So I did not want to start counting calories again because ultimately it leads to over restricting then a binge.

I start out fine then start "over estimating" calories. (like I count all bananas as 135 calories which would be a large banana 9inches and over, even though I'm eating the smallest bananas I can find, like 5 inches, and I know they are less calories)
This snowballs, then I binge, but I saw a weightloss stall and I started counting cals. Now yesterday, but really today I'm feeling the full on TOM binge feeling. I have eaten 1700 cals today, though its likely they are over estimated by 50 cals give or take. I'm still craving carbs, food, anything. I know that its because of TOM. I was thinking of, on days like this giving myself a free pass to eat like 2200 cals. Too much for a daily intake, I know, but I also know I can't go the rest of my life eating 1500 cals daily (my daily allowance) and never go over.

Plus if I allow myself to eat a bit more around TOM, but still COUNT the cals, I think I might avoid a down and dirty "screw it and inhale everything" binge...which is where I'm heading if I don't cut myself some slack.

I start getting scared that I'm going to gain it all back from one day of eating too many cals...and this is why I dont like counting to begin with!!!

I CC and I try to eat within a calorie range. Originally it was 1400 - 1600, but lately it has been 1200 - 1800. There are days when I am completely satisfied at 1200 and others that I am hungrier and I eat up to 1800. I really try to eat something whenever I am hungry, this way it staves off the crazy evening desire to eat everything in site.

I always end up binging during TOM! I crave sweets and other carbs and I always give in! It's ridiculous!

I just eat. I track the calories when it's all said and done. I don't exactly have a limit, although I'm pround of myself when it's under 1300 or 1400, and feel a little bad when it's above around 1600. I think it's best to do what you need to do to make what you're doing doable, if that makes sense. If you eat higher calories, you're going to lose more slowly. I'm OK with that. You just have to decide if you are.

We do NOT need more calories around TOM.
Our hormones are just out of place and make us crave more food (or less for some women). So do NOT give in.

You do not need it really.

It's not necessary for everyone to be perfectly rigid with their calories. I'm positive that some people can stay within a range all the time, even on celebratory days and still be content.

I could not. I need a couple days here or there where I allow myself to go over my daily calories -as long as I write it down-. Sure. It means some weeks I lose a little less, but that's something I'm willing to accept if it means I won't say "to heck with it" and then stop counting entirely and end up binging and not counting any of it.

You will not gain the weight back from one day over your normal daily calories. Especially not if it's one monitored day over in a month. Besides, whether or not you're watching the calories... they're there. They're being consumed.

Everyone is different, but for me I know that I'd at least rather be vigilant about the days I do go over than not.

Just like everything else, this is trial and error. So. Try it if you'd like. Add a couple hundred calories to a day and then monitor as normal. If you're satisfied with that... and the results from a day, then maybe next month you can do the same thing. Even if the scale is a little strange during the "over" week, if it prevents a deprivation binge it might end up being worth it -to you-. And that's the most important thing.

I CC as well and during TOM (I am on TOM right now) I just don't worry about it so much. I cramp & b**** and moan & complain, & sometimes just cry my head off & all because my hormones are so whack that I cannot be normal. So while I STILL count my calories during TOM, I don't get crazy over a chocolate bar or some white cheddar popcorn.

I still count my calories, but I substitute "this" for "that". For instance, instead of regular lunch yesterday, I had white cheddar popcorn. Healthy? Probably not! But at least I didn't have calories on top of calories by eating regular lunch & then giving in & having the WC Popcorn, yo!

Last night I had a rare-occasion craving for fried seafood (rare for me to crave anything fried but it does happen!) so I had some fried shrimp with a double helping of green beans. It satisfied my craving & I got some good protein and veggies with my "fried goodness".

I think the point (for me anyway) is NOT binging. To give in or not to give in? - that seems to be the issue with me. Goddess knows if I give in to a craving and what I want is RIGHT THERE, I'll go overboard & binge it til it's gone!! Can I give in just a little? And NOT binge?? I can seemingly control it better if I only have a little to begin with, and it's easier to control it if what I'm craving is "not in the house". Such as, if I want a donut, I should go to Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts & buy ONE donut as opposed to going to the grocery store & buying a box or a dozen or whatever. And more times than not, I find myself thinking "it ain't worth a trip to the store for JUST that" so often I go without my craving.

So yeah, I still count. But I "pick & choose" my counting efforts. If that makes any sense.

I think it's important to try and keep as accurate a track as possible of your calories - that way you can identify patterns and habits, and it's easier to accurately tweak your intake.

Putting up your calories a bit during TOM doesn't seem unreasonable - sure, you don't <em>need</em> it, but if you're sure you won't be able to stick to lower calories, I think it's better to increase your limit a bit, as you're more likely to stick to the new limit.

Would it help to plan your TOM menus in advance, maybe, including portions of what you know you'll crave?

I used to have the most awful cramps, and the only thing that would soothe them was chocolate - I don't know if it was psychosomatic or some ingredient in the chocolate, but a bar of chocolate would make them ease off. I haven't had them in a while, but if they return, I will definitely be turning to the chocolate, and while I'll try to allow for them within my numbers, if it's a choice between pain and going over my limit, the diet can go hang for a day.

One of the reasons that we feel so hungry during TOM is that you do burn a few more calories ovulating, etc. ( i think it is 300-500 calories extra over the period of 3-4 days but can't quite remember). This is one of the reasons that women gain weight around menopause if they don't change the way they eat as they are no longer burning a few extra calories related to fertility.

I think you could make an allowance that fits into your plan to deal with this crazy hormonal urge to eat - within reason

We may not *need* more food around TOM, but I've always been curious as to the biological reason about why we think we do. If it were just a few of us, then it would be easy to discount. However, it seems that it's the majority.

What sort of evolutionary/scientific reason is there for it? Obviously, hormones cause it. Wondering why we're wired that way is what has always been a question mark.

During TOM I tend to zig-zag my calories "harder" than usual. There are some days where I am just FAMISHED, and other days where I do not even want to think about food, let alone look at it. So one day I may eat 1700 calories, and the day after I may eat just 1000, then 1200 etc.

Logically, speaking I know I get hungrier some days because of the progesterone (the hormone that actually kicks up your metabolism during TOM). Simply put, there are more chemical reactions going on in your body right around TOM and the progesterone facilitates all the action. Your brain reacts to the release of the hormone by demanding more fuel. Hence, the cravings.

The above is a very simplified explanation, but hopefully it sheds some light on the craving phenomenon.

Why would burning a few more calories during ovulation (and I have no idea why we would, our bodies do all sorts of things every day) lead to increased cravings approximately two weeks later during menstruation? Do you mean that women burn more calories when menstruating? I have no idea whether that's the case. I know that iron deficiency is a common problem due to blood loss, which can cause fatigue, and it's easy to interpret fatigue as a sign that the body needs more food (welcome to the way I put on weight without realising, I have a condition which causes chronic fatigue).

Glamourgirl827, it sounds as if the problem here is less the hormones and more the binge/restriction pattern. Would working to a monthly average help? Perhaps start the cycle just after your period, so that you can eat a bit less than the average figure during the cycle, and when you start getting the hunger cravings at the end, you can see how many extra calories you've saved up. And maybe you just need to set your monthly average a bit higher. You're better off steadily eating a slightly higher number of calories with consistency than you are trying to force yourself to keep to a smaller limit, finding it too restrictive, and bingeing.

Alternatively, how do you feel about increasing your exercise around your period, so that it can help balance out the extra calories? Bear in mind that it wouldn't give you all that many calories, of course, don't go overboard.

I'm also wondering whether more accurate dieting software would help, so that you can specify exactly which sort of banana you're eating instead of falling into problems with underestimating.

I think TOM is just one of those convenient, but very dangerous excuses.
Like "Today was a hard day, I deserve more food", or "I did this good thing today so I can eat some of that bad stuff"

These are all fat-mentalities. These kind of thought and rituals keep a person focused on food. Food should not be a reward for tough times and good times. Food is just sustenance. It must be enjoyable I agree, but it is not a joy-substance to be abused.

Self-medicating with junk-food or too much food is just another addiction and a way of living that simply is not healthy and "thin".

It is also like pregnancy. Of course you need A FEW more calories when pregnant, but no... you do NOT have to put on 30-70 pounds. You simply don't. It is actually MORE dangerous for the baby to overeat and not simply focus on counted and ballanced calories and nutrients.

I think it is mandatory for life long maintnance of a lighter weight to be able to stop excusing our unhealthy and harmful behavior just because it gives us a fix.

It's not the ovulation itself, but it's the changed hormones that occur after you've ovulated. Part of it is the body getting ready for a potential pregnancy.

Obviously, you don't have to eat more, but there are physiological reasons for increased hunger.

personally, I would allow a little extra food, but only foods that are generally healthy in the first place, and not use it as an excuse to eat extra calories by eating junk. But IMO any eating plan where you try to force yourself to not eat even when you are hungry is doomed for failure because no one can stick with that long term.

I disagree. Hormones are a real & crazy thing. It's not JUST the "food cravings"... it's the bloating, the headache/backache/cramps, the mood swings, etc. I don't think there's been nearly enough studies done on TOM. It's a LOT MORE than just "bleed'n & b****'n"