Truth behind whether you burn more calories on your period
Topics: Food and Drink, Health, Periods, Women's Health
Kya Buller
Featured Image Credit: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
Topics: Food and Drink, Health, Periods, Women's Health
By the time a period rolls around, we're usually so stressed out and craving so much chocolate that we eat anything we can get our hands on.
While it's pretty much universally understood that we're hungrier on our periods, there's also a long-standing belief that as we're menstruating, we burn more calories.
This has been a welcome tonic to the onslaught of acne, mood swings and cramps we're used to experiencing each and every month.
While we've always simply opted to believe this is true with our armfuls of snacks, we figured it was time to try and find out the truth once and for all.
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This phenomenon is widely acknowledged.
A 2018 study found that 'the desire for sugar, salt, and fat, such as chocolate, pastries, snacks, and desserts was higher' during periods.
Juniper suggests: "When we feel emotional, tired, or uncomfortable (all of which are common during that time of your cycle) it is common to crave foods that are high in fat or sugar - which for many of us, are 'comfort foods'.
"In this case, the craving is more emotional than physical."
During the menstrual cycle, we have to battle constant changes to our hormone levels.
Some research claims that in the luteal phase - around the middle of your cycle, ending the week when you get your period - we experience a slightly higher resting metabolic rate.
All of this is to say that this suggests our bodies burn slightly more calories when we're not on our periods.
Further research found that during the follicular phase - the first day of our periods through ovulation - we have a lower energy intake (based on how much food we eat).
There isn't a whole lot of research out there regarding periods and burning calories, but some studies do exist, so let's dig in.
As per Juniper: "One small study examined women's resting metabolic rate during the different stages of the menstrual cycle, and found wide variation, with some experiencing more change than others.
"Other research has found metabolic rate actually decreased during menstruation, meaning subjects burned fewer calories during their period and ovulation. Subjects' metabolic rate then gradually rose up until the beginning of the next period.
"In short, research indicates that you probably don't burn more calories during your period - but it is totally normal to feel more intense hunger and crave high fat or more carbs than usual."