Lauren, I really do think mine is TOM because the minute I am 'done' I am a normal person again. Seriously, I have done this enough to know my pattern and this week I am at the top of the mountain. I think something horrid happens when it's that time and that is honestly when I gain and it takes me the rest of the month to lose it.
Like I say, I truly "recycle" weight. It is a vicious cycle. I can't even maintain, I would be thrilled to maintain but I go wacko. I take extra calcium but I don't think that really helps.
And I have true cravings....I mean I can spot something a mile away and can't get it off my mind until I devour it and then some. And then I snap like a twig.
Again, this is a good week. In two weeks, I will not even be able to post because I will be at the bottom of the barrel.
I am going to try, though. As usual.
Arose I know binging for me is also related to my cycle. I used to have more than a week of severe cravings but then I started taking Sarafem for PMDD which really helped with the mood swings and the severe cravings. I am currently off the Sarafem but I think I'm going to go back on it next month. I also take Calcium which seems to really he helping as well. If you find your cravings are really, really bad as well as modd swings and bloating, you may have PMDD like me. It's just a more severe form of PMS and the Sarafem may help you alot. You may want to talk to your doctor. I know that when my cravings used to hit, there was actually very little that I could do about them. Take care and hang in there!
I notice that if I'm likely to binge, it's emotional--upset angry, etc. For me, a little of that binging food (esp. pretzels and ice cream) doesn't satisfy, so I have to work hard to not eat any of it!!!
TOM--a week before TOM, I am truely hungry, not binge-y. Like LaurenH and Garfield, it just seems like I can never get full. So, I tend to eat LOTS more veggies and water, some more protein, and tend to be at top of points range or just over. I'll exercise a little more and use a few banked points if I need to.
Most important help for me: I'll self dialogue-- "It's only for 5 days and I know I can get thru this healthily. I will not undo the positives I've had during the other 3 weeks of the month for this. I know I will succeed." Luckily for me, I know as soon as my period starts, I'm really not hungry, so I tend to eat at the lower end of the scale.
It took me awhile to realize this pattern, but now that I understand it, I can keep it in check.
Exercise--this keeps hunger down. Self Dialogue--keeps spirits up. Eat more veggies and healthy food--even if I go over in points, it's NOT with junk food.
One thing besides what other people have suggested that helps me during PMS is to drink an extra quart of water every day. I doesn't totally stop the water weight gain, but it does seem to decrease the amount of water I retain. And I can gain anywhere between 2 and 5 pounds. More water seems to keep it closer to 2 than 5. And less water, for me, seems to mean fewer cravings.
Thanks for the tips, I will try. I seriously can't even mentally stand the thought of PMS. It terrifies me and I know now that it is for good reason!
It's funny, because after it's over I do get OP, but no matter what, when I start eating out of control, I truly believe that this time I will never, ever be able to be in control again. Does anyone else do that?
Even though I always get back on, there is that space of time where I believe I have broken over to the realm of, "that's it, I've lost it, here's the real me and why did I ever think it would be different?"
If I could break that, that would be a serious breakthough for me!!
Thanks again for all the encouraging words.
Wow! That was awesome Lin. I needed that.l I tend to binge and don't know why i do it. I am new to ww and i am going to need all the support i can get and idea's. Thanks Gals. Take care. Shirley
Maybe someone said this already but...try to analyze what nutrients you might be short on. The typical ones that send me into la-la-land are fat and protein. I tend to get a bit too little protein anyways, and in order to stay safely within my points range I tend to cut fats. So if I feel the urge to binge, I try a few "controls" first. A protein shake is a good start. Also, adding a teaspoon of olive or flaxseed oil to pasta can do it (I've even been known to take the teaspoon of oil like medicine! Sounds gross, but when you're fat-deprived, nothing tastes better).
The foods I tend to binge on, of course, aren't healthy protein and good fats, but sugar and 'bad' fats (oh those greasy burgers and french fries!). So if I can head that binge off at the pass by feeding myself well, usually it'll just go away.
Of course, sometimes I have emotional binges; I'm better at those than I used to be, but it's a lifetime process to get past them. I agree completely that the crucial thing is to add up the points, journal them, and then move on--no reverse banking, no exercise-as-punishment, no looking back.
