Women and weight......

So, this is not a sexist blog, but an honest account of what I have personally found over the years. It's all based on experience and also talking to others, even doctors about it.

So, it all starts at puberty....some girls get what is generally called, 'puppy fat' this happens when a girls hormones start to change, and usually in a year or two this goes as the person matures into a woman. I don't remember getting puppy fat, but I was running, doing Ballet, modern and tap dancing and cycling everywhere. I never gave it a chance!

Back in the day there really was the one option for contraception (other than a condom) and that was 'the pill.' This affected women in different ways, some gaining weight, some not. For me it was ideal, there were no changes and my moods were relatively normal all the time. (for a female!)
Now we have a massive choice, the implant, injection and coils.

For some reason, at the end of last year, I opted for the latter to be positioned in me! This was the most awful decision I have ever made. Other than the pain, the hormone changes have made me extremely irrational, but the biggest thing for me is the weight gain. I have gained nearly 4kg since having it, I have increased my exercise and lowered my food intake, both resulting in fatigue and nothing has worked. That is certainly usual for me, so I have made the choice to get the thing out as soon as possible.

You may not be as aware of yourself as I am, it's sort of job related but I have always been extremely body conscious. If you feel that actually you exercise and eat well but don't lose weight, the issue could most probably be hormone-related.

I always let my personal training clients know when we have a full moon approaching, sounds a bit hippy and 'Totnes' but it does affect us. We have a larger water content in our bodies than men, the moon affects the tides, therefore it affects our water too. If you haven't ever noticed before, you should try and experiment now. Usually a few days before a full moon.....there's one on the 22nd (Monday) you will start to feel or look a little more bloated than usual, particularly around the belly and arms. This is water retention, the full moon arrives and a couple of days later all is returned to normal. It's annoying, but at least you know why it happens. If it doesn't go down after a couple of days you know you have eaten too much cake!

Women are complex creatures, but it's understanding your body and your self, work with what you know, if you have changed your pill, got an implant, or whatever it may be, there will be changes, some for the better, and as I have recently found, some not. Now I could give it a full 6 month trial to see what happens, but this weight gain has made me unhappy and tired, I've made the decision to change it. We all have that choice, that's the good thing about life!

Don't think that how you look or feel can't be changed, just follow a process, ask questions and then find the right solution for you.