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amenorrhea- im scared.


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I went off the pill in Feb and haven't had a period since then.  I exercise quite frequently 5 times per day (down from 7)  and usually burn around 600 calories ... i have def. starting eating more but im not sure what my intake is now.. probably still only between 1200-1400 per day.  I have gained alittle weight 124-125 im 5'7  up from 119-120.  Im just scared b/c the doctor would like me to gain more, and exercise less. but with my activity level and how much im eating, i feel like i shouldn't have even gained anything at all.  And if i lower my exercise and increase food intake further, im just afraid my weight gain will get out of control.  Im just worried i've screwed up my metabolism for good.. any thoughts or advise?

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It sounds like you already know what needs to be done, but you aren't willing to do it.

Did you mean that you exercise 5 times per week or 5 times per day???  Either way, at 5'7 and being as active as you are, 1400 calories is not enough and I think you know that.  If you have been undereating for an extended period of time, it's very possible that your metabolism has experienced a slow down.  It's what happens when someone undereats for too long and the body slows everything down to conserve calories.  The only way to fix this is to eat the apropriate amount.  Use the tools here and figure out what you should be eating to "maintain".  Then eat that amount and stick to it.  You might gain a bit of initial weight, but that should level out once your body gets used to being fed the proper amount.

Nobody's metabolism is screwed up for good. However, you have to be willing to take the necessary steps to fix things.  Eating more and working on getting your period back are two of those steps.

Yes i meant i work out 5 times per week.

I agree with peaches' recommendation to increase calories. 

However, it's also important to note that even once you DO increase calories to the proper range, your period may still be MIA.  It's a common side effect of the birth control pill/patch, etc to not get your period back right away after stopping.  The same thing happened to me when I stopped b/c for a while last year.  (I skipped a few months due to being single, not sexually active and broke.)  I kept waiting and waiting for my period to come back so that I could restart once I became un-single and un-broke, and it took pretty much the maximum amount of months that the literature said it could.

I think (I don't have the insert on hand, so check for yourself) that my particular brand of B/C mentioned that it might take 9 months for my period to come back.  If it went any longer than that time frame, I was to consult a doctor. 

Please don't take this as an excuse to continue undereating, however-- I'm just mentioning this so you don't get freaked out if your period doesn't come back immediately after you start eating right. 

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