Any woman periodically begins to struggle with excess weight. Various diets, physical training complexes and folk remedies are used. Since all these procedures take a long time, many ladies have a question: do they lose weight during menstruation, is it worth interrupting the process for this period?
Any attempts to independently interfere with the physiology of the body are always fraught with immune and hormonal disorders. And if the procedure of forced weight loss is carried out during menstruation, then such actions can provoke a number of serious diseases in young women.
How does body weight depend on critical days?
It has long been known that a woman’s menstrual cycle and the changes that occur in her body at this time are directly related to the effects of female sex hormones. It turns out that they can also influence changes in the weight of young women.
Features of the first phase of the cycle
The entire period of time from the end of the last menstrual bleeding to the release of the egg in the blood of patients is played by the sex hormones estrogens. These substances improve the functioning of a woman’s heart and take part in regulating the functioning of the genital organs, uterus and urinary system.
In the first phase of the cycle, a woman is less susceptible to mood swings, since estrogens increase the production of “good mood” substances - serotonin and endorphin. Feeling great allows many ladies to keep themselves in shape and not indulge in gluttony.
It should be said that estrogen redistributes the subcutaneous layer of fat accumulated by a woman to the hips and abdomen. In this case, almost 20% of the accumulations are burned and, accordingly, the woman’s body weight may decrease.
We recommend reading the article about why you feel hungry before your period. From it you will learn about the peculiarities of the female body, the reasons for increased appetite before menstruation, and ways to lose weight.
What affects a woman in the second half?
After the release of the egg, a large-scale restructuring begins in the hormonal system of patients. The influence of estrogen fades into the background, its percentage in the blood of women decreases, and progesterone becomes the “first violin in the orchestra.”
The action of this substance is aimed at increasing the accumulation of nutrients in the body. Progesterone stimulates the release of a special enzyme that promotes the production of proteins, fats and carbohydrates from food and retention in the tissues of patients. That is, every piece eaten brings extra weight to the ladies.
We should not forget that a decrease in estrogen leads to various nervous depressions and simply a bad mood. Many representatives of the fair sex are accustomed to solving such problems by intensifying the absorption of a variety of foods.
Among other things, in the last days before menstruation, the body tries to retain excess fluid in the tissues to compensate for losses from menstrual bleeding. Such physiological subtlety can also increase body weight.
Nutrition rules by day of the monthly cycle
Every woman needs to understand the connection between diets and menstruation, and follow the recommendations of doctors. It is best to apply all strict restrictions in the first phase of the cycle. If you start following the diet 2-3 days after the end of your period, it will work best. And it is recommended to complete it by the middle of the cycle, since after this the level of progesterone increases and the diet will no longer work.
Therefore, a woman needs to know how it is recommended to eat in different phases of the cycle, which foods cannot be excluded so as not to lead to health problems.
- The first days after the start of the cycle, the woman’s body is exhausted. She feels weak due to blood loss. It is recommended to eat light, nutritious foods. You need fermented milk products, vegetables, lean meat. It is worth excluding fatty foods and sweets.
- From days 6 to 12, the woman feels a surge of strength. Her appetite is not that strong, so you shouldn’t force yourself to eat. But you need to replenish the loss of folic acid, magnesium, calcium and iron. It is recommended to include vegetables, bran, fresh herbs, and fruits in the diet. This is the most favorable period for losing weight.
- Days 12-16 are the time of ovulation. Metabolism accelerates, estrogen levels are high. But doctors do not recommend severely restricting your diet. It is recommended to eat more vegetable oils, fatty fish, soy, milk, brown rice and whole grain bread.
- From the middle of the cycle until the first day of menstruation, the amount of progesterone increases, and with it the appetite. The woman feels weak and irritable. It is recommended to limit salt and marinades in the diet, which retain liquid. The diet should contain a lot of potassium and magnesium. You need to eat more bananas, corn, dried fruits, greens, and bran. Nutritionists warn that at this time diets are less effective and weight loss is difficult.
What to eat if periods are painful?
For a healthy woman, periods do not cause much discomfort. If they are very painful, this may be due to a lack of magnesium, potassium, vitamin E and other trace elements. To avoid this, it is recommended to include the following foods in your diet a few days before:
- vegetables;
- bananas;
- chocolate;
- oat or wheat bran;
- lean meat;
- green beans;
- buckwheat and rice;
- eggs;
- avocado;
- corn;
- cottage cheese;
- seafood;
- ginger;
- chamomile decoction.
To compensate for the lack of protein in the body, you can eat protein bars.
When is the best time to lose weight?
So when is it better to lose weight - before or after your period? If you look closely at the changes in the hormonal activity of various substances in a woman throughout the menstrual cycle, the conclusion suggests itself.
During the first half, under the influence of estrogen, excess fat is burned, the mood and general well-being of women is excellent, so it is recommended to try to fight excess weight at this time. Experts always recommend starting treatment for any chronic problems of the female body 2–3 days after the end of menstrual bleeding.
Excess weight can also be considered a disruption in the functioning of the female body. Especially if the patient does not have diseases, a symptom of which may be weight gain. Therefore, you need to lose weight during this period, especially since most methods are designed for 12 - 14 days, and a woman can perfectly cope with a set of weight loss measures before ovulation begins.
To lose weight or not during menstrual periods
A separate issue is the attempt of some women to continue the struggle with weight after the onset of menstrual bleeding. This practice is quite vicious and can have a detrimental effect on a woman’s health.
During menstruation, in addition to a hormonal surge, which usually causes a sharp decrease in the patient's immune strength, there is a decrease in the number of red blood cells in the blood. This leads to a decrease in the supply of nutrients and oxygen to cells and tissues.
Anemia causes a woman to feel weak, irritable, and even have short-term loss of consciousness. If at this time you reduce the intake of nutrients from food or allow yourself increased physical activity, then not only the entire menstrual cycle may fail, but also the development of a more serious pathology.
The vast majority of experts will answer the question of whether it is possible to lose weight during menstruation. Critical days require a woman to have the most gentle regime and enhanced nutrition, which cannot be combined with an attempt to lose excess weight.
How to lose weight during menstruation without harming your health?
This period, from the point of view of doctors, is the most unfavorable time for losing weight. It is not recommended to follow a diet during menstruation. The main focus should be on not gaining weight. This can happen due to increased appetite and hormonal imbalances. Nutrition should be low in calories, but rich in protein, vitamins and minerals.
How to eat properly?
Any strict diet during menstruation is undesirable. But you can change your diet. To slow down weight gain, you need to follow several rules:
- exclude salty foods, canned food, marinades, sauces, fast food;
- do not eat fatty foods, sweets, confectionery;
- replace coffee and black tea with herbal decoctions;
- stop smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages, as this causes hormonal imbalances;
- limit spicy seasonings;
- reduce the amount of sugar in your diet;
- exclude products that cause increased gas formation;
- drink a glass of kefir daily;
- It is not advisable to fry food; it is better to boil or bake it.
Allowed products for weight loss during menstruation
In order for weight loss during menstruation not to harm a woman’s health, it must be correct. It is important that the diet is varied but healthy. To do this, you need to choose the right products. During menstruation, the diet should be balanced in proteins, fats and carbohydrates, providing the body with all the necessary microelements. You need to eat different foods.
- Fruits and vegetables are a must in the diet. It is only not recommended to eat potatoes, bananas, and grapes due to their high carbohydrate content. Apples and apricots are useful. Vegetables you should eat are broccoli, eggplant, tomatoes;
- seafood contains a lot of iodine. This is a source of easily digestible protein, which is necessary during this period. And fish provides the body with fatty acids, which are necessary for the production of hormones;
- fermented milk products will help improve intestinal function and also replenish calcium and iron losses;
- You need cereals at this time, which will become a source of carbohydrates and fiber. Oats and buckwheat are especially useful. They are easily digestible and help you lose weight;
- White chicken meat should also be a source of protein;
- If you really want something sweet, you can eat a piece of dark chocolate. Honey and dried fruits are also useful;
- almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts will help reduce fatigue and pain. They contain a lot of B vitamins;
- Herbal teas are useful. A decoction of ginger with lemon and chamomile tea improves well-being.
Sample menu
If a woman does not follow strict diets, but wants to lose weight through proper nutrition, she also needs to slightly change her diet during this phase of the cycle. The diet during menstruation should be more gentle and varied. On these days you can use the following menu:
- for breakfast you can eat oatmeal, cottage cheese or a protein omelet, add berries or fruits according to the season, herbal tea, you are allowed to eat a piece of rye or whole grain bread;
- for lunch you can prepare vegetable soup, vegetable salad with boiled fish or stewed vegetables with chicken;
- in the evening cottage cheese, fruit salad with nuts or seafood are eaten.
During snacks, fruits, yogurt, a handful of nuts, and compote are allowed. It is useful to make oatmeal jelly, which will not only help you lose weight, but also make up for the lack of essential nutrients.
You won't be able to lose much weight during your period due to slower metabolism and hormonal imbalances. But you can prevent weight gain. To do this, you need to choose the right diet that will help avoid nutritional deficiencies and fat deposits.
IMPORTANT! Informational article! Before use, you should consult a specialist.
Diet rules during menstruation
Almost all representatives of the fair sex have experienced severe pain during menstruation or increased blood loss. In addition to special medications, a properly selected diet can help a woman survive this difficult period.
Experts advise patients to adhere to the following rules during menstruation:
- During this difficult period, women should completely abandon animal fats. It is their increased consumption during menstruation that increases a woman’s weight and increases pain. All this occurs due to the increased release of estrogen in the blood of patients with the abuse of spicy and fatty foods.
- Many doctors recommend that their patients completely switch to fish during menstruation. There is a sufficient selection of fatty varieties on sale, including trout and sardines, which will help support the female body and compensate for calorie losses during menstrual bleeding.
- Complete ban on butter. Salads and other dishes should contain only olive or flaxseed oil. These varieties give a woman the opportunity not to gain excess weight, but at the same time give most dishes an exquisite taste.
- Food should be rich in microelements and vitamins; a large amount of calcium, magnesium and vitamin B6 is especially important for a woman during this period. The list of products for replenishing the body with these substances is quite wide. You can include cottage cheese, kefir, buckwheat porridge, beans or beans in your diet. Even an ordinary banana can alleviate the patient’s condition.
- Most experts agree that during menstruation it is extremely important to include soy in your diet. It contains special substances - phytoestrogens, which can stop the surge of hormones and reduce the dependence of the female body on PMS.
- And, of course, a complete abstinence from alcohol, coffee, black teas, and tobacco.
Figuring out whether girls lose weight during menstruation is not so easy. The fact is that if you follow the rules of nutrition and avoid swelling, you simply do not gain excess weight on “critical” days. The doctor should offer patients a list of products for this period of time. Peas, beans, potatoes, walnuts will help decorate any table and at the same time eliminate extra calories.
All pickles and smoked foods are prohibited. Excess salt prevents fluid from leaving the cells, which leads to swelling. And since a woman must compensate for the loss of fluid during menstrual bleeding, most experts recommend using medicinal flower tea or rose hip decoction throughout the entire period.
A balanced diet is extremely important during menstruation, so the question of losing weight during this period should not even be a question for a woman. There is enough other time in a woman’s life for this.
Watch the video about nutrition during menstruation:
Why do you gain weight before your period?
The female body is designed in such a way that all processes in it occur under the influence of constantly changing hormonal levels. Therefore, weight and the menstrual cycle are directly related. The fact is that adipose tissue in women accumulates and is distributed under the guidance of the dominant hormones at a given time. Thus, the first (follicular) phase of the cycle is marked by an excess of estrogens, which “order” to put aside everything unnecessary “in reserve.” Subsequently, the balance of power changes in favor of progesterone, which further promotes weight gain.
Appetite
During menstruation, the female body loses necessary substances, therefore, in order to compensate for the lost macro- and microelements, there is a noticeable increase in the need for food. It is worth noting that not all representatives of the fairer sex increase their appetite during menstruation. However, most women, instead of losing weight, on the contrary, gain weight due to cravings for sweets. A situation in which such a need of the body is ignored can negatively affect the psychological balance of a lady already prone to mood swings.
Fluid retention before menstruation
Moderate swelling of the body before the onset of menstruation is considered quite normal. Water retention before menstruation occurs due to the predominance of progesterone in the body. Due to the excess presence of fluid, women often begin to swell their limbs. When answering how to lose weight during menstruation, experts regarding this problem suggest including fiber-rich foods in your diet a week before the start of menstruation. At the same time, you need to eat a balanced diet and not get carried away with monoeating.
Hormones
The beginning of the menstrual cycle is influenced by estrogens, the maximum concentration of which occurs during the ovulatory phase. Under the influence of these hormones, active accumulation of adipose tissue occurs, as a result of which it is not easy to lose weight during this period. After ovulation, the previously predominant estrogen, follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones are replaced by progesterone, which promotes further weight gain. Therefore, the conclusion regarding whether people lose weight during menstruation is obvious.
Over time, the activity of progesterone gradually subsides, which serves as a signal that it will soon be possible to lose weight. Hormones reach their minimum concentration before menstruation. Meanwhile, even before the cleansing stage is completed, estrogens become active, stimulating the accumulation of fat. Therefore, when answering whether it is possible to lose weight during menstruation, experts say a categorical “no”. However, this does not mean that during menstrual periods you need to forget about dietary nutrition and consume a lot of calories.
Metabolism
Metabolism changes throughout the menstrual cycle. At the same time, metabolism during menstruation slows down, which makes it somewhat difficult to lose weight, but in general it only benefits a weakened body. After the cleansing stage is completed, the rate of metabolic processes returns to its previous level. To avoid digestive problems during menstruation, it is better to eat easily digestible foods.
