How To Stop Feeling Bloated During Your Period
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Let’s be honest: Having a period sucks.
Even if you’re exercising and eating healthy, stepping on the scale when you’re on your period is never any fun. Five more pounds than last week? Probably. “Weight gain happens five days before your period, but you’ll be back to normal once you start,” Raquel Dardik, M.D., gynecologist at NYU Langone Medical Center, told Shape.
Why does this happen, you ask?
The hormone progesterone, which is totally essential in the early stages of pregnancy, is to blame. See, when you aren’t pregnant/on your period, progesterone levels fall. And as a side effect, each cell in your body retains an extra (very tiny) drop of water, according to WebMD.
So, what’s a girl to do?
Even though you can’t prevent period bloat from happening in the first place, you can do a lot to combat the naturally occurring issue. There’s no need to lounge around in your sweatpants, ladies! Here are some simple tips to fight bloating during this relatively harmless time of month:
Rule #1: Exercise. If you’re not up for exercising during your period, that’s okay, but be sure you at least take a little walk once or twice a day around the block, or on a treadmill. Walking helps decrease bloating and moves things along in your digestive tract. Aim for 20-30 minutes!
Rule #2: Eat protein. Protein is important for all your meals, but especially during your period. Protein’s amino acid complex slims you down and actually flattens your belly.
Rule #3: Drink lots of water. You need to consistently flush your body out by drinking water. This fights water weight, toxic buildup, food cravings and constipation (-___-). Add a slice of lemon to increase digestive speed.
Rule #4: Try and avoid fatty foods, alcohol, and salt. Sugary or starchy carbs can bloat you up and add to water weight gain. Cravings would be the only thing you could gain actual weight from… you’ve been warned.
Rule #5: Do yoga. Yoga is a gentle form of exercise that literally detoxes your organs. Doing just 10-20 minutes a day can help fight bloating from water weight, gas, and even other digestive issues. Plus, it relieves headaches!
There’s a lot you can do to fight off the bloat, but try not to get too paranoid about it. Stepping on the scale during your period will only make you feel bad, and if you try the suggestions above, you shouldn’t worry about gaining a lil’ water weight! After your period, you’ll be back to your normal weight, and feeling sexier than ever.
Remember: Keep your chin up and change your tampon.
