Waterweight-advice

Princess71117

This may be TMI, but I notice near that time of the month, that my weight goes up-even if I've been eating healthy, drinking at least 8 cups of water a day and exercising. Sometimes it goes up to 3-4lbs, and then after it's done, my weight goes back down to what it was before. Does anybody else have that same experience when PMSing? Is it just waterweight? I find I get so discouraged because then I feel like I just gain weight regardless. It also makes me unsure as to when I should weigh myself.

FIT_Goat

I am not a woman, but this is extremely common. I think you should still weigh yourself, just compare that weight to the same point on your cycle the month before, and not the previous day's/week's weight. After a few months, you'll be able to judge roughly how much is just hormonal fluctuations, and it may help it bother you less.

cidalia1973

I would be shocked if any woman didn't go through this to some extent. I average a 4-pound gain every time. It sucks, and sometimes I look a few months pregnant, but there's nothing I can do about it but ride it out and avoid the scale.

Ilove2dance77

I'm exactly the same - been inputting my weight daily into the Libra App so that I can see my weight fluctuations. This way I can look at the trend rather than individual weights. I've also been exercising a lot all the way through, and it has helped my weight to drop lower than when it was when my water retention builds. You're right - it sucks! :-(

itsbasschick

every woman i've ever known - including myself - has the same thing. eating lots of asparagus can cut down the water weight gain if it bothers you.

SueInAz

I'm going it though it right now, in fact. You can't let it get you down, it goes away as quickly as it appears. Some women just don't weigh themselves during that week, others just don't enter it into MFP. I'm of the latter group. I also liked the earlier idea of comparing it against your weight from the same time last month. That way you can see how much progress you're making.

FitterinaBallerina

I definitely have this problem. For me it's usually only the first few days of being bloated and then it goes away. When I'm on my period or right before I drink a ginger/lemon water 3x's a day, it helps with the bloating. I also take the first two days some dandelion root, which is a natural diuretic that can be found at any health food store. It says to take the pill 3x's a day, but I only take it in the morning when I'm at my worst, primarily because I hate taking pills. That should help with any water weight gain.

126siany

I usually don't go up, I just stall for the week and then see a big drop the following week.

Linnaea27

I definitely have this problem too. For me it's a pound or two, and it usually takes a few days after my period goes away to fall off again. I hate it! I am dealing with this right now, actually-- I weigh almost a pound and a half more than I did last week and although a little may be fat gain, most of it couldn't possibly be! :sad: It happens to every woman I've ever talked to about it, and I've seen lots of threads like this on here with probably hundreds of women stating they gain anywhere from 1 to 10 pounds in water weight. It sucks!

Princess71117

Thank you for all the tips/advice and reassurances!! I was freaking out cause I weighed at least 5lbs heavier than last week. There was one day that was unhealthy, but there was no way I gained 5 whole pounds from it!! One more question-do you record the higher PMS weight in your MFP stuff, or do you just wait until it goes back down? I've always waited until mine goes back down, but I kind of feel dishonest then xD


Thanks again everyone! I will definitely have to put these great suggestions to use. I feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one and that there's ways to deal with it!

SueInAz

I used to never record it at all, which is why I stated that earlier. I preferred to focus on how much I'd lost and I knew that water weight during that time was artificial gain.

However, lately I've been interested in the ups and downs of my weight over time. I've had some issues with edema (retaining water) and I recently went off the diuretic I've been on for a couple of years so I'm trying to see how what I eat, etc. is affecting it. It's purely scientific curiosity that drives it.

albayin

I don't weigh myself often, but my weight has been the same for years...so I guess I may have experienced it coming and going without knowing it.