Original email for context: I’m on day 13 of the protocol (counting the 2 days load). I haven’t cheated AT ALL. I’ve lost a whopping 5 lbs. I started my cycle 4 days ago. Would that be a factor?
Definitely menstrual cycle commonly affects what we see on the scale for more than 1 reason which I’ll discuss in a moment, but being that it’s been 4 days for you, I’m not sure this is really the thing for you. I’ll talk about it in a minute.
Let’s unpack your results first because I actually think they are totally normal and not bad at all.
You said day 13 today, including 2 days load right? So that means you are on day 11 of the very low calorie diet (VLCD), which means your current weight loss is a reflection of 10 days of eating on P2 (since today being day 11 means you haven’t yet seen the weight loss results of today yet).
So 5 lbs in 10 days on P2 – this is .5/lb per day average.
This is actually the normal/expected weight loss average for a woman on hCG. As you become leaner the average will actually go down. My final rounds my average was only about .3lb/day.
I have a few articles discussing this to help you see the logic behind why this is so:
Is it normal to lose 1 lb per day on hCG? How much did hCGChica lose?
Why am I not losing 1 lb per day on hCG?
How much weight will you lose on hCG?
The only reason where it might be a bit off for you right now, which we’ll talk about next, is because you are at the beginning of your round, and typically it’s true, because of water weight loss during the first week of the diet, women usually have a higher weight loss average that first week, then it drops a lot making the total average by the end of the round .5 lb/per day. Whereas the first week your average may be more like 1lb/day or .75lb/day.
So let’s talk next then about the other very likely reasons for the seeming delay this first week for you.
MENSTRUAL CYCLE CONUNDRUMS
Many of us women retain water on our periods (and think about it- one 16 oz glass of water which isn’t really that much water = 1 lb), and also digestion slows during this time because progesterone levels rise, and this article says: “progesterone is well known for causing constipation during pregnancy by slowing the motility, or the contraction of muscles, of the GI tract”. So this causes constipation. Here’s another good article on how our hormones affect our digestion when it comes to ovulation and menstrual cycle.
Because I’ve dealt with constipation for a couple of years I had noticed this very acutely because I found the dosage of magnesium I usually took every single night that was enough to prevent constipation usually, was suddenly not enough around my period and I had to take more. Happens every single month.
So I think it’s very likely that might be a part of your slightly lower than average first week losses.
I hope this helps! Just stick to the protocol, it works and should even out in time.
If you’ve dealt with constipation as a result of menstrual cycle, you can clean yourself our naturally with these tips:
