The body of any woman is akin to a flower: it needs proper and regular care, and a careful attitude is also required. Nevertheless, due to certain physiological processes, various changes can occur, among which there are less pleasant ones. For example, the appearance of extra pounds during the period of menstruation. For those girls who are trying to lose weight, this is a real nightmare. However, before you panic, you should understand why weight increases during menstruation? A question that deserves everyone's attention!
At the same time, it should be borne in mind that on the eve of menstruation, weight gain can reach up to 3 kg, which is considered normal. To get to the bottom, it’s worth diving into the physiology of the female body.
Pure water physiology
The menstrual cycle is completely subordinate to hormones, among which estrogen and progesterone play the main role. At different times, their concentration changes, which has a significant role in the metabolic process and the functionality of internal organs.
This cycle, as you know, runs monthly and is due to the fact that the woman’s body, regardless of her desire, begins to prepare for a potential pregnancy. Many young girls think about why they feel sick during their periods. The activity of hormones in such a critical period is also to blame.
Before the onset of menstruation, the amount of progesterone remains at a high level. The effect of hormones leads to a thickening of the inner wall of the genital organ (endometrium).
However, if, due to the absence of such conception, pregnancy has not occurred, the concentration of hormones begins to decrease. As a result, blood supply to the mucous membrane of the inner layer of the uterus ceases, and the endometrium is rejected. In this case, it is excreted through the genital tract.
In other words, the allocation is a mixture of complex composition:
- blood;
- slime;
- dead endometrial cells;
- particles of the vagina.
This physiological feature is bestowed by Mother Nature herself, and she has established the norm of the cycle of menstruation in women. As a rule, it is 28 days, which is far from all. A slight deviation of 1 week is allowed. That is, if the cycle lasts from 21 to 35 days, this is still considered the norm. Otherwise, you should consult a specialist for advice.
Each woman or girl transfers this process individually. For someone, menstruation is difficult, accompanied by pain in the genital area. And someone gets off with a slight weakness.
What could be the reason?
The reason for weight gain may lie in the internal processes of the female body during the menstrual cycle. No wonder this period was dubbed by many as “critical.” With the onset of these same, alarming days for some girls and women, the body is preparing for a possible pregnancy.
A change in the hormonal background occurs in the body, including the metabolic process. The increase in mass may be due to several factors, which will be discussed later.
Fluid retention in the body or what happens during menstruation
This is one of the main reasons for gaining extra pounds. We are already familiar with the influence of the hormone progesterone. In the period of the second phase of the cycle, its concentration begins to increase, due to the need for preparation for bearing a child. As a result of this, fat is deposited in the subcutaneous layer, which in turn leads to fluid retention. Ultimately, the weight of a woman before the menstruation itself can increase to 1.5-3 kg.
However, not only a high level of progesterone leads to an excess moisture content in the body, another hormone is connected here - aldosterone. As a result, water-salt metabolism is disrupted. This affects the manifestation of swelling of the legs, face, the appearance of bags under the eyes. In addition, the stomach increases.
In addition, due to an increase in progesterone, immunity is weakened. For this reason, before the onset of menstruation, existing diseases that are in a chronic stage may worsen. That is, the resistance of the female body decreases markedly.
What happens during menstruation with PMS?
This reason should also not be discounted. There are several varieties of premenstrual syndrome, which are characterized by their own clinical picture. In 45% of cases, an edematous form of PMS can be diagnosed.
This is usually accompanied by the following manifestations:
- headache;
- swelling of the body;
- itchy skin;
- flatulence;
- increased odor sensitivity
- nausea
- swelling and tenderness of the mammary glands;
- joint pain;
- sleep disturbance;
- weight gain.
Moreover, the edematous form is in third place in terms of prevalence. Moreover, in most cases, this syndrome affects mainly young girls. As for women of mature age and women in the premenopausal period, their cyclic symptom complex affects to a lesser extent.
Many representatives of the fair sex on the eve of critical days may experience negative diuresis, which is due to the fact that fluid retention occurs within 500-700 ml.
This condition during menstruation in women is expressed by swelling of the hands, feet, face, eyelids, and a pronounced one. In some cases, urination is not impaired, but redistribution of fluid may occur in the body, which ends in the development of swelling.
Anemia
This ailment affects many women and even young girls who exhaust themselves with rigid unbalanced diets. As a result, hemoglobin levels are markedly reduced. But in the period of menstruation, the female body loses up to 30 mg of iron daily.
Often with anemia, a woman wakes up a strong appetite - the body lets you know about its natural needs. And again, it’s quite difficult to avoid overeating here. And if you do not control yourself, then excess weight can seriously lag behind normal rates.
Features of digestion during the menstrual cycle
Before the onset of menstruation in a woman's body, the concentration of progesterone increases (this is already familiar to us). However, not everyone understands how it affects digestion. And here lies another reason why weight increases during menstruation.
Due to the increase in hormone levels, the muscles of the genital organ begin to relax, which in turn puts pressure on the intestines. And this already leads to the accumulation of gases.
For this reason, the tummy begins to grow. In addition, constipation can serve as a harbinger of menstruation. Due to the accumulation of feces, the readings on the scales can also change. At the same time, weight gain occurs before the first day of X. Subsequently, usually everything is normalized.
Craving for sweets
It is very difficult to fight overweight during menstruation: cravings for the most harmful - sweets are added to the increased appetite. This is especially true for chocolate. Many people (due to their illiteracy) attribute these desires to lower hemoglobin levels, and therefore try to compensate for the loss of a couple of chocolate bars in a couple.
In fact, the reason why weight gain during menstruation is due to changes in hormone levels. As soon as the monthly begins, the increased concentration of progesterone decreases, while the prostaglandins are intensely produced. Due to these biologically active substances, the mucous membrane of the wall of the genital organ is exfoliated.
In addition, the amount of female hormones - estrogen - is rapidly decreasing. But thanks to their presence, the concentration of serotonin (the hormone of happiness) is maintained at an optimal level! With such physiological metamorphoses, it is not surprising that mood spoils.
Of course, completely restricting oneself is not the best solution, because you always want sweet things. A pair of slices of dark chocolate will certainly not do more harm, but an obsessive desire will certainly kill!
A special form of mental state
Weight gain during or before the menstrual cycle may be due not only to the physiological characteristics of women. Up to 90% of women can suffer from premenstrual syndrome, which is mostly characterized by instability of a psychological state.
The mood can noticeably fall in a matter of minutes, and there is almost any reason for irritation. And if the girl still winds herself up over why weight increases during menstruation, then here is not far from serious stress.
Changeable mood, tendency to depression, the appearance of apathy - all this is the result of the influence of the neurotransmitter, which also stands out in great concentration before menstruation.
The main psychological factor
The main psychological reason lies in the subconscious: many girls or women each time fear the appearance of another nightmare. In addition, oil in the fire adds a bad mood and lack of self-control. The result is an irresistible craving for something very sweet and high-calorie.
Everything else, everyone around them seems to specifically “provoke” a woman, and, seeing her condition, give chocolate and other sweets in order to at least somehow reassure her. But in this case, the inevitable gain in body weight is a matter of time.
It is worth noting the exact opposite: after learning about the natural change in weight, women can consciously begin to overeat, so as not to expose their body to unnecessary "stress". However, there is a certain nuance, which consists in the fact that the period of such relaxation can drag on for a week or two.
Agreeing with your close relatives is not a problem, you just need to ask them not to import flour and sweet at least for the period of menstruation. But as for prolonged overeating, here everything is already more than serious. Indeed, the lack of self-control can lead to obesity, which many women would not like very much.
Therefore, if there is an urgent need for this, you need to seek the advice of a good psychotherapist. In any case, being overweight (not naturally) will not do anything good.
Menstrual diet
How much weight increases during menstruation, we now know - in the range of 1-3 kg. Therefore, the reasons for the experiences, as it were, do not exist. At the same time, for girls who are prone to being overweight, the struggle with fullness can drag on for a rather considerable period of time - several months. Nevertheless, on such critical days, doctors strongly recommend that you avoid reducing calories.
But what to do, because the process itself does not want to be interrupted ?! Is it really impossible to do anything during critical days ?! There is a solution, and for this it’s worth following simple tips:
- Increase fiber intake a week before the onset of menstruation (legumes, vegetables, apples).
- After eating, do not drink water for an hour. This will avoid stretching the stomach and adjust it for small portions.
- Naturally increase the level of serotonin - bananas, tomatoes, corn.
- Reception of sour-milk and iron-containing products must be carried out separately. Not only that, their combination is poorly absorbed by the body, but also such nutrition contributes to a breakdown and an early desire to interrupt the diet.
In other words, it is better not to argue with the physiology of the female body! As for weighing during menstruation, for girls this is far from the best idea. As a result, you can only spoil your mood, nothing more. The process of losing weight on critical days should be comfortable. And instead of suffering, a woman should be satisfied with what is happening.
Useful Tips
There is no doubt that self-control is necessary. At the same time, you can get support in the form of practical and effective recommendations. And regardless of why the weight increases (before or during menstruation), the rules for reducing it are identical. As a rule, a number of restrictions are necessary for the period of critical days, but such a forced temporary measure is useful!
Actually, the recommendations themselves:
- All fatty, fried, salty (including mayonnaise) women need to be removed from their diet. Also avoid alcoholic beverages, canned vegetables, baked goods. All this contributes to moisture retention, respectively, and weight gain.
- To diversify the menu with more useful products - vegetables, grain bread, fish.
- Water intake should be limited, especially in the evening. The use of tea or coffee, as well as mineral water, can result in edema, which, as is now known, promises an increase in weight during menstruation.
- Taking drugs with calcium and magnesium will reduce swelling, as well as swelling of the chest and abdomen. Usually, doctors advise using vitamin-mineral complexes to normalize the functioning of all systems, which should not be neglected!
- It is worth noting that weight loss occurs much faster only in the first half of the cycle. At the second stage, the process slows down or stops altogether. However, it is not worth throwing the intended intent. Just the priority is changing a little - now it’s important not to get better.
- It is worth a certain amount of time to devote to physical activity. Of course, there is no need to organize marathon races, but gymnastics, swimming, dancing will help relieve stress and deliver a lot of pleasant sensations. In extreme cases, a simple walk in the park will also give women useful emotions.
- A loved one can also provide significant assistance: instead of chocolates, he should give his woman whole or dried fruits.
At the same time, all efforts that will be directed towards health and self-control should be permanent and regular. Only in this way can the desired results be achieved. And besides, for a woman this period will be less difficult and can no longer be considered critical.
But if the diet does not go away during menstruation, it’s time to visit a doctor. Perhaps the trouble lies in another reason, which requires a more qualified consideration.