5 Reasons You Experience Weight Gain During Your Period

Like most things menstruation-related, the feeling that your period may cause weight gain isn’t all in your head. In fact, there are several physiological and psychological reasons why menstruation adds pounds that may last longer than the week of your period. The good news: With some knowledge of the why and how, you don’t need to grin and bear it. Here’s what you need to know:

Feeling bloated is a common complaint during the menstrual cycle, when elevated levels of the female reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone lead to a shift in the body’s set point for sodium and cause fluid retention. “This may be the most noticeable to women during the second half of their menstrual cycle, when both estradiol the most potent and common of the three estrogen hormones and progesterone levels are at their highest,” says Heather Huddleston, MD, associate professor, division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility, at the UCSF Center for Reproductive Health.

To keep fluid weight at bay, avoid salty foods during the second half of your menstrual cycle. Skip the diuretics, says Amy Stephens, MD, a doctor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Cleveland Clinic. “In severe cases some women may be prescribed them, but that should be something done in conjunction with your gynecologist,” says Dr. Stephens.

Your period affects how well your gastrointestinal tract works to push out waste from your body. “Progesterone causes some relaxation of smooth muscle, leading to a reduction in gastrointestinal motility, which may lead to bloating and constipation in some women,” says Dr. Huddleston. To reduce both, increase the amount of fiber in your diet, particularly in the second half of the menstrual cycle, she suggests.