How to prevent period weight gain like a boss

December 10, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments

Sure, it only comes once a month.

And it only lasts a week.

But, if we’re being honest, are the symptoms of our periods ever legitimately just a week? Are we forgetting the “P” part of PMS? The “pre” – which is tantamount to pre-gaming with food for at least a few days prior to giant, imminent, crimson buzzkill? Add onto that the bloating, water retention, and extensive list of other side effects apart from the cravings, and it’s no wonder we hate it and gain weight. It’s like this two-week long, food consuming, inflated fugue state we enter – and exit tremendously heavier. It’s impossible not to give into the fridge’s siren call. Or so it seems.

(None’ve us are exempt from the effects of uterine assault. Not even socialites.)

And then what happens?

Once it’s finally finished, those sugar cravings we gave into – don’t just go away. We’re hooked. Putting the cookies down doesn’t seem like a logical idea anymore. (Not when a sugar habit’s massively addictive – as science’s proven.) Alright. That’s good and depressing. So, what’s the fix to nixing these symptoms and sugary yearnings – so we don’t form poor food routines that carry over to the rest’ve the month? How can we put a period at the end of our period symptoms – instead of an ellipses leading to additional awful quality fodder selections?

Simple: have a plan of defense at the ready for your red enemy.

First tip? Stay hydrated. Aside from the fact that we retain more H2O on the rag, we’re often dehydrated when we think we’re hungry. Having even just a half liter of water before a meal can curtail that yes-and snacking we tend to do after dinner. Thus, flushing out retained water is one way to lose a few el-bees – while an agua appetizer help you feel appropriately satiated by whatever meal you’re about to enjoy.

“Wearing a white dress this week? Bad idea. Drinking heaps of water this week? Fab idea.”

Next? Make what I call a “conditional strychnine list”. Yes. That’s right. I have a list of foods that I treat as if they’re poison – as if they’re the equivalent of strychnine or the like. That way I never eat ’em. Then, I’ve got my conditional list – for times like those preceding a date that’ll feature me donning a curve cuddling number – or womanly week, in this case. That’s when I cut out all refined sugar, salt, and spicy eats. Other stuff that should be eschewed, too, however – includes alcohol, dairy, and caffeine. And, while the former two are already on my always-toxic list, the latter – caffeine – I’m admittedly reluctant to relinquish. Can’t win ’em all… but the point for period week’s to just reduce as many of ’em as you can to maximize your chances of coming out the other side of it the same size.

Then, finally, to help move stuff along (and avoid ravenous cravings later), a nice partner to all that agua you’re guzzling is that magical food component called fiber. This stuff’s brilliant – and not just for our lady days. In fact, if you start every day off with a high fiber breakfast – complete with whole grains – you’ll find yourself munching for recreation far less later. Add in even more high-fiber foods (like veggies) later in the day, and you’re truly keeping that weight gain at bay.

And, if this article’s admonishments have harbored a Betty Buzzkill vibe thus far, guess what?

Chocolate‘s on the list of PMS friendly foods:

(So long as it’s moderated – and dark.)

It’s never pleasant handling the proverbial rag. (Not sure if that’s from an actual proverb or more’ve a disgusting colloquialism, but we’ll work with it and move on…) But the one good thing about it (for many of us, at least) is that it’s at least our monthly reminder that we’re not in the process of cooking up a new human in our abdomen factories. So, why go around looking like it? Just because your hormones went haywire – leading you into dietary fail-ery? Short answer: you don’t have to. We talk a lot about weight loss on this site. But when it comes to hormonal osciallations, they key’s nipping it in the bloody bud – versus doing damage control after the fact. Keeping that in mind, half the battle in ensuring we don’t gain the weight in the first place, is simply preparing properly with an arsenal of dietary defenses at the ready. That way, when this sanguine foe of fitness comes, we’re all ready instead’ve dreading it in some already lethargic state where we cave to our cravings.

And, now that you’re informed on exactly how to do that, you’ll never enter another femme week, weak.

Which means you’ll never have to exit it hefty.