...... I am finding it SO hard right now to stay on track & not to eat and eat and eat - especially any 'bad' food........ All I want is comfort food, and for me comfort food equals allllllllllllllllllllllll my frankenstein/trigger foods. I am making a conscious effort today to stay on track & not get tempted........ is it a common thing though? or just an Emma thing?

Your not alone - I don't have my period anymore but when I did I ate for three days straight.

Are you getting enough sleep? Drinking enough? More stress than usual? Getting some exercise? It doesn't have to be a marathon to help. Any/all of these things can contribute. Or maybe it's just your body saying 'give me a rest for two or three days.

Don't worry - you'll get right back on track.

It's a common thing. I've had problems staying OP right before my TOM. Once I come on those cravings disappear. I agree with Denise who said that maybe the body needs a rest. I tend to think that we might need some of those things we're craving because of blood loss.

Denise

Oh good I'm so glad it's not JUST me!!!!!

Denise - you could be quite on the right track with what you said about the cravings being related to blood loss... makes perfect sense to me!!!!!!

Settie - LOL I haven't had enough sleep since I was about 6 months pregnant hehe... I am getting a bit more now though, due to Gaby sleeping a bit later (14 hours last night! wooohoo, longest i've slept in what feels like YEARS!)

I used to think it was a myth about eating more when it's coming up to TOM, or during TOM, but now that i'm just not pigging out constantly I am noticing it a lot. I guess I just have to try to make healthy choices if I AM inclined to eat more...

35 milliliters is the actual average blood loss during a menstrual cycle (10–80 mL is considered normal) and in reality, the hormonal changes (not the relatively minute loss of actual blood) and the emotional desire to "comfort" oneself are likely to blame for the food cravings.

Emma,

My cravings definitely get worse. I've found that most of what I binge on is
because I'm physically uncomfortable. That is, when I get bad cramps and
feel so bloated, I just want to sit around and comfort myself with food.

I've found that, on my heaviest days, taking the right kind of menstrual pain
reliever, and wearing those adhevise heat pads makes me feel much better. As a result, I don't pig out during my period anymore.


Anne

TOM just started for me and the weekend was horrible because of it! =( Oh well... back on track today. I won't let it take over!

I just learned that sugar can actually add to the problem by irritating your digestive system. My mom and I were talking about acid reflux and she mentioned it out of the blue. Hmmm... maybe that whole chocolate cake is a really bad idea! Rats!!!