This week's been my period and I seriously binged for so much, I gained 4 pounds and I bet most of it is pure food fat weight (not water).

My face is bloated, wrist swollen and clothes won't button !!! What do you ladies do about this awful TOM time ?

It is normal to binge eat especially before your period. When I was younger, boy did I binge eat. I think there was a deeper problem there for me. I worked on my insecurities through a lot of different methods, counseling, classes, seminars, yoga, meditation, behavior modification, you name it. I have come a long way and now am relatively binge free.

I jsut try to endure and do as best I can. I *JUST* went thru this and I lost 5 lbs when TOM came.

I was so uncomfortable with the bloat!

Hang in there!
A.

You really can't gain 4 pounds in a few days. Salt and water!

TOM is literally right around the corner for me (like anytime today), and I'm anxious to see how it affects my scale. Yesterday and the day before were particulary challenging, I wanted to eat an entire bag of cheetos, chased with a huge glass of full-fat chocolate milk. Luckily I didn't have either of these things in the house. So to deter my horrible thoughts of raiding the pantry for anything I could shove in my mouth, I made myself a nice cup of hot peppermint tea... POOF! Ravenous feelings of hunger- GONE! I'm not saying this will work for everyone, but for me it has been a lifesaver!!

^^THIS^^

I've gained 4 lb literally overnight - and I know there's no way in hades I ate 14,000 calories worth of food. It's water weight. It comes & goes. Every ding-dang month. Still, it's hard to see it on the scale & not feel like a failure.

I try to limit my sodium intake during those times - even tho I'm in menopause now, I still have those few days per month where I'm manic-depressive, eat like a fiend, and generally hate the world.

So my advice is this: Eat as clean as you possibly can, drink plenty of fluids to help keep everything "flushed out" and just keep repeating the mantra... THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

Good news is that it's temporary!! Throughout the next week your body will drop the sudden weight gain. Easy come, easy go as they say, as long as you don't continue on your TOM eating cycle haha! My binge week happened just a few days ago and I think the only way to prevent it or atleast make it better is to continue to exercise and attempt to eat right even if you indulge in other sinful munchies due to Aunt Flow.

I have a problem with self control around my TOM as well. It's like something in my mind switches off and I no longer have the willingness to deprive myself of all the goodies I want. I started mapping it out so I would know it was coming and be better prepared for those kinds of feelings. Lucky for me, I am on birth control so my cycle is very regular and I can usually pinpoint the day or two before TOM starts, those are my worst days!

I find being better prepared helps a lot, sometimes I can make it past TOM without a binge, other times no amount of planning will stop my hands from shoveling food into my mouth. Good news is that 4lbs in a couple days is improbable and is probably mostly water retention accompanied by sodium. Try to stay on plan the best you can, I bet it will drop off in no time!

I know exactly how you feel. I have this problem every month. I am ravenous and can't stop eating. I usually crave sweets but sometimes chips or something like peanut butter. I find that as I get older it is becoming worse. I do not remember having the cravings when I was younger. TOM is definitely a curse.

I crave sweet things in the lead up to the monthly event but once it's here I can barely even look at food. Regardless my weight is always up 3lbs or so the week before and down substantially to compensate after. Don't worry!