Expert: Daphne E Brown MS CPRP - 10/17/2006

Question
i work out 6 days a week strength training and cardio. i do about 500 crunches a day ( or other abb work outs ) I had a six pac a month ago but it looks like to me my abbs are fading away. durring the begining of the month they look tighter after my period but increasing get worse as i move through my cycle. even though they get better after my period it doesn't seem they are all there. i haven changed my diet up ( i eat very healthy) and i change my routine so that my muscles don't get used to the movements. where are my abbs going? please help.

Answer
***Suggestions offered here may or may not help you in your situation.  Please consult with a physician before adding or changing to an exercise/nutrition regimen"

To answer your question "where are my abbs going?":
Hi Jenna.  I am no endocrinologist, but it sounds like premenstrual syndrome (PMS) for you includes bloating, which is hiding your abdominal musculature.  I have trained bodybuilders (male and female) for competition. I can almost guarantee you that noone (human) can have a clearly visible six pack all of the time without being on some highly unhealthy dehydration/starvation regimen.  

And those who claim they can, are either about to pass out from their diet or they hide when they lose their muscular definition (off-season training-Check out the huge guys and gals in the gym who are wearing long sleeves and baggy long pants--they are loading--packing on the weight by eating huge protein meals/protein drinks and supplements, subjecting themselves to a gruesome regimen of very heavy weight training to later lose the fat and dehydrate down for competition a few months down the road).  To me, body building competitions are for who can diet and dehydrate themselves the best for a 5 minute pose one set day, but I digress.

Unless you are training for a specific competition where you must "thin out" your skin so that the judges can see your musucular definition when comparing you to your competitors, I wouldn't worry about the occassional bloating you get with your normal menstrual cycle.  A lot of high level female athletes don't have a cycle at all--which is not good either.  

Sounds like you have a great lifestyle plan, eating healthy and exercising healthy and being physiologically healthy.  Be proud that you are among the few Americans who consistently "walk the walk of fitness and health".  That ain't easy.

To further understand the phenomenon of bloating associated with PMS, ask an allexperts physician or your own doctor/gynecologist.

Hope this helps you.  Congratulations on a healthy lifestyle.  --Daphne