Wednesday — Ask Bobbie

This week’s question is a good one because it connects directly to what we’re building with “What Is My Body Trying to Tell Me?”

Question

“Why am I starving before my period? Does my body actually need more food, or am I just craving things?”

First: the science in plain English

What: There is credible evidence that food intake can increase during the luteal phase—the portion of the cycle after ovulation and before the next period.

A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis in Nutrition Reviews analyzed 15 datasets involving 330 women. Average energy intake was about 168 calories/day higher during the luteal phase than the follicular phase.

Why: Estrogen and progesterone fluctuate considerably across the cycle and may influence appetite, energy expenditure, food reward and other systems involved in energy balance. But the research does not support reducing this to something like “progesterone makes you hungry.”

Think of appetite more like a mixing board than an on/off switch.

Hormones are one slider.

Sleep is another.

Training is another.

Stress, calorie restriction, food composition and individual biology are others.

So what: If hunger consistently increases before a period, that experience may be physiologically meaningful rather than simply a failure of discipline.

But—and this is important—the meta-analysis included a relatively small and narrow population: participants were 18–45, generally BMI 18.5–25, without disordered eating, and the researchers identified methodological inconsistencies between studies.

So 168 calories isn’t a prescription.

It is a group average.

Your increase could be larger, smaller or nonexistent.

What now: Instead of automatically fighting increased hunger, collect evidence.

For 2–3 cycles, track:

cycle timing + hunger + sleep + stress + training + symptoms

Then ask:

“Does my hunger actually rise repeatedly during the same part of my cycle—or does it track more closely with sleep, training or stress?”

That’s much more useful than assuming every woman needs a predetermined “luteal-phase diet.”

The bigger GOATGETheR lesson

I found a very current example of exactly the problem women are trying to solve.

One woman recently described becoming exhausted during her luteal phase, struggling to maintain the same workouts, experiencing increased cravings/hunger and then feeling pressure to create an even larger calorie deficit because her activity decreased. Other women responded that their experiences were completely different.

That disagreement is actually the point.

Population research can tell us what happens on average.

It cannot automatically tell an individual woman what happens to her.

We see the same problem with exercise.

A 2024 systematic review/meta-analysis of 17 studies involving 160 women found no significant menstrual-cycle-phase effect on perceived exertion during aerobic exercise.

Another 2024 systematic review/meta-analysis examined maximal strength performance and likewise found the literature insufficient to justify broad prescriptions based simply on cycle phase.

Meanwhile, women absolutely report meaningful individual symptoms and performance changes.

Those statements aren’t necessarily contradictory.

Group average ≠ individual response.

That’s why I’m becoming increasingly skeptical of content that says:

“You’re luteal, so lower your weights.”

“You’re follicular, so this is when you should hit PRs.”

That’s too confident for where the evidence currently stands.

The better question is:

What repeatedly happens in YOUR body?

That’s the conversation I want GOATGETheR to move women toward.

3 comments

Wednesday — Ask Bobbie