Stalling on period

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Does anyone else have any tips on how not to gain 7 pound every time my period happens?

I'm wondering if my sodium is too much during this time

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Drink plenty of water, don't worry about it too much, it'll come back down.

    If it bothers you so much, just don't weigh yourself when you're due to get your period.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,902 Member
    edited July 2016
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    Does anyone else have any tips on how not to gain 7 pound every time my period happens?

    I'm wondering if my sodium is too much during this time

    When my appetite spikes up premenstrually, I honor it and eat at maintenance for a few days. Most times I add a snack and have a slightly larger dinner, and/or a treat. If I use PMS as an excuse to #EatAllTheFood I will gain more than my normal few pounds. This month I decrease salt considerably and actually lost weight premenstrually, a first.

    @Francl27 has reactive hypoglycemia (?) premenstrually and needs to be very careful about carbs at this time in order to keep her appetite in check. (She'll correct me if I got any of that wrong.)
  • emmycantbemeeko
    emmycantbemeeko Posts: 303 Member
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    Drinking lots of water, remaining active, trying to avoid exceeding your calorie limits, and minimizing your salt and carb intake can help, but much of this "gain" is hormonally mediated and nothing is going to stop it completely. Unless you're blowing past your calorie goals all week, the "gain" doesn't represent fat but water retention, and it will correct itself after your period is over.

    Nobody is one stable weight all the time, and rapid gains and losses of several pounds of fluid from illness, trauma, surgery, and hormonal fluctuation are just part of being alive.

    I recently had surgery and between the fluids they gave me during the surgery, constipation from anesthesia and pain meds, decreased activity, and fluid retained by my tissues as they healed, I was up ten pounds from the day before surgery to the day after! I hadn't magically gained ten lbs of fat, though, and it dropped off over several days back to my normal weight.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    No. Not only do I gain but I look like crap before my period. I get all watery and lose muscle definition. I hate it. I might try keeping my carbs quite low this month and see if I can be lean looking for all 4 freaking weeks.
  • bunnyluv19
    bunnyluv19 Posts: 103 Member
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    I go on a low sodium diet when I start pms to keep water retention under control(2-3 lbs) if I don't I can easily retain (6-10 lbs) it's all about prevention for me b/c once the bloat comes on,drinking extra water won't help
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    It's lessened with losing weight, my tummy doesn't increase in size anywhere near as much as it did and I don't think my weight goes up quite as much but it is what it is. It's only water and comes back off again so I'd just learn to relax during that time about heat the scale says, it's not an accurate representation of your progress.
  • Annahbananas
    Annahbananas Posts: 284 Member
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    Thanks everyone!
  • lauraesh0384
    lauraesh0384 Posts: 463 Member
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    I keep my sodium in check (don't exceed the 2300mg) and I usually only gain 1-2 lbs. Also staying within your calories, drinking lots of water can help. I also try to stay as active as I can.
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    It's lessened with losing weight, my tummy doesn't increase in size anywhere near as much as it did and I don't think my weight goes up quite as much but it is what it is. It's only water and comes back off again so I'd just learn to relax during that time about heat the scale says, it's not an accurate representation of your progress.

    I'm the opposite when it comes to bloating. When I was at a higher weight, my tummy didn't expand nearly the same amount as it does not or at least it wasn't noticeable. I've found that, as I get into smaller pants sizes, even just a few lbs and some bloating during that time of the month can put me up an entire freakin' pants size. Eff that, yo.