My weight
used to fluctuate by about 5lb just before and during * week. I have actually discussed this with my GP as I have a health condition anyway and he says up to half a stone is not unheard of, but he told me never to confuse 'normal' with
normal. That is to say, just because a lot of women experience it, doesn't mean they should. Putting on three stone during pregnancy is 'normal', but not
normal. He did say it's easy for him to say that
Some of the extra is down to the body holding onto water, some of it is down to hormones, (our bodies still think they need to hold on to weight to survive), and some due to bloating as you and your gut are both less active during * week. The good news is these types of weight come off the next week. BUT some of it can be down to the old PMS-calories-don't-count excuse. Seriously, I know a girl who'll eat a family sized bar of dairy milk then moan that she's not lost weight that week. And I know that I get hungrier during that week, but it's all a matter of managing your cravings.
So, you can reduce this by trying to cut your salt intake, avoiding alcohol, exercising more and drinking lots and lots of water. It sounds mad, drinking water to lose water, but that's the way it goes!
But, all you lovely ladies out there, if you are doing all of this and still gaining a lot over * week then SEE YOUR GP! As it could be something more sinister. As mine discovered that I actually have a pretty bad hormonal disorder that is
apparently responsible for some of my weight (personally I blame the wine and snacks, but meh) and a lot of random, seemingly unrelated, symptoms I have been trying to live with for years. And we still don't know for sure whether it has left me infertile, but it's not looking great. He also says, incidentally, that very severe menstrual cramps fit into the 'normal' but not
normal category, if your pain is that bad that you feel physically sick or you can't control it with over the counter meds then it really isn't normal and should be checked out. When I saw my current doc for the first time he asked me why I'd not seen a GP about it before. When I said I had, he asked, well, did you ask for a second opinion from a female GP? I said that she was the one who'd told me off for wasting her time and not 'just getting on with it'. So much for sisterhood, eh?
So yeah, it can be an excuse, but it can be for real. If it affects you, do what you can to sort it out, if it doesn't, be grateful and don't speculate too much on what is happening with other people