There are a few days a month when I’m, umm, weak. I spend the days searching for snacky foods to eat instead of eating my usual meals. Normal days consist of 5-6 meals that include a vegetable and protein as the base. They might also include dairy or fruit or some whole grain carb, but not always. Snacky days consist of wandering the kitchen, eating whatever comes to hand. I tend to eat a lot of PB&Js on those days because they fill my “need” for something sweet without pushing me into a sugar coma.
Yesterday, I ate Joe Joes. Halloween Joe Joes, to be specific. (And while we are in confession mode, I also had two diet cokes, something I almost never do anymore – we won’t discuss my college eating habits.)
As you might imagine, the sugar ups and downs of eating cookies instead of real meals threw my day for a loop. It was this nasty cycle of eat cookies, run around manic doing stuff, come down off the sugar high, doze off at computer, drink diet coke… Repeat. Not pretty.
I know days like that are caused by hormones. It happens at the exact same point every.single.month. It’s like someone flips a switch in my head. You’d think after all these years of dealing with it, I’d have come up with some coping strategies. But, no.
On the bright side, I did manage to sneak in a 3.5 mile run yesterday after Beer Geek got home from work. That helped me a little on the food front and a heck of a lot on the “homework wars” front.
Do you have these once a month issues? How do you handle them? I’d love some good coping strategies (or good recipes for snacky sweets that won’t send me into a tailspin.)
I turn to pb&j when I’m feeling snacky too. It’s such a comforting food, eh? I don’t have any suggestions but ill be waiting to see if anyone else does 🙂
I had cake for lunch the other day. Not smart. haha I felt sick/had the biggest sugar rush the rest of the day.
Nice work getting your run in! Seriously, I say eat whatever you want to deal with the annoyance:) I crave salty and sweet and if I need a little something to keep me from freaking out on my family, I eat it:) No coping here.
When I hit this spot each month, my cramps make me feel nauseous and full, so I usually drop a pound or two….not really helpful to you. Sorry.
I’ve dealt with the monthly issues by going on the pill. Yay no more binge eating around that time. But BOO – no more excuse for binge eating. Yea, occasionally I still want to eat whatever, whenever so I try to make those days my long run days to give my body a fighting chance of keeping the weight down.
Oh yes, I remember this. (One of the perks of pregnancy haha) I have a greasy food problem. I tend to want only deep fried and oily foods. I can’t give any tips other than to fast. Going off of food all together for a few days seems to keep my eating in check however Hubby dearest suffers terribly from the lack of nutrition going to my already hormonal brain. Just keep forging through…just think deal with it for so many years then you can trade it in for menopause!! (sorry sarcasm :-/ I LOVE being a woman!)
Seriously sympathize!! And I can’t usually find anything to satisfy my cravings, so I keep munching!! The only thing that helps, if I’m really on the ball- is gum. Not the best solution, but it keeps me busy and if it’s minty, it makes me not want anything else. Speaking of minty, a swish of mouthwash also helps me from wanting to taste something else.