Girl Gone Crazy

I used to think that people were making it up- that "girl" issue that happens every month.  I seriously thought that people were using "that time of month" as an excuse to eat like a pig and treat everyone like a piece of trash.  And then, right after my second son was born, something very weird started happening to me.  Every three weeks or so, I turned in to some weird, freakish, alien-type version of myself.  I would randomly start crying for zero reason, freak out on anyone in my way, question things that otherwise made me very happy, and eat as if I'd never seen food before.  I tried to explain to Husband that I had PMS, but he didn't want to hear it.  No, Captain Rational instead made me feel like a complete idiot for not being able to explain what was going on.  Thank God my doctor is a woman. I now take both a calcium and a B vitamin supplement every day (well, when I remember) to even out my moods.  And so far they're working.  Well, they were.  I haven't remembered to take them in a while.  (Read:  I am currently a raging, hungry lunatic). Wanna hang out?

I have done a little bit of research and have found that PMS is a very real thing that affects 85 % of women. Bloating, cramping, fatigue, mood swings, food cravings... yep, they're all real.  (Wow, we are so attractive).

Here are some things that the experts say that you ladies can do to help ease the symptoms:

1. Eat complex carbohydrates (whole grain pasta and bread, rice cakes)

2. Avoid sugar

3. Drink a ton of water (more than usual)

4. Stay away from salt

5. Stick to a low-fat diet

6. Avoid stressful situations

7. Say NO to both alcohol and caffeine

8. Get enough sleep

9. Exercise

Seeing as how I downed a piece of pizza yesterday and some chocolate ice cream over the weekend, I'm finding it safe to say that I am CLEARLY not an expert.  (But how comforting is this:  those exact foods are craved for a reason- it's all related to imbalanced estrogen, cortisol, and serotonin.  Even though eating those things for the instant gratification is probably the worst thing you can do.  Sigh...) But I'm not letting my current state get in the way of my workouts- it was a nice sweaty Power Body class last night, and a Zumba/Treadmill session tonight!

Have a healthy day,

J

PS- Since I missed GSM yesterday, here's the condensed version today:
Goal 1- Don't gain 10 pounds this week.
Goal 2- Keep the crazy B*#&* somewhere deep inside.


The source for today's info:  http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=56732