Why does my BMR seem to follow a 4 to 5 week cycle?

E

engineer

New member
Hi, all.

I've been recording my calorie intake, and calories burnt from activity. I also recorded my weight change and used this to calculate a BMR for each week.

Some weeks are 1,200kcal per day higher than the surrounding weeks. The same two of what appears to be a five week cycle.

These two weeks tend to be those with other unpleasant symptoms of something but not sure what.

As far as I am aware it is part of some metabolic cycle. Does anyone know anything about this type of thing?

I've search the internet for 5 week cycle and all it comes up with is menstruation, but being male that's not useful to me :banghead:. Any ideas? :)

Thanks,
Engineer.
 
There's a theory that as your body burns fat, it fills the cells with water. Then after a time it flushes the water, and you get a bit of a woosh effect. It may just be that your BMR is steady the whole time, and then every 5 weeks your body's dumping the extra water.

That'd be my first guess... although I have heard that men also have a hormonal cycle as well, just not quite as obvious as women ;)
 
My parents can tell what part of the cycle I'm in. :D Rest assured, no problem for them telling. It can be rather obvious :p

The symptoms include nausea, irregular sleep, muscle aches, irritability and what appears to be blistering and swelling associated with burning and cutting pain (doctor suggested runner's nipple). :( Also includes being very quiet and withdrawn as its unpleasant and being a guy I have no idea what I'm suppose to do about it.

If I do an internet search or ask I tend to get no one sure what it is.

Females get a lot worse in their cycles though. No arguing there.

These symptoms were however occurring before I started dieting and exercising though and I've only recently found that they seem to tie up with my estimated metabolic rate changes.

The only idea I have is to keep recording them as they occur. Although since noticing them, the most unpleasant have gone from a one to two month sustained occurrence with a two year separation to a two week occurrence every four to five weeks. They've sped up.

My parents say though that they'd noticed I have had a four to six month cycle since the start of puberty. Started early than my peers and had a beard at about 13 years old. I can even have 5 o'clock shadow from clean shaven at 10:30am, but it varies. Inconvenient too, shave, go to head out, looks like I haven't shaved again. :( Maybe my guy cycle is just a little more obvious. :p

At the moment I tend to try and think what it could be. During those two weeks I tend to lie down more, be rather lethargic, sometimes a little snappy at people - especially when its particularly unpleasant and I'm thinking about ice packs.

Now, if I knew what it was that would tend to be a different matter. The not knowing is ......... not sure, how to say. But a little unsettling, especially when people start suggesting pills because I was snappy at them or very quiet.

Its been suggested to be stress, although every 4 to 5 weeks and when I know that in 2 weeks I'll be fine again. Not sure about that answer. I wouldn't expect stress to occur so regularly and with that pattern.

I'm also not sure if stress should have visible stuff for example, stuff that looks like blistering.
 
You could try a food journal maybe? And try to eliminate one thing for a week... see if it occurs during the 'expected' time and then rotate through stuff?

I wish I had better suggestions, as it sounds rather odd. Have you tried increasing your exercise during these times to see if it breaks the cycle? (I'm just throwing out ideas because I'm definitely not a doc!) Although I will say that the blister rash I think can be a stress, or it can be an allergic thing...
 
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