[veracitarella]

how much do the women here tend to gain around their period?
i am a week or so away from getting my period and am not losing any more, may have even gained a pound. still sticking to small portions. frustrating.

thanks!

[ggmugsy]

I start gaining weight 7 - 9 days before my TOM starts. I'll gain .25 pounds per day until around 3 days before and then I'll jump up another 2 - 3 pounds. It's very normal for me to put on at least 3 pounds before I actually start my period. A couple of months ago I gained 7 pounds. It's the WORST thing about being a woman, IMHO.

I exercising and watch my sodium intake, but even in the best scenario when I'm sticking to my program and losing fat I gain 3 - 5 pounds.

It SUCKS!!!

[veracitarella]

do you then lose it as soon as your period arrives? or does it stick?
thanks so much for answering!

[ggmugsy]

Once my TOM FINALLY starts it takes a couple of days for me to lose the weight I gained. I'm 41 and it gets worse every year. I can hardly wait for menopause. I'd love to try YAZ or one of the new birth control pills, but I've never been able to tolerate them so my only alternative is one of the new copper IUD's or other internal device. My insurance won't cover it.

[amouse]

i gain 5-10 pounds with old aunty flow lol but its come off after i really believe it is water retention at that time

[zenor77]

I gain about 3 lbs before my period starts, but it all comes back off by the end of it. If I eat a lot of sodium, sugar, or caffeine right before it can be more then 3 lbs. Actually, my weight is at it's lowest (during the month) right after my period. I believe this has to do with the fact that your estrogen levels are lowest right after.

[ggmugsy]

I'd love to hear how you handle the emotional turmoil of the weight gain. Even though I expect it, it seems to derail me every month.

TIA!!!

[amy180]

3-5 for me too, and it's that time for me right now as well. Argh. Comes off pretty soon after, but I am quite bloated today. It's my fault for not watching my sodium this time, though, I think. I know that from scale-watching in the past, recently I just stay the heck away from scales during my TOM.

[veracitarella]

that's a great idea - not to weigh in right before tom! i wish i could stop weighing myself every morning but i work at home and the scale is always there.
thanks for all the responses.
i'll try to remember that it is normal every time it happens and not get so frustrated and despairing.

[Tamsie]

Anytime the scale is not cooperating, I remind myself that if I stay on-plan and keep doing what I'm supposed to be doing, that eventually my body has NO CHOICE but to let the weight go!

[lumifan4ever]

I gain about 3-5 pounds during TOM. I was very surprized when i was only up 1.5 pounds this morning. But usually by the time TOM is gone, I am back down to normal and usually one pound more gone. I am really hoping this is true this month too. I try to make sure i drink plenty of water to help continue to flush out any sodium that TOM tries to hold on to. And when I do see the scale up, I just remember all the things i've read about TOM. How our body is working so hard to clean itself up and how it holds onto more fluids to help this process. It helps me keep my head level in this stressful situation. But I do continue to get on the scale because it helps me to understand how my body is during this process. It took a few months of stepping on the scale during TOM to realize there is a pattern every month for my weight.

Just try to roll with it and don't change anything during this time. Like cutting more calories because you saw the scale go up a couple pounds. Just keep doing what you've been doing that works and when TOM is gone, you'll see that every thing is just fine.

[LynseyLikes2Lose]

I'm glad you asked this. I am going through a high weight right now and it has to be because of TOM. I do have an IUD so I don't get it but I still get some of the symptoms. I too was wondering how long it takes to get rid of all that water weight. Just my luck that it happens to be my weigh in at work Wed too. I hope it's gone by then!

[navywife022506]

I haven't had my period in a few months. I'm not pregnant, but I am not regular because of the weight that I have gained. I still gain a few pounds around the time that I would generally start and it's all water gain and bloating. It is generally gone within 2 weeks. It's normal and very common and it is also normal to get a bit more hungry during this time too. Just grab for the healthy foods and not the fatty foods.

[trekkiegirl]

I usually gain about 2 pounds. I've seen it go up by 4, but mostly, I've noticed it's been 2 lbs. I've also noticed in recent months that the cramping and overall bloated and "blah" feeling hasn't been as bad as it's been in the past and that sometimes the duration has been shorter than I expected and not as heavy. Maybe the change in weight and diet have had something to do with it.

[wisher]

I don't gain anything before or during TOM, usually keep right on losing *shrug*