Women- hormones!

Nicoles0305

So I was cruising right along, kicking some serious kitten, then BAM!!!! That monthly hormonal shift hit and the water weight has been hanging around for a week now. This is one thing I’ve always struggled with, no matter what eating plan I’m following. And I’ve always wanted to find a way to beat it, rather than just accept. Of course, right? Lol So do you have any tips on beating the water weight stall/gain? Or do you just accept it as it is?

Lietchi

I just accept it as it is. I track my weight using a weight trending app (Libra in my case) and look at the long-term trend.

goal06082021

You're not trying to lose water, you're trying to lose fat. You know it's water, you know it happens every month and you know it will go away in a few days.

callsitlikeiseeit

Nicoles0305 wrote: »

So do you have any tips on beating the water weight stall/gain? Or do you just accept it as it is?

short of a hysterectomy or menopause (both of which would come with their own issues) I don't see that you have much other choice LOL


How often do you weigh? Weighing less often may help remove some of that anxiety from you. I used to weigh weekly (back in 2014-2018 when I lost the majority of my weight) I then maintained for 2 years, still weighing weekly. I was on a pretty regular 21 day cycle. Sometimes I would see the water weight, sometimes not. Just depended on 'where I was' in that cycle when I weighed. So, that may help.

Now, losing the last bit of weight I need to, I weigh daily, and log it in MFP weekly. (i log in a trend app daily, though) a trend app (happy scale for ios or libre for android) might also help you visualize that weight loss is not linear, but does help you really see the 'downward trend', which can help keep your spirits up when you want to throw the scale out the window

It's kind of a balancing act to find the happy medium between weighing yourself to see the number go down (which we all want to do) and not driving ourselves crazy when its not, due to things that are truly out of our control (and that will quite literally, flush out of our system within a few days)

Measurements, progress photos, how clothing fits are other ways to measure progress without ever going near a scale. BUT, during TOM, if you are bloated, those too may not be terribly reliable.

So now, we have taken a very long winded full circle, back to my first sentence

Hang in there.

wunderkindking

I have no strategy for that one. Yeah, if I'm having water retention for nonhormonal reasons I'll cut down on sodium, up water, and eat to maintain for about 3 days and get a woosh. Hormonal? It'll whoosh when my period starts, so I just ignore the scale between 'it went up' and my period arriving.

curwhibbles

Just ride it out! I’m right there with ya, girl.

kshama2001

Walkywalkerson

I don't stand on the scales 🤣
I get all the terrible PMS symptoms including bloating, pain, hunger etc ..
I try to be kind to myself during that time and accept it for what it is ( while eating pizza )
😁

Kgerber777

I have read that you burn more calories during PMS than other times. You could try to look at it like your cycle is helping you?... or treat yourself to a small treat since PMS sucks?

thisvickyruns

goal06082021 wrote: »

You're not trying to lose water, you're trying to lose fat. You know it's water, you know it happens every month and you know it will go away in a few days.

this.

just ignore the scales over that time if it bothers you.

JBanx256

Some forms of birth control cause you to have less frequent (eg, every 3 months) cycles, or none at all. Of course hormonal birth control can cause issues for some (but not all) women, but depending on your priorities and what side effects you are willing to tolerate...