Time of the month, weight gain and lack of exercise?

Oh girl, I know exactly what you mean! I was wondering why I couldn't fit in my clothes and why I felt so blah these past few days, and sure enough, Mother Nature paid me a visit today. I feel crabby, tired, unmotivated, and like I want to eat a pound of chocolate (I won't, though). Gaining "weight" is COMPLETELY normal when it's your time of the month. Your body bloats and holds onto water because it takes a lot for your body to push all of that out of your body! It will go away after your period is over, though, so don't even worry about it. Tiredness can also be brought on because women lack Iron during their period. Eat some extra Iron for a little bit more of an energy boost.

I haven't really found what can motivate me when I am in that mood. Each person is different. Sometimes, if I feel really groggy, I will take some preworkout and then hit the gym. The boost of caffeine makes me WAY more motivated to exercise. I am sure that coffee or tea will do the trick too.

Overall though, just let your body be kind of unhappy. It drains your body when you get your period, so make sure you rest and go to bed early. Eating healthy helps your body out immensely too, especially during this time. Eat things with lots of nutrients, like raw vegetables, and eat protein for energy too.

Hey I got PMS while I was away for a few days at a friends and I ate everything from nutella to fast food. When it was over I was 3 pounds down, the following week another three. The amount you lose could be completely different, also, don't get discouraged if you get sidetracked. If you ate a chocolate bar everyday for 5 days remind yourself - its a temporary side track, it won't stick.

Once you go back to eating normally, it'll come off again. Keep it up even female bodybuilders went through and go through this.

EDIT: I didn't gain or maintain weight before or during PMS, I just retained weight that had yet to come off, hence the 6 pounds. I was still losing before it.

Yup, but I just give myself a break once a month and do what exercise I can..... meaning flailing my arms a bit while i lie on the couch and channel surf......

It's ok to give yourself a break once in awhile :-)

You know, I had an ablation done last year (that didn't work) and its been odd ever since, some months I gain nothing, others up to 6 lbs. I can't figure this whole thing out. MD doesn't seem to be interested in answering my questions about hormones, cycles and weight loss/gain....I see her this month for my annual exam and I will again try to pick her brain but I doubt I'll get answers...I've been keeping a separate calendar for my measurements and exercise/cals burned. I think that helps keep things in perspective way more than the scale does. Somewhere I read that you can practically blow your whole diet while on your cycle and you won't really gain weight. I don't know if that's officially true, and it may be true for the younger ladies, but I don't know that I'd try it at my age :-) Good Luck to ya tho!

I weigh myself but don't log it because I know it will go back to normal (eventually - sometimes I seem to hold extra weight for 3 weeks - before, during and after! - other times I do lose!). When i was younger I would have just laid back on the sofa, but now I'm older, had my kids and on the BC pill they don't bother me so much (except for mood and bloat:grumble: ) so i try to keep to my routine. I might switch to lower impact stuff on heavy days though. And I make sure to eat iron-rich foods (dark chocolate, steak, sausages - the iron in veg is harder to digest) so I'm not too tired.