WOMAN QUESTION (****WARNING KINDA PERSONAL*****)

Cnsa143
Cnsa143 Posts: 52 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been working my butt off watching what I eat all last week, when it came time to weigh my self (Like I do every Thursday Morning) I noticed I only lost 0.5 lbs....here is the personal question.....Can a woman who is on her period or about to start her period retain so much water that you look like you havent lost weight?? How much water can a woman retain on her period???

Am I just crazy and making up excuses for not losing weight??? PLEASE HELP!!!

Replies

  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Most of us gain weight (as much as 6lbs for some) during or before our period. It is mostly from water retention. If you are eating well, you will see the weight come back off.

    I highly suggest staying off the scale during this time of the month - It's not going to make you feel good! You are not crazy. Almost all of us go through this every month. It sucks, but it's one of those times when you have to forgive yourself for being a woman and just try your best :)
  • Huggenkiss27
    Huggenkiss27 Posts: 59
    I know that I can add an extra 3-4 pounds of water weight while I'm on my period if everything else stays the same. I think it's a common complaint for many women to be up a bit or not lost anything during their time of the month. That extra water should be out of your system in a couple of days. I also know that I crave salty food which will make me retain more water too.
  • lisapr123
    lisapr123 Posts: 863 Member
    The more water I drink, the less I notice any change in the scale. Leading up to that week I try to add extra water...making my consumption more in the 13-16 glasses a day. Since I've done this I've basically stopped retaining water and no longer fear the scale.
  • QueChulaYo
    QueChulaYo Posts: 71
    yes...2-3 lbs for sure! So can stress!!! so can muscle!! Be patient, it will come off with all of your hard work.
  • sbperry72
    sbperry72 Posts: 12
    Don't worry - you are totally normal (at least based on my experience). #1 - Most women's weight fluctuates over the monthly cycle and right before aunt flo should be your heaviest. #2 - I have found over a period of years that even when my diet,exercise and net calories are steady, the weight loss is uneven and there is sort of a delayed effect. Even without the monthly fluctuation factor, the good work you are doing this week might not show up on the scale for a couple weeks. You just have to trust yourself and stay positive, you just want the overall trend to be toward your goals, and it sounds like yours is.
  • Cnsa143
    Cnsa143 Posts: 52 Member
    Thank yall for the advice I was almost in tears yesterday when I stepped on the scale and saw that I had only lost a half lb and when my Exhusband asked how much I lost I told him a 1/2 lb he says "How is that possible when youve worked so hard?" that made me really think that it must be because I am going to start my period soon.

    This is the first time in my life that I have attempted to fix my weight issue and I have only been doing this 3 weeks so obviously this is my first time experiencing my monthly cycle while attempting to lose weight. I will take the advice and stay off the scale for the next week or so i am sure I will see the difference once this horrible curse is all said and done.

    I love water but there is no way I can increase my water intake to 13 glasses I am having a hard enough time pushing myself to do 8 glasses.

    Thanks for the advice I feel a little better now, but I'll feel 100% better when I see the weight gone!
  • njoydsilence101
    njoydsilence101 Posts: 3
    Water retention is totally normal as i am sure you know by now, what really helps me is drinking herbal teas like peppermint or nettle, peppermint is really good for digestion too, so if you want to work out shortly after you had a meal,, have some and it will help you not feel so icky :-)
  • michelecur
    michelecur Posts: 4 Member
    I actually seen this question on The Doctors yesterday haha They said a woman can retain up to 2 gallons of water during their period, so don't get discouraged. They said to try and limit salt especially around that time and to drink more water :)
  • renstwin
    renstwin Posts: 66 Member
    I retain anywhere between 3-5 pounds. I do not weigh during my TOM.
  • WickedGarden
    WickedGarden Posts: 944 Member
    I actually seen this question on The Doctors yesterday haha They said a woman can retain up to 2 gallons of water during their period, so don't get discouraged. They said to try and limit salt especially around that time and to drink more water :)

    2 GALLONS?!?!? that's a LOT of weight...a gallon weighs 8lbs...so a woman could retain 16 gallons of water weight? That just doesn't sound right. Not saying you're wrong...it just sounds weird.
  • HeatherNicoleMomOf4
    HeatherNicoleMomOf4 Posts: 201
    maybe thats whats going on with me last wk when i got on the scale it said that i had lost 5 lbs and this wk its said i had gained 3lbs and i havent even changed anything and i started my period
  • beaudry_21
    beaudry_21 Posts: 1
    I believe it! I was so pround of all the weight I lost this month...then bam.up eight pounds. My rings went from loose to super tight this week!
  • squishybarb
    squishybarb Posts: 72 Member
    Tootally believe this is possible. Usually before mine I won't lose any weight at all, or I'll go up a few pounds. I'll wait several days and then check again, sure enough, back down.

    No worries - women's bodies are craaazy - but cool. :blushing:
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    I knew I gained a little scale weight, and I think my lower tummy measurement was affected, too. Surely bloating can mess up the tape measure, too, right? I'll have to wait and see, but I'd think that bloating literally makes you bigger.

    But the scale? Definitely don't trust it around your TOM, yeah.
  • KimberlyinMN
    KimberlyinMN Posts: 302 Member
    Just think what a "whoosh" you'll see next week with the water retention AND your normal week of everything. :) I could easily gain 10+ pounds of water weight. One "whoosh" week, I lost 21 pounds. The WW leader looked at me and asked what I had done differently. Well... I "gained" 10 pounds the week before, so technically, this is 3 weeks of actual loss in addition to those 10+ pounds.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I have been working my butt off watching what I eat all last week, when it came time to weigh my self (Like I do every Thursday Morning) I noticed I only lost 0.5 lbs....here is the personal question.....Can a woman who is on her period or about to start her period retain so much water that you look like you havent lost weight?? How much water can a woman retain on her period???

    Am I just crazy and making up excuses for not losing weight??? PLEASE HELP!!!

    Before my time of the month and during, I retain water. As soon as I'm done, the water goes away. Our weight fluctuates from day to day and depending on when we step on the scale.
  • featherbrained
    featherbrained Posts: 155 Member
    I've gained as much as 11lbs overnight, but usually its 5-7 for me. It shows up exactly 3 days before, and is gone usually by the second day of my cycle.

    So don't sweat it- or do, if you want! ;)
  • bernied262
    bernied262 Posts: 882 Member
    I don't even bother weighing myself in the week leading upto and during my TOM, the figures are so screwed it depresses me. I weigh myself the day after it finishes, and then again for the next 2 days. If I maintain that weight I record it as 'true'.
  • JilloftheDead
    JilloftheDead Posts: 296 Member
    A half pound lost is still a half pound! Good job!
  • SbetaK
    SbetaK Posts: 400 Member
    Why are you sharing your weight loss with your Ex-husband? I hope it is not to please him with a condition of re-uniting. You should be doing this for you, for your health, and to feel good about yourself. Hopefully you are just still close, good luck.
  • leah3105
    leah3105 Posts: 8
    Seriously I do every month - just a couple of days then its gone. I just try and avoid the scales on my bloated days and start afresh once its over. Damn being a woman sucks sometimes!!
  • ThePlight
    ThePlight Posts: 3,593 Member
    Well.... I guess it sucks and doesn't at the same time. Makes you feel like you're in a slump, but when you see those pounds "magically" melt off, you get a good uplifting feeling haha. I still lost weight during mine :D *Does a happy dance*
    Just trying to keep optimistic, is all :)
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    remember also that it's not *just* the TOM that will show a weight gain (or no weight loss). our body weights can fluctuate so try not to get fixated on the "scale" or a "number". you didn't lose "only" half a lb - you LOST HALF A POUND! think of this as a journey, you can't stop to worry about each tiny bump in the road, but you will, at some point, look back and see "wow, in six months i lost 20 or 10 or 100 lbs"
  • SteviMcEwan
    SteviMcEwan Posts: 79
    I always gain a pound or two around my time of the month. I wouldn't worry about it too much cause I have always found that the next week I have lost it again plus whatever my weeks weightloss would have been anyway :) xx
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