I may have misinterpreted your question. If you mean, "can you eat more and not gain weight," I have absolutely no idea. If you mean "are you prone to eating more (and therefore gaining weight) I would have to say that I definitely can (if I allow myself to indulge the rabid hunger I often feal) eat not just hundreds, but thousands of "extra" calories (over and above my "dieting," or even my maintenance calorie level) - and that's PER DAY during TOM.
For most of my life, every month it would take two to three weeks of dilligent dieting to get off the weight that I gained during TOM week.
"Not dieting" wasn't even a possibility, because when I didn't diet, I gained 10 lbs every month.
Birth control helped reduce TOM hunger, so I was able to "break even" more often than not. I wasn't able to find a way to do better than break even, until I found low-carb.
I don't think there is a "number" anyone can pick out of the air. Some women are going to be a lot hungrier during TOM (and therefore able to eat a lot more), and others aren't.
I've even met a few women who lose their appetite during TOM, so they eat less and lose weight during "that week," unfortunately I'm not one of them.
I can easily eat twice my normal calorie level, and not even notice. If I have an insane binge, it's almost inevitably "that week."
I couldn't even tell you my "record" but it's well above 2,000 calories over and above my "normal."
I found this back a few days ago when I was curious about the same thing:
During PMS, hormones are released by our body’s cells and one of the ways they affect the body is by increasing metabolism. Metabolism is the rate at which our bodies convert food into energy. Two weeks prior to commencing the menstrual period, womens production of estrogen and progesterone hormones step up to their highest levels, which speeds up metabolism and results in burning more fat. An Australian clinical trial showed that up to 30% more fat is burned off during this monthly period than the rest of the time. Just how much your metabolism rises or the amount of fat you burn off is entirely dependent on your body type, size, age, diet and exercise.
With an increase in your metabolism should also come with an increase in your energy levels. During this time, take advantage of the extra energy by working out and being active. You will burn more calories during PMS than other times of the month so take advantage of it and get moving.
I've also read that your metabolism increases by 4% while on your cycle. Alot of information out there about this. But like you, i'm really not sure which is acurate
" I've even met a few women who lose their appetite during TOM, so they eat less"
That's what happens to me each month, but I usually cough it up to the fact that when i'm pmsing, I eat like no tomorrow so my body needs a break from food.
if youre asking if youre supposed to or able to eat more during your period, id say no. youll crave but thats not reason to go off plan. i never eat more, i eat less during tom really, youre not gonna lose extra weight, just the water weight you put on during tom in the first place. i wouldnt look for special reasons to eat more youll just be on a slippery slope
You actually do burn more calories during TOM...I think 30% is way too high of a number. It's more like 5-10% according to some studies. And it's the week before menstruation (when you're in the luteal phase of the cycle and hormone levels are highest). So at most, you can eat an extra 100 cals for a week before the first day of your period.
Women tend to eat way more than the extra allotted 100 during their period, so I agree with charlaine09...don't go off diet.
Personally I wouldn't eat more, I would just skip the workout. But then again I never workout during TOM because I have to wear pads. Tampons (even the slimmest of the slim) usually force me into the fetal position clutching a heating pad for dear life. Except if I go swimming, but I heard that's pretty common because of the way water relieves the pressure or something. I don't know how it works, only that it does.
Anyways, if your body IS burning more than wouldn't it be better to not eat more so that way your weekly calorie deficit is higher and you lose more weight?
I wasnt planning to go off plan...i was always just so curious. my mom used to snack on more chocolate than usual during her TOM because she said she gained an extra 600 calories per week. I dont know if that was every true or not lol.
clairebear I crave weird things when Im on TOM almost like when I was pregnant.... but I usually dont give in to them because I know itll hurt me in the end....
Im sure its true that your bodys matabolism is stronger during that time but I dont really think that is an excuse to let you eat more lol maybe eat the same and workout and youll lose the weight you want ?
As for working out during this time, Im like some women can barely move during the first few days because the cramps are unbearable, almost comparable to giving birth, I dont know why they are so bad for me but when I told my doc about it he ended up giving me a couple pills (T3s) just for those couple days each month (usually 1 a day lasts about 12 hours) it helps with the pain sooo much. So exercising is out for me during that time... thank God I dont gain too much during that time.
I tend to rearrange my calorie counting to allow a couple extra sweets during TOM, because if I don't I end up breaking all together and eating nothing but junk. Which in the end (even if it was just a few hundred extra calories) I gained, probably because I didn't want to do anything that week.
Can you really consume more calories during TOM??
