Probably for the women only!

Alright here's a question for you ladies. On Friday I weighed myself before going to bed - after a full day of eating normally. I weighed in at 290. I weiged in again this morning and it was 295. That seems like a huge weight gain for 3 days when I wasn't eating any differently and my activity was actually increased. Now I'm getting ready to start my menstrual cycle and I always retain water and am bloated. But doesn't five lbs seem excessive? Please help, info needed lol

Tue. Sep 5, 12:58pm

According to my doctor, up to 8 lbs of water weight gain is considered normal. And I definitely do go up to that limit some months.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006, 1:03 PM

Yes that is normal for me to gain 3-5 lbs around that time.Just keep doing things right it will go down.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006, 1:11 PM

5 pounds is not unusual at all for water retention at 'that time'. That's about what I retain (give or take a pound) and so do most of my friends. It always goes away and I figure I should be used to it by now, but it's always rather depressing even though I know what it is.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006, 1:20 PM

I don't mean this in a cruel way, but maybe you retain more water than most because of your size. I know 1-3 lbs is the norm, but there's more to you. I'll bet that as you shrink, the amount of PMS weight your body gains decreases. At 230 lbs I gained 3-4 lbs on average and at 180 it's more like 2 (but it feels like 20!). Having said that, I know that even skinny women can gain 7-8 lbs during a particularly bad period.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006, 2:03 PM

a couple more considerations.....

Something else to pay attention to is your intake of salty and starchy foods. Your body carefully regulates the concentration of salt within you and if you eat lots of salt it will retain water so it can dilute it. Also your body requires more water to digest starchy foods, so if you have recently eaten a lot of foods that are quite starchy you will also retain water. Those factors coming into play at 'that time' can bump up the amount of water retained by several pounds. Salty foods are my downfall.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006, 9:16 PM

I usually gain up to 5 pounds at that time of month. I can also gain 3 to 4 pounds over night if I ate to much salt or if I didn't drink enough. So I would freak out about it. I'm sure you've noticed this weight gain around this time of the month before?

Tuesday, September 5, 2006, 9:26 PM

And don't forget - Exercise can cause weight gain!

Your body will retain a lot of water after a particularly hard workout. Either weight training or cardio. After a 4-5 hour bike ride, I can gain 5# overnight, easy.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006, 9:50 PM

salt

I'm the 1:03 poster with the 8-pound gain. I usually can't tolerate salt and don't cook with it. But in the few days before my period, I CRAVE it. I will lick it off chips and pretzels. Anything to get SALT.

Now, I know that the salt is what allows my body to hold on to the extra gallon of water for a few days. But the fact that I do crave it (esp. b/c I can't stand it the rest ot the month) suggests to me that salt is not my "downfall," but a biological need -- and that the temporary water gain is a natural part of my cycle that my body must need in some way.

So, although I feel heavy and clumsy for a few days, I don't freak out about the water. It and the salt craving always go away in 3-4 days.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006, 10:46 PM

Thanks everyone, I feel much better now about it. Someone mentioned I might be retaining more water because of my size and I'd say that makes sense in a way also. There's more of me...so there's more water to retain. It does make a certain amount of sense.

I appreciate all the feedback; I'll just look forward to dropping it at the end of my cycle.

Wednesday, September 6, 2006, 11:49 AM

I don't know sometimes the scale drives me nuts1 I think if you log ue what you eat everyday. Drink alot of water( it will keep you from retaining water) you might be better off. My weight goes up and down like crazy. I think I will realize when i am at my goal!

Wednesday, September 6, 2006, 6:34 PM

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