How to Diet during "That Time of the Month"

Yup. That about sums my whole life up right now (aka always).

Dieting during "that time of the month" is a very special and wonderful thing.  Not only does your body betray absolutely EVERYTHING you attempt to do to it (no amount of drinking water, eating non-salty/low-cal/healthy meals or exercise is gonna make that button on your jeans cinch), but your brain plays even cleverer mind tricks than usual (or your brain falls for the same tricks easier... it's impossible to tell which). 

In the past, this week has become a close-my-eyes-and-pretend-I'm-not-eating-this kind of week.  Calories really shouldn't count when your body is bloating for fun, anyway.  I also am of the school of thought that calories shouldn't count on the weekends, in the dark, when you're on vacation/abroad for any reason, when you're sick, when you're tired, when you're bored, when you're drinking, when you didn't enjoy your meal, and basically any time you're consuming calories.  They should double or triple count when you're exercising, just to even it all out, ya know? #logic #someonemakethathappen

They key to dieting during this horrible, horrible time is actually to focus on some of those healthier foods that are supposed to help with de-bloating and de-cramping: drink tons of water, eat dark chocolate, increase the fruits and veggies intake, and pile on the lean meats like chicken and turkey. 

BUT WHO WANTS TO DO THAT when you can lay on your couch all day, bingeing on Netflix, smearing Nutella in your face? NO ONE. Who even has that kind of will power anyway?  Especially on a snow day like today??

I guess at the end of the day, it comes down to doing everything you can to make yourself feel good, but not coming down too hard on yourself if you do slip up.  The fact is, you should probably avoid your scale at ALL COSTS no matter what (I swear I can put on like 20lbs of water weight during all this), and so as long as you get back on the train, this week basically doesn't even count.  Like Jillian Michaels says, treat a "slip up" or a "cheat" like a flat tire - if you lose one tire, you don't go slashing all the rest, right?  So let the one set back happen (at all points, not just this particularly female one) and get right back on the road....train tracks....whichever metaphor is most motivating.