I want to regain my period and I'm wondering if weight gain alone is enough or if I need to be eating lots of fat as well? Does eating more dairy products help? Soy?

I'm not sure which is more important, but I'm guessing you need both.  You should absolutely eat enough fats in your diet and if you're underweight you also need to gain!  I know this because I lost my period way before I became underweight because I was eating hardly any fat!  Now I'm trying to get it back too, and I eat about 25-30% fats, but no luck.  So it must be the body fat thing too because I haven't gained any weight.  Hmmm... I wasn't much help!  I guess I'm trying to say they're both important!

i'm pretty sure body fat is the trigger, but eating fatty foods should help you get there faster.

pgeorgian - can't not eating a lot of fat also be the trigger though?  I lost my period when  I was about 140 pounds at 5'7", so I wasn't underweight yet.  I'm not sure that if you gained weight without eating fat, you would get your period back.  I think both are crucial for you.

you can be normal weight and still have low body fat, though.  there could be other things going on for you, i guess, but generally body fat triggers menstruation and low body fat causes it to stop.  it prevents us getting pregnant when we don't have the reserves to support a fetus, and it's why fat girls get their periods earlier than skinny girls.

What constitutes as lots of fat? I just had an avocado and practically a whole giant packet of chickpea chips. That was like 50 grams of fat from the chips (it was mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fat) and 30 grams from the avocado.. do I need more for today? I desperately want my period back. Do you think full fat milk would be beneficial?

you need lots of calories so that you can gain weight and your body can start storing fat.  fatty foods have more calories for the same volume, so, theoretically, you should be able to get more calories if you're eating fatty foods.  but if your caloric intake isn't enough, foods that are 90% fat won't get you there.

Oh yes, I'm eating a lot of calories to gain weight. I was just hoping that dramatically increasing my dietary fat could trick my body into recovering sooner or something.

How close are you to your goal weight, curvesaregood?

Also make sure you are getting enough iron in your diet. That can affect your cycle too. Best of luck:)

Last time I weighed I was 110 lbs at 5'9.. I haven't weighed since so I don't know what I weigh now. My goal is around 130 lbs I suppose but I'm not focusing on a particular number.. so I've a long way to go to.. Is it better to gain weight slowly or do it quickly? Are my bones becoming weaker every day without menstruation? I'm only 16 so I'm particularly concerned about my bone density, that's why I want to regain my period quickly.

If you're concerned about bone density then make sure you're getting enough calcium...this could also help with the period thing.

My view on the period thing is that is has to do with overall nutrition and where your body is comfortable. I've always been underweight with body fat around 16% and I've never lost my period. Even when I lost 20lbs more after surgery and had a body fat of 8% I still got my period (lucky me...). But, I only suffered from malnutrition for about 3-4 weeks, and the rest of the time I always eat healthily.

So my suggestion is make sure your diet is balanced nutritionally in iron, calcium, vitamins etc. I doesn't matter how much fat you eat: by eating fat you won't get fat. However you should be getting at least 30%, maybe more (but I would increase it slowly... I had a few days where I ate tons of nuts and my fat intake was around 50-55%...yeah, my stomach was not too happy about that).

Definitely eat fish if you can, like salmon, trout, or any others that have mono/poly-unsaturated fats, and nuts especially almonds, cashews, walnuts...

Also, missmagill mentioned in another thread that hormone levels play a part in it too. I think by eating better you can help to correct a problem like this yourself, but you may want to see a doctor if you continue to have problems even at a higher weight.

no one is talking about carbs.  I was vastly underweight as a kid and teen.  Eating carbs that stick can help you build your bodies back up.  Personally, fatty foods were hard to digest when I wasn't eating much.  Rice, sandwiches, peanut butter, honey are easy to digest and they will stick to you.  Oatmeal is a good breakfast too.  Don't be afraid of carbs, especially if you are exercising. 

I'm not saying fat and protein are bad, just that I had a hard time keeping them down when I lacked an appetite. 

Original Post by curvesaregood:

I want to regain my period and I'm wondering if weight gain alone is enough or if I need to be eating lots of fat as well? Does eating more dairy products help? Soy?

its more about your actual body rather than fat consumption.

i put this figure up a lot, but the average person should be getting 10% of their cals from protein, 30% of cals from fat, and 60% of their cals from carbs.
there are many reasons for amenorrhea. like being underweight, overexercise or quickly getting into lots of exercise that your body isnt used to, and various disease/health conditions.

by your post, it sounds to me (not diagnosing you or anything) that you just need a little more weight on you. unless you are totally overexercising or doing more than your body is used to. for example, when i first started exercising i got into an hour and a half workout after being a couch-potato my whole life. i didnt get my period for like 7 months (though i was heavy and eating about 2200 cals a day)

this is what i have heard from my doctor and various health teachers in school: the human body (or any living body for that matter) is a complex piece of work! if your body "thinks" it wouldnt be able to sustain a baby, it will cut off the possibility of you getting pregnant....by eliminating your period. i put the word 'thinks' in quotes because your body isnt really thinking for itself, lol.

to me that sounds like its right, but i have heard other things by authority figures that werent quite true. id say it makes sense why your body doesnt menstruate when your at an unhealthy weight level.

Get your fats (20-30% of your diet) from avocados, nuts, fish, olive oil, etc.  It's the best kinds of fat for you and the calorie dense foods will help you overall.

Your body fat is far more important. Below 12% is risky, with below 8% being the absolute threshold.

However, eating enough healthy fats will help.

I just weighed myself this morning and since eating more my weight has decreased to 105 lbs and (though I know body fat scales aren't all that accurate) according to it I have 4% body fat. It's ridiculous!

Honestly, NONE of us know your medical history. It could be something serious so you should consult a doctor. We can say this and that but still its just a guess. You should go see a gyno or talk to a trusted female that is an adult and have them take you. Im not sure where your mom is...but if she is around let her know because I guarantee that she wont want her daughter to try and get medical advice...which this is off the internet. (I havent looked at your profile...but if your not a teen then just take yourself to a local health clinic if you dont have healthcare...they are the cheapest)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amenorrhea

Female athletes or women who perform considerable amounts of exercise on a regular basis are at risk of developing 'athletic' amenorrhoea. It was thought for many years that low body fat levels and exercise related chemicals (such as beta endorphins and catecholamines) disrupt the interplay of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. However recent studies have shown that there are no differences in the body composition, or hormonal levels in amenorrheic athletes. Instead, amenorrhea has been shown to be directly attributable to a low energy availability. Many women who exercise at a high level do not take in enough calories to expend on their exercise as well as to maintain their normal menstrual cycles. [1]

I'm just saying...

When compared with women who menstruate regularly, women who menstruate infrequently or not at all often have lower dietary intakes of fat (especially saturated fat), protein, and total calories, as well as a greater proportion of carbohydrate and fiber in their diet.13 14 15 In preliminary studies of normal-weight women with no obvious eating disorders, women who experienced amenorrhea had diets described as “close to normal” but significantly low in fat. These women had lower percentages of body fat as well.16 17 In one of these studies, regular menstruation returned in women who increased their fat intake and percentage of body fat to normal over four months.18

http://www.cncahealth.com/health-notes.htm?or g=cnca&ContentID=1008006

So dietary composition DOES have an impact.

i just thought i'd come in and say that i'm a normal weight (5'2" 116) but consume very little fat. i lost my period. i lost about 30 pounds very quickly, but my doctor says i don't need to gain it back (i have already gained 10 pounds back from my lowest weight). i still don't have my period though..

do i just increase my fat intake (without increasing calories) to get my period back? surely i don't have to gain any more weight; i don't know what my bodyfat level is but it can't be low at all. i have a lot of extra junk on my stomach, thighs, everywhere really.

In my experience it's been the amount of literal fat you're consuming. I know people who are overweight yet lost their period after going on ridiculously low-fat "diets."