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After weeks of healthy diet and constant exercise, I messed up royally, folks.
As the days led up to my period this past weekend, I had the strongest cravings I’ve felt in a really long time. I’ve cut a lot of bad food out of my diet as of late, instead opting for salads, soups, lean meats, air-popped popcorn, granola bars, fruit snacks and smoothies. But as Aunt Flo approached with a vengeance, and Memorial Day weekend began, I decided to give in to the weird longing for ice cream, white rice, and a bunch of other foods I’d given up on long ago.
The results were pretty terrible. Despite feeling full to the point that my stomach was distended and I felt physically uncomfortable, I still found myself eating jollof rice I made out of a pot with a big spoon when my guests left my apartment last night. I literally went to bed feeling like a slob because I didn’t just indulge here and there, but I overindulged to the point of queasiness. And while I’ve often felt the urge to eat some sweet or salty snacks around my period in the past, I never felt as driven to eat (and eat and eat) the way I did over the weekend. I’m literally still full as I type this, and I haven’t had any food since about 11 p.m. last night.
Thankfully, though, after speaking with my colleagues, I was told that my gluttonous moment wasn’t anything to freak out about. I was reminded that before and during a woman’s period, sometimes her desire for something crunchy, sweet, salty, and greasy can be voraciously strong. Blame it on the progesterone, sis. While estrogen is known for being an appetite suppressant, progesterone stimulates your appetite by countering the effect of estrogen on your brain. As the Sun Sentinel pointed out years ago, “After ovulation, in the second half of your cycle, the level of estradiol (which decreases appetite) falls and the level of progesterone (which stimulates appetite) correspondingly rises. Hence, you may experience a craving for salt and sweets and eat more than normal. Researchers now believe these monthly hormone-level fluctuations also are partially responsible for certain premenstrual syndrome symptoms.”
So yes, that habit to compulsively eat every once in a while isn’t uncommon. But how can one get a grip on it before it leaves you feeling both sick from too much consumption and also disappointed in yourself for overindulging? Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Don’t Keep The Things That Will Get You In Trouble In Your House
If you know that pack of Oreos will be gone in a day, don’t play yourself. We all want to give ourselves the chance to nibble on things we love from time to time, whether we’re on our period or not. But anything that you know you can’t have just one of doesn’t need to be sitting in a cabinet in your home. Trust me, you don’t want to have a Miranda from Sex and the City moment where you need to throw food in the garbage to keep from overeating it.
Keep Track Of What You’ve Eaten
Calorie-counting apps like MyFitnessPal can be a pain to consistently update. I get it. But nothing gets you together quicker than actually looking at all the food you’ve consumed in a day–and all the calories that have added up. When you don’t keep up with such things via an app or writing them down, you’re not holding yourself accountable for what you’re absorbing. Think of it in an “out of sight, out of mind” type of way.
Stay Active
The first day of your period? You’ll probably want to lay low on that day. But when the sun comes up on day two, get moving! Whether you’re going for a nice walk or actually moving hard and fast to work up a sweat, continuing to be active can counter all the poor eating choices you plan on making, or have already made around the time of your period. Burn those calories if you want to get rid of them.
Have Healthier Alternatives On Hand
Nothing probably tastes as good as a full container of that Edy’s ice cream. But a Skinny Cow ice cream bar is delicious and fewer calories. Having delightful but healthier alternatives available can allow you to taste some sweet and salty things (again, air-popped popcorn is yummy and very few calories), but still maintain a better grip on all the calories you are devouring.
Drink Water
Booooooring, right? Wrong. Water doesn’t have to be drab, and it can actually be quite filling if you soup it up with cucumber, lime, pineapple and more.
But out of all these tips, know that it’s most important to give yourself a break. When that craving comes and you find yourself overindulging, cut yourself some slack. A lot of the time, we give up on our goals because of our missteps, not knowing that there are always ways to bounce back so that we can do even better than we did before. A few days of poor eating isn’t worth giving up on all the effort you’ve put into living and eating better. It happens. Now get back to work!
