Yasmine15585's Journal, 21 Apr 18

I mean next week. Not next month. 

Got the same feeling this week.. about to weight in, but I know it's not going to be impressive.. let's stay strong! x 

I hope it's a good one for you! 

If it’s time of the month you do put some weight on week before and does take until you finished to loose the excess water retention . I usually loose 1-2 inches around lower ab after my cycle. I would do a weigh in now but I would really go by the weigh in oi do after you finish. 

I don't know 'owt about girl's cycles and things (I always put my fingers in my ears when they start talking about them), but as they say in sport "form is temporary but class is permanent". You've been nowt but class, so I expect you to be nailing it again as soon as you've finished cycling. 😏 

Yasmine 15585 I can assure you as someone who weighs at least fifty ladies every week at a slimming club, that menstrual cycle week causes a weight gain in most women! Sometimes it affects you the week before as well. It's fluid retention as Moglo04 correctly says! Be proud of what you are achieving! Don't be down hearted, you will get to where you want to be! 

Thanks Moglo and Annem. That's good to know and boosts my spirits! Neil, thank you. You're very sweet. And my womb will be ok in a week 😛😊 

Yasmine look how far you've come! you are an amazing inspiration for all the see! keep on keeping on! we all have times where we don't feel we've achieved what we'd like to have its all part of the journey so be as kind to yourself as you are to everyone else. big Welsh cwtchies 😍x 

Just peaked at your journey so far and I was in awe of just how well you have done! I’m at the start of my regime (refuse to say diet or my brain will instantly crave chocolate!) You truly are someone who will inspire others to carry on and achieve their own goals and targets. Xxx 

don't feel down, you're so close and wowsers....youve come a LONG way!! be proud  

youre doing great< keep going  

Aw thanks both! And treacle, that's a great boost to my ego 😁 you'll do great!  

It’s important to not get disheartened and to think beyond your current circumstances. You may or may not have a deep understanding of how your bodies hormones affect your metabolism so if you don’t mind I’d like to share some insights that you might find helpful? Most people think of adrenaline when we talk about stress hormones. This is triggered when we perceive a threat. Adrenaline quickens our heart rate and sharpens our focus which prepares us for fight or flight responses. It also enables our bodies to better utilise glycogen (suguars) as fuel for our muscles giving us that explosive burst of power needed to defend or avoid danger. Switching fuels from burning stored fat to utilising our emergency rocket fuel is something that takes a while to reset and so for a period of time after the stressful event, your body will not be able to metabolise fat. Obviously this is an acute reaction to stress and it’s affects are distinct and easily observable making them Easton relate to.  

Stress hormones part 2 The body has other systems for managing more routine stress which occur on a daily basis and are less obvious so tend to go unnoticed but there impact is just as significant. Every day our body uses another stress Hormones called cortisol to regulate more routine functions. For instance our body spikes cortisol as a preparation for waking up, getting your mind ready for conscious activity and raising your heart rate to stir you into moving about and getting stuff done. It’s onset is slower and sort of fuzzier which is why you can feel a little brain foggy in those moments soon after waking. Cortisol shows up whenever we experience trivial anxieties, worries, niggles and discomforts and one of its effects is that it completely switches off your ability to burn fat whilst it’s present and active in your body. This is why you don’t burn fat at the time of excercising vigorously.  

Stress hormones part3. The cortisol turns up because the act of working out hard stresses, stretches and strains your muscles, joints, nerves and systems (respiratory/cardiovascular). Because your cortisol level has spike you won’t burn fat at the time of the activity but as long as you get good quality rest and sleep afterwards you will burn lots of fat as your body gets to work on making repairs and strengthening those muscles & nerve fibres etc. Cortisol has a role to play in most of the bodies routine functions so it is no surprise that it spikes around your monthly cycle and that is one of the reasons that it’s hard to loose weight in this period. Water retention is definitely another factor but the term (water retention) can be a little misleading as this happens at a cellular level and doesn’t remain in the body as water as you would recognise it - id be happy to chat about this too if you are interested? My point in all this is to reassure you that you are doing a great job and encouraging you to see beyond the tricky little road bumps that we can anticipate as we progress. Well done Yasmine 

Oh wow, thank you ebikeevangelist for the information, and the praise. It's very interesting! And good to know. Gives me a boost.