TOM - when is weight normal?

tracymayo1

How long before and after your TOM should your 'real' weight show up on the scale? I find that the week before and during my weight goes up and now (week after) it is showing still the same as before - even though I am still eating at a deficit...

I know not to always go by the numbers on the scale, but it is still upsetting when it stays the same or higher over a 3 week period (no pun intended!)

sweetpea03b

I feel your pain. I lose about the same amount of time due to TOM craziness and water weight fluctuations. I just try to go by clothes fitting these days because the scale is not kind to me. As long as my clothes are still loose.... I know I'm not gaining.. but other than that... its hard to say. Good luck!

Kalikel

It goes up before and comes down after. Every month.

Everyone is a little different, with amounts and dates.

You'll get used to it after a while.

Branstin

It varies from woman to woman. For some women, it takes a few days and with others a week or longer. It also depends on your eating habits during that time. Even if you kept within your calories range, still pay attention to your sodium level because that could cause a delay in your weight returning to "normal".

tracymayo1

I suppose as this is only my second time getting TOM since I started MFP - I certainly am not used to it.
It is also one of the reasons I am trying to find a good digital scale to replace the old "arrow" type scale I have now.
Floors in our apartment are NOT level, and depending where I put the scale, the weight read changes all the time.
It is very frustrating to say the least.

I went up about 3-4 pounds the week before TOM, was about 2-3 higher during and now (started my pills up again on Friday) I am back to my pre TOM weight. I was always under my calorie intake by several hundred calories (except 2 days out of the 2 weeks) and I always weigh myself on Tuesdays.

As I don't see my scale registering any weigth loss after one day (between this morning and tomorrow) I input the weight showing today.
I hope next week is different, or maybe I will weight myself again later this week - I was just hoping that someone would know an approximate time frame for when the extra pounds gained because of TOM 'should' be gone, so my 'real' weight would reflect.

Thanks all.

michikade

I find that the last day of it is close to the real thing. So I would say that the last day or the day after is probably safe as a "normal" weight.

It is hard as a woman of child bearing age to know what her real weight is due to our very frequent fluctuations in water weight (all people fluctuate, to be sure, but girls and women from 13 or so to 45-50 or so have deceptive weight gain more often over the course of our cycles). If you're one to work with monthly numbers or trends I'd say the day after would be the place to look - at least for me.

I lucked out this month and actually showed a small loss right before rather than a gain (that's rare) and the following week I dropped almost 3 lbs which fit into what I'm aiming for ( 1 1/2 lbs per week) -- but usually I show a stall or a minor gain right before and then the loss reflects right after.

tracymayo1

Thanks michikade... I have a feeling I really need to get the digital scale, so I can see in 0.00 lbs lost so I dont get completely discouraged.
Today (Monday) is about 4 days after my TOM stopped - and my weight is showing as the same as before I started.

I am happy the extra weight is gone, but I should have lost the equivalent of 2 weeks 1-1.5lbs since my last weigh in.

Oh well...

StaciMarie1974

I don't think its the same for everyone. My weight jumps up the day after my period starts. 2.5-3.5 pounds. May be 10-14 days before it goes back down to the day prior's weight, then in the next week it can drop several pounds.