How can I stop the pre-menstrual Nutella-with-a-spoon disasters?

I don’t buy the stuff, my husband does. I can easily resist all month long, except for those three days!

Ah yes – the pre-menstrual Nutella with a spoon disasters! While we may laugh, this can be such a miserable issue, can’t it?

We can be doing well all month, and then suddenly, out of the blue, we get pre-menstrual cravings, and giving in to them can just undo all our efforts and make us feel like such a failure.

When our cycle is regular, we can learn to expect this, and plan for it, but the closer we get to the menopause, the more unpredictable this can become.

However, the good news is, there is much we can do. We are not slaves to our emotions, although it may feel like it at times. Developing strategies you can have at the ready in advance can help, like less damaging alternatives that give you sweetness and nutrition, without the calorific damage, such as mango, berries, and other tasty fruits, perhaps mixed with some genuine Greek yogurt. Or a few squares of high cocoa dark chocolate.

I would also highly recommend getting and reading The Chimp Paradox by Professor Steve Peters. It is all about how we can gain control over our behaviour. The principles in it are certainly what has helped me to transform my behaviour, and not just in relation to food, and I recommend it to all my clients.

You could also check out my article on emotional eating.