please read my situation and give your input. recovery, amenorrea, weight distribution, etc.

Hi folks. I'm 5'3 andn currenly weigh about 111-112 pound, up from a low weight of 107. I have never met the diagnostic criteria for anorexia, but i have met the criteria for bulemia in the past, and am now ED-NOS.

I have not gotten my period for almost a year. I am currently eating what feels like a TON (about 2100-2300 calories a day).

I also exercise a lot (60 minutes pretty intense cardio 5-6 days a week)

My nutritionist wants me to gain more weight until i get my period, and I know I need to get it to be healthy, but I feel way too big to "have" to gain weight, and I feel guilty every day about how much I eat.

How much are others eating to maintain / gain a little who have stats similar to my own? How much do you have to weigh to get your period? How has any weight that you've gained bee distributed on your body?

please help.

Hello - I am new here but can relate to your situation.  I am 5'4 and have gained to about 114 (from 105) but have still not gotten my period back.  I eat around 2500 a day ( I am running daily - training for a half marathon) and am gaining slowly.  I'm only gaining about a pound a month so I know that I need to up the intake to achieve my goals.  My nutritionist also tells me that I need to gain more and not just muscle but fat in order to get my period back which means probaby increasing to at least 3000 a day.  I'm guessing I need to gain at least another 6-8 pounds. I too am still working on just eating and not worrying about gaining.  The weight you need to be to get your period back differs for everyone so I wouldn't worry about the number.  I have stopped weighing myself and am trying to focus on how I feel.  The guilt from eating and gaining won't be as bad as the repercussions from missing my period for longer than I already have.  Good luck and keep up the good work.

You may get your period at your current weight if you cut back on your exercise and the intensity.  Just an idea.  I got my period back at a lower weight than you when I stopped exercising as much.  And now I'm still getting it and am able to exercise more again.

Edited to add:

Oh and also fats are important.  Althoguh calories and weight gain are important I think that increasing my fat through nuts & oils is what helped more than anything.

thanks guys. eating more fats is one of the things i'm working on.

any more input anyone? *bump!*

Also, have you been tested for anemia? I was training for a marathon while at a healthy weight and stopped having my period because I developed anemia.  Intense exercise can do that to you, particularly if you are running. Just something to consider!

Depending on how long you were under-nourished and how long you've been healthy you could begin menstruating any day. I have roughly the same stats as you and I'm up from less than 100lbs. There's no magic weight at which you regain your period and sometimes the damage done by lack of nutrients is not reversible. This is in extreme situations with years of self-abuse. Honestly the more you worry about it the more you stress yourself which we all know delays your period.

As a side note, I want to congratulate you all on your strength of character. It takes a lot to do what you're doing. I've read so many blogs from women who don't see this as a bad cycle and instead encourage others to continue to hurt themselves mentally as well as physically. It's nice to know that there are others out there who have chosen to walk away from those unhealthy ideals. Very encouraging to me, thank you!

low weight isn't the only thing that causes amenorrhea. extremely active people often don't get theirs. i'm a ballet dancer and hardly got mine at all even before my ed.

Original Post by ewwxroflzz:

low weight isn't the only thing that causes amenorrhea. extremely active people often don't get theirs. i'm a ballet dancer and hardly got mine at all even before my ed.

weren't you only 128lbs before you started restricting unless you were shorter than you are now I'd still say you were a very low weight low weight, and low enough to get irregular periods,

Original Post by enzyme1:

Original Post by ewwxroflzz:

low weight isn't the only thing that causes amenorrhea. extremely active people often don't get theirs. i'm a ballet dancer and hardly got mine at all even before my ed.

weren't you only 128lbs before you started restricting unless you were shorter than you are now I'd still say you were a very low weight low weight, and low enough to get irregular periods,

yeah, but that was my natural weight. and i would get my period during times when i was off from ballet.

thank you jessiep for your lovely response. it is not an easy thing to give up disordered ways of thinking, and I can't say I'm 100% committed yet. It's a good reminder, though, that I am not only helping myself, but also reminding others that there is such a thing as a healthy, even enjoyable, relationship with food, and that in the long run healthy muscles, bones, heart, brain, etc are much more important than a few pounds of body weight right now.

I agree that over-excersise could be one of the reasons you might not have gotten your period back. It might help if you cut back the number of days you excersise (to like 3-5) or workout for less each day (like 30-45mins)...or even just alternate.

I think it also has a lot to do with overall nutrition. I don't/didn't have an ED, but when I went down to 93lbs (5'6'') i STILL got my period, even with 8% body fat. So it's my belief that weight and body fat are not the only things that will make you lose your period.

Even at my normal weight I'm still considered underweight for my height, but I've never had issues with period regularity. I think your body has to be at a weight where it is comfortable (and could comfortably reproduce) to get a regular period. So for you, your body may not be happy enough with 112lbs to let you reproduce...

If you feel uncomfortable with gaining more weight until your period returns (like your nutritionist suggests) you should back off on the cardio for a while. My trainer told me that she loses her period during the winter when she's playing hockey 5-6 nights a week... I'm pretty sure that's due to over-excersise and lowered body fat.

How has any weight that you've gained bee distributed on your body?

The past few months when I was working out 4-5 times a week (primarily weight training) I gained weight mostly in my legs as muscle (they were pretty atrophied) and some in my stomach. I actually think this was because I was getting such beefy abs... for a while I though it might be some love-handles, but when I flexed my abs everything was totally hard... Anyways, the past two weeks I haven't been able to workout, and my fat % has gone up a bit form where it was. I noticed that my body has actually "re-distributed" some of the weight that I was seeing in my stomach to my butt (whoo!), so I've been getting a tad curvier because of the shift in fat %.

Hope that helps, and good luck with the gaining.

I haven't had my period for AGES either, but you could try visiting an obstetrician to make sure it's caused by low weight and not by something else. I visited one like, 2 weeks ago and she gave me progesterone pills (or something like that...) and apparently depending on whether or not your period comes after taking the pills, they can assess what you should do.

As for eating, I'm 5"2 and 86 pound, up 2 pounds since last month, but barely gaining  I wish I could eat 2100 calories a day, but right now its closer to 1800... and so far all the weight is going straight to my belly. I guess the real issue isn't WHERE the weight is going to, but how you THINK about it. (soo much easier said than done though, lol)

Keep up the great work everyone and never EVER lose hope.

Hey Eliza,

I've had so many diagnoses in the past it's insane, though I've now had a confirmed diagnosis of Physical Anorexia. Although mine was not a mental case, I can still relate to a lot that you have said.

My lowest weight was 76 lbs at 5'4, my highest was 200 at that same height, and I now reside around 120 lbs. I have been all over the place weight-wise in a matter of about 2 1/2 years, 2 of which I have been missing my period. I remember at the beginning of recovery feeling stuffed on 2400 calories a day...then I found out what a lot really was when the hospital I was in upped my cals to 4500 and I STILL LOST WEIGHT. I was sedentary, yet my body was horrendously starved and required me to eat a ton. I know how it feels to be stuffed, and I know that it makes you feel fat. But there is a key word in that statement: feel. You are NOT really overweight and you DO need to gain more in order to be healthy.

With all of the exercise you do, your body fat is likely extremely low. I'm athletic myself and I continue to miss my period despite being my ideal weight. I decreased my acitvity level and increased my intake of carbohydrates in order to get an appropriate amount of body fat. Then my doctor told me that he doesn't think body fat is the issue, and rather it is an imbalance of hormones that are causing my amenorrea. Either one could be the case. Judging by what your nutritionist said, however, it sounds like you have low body fat. If you don't have enough of it, you're going to keep hearing that you need to gain more. I would suggest doing what I did to gain body fat; lower the activity and up the carbs. Without enough body fat, your body just cannot function correctly. If you work on gaining more body fat, you won't have to gain as much weight.

I know it's hard to want to continue gaining when you think that you are healthy or even chubby. I felt that way when I weighed 105 lbs. Now I look back at pictures of myself from then in disgust. Not to mention I've noticed that i feel much more energetic and alive now that I've gained up to a weight that my doctor approves of. One thing that helped me out when I was gaining weight and getting major bloating (which in turn made me feel like the pillsbury doughboy's girlfriend) was to repeat to myself, "I'm not fat, I'm bloated!". It's tacky, but it helps.:P

As for weight distribution, once your body is at a happy weight, the weight will slowly begin shifting to different places. This happens to everyone; we gain weight quickly around one area and have to wait until we've gotten to a healthy place to see it move to a normal area. Even more reason to get to your goal weight!;] The period weight thing varies a ton, though. I can't answer that for you, but your doctor might be able to give you an idea.

Listen to your doctors, Eliza. They want to help you, and they know you much better than those of us on CC. It is best to come to us for support, as you'll be getting tons of mixed opinions of what your weight should be, when you'll get your period, etc. You can continue to ask questions by all means, but none of us can promise that our answers will be accurate for your body.

Best of luck!:]

im 5/3 was 88, now 94-96(aiming for 110-120 or whenever period returns) which i have gained in under a week, like 5 days, it concerns me but on one of those day when i wasn't eating a full 3000cals it settled a bit, im not eating enough for it to be fat, it's water weight, im bloating like hell. anyways you need 30% body fat to have a period, i have been anorexic 6 months and haven't since had one.

btw i chose the 3000cals, because i want t enjoy food, reconnect. dont be affraid it wont kill you it will only make you stronger, its fuel in your car.

look, ive been told no exercise until 100lb when i regain strength, then add muscle, so ur cardio should either pull back, or u eat stacks more (small meals often so u dont feel deprived) but thats TOTALLY my opinion, im only 14 so technically u should ignore me.