The Primal Parent

Q&A: Pregnancy Cravings and Spotting Periods

| 62 Comments

This morning I received another great question in my inbox but it is too late for me to add it today so I’ll save it for next Saturday. She’s asking about fiber and stools. I just wanted to let you all know that I am not deterred by blood and guts. I’ll write about anything which I think you all may find useful. So this week it’s blood, next week it’s guts!

These first two questions came from an interview several months ago. I don’t remember where that interview was posted, though, so I thought I’d replay a couple of the questions here.

“Did you experience many cravings (or any at all) during your pregnancy?”

­­I didn’t have specific food cravings when I was pregnant. A non-paleo, friend of mine (who gained 35lbs by delivery) had cravings all over the place. I wondered when mine would set in, but they never did. I remember one week she was craving peaches like crazy. I thought peaches sounded really good so I bought some too. Naturally, they were super good in the middle of summer, so I bought some more. I remember thinking to myself that that was about as close to cravings I was going to get.

I was on Loren Cordain’s Paleo Diet back then. In 2005 the high fat paleo hadn’t gained much ground and I didn’t learn about it till mid ‘06. I craved fat A WHOLE LOT. I used to eat half a jar of almond butter sometimes or 6 eggs in one day or salads literally soaked in EVOO.

Back then my diet consisted of vegetables, fruit, low fat beef and chicken breast, eggs, olive oil and other vegetable oils. This “craving” for fats went on for years until I realized that animal fat is ok. Needless to say, I don’t eat jars of almond butter anymore. I eat pemmican!

“Why do you think so many other non-paleo mothers have such intense cravings?”
Pregnant women experience cravings for several reasons.

  • Women believe that pregnancy is some kind of license to eat whatever they want because they need the extra calories for the baby and because pregnant women are supposed to gain weight. I expected to get fat too (though I never did)!
  • Loading up on sugar and grains (the food of choice for pregnant women) causes imbalances in the body. Pathogenic bacteria in the gut flourish, causing deficiencies and cravings. Opioids in the brain cause an addiction to high glycemic foods which leads to yet more cravings. And women switch the a “healthy” diet, i.e. a low fat SAD diet, causing fat cravings. This explains why pregnant women want ice cream, peanut butter, chocolate, steak, cheesecake, and olives to name a few.
  • Pica is a frighteningly common disease from which pregnant women suffer. This is a craving for non-foods like hair, laundry detergent, dirt, chalk, etc. It is caused by nutritional deficiencies.
  • Unbalanced hormones can also play a role in food cravings. The Paleo diet helps balance hormones, hence easing food cravings. While eating Primal foods and avoiding modern ones, moods will be more stable, memory will be more acute, energy level will be higher, and cravings will be less pronounced.
This next question extends beyond the reach of my own personal experience and, while I answered it to the best of my knowledge and understanding, it would be great for any women with experience in the matter to chime in.
“Hi Peggy! I follow your blog and I have a couple of questions for you. I’ve been primal for about 7 weeks and it’s dramatically changed my life for the better in like 9,000 ways. But I’m spotting everyday. My first primal period was very heavy and long but I didn’t have cramps or cravings or anything remotely PMS. But since then, I’m spotting. Do you know why this is? And will it stop or chill out at some point?
Peace ~Jamie”

When you go primal your hormones change and, hence, so do your periods. I have heard many different versions of the types of changes to expect. For me, I didn’t used to have periods very often. When I went primal they gradually got closer and closer together. In the past I didn’t bleed often enough but when I did it was a painful torrent. This improved dramatically. No more cramps or PMS. The amount of blood also diminished so that I didn’t have to use tampons anymore – just panty liners.

Other women have told me that they stopped their periods for a while after going primal and others have reported bleeding a little more. Clearly, the experience is different for us all. But this makes sense. The hormonal imbalances that we all start with when we change our diets is also different for all of us.

Ceasing to take the birth control pill, stress, hormonal fluctuations, and implantation can all cause spotting. Eliminating modern foods WILL change your hormones and there will be variations in every woman’s experience with this. If the problem persists a pap-smear is recommended to rule out cancer or infection.

I’m finished talking now, and so it’s your turn! I have made this post a female only post for a reason. Please leave your own experience in the comments. Issues with pregnancy and periods can be scary for women making the switch so reading about real experiences helps.

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62 Comments

  1. I’m not pregnant, but I will echo your experience with almond butter – when it was the only fat I ate, I would put down 3-4 tablespoons with every meal! Now that I’m eating more animal fat, I don’t crave it as much.
    I’m looking forward already to next weeks post! I’ve been reading the fiber menace after you mentioned it, and finding it really interesting!

  2. I’ve been (mostly) paleo since October and I did have some changes in my period as well. I had also quit the pill, moved to FAM (fertility awareness method), and started using menstrual cups instead of tampons all at the same time so I was expecting my body to freak out for a bit. for about the first three months I was having heavy periods and spotting a lot but it seemed to be stabilizing, and then randomly my cycle shorted dramatically (think 20 days between the start of one period and the next). That went on for just 2 cycles and since then things have been going pretty well. I rarely spot, my period has shortened, cramps are still around but not nearly as bad as before I made all the changes

  3. I think the spotting is low progesterone relative to estrogen. Check out The infertility cure, she goes over each part of the cycle and the play on symptoms. Chart your cycle too, that will also help sort through it.

  4. I wasn’t primal then, but I didn’t crave anything when I was pregnant either – except gummy bears, but that was my own dumb fault! – probably because we were eating real food and lots of meat and colourful veg.
    I’ve just switched to a Diva Cup (took me three days to actually try it, then it was instantly awesome) and noticed that my menstrual blood is “redding up” mid-period. I hadn’t seen red on a tampon for a long time before going primal, so something’s righting itself. Plus NO cramps and only minimal moodiness. Between Fibre Menace and Mark Sisson’s article on squatting, I’ve had a big positive change in non-menstrual bathroom trips too.
    It’s weird to say, but I might rank these 2 changes higher than my pants size for primal benefits.

    • I almost forgot to mention the consistency and length. Not only did paleo end the painful misery of my periods but it also made them much prettier and shorter. While they used to last 5 days with two more days of black spotting, with consistency of sludge, black like night, and a smell of what many people have come to believe is the smell of a woman down there, they are now bright red, last two days, and well I don’t smell like anything down there anymore at all. Just thought I’d mention it :)

      • Peggy, that’s a really gross description of the ‘before’ but I appreciate it. I do not have pretty periods and they drag out forever. Makes me want to do a trial run in full primal just to see what it does.

        My PMS is getting better since I’ve been working on improving my digestion, though, and changing my diet.

        • I know, isn’t that nasty? How embarrassing I even said that, but just think of how difficult it would be to talk about it if that were how your periods actually were. I know I didn’t want to talk about it back then. So here I am to save a girl or two landing on this page from a life time of bad menstruation…

  5. Hi, I’m about 2 months into paleo lifestyle and my typical period pre-paleo was 2-3 days super light with excruciating leg cramping on tops of thighs into groin – could barely walk up stairs, and I had wicked cravings for sugar/chocolate/carbs. Since going paleo I’ve noticed that my first period was a lot heavier, and crampier, and lasted almost 7-8 days (with just tissue-ish discharge only when peeing the last few days) and then the second period came and went with no pain/cramps/pms and about my average flow, but still the few days of grainy discharge with peeing. So things are definetly changing (YAY!). I am also eager to read next saturday’s post since I’m very curious about the consistency of feces from someone who eats fat/meat dominant paleo (this is what I am doing as well because of severe hypoglycemia issues and no gall bladder) – what is “normal” for paleo? The only time I’ve been CW “normal” was the first week I went raw vegan. (which only lasted 4 months as my hypoglycemia got worse…. I was a fruit-a-holic!) My only frame of reference was when I fed my dogs a purely raw meat/bone diet and their feces was dry/powdery/whole/not smelly – so cool to see.But I doubt that is what us humans should have… i dunno.
    Thank you Peggy for your blog! Always so informative and a great source of support when one does this alone – where everyone tells you that you NEED to eat carbohydrates…. *sigh*….

    • 4-5 on this scale, and not very big ones. The site has more good information too.

      http://www.fibermenace.com/constipation/img/BSF-with-highlight.gif

  6. Periods for me after switching to a very low carb mostly paleo diet have been slightly shorter, and less painful, but the very first period I had after cutting out all of my previous vices, including alcohol and diary was crazy! Tons of bleeding, painful cramps etc. It was like my body was ridding itself of lots of toxins! Thank goodness that doesn’t happen anymore. I do think being Paleo can improve people who have problem periods, I remember reading somewhere there is a correlation between body fat percentage and how heavily you bleed. I currently am at 15.5% body fat (just had it measured and I was shocked! Paleo rocks!) and my periods are the best they have every been.

  7. I’m hoping that this new way of eating (only about two months into actual paleo, have been gluten-free for 5 or 6 months) will help me regain my fertility. I had RA and was infertile two years ago, used medication to stimulate ovulation and got pregnant first go. The pregnancy relieved my RA, and while I was pregnant started cutting out most grains and all sugar on the advice of my midwives and chiro. I ate loads of protein and fat (I definitely remember standing in the kitchen with my spoon in the almond butter!), and never had cravings. Now my son is 9 months old, I haven’t had a return of RA symptoms at all. I actually want my period to return; it would be a definite sign to me that my body is healing, but I’m sure breastfeeding ’round the clock is still suppressing it. My mom didn’t get a postpartum period for almost 2 years after each kid, so it may be a while!

  8. I am currently pregnant with our third baby but this is my first primal pregnancy. I have had cravings for non-primal foods, and when I give in to them they multiply! I am actually trying to get a lot more strict with myself now because I was having headaches every night and was feeling completely exhausted all the time when I “cheated.” But I have been wondering, should I be eating more carbs in the form of fruits and such (obviously not grains and sugar)? I have been trying to eat a lot of fat (around 50-70% of total calories) but I’m not sure that’s all I should be doing. Any suggestions? I haven’t found a lot of info out there about eating primal through pregnancy.

    • Sarah,

      I think everybody is afraid to talk about it. Nobody wants to be responsible for a pregnancy, a baby. I haven’t done a low carb pregnancy myself but I think you can find info on that. Otherwise, you definitely don’t need to be eating grains and loading up on carbs. When I was pregnant I ate fruit and non-starchy veggies. That was it for carbs. I experimented with potatoes a few times but they never made me feel good and always made me want to eat junk food. I should totally get pregnant again just so I can tell you all what it’s like to do a low carb, fruit-free primal pregnancy. I’m kidding. Kind of… But that’s what I would do. I would eat exactly how I eat now. If I were to eat other carbs because I am “supposed to” I would be subjecting the baby to toxins from bad digestion, to blood sugar issues, to nutritional deficiencies (since I can’t digest so many foods well). And that would not be good.

      Eat what makes you healthy and the baby will be healthy.

      • I agree with Peggy on all points here.

      • I agree with Peggy as well.

        I’d like to add that it’s really important to listen closely to your pregnant body and trust yourself. It’s okay if you feel like you need extra carbs in the form of fruit and veggies on a given day. It doesn’t mean you’re “cheating”. I think it’s so important to throw that word away in reference to food, but especially when you’re pregnant. And an extra serving of fruits or veggies isn’t like a gateway drug, and you’re eventually going to end up in the drive-thru at Jack in the Box ;)

        If throwing in some extra fruits and veggies doesn’t do the trick for you, perhaps think about visiting a few paleo recipe websites to get some dessert-type recipes that are both nutritious and satisfying.

        • Oh, I wasn’t clear I suppose, but when I mentioned “cheating” I was talking about having toast with peanut butter for breakfast and icecream and popcorn after dinner :) . Those are the things that lead to more and more cravings for me. Usually I indulge in them when I haven’t gotten enough calories over the course of a day or two and I came to realize at that point I should probably have a few spoonfuls of almond butter or some coconut oil instead. I have struggled for a while with staying true to eating Primal. Even though I know it’s the best thing for my body, it’s so hard to go against CW, especially when we live around lots of family and eat at their houses constantly. They know we eat Primal but they don’t necessarily support it and it’s hard to always be turning down their food. Now that I’m pregnant, I have been struggling with it even more. I love the suggestion to eat what is healthy to me and it will be healthy for the baby!

  9. Before I went truly paleo I was a low carb eater, my periods were about 32 days apart, my periods were short but quite heavy, and toward the end of the low carb days I was suffering from cramps before and during.

    Since going strict paleo in February of this year, my periods are much lighter, but I spot a lot all month long. My periods are also getting closer together, but that may be because I’ve got menopause coming up on the horizon.

  10. How funny you mention peaches and pregnancy! I didn’t have any major cravings during my pregnancy (or aversions for that matter…), but I ate a ton of seasonal fruit. Couldn’t get enough of strawberries in April/May, cherries in June, and blueberries and peaches in July/August. My daughter was born at the end of August. Now, here we are in peach season again, and I have to hide them in paper bags or else she’ll scream until she gets one! She loves peaches so much, just like her mama. :)

  11. My periods have gone from 24 to 28/29 days apart with no symptoms other than bleeding as long as I stay hydrated. But I have to stay 98% primal to get this result. Any infractions will tip me back to 24 days. I am 47 with zero signs of menopause (I come from a long line of women going through menopause in their fifties) and started a 30 day no-dairy challenge today to see if I can get more mid-cycle benefits.

    • I would also add that I have to be very strict paleo to have 29 day cycles and all the benefits I described. If I stray a little bit my hormones suffer and the time between my periods lengthen ad I get a little bit of cramping.

  12. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who has scarfed down almond butter by the spoonful!

    During my three pregnancies, I wasn’t eating a paleo diet, but I always tried to eat healthy. Each time, upon finding out I was pregnant, I would vow to start eating exceptionally well. I would eat meat, fruit and veggies with absolutely no sugar or junk food….for about a week at which point the nausea started kicking in. All day nausea and unbearable food aversions left me unable to eat almost anyng but (shudder) grains, sugary foods and frozen dinners. I literally couldn’t even look at fruits or vegetables, and cooking my own meat was just out of the question. Fortunately, after a couple of months (felt longer) I started feeling better and was able to return to eating a healthier diet. As far as cravings went, it was cheesy-tomato things and smoked meat throughout the entire pregnancy and chocolate milk in my third trimester. They say every pregnancy is different, but all three of mine were exactly the same!

    I’ve only been eating a paleo diet for about five months now, so I can’t say how it will affect my period (still breastfeeding, so I haven’t gotten it back yet). When I was younger, before having my babies I would get horrifying wicked cramps…wish I’d known about this diet back then!

  13. When I was in college, before going on birth control pills, my periods were regular but gushingly heavy and excruciatingly painful. I even had teachers send me home from high school because I looked so awful. Then I spent ~15 years trying to find a hormonal birth control that did not piss off my body. I had tons of spotting and breakthrough bleeding, as well as mood issues. My hypothesis is that BCP keep you from getting pregnant because you just can’t have sex… About a year ago I ditched the BCP and got a Paragard (non-hormonal IUD) instead. It was probably the most unpleasant experience I have ever had, getting it put in. However, a lot of the mood issues began to resolve, and my sex drive is returning. At first I had horrible cramps almost all the time, and spotting most of the time. I ruined all my underwear. At that time I was strictly Gluten free and mostly grain free, and otherwise eating a generally “healthy SAD.” I have since moved to be more paleo/primal (= more fat!) although I can’t seem to shake this wicked sweet tooth. My periods are still highly irregular, with mid-cycle spotting – the calendar I use to track it looks like a hot mess! The cramps are now much less, so I think I’m on the right track, and I still blame some of this on the Paragard. I think my body just doesn’t like to be messed with. I also think that as I continue to tweak my diet, my cycle will better fall in line, because I see so many other improvements – mood, complection, digestion, energy. And when it’s time, I look forward to having a primal pregnancy, so I love to read everything you have to say about that. I think you’re my favorite blog!

    • Wow Laura, thanks! It sounds like you’re on the right track anyway. Hopefully the cravings will get easier in time. You could try switching up your usual sweets with something else. Maybe cut out dairy, gluten free baked goods, chocolate, or whatever you’re eating and see if it’s not sugar you crave like crazy but maybe some other food you might have issues with. I used to think I was addicted to sugar and found instead that I am addicted to my sensitive foods. A lot of times those foods we’re sensitive to cause wild cravings and sugar is often mixed in with them, leading us to believe that sugar is the only addiction. But it just might be more complicated than that.

    • I had an IUD; we called it the torture device. Terrible cramps and the string would occasionally poke me – OWW. As inconvenient as they are, barrier methods seem to be the way to go until your cycle is stable enough to try NFP by charting basal body temp. Good luck to you; intro sucks.

  14. I’ve never been pregnant – so can’t comment there, however my periods have been through changes related to diet.
    15 years ago – I had regular 28 day cycles, but very nasty breast tenderness PMS, and excruciating periods – only 3 days, but would send me vomiting with the pain. Exercise helped if I did it regularly.
    I changed to a reduced carb diet (Zone) and my hypoglycemia went and my PMS went. Intense pain continued. I added omega 3 fish oil – 2 g EPA+ DHA a day. That made a significant difference in period pain – it became tolerable and a couple of ibuprofen would get rid of it – still needed pain killers though.
    PMS would come and go – I wasn’t sure why. I had also had spotting in the week before my period from about the age of 40.
    2 years ago I started paleo eating – a little lower carb than zone but similar food amount. NO MORE breast tenderness. NO more menstrual pain at all. no pain killers required. No more pre-menstrual spotting. I was also crossfitting 2 x a week and that probably helped reduce pain too. I wrote a post about it here: http://paleozonenutrition.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/pre-menstrual-syndrome-and-menstrual-cramps-how-i-eliminated-them-completely/

    I started suddenly getting menopause symptoms at age 50 – absolutely none prior to that. Occasional hot flushes, skipped periods. 18 months ago I went strictly gluten free as I was diagnosed with Hashimotos – from that moment – no hot flushes (I’d had some gluten cheats before that, that caused the hot flushes I’m sure)

    So now I’m about to turn 52, menopausal – I’ve had 2 periods this year – however I’ve had absolutely no symptoms. I’ve recently been following an auto-immune paleo diet, I take supplements – codliver oil, vit D, magnesium and fish oil plus a multivite.

    Whatever I’m doing – it seems to be working, and the auto-immune diet has helped my auto-immune thyroid disease.

    • I also would like to add that alcohol is a real problem and causes hot flushes for me – I can only have one small glass early in the evening for it to have little or no effect.

      • Thanks for sharing your experience with menopause, Julianne! I would think that if all our PMS and painful menstruation is related to diet, that menopause would be too. But since I’m not there yet, I can’t say, you know? I have always figured I’d be fine by the time I get there, though. It just makes sense. If you think about how messed up people probably are by the time they hit 50, you’d expect menopause to be pretty brutal, unless you take charge of your health before then.

        • Thank you for the info, including the perimenopausal posts too. I am just starting the paleo way of eating, now in week 10. I’m 48, prediabetic “eating to my meter” to try get the BGLs down lower, and not having a lot of success unless I keep the carbs very low – and I mean broccoli and salad, a few berries over the weekend not even sweet potatoes (BGL way too high). I have no idea how my menopause will unfold, however my history is very irregular cycles as a teen/ young adult, 9-10 a year instead of the usual 13. Post pregnancies things got more stable, still about 30-32 day cycles.

          Up to three months ago my cycle had been very heavy, waking up 2-3 times per night over the first 3 days to change tampons and pads, clots the size of China etc etc I guess a lot of women then go on to have a hysterectomy (my mother did at 45)but I don’t want to do that. So, over the last 3 cycles things have definitely changed for the better, gradually getting a little lighter – I think I am “cleansing” from within! (only waking up once per night). Very minor irritability PMS and very little breast tenderness and no real discomfort, YAY! I can see from the comments above that I will have to remain very compliant to maintain these gains and I have also lost about 7 kg over this time which I am thrilled about (only 20 to go!)
          Very encouraging posts, thank you all.

  15. I’ve been on the Pill consistently for the last 6 years. I’m still trying to decide if it works by preventing ovulation or just by dropping your sex drive so low, there’s no chance to get pregnant! At any rate, that and the weight gain from the pill were starting to really become problematic. I started Paleo 30 days ago and this time my period started 4 days earlier, while I was still on active pills. I figured that was the sign I needed from my body. I’m starting to go hormone free and using FAM for family planning. Already I’m starting to see some positive changes with regarded to libido.

    • Ha! I was on the pill for about a year or two back in the day and I can’t remember having sex once that whole time. Kind of a waste isn’t it?

    • I just had a similar experience – have been paleo for three months, low carb for 1 month (most of it ~20-30 g/day). I’ve been on birth control pills for 15 years, and this month I started spotting in the middle of my cycle. I also have PCOS and, before going on the Pill, never had a regular period – they showed up every 3-4 months. It looks like I’m starting to get into (what is for me) uncharted territory, and it’s exciting! I’m hoping to try to get the Pill cycle and my body’s cycle matched up, then slowly ease off the Pill. Wish I could just plain stop taking it, but things didn’t work out too well the last time I did that, so I’m taking it slower this time. Regardless, these small changes are very encouraging.

  16. Julianne- what is an auto immune paleo diet? I had Graves disease but my thyroid was irradiated and now I’m hypo. I still suffer from symptoms related to low thyroid and adrenal function despite being on medication and I wonder if there are things in my diet that can be changed.

    • Definitely check out Chris Kresser’s site The Healthy Skeptic if you haven’t already. he has good info these sorts of issues.

    • Autoimmune paleo is no grains, legumes or dairy, with the additional removal of nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant & potatoes), eggs and nuts. Also, 10% of coffee is a protein that can cross react with gluten. I would highly suggest looking for a functional medicine doc to help you troubleshoot the adrenal/thyroid issues, somebody who is really familiar with the work of Dr. Datis Kharrazian.

  17. I’ve never been pregnant so can only comment on periods.. but I have suffered with period problems since I started having them, essentially. I was diagnosed with menorhaggia at age 15 (long, very heavy, painful periods) that would typically last 7 days and I’d lose about 180ml of blood in that time… and they say the average loss is less than 30ml!
    I too was sent home from school several times, either for excruciating pain, uncontrollable bleeding, or both. I was put on BCP at 15 to try to control it, but it didn’t help. I’ve been off birth control for over 3.5 years and my cycle is regular in itself, which leads me to believe the pill was useless to me.
    As for symptoms, after stopping BCP my symptoms didnt change; still severe cramps, very heavy bleeding, dizziness, PMS, breast tenderness, etc. When I began eating paleo, my symptoms all but disappeared, the length is about the same at 5 days, but the bleeding is lighter. I don’t ‘flood’ regularly anymore (thankfully for my bed sheets). Like many women I have to maintain a strict diet in order for that to continue.

    I will say another thing that helped is Arvigo massage, and the female tonic given to me by the Arvigo therapist; I took it 3x/day for the 10 days prior to menstruation and it is meant to clear out the uterus and restore balance; it definitely worked.

    I’m hoping my fertility will be positively affected by all this.. I’ve undergone numerous tests, had lap & dye surgery to check my reproductive organs, even gone so far as to do all the initial consultation for IVF (but ultimately can’t do it.. I was 23 at the time and it just felt wrong). Whereas most 25 year olds I know are trying to avoid pregnancy, I think I would be overjoyed just to know my body could GET pregnant!! When I do fall pregnant, I do intend on following a very strict paleo diet so we’ll see how it goes..

  18. When I first started eating primal, way back at the end of last year, I happened to be pretty strict for about 3 weeks before I got my period. Then when I got it, it was almost painless, for the first time. As in, for the first time in my life. Since then, though, I’ve toyed around with various ratios of foods and seeing what causes me trouble and what doesn’t, and dipped back into conventional eating with occasional wheat products or gluten-free bread or this or that, and my periods went back to how they used to be. This seems to echo what a few commenters have said, that they only get the period-related benefits with 100% compliance. Looks like that’s me too!

    When I got that first pain-free period, of course I told everyone I know, I was so excited. Someone suggested that it wasn’t cutting out grains and refined foods that improved my period, but just that I was eating so many more nuts to replace other foods, so I was getting more magnesium. I didn’t have the know-how at the time to point out to them that grains have antinutrients that bind to vitamins and minerals, so if my periods were painful *just* because of deficiencies, it *still* would have helped cutting out grains. People are so eager to defend non-foods.

    Anyway, I’m not eating nuts anymore (they don’t make me feel very fabulous) and I’m taking the plunge into 100% compliance after a long time of experimenting, so we’ll see in a few weeks how the “it’s all the nuts” explanation goes as far as period pain’s concerned.

    • “People are so eager to defend non-foods.”
      Aren’t they? I’ve had ‘oh, you’re just consuming fewer calories’ (no, I’m not, and even if I were I wouldn’t want the donut calories you’re implicitly suggesting makes the difference. Plus, isn’t the calories-in-calories-out thing long dead?) and ‘it’s all the extra vegetables’ but we still get the same CSA box as before. I especially like ‘when you’ve reached your target weight, you’ll have to go back to eating normally, right? or you’ll get sick.’ Um, I have no “target weight”, I was sick on your “normal” diet but feel great now, and are you really recommending crash dieting? Thanks for your concern.

      • Ha! Oh dear. The calories-in-calories-out thing is indeed long dead, as is, for me, the notion that “it’s all the veggies” making me lose weight/feel healthier – I was strict vegan for 9 months, with the goal of losing weight, and I lost maybe 6 kilos (that’s just over 13 lbs) exercising hard every day and eating extremely low-fat. That’s not an amazing weight loss, and of course I put it all back on as soon as I started eating “normally” again, which I could barely resist, I was so deficient nutritionally. This year I’ve dropped almost that much in half the time without even trying, hardly exercising at all. The worst part was getting the flu after 7 months vegan, and just not being able to get better. These days if I think I might’ve picked up a bug, I take some extra vitamin D and that’s it, I’m good.

        It’s definitely not the veggies :P

    • I used to experiment a lot too in the early years of going paleo. I was always hoping that maybe my body had changed and that I would be able to tolerate thing which I hadn’t before. It never worked out that way, though, so I would always just do myself harm by thinking I could get back to a “normal” diet.

      Eating nuts has nothing to do with gaining an easier period. Definitely nutritional deficiencies such as magnesium plays a role but if it were so simple, we could all just start eating nuts and the world would suddenly be a more peaceful place.

  19. This is such a great thread of comments. It really seems that our menstrual cycle (as well as our bowels…I bet you are so excited to talk about that, I know I would be!) can tell us a lot about how health. It seems that perhaps if you just keep adjusting your diet until the stuff that’s coming out of your body looks and feels great then you can find your ideal diet. Or at least get closer to it.

    When I got pregnant with my son, I got SO SICK. I had been eating a Candida diet for several months before I got pregnant. I felt good, and was determined to keep eating that way when I got pregnant. But then morning sickness hit, and ALL vegetables and ALL meat made me want to vomit. All dairy made me extremely bloated. There was little that seemed palatable aside from the worst foods possible–bland saltine crackers, pretzels, chocolate muffins and cookies. All highly processed grain foods. It’s no wonder I developed constipation and heartburn in my first trimester. But I was in survival mode–I was so sick I had to go to the ER to get rehydrated and put on anti-nausea medicine. I subsisted on Ensure. I’m a big fan of whole, natural foods, so I was just appalled at my diet, but I didn’t know what else to do. NOTHING abated my nausea except for those nasty crackers.

    My only food cravings were apples, maple, and strawberries. I didn’t ever give myself the license to eat tons of extra food (I think it’s really strange that women do that), but I still gained 35 pounds.

    I would really, really love not to go through that torture next time around. I’ve read that eating adequate protein at regular intervals helps prevent nausea, but if eating paleo helps, too, I’m all for it.

  20. “It seems that perhaps if you just keep adjusting your diet until the stuff that’s coming out of your body looks and feels great then you can find your ideal diet.”

    What a wise thing to say! I had never thought of it like that but of course, right? I would also add that some stuff shouldn’t be coming out of your body regularly like puss and mucus.

    By the way, I am not hugely excited to talk about my poo to thousands of readers, call me crazy, but I really have to swallow my pride on this one. Not that I really have any pride to swallow, but still. Hopefully next weekend doesn’t cause a mass unsubscription. We’ll see. :)

    • I’m with Lisa – tweak the inputs to get the desired outputs. The proof is in the … pudding, right?
      I can understand that discussing *your* poo would slightly stink ;) but discussing it in general is sorely needed! The Bristol Stool Chart is awesome. I seriously had no idea what normal poop looked like until I saw that.
      (And another vote for technique too – MDA covered the squat pretty well and, once again, he was right.)

      • I’ll figure out some way to go incognito on the post but the problem is that the Bristol Stool Chart, which is awesome, isn’t 100% of the picture since the chart was obviously put together with the poo of people who eat grains and other junk. The questions I’ve gotten in my email are asking what a carnivore’s poo looks like.

  21. Can’t chime in about primal pregnancy but my periods have drastically improved. While they’re still heavy, they’re not nearly as bad, or as painful. I was wondering though, and feel free to ignore this question if it’s too personal, but do you use any form of birth control? I chart my periods to figure out when I’m ovulating, but thought if you had any other advice on what you use that’d be awesome.

    • You can ask me anything! I won’t necessarily answer but the chances are usually pretty good. :)

      I don’t use birth control anymore. You read my post about natural contraception. I had been using the non-hormonal IUD before I wrote that which I had in for almost 2 years. Before that I used some of the herbs I mentioned in the article for a couple years, before that i used pregnancy and breastfeeding for 2.5 years and before that I was infertile. I’d never learned about Family Planning untill fairly recently. Now I know the signs and can tell the day that I ovulate. My cervical mucus is the easiest clue as is the fact that I have a tinge of cramps when the egg pops out. Having a regular cycle really helps too. My period is like clockwork now. I just avoid sex when I’m ovulating. Actually that’s not totally true. It’s more like my boyfriend avoids sex when I’m ovulating. I beg him to have my babies for about 5 days out of every month. One of these days I’m gonna win. hehehe

  22. Although I’m planning a primal pregnancy in the near future (and would love it if mine went as well as Peggy’s) I did have an interesting experience as far as primal periods go.

    Since getting my first period at 12, I have been crazy irregular. To the point of getting my periods sometimes just 3-4 times a year (that last for two weeks at a time) and then other times getting one just two weeks after the start of my previous one. Oh and the cramps were so bad I have had to call in sick to work on occasion, and would often feel so sick from the pain that I couldn’t eat for the first 2-3 days.

    Needless to say I visited my family doctor over this, who at just 16 years old (and sexual INactive) put me on birth control. About 2 years ago (after being on the pill for 8 years and HATING how I felt on it) I decided to quit the pill. My periods returned after 2 months just as crazy as before. Back to the doctor I went, who referred me to two different gynos. Both told me I would likely have a very difficult time getting pregnant (I was only 24 years old at the time) and told me it was either the pill, other hormones, and eventually when I DID want to concieve I’d likely need drugs for that too.

    Then I went to the ND. After an elimination diet I found I am extremely intolerant to gluten (so thats what that severe pain was after eating!) and mildly to dairy as well. I cut those out, and my next cycle was just 40 days apart. My next after that was 32 days.

    As I continued on I realized all grains made me feel crappy, and after much research went mostly primal. Not only did my constant napping and insomnia stop within 2 weeks, I got my very first 29 day cycle- something that has been continuing for the last 6 months. I’ve even charted my temperature just to see if I was ovulating, and I do! Every single month. I *should* be completely fertile.

    It scares and bothers me that not ONE doctor asked me about my diet, or even hinted that a change in diet might help my cycles and fertility. I feel blessed that I discovered this when I did, now I can have a truly healthy primal pregnancy WITHOUT drugs to force ovulation!

  23. I’m not pregnant, nor am I trying to get pregnant (at this point). I’ve got PCOS and all I want is my period back. I’ve gradually been turning primal this past year (without know it) and know I’ve official am One month Primal. But I’m still waiting for my period. It’s been almost two months since my last one. I know food and exercise aren’t the issue. I guess it’s gotta be those damn hormones. They are going to drive me crazy!

    • I too used to have only a few periods a year. When I went Paleo they got closer together, but I had already been 100% gluten free for six months. One month isn’t very long to expect your whole entire hormonal balance and nutritional status to get back on track. Be patient. I think my first period came after 6 weeks the first month, the next one was 5 weeks. But that was me. Our bodies are different as are our diets.

  24. Oh my gosh! I love this discussion! I have been paleo for about 3 months and haven’t had a period since eating this way. I am on the pill right now but I am stopping in October as my husband and I are in the pre-pre-pregnancy stage. I have to be honest, I do not miss the monthly misery, but I am a bit worried about my fertility. Any thoughts?

    • It’s hard to say since you’re still on the pill. Keep eating healthy, quit the pill, and then start thinking about what’s going on.

    • I was on the Pill for 10 years when I was younger and rarely had a period the last few years I was on it even in the weeks I was supposed to get it. But then my DH and I decided that maybe I should come off it to let my body adjust before we wanted to get pregnant. Both of us thought it would take months for my cycle to right itself and for me to be able to get pregnant. I got pregnant the very first cycle off the Pill, and we were quite surprised. I wasn’t eating Primal/Paleo at the time, either. So, I think it’s pretty individual as to what is going on with your fertility. I think the Pill just messes with your cycle and makes it hard to tell where you stand.

  25. You wouldn’t believe how happy I am to see this post. And the timing! I’ve been spotting for a few days now and I was getting worried I was pregnant or had cancer or god knows what!

    Now I see it must be my diet!
    Thank you so much!

  26. Thanks Peggy, and to all of you, this thread of comments really helped me. I have been Paleo for about a month(and a ” not strict” Paleo for about 3 months)and I am still waiting for my first “non medically induced” period( pcos is my enemy).At the moment I am having that spotting you were talking about(black, mucus, with bits), it lasts for 11 days now, and I’m really hoping that that is some kind of a cleansing or healing process. I hope!

  27. Just wanted to chime in that mid cycle spotting is usually ovulation… I was worried and went to the lady doctor to find out what was goin on with my inner-workings. This is what she told me…

    Thanks for this post btw! Good to know i’m not alone in my spottiness :)

  28. This has been a very interesting and informative read. I don’t know if it was already covered, but since going primal, Im ok for 3 weeks and then the week of my period, I crave fat like a crazy woman. Am I the only one like this? As soon as it’s done (and it has definitely been better on the primal diet and regular exercise), I calm down again, but the cravings are crazy around the time of the period. How much fat is too much? At the moment I get my fat through olive oil, nuts, avocado, coconut milk, some almond and walnut oil, what else can you reccomend? Or is it actually something else that my diet is lacking? How can I figure this out?

    • Hi Teneal, I would definitely recommend adding some animal fats into the mix. Paleolithic humans would not have had access to tons of veg oils but animals oils they would. You can’t just walk out into the wild and eat ample amounts of olive and nut oils and stuff like that. The fats you eat are good but some animal fats might be great.

      Aside from that there is nothing wrong with craving fat around your period. Saturated fats help the body manufacture sex hormones so go ahead. Eat them. How much is too much? I seriously doubt you could eat too much. There are times when my diet consists of mostly fats!

  29. Has anyone experienced premature menstrual cycles after “cheating” on Paleo? I’ve been doing Paleo for 3 months now, and I’ve had 2 “cheat” weekends- one was near St. Patrick’s day and I had consumed beer and the day after my face broke out and I got my period 2 weeks early. This past weekend I visited my family for Easter and indulged in carbs and got my period again 2 weeks early and a nasty rash on my neck. It’s odd and I’ve asked around to my other “paleo” friends and no one has experienced this. I assume it has to do with the insulin hormone affecting my cycle? I thought the first time was a fluke, but it’s like clockwork; the day after eating carbs, my body reacts. Just wondered if anyone else has experienced this?

    • Sarah,

      I haven’t experienced that, personally. I think it would be hard to tell where you stand with that at this point, though, because you have only been Paleo for 3 months. Without knowing what your diet and cycles were before you started, it’s really impossible to tell exactly why this has happened to you. It’s entirely possible that your hormones are changing due to the diet change and hence your cycle is changing too. Just a thought. Although, if you seriously spiked your insulin with high glycemic carbs, then maybe that caused a change in your sex hormones. Do you have PCOS?