If I don't have my period, does that affect weight?

amblight

So, I'm experiencing some 'athletic amenorrhea' i.e. missing periods due to change in diet and exercize. Got a clear from my doc so far, we'll talk about it again if I keep missing them.

So, sorry if this is a bit graphic, am I now carrying around all the stuff I used to get rid of every month? So the weight I'm at now is actually my weight + all the contents of my uterus? And when I finally do get my period back, will it be... monsterous, and lead to a massive dip in weight? :sick:

williams969

No worries! You are likely NOT carrying extra uterine lining. Actually, it's likely (definitely) the opposite. Your body is building very little to no lining, so no extra weight difference from that. Althletic amenorrhea, or stress amenorrhea is a "defense" mechanism of sorts. Your body perceives a stress (i.e. not optimum circumstances for baby makin'), so it doesn't release an egg, nor build a lining.

As far as what your "next" flow will be like, well it could be scant, normal, short, long, heavy, etc. Hard to say, it varies from woman to woman. Keep up your iron intake, if that's a concern for you, either way. :flowerforyou:

Sigh, I know far more about menstruation than any lay person ought to. What can I say, body functions are fascinating to me, lol!

okulyd

You shouldn't notice a huge change in weight. Maybe a pound. That's about it unfortunately. I have a history of missing mine and when it comes back expect it to be heavy and to possibly last longer. Unfortunately I never had a huge weight loss because of this issue. Also keep in mind that everyone is different and you may be lucky and lose a lot.

amblight

No worries! You are likely NOT carrying extra uterine lining. Actually, it's likely (definitely) the opposite. Your body is building very little to no lining, so no extra weight difference from that. Althletic amenorrhea, or stress amenorrhea is a "defense" mechanism of sorts. Your body perceives a stress (i.e. not optimum circumstances for baby makin'), so it doesn't release an egg, nor build a lining.

As far as what your "next" flow will be like, well it could be scant, normal, short, long, heavy, etc. Hard to say, it varies from woman to woman. Keep up your iron intake, if that's a concern for you, either way. :flowerforyou:

Sigh, I know far more about menstruation than any lay person ought to. What can I say, body functions are fascinating to me, lol!

I'm glad to hear it! It seemed a bit 'gross' if I was carrying around stuff for months that I should have flushed out, lol :b

So, what about how you burn more at certain stages in your cycle? Where in my cycle am I now? Am I just constantly in the 'right after period'-phase?

WalkingAlong

I would worry more about your body fat percent being too low and that being the cause of the amenorrhea. Are you sure you're not dieting past the point of good health (or exercising past it)?

http://www.vcuhealth.org/?id=1045&sid=1

williams969

I'm glad to hear it! It seemed a bit 'gross' if I was carrying around stuff for months that I should have flushed out, lol :b

So, what about how you burn more at certain stages in your cycle? Where in my cycle am I now? Am I just constantly in the 'right after period'-phase?

"Right after period" phase is a way of explaining it. There's two parts of the cycle-pre ovulation, and post ovulation. Amenorrhea means you're not ovulating, so until you do ovulate, you're considered in the "estrus phase", and no lining build up will occur (that's triggered by the hormones release by the corpus lutem).

Of course, this is the "textbook" way things work. I've had "all" sorts of menstrual variations over my life, and there's even the possibility you are ovulating, but not producing very much lining (low progesterone or a luteal defect) from stress or external factors. Or, you could have "break-through" bleeding (seems like a period, but it's not) and not ovulate. Lots of possibilities, all different, all annoying, all can be just temporary.

The good thing is, the human body is extremely resilient, and it sounds like your doctor is understanding of that, and given you the green light to proceed with your exercise and monitor you. It should resolve itself as your body realizes that this is YOUR new normal lifestyle.

WalkingAlong

I have trouble believing a doctor is ok with a lifestyle that produces amenorrhea, assuming you're not a competitive athlete training for a major event.

From the link I posted above:

"Although intense exercise alone can suppress the pulsatile nature of GnRH, which is required for normal reproductive and sexual development can disrupted with intense exercise, usually this condition arises in highly competitive athletes who train daily with intermittent increases in an already elevated fitness level in preparation for major events. This is most commonly associated with sports that have a subjective component to scoring, i.e. gymnastics, ice skating, ballet dancing. There is an increased incidence in long distance running as well.

In addition to intense exercise, there is almost always a relative lack of nutrition to make up for these exercise demands with inadequate caloric, protein, vitamins, and minerals. This can be demonstrated primarily by a lower than expected body weight and body mass index (BMI). Additionally, signs and symptoms of individual vitamin deficiencies may manifest depending on diet. In athletes who participate in indoor sports Vitamin D, which is primarily obtained through sunshine in nature, may exacerbate an already decreased bone density.

It is this imbalance of intense exercise and increased nutritional demands compared to decreased weight (mostly inadequate body fat and decreased available nutrients which formulates the classic picture of exercised induced amenorrhea."

williams969

Why do you assume OP has gone completely drastic and overboard on her diet and exercise? Since there is doctor clearance, I only assume it is a reasonable plan. I was 6 weeks late on my period when I started my exercise, and it was a modest change--only three 45 minute bodyweight sessions a week with 3x30min of modest jogging (seriously, I'm not very fast), on a 250 cal/day deficit. Seriously, some bodies are very picky at any change whatsoever, but they can and do find their way back to normal.

And, dr's prescribe birth control by the truck load. That's pharmaceutical amenorrhea, many are on it for decades at a time. No one blinks an eye at that.:flowerforyou:

amblight

I would worry more about your body fat percent being too low and that being the cause of the amenorrhea. Are you sure you're not dieting past the point of good health (or exercising past it)?

http://www.vcuhealth.org/?id=1045&sid=1

I'm overweight, down from being class II obese. I've told him how much weight I've lost and in what time span, as well as the exercize level, which he said was a big enough change to cause some skipped periods, but he wasn't worried at all about it, and didn't think the missed periods are any reason to worry either, it's just a 'side effect' of such changes.

amblight

I'm glad to hear it! It seemed a bit 'gross' if I was carrying around stuff for months that I should have flushed out, lol :b

So, what about how you burn more at certain stages in your cycle? Where in my cycle am I now? Am I just constantly in the 'right after period'-phase?

"Right after period" phase is a way of explaining it. There's two parts of the cycle-pre ovulation, and post ovulation. Amenorrhea means you're not ovulating, so until you do ovulate, you're considered in the "estrus phase", and no lining build up will occur (that's triggered by the hormones release by the corpus lutem).

Of course, this is the "textbook" way things work. I've had "all" sorts of menstrual variations over my life, and there's even the possibility you are ovulating, but not producing very much lining (low progesterone or a luteal defect) from stress or external factors. Or, you could have "break-through" bleeding (seems like a period, but it's not) and not ovulate. Lots of possibilities, all different, all annoying, all can be just temporary.

The good thing is, the human body is extremely resilient, and it sounds like your doctor is understanding of that, and given you the green light to proceed with your exercise and monitor you. It should resolve itself as your body realizes that this is YOUR new normal lifestyle.

Thanks for the answers I think you're right that it's just adjusting to how things are now. Maybe I'll get a whole new cycle system, like, less days in between, the period will be shorter, or something. Periods are usually very painful for me, so I hope my 'new' periods will not be so!

brower47

The reason you're missing your period is because your body decided not to go through the process of setting up your uterus to support life in the first place. If it had, you'd have had a period to get rid of it once the expiration date hit, per the norm. No, you're not carrying around excess tissue inside of you.