what you do ladies do about dieting when you are PMSing or in the first few days of your period? when i'm crampy, i give up on being healthy and focus on feeling better.

is there a way to still eat healthy while giving my body all the chocolate and red meat it needs (just once a month)?

For me, my cravings are the worst the week before my period. I try to increase the amount of protein that I eat and I stay on top of my hunger more than usual....I don't let myself get hungry. As far as red meat and choclate....I would just try to keep the portions in check. There are protein bars that taste very good and they have vitamins, etc. I would cut it up into pieces and eat each little bite slowly. As far as red meat...I don't think there's anything wrong w/ having a steak and some steamed veggies. I think it's the other stuff that people eat with it: potato w/ butter, creamed spinach, bread w/ butter, butter on their steak, etc. So, what I'm saying is that I know how you feel. If I can survive the week before my period, I know that I'll have a great weigh in the week after that because I'll also lose the water weight and bloating. Looking at your weight, it looks like you're doing just great, so keep it up and stay strong!!!

thank you for the advice and encouragement! i think i've changed my eating habits in the past few months so that now i don't go back to eating the things i was before. like i don't sit down and eat half a container of french onion dip and a whole bag of chips.

and dark chocolate helps tame those cravings!

I couldn't get through PMS without chocolate! Now I make the HG fake fudge, which is more like a nice dense brownie, actually. A box of brownie mix and a can of pumpkin. It's nice and chocolatey and does the trick for me.

thats a good idea

You can also try those "no pudge" brownies - they are fat free I believe. Also, you might want to try the chocolate drizzled Quaker Oats mini delights - those are only about 90 calories, but have a huge chocolate "punch."

I have bad cravings too, so I allow myself very small indulgences.

I crave for sweets especially one or two days before my TOM. My new life-saver is Ben and Jerry's fat free strawberry cheesecake (made from yogurt, strawberries and oatmeal cookies). According to their calories 100g equals 117 calories and as it is an ice-cream I rarely need more than a big spoonful to feel satiated.

I used to crave for chocolates uncontrollably before discovering it so I am very happy I did.