Monday, March 1, 2010

Cramps versus Cravings

Women are naturally very enduring. Just imagine having your period every month, practically altering whatever plans you might have and not to mention the emotional and physical burden we have to go through for that three to five days. I may not know scientifically if PMS is indeed true and a valid scientific excuse for bitching, but I've experienced it and it's best for men not to contest the unconfirmed.

Luckily though I'm one of those few who don't suffer from menstrual cramps. I just feel bloated than usual, but thank god no cramps. When I was studying in an all-girls school, I've had classmates that required bed rest for a couple of hours because of menstruation. At first I thought it was a legit excuse to skip classes. It has always been effective. Our female teachers understood immediately while our male teachers were so helpless that they would prompt us to go out before we even utter a graphic detail of the pain. Whereas I couldn't relate. I thought it was just an exaggeration to achieve that best laid plan. But once when I checked in at the nurses' station due to fever, I saw at least five girls with hot compress on top of their lower abdomen, with eyes shut and faces of utter discomfort. They weren't having a party. I knew then that it wasn't a joke. I felt in fact, lucky.

But most girls have, if not menstrual rituals, have menstrual quirks. Getting highly emotional and irritable are expected. But for me when I'm three days away from my first day of cycle, I get extremely hungry. It always seems that I'm craving for something all the time. I usually crave for sinful food, which is the bad part. I'd end up eating all the time without feeling full. My capacity just balloons like that of the appetite of a pregnant lady. I may not have the pain cravings and appetite could be intense and I have to endure it the whole cycle.

In terms of craving, I most especially crave for desserts. Chocolate Fudge cake, Banana Vanilla Crepe, Starbucks Frappucinno, Fruit shakes, anything soothing and creamy. I sometimes crave for steaks and garlic fish fillet with pasta. I crave for Palabok, hot Cafe Vanilla and gelatto. Basically, I'm very specific during these trying feminine moments.

Yesterday morning, right after I woke up at 9:30 am because of a sudden "first day flow," I craved for dessert, chocolate to be specific. Automatically, I went downstairs to look for any dessert leftovers from the party. My dessert radar led me to a delectable Swiss Chocolate cake from Becky's Kitchen waiting to be devoured. Like a child, I took a slice, salivated in between, went to my room and ate it while watching Jack. I remembeder my highschool days when I would make a stopover at Becky's to buy a slice of this cake for recess, and now as an adult it's soothing my menstrual cravings. It didn't stop there though. I ate Palabok, accepted a lunch invitation and ate pizza, then went back to my house to eat a slice of cake again. With all that food hype, I didn't feel full. No wonder I work extra hard at the gym after every menstrual cycle. I require that extra effort.

I can't help it. This always happens every month when my craving goes haywire and that I get crazy and extremely bitchy if I don't get what I want. I end up destroying people's mood for dessert sometimes. Now, is this a rational excuse for pigging out and for occasional bitching? Of course not. But is this understandable and valid? From my experience, yes. Don't ask me why, but it is. If you ask me, I'd deal with the cravings and bitching anytime for as long as there are no cramps involved.

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