I have been searching for answers and though a poll would be a great way to gather all of our answers in one place. I was down 10 pounds on day 12. TOM is supposed to visit me in another 2 days and I have seen the scales go up 2 pounds so far (no cheats whatsoever)

How does TOM (Time of the month for those of you who arent familiar with the acrostic) affect your weight loss? I set up a poll...please add any comments or advice that you feel might help others who are discouraged when they gain a little during TOM. lol, I grew up calling it "aunt Flo"

Two weeks before, I feel the thinnest I've ever felt before and usually lose 1-2.

Then, the week of, I usually gain 1-3 (I selected 1-2 in the poll) and it doesn't show that gone for at least a week. I chug a lot of water in this time and try to remain positive. That's the hurdle for me when I show any gain: making sure I don't use it as an excuse to go back to eating poorly!

I gain a lot during but luckily it comes right off afterwards. I'm like jenne, I try to drink a lot of water, do a little exercise and remain OP and positive. Luckily with SBD I don't have as bad of cravings as I used to during TOM!

The way I know it's upon me, aside from the calendar, is that on the day before it happens, I'm in one of my blackest moods ever. Everything is wrong & will always be wrong. Life just seems irreparably broken. All my efforts at keeping my head above water -- let alone self-improvement -- are futile & will never come to anything. And this is when the fluid retention starts, during that exact day, which feels like the worst day of my life.

The next day, I'm up three pounds (usually -- I only weigh on Fridays, and can't tell otherwise) but my mind has cleared.

It seems to take forever for those three pounds to wear off. But this is in keeping with what my periods are like. Since I lost so much weight, and I'm probably approaching or already in permenopause, my periods are lighter but more drawn-out. They're unrecognizable from what they were before 2007, when I was at my highest weight.

I've said before, I feel like I'm always recovering from TOM, or feeling the premonitory signs of it, so it's like, when am I NOT affected by it? Never, I suppose. It's part of being a female animal.

Oh, and I deal with it by doing exactly what I always do, except with more Advil on the first day or two, when I'm inclined to get cramps. Not much different. I don't drink any more or less fluid.

I have PCOS, so I get to kind of control when my periods happen. I take Provera for the week before (which brings on the most horrible PMS ever), and then the week after I have my period. The Provera makes me bloat and so does my TOM, but if I time it correctly then I'm over the Provera bloat in time for my Monday WI, and then my period is done by the next Monday. Ah, science!

However, when/if my cycles return to normal after I lose weight, I'd imagine it will be a 1-2 pound gain. That's what it used to be back when I was in college.

I honestly just started weighing myself really closely so not too sure.

I gain 3-5 pounds when I ovulate AND when I get my period. My weight is pretty much only accurate two weeks out of the month.

By the way, my husband's name is Tom and I always think it's funny to see that acronym.

I'm finding that the older I get the more this affects the scale. I've been blessed and always just sailed through my cycle without much inconvenience or discomfort. The past few years have been different though and now that I'm in my 50's I'm finally understanding what those Pamprin commercials are really talking about.

I can't really say that it affects my weight loss though. My weight will be up a couple of pounds for a few days but then I'll wake up to a big loss so things even out.

thanks for all of the replies ladies (and for the correction on the acronym, not acrostic Kara..always get them mixed up!)

Heidi...we are similar in our weight..i'm 5'3" and also started my journey when I was 210lbs 4 years ago (actually much longer ago than that but I had a baby in 2005 and ended up weighing my heaviest ever afterwards). Congrats on being so close to your goal!

so far, I went from 157 to 159 and now i'm back at 157.8...tom will hopefully get here today or tomorrow. I'm very happy to see that the scale didnt go up again today.

Have a nice day everyone!

No problem. I live in Military World so I am smacked over the head daily with acronyms.

I was one that chose 1-2 lbs.

BUT, I must say, since starting SBD....I realized I don't have PMS cravings anymore. Did anyone else have that?

Nope. I still struggle with cravings the day before my period. But now that I know they're cravings and that they will subside even if I don't give in to them, they're easier to deal with. I usually drink tea instead. And then post here that I want chocolate chip cookies. LOL

Boy! I'm glad you said this! I never considered that ovulation could be linked to weigh gain. I noticed yesterday that I was ovulating, but my scale has been stuck or gaining a little (which makes me sad, because I'm on Phase 1 for the first time, so I'd expect the scale to be going down, not up).

I hope that's my problem and not something else