Muscle loss? Fat gain? Impending period? All three?

[Anonymous]

Can’t tell if I actually lost weight but am just bloated, if I lost muscle mass, or if it’s some combo of all three.

We went away to the beach for a week. Before, I was feeling really thin, at my lowest weight. On vacation, while I couldn’t lift weights, I spent a half hour running the 20 flights of stairs at the hotel daily, plus swimming all day long. I drank a ton of water simply because it was hot. Much more than I drink at home. I stuck to my diet completely.

A week later I’m back home and my period is due. I feel extremely bloated and even look bloated. But, the scale hasn’t budged. So did I lose muscle? Gain fat? Or did I lose weight and I’m just bloated?

[Anonymous]

You probably lost weight and are bloated. My hormones kick me in the scale every time.

Don’t worry about a week. Worry about a trend.

[Anonymous]

Your body will always fluctuate to a combination of all three. Keep up your healthy habits and avoid obsessing over what you see in the mirror or on the scale. It is perfectly normal to experience feeling your thinnest to bloated, seemingly overnight.

[Anonymous]

Who knows but I always gain 2 pounds or so during my period, scale goes back down as soon as it stops.

[Anonymous]

I gain 3-5 lbs during my period. Every damn time. Give yourself a week or two before you decide you actually gained weight.

[Anonymous]

I gain 2-4 during ovulation, drop all my water weight before TOM, regain about 2 pounds right at the end, lose it, then repeat. Every month. That’s the benefit of daily weighing, you can see the effects of water weight and hormonal water weight.

I also see water weight if I have DOMS, eat a high sodium meal- like sushi, or eat a lot of white carbs.