Women - Menstrual Cycle and Weight Gain

Cheese n salty foods- I use rice crackers when I'm menstruating spread with light Philadelphia... Much less fat and calories then cheese and crackers yet even more satisfying. X

I always have 2-5lbs gain with mine. I have a mirena IUD so don't actually have a period (just some spotting) but I still get the monthly gain. Usually lasts about a week.

Me too. Lots of women saying the same thing on other sites.

The food cravings are your body trying to replace the lost cells. Research shows intensity of food cravings are linked to a set of hormones we all produce in varying amounts depending on genetics. Make a point of eating quality nutrient rich stuff like avovadoes and beets and high iron meat. Be careful of veggies that block iron uptake and it helps curb the cravings. I find taking a for women multi vitamin helps too.

I've made the mistake of stepping on the scales a couple of times. Even though I KNEW it was temporary, it still really upset me. So now I know enough to not get on the scale until 2 days after the end of my period. For me it's just not worth it.

^^ THIS!!! I just went through this last week and I won't do it again.

So glad to see this. My period is just now ending today. I stepped on that scale and I've gained 2.5 lbs. I am very sad/mad right now and from now on I will NOT weigh myself during the week of my period. Glad to see I'm not the only one going through this.

Can someone tell me how my cycle is going to affect the scale. I'm doing so good these last two weeks and weighing every couple of days. I think I read a post one time that said we gain weight during our cycle. Does anyone know? Is it best to stay off the scale until I'm off? Thanks!!

My cycle has never affected the scale. I lost 60 lbs a couple years ago and weighed in regularly. Usually I lose just the same as I did previous weeks. It has never gone up because of my period.

You'll gain water weight. This is part of the burden of directly repopulating the planet. The important thing to do is NOT try to change up your routine (assuming that its a good one) like most people do or eat less or do more exercise when they see a weight gain. I say weigh yourself every day multiple times a day and through your cycle so you can see just how unpredictable and inaccurate a scale can be. It will help you break this fear of weighing in or the emotion that comes with these relatively useless numbers you see appear. Appetite increases because you're feeding for the possibility of two. Lets not over-react or make this more complex than it is.

Best advice don't weigh yourself the week of your period ugh water retention is likely to occur and may cause discouragement!

Don't seriously! Lol

4lbs is average water weight gain during this time it will come off though as long as you don't binge!

If you did binge, why would that effect the water weight?

Best advice don't weigh yourself the week of your period ugh water retention is likely to occur and may cause discouragement!

Don't seriously! Lol

4lbs is average water weight gain during this time it will come off though as long as you don't binge!

If you did binge, why would that effect the water weight?

I'm saying the water weight will come off unless you binge like over eat like crazy

Your a dude don't you think this is a subject for women no offense! Hehe

Some women get munchies bad during this time duh and there discipline weakens for some not all!

I was asking the question as a means to show a flaw in your logic. Yes I'm a dude. No I don't think this is a subject for women. Women thinking there's something different going on with them is part of the reason we're lost in this industry as a whole.

I go up anywhere from 2-5 lbs but I still weigh every day. It is all part of the process of my learning how certain foods and situations impact my weight. Plus, I love to see the number go down afterwards since it usually is lower than when I started since I still work to meet my calorie and activity levels.

Since I know snacking is a big problem during my TOM, I try to plan activities in the evening (my prime snacking time) that have nothing to do with eating. Like tonight, I am painting our bedroom. Needs to be done and it's on the opposite side of the house from the pantry.

These are my go-to snacks for cravings:

Chocolate:
2 tbsp of coconut oil
2 tbsp of cocoa powder
Pour it onto wax/ parchment paper or foil. Freeze it for 15 mins and break up into little pieces (I also add a dash of salt and cayenne) in total it's 260 cals, but it's VERY healthy and packed with Omega 6. Too many benefits to mention.

Salty:
Boom-Chicka-Pop sea salt popcorn. 4 cups is only 120 CALORIES!!

Salty & sweet: (my weakness)
Boom Chicka Pop lightly sweet popcorn
Tastes like kettle corn and only 120 calories in 3 1/4 cups.

Lastly, as my dear friend who is a very talented nutritionist told me, "Sometimes you just need Ben & Jerrys, and thats ok! its all about moderation!" Hope this helps ladies!

Good luck and stay strong!!!

What do you mean when you say:
Women thinking there's something different going on with them is part of the reason we're lost in this industry as a whole.

I think what she meant is, the water weight will come off, so don't replace the 4lbs of water with 4lbs of fat from binge eating. Resist the urge and the water weight will go. It's a very natural thing. Our body reserves fat, water and blood for creation of a human. For those who missed 6th grade health class. (I know, I'm using very scientific verbiage here ????)

For me, it's best to just stay off it for a week and a half. I've learned to just stay away from the scale a few days before, during, and a few days after my period. I know that it's just water retention, but I hate seeing those numbers go up. Some women can handle weighing in during their TOM, but for me, having PMS + seeing the scale number go up makes me so cranky haha.

I agree with everyone. I wanted to add that for the first 2 years of losing weight I freaked every month. Hell I freaked with each gain. Then this past September I made a lot of changes. One of those being I weigh every single day. And I graph it every single day. I thought it would make me more obsessive but ya know what?? When I make not of ovulation, TOM, bm's or lack thereof, I started to see a pattern each month. I have charted enough months now I can look at my pretty graph and know why I gained or rejoice if I have a true loss (my true low only shows up 1-3 days the entire month). Or I can say crap!! Got to tighten up, starting to gain and this isn't in my norms.

By the way- I gain just before TOM a little but my biggest gain is AFTER TOM is gone. Weird but true

Hi.. I just started my weight loss journey 4 weeks ago. In the first 3 weeks, I lost 19 pounds. I weigh myself every Sunday morning before I eat or drink anything. Last Sunday, I weighed 280.3 pounds. Yesterday, I started my period and today, I weighed 281.0! I'm so upset that after losing such good numbers for 3 weeks, I gained a pound instead of losing some in an entire week! Ugh... just wondering if this is normal... I'm just hoping that it DOES have something to do with my period because I usually eat under 1400 calories a day and very rarely go over that. I even stepped on the scale 3 times because I couldn't believe it! It's just a bit discouraging. :sad:

Ok.. tyvm for your reply. I feel much better now knowing that it wasn't something I did wrong. I've been doing the same thing when I feel like snacking.. I choose healthier options instead of binge eating on M&M's or cookies or potato chips.. lol. because that's what I used to do. Now, I choose a stick of string cheese, some nuts or seeds, or these amazing 40 calorie each fudgesicles I found at Walmart. They're delicious and truly satisfy my chocolate and sweet cravings. Thanks again for your comment.. now I don't feel so discouraged, which is great because feeling discouraged has caused me to just give up in the past.