Losing weight and menstrual cramps

I don't think changes so recently should have caused you issues, maybe if it had been a few weeks and your body had adjusted to changes. Sometimes I have them, sometimes not so much (as long as I stay on my pills) it just seems to be luck of the draw as to how my body feels like torturing me. This month it was food cravings, last month it was back ache and sporadic cramps. Our bodies are jerks.

I was wondering about this today. this month is horribly crampy and i have been losing weight and following the program for over a month now.

I have had the opposite...as I have lost weight (72# in all), my cramps have gotten MUCH better each month.

augustremulous wrote: »

On Thursday I began a new effort to lose weight, and jumped right into logging my food and limiting my caloric intake. The quality of my food hasn't changed at all - just the timing and portions.

Today, I have menstrual cramps for the first time in years. I have always been proud of the fact that I have a healthy, painless period. I attributed it to mostly luck, but also maybe the fact that I eat a lot of omega 3 fatty acids and never consume dairy with hormones. Sometimes I have a smidgen of something at the beginning of my period, but 200 mg of ibuprofen is enough to knock it out.

Today, I have bad cramps - for the first time in years! Along with really bad bloating, which is also rare for me.

Anyone else have an experience with this or any idea what could be causing this?

So glad you asked this! I'm a little over a month in (& things are going well), but I experienced the same thing this time.

I normally have mild discomfort/cramping the first day or two. (Nothing Advil can't manage.) But this time, wowza! I was miserable! Major back pain ALL day long day one, that Advil, heating pad, stretches...nothing helped. Then the cramping that got so intense that night, it woke me up (& kept me up for a couple hours) in the middle of the night. Day two has been more back to my norm but I couldn't help but wonder the same thing as you... If the weight loss could have contributed to the change??

Thankfully, I go for my annual physical later this month so I plan to check in with my doctor about this then.

Age also has a lot to do with changes in pain. I found that my PMDD is getting worse as I get older, things really got bad after I turned 30. Higher fat also messes with your hormones, especially estrogen. I didn't start getting hot flashes with my period or at night until I was at my heaviest weight. Since I'm down almost 20lbs from there I haven't had as many. As far as working out goes, whoever said it helps cramps was a dirty liar. Mine are worse when I move, but I also have endo. I have noticed it has gotten about 50% better as I've worked out regularly and lost weight, with the occasional bedridden half week rather than every week. No more narcotics and muscle relaxers though! Now it's only Advil. YAYYY.

I think it's all hormones in the end. I've had a lot of different experiences. Highschool, I didn't suffer much. University (gained a bunch of weight, went on birth control), had 1-2 days of cramping each month that were fairly painful, though I've never been one to take painkillers for them. Had my first baby, and the cramps returned, but were diminished. Had my second baby and have lost 35lb, and I barely have any cramps now. Maybe just a few twinges on the first day. I eat a pretty standard North American diet, and while I certainly eat better now than I used to, it's the amount of food that has varied mostly, not the type (so I don't really see the OP's possible link between hormone free dairy and cramping).

Thankfully, for me exercise has always helped. Whether I actually felt less pain or was just distracted from it is another matter entirely, but I didn't really care