My period puts me back to square one

[baubletits]

Posting as I'm feeling really despondent and desperate. I started strictly calorie counting in January, started going back to the gym 3 times a week and for over 3 months I really tried my best to stick to a healthier way of life.

In that time I lost 7lbs.

I would lose weight the first and second week, third week my period comes and typically I would gain maybe 3-4lbs (so back to my starting weight)

I know this isn't unusual for me so I didn't panic and just kept on doing what I was doing, expecting the period weight gain to be gone the next week (like it has done the other occasions I have lost weight long term)

Only this time the weight doesn't automatically go, the week after my period I've maybe lost 1lb if I'm lucky and then by the time I've lost the period weight gain it's back to my period again and I'm back to square one.

To make matters worse we've had massive upheaval at home due to not having a kitchen so my healthy eating and gym has gone out the window and I'm too afraid to weigh myself to see that I've gained it all back plus more.

I truly can't face the thought of this cycle again, but I don't know what to do because my knees hurt so much, none of my clothes fit, I'm the lowest mentally I've ever been and I feel lost.

How can I motivate myself to keep going when I feel like I'm making no progress?

Can I be honest ? 7 pounds I not enough for 3 months . Your diet doesn’t suit you . Have you tried keto or Atkins . I lost 65 pounds on Atkins and I’m now back doing keto as I’m getting married next year

Hi @Anonymous2025 I have done low carb before and lost weight but couldn't keep it up as a long-term lifestyle change because I found it too limiting on what I could eat. I drove myself crazy trying to get enough fat and the weight loss stalled. It's not something I'm keen to do again to be honest, I just wish I could eat like a normal person and have everything in moderation. (What I mean by normal person is not obsessing over the carb content of an onion and green pepper!)

Read “Fast like a girl” by Dr Mandy Pelz

Can you give some details around what you are eating and drinking and how much?

Also how much you need to lose? Height, current weight, age?

I lost a lot of weight through calorie counting, I find it frustrating when my period fluctuates my weight (I have heavy periods, we're talking 8lbs heavier some months!) but overall in my first three months I lost over a stone and a half.
Some things to consider:

• is your calorie deficit definitely right? Calculate it on the TDEE calculator rather than using any apps.
• are you tracking absolutely everything accurately? I weighed everything I ate for the first couple of months and I was so shocked, things like I would estimate 70 calories for mayo but when I weighed it I realised I was eating 200 calories of mayo.
• if you're working out more, you'll have gained muscle probably. I use smart scales (which are probably not accurate in measuring body fat % but..) I did notice that my muscle % was going up and fat % going down each week so that was motivating to keep carrying on in those months where I didn't lose so much weight.

Have you calculated your BMR and TDEE? What are your activity levels like? Do you have a desk job? What sort of step count do you get each day?
It's upping the little things that help - up your non-exercise calories by sitting on a Swiss ball instead of a desk chair, or standing if you can. Going for a 10 min walk every 2-3 hrs. Getting off a stop early on the bus, pacing while you're on a phone call, things like that. Up your gym from three to 5 days. Make sure you've got lots of strength in 3 sessions and do some HIIT (if you can) in all five sessions.

I agree with all of this but I never found time to work out more than 3 times a week.
I try to move for a couple of minutes every hour though and it's surprising how many steps you can get in over a day. I'll just wander around the kitchen while the kettle boils and again while the tea is brewing, or pace back and forth while on a (cameras off) meeting and it all adds up, and they're such small changes that they're easily sustained.

@baubletits Calorie deficit is what you need, you don't need to do Atkins, keto, low carb diets etc, none are sustainable long term.You need a calorie deficit , eat less and move more. You want to be aiming for a deficit of 3500 cals per week, or roughly 500 calories a day to lose 1lb of fat a week, which is a healthy amount to lose per week. So I'd aim for around 1200-1500 calories a day , which goes quite far if you are eating the right things.

My suggestion would be to look at your portion size and measurements. Download an app like my fitness pal or nutracheck so you can understand what is in the foods you are eating.

So the last time I weighed myself I was 111kg (I don't know what that is in stones - I switched to from stones and lbs because it has less of an emotional impact on me not knowing quite how much weight I've gained from my lightest)

MPF gave me a calorie target of 1770 (I haven't updated my weight on that in ages so it thinks I'm lighter than I am), the TDEE calculator says to maintain I need just over 2400 calories per day. I'm 34 and 5 ft 8.

I have a desk job so don't do as much walking as I know I need to, I'd say I average around 7,000 steps a day, some days it's a lot less and some days it's a lot more because I like to be out and about at the weekend (last weekend was nearly 30,000 steps)

I would like to go to the gym more, I really enjoy weights (not so much cardio) but I'm limited to the times I can go due to mine and DHs work and childcare. I go on the same 3 days every week to keep to my routine.

I try to be as accurate as I can with tracking my calories, whilst knowing that MFP isn't always accurate. I weigh everything I eat, even salad because I eat huge salads.

I'm not always perfect at staying below my calorie limit, but if I rarely go over it's by no more than around 100 calories.

Just so fed up of thinking about food and my weight constantly being on my mind. I tried in 2023 to lose weight (tried Slimpod for half a year, calorie counting) I'm just tired of it all now.

My fitness pal calorie allowances aren't usually accurate, and it encourages people to 'eat back' their exercise calories ime.
I would go on the tdee calculator, put light exercise in as your exercise level, and take it from there.
I was surprised how high my daily calorie allowance was with tdee, it was actually much higher than My Fitness Pal had suggested but the weight started dropping off once I started using TDEE and weighing my food (and checking the entry for the food in my calorie counting app matched the packaging).
I lost 3 stone a few years ago and other than a few lbs fluctuation around a holiday/Christmas, I have kept it off.
Do you wfh in your desk job? Could you get a walking treadmill if so?

I understand that I forgot to say during my period I always put in 4 or 5 pounds that take around 3 days to go after it stops . I think it’s just water retention and I find my period time very hard too

Sorry somehow completely missed the sentence about you having done the tdee calculator! If you're sticking to those calories and not losing much weight, I would try dropping 100 calories off it and seeing how that goes.

Another thought, have you seen the GP to rule out any issues that could be causing a slow metabolism?

Thanks @Tiiredofthiss, I work from home 2 days a week, unfortunately no room for a standing treadmill as my office is currently my livingroom armchair 😂

I've not been to the Dr, I suppose I'm scared that they won't take me seriously and will say that I'm not being honest with what I'm eating and will just suggest Slimming World or something like that. I hate being seen as a time waster!

Could you create a 'standing desk' set up with a laptop stand on a kitchen counter? Not the whole day but even an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon would help. I did this while redecorating my home office (a rather grand description of the box room) as I couldn't cope with being on the sofa all day, my "laptop stand" was a pile of cookbooks 😂. I found I was more inclined to get extra steps in if I was already standing.
The GP might be full of terrible advice but at the very least they can run bloods to check hormone levels and for deficiencies.