Girl Talk: The Keto Diet While on Your Period

Hey girl, let’s talk.

You know the feeling, I’m sure. You’re rocking that keto diet, the weight is coming off so fast that you get on the scale and do a little happy dance. Your daily food log is a shining example of perfect macros. Those ketones are making you feel so clear, focused, and ready to take on the world with all that extra energy. Then, BAM! It’s period time and you begin to feel like it’s all coming undone.

Surviving Your Period on Keto

For many women on a keto diet, periods can often be a time of discouragement and temptation. With cramps, cravings, bloating, fatigue, and all the other symptoms that come along with this time of the month, it’s not always a time where we feel the most powerful and in control.

Weight Gain

First and foremost, stay away from the scale. Lock it up, don’t step on it, and forget about it for the entire duration of your period. In fact, if you’re one of the fortunate women that has a regular cycle and predictable periods, put your scale away early because premenstrual weight gain can begin to appear up to 5 days before the start of your period.

Weight gain before and during a period is quite normal for most women, though the specific reasons still aren’t entirely clear to researchers.1 It’s thought that a combination of hormone changes, water retention from increased estrogen levels, and emotional eating are the culprits.

Cravings

Hiding under a blanket and binge-watching Netflix with a half gallon of ice cream isn’t going to cut it – unless, of course, you’ve made your own keto-friendly ice cream. Many women experience intense cravings for sweets and salty snacks while on their periods, and this doesn’t have to be a time where you deprive yourself of those things if you’re willing to get creative.

Want chocolate? Have a few pieces from a keto approved dark chocolate bar. Want ice cream? Use this opportunity to try out a new recipe. Periods don’t have to mean suffering, even for the keto gals. Making the occasional treat fit into your macros just requires a little extra effort – effort that pays off tenfold when you’ve compromised with your cravings and still stayed on track.

Hunger

Feel like you’re always eating on your period? You’re not alone. A lot of women feel increased hunger while on their periods and eating more isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you’re making smart choices with your macros, going over your daily calories by a marginal number isn’t going to be the end of the world. Of course, this isn’t a habit you should get used to indulging in on the regular. But, girl, if it gets you through this time, then go for it.

Stay strong, keto sister! Surviving your period on keto is possible, and you’re not alone in this monthly struggle to stay on the right path. Have a great tip for making it through shark week while staying in your macros? Leave a comment below!