how I got my period back...

Ive been reading a lot of forum posts about ladies who havent been receiving their period because they are underweight, i had the same problem but made some lifestyle changes and got it back this week.

Previously i had been working out 6 days a week for at least an hour and restricting my calories to below 1500. I hadnt gotten my period since July SO what i did was i took two weeks off from the gym and began eating at LEAST 1500 calories and sure enough I got it back. I feel much happier and healthier now!

GOODLUCK!

omg i feel like i know you all!! finally alot of peole that share my same issue!!  Im back on track with my weight i weigh 113 again coming from 97 pounds!! do you think birth control will help bring my period back? or should i take omega 3 pills instead!! cuz im already eating healthy

go see your gyno, you might need to gain more too

here's the full story:

i'm 17, never had a period in my life.

from about 2nd- 5th grade i grew from a slightly chubby kid into a very chunky one- i can't remember exactly how tall i was, but i do know that i was short (i was 3rd to shortest in my grade, and one of those people had minor dwarfism) and weighed 80 pounds.  in 6th grade, i went on my own version of weight watchers in which i made 100 calories= 1 point and a few grams of sugar=1 point.  i went for 20 points a day but didn't know how to calculate points for homemade suppers so i probably got about 2000 calories a day... lost 10 pounds and grew a bit so then i was at a nice healthy weight with a much healthier lifestyle.

since then, i've randomly gained like 10 pounds, became more conscious of what i was eating and lost some/grew, then gained, then lost (each gain and loss/maintenance happening over the period of about 6 months)- not so often, probably one gain and one loss a year.

the thing is, i like my weight now but obviously there's something wrong cuz i have no period- not that its incredibly strange in my family cuz e/o in my family got their periods late- but i'm 2 years past the latest.  i think i have too much muscle/ not enough fat but i will be honest here: I DO NOT WANT TO GAIN WEIGHT.  i know, i know, you'll probably say i need to and i'll probably have to come to terms with that eventually.  but just so you can keep in mind to let me know lightly...

ok so my stats: 96 pounds, 5"1, i know its low but the real problem i think: i checked my body fat ratio on a website (using measurements) and i have a body fat percentage of 12%- the site said that top female athletes have between 10-18%.  1 day a week i take an hour of karate, 4 days a week i do a half hour of exercise bike, 1 day a week i take a 1 hour brisk walk outside, and 1 day a week i do nothing.  besides that cardio, i alternate between 25 crunches on the exercise ball and about 10 reps of 4 different exercises with 20 pound weights.  (btw, if i were to cut out exercise so that i can lose some muscle instead of gaining a significant amount of weight, how can i do that while still remaining healthy?)  

typical eating schedule: 3-4 days a week: fruit in the morning, container of soup and a piece of sugar-free, fat-free (homemade and all natural) cake and big bag of cereal for lunch, fruit and maybe a piece of whole wheat bread as a snack, lots of veggies and chicken/fish and nuts and soynut butter for supper

the other 3-4 days a week begin as the same thing but then i get hungrier so i have a good deal more- usually carby things, like a few bowls of cereal and rice milk and a something sweet (homemade cookie...)- i have a MAJOR sweet tooth and if i dont satisfy it a few times a week i end up just sitting one day and eating cookies and cereal to a point where i'm EXTREMELY stuffed 

finally: last check-up= perfect blood count, perfect blood pressure (very low actually- doc says i must be very calm), perfect cholesterol... basically picture of health so i must be doing SOMETHING right.  also, i haven't gotten sick- beyond a cold- in about 3 years

whew... i think im done now

help?

ive been told im underweight my BMI is 18.4 im 18 years old and my height is 5'8 and i weigh around about 121 lbs  

omgosh the same thing is happening to me now and im scared **** i dont know what to do usually my period comes every 8 weeks sometimes sooner sometimes later but its been over 3 almost 4 months now that i havent had my period and im reaaaaaally scared cos i dont wanna lose it for good because i heard thats possible i hope not.. right now am on a low calorie diet i prety my eat at around about 1000 - 1200 cals sometimes less if im not hungry sometimes more than 1200. my biggest fear is not being able to get my period back i mean i dont care if i add a few pounds back on i should be around about 131 to 147 lbs anyway thats my ideal weight range but im just scared ive done too mcuh damage please anyone any help and suggestions?? cos im really freaking out i dont wanna lose my period for good

For everyone that was asking about birth control, from everything I've read (no, I'm not a medical professional and not pretending to be, but anyway), you don't get a "real" period on birth control anyway. Its just your body reacting to the fact that there was a steady stream of hormones and then there isn't. In fact, when they first created the Pill, they found that it eliminated a natural period, so they created the placebo week just so that women would feel like they were still getting their period and not freak out.

So I don't know if going on BC would make you get your period. The one helpful thing would be that its giving you estrogen that your body is probably not producing enough of.

I am no expert but I am almost 100% certain that your low BMI and low calorie intake is why you are not getting your period. Almost guarantee you that.

A BMI of less then 18.5 is classified as clinically under weight, and MOST women lose their periods when their BMI drops from 19.

Not only is your low BMI a main reason your period has probably stopped, you are not eating enough - 1200 calories is THE MINIMUM amount a VERY SHORT WOMEN who is SEDENTARY needs.

So if you are taller then 5 ‘1 and do more then 30 minutes of activity most days then you need MUCH MORE then 1000 calories, and more then 1200 calories!

At your current BMI and calorie level you have no chance of getting your period back naturally, so I hope you do not mind gaining to a BMI of 19

A naturally slim women with a BMI of 19 should be able to maintain on at least 2000 calories a day, women who can be naturally slimmer and still be healthy tend to need more calories then other people, that is why they are “ naturally slim”

If you gain past a BMI of 19 eating 1500 or less calories a day then chances are your body is healthier at a higher weight.

JAYJAY11 - that post was for you

Like mainly every one else on here, I've got the same problem, except I never really overexcercised (about 3 times a week for 30 minutes, some sit ups every other day), but for a while, I was definitely not eating enough calories without realizing, mainly because I was just having a diet of lean protein (chicken and fish), vegetables, and fruit, with like olive oil, olives, beans, all that. I had just gotten off the pill, and got one bleed on my own, so I just thought that it was because of the pill. I was mainly avoiding things like bread and starchy vegetables, and yogurt. I've recently been trying to up my caloric intake and fat intake, although I don't really count calories so that might be how I got into this mess in the first place.

Anyway, I feel like I've been making these changes for so long, slowly though, but still, it's been since November. I recently started getting other problems though (what seems like an overproduction of stomach acid and some frequent  urination)before I even REALLY made any changes. But anyway, I've gotten my levels tested, and everything is low. I've tried Provera 3 times (when I wasn't really making dietary changes) and did not get a bleed. I went on the pill for a month over the summer and got two over that duration lol. After that, I was getting some weeks where I'd be bloated, but nothing else.

Then I tried provera again over winter break and got a bleed. About exactly a month later, I had bloating, shooting breast pain, and cramps for one day, but no period. I got my levels checked, and my estrogen was a little higher, but still low (in the 20's compared to 14 in November..but normal range is from 60-400).

Does this mean something good or bad? Has anyone been able to successfully get it back, but had months in between where nothing was really happening/got signs but no bleed?

Also, how do you guys get 1500 to 2000 calories a day, while still eating healthy? I feel like I was always eating pretty healthy, just avoiding the starchy things and dairy...now I've obviously changed that, but I'm still not completely comfortable with it all.

Just struggling I guess, cause there's the possibility that I may have somehow developed PCOS even though I've had low estrogen/never had problems with my period before losing it from the combination of being on the pill and then losing a lot of weight when coming off of it...

I may have PCOS from losing too much weight, and then going off the pill after that.

I am getting everything tested this year some time, I had all the signs and the doctor suggested I could have it but I think that it was due to those above events and can therefore sort itself out.. My body was so messed up and I am prone to hormonal problems so I think my body was just all over the place from what it went through.

what were the signs that you had of PCOS personal trainer? Just amenorrhea and cysts on your ovaries, or the hirsutism too?

My period has stoped for 8 years now. Even though last year after flying abroad I bled for 3 days and it was really really dark, after that it disappeared again. I think it was the time change and stuff. Im not sure, but I know that my period is gone. Im 5"7 and 110lbs.

Have you ever gotten it checked out candycane? You must have been excited when you got the bleed! I've been trying very hard to get mine back. At this point, my estrogen isn't completely there yet, so it's hard to say what's causing it. 

Has anyone ever gotten signs of their period when trying to get it back, but did not have a bleed?

I was quiet underweight and started to gain weight for the first time; this messed up my hormones, and on top of that, I ALSO went off the pill which I had been on for years… so, BOTH things messed up my hormones!

Soon after going off the pill, I got acne on my face and my skin became oily, and I got a few small facial hairs on my chin - not long ones, just a few short small ones.

I also had a few cysts on my ovaries

I am not sure if I ever had a natural period before the pill I do not remember that far back, I think I might have had a few but NOT regular ones..

Diabetes is also in my family, dad AND his sister have bad cases of it, diabetes is to do with hormones so I am at high risk of hormonal problems

All the above tells me that starving my body AND going off the pill cause PCOS, but I do not believe I necessarily am going to have it for ever, I believe I can change things or at least control it by what I do with my body

I am a pure eater, I eat no preservatives or any man made thing, no exceptions, only eat raw fruit, vegetables, raw nuts, fish, chicken, and roasted potato’s and sweet potato. That is it. I literally eat no sugar or anything added.

I believe that I eat so pure and do not do the slightest thing wrong and therefore I can put my body in a state where the PCOS will dominate

If I literally do not do a single un pure or bad thing to my body then I think my body is smart enough to not do anything to destructive to itself without my outside help

I have the same problem with pretty much everyone on here. I am 15 years old and am 5'2. over the summer i lost about 20 pounds by working out and not eating a lot of fats. I got my period once and then when i started loosing the weight my period stoped and i haven't gotten it for about 8 months now. My mom took me to the doctor and the doctor said that i probialy lost the weight to fast like what happend to a lot of other people on here. I have been eating a ton more then i used to. i used to weigh about 101 to 102 and i now weight about 105. I have only been exercizing every once and a while because i want my period to come back. The problem is it still has not come back and that is starting to scare me. i am really worried that i am not going to be able to have kids later in life. I have even been taking vitomens. ( sorry i am not a very good speller, haha) I dont know what to do. I have a small frame and so does my mom and sister, heck my mom weights the same as i do now and she is perfectly fine. i am so confused and scared. if anyone can help me on what more i can do, please let me know.

thank you so much personaltrainer87 that was really helpful..ive also been told that it could also have to do with the amount of fat im eating is not enough i donno if that could be true or not?

Your loss of period correlates with your low weight and the level of fat can also have a big influence on your period.

If you are at a BMI of 18.5 or less, then even with ENOUGH fats a lot of women will STILL stop getting their periods purely due to their weights

There are also some women who are at a healthy weight and stop getting their period due to not eating enough fats if they are on a very low fat diet.

Fats tend to influence periods more then protein or carbohydrates, in the sense that increasing it helps women at normal and slightly underweight weights get their periods back but you have to be at a healthy enough weight to get a period in the first place; if you are not at a healthy enough weight then the fats will not get your period back.

It is only once you are at a healthier weight that eating more fats tends to make more difference then carbohydrates or proteins.

So yes an increase in fats does help women get their periods back more then proteins or carbohydrates but you have to be at a healthy enough weight for this fact to apply to you, your body needs to be at a healthy enough weight to even get a period regardless of how much fats you eat.

i haven't had my period for probably 9months now... my bmi is 20.5... 18 yrs old.. 5ft ... 105 -110 depending what i eat. i dramatically dropped in weight from 130 to 116.. then from 116 in nov. dropped to 110 after christmas..then dropped to 103... and now gained 2 more pounds..and have managed 105... the past week i been eating up to 2100 calories... like this website is telling me too.. and sometimes.. a little over... WHEN WILL I GET MY PERIOD BACK?!!?!?! help!! please!!

I'm frustrated. I eat quite alot these days, try to include fat into the diet, cut off exercise, bloating like crazy because my stomach is constantly full of food. I don't know what else I should do. I already gained 6-7 lbs and I want to lose weight again T_T. I'm thinking about taking some flax seed pills in case that helps any and eating alot of almonds.

Hi, i am in the same boat as most of you here! i went a bit crazy for a while exercising like a demon! last year for abou 4 months i was eating like a small bowl of cereal, salad and rice cakes for lunch and small tea (although i would then binge on a weekend) and was running 6 hours a week, weights 3 times a week and cycling and walking everywhere, when i came off the pill my periods didn't return haven't had one now for 1 year 8 months. I was never under weight at my lowest in was 114lbs a 5ft 2inches. Even though i have cut my exercise down from this and have loosened my diet they still have not returned, i now run 4 hours a week cycle 12 miles a day and do weights 3 times a week. My doctor has said i need to cut it down still, but to what!!!? i just don't know??? any tips or ideas? i am eating better with carbs, protein and fats encorporated into my diet and have gained 4-6lbs. Apparently it is called Hypogonadism if anyone wants to know. It is where your hypothalamus is not producing the right hormones to kick start your ovaries. My docor also wans me to go bak on the pill, but then i will not know if my 'real'periods have returned. I am petrified of getting out of shape and getting fat now, i hate my thighs as it is!. Someone please help and reply to this.

Hi yellowlucy, this is exactly what happened to me last year. I over exercised and lost a little weight from 115lb to 107lb at 5f3" but was still eating about 1500 kcals or more but it was high protein low carb and low fat. I came off the pill and my period didnt return, my doctor also recommended going back on the pill but I didn't for the same reasons that you don't want to.

What I did was cut down on exercise to 45min 3 times a week MAX, 15min low intensity cardio and 30mins light weights for me as I was previously lifting heavy. In july my period came back and now im waiting for my next one to come, I have all the ovulations signs that last few days so im sure it will be here soon. Although my cycles are now a little longer im sure once my body has healed they will be regular again.

My opinion is you should cut out running as it is hard on the body, or at least cut down some more. Its not healthy to be without a period. It took me about 8 months before I cut down exercise and changed my eating habits and then 3 months later my period returned. Hope this helps!