TOM is almost upon me, which means that I'm going to be retaining some water. I'm doing a daily weigh-in, but I don't want to get discouraged by seeing the scale sniggle up a little. Thoughts, advice, encouragement?

Actually, I'm already retaining water. >_< I've got like almost a pound of water bloat on me. GAH.

Ugh I know how you feel. I got my TOM just when I was a couple pounds away from hitting onederland...Just hang in there, it will be over before you know it and the weight will start dropping off.

I just went through this and I just avoided the scale until I didn't *feel* bloated anymore. Once I got back on the scale this Monday I hadn't gained or lost and the week after TOM is traditionally a huge week for me and as of today I'm down 3lbs already! For what it's worth though I did have a 2 week stall before TOM.

I am in the same boat with TOM arriving in a couple days. I really hate that guy LOL. The junk food cravings are the worst! I used to weigh daily even during TOM but I decided to stop weighing for that week and a half time which is usually three days of PMS and a solid week (sometimes more) of TOM. I work out hard during that time and I am always happy to see a drop after which is kind of like a little reward for all the nastiness. If it bothers you to see the bloat on the scale, I really suggest not weighing as you probably won't see a loss even if you have one

I'm so excited that ya'll are talking about this because I can be doing so great and then PMS hits and I feel like the cravings and hunger take over so powerfully. If there is any advice that ya'll can give to get through that time I would greatly appreciate it!

I don't have insane cravings, but that's probably because I give my tastebuds variety during the day. Today I had a nutty-tasting cereal for breakfast, for lunch some turkey, watermelon, some chopped veggies, and a South Beach S'Mores Bar. For dinner, I'm having Halibut (**SUPERFOOD**), vegetables, and some sweet potato. Then I usually have a little weight watchers ice cream cup to end my evening. Either way, variety is good and helps me keep the cravings at bay!

I don't step anywhere near a scale when its my TOM. In fact, I avoid it for the whole week its going just to be safe.

IMO, you've already acknowledged that you KNOW the water weight is coming...so if you choose to step on the scale every day, then just remember that you're still OP and it's just that dang TOM bloat!! OR, just stay away from the scale until it's over

I'm also in the same boat...but I know it's TOM bloat and I'm not gonna freak when the #'s go up for no apparent reason in the next day or so

Thanks for this post I can relate too, but my weight tends to drop just before TOM and goes up just as ends. Is this normal? I'm kinda freaking out!

I simply quit losing the whole week before my TOM starts. Actually, what's happening is I AM losing fat, but retaining water from hormones, so the loss doesn't show up on the scale.

I actually look forward to my TOM though because I always have a 2-3lb loss over a day or two. It's fun, lol.

I've experienced this too, and I'm nervous about it this month as Ive been doing so well for the first time ever (16 full days keeping at it, despite slips!)

One thing I read that I'm going to try and keep in mind is that we actually burn about 500 calories more per day during this period (ha) of our cycles because of all our bodies are going through. This explains why some of us feel so much hungrier. This means that we can either cut ourselves some slack and enjoy a few healthy snacks to keep us sane without doing any damage (so long as we don't go overboard) OR stick to our plan and exercise and ignore the scale and lose an extra pound (3500 calories) in exchange for a week of bad scale readings.

This knowledge helped cheer me up some

I just realized that I don't know if this is 100% accurate (obviously the number of calories burned per day wouldn't be the same for everyone, I don't know exactly which days in the cycle this is supposed to happen, etc) and I can't remember the dr whose article I read or I would link to it. Gr.

Anyway, I truly hope I'm sharing some truth and comfort and not misinformation.

Wow! I actually didn't know that. I've been sticking to my plan pretty well, and I got on this morning -- down to where I was the day before. Whoo!

Nice work!