Ok men...time to close your eyes and ears....women help!

Just tough it out. My wife does Weight Watchers and I usually get to be the voice of reason when she has a weigh in at "that time".

She's typically 2-3 lbs heavier than her "real" weight.

She almost always goes back the next week with a 3-4 lb weight loss though (usually for a net of about 2 lbs lost).

Though I am relatively new to this (I signed up in Feb but only started taking it serious a few weeks ago) my plan is to only weigh in one a month. Heck, I gained all this weight because I want watching the scale so I figure it will seemingly come off "faster" if I don't watch the scale this will also stop me from getting unmotivated on those bloated days. Hope this helps!

Oh also I forgot to say, if you lower your sodium/salt intake that should definitely help with water retention/swelling.

Okay, I can empathize with you.

Here are some things you can do to help get rid of some bloat! Take a vitamin B complex supplement. It is great for energy as well as a natural diuretic, I take a B complex supplement as well as sublingual b12 tablets every day.

Next, when I really get to retaining water I have a little drink concoction that I drink for a week or so. Every morning and evening I will heat up a coffee cup of water and add 2-4tbs of 100% lemon juice to it and drink up. You will want it while its hot because it gets progressively nastier the cooler it gets. To help with the taste I like to use some Truvia (made from the natural no calorie plant Stevia) to sweeten it up, or a small dollop of honey. That is guaranteed to help you flush water out.

In combination with lemon water I drink 100% cranberry juice (about 2tbs mixed with every 32oz of water) and it too is nasty so I definitely throw Truvia in it. Or dried stevia leaves, but I have my own little plant in my house.

Just be sure that if you are using natural diuretics (like asparagus, caffeine, b vitamins, lemon, etc) that you keep up with drinking your required amount of water so you don't dehydrate yourself!

Those are my tips and I use them often when I am retaining water. Also, as I am sure you know, limit your sodium intake near your menstrual cycle to help with water retention.


***edit*** I was retaining water (around 8lbs at a time) near my period and I actually had to go to my Dr. for it. She said that taking ibuprofen in large quantities *which I was for cramping* will also cause water retention in some people. So, she put me on furosemide short term and had me alternating my ibuprofen with tylenol.

Hope that helps!

I don't usually have a lot of issues when my aunt ruby is in town. EXCEPT water retention - there have been times I have held 8 to 10 lbs for that week!

What I finally found that worked is green tea. I take one bag of Tazo Zen green tea ( green tea, lemongrass, spearmint, perfectly blended and sold in most grocery stores and Starbucks - you can also buy a BIG one at sbux if you're looking for a nice refreshing drink) and throw it in my waterbottle each morning for the preceeding week and first few days. Then just leave it in all day and drink it. You might have to fill the waterbottle more before it's empty to keep the tea from getting too strong as it warms up outside the fridge. But I swear by that stuff.
It has helped tremendously with the usual discomfort that comes along with bloating and water retention. Except it will probably result in more trips to the bathroom.
I personally prefer it without sweetener, but I think that miiight be a slightly acquired taste. If I buy one at sbux I usually get the biggest size, without water. (They brew the tea double strength and then dilute it halfway before they serve it to you)

I also drink lots of water, and try not to eat a lot of salt - which is really hard for me as I am a huge fan of savory things.

[EDIT] I'm also dreading my weigh in this week for the same reason! I want some numbers on my ticker!

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I haven't done my official weigh in for this week because when I peek (which is in the evening - I only do my official weigh in in the morning) I have gained back at least 4 lbs. but it's also that freakin lovely time of the month. WHY!!!!!! WHY!!! must my body do this! For the first time since my daughter was born I am having swelling in my ankles. I have been downing water like a fish but my ankles are still so swollen!!! Does anyone have any advice as to how to make this better to prevent next month?

If you eat 1 mg of sodium eat 3 mg of potassium this will help greatly !!!

More min B and less caffeine and sodium when TOM visits! Worked wonders for me, my weight doesnt go up anymore..used to gain about 5 lbs.

I stay away from salt and chew a pinch of fresh parsley leaves when I retain water during my periods. Parsley is a natural diuretic and it works pretty well for me.

I have the same problem right now! I actually came on here looking for insight. I've gained 6 pounds since Sunday, my hands are so swollen that I can't see my knuckles, my ankles have this giant bubble under them about the size of a ping pong ball (i can push it in at least 1/2"). My girls are also extremely sore/swollen. My sodium is about 2100/day (last week's average) and I drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. I have tried coffee, tea, lemon water, asparagus, small quantity of alcohol, and walking and I still can't let anything go. It's so frustrating! I am getting really discouraged as this hasn't happened before (this is my third cycle since losing weight) and I normally only gain 2-3 pounds a day or two before. I'll try the B vitamins. Sorry to hijack, but I didn't want to start a new thread.

I'd talk to my doctor, if I were you. I swear by furosemide or hydrochlorothiazide to be used for short term relief if you are retaining that much water due to your cycle.

So it's almost certainly water retention, but if that higher number on the scale is enough to inspire you to work out that much harder or stick to your calories and macro ratio that much better, that'll still be burning fat. SO just think about how the scale will probably be lower than ever once the time has passed and the water weight goes away :]