Late period due to increase of exercise?! Help!!

jax_006

So I have changed my workout routine the last 2 weeks. I have been getting in 2 hours of exercise a day through hiking or spinning and eating 1200 cals a day to try to lose 1.5-2 pounds a week. I know that seems aggressive but after some lax weeks this summer I am wanting to amp it up a bit in terms of shedding the weight. I typically wasn't eating back the cals from exercise unless I was out at a social event with friends, but that only amounted to maybe getting in 1500 cals those few days. I have been very diligent about my workouts and eating 1200 cals the last 2 weeks.

But my period is now 4 days late and I can't help but think it's something to do with my workout routine as I never have been this late before.
I'm not pregnant in case any one is wondering.

So could my delayed period be from the new increase in exercise ? If so that sucks bc I was really wanting to lose at least 1.5 a week. Do you think if I continue my workout routine but eat my exercise calories that it will help in getting my period back?

Some stats:
28 yo. For the last year I have been eating around 1200 cals a day, some treat days obviously a little more than 1200. But the 1200 a day has been no issue for me. I'm 5'3 135 pounds. My goal weight is around 115, back to my early 20s weight. I started this year weighing in at my highest weight of 153.

Thanks for any insight.

Francl27

4 days is nothing. But my GYN says it's normal for women to skip periods sometimes so *shrug*. I lost it for 2 months before I switched to maintenance bease my deficit was too large, supposedly.

RoxieDawn

4 days really is nothing to worry about.. it can be diet, your calories are aggressive and add 2 hours of exercise, it can be due to both or one or the other. It can be stress... For me in the past when I over trained and diet, it happens.

winejunky143

I skipped mine last month and freaked out took a test. Negative. It was late again this month and took another test. Again negative. It finally came 4 days late and lasted only one day. I have been running/walking for an hour and a half every day for the past two months and am on an 800 calorie diet. I also switched birth controls recently. Maybe a combination of new bc and of extra energy out with way fewer calories. Your body doesn't have enough energy to produce a period.

jemhh

winejunky143 wrote: »

I skipped mine last month and freaked out took a test. Negative. It was late again this month and took another test. Again negative. It finally came 4 days late and lasted only one day. I have been running/walking for an hour and a half every day for the past two months and am on an 800 calorie diet. I also switched birth controls recently. Maybe a combination of new bc and of extra energy out with way fewer calories. Your body doesn't have enough energy to produce a period.

Wait, what? You are eating only 800 calories per day?

winejunky143

jemhh wrote: »

winejunky143 wrote: »

I skipped mine last month and freaked out took a test. Negative. It was late again this month and took another test. Again negative. It finally came 4 days late and lasted only one day. I have been running/walking for an hour and a half every day for the past two months and am on an 800 calorie diet. I also switched birth controls recently. Maybe a combination of new bc and of extra energy out with way fewer calories. Your body doesn't have enough energy to produce a period.

Wait, what? You are eating only 800 calories per day?

I'm trying to. Some days I get up to 900. MFP hardly ever lets me close out my diary because its too few calories.

RoxieDawn

winejunky143 wrote: »

jemhh wrote: »

winejunky143 wrote: »

I skipped mine last month and freaked out took a test. Negative. It was late again this month and took another test. Again negative. It finally came 4 days late and lasted only one day. I have been running/walking for an hour and a half every day for the past two months and am on an 800 calorie diet. I also switched birth controls recently. Maybe a combination of new bc and of extra energy out with way fewer calories. Your body doesn't have enough energy to produce a period.

Wait, what? You are eating only 800 calories per day?

I'm trying to. Some days I get up to 900. MFP hardly ever lets me close out my diary because its too few calories.

oh my...

kathrynjean_

But why are you only eating 800 calories?

winejunky143

kathrynjean_ wrote: »

But why are you only eating 800 calories?

I was trying to lose weight fast. I don't do much all day. I have a desk job and I just sit here waiting for the phone to ring. I tried bumping it up to 1000 and adding more exercise but I only gained back 2lbs.

yirara

How heavy and how tall are you to start with? You look very slim on your photo already. If you're underweight already then yes, you can lose your periods from not eating enough.

winejunky143

yirara wrote: »

How heavy and how tall are you to start with? You look very slim on your photo already. If you're underweight already then yes, you can lose your periods from not eating enough.

5'6" and 129lbs. BMI 25%.

kathrynjean_

Uhhh nope, your BMI is 20.8, so in a healthy range. That is a really aggressive deficit that is not healthy nor sustainable, but I have a feeling based on your response that MFP won't let you close your diary, that you already know this.

There is no way you gained 2 lbs of fat eating 1000 calories at 5'6.

I urge you to speak to someone and get help, and I wish you the best of luck with that.

RoxieDawn

winejunky143 wrote: »

kathrynjean_ wrote: »

But why are you only eating 800 calories?

I was trying to lose weight fast. I don't do much all day. I have a desk job and I just sit here waiting for the phone to ring. I tried bumping it up to 1000 and adding more exercise but I only gained back 2lbs.

Yikes.. Typical, wants to lose weight fast, lose it in a manner that is self harming, very unsustainable and actually defying how the body loses weight. I hate to say it, but you have to eat to lose weight.

by the way you did not gain 2 pounds of real fat by bumping those calories up from 800 to 1000...

To move on from derailing thread, please get some professional help with this.

kimny72

@winejunky143 , you are aggressively undereating. If you are honestly concerned about your health and the natural rhythms and processes of your body, stop starving yourself and aim for a healthy diet and healthy rate of weight loss. Your body needs fuel to do the very basic things it needs to do every day. You should be eating at least 1200 calories, and considering your age and activity, probably quite a bit more. Please take care of yourself.

kimny72

jax_006 wrote: »

So I have changed my workout routine the last 2 weeks. I have been getting in 2 hours of exercise a day through hiking or spinning and eating 1200 cals a day to try to lose 1.5-2 pounds a week. I know that seems aggressive but after some lax weeks this summer I am wanting to amp it up a bit in terms of shedding the weight. I typically wasn't eating back the cals from exercise unless I was out at a social event with friends, but that only amounted to maybe getting in 1500 cals those few days. I have been very diligent about my workouts and eating 1200 cals the last 2 weeks.

But my period is now 4 days late and I can't help but think it's something to do with my workout routine as I never have been this late before.
I'm not pregnant in case any one is wondering.

So could my delayed period be from the new increase in exercise ? If so that sucks bc I was really wanting to lose at least 1.5 a week. Do you think if I continue my workout routine but eat my exercise calories that it will help in getting my period back?

Some stats:
28 yo. For the last year I have been eating around 1200 cals a day, some treat days obviously a little more than 1200. But the 1200 a day has been no issue for me. I'm 5'3 135 pounds. My goal weight is around 115, back to my early 20s weight. I started this year weighing in at my highest weight of 153.

Thanks for any insight.

OP, losing weight so quickly when you have so little to lose, and not fueling your exercise with more food, could lead to you losing more muscle than you want. You are already at a healthy weight (and you are aiming for the low end of the typical healthy range), and your body can only burn so much fat at a time. Being 4 days late is not really a red flag, but over an extended period of time, under-eating and exercising aggressively can affect your hormones and mess with your cycle.

My personal opinion is you should eat back some of those exercise calories and settle for a slower rate of loss, but that's just me. To your actual question, theoretically your super low calories could be messing with your cycle but it's really hard to tell in the short term. If you are used to your cycle being really regular, and it continues to jump around, you should see a doctor to be sure there is nothing else going on.

Dannigreen31

I upped the gym routine this month also and mine was over 2 weeks late this time so I guess it can. 2hours a day sound too much so that is most prob why!

siraphine

winejunky143 wrote: »

I skipped mine last month and freaked out took a test. Negative. It was late again this month and took another test. Again negative. It finally came 4 days late and lasted only one day. I have been running/walking for an hour and a half every day for the past two months and am on an 800 calorie diet. I also switched birth controls recently. Maybe a combination of new bc and of extra energy out with way fewer calories. Your body doesn't have enough energy to produce a period.

800 calories is way too low. Please consider eating a little more (1000 minimum is the healthy amount) for your health.

winejunky143

Thank you all for the concern. I will take your advice very seriously and eat more calories each day.

kshama2001

siraphine wrote: »

winejunky143 wrote: »

I skipped mine last month and freaked out took a test. Negative. It was late again this month and took another test. Again negative. It finally came 4 days late and lasted only one day. I have been running/walking for an hour and a half every day for the past two months and am on an 800 calorie diet. I also switched birth controls recently. Maybe a combination of new bc and of extra energy out with way fewer calories. Your body doesn't have enough energy to produce a period.

800 calories is way too low. Please consider eating a little more (1000 minimum is the healthy amount) for your health.

Actually, it's 1200 calories that is the minimum and that is only appropriate for women who are very short, or older and sedentary women.

Paging @WinoGelato who is 5'2" and ate more than 1200 while losing weight (safely and sanely.)

kshama2001

jax_006 wrote: »

So I have changed my workout routine the last 2 weeks. I have been getting in 2 hours of exercise a day through hiking or spinning and eating 1200 cals a day to try to lose 1.5-2 pounds a week. I know that seems aggressive but after some lax weeks this summer I am wanting to amp it up a bit in terms of shedding the weight. I typically wasn't eating back the cals from exercise unless I was out at a social event with friends, but that only amounted to maybe getting in 1500 cals those few days. I have been very diligent about my workouts and eating 1200 cals the last 2 weeks.

But my period is now 4 days late and I can't help but think it's something to do with my workout routine as I never have been this late before.
I'm not pregnant in case any one is wondering.

So could my delayed period be from the new increase in exercise ? If so that sucks bc I was really wanting to lose at least 1.5 a week. Do you think if I continue my workout routine but eat my exercise calories that it will help in getting my period back?

Some stats:
28 yo. For the last year I have been eating around 1200 cals a day, some treat days obviously a little more than 1200. But the 1200 a day has been no issue for me. I'm 5'3 135 pounds. My goal weight is around 115, back to my early 20s weight. I started this year weighing in at my highest weight of 153.

Thanks for any insight.

A weekly weight loss goal of 1.5 pounds per week is way too aggressive for someone 5'3 135 pounds. Change it to 0.5 pounds per week and enjoy those extra calories.

Re: not eating back your exercise calories: MFP uses the NEAT method, and as such the system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back.

Under-eating stresses the body and mind. Stress increases cortisol, which leads to water retention, which makes it look like you're not making any progress:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dietary-restraint-and-cortisol-levels-research-review.html/

...a group of women who scored higher on dietary restraint scores showed elevated baseline cortisol levels. By itself this might not be problematic, but as often as not, these types of dieters are drawn to extreme approaches to dieting.

They throw in a lot of intense exercise, try to cut calories very hard (and this often backfires if disinhibition is high; when these folks break they break) and cortisol levels go through the roof. That often causes cortisol mediated water retention (there are other mechanisms for this, mind you, leptin actually inhibits cortisol release and as it drops on a diet, cortisol levels go up further). Weight and fat loss appear to have stopped or at least slowed significantly. This is compounded even further in female dieters due to the vagaries of their menstrual cycle where water balance is changing enormously week to week anyhow.

And invariably, this type of psychology responds to the stall by going even harder. They attempt to cut calories harder, they start doing more activity. The cycle continues and gets worse. Harder dieting means more cortisol means more water retention means more dieting. Which backfires (other problems come in the long-term with this approach but you’ll have to wait for the book to read about that).

When what they should do is take a day or two off (even one day off from training, at least in men, lets cortisol drop significantly). Raise calories, especially from carbohydrates. This helps cortisol to drop. More than that they need to find a way to freaking chill out. Meditation, yoga, get a massage... Get in the bath, candles, a little Enya, a glass of wine, have some you-time but please just chill.

WinoGelato

kshama2001 wrote: »

siraphine wrote: »

winejunky143 wrote: »

I skipped mine last month and freaked out took a test. Negative. It was late again this month and took another test. Again negative. It finally came 4 days late and lasted only one day. I have been running/walking for an hour and a half every day for the past two months and am on an 800 calorie diet. I also switched birth controls recently. Maybe a combination of new bc and of extra energy out with way fewer calories. Your body doesn't have enough energy to produce a period.

800 calories is way too low. Please consider eating a little more (1000 minimum is the healthy amount) for your health.

Actually, it's 1200 calories that is the minimum and that is only appropriate for women who are very short, or older and sedentary women.

Paging @WinoGelato who is 5'2" and ate more than 1200 while losing weight (safely and sanely.)

Thanks! So I'm not sure whether to address the OP @jax_006 or @winejunky, but both of you seem to have similar stats to me and so I will just share my experience quickly.

I'm 5'2, 41, and started at my highest non pregnancy weight of 153 back in Feb of 2013, with a goal weight of 125 lbs.
I followed the MFP instructions, set my profile up to lose 1 lb/week, and got the default 1200 calorie goal. I tried as best I could to adhere to that, but I didn't know anything about eating back exercise calories at first (I quickly figured that one out!) and I was losing weight but I was really hungry. I started reading the good advice on these boards that even for petite women, even those with a desk job that consider themselves sedentary, it is possible to lose weight eating more than 1200 cals, or even netting 1200 calories. I raised my goal first to 1400, then to 1500, and kept losing at just under 1 lb/week. I wasn't starving or miserable, and I worked on finding foods that filled me up, rather than focusing on cutting foods out. I lost about 18 lbs in 6 months and then I got a FitBit. I started realizing that I was more active than I realized, averaging 10K steps/day. Since I only had about 10 lbs to lose at this point, I changed my goal to lose 0.5lb/week and my setting to lightly active and MFP bumped me up to 1650 Net I think. My loss rate did slow down, but I was getting more active, working on adding some strength training, and I hit my goal rate plus a little more, just before my 1 year anniversary on MFP.

I ended up stalling out at about 123 lbs, but I was happy with the way I looked and I was eating 1900 or so calories/day. I decided after a few months to change my status officially to "maintain" and added in some extra calories (not too many, I like having a buffer especially in maintenance) but basically eating close to whatever my FitBit says my total calories burned (essentially TDEE) is. By this point I was averaging 15K steps/day, and my TDEE was about 2200. With the extra calories, and my diligence about eating up to them but not going over, I actually started losing again very slowly. I am currently maintaining at about 118-120 and I eat around 2000-2200 cals/day. Still have an office job.

I don't have any experience with the loss of period due to low calories, I have never let mine get that low! I definitely think both of you could be (and probably should be) eating more calories in order to achieve your goals. Focus on finding filling foods that make you happy, tightening up your logging, and being patient. Both of you are at a healthy weight for your height already, so you may also want to consider adding more strength training to recomp, rather than trying to lose more weight to get to some arbitrary number on the scale. When I changed my mindset from having to lose or trying to reach a certain number to just enjoying the process, being active and healthy, that's when I finally achieved both the weight AND the body composition I was looking for. Plus I eat pizza, ice cream, and drink wine regularly.