another Green & Black dark chocolate fan here. That takes the chocolate edge off for me where cheaper choc won't. Too much sugar in those to hide the inferior quality cacao.

I take a prenantal multivitamin for the extra iron even though we're not TTC. My doc thinks ALL menstruating women could use the support and you know what? I agree -- my iron lab improved!

Then I also try to eat more animal protein at this time. DH teases me that my ideal would be chocolate covered steak but... gals gotta do what a gals gotta do!

I first went veg to help reduce the hormone load (it did) but now I have to temper that with the crazy cravings I put back in fish, poultry and occassional beef. (that works for now.)

I've been swinging the gamut from vegan to flexitarian for 10 years now and it's been working for me. No more prediabetes/IR and no Type II. Knock on wood!

I think everyone has to find their own way with this thing since PCOS manifests so differently in each person.

HTH!
A.

[museumchick]

Oh man...sugar was my problem! It is horrible, but it wouldn't be unusual for me to go out and buy a big bag of candy (usually non-chocolate, something like Airheads or Mike and Ikes or something) and I would eat the entire bag in a day. And since these cravings would last for a week, sometimes it was a giant bag of candy a day!

I've noticed that when I'm on birth control to regulate my cycles, the cravings are much less intense. Going through Phase 1 of South Beach has helped me too, because it seems to "break" my craving for carbs. Once I am out of Phase 1, if I have some cravings for something sweet, I'll grab some Craisins. They give me the sweetness I crave but they have enough bite I can't eat a ton of them.

[kittyno]

I have found that eating unsweetened applesauce with a ton of cinnamon really helps with the non-chocolate sugar cravings (and it's really healthy!). Another option is to peel an apple, cover it with cinnamon, and microwave it for 3 minutes with a tiny bit of water in the bottom of the dish it's in. delicious, and it feels like I'm eating something really bad for me, which I think helps :-)

For chocolate cravings, I usually give in and just have a bit. I don't keep chocolate in the house though, so I'll usually deal with the craving for a day or two until I can't take it anymore. then I'll buy a small bag of m&ms or something. It's all about moderation, not deprivation. I read in the PCOS handbook that you should make your diet 80/20. 80% of the time follow your diet, and 20% of the time allow yourself to be a little naughty. Good luck!