Ladies only: time of the month + weight

My period doesn't effect my weight at all. I lose 2lb every week even the week of my period, the week before and after, and considering I have a period every 21 days I only really have 1 week off so to speak, so it's a good job it doesn't interfere with my weight.

During the follicular phase I usually stay steady or drop a pound or so, not much (this is ok because I'm maintaining for the most part but still eat a slight deficit and don't log super-carefully as I did when losing). Very high energy.

During ovulation I stay steady too, not up or down usually in weight. A few cravings during this time too, but not at any other time in my cycle. Also VERY energetic and active during this phase. I'll come home from work and eat dinner, clean house, have sex with my husband and then still want to walk several miles for exercise after that.

During my luteal phase, despite some low energy days (not wanting to do much of anything but relax after work) I do seem to have the higher metabolism that some studies have shown...my weight drops every month between 2-5 lb and even when I eat a lot more during that phase I don't gain, in fact I rarely even see sodium reflected in my weight during that week which is kind of nice but can put me in a false sense of security. Clothes look great on me during that week! I wish it could last 3 weeks, haha. I often try to time vacations with this phase and it really works. Zero weight gain.

Then as soon as my actual menstruating begins, ugh. A little bit of bloat usually and sometimes up by 1-2 lb during that time. My energy is a little higher than during the luteal phase, but I am grumpier and more sensitive until the menstruating ends.

As far as I can tell, since I don’t track temperature and therefore can’t be certain about when I ovulate, I start retaining water sometime near the start of the luteal phase. During or after my period, I lose 4-5lb in water weight in about a day. Yes, yes I do spend a lot of that day in the bathroom...

Timings can vary based on stress or illness. I’m currently very bitter, since illness meant I held onto the water longer than usual after my last period, and this cycle I seem to have ovulated early, meaning I only got one week this month when I WASN’T retainng water!

Period-related weight gain is temporary water retention and nothing to be concerned with. The only reason to be aware of it is so that women don't freak out that they're packing on pounds of fat.

I don't find it really affects my weight that much. Sometimes I will stay the same or go up half a pound, but then lose a chunk a few days into my period. My net trend by the end of the period is that I have lost weight overall. My resting heart rate goes up 5-10 beats per minute in the 5 days leading up to cycle start, so it seems my metabolism revs up a bit and gives me a bit of a boost most months.

I drink a LOT of water each day so I typically don't get much fluid retention over all.