Sorry TMI Period weight gain

TOM has a ridiculously negative effect on my weight loss. I can gain anywhere between 2lbs and 5lbs in water! Plus my appetite goes crazy and I just want to eat, not helped by the fact I am an emotional eater and just want to lie on the sofa with a huge bar of chocolate feeling sorry for myself. Blah. Worst part is, I usually get it for well over a week; it's like half of my month seeing progress and the other half of the month tearing my hair our with the fluctuations (today being one of those days!).

So, my experience is it is rubbish, but it is part of life; just got to grit your teeth, remember it will even out eventually and carry on doing what you know works!

Since this usually happens monthly, you get used to it. People, even men, have cycles of holding and releasing fluids.
It's on the scale and the tight feeling in your clothes. If you log your food and know you have been following your routine, just know it's just water and it will go away as often as it shows up.

Quit beating yourself up. It happens to practically everybody! Nearly everyone retains water during their TOM. I can put on as much as 5lbs during that week!

TOM totally effects my weight loss. The week before I feel like i'm starving- binge on everything in site lol. The week of, i'm much less hungry, but my weight is stagnant. Right after my period, I lose in a big WHOOSH. its very strange and really affects my month Don't be too hard on yourself during this time-- you cant control it

I carry at least 5 extra pounds, and that's with being on a diuretic! I'm also beyond starving the entire week, I could basically live on chocolate dipped salt if I succumb to the cravings.

My doc said the cravings are your body trying to store calories in case you get pregnant, like THAT makes me feel any better about it! Don't beat yourself up, it's biology.

Its normal, cyclical, and temporary.

Just keep eating to your calorie goal and ignore it. Focusing on fluctuations will drive you crazy and make you quit. Successful weight losers look at long term trends, not fluctuations.

Geege29 wrote: »

I carry at least 5 extra pounds, and that's with being on a diuretic! I'm also beyond starving the entire week, I could basically live on chocolate dipped salt if I succumb to the cravings.

My doc said the cravings are your body trying to store calories in case you get pregnant, like THAT makes me feel any better about it! Don't beat yourself up, it's biology.

That's BS. By the time you miss your period, you're already 4 (ish) weeks pregnant (pregnancy "counting" starts two weeks before you ovulate, in case anyone didn't know). The embryo would have already implanted into the uterus wall, a full week before your period. Your body already would already be producing HCG if you were pregnant. It doesn't need your period to come to tell itself whether its pregnant.

rabbitjb wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

My experience is that I apparently know stuff about periods that a big chunk of women don't. Which is mind-boggling to me.

Rips Tex's head off...stares down gaping neck...oh really now?

You carry a ladder?

My TOM is 3 days, then it ceases for 1 day & then I have it for 1 more day. So I have it for 4 days, spread over a 5 day period - (pun intended). I start retaining water about 5 days before & I gain approximately 5 Pounds. I become incredibly thirsty during that 5 days before I get but I don't become hungry for anything beyond sugar. So for 10 days, I have no idea; what I truly weigh.

Despite having to give into my desperation for Carbs, I still try to make sensible choices, so that I don't consume many more Calories & thus ruin a half of month of progress.

1 Instead of eating a couple packages of cookies, I'll eat a Honeydew melon & I don't cut the rind off, I eat it from the rind; so that it takes much longer to consume than cookies because I have to make sure that I don't eat part of the rind but also nibble every bit, from it as well. Since it takes longer to eat, I consume less of it; while I reach satiety.

2 I'll also eat thin spaghetti but also with vegetable spaghetti, to get a hint of the taste but without the Calories.

3 Instead of making tacos/fajitas with tortillas, I'll use lettuce (this can get messy but I always say that "If it isn't messy, it isn't food.") or just make it a taco/fajita salad instead but break up only a quarter of a tortilla & use as a topping instead of a base. Again so that you get a hint of the taste but without the Calories.

4 East a potato or corn because they're starches.

I don't eat anymore than 2 of these items a day, to save my Calories.

DeguelloTex wrote: »

My experience is that I apparently know stuff about periods that a big chunk of women don't. Which is mind-boggling to me.

Lol.

To be fair, I've just learned stuff now that I weigh myself daily that I didn't know before, such as I also gain and lose a few pounds around ovulation.

DeguelloTex wrote: »

My experience is that I apparently know stuff about periods that a big chunk of women don't. Which is mind-boggling to me.

The sad part is that this may be true.

We're not taught nearly enough about our own bodies and menstrual cycles growing up. Try hanging out on a "trying to get pregnant" website sometime. It's really depressing to see how little most women (and a lot of doctors) really know about our A&P.

The only reason I know anything is because I took it upon myself to educate myself. Most people don't.

SingRunTing wrote: »

Geege29 wrote: »

I carry at least 5 extra pounds, and that's with being on a diuretic! I'm also beyond starving the entire week, I could basically live on chocolate dipped salt if I succumb to the cravings.

My doc said the cravings are your body trying to store calories in case you get pregnant, like THAT makes me feel any better about it! Don't beat yourself up, it's biology.

That's BS. By the time you miss your period, you're already 4 (ish) weeks pregnant (pregnancy "counting" starts two weeks before you ovulate, in case anyone didn't know). The embryo would have already implanted into the uterus wall, a full week before your period. Your body already would already be producing HCG if you were pregnant. It doesn't need your period to come to tell itself whether its pregnant.

Sure, but what does account for the increased appetite? I'm looking for something more technical than "because hormones" or this:

http://www.thewellpath.com/news/why-do-i-get-so-hungry-before-and-during-my-period/

The reason for this increase in hunger is simple. Your body uses more calories during the time right before and in some cases during your period. This increase in calories makes your body burn more calories during this time, and as the calories as burning you’re going to feel hungry more often.

...As you lay in your bed doing nothing at all, your body is burning up fuel, or calories, keeping your digestive system working, helping your heart beat and all of the other wonderful things that happen inside us that we don’t have to think about on a daily basis. Every thirty days or so, the systems in your body pick up another task.

With the menstrual cycle, the week of your period makes your body do some extra work. This extra work burns more calories and your BMR actually goes up. In some women, the week of your period can make you burn up to fifteen percent more calories, and you haven’t changed a single thing about your lifestyle! To get the calories it needs, your body sends a message to your brain telling you you’re hungry more often. Since you’re feeling hungry, you eat.

This is a tricky week for women who are paying close attention to their figures, however. Being extra hungry often means you are compelled to eat. The additional symptoms of this week make eating even more enjoyable. I mean, really – if you’re sitting in sweat pants already watching weepy movies, wouldn’t it taste better with a pint of ice cream?

The trouble is, you may feel hungrier, but the extra calorie burning can be a bit deceptive. Your body is burning some extra calories, but only about 100 to 300 per day, and only for a few days at a time. Sadly, 100 calories is the same as one of those tiny snack packs you can put in your lunch while you’re dieting. At most, you can enjoy a candy bar for close to 300. A pint of ice cream is easily 500 to almost 1,000 calories at a time – it’s not justified by period calorie burn.

amzhun wrote: »

hey all, I know everyone is different.... I have weighed today and put 1.5 on since last week

After beating myself up for a few hours I have come on...

What are your experiences?

Don't beat yourself up the body or at least my body goes through so many changes during that period. 1.6 is not bad and it will fall off. I just had my TOM pass for the first time while on mfp & I was scared because my cravings are out of this world right before I start. I HAVE to have it, if I want it and most times that is chocolate or ice cream. So I try to find alternative lower cal to what I like. I ended up having a lost my first week on mfp having TOM, but I know that will not always be the case. My cravings are so bad I feel like I literally have a monkey on my back, also my emotions are everywhere which can trigger eating. This is a great thread, because I know I feel like I get put through the ringer during this time.

SingRunTing wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

SingRunTing wrote: »

Geege29 wrote: »

I carry at least 5 extra pounds, and that's with being on a diuretic! I'm also beyond starving the entire week, I could basically live on chocolate dipped salt if I succumb to the cravings.

My doc said the cravings are your body trying to store calories in case you get pregnant, like THAT makes me feel any better about it! Don't beat yourself up, it's biology.

That's BS. By the time you miss your period, you're already 4 (ish) weeks pregnant (pregnancy "counting" starts two weeks before you ovulate, in case anyone didn't know). The embryo would have already implanted into the uterus wall, a full week before your period. Your body already would already be producing HCG if you were pregnant. It doesn't need your period to come to tell itself whether its pregnant.

Sure, but what does account for the increased appetite? I'm looking for something more technical than "because hormones" or this:

http://www.thewellpath.com/news/why-do-i-get-so-hungry-before-and-during-my-period/

The reason for this increase in hunger is simple. Your body uses more calories during the time right before and in some cases during your period. This increase in calories makes your body burn more calories during this time, and as the calories as burning you’re going to feel hungry more often.

...As you lay in your bed doing nothing at all, your body is burning up fuel, or calories, keeping your digestive system working, helping your heart beat and all of the other wonderful things that happen inside us that we don’t have to think about on a daily basis. Every thirty days or so, the systems in your body pick up another task.

With the menstrual cycle, the week of your period makes your body do some extra work. This extra work burns more calories and your BMR actually goes up. In some women, the week of your period can make you burn up to fifteen percent more calories, and you haven’t changed a single thing about your lifestyle! To get the calories it needs, your body sends a message to your brain telling you you’re hungry more often. Since you’re feeling hungry, you eat.

This is a tricky week for women who are paying close attention to their figures, however. Being extra hungry often means you are compelled to eat. The additional symptoms of this week make eating even more enjoyable. I mean, really – if you’re sitting in sweat pants already watching weepy movies, wouldn’t it taste better with a pint of ice cream?

The trouble is, you may feel hungrier, but the extra calorie burning can be a bit deceptive. Your body is burning some extra calories, but only about 100 to 300 per day, and only for a few days at a time. Sadly, 100 calories is the same as one of those tiny snack packs you can put in your lunch while you’re dieting. At most, you can enjoy a candy bar for close to 300. A pint of ice cream is easily 500 to almost 1,000 calories at a time – it’s not justified by period calorie burn.

I'm not saying you don't burn more. I'm usually STARVING when I PMS the week before my period. But its not because your body doesn't know whether or not its pregnant. That's my point.

I got your point

My question is what IS the cause of the increased hunger. I'm looking for an answer more comprehensive than "because hormones."

I gain up to 3 pounds 1-2 weeks before my period, and lose it all (and more if I'm at a deficit) the week after.