I'm a healthy weight, but I'm not a healthy eater. Each month it's the same routine, especially during menstration time. A few days before, I start making resolutions to eat better.. just fruit and veggies and nuts -no junk-



Then the day comes, and I go into junk food frenzy. All I want to eat is Uncle Rays BBQ chips and vegan chocolate/peanut butter icecream. I will literally eat just that and drink coke all the time. I know it's disgusting, and my body feels dirty all the time. But I lost interest in all food and drink other than those each month. Once the cycle starts, it's really hard to stop. Within two weeks I have everything basically under control, and of course even during my cycle I make good dinners (although I have very little interest in eating them and only do it out of "duty"). I hate the way this goes on but I can't seem to get away from it.



I really am at a healthy weight, I'm 5'5 and 130 lbs. There is also the issue of toning up my stomach that to me feels like tough jelly. My daughter is two years old now and I just want to feel good about myself again. This is affecting more than just my health, ahem.



Please no judgements or harsh words, I only want friendly advice and tips from those who may have been there. What do I do when I lost interest in food all month every month, especially during menstruation, and only want to eat chips and icecream?

I would look into some replacement for the coke, first of all. I am not criticizing you WANTING coke, by any means, I just think you might feel better with something else in your system. On the no-calorie front, how do you feel about teas in various permutations and flavours? Just replacing one coke a day with a sweet, maybe fruity or peppermint tea, spares your system like a hundred calories of corn syrup.



On the nutrition front, have you looked at sparkling juice? I wouldn't want a smoothie at that time, it feels heavy on my stomach when I am at that point in my cycle, but something like sparkling apple juice or grape juice would at least give you a bit of something to go with the calories, whereas coke is basically nothing worthwhile.



I get a salt craving like crazy during that time - which might be the source of some of your chip craving - and I do not feel guilty if I drink V8 and eat dill pickles, both of which help me immensely without being quite as junk as chips. I don't think V8 is vegan, but honestly in the scheme of things, a tomato/spinach/carrot juice, even with salt or Tabasco added, is not going to be as damaging as chips. I do not begrudge myself salt if I feel like it, though, and I have no high blood-pressure, if you do, you may want to do something different.



Best of luck!

I think will power is only part of it - when you eat junk food, it makes you crave even more junk food and that's a chemical thing, so don't beat yourself up too much!

My advice would be to add grains - oats, rice, millet, quinoa. They are slower-releasing carbs, and the more you chew them the more they help with sugar/carb cravings. They fill you up and don't result in cravings for sugar, coke, salt, etc. Fruit & vegetables are great, but they will leave your body lacking and then the temptation for something sweet is really hard to resist. If you keep yourself full, it'll be easier to be strong and not have too much junk food. Rolled oats are easy to whip up when you get a craving, and if you add dried cranberries or fresh blueberries or something it is really nice. A little bit of maple syrup and cinnamon makes it super delicious.

One thing that helps me resist the call of sugary treats (including coke!) is knowing that white sugar robs your body of B vitamins and knocks your immune system out for a couple of hours. So when I look at ice cream or cookies, I try to see it as a weapon that's trying to injure me rather than a treat. I'm not saying that I'm perfect and that it works all the time, but it helps. I also tell myself that I can have a treat on the weekend, but not during the week. That way it lets me give in once in a while, but there's a defined system so that I don't feel bad about having treats. Also, when I do have treats I try to make them myself - homemade cookies or ice cream, with whole, unrefined sugars or maple syrup or something that's not as terrible for me as white sugar and refined fats.

On the salty front, the pickle & V8 suggestions are great. I also really love to make sushi, and dip it in tamari. It's also good as a salad dressing - tamari, apple cider vinegar, toasted sesame oil, and a bit of peanut butter make salads SO delicious and satisfy a salt craving. The peanut butter makes it more filling and can help reduce munching. My favorite salad to put this on is some massaged kale with avocado, red pepper and marinated mushrooms.

On the toning up aspect, I use an exercise DVD - it sounds really cheesy, but it has really worked! I've always been a healthy weight, and have been really active in sports and such but never had any muscle and never had a flat belly. So I got this video in March, and have been doing it 4 days a week. I am amazed that I actually have little mini biceps, and my stomach is getting really strong! I'm just barely starting to see some triceps, and my quads are looking pretty good too. It just uses 3lb weights, but does circuits that work the same muscle group for 5 min. I used to just look up exercises and make my own workouts, but I find that the video really helps for when I start to daydream midway through the workout, and it keeps me motivated to finish. I don't know that the specifics matter too much, but what's important is that you make it part of your habit and stick with it on a regular basis. I've done exercise before, but never made a commitment to stick with it so many times per week.

Good luck!