Monthly Cravings

Women who find themselves feeling hungrier during certain days of their menstrual cycle are not imagining things. A review of research indicates that a substantial proportion of women indeed experience biological changes in their appetites during their cycles.

One researcher, Susan I. Barr, R.D.N., Ph.D., found that food consumption was typically greater during the latter half of a woman’s monthly cycle, two to three weeks after her period. The average woman consumes an additional 300 calories a day during this phase.

If you’re a woman who has noticed this pattern in your monthly cycle, try to eat as normally as possible. If you do decide to allow yourself a few extra calories, pay attention to where those calories are coming from. If you’re weighing yourself every day, you’ll know right away when your weight fluctuates upward and can then make the necessary adjustments to get your weight back down where you want it.