Question for the Ladies

I think the only way it would REALLY affect your weight loss is if you get the kind of cravings I do around TOM -- that being said, you should expect your weight to fluctuate a bit, do yourself a favor and DON'T WEIGH until well after your period is over. Things should be back to normal by then, and you won't get frustrated by the scale showing a temporary gain. Hope it's not too rough on you!

I think it's different for everyone! Some people do tend to retain a lot of water at that time but it'll disappear within a few days. For me I tend to gain right in the middle of my cycle -- it took me forever to figure out what was happening, I never made the link to my TOM because it was about 2 weeks before TOM actually arrived -- yet EVERY month, same time, the scale goes up. So I assume it to be somehow cycle-related.

Also, when I went off the pill the first period was really 'mild' -- not sure how else to put it, basically none of the side affects were that bad -- not as much moodiness, not as much cramps, not as much water retaining etc. But within a couple months they all came back strong. So you might not notice much this month, but just keep monitoring for a few months.

As for what you can do to help it -- not too much I don't think, except drink a lot of water or water with lemon, and avoid any sodium heavy foods that would cause additional water-retention. Hope that helps!

If so, what should I expect and is there a way around it?

Thanks for any information you can give me!

If you figure out any way around TOM other then pregnancy let me know

I usually dont weigh in as I feel bloated during Tom's visits.

Well, being a guy who is not a medical professional, but who is married to a very athletic woman, you should have natural weight fluctuations during that time. I would recommend hiding the scale during this time to avoid any disappointment! LOL! I actually hounded my wife to stay off the scale entirely due to that fact. Women have natural fluctuations of a couple pounds to as much as 10 pounds depending on many factors, and frequent scale visits often lead to disappointment, and in some cases, gals just giving up. If you feel the need to stand on that evil device, you should do it half way between periods. Hope my uneducated two cents helps.

Amen. I don't weigh myself the week before and the week during. I can fluctuate 3 - 5 lbs sometimes. I retain a lot of water. So i just skip the weigh ins.