Menstruation & Weight Loss

kdavid1987
kdavid1987 Posts: 107 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all, I know that women can have their weight fluctuate quite a bit from their menstrual cycle. Last week I maintained my weight at 175.6 lbs and I was super upset about it. This week I weighed in at 173 lbs, so I feel like I probably maintained due to my period last week (I was PMSing and then started last week). Although I am happy to see the number go down I am having a hard time trusting it after last week. Anyone else have this issue? How long until you felt like you were able to accurately ascertain your "true weight"?

Just for reference:
29 year old female, 5'5
SW: 202 lbs
CW: 173 lbs (I think...)
GW: 150 lbs

Replies

  • kokonani
    kokonani Posts: 507 Member
    It's normal to go up or stall during menstruation. Water retention.
  • kdavid1987
    kdavid1987 Posts: 107 Member
    My clothes are already too loose LOL. I just want to stay on track. It's frustrating not to be able to trust what the scale is telling me. That week threw me off psychologically, although I'm sticking with my meal prep and work out routine.
  • kdavid1987
    kdavid1987 Posts: 107 Member
    @Maxematics I do think part of my issue is that I never tracked it before (because I was so overweight and not committed to losing) so even though I am almost 30 this is the first time I ever noticed! I feel you about the whole thing messing with you.
  • MommaGem2017
    MommaGem2017 Posts: 405 Member
    It's currently messing with me right now. I am so bloated I FEEL 5 lb heavier :(
  • AngieC1994
    AngieC1994 Posts: 10 Member
    I was 157 on Monday, weighed myself yesterday and I was 159, I was soooo confused how I gained 2 pounds over one day! Then I got my period and it all made sense....
  • kdavid1987
    kdavid1987 Posts: 107 Member
    Thanks for the insight ladies, I do appreciate it. It makes me feel a bit better knowing other women have this struggle!
  • Sashslay
    Sashslay Posts: 136 Member
    Shark week here too! I weigh in kilos and I'm up 1.5kg from my weight on Monday. I'm trying not to freak out though, I know it's probably water retention.
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
    If you don't have one already, use a weight trending app like Happy Scale (for iPhones) and Libra (for Android). Then you can just see the trend of that graph going down and feel good about it instead of focusing on the day to day fluctuations.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I gain at ovulation and right before my TOM. Because of this (and because Lyle McDonald said to) I compare myself to last month, not last week.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6846ZTBu08k&index=4&list=PLUXvX9BaxgqG9yO5XWB3gA_QshvrrcjVr
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    Yup. Same crazy scale issues for me. Last week I weighed 8lbs more. As of today 1lb of that may be weight loss. The water weight try's to mess with my head every month.
  • zjpq
    zjpq Posts: 198 Member
    Yes, I gain a couple lbs the day or so before it starts and can't depend on getting an accurate weight until about a week later. It really throws a spanner in the works (never mind the cravings and trying to have self control when you feel crazy lol)
  • brentleyann1
    brentleyann1 Posts: 37 Member
    I gained .5 lb but my clothes acted like I gained 10. I'm in sweat pants because my lose clothes don't fit right. Uterus(es?) suck.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    TresaAswegan wrote: »
    I tend to not see much of a spike on the scale, but my weight always stalls for a good half of the month at least. Then I'll have a big drop all at once. Usually when I see a new "low" weigh in it is a true low. Only the high ones seem not to be trusted haha.

    This! Serious dehydration is the only thing that would make my scale weight artificially low. And I'm not at risk for that. There are lots of water retention causes that can inflate my scale weight. So I trust the lows!

    For a long time I tracked 7-day rolling average in a cut (and 28-day rolling in maintenance to net out TOM fluctuations). Then I saw a MFP comment re: 10-day low. That makes so much sense to me! Since switching to that, my TDEE calculations are much less variable.
  • annaclose123
    annaclose123 Posts: 16 Member
    Legit only clocked on to how much I gain the days before my period! I gained 4 pounds last month and once my period slowed close to an end I was back down, 5 pounds! So although I had lost a pound, I have gained 4 pounds of water weight during. This month, I think I'll avoid the scales! Haha :wink:
  • pennygm72
    pennygm72 Posts: 179 Member
    Perimenopausal here, I go through TOM every 10 days roughly, the water weight gain still sometimes gets to me despite knowing full well what is causing it. I also use Happy Scale and a quick look back reassures me that everything is still on track :)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,716 Member
    Two helpful threads: :)

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10359984/women-menstrual-cycle-weight-and-fitness-matters#latest

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10482404/is-it-over-yet-the-perimenopause-thread#latest
  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,256 Member
    I gain up to 7 lb before TOM. But looking back at my weight trend reassures me. I just tell myself that my weight for that week isn't 'real', and once I drop weight after TOM I know where I actually am.
  • kdavid1987
    kdavid1987 Posts: 107 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Two helpful threads: :)

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10359984/women-menstrual-cycle-weight-and-fitness-matters#latest

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10482404/is-it-over-yet-the-perimenopause-thread#latest

    Thanks! I will check them out :)
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    edited July 2017
    Chances are you didn't maintain last week you were probably losing fat but retaining more water, this week you got a double hit since the excess water weight came off too from last week, my weight graph always creeps up a bit or stays stable for a week or two then goes down faster for 2 or 3 weeks. You get used to the patterns :)
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    I don't understand what you mean by "trusting" the weight loss. It doesn't matter to me what the scale says. I just keep plugging along and stay consistent. If the weight goes up a little, it goes up and I keep working on shedding it. If it goes down and stays down then yay! Either way I just keep going.
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