Once again I am on the low carb band wagon, this time trying Atkins. In the past I have noticed this problem but never put two and two together, and I never stuck with the diet long enough to wait it out.

With that being said. I am always regular every month unless I am low carbing then my body goes haywire, tender breast, spotting, severe water retention and there is no chance of me being preggo what so ever!

So, I have been reading, I know at first estrogen is released with the fat cells your burning off. Here are some very informative links:

http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.c...our-period.html

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard....ar-periods.html


http://books.google.com/books?id=Yu...0atkins&f=false



Most of these links suggest excess estrogen symptoms should be waited out and eventually your bodies hormones will regulate themselves. I can't seem to find anything about if your body just adjust to the excess estrogen or eventually the excess is flush out?????? Does anyone seem to know what happens once your body regulates itself?

All I can offer is my own personal experience: I was on low-carb for a full year and my cycle was STILL all wacky (on the pill, even) and I ended up preggo. So if your body does regulate itself, perhaps it takes even longer than a year?

I'm still on low-carb five years later (and on the pill again after years off it) and I'm pretty regular. Don't know if that's the estrogen regulating itself or because of the fact that I'm barely losing any weight so it's not a factor.

One thing that I do know is that insulin, glucagon etc are hormones. Their alterations can and usually does affect other hormones such as estrogen. It acutally is a balancing act which is why women with PCOS are often recommended to change their lifestyles to low carb.You should let your body adjust to these changes by sticking to the diet for life. It is a balancing act.

I will continue for a few months, but I know excess estrogen is not good for your body, it heightens risk for breast cancer and not shedding your lining is set up for hyperplasia. I am by no means trying to talk myself out of Atkins, I feel great on it!

I was suppose to start last week,I have been so bloated my rings will not fit. I know if I would just start then I would feel better! It is really hard to gauge my progress with all this bloating. Hate to be a whiner but I have been cramping for a week now with no results.

I'm not sure why you're blaming it on low carb. Any weight loss diet, if it works, is going to cause you to burn fat and release estrogen from the fat. If it's a major concern for you, talk to your doctor. There are estrogen blockers or he/she may put your mind at rest that short term it isn't going to be an issue.

Well I have dieted since I was 8, at one point a few years ago 800 cals a day low fat was my diet of choice, and I still had my period. I know my body and it the fact that I'm low carbing many women have complained about it.

obesity is a risk factor for breast cancer.
just because you've mobilized the fat by losing weight doesn't mean it's more of a risk......whether you're losing or not, the risk is still there.

When I first started low-carbing years ago, my cycles did go really wonky at first. That cleared up within a couple of months.

They treat PCOS with a low carb diet, which is where estrogen is excessive isn't it? Maybe it just takes awhile to get stabilized.

That is what I thought....

If you are bloated with lowcarb then you need to look at your food choices. Lowcarb DROPS bloating, because the glycol and water stored for carb intake processing is released. Yes, all women will bloat before their period as their body reserves fluid to wash out the womb but that's a separate thing.

If for example, when a person went lowcarb, their intake of high sodium meats (eg deli meats, or pepperoni/bacon/sausage, ham), and cheese went up much higher than normal, that could result in bloating, especially if they were actually sensitive to one or more of those ingredients.

As for fat, if you are dumping fat into the bloodstream in 'fat loss' then you will be getting all kinds of hormones, toxins, and other things stored in those fat cells. That has nothing to do with lowcarb, except it's usually good at helping people drop fat -- which is a good thing. That is just a fat loss issue.

Remember if you are releasing estrogen from fat cells it's not that it is being invented on the spot. Your body *already is holding that* -- the process is *flushing it out*. So if you're concerned about "excess estrogen" I would think that losing the fat so you can flush all the excess your body is holding OUT, would be a good thing.

Thank you for the replies. I am trying to start my cycle, I am cramping like I have never cramped before its just not showing up. I am going to stick with this so no worries.

I am bloated because I have had pms for two weeks, not kidding, I have always gained about 8 pounds before I start, and since I haven't started hench the bloating.

I am doing a scheduled re-feed this weekend. My trainer (hubby) has suggested itI will eat carbs Sat or Sun night for 5 hrs to restore my glycogen. Also I train very heavy weights, so I think it's much needed.

YMMV but those never worked out well for me. But I'm not into body building at all.

Finally mother nature paid her visit! Suppose I posted this to early, but after 10 days of spotting and water retention I was cracking up! I am still doing doing a planned refeed I think it will help.