Do You Gain Weight During Ovulation?

Ovulation is a super important stage of our menstrual cycle. During ovulation, your pituitary gland releases follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), which prompts your body to release a mature egg down the fallopian tube. The coolest thing that comes out of that phase is the chance of conception! That mature egg has the chance to be fertilized, implant, and produce life. 

However, there are a lot of other things that happen during ovulation too as a result of this important reproductive process. Women may experience ovary or abdominal pain, breast tenderness, and increased sex drive. But, what about weight gain and bloating? We definitely feel it, but is it true that ovulation can make you gain weight?

That’s the question I am going to help you answer today! 

Do You Gain Weight During Ovulation?

Some women do gain some weight during ovulation. Luckily, this is temporary weight gain usually due to water retention and bloating from fluctuating hormone levels. Usually, as sex hormone levels stabilize throughout the menstrual cycle, this will fix itself and you’ll get back to normal weight!  

Of course, we know that ovulation with medical conditions like PCOS can be less predictable. In fact, lots of Cyster’s experience hormonal imbalances that can prevent your body from ovulating at all. That can increase the chances of chronic bloating, as well as other issues like ovarian cysts, infertility, and absent periods. The reason why this happens is often due to the root cause of PCOS, which is insulin resistance.

Not only can insulin resistance make you have trouble ovulating, but it can also cause water retention while you are ovulating. To track your ovulation, you can read your basal body temperature, take tests, and more. Learn more about it in this post about tracking ovulation with PCOS. 

How Much Weight Do You Gain During Ovulation?

We can gain 1-5 lbs during ovulation. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to make you notice the way you feel and the way your clothes fit! Luckily, by targeting insulin resistance and hormonal imbalances throughout the month, we can have a healthy ovulatory cycle and these extra pounds shouldn’t be there for more than a week or so.

How To Avoid Weight Gain During Ovulation?

Stay hydrated. 

If your issue is water retention, you may be asking: “Why would I drink more water?” But, actually, our body retains water when it fears being dehydrated, sort of like how our body packs on weight when we don’t eat enough calories. So, by staying hydrated, you can actually reduce water retention and push more fluids out of your body. 

Exercise regularly. 

Exercise can increase circulation, which can prevent fluid from building up to begin with. On the hormone side of things, certain types of physical activity, like lifting weights, can help you bring down cortisol (stress hormone) levels that can prompt your body to retain water. It also helps you create more muscle, which will improve your cell’s metabolism and ability to process carbs. This is important because if we can’t process carbs effectively, then we have high blood sugar, which leads to water retention.

You can find all the right PCOS-friendly workouts on The Cysterhood app! 

Reduce sugar intake.

I know this can be hard when you have PCOS because it’s almost like sugar cravings are in control of you. I get it, I’ve been there too! Taking an inositol supplement can help you reduce cravings, and therefore reduce your sugar intake. Try Ovasitol, which is a 40:1 ratio of myo & d-chiro inositol, recommended by studies because it is the most researched supplement for women with PCOS.

Ovasitol also helps with egg quality and ovulation, so if you are having trouble ovulating because of PCOS, this could be a good fit for you. It helps your cells become more sensitive to insulin, which means your cells will burn carbs better and keep your blood sugar stable. This is ideal if you want to avoid retaining water. Take a look at this cyster who actually reduced her water retention with Ovasitol so much that her feet went down a shoe size!

Eat more protein and fiber. 

Protein is great for weight management! It helps us feel fuller longer, to prevent us from overeating and consuming too much carbs or other stuff. Plus, it helps us burn more calories and actually regulate some of our hormones having to do with the metabolism. If you struggle to add protein to your diet, consider a PCOS-friendly protein powder. 

Fiber has a lot of the same effects as protein as far as helping you feel full and burn carbs. However, it can also improve gut health, which is great for reducing bloat. Foods that are high in fiber include avocados, bananas, broccoli, brussel sprouts, oats, chia seeds, quinoa, legumes, almonds, and even dark chocolate.   

Take the right supplements. 

Nutrient deficiencies prevent our bodies from functioning optimally. So, giving our bodies the support it needs using supplements can be a great way not only to manage water retention during ovulation, but reducing menstrual cycle and PCOS symptoms overall!

Here are the top supplements to prevent weight gain during ovulation:

• B Vitamins: These can help with weight gain by improving your energy metabolism, regulating estrogen levels, reducing cortisol levels, and improving detoxification! All of this helps improve metabolic health and reduce water retention. 
• Vitamin D: Vitamin D can help stabilize blood sugar levels, promote appetite control, and reduce inflammation. This can help prevent weight fluctuation during ovulation. 
• Iron: An iron supplement can improve your metabolism, hormone balance, and overall endocrine function.
• Magnesium: Magnesium actually absorbs water in the gut, which can inhibit water retention. 
• Ovasitol: Ovasitol is one of the best supplements for PCOS due to its ability to help  balance hormones and increase insulin sensitivity. Those two things can reduce water retention and improve a lot of PCOS symptoms.
• Probiotics: Probiotics are supplements specifically for gut health! Since poor gut health can lead to bloating and water retention, keeping a health balance of gut bacteria can prevent pesky ovulation weight gain. 

What are the best supplements for PCOS? 

Walking down the supplement aisle at the grocery store can make you feel overwhelmed! Why are there so many different multivitamins? As we crafted our own, we wanted to understand what makes a multivitamin higher in quality too. It turns out, they need to be third party tested (NSF certified) to guarantee that what’s on the label is exactly what you are consuming. They also need to be highly absorbable, and that’s how we designed our Metabolism Plus bundle, which includes a PCOS multivitamin.

Understand that gaining 1-5 lbs during ovulation is normal! 

It’s normal for your weight to fluctuate throughout your menstrual cycle. Don’t sweat it! However, if you want to prevent this weight gain next time you ovulate, try these tips and consider beginning PCOS supplements right away to help with insulin resistance and water retention.