That time of the month..
 

Does anyone have periods that REALLY mess up with your weight? Every period for the past ten months of weight loss has been terrible for me. I gain weight every time, and not water weight. Real weight that I have to re-lose. It gets so frustrating to make progress only to a step backwards every month.

Does anyone know a way to offset this? Are there certain types of food that will.. I don't know, speed up my metabolism? I don't know. I drink enough water, so I don't think that's my problem.

The only way you are gaining real weight is if you are eating more than you need. Are you binging/overeating during PMS? You'll need to stop that and continue eating on your plan no matter how bad you want to "cheat" or pig out, (whatever you call a binge fest). Sometimes I think people use PMS/TOM as an excuse to overeat on sugar/carbs. Sure we crave it because of hormones and junk, but we don't have to eat it. We won;t die if we don't give into temptation. KWIM?

My TOM plays havoc on me because I get so hungry....much hungrier than I get during regular weeks.

If I fight the hunger (and mental cravings) then I can get through the TOM with barely a blip. If I give in, well... it's just not pretty.

I agree with Lori Bell.

I never cheat or binge. I stay eating within my calorie range and stay exercising. I have been dieting for almost a year now and have never felt compelled to eat anything I shouldn't.

TOM makes my weight loss journey ****! Its two weeks of the month that I cannot lose weight and I am grateful when I don't gain (but that takes a really strict diet of under 1200). I think the weight is just water though, but yes it feels like it takes a lot of work to get it off, as It does stay with me 2 weeks of hte month.

I do get intense cravings, but I know if i give in my weight flys up. I can gain between 6 and 11 pounds with TOM (no kidding, even the dr asked me to weigh every day to see what was going on)

I have the IUD Mirena, it makes my periods lighter, but I still get them some months, I have lost track of when i'm supposed to get them because of how sporatic they are now. I woke up this morning and was craving random things, that I don't normally and tonight I broke down and had two ribs, (normally i'm not a huge fan of meat), and lo and behold its because Aunt Flow was heading into town. Because i've been tracking calories and actually listening to my bodies hunger cues, i was able to stop what could have been a huge setback in my progress. Crazy how TOM can affect stuff!!!

I have definitely gained during TOM. It's all water weight, I know, as I don't eat differently and I still exercise (unless my cramps are excruciating - which they sometimes are). It's frustrating regardless, though, and I'm sorry it has been an ongoing struggle for you.

At present I've had TOM for 2 full weeks, and over the past couple months my cycle has been only ~20 days. BC of any sort isn't an option, as I'm trying to conceive, but I'm nearing my wits end with the crying, the over-sensitivity, the breakouts, the jumps and stalls on the scale, etc.

For me, TOM my weight loss totally stalls and my weight starts creeping up again. I tend to have a gain of a few pounds that sheds off a day or two after TOM ends. I have gained as much as 8 pounds before. It always looks like I am gaining so I don't actually count my weight as being true until a day or two after so I don't demotivate myself. It's just one of those times you gotta hang on tight!

PMS kills me. The week and a half before my period I want to eat everything in sight and I hold onto water like crazy. Then I have a small woosh a couple days before my period, then I pretty much hold steady until it's gone. While I actually have it, I'm really not that hungry. Once it's gone, it's woosh city for a couple of weeks.