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The monthy....

Ok so at the risk of being insulted and scolded, I have to ask... What's the big deal about not having your period? I feel healthy, I believe I'm at a pretty good weight, I eat a good amount of food, so why should I care if I don't get my period anymore? Is there an actual reason why is it unhealthy to not have it?

And forget about fertility reasons. I've already had my kids and can't have anymore. And if you're gonna lose it later in life, is there really anything wrong with losing it earlier?

It's a bit like saying 'so what if my hair fell out... never liked it and anyway I can wear a wig?'... When menstruation stops in a what should be a healthy young woman it means there's something wrong physically.  Could be that they're too thin, under stress, over-exercising, sick in some respect... takes a doctor to work out what's wrong exactly, but there is something wrong with their reproductive system.   The drop in female hormone alone can have serious consequences for osteoporosis, for example. Many people with long-term period loss can end up with bad skeletal problem relatively early in life.  Bent double by age 40 isn't a great look

In your case it also depends on what 'a pretty good weight' and 'a good amount of food' looks like.  People who are  too low a weight for long periods can find that the chronic malnutrition it takes to keep them that weight has different consequences... some quite nasty.

Edited to point out..... On November 2nd you said you were 5'2.5" and 94lbs. That's clinically underweight, of course.   And elsewhere you were talking about keeping your calorie intake below 1200?.... 'maintaining' on apallingly low calorie-intakes.    I think you're lining yourself up for all kinds of medical problems quite honestly.  Losing periods is an early warning sign that you should take a lot more seriously than you currently are doing.

I'm now maintaing with a calorie intake of 1200-1300 with a free day every two weeks. I eat quite a bit, it's just alot of low calorie food. 40 calorie bread, 100 cal snacks such as popcorn, light soup, with the occasional high calorie treat mixed in. I've learned to cook alot of low calorie foods. I'm definately not starving. Hell...sometimes I think I'm eating too much. 

I just couldn't imagine what could be wrong with losing a period since there are BC out there that cause you to lose it and menopause will hit anyways. It's not like I'm in my teens or twenties or even need to reproduce. I wasn't sure what the long term effects would be. Thank you for pointing them out. I'd hate to have Osteoporosis hit sooner. But I'll admit it....I sure don't miss having them.

Here's a website with descriptions of birth control that eliminate periods.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/29666-types -birth-control-used-stop/

Here's a website with information on Secondary amenorrhea

http://www.righthealth.com/topic/Loss_Of_Mens truation/overview/adam20?fdid=Adamv2_001219

Read the information, consult your doctor, and make your own decisions.  You asked for information, you don't like what you got so do your own research.

whipple- I didn't say anything against the response I got therefore your remark is uncalled for. I thanked the poster for pointing out the disadvantages. But thank you for your help.

You're a mom with three kids and you don't know what you are setting yourself up for?

Here's a tour through what happening to your body now at restriction of 1200-1600 calories:

1. It lays down what little fat it can around the vital organs as protection (which actually increases risks for heart disease in later life); 
2. it pilfers calcium from bones leading to osteoporosis in later life -- your bones will break when you step off a curb;
3. it slows the metabolism to try to eek as much as it can from the little calories it can get (which leads to pre-metabolic syndrome/diabetes -- which surprises a lot of habitual under-eaters because they assume those are only diseases of the obese, not so);
4. it ignores the huge piggy glucose demands from the prefrontal cortex (which leads to slowed thought and poor judgment);
5. it ups the gluccocorticoids* in the body (stress response) which in turn shrinks the hippocampus in the brain and that causes more gluccocorticoids in the body (vicious circle) and wrecks your memory capability possibly leading to dementia in later life;
6. it starts scrimping on the red blood cell count (anemia and profound fatigue).

*gluccocorticoids are legendary in their ability to cause serious auto-immune diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation of the circulatory system), hardening of the arteries, severe immuno-suppression (constant colds, flus, secondary infections)... and they also worsen all the conditions you develop with chronic under-eating.

You are maintaining your weight and nothing else.

So, not getting your periods is probably the only physical sign you get right now as to what lays in store for you by the time you're 50. Good luck with that.

I think this thread needs to be locked because it's not consistent with the CC aims of maintaining a healthy weight through sensible diet and exercise.  The OP has clearly no intention of changing their disordered eating behaviour and seems content with the prospect of permanent ill-health.  It has 'pro-ana' written all over it.

Posting Guidelines

Calorie Count's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management. Please help our moderators follow this vision and respect the following guidelines.

• Promotion of starvation diets or habits that exhibit signs of an eating disorder ("pro-ana", "pro-mia", etc.) is prohibited.

I'm sorry you think that gi-jane. Actually, I was asking the question to see what the long-term effect would be. If I didn't care, I wouldn't have asked it. I don't eat less than what the site recommends for someone with my stats so I don't see how I am pro-ana. I know that I need to work on my disordered eating which is why I asked the question. It's a work-in-progress. I am taking baby steps to change and one way of doing that is to learn things. I asked what the big deal was because I honestly wasn't sure. It was pointed out and yes, I have no desire to have osteoporosis any sooner than when I will get it, so I learned what was wrong with it. I am noticing that there are quite a few people on this site who are asking honest questions but instead of being helped, there are those out there who aim to wound. (I am in no way stating that you are part of this group, just an observation of some on the site.)

Again, I thank those who pointed out the ill-effects.

Fat intake is also important as far as menstruation.  If you do not eat enough dietary fats (up to 30% of cals) then you can stop menstruating.  It sounds like you are eating mostly all low cal fat free foods (as I was, now am changing, as I want my period); and yes, i know from experience that salads, fruits, high fiber low cal snacks, etc DO absolutely make you full!  that's why I ate them!  low cal, fat free, but I wasn't hungry! As for not having periods, i think the main problem is BONE HEALTH!!!!  You don't want to have osteoporosis when you are young!  and it happens!  good luck!!

Original Post by sullysbunny:

I don't eat less than what the site recommends for someone with my stats so I don't see how I am pro-ana. it. 

 1200-1400 calories is way below the recommendation on this site for a person your height who is a healthy weight and maintaining.  It's far, far below the 2500 cals you know you need to gain weight to a healthier level.   It might be recommended for someone 50lbs heavier than you wanting to lose weight... but that's not you.

So that means you are kidding yourself and, in the process, trying to kid CC. You are a) are not making an effort to recover and b) you're 'promoting' the idea of being underweight through undereating.  This means your post is against the rules.

I am becoming increasingly hostile to this kind of post that tries to make out everything in the garden of anorexia and amenorrhea is hunky-dory, quite normal and nothing to worry about.  Personally,  I'd prefer it if you didn't keep posting but instead got some proper help in dealing with your questions about the implications of being chronically malnourished.... Luckily for you, it's not up to me which posts get blocked and which don't.

Original Post by sullysbunny:

I don't eat less than what the site recommends for someone with my stats so I don't see how I am pro-ana. it. 

 1200-1400 calories is way below the recommendation on this site for a person your height who is a healthy weight and maintaining.  It's far, far below the 2500 cals you know you need to gain weight to a healthier level.   It might be recommended for someone 50lbs heavier than you wanting to lose weight... but that's not you.

So that means you are kidding yourself and, in the process, trying to kid CC. You are a) are not making an effort to recover and b) you're 'promoting' the idea of being underweight through undereating.  This means your post is against the rules.

I am becoming increasingly hostile to this kind of post that tries to make out everything in the garden of anorexia and amenorrhea is hunky-dory, quite normal and nothing to worry about.  Personally,  I'd prefer it if you didn't keep posting but instead got some proper help in dealing with your questions about the implications of being chronically malnourished.... Luckily for you, it's not up to me which posts get blocked and which don't.

GIJANE-we can keep reporting them tho (which i just figured out how to do) and then hopefully the site will eventually clean up and not be a grounds for promoting unhealthy behavior, and touting them as "healthy"!

OK...as you wish...no more posting then. Last thing though...I was seeking help but I guess no one else can see that. I wasn't promoting anything. As for the recommondations...my account home screen said daily goal 1200 but maybe I don't understand it. I just ran it again with my current weight to maintain and it listed 1307 as my daily intake goal. I've been averaging 1200-1300. If you had read my second response it stated that I was allowing myself free days to where I would eat more so that should point out that I am TRYING. BTW- I wasn't touting anything as healthy.

But thank you anyways.

MODS: can you pls close this posting?