Hormonal issues after weight loss?

Linnaea27

Hi all,

Has anyone (women in particular, but men too) experienced hormonal troubles after their weight loss has been completed? I know that low body fat and overexercise can greatly contribute to loss of a woman's period and other related unpleasant hormonal symptoms, and I think I might have hit this point recently-- though I am pretty sure I'm not overexercising. My body fat % is not super low, probably around 22%, but that is a great deal lower than it has been for a number of years.

I'm 5'1", 102 lbs at the moment, which is 3 pounds lighter than I want to be. (On me, 3 pounds is a decent amount and is much greater than my range of water weight fluctuation, which is only about 1 pound.) My BMI is 19.3 I think-- in the healthy range-- and I lost the weight I wanted to lose slowly, at 0.5 lb a week (though I have learned that my metabolism is faster than average). I entered maintenance mode slowly, by upping my calories carefully over a period of a few weeks, and never saw a sudden gain. I have, however, been eating at the maintenance level MFP spat out for me, 1600 calories net, and since starting that have lost 3 pounds I didn't want to lose! My goal was 105 lbs, and at that weight I was not having hormonal symptoms. However, as I've become even thinner, my cycle etc. have changed and I'm having symptoms of lack of hormones. So I'm now trying to gain weight back up to 105 or even 106, to eliminate these problems.

Has anyone else experienced this sort of thing? The continuing to lose after switching and/or the hormonal issues? Some of the things that have started happening to me are reminiscent of menopause, and I'm only 27 so I am sure it's not actual menopause!

Maintaining, in my opinion, is much harder than losing, at least while you're trying to find the proper numbers.

Thanks anyone who answers!

hearthwood

Yes after weight loss or weight gain, women do have problems keeping their cycles in check. But it's really nothing that won't fix itself. Your body has made a change and along with that it needs time to adjust. If it doesn't correct itself in the next month or so it's probably time for a visit to obgyn.

JassiBear

I heard that ammenorhea (sorry for the poor spelling) can occur to adult women under 100 lbs.... if you are at 102 or 103...... I don't know that's pretty close to 100. I don't want to give any medical advice because I'm concerned and you should definitely see your physician and gynecologist.

SLLRunner

Maintaining, in my opinion, is much harder than losing, at least while you're trying to find the proper numbers.

For me this has also been true. I went into maintenance in January and am still having a difficult time not losing weight. It's very slow but it is still happening.

I'm almost a year into menopause so I probably have nothing constructive to add regarding hormonal changes for a younger person.

michellelipton16

I'm glad you posted this because I have been wondering the same thing. I'm 5'6" and 112 lbs at 12% body fat... Yea I also didn't mean to get this low. I didn't trust this site so I have been maintaining a deficit although I think my calorie burn is wrong. I just enter in whatever calorie burn the cardio machine tells me even though I think they base it on someone heavier than me. I lost my period over a year ago (not for the first time either, but before I was completely anorexic.) It hasn't come back and I swear at 28 I am also worried about menopause because my hormones are whacky. I also seem to get these phantom periods where I crave chocolate, suffer from fatigue, bloating, iriitability, yet no blood. Whatever, I'm more concerned because my sex drive seems to have faded out big time. I don't know if that;s from my relationship or because I am officially underweight. Did that happen to you too???

MissBabyJane

Yes, I period stopped when I lost a big amount of weight. Still trying to get it back, by eating at maitaince (after I gained few pounds) and taking birth control pills. I'm still really worried, though.

Linnaea27

Yes after weight loss or weight gain, women do have problems keeping their cycles in check. But it's really nothing that won't fix itself. Your body has made a change and along with that it needs time to adjust. If it doesn't correct itself in the next month or so it's probably time for a visit to obgyn.

That's sort of what I was thinking-- I just need some time. And I need to find my actual maintenance number for a weight a couple pounds above the one I'm at now. Thanks for the reply!

Linnaea27

I heard that ammenorhea (sorry for the poor spelling) can occur to adult women under 100 lbs.... if you are at 102 or 103...... I don't know that's pretty close to 100. I don't want to give any medical advice because I'm concerned and you should definitely see your physician and gynecologist.

I haven't lost my period, but things are definitely different than they used to be. I think I might give it another month, try to gain a couple pounds, and see what happens, and if I need to then I will go see my gynecologist!

Linnaea27

I'm glad you posted this because I have been wondering the same thing. I'm 5'6" and 112 lbs at 12% body fat... Yea I also didn't mean to get this low. I didn't trust this site so I have been maintaining a deficit although I think my calorie burn is wrong. I just enter in whatever calorie burn the cardio machine tells me even though I think they base it on someone heavier than me. I lost my period over a year ago (not for the first time either, but before I was completely anorexic.) It hasn't come back and I swear at 28 I am also worried about menopause because my hormones are whacky. I also seem to get these phantom periods where I crave chocolate, suffer from fatigue, bloating, iriitability, yet no blood. Whatever, I'm more concerned because my sex drive seems to have faded out big time. I don't know if that;s from my relationship or because I am officially underweight. Did that happen to you too???

Well, what's happened to me is that my period, while not gone, is a lot shorter and lighter than it used to be. I don't mind that, but if it goes away entirely, I will be very worried indeed about myself. I've been a bit concerned about my sex drive too, but my partner and I have both been working way too much and not sleeping enough and just not having enough time together generally, so I think the tiredness from that is probably what's affecting that more than my thinness. What does worry me is that the low-estrogen symptoms I get around and just after my period (dryness, hot flashes, blech!!!) have been much more pronounced this month than before, when I was even 3 lbs heavier. Not cool!

I'm not officially underweight, and my body fat is still significantly higher than yours (from seeing estimation pictures of others, and from measurement calculations, I think I'm around 22%) but still-- a 15-pound weight loss in 5 months on someone my size is a really big change. I do think I need to be a few pounds heavier, which I don't think will affect my appearance too much.

For you, it really sounds like you need to gain a good deal of weight. Lack of periods due to being really thin is, as you know, unhealthy! I am convinced that, while the calorie burns on this site are sometimes inflated, the average calorie needs it gives us are, in many cases, way too low. I've been following its maintenance guidelines for me to stay around 104 lbs for the past month and well, off went 2 more pounds. Would you be able to slowly increase your intake until you gain a little weight? Gaining weight, even for those of us who haven't dealt with eating disorders before, is mentally REALLY HARD so I can imagine it must really be hard for you! But probably necessary.

I recently reset my calorie number 100 calories/day over what MFP gives me, since that's probably closer to my true maintenance number (I think it's probably 200-300 calories over what MFP gives me, but small steps. . .). Before I try to maintain using the new number, though, I want to regain a couple pounds so I'm going to eat extra. So weird to get used to the idea after trying to limit my intake for months on end!!

Good luck with figuring this out! I hope you do!

EddieV2

I didn't see anyone else post about this, so I'll go ahead and do so. Yes, you will suffer hormonal issues if your diet is not in place. If you're not eating enough fats (try to keep it roughly around 30% or around .5 lbs your bodyweight), then try to up your fats to this amount (this is necessary and you shouldn't cut fats), but also lessen your carbs.

Also, if you were carb dependent and started eating less carbs too quickly and drastically, your body will have trouble seeking energy and you will be, well, cranky due to the lack of fuel for the brain. Try lowering your carbs slowly. Your body doesn't need carbs and can use fats for fuels (this actually helps you lose weight faster as well), but you need to slowly reduce your carbs at a rate at which you aren't cranky; maybe about 20 carbs a week.

crashster

I've recently noticed what I can only assume is a surge in testosterone. I've started getting zits again, nails and hair growing faster, I'm constantly thinking about sex (more than normal, anyway), and I've had much more energy and endurance. While this may not be due to weight loss, I'm 34 years old so it's probably not puberty.

BrittanyMG3

My cycle is also out of wack lately. I lost 65lbs in 4-1/2 months (healthily don't worry) and my cycles never returned to normal after the birth of my daughter..I'm not sure if it is only the weight loss or a mixture of both. If you are really having a lot of trouble, you should mention it to your doctor, they can make sure there aren't any issues and make sure it's not too out of balance.
good luck

juliafromrf

I'm 5'8 and now at 128 lbs, which is not very low. My period got irregular at 141 lbs, and stopped completely at 134 lbs.

I've never had any crazy deficits and haven't overexercised, so I don't know, maybe my body doesn't want to be at a weight this low.
Oh, and my sex drive is non-existent, but it wasn't very strong before either. However, I do not want to gain.

I think what definitely played a role is that I didn't meet my fat goal. EVER. I'm now paying attention to that and hope that my body will adjust.
How much fat do you consume? Maybe that could be a problem for you, too.

aliakynes

Are you eating enough fat? That's normally enough for hormonal issues. Your goal should be around 0.4-0.5g per pound (since you're looking to gain, use your goal weight instead of your current weight).

Also, check your maintenance calories on scooby. It tends to be higher than MFP. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

@crashster your issues is the opposite, hehe. Excessive dieting and low fat levels in men result in low testosterone. It sounds like you're getting a boost though I have no idea why that would be. You can always go in for a physical and bring up the issue. You probably don't feel lucky, but most men take supplements to get what you're experiencing (for greater muscle increase and faster fat loss).

Linnaea27

Hm, interesting that several of you lovely people have mentioned meeting one's fat goal as being important in regulating hormones. I did cut down on fat some when I was actively losing weight, but now I'm back to eating full-fat dairy, olive oil, and butter pretty regularly. I guess there might be a time-lag though. I'm going to look at my "reports" and see about the fats.

It does sound like when one's weight changes significantly (significant apparently can be anywhere from my 15 pounds to 60+ pounds, sounds like!) over a few months, it's going to screw with your hormones. I had actually asked my acupuncturist/alternative health care provider about what effects weight loss might have on me, and he said that hormonal changes were pretty much the only thing he could think of.

I'll come back and mention my fat intake.

Linnaea27

I've recently noticed what I can only assume is a surge in testosterone. I've started getting zits again, nails and hair growing faster, I'm constantly thinking about sex (more than normal, anyway), and I've had much more energy and endurance. While this may not be due to weight loss, I'm 34 years old so it's probably not puberty.

Have you built a good deal more muscle than you used to have? Maybe that's what's going on for you? Or are you trying to gain weight and perhaps it's from the extra food?

Hormones are so weird!

Linnaea27

Re: eating enough fat-- I am consistently OVER my fat goal, actually. So it's not lack of fats. I think I'm just going to have to gain a couple pounds back and let my body adjust to this new size.

bcattoes

I would suggest you go see your GYN now rather than later. A loss of 14 lbs at a rate of 1/2 lb per week and BF% of 22 really isn't something that should cause hormonal issues. But there are lots of GYN ailments that can, some that early detection can make a big difference in successful treatment.. Best to get a professional opinion.

perseverance14

Have you tried eating at your TDEE to maintain? I am eating 1700 and still losing (on purpose, not at my goal yet).

Google IIFYM to get a TDEE calculator you can use to figure it out. That amount with no deficit should keep you at maintenance and maybe help your hormones too. You factor in your exercise so you don't have to worry about eating calories back.

Linnaea27

Have you tried eating at your TDEE to maintain? I am eating 1700 and still losing (on purpose, not at my goal yet).

Google IIFYM to get a TDEE calculator you can use to figure it out. That amount with no deficit should keep you at maintenance and maybe help your hormones too. You factor in your exercise so you don't have to worry about eating calories back.

I'm unsure about using TDEE because my activity level varies greatly from day to day; it seems like it makes more sense for me to follow the eating back exercise calories method because I can be sitting at my desk at work and just go for a short run, or garden for an hour, one day, and then the next day I could be hiking for 2 or 3 hours for work, and then on weekends I could be spending 6 hours gardening and going for a bike ride. . . and it varies from week to week.

Thanks for the suggestion though!

EddieV2

I've recently noticed what I can only assume is a surge in testosterone. I've started getting zits again, nails and hair growing faster, I'm constantly thinking about sex (more than normal, anyway), and I've had much more energy and endurance. While this may not be due to weight loss, I'm 34 years old so it's probably not puberty.

This happened to me when I really started to hit the gym hard. I thought it was odd at first, but figured out that it was the raise in testosterone due to simply lifting heavier. If you've started to hit the gym hard lately, that's what it is. It just takes a couple of weeks for your body to get used to it and it all evens out later. My zits went away after a couple of weeks.