LC Ladies: issues: please help!

jenngerpeacox

I've been keto for 44 days. I have lost a total of 12 lbs until now.
A little background on me, I am 37, I had my first child December of 2013, had one period October of 2014 and had my second child September of 2015. I breastfed with both, stopped 8 weeks ago and still no period (not since Oct 2014). The past 2-3 days I've been cramping and having some obvious water weight gain (had to take my rings off and my lower stomach looks really bloated like before I started this WOE. I've started gaining a little too over the last couple of days and feel very emotional. Obvious PMS going on. Not sure exactly how to deal with the cravings, extreme appetite, water weight, constipation, etc., any advice? I'm hoping this period is not as bad as my last since I had to take an iron supp.

sammyliftsandeats

For these few days, I generally eat as much LC friendly food as I like, concentrating on high fat, and not really looking at calories too too much. The first few cycles may be wonky while starting out, but it is just your hormones regulating.

My cycle was messed up for like six months when I first started. It then regulated and went back to normal.

The bloating just comes with the territory, unfortunately but drink water if you're retaining water. It sounds counter intuitive but it helps flush things out. Keep up with your electrolytes to keep an appropriate balance.

You just finished breastfeeding so your body is still trying to find a balance.

The weight gain will disappear once you're off your period.

Hang in there!

Cadori

I have higher calorie days right before my period if need be. I don't give in to cravings, but make sure to have something like fathead pizza or cauliflower mash which really satisfies my desire for comfort food.

My first period after my second baby I also had symptoms that made it seem like a doozy of a period was coming and I was nervous, but it wasn't too bad. Hopefully you have the same experience. Though, I had my first period 4 months PP with each even though I breastfed 14 and 30 months.

I bloat with ovulation but not with my period, cramp with both and retain water with both. The increased ovulation symptoms have happened since having my second. My ovulation cramping is actually worse than period cramps.

Sunny_Bunny_

Well, there are so many possibilities here.
. Sodium/water levels adding to water retention. This could be either too much of either or not enough. You can actually retain water if sodium is low...
. Release of stored hormones from burned fat tissues throwing off hormones.
. Whacked out (real scientific term) hormones still adjusting from recently discountinuing breast feeding.
As far as cravings and appetite, in my experience, there are two possible solutions. Either eat more than your weight loss focused brain would like to allow you but make it all low carb compliant or try a 24 hour fast to see if there's a mental component that can be derailed to end the cravings. Also, whenever I hear someone mention suddenly having cravings, I have to wonder about either cheats or even eating low carb foods that taste sweet. Those always stir up the cravings for me and a fast works better for me than anything at resetting hunger signals. However, I don't have the imbalanced hormone factor to consider there either.
If you indulged in any high carb foods recently or low carb sweets, definitely consider that they may be responsible for the cravings. You have to decide to either allow yourself to eat more compliant food for a bit, (your body may actually need it if something is going on that it's trying to heal) or try a fast to see if you can detail the sudden cravings. You can even choose to allow yourself coffee with cream or butter on your fast if you think it will help. But if the cravings are associated with recent high carb foods or low carb sweets, I would try to avoid sweeteners at all or use the absolute least you can tolerate.
But if there's something hormonal, not related to food or sweet flavors responsible for the cravings, fasting might not be the way to go. At least not a long one. In that case I would just allow myself more compliant food and definitely think about how much sodium you've been getting. Drinking a lot of liquids but not getting much sodium could actually cause water retention just as much as overdoing the sodium does on a high carb diet. If you're not getting much, make it a point to. If you think you've gone way overboard, then back off a little bit. Don't go waaaaay the other way though. It takes a couple days to get results.

jenngerpeacox

Thank you everyone. Definitely some good advice. I have been going slightly over on my carbs lately, I probably need to get more strict for a few days. I haven't been giving into the cravings, I know if I did it would only be temporary satisfaction. I probably need to drink more water and watch my electrolytes like you said. Fathead pizza sounds good, never head of it, I'll have to look that up as I have been craving pizza all day. The good thing is I used to crave sweets before and during my period, but haven't noticed that this time around.