Pretty sure I've lost my period :/

Franticantics

Yeah, as the titile says really...Havnt menstruated for about 3 months now,
Not sure why though, my weight is still in the middle of the healthy range (155lbs and 5ft11)

I told my mum and she wasn't too bothered at all by it and just said to go to the doc if i'm really that bothered.
I do do an awful lot of exercise,full time professional dance training as well as going to the gym 4-6 times a week...
All in all I'm not really sure what to do?

boomer0688

Often when the body goes through a lot of stress or shock such as weight loss or incresed exercise you will stop. I would sugggest going to the doctor. I had this probelm and what started off as 3 months turnedinto 2 years and created a lot of problems. It is better to go and check to make sure everything is ok instead of finding out years later that it was a problem.

cutelashawn

you know excessive exercising can make your hormones out of whack and stop your periods. Also being under or overweight can also stop your periods. Go to the DR. and see what they say. I hope things wrk out for you..........Good Luck!

punkrawkcutie

I would go seethe doctor as well especiall considering your age. Also, you are not getting a lot of iron in your diet. Ifyou are not taking a supplement, your body might not be mensturating because of low iron. I knwo that happend to my sister, and the dr. just put her on a higher iron diet and a supplement and all evened out.

Pebble321

Could you be pregnant? If there is even a small possibility then you might like to take a test.
I would suggest that you go to see a doc, they will be in the best position to see if it is due to your activity level or if there is anything else to check out.
Edited to add: looking at your diary that doesn't seem like enough food to keep you alive with such a heavy exercise schedule. Do you have access to a dietician through your dance company? It would probably be worth discussing the best combinations of food to keep you healthy and able to keep dancing.
Or maybe take your food diary when you see the doc.

believetoachieve

The last few days you've been getting around 1000 (or less) calories. Combine that with full-time dance training and the gym, and you're inadvertantly starving yourself. Your body isn't getting the nutrition it needs - I think that's the problem. Is your profile picture of yourself?? If so, you don't need to diet, you're tiny!

See a doctor if you can, but otherwise - increase your food a little!!

Flossycat100

Wow I agree wih believe2achieve- if that's a picture of you then you needn't be working so hard, you're tiny!

I also agree that you are eating too little and exercising too much- this is probably why you are not having your period as your body is struggling to look after itself. Good luck!

Franticantics

My diet the past few days has been low because Im pretty ill at the moment, can't keep anything down!
Definitely not pregnant
Yes the profile pic is me, I only want to lose another 15lbs, but thankyou for saying that
I could go to our physio/dietician, but frankly she scares me, and the first thing she ever said to me was when i auditioned, she weighed me, looked at me and said
'Well...You're pretty hefty...But the directors must have seen something in you.'
She is renowned fr being absolutely vile to girls who need to lose weight...
I am quite anemic, and lac an entire strand of white blood cell too, I was put on this intense iron supplement, but it made me really sick, so i had to stop taking it.

Jain

Hefty? Hefty!!!! I can only wish to be so hefty!:laugh:

But to second all the other posters, get yourself to your Dr, but I'd avoid the dance school physio (she sounds like a nightmare). And take your food diary with you. If you dont have a Dr, is there a Walk In Centre near you?

One thing that stands out in your diary, apart from the low calories, is that you eat a lot of highly processed food. If you can't get more fresh food in can you take protein shakes? It'll help with recovery after all your training and if you get one with a full spectrum of vitamins it might help. Maxitone do one & the choc one tastes quite good.

halobender

It's refreshing that you understand that you're not hefty and that the dietitian was being a little whack about it. I actually read somewhere that it's common for (intense and devoted) dancers to lose their period because of a strict exercise and diet regimen. Not that I'm in any way suggesting it's healthy or OK because you're a dancer, it's just something I read

That said, if you're regularly getting lower than 1200 net calories—which it seems, from looking back through your diary to when you started, that you do by a considerable amount sometimes—that would very likely be a leading cause. You probably need a higher level of net calories, too, with your intense training.

My ex was a dancer and didn't get her first period until she was 16, basically lost it shortly after getting it due to severe physical stress, and then didn't get it again until we started dating about 7 years later and I talked her into seeing a doctor.

The crappy thing is that you're thinking you need to lose another 15 pounds ... but that's part of being a dancer. Very, very competitive, and requisite of unhealthy goals/ attitudes sometimes.

You should see a real doctor, one not associated with your dance company, and get their opinion. I'm sure you've not lost your period entirely, likely you just need to start eating more healthily (that is, larger quantity) if you're going to train as intensely as you are. The fact that you ever get up to 4500 goal calories suggests that you should probably be getting in no less than 1400 net calories ever.

dzilobommo

Please go to a proper doctor and ignore the dance physio...she sounds like she'll be more concerned with her dance agenda than your health!!!

I can only join others in saying, you are very skinny, even my dance teacher hasn't got abs like yours! Your ticker says you're aiming to lose another 12.5 kgs, is that right?? That would put your BMI below 18 which is definitely underweight - please don't go that far!

By stopping your periods, your body is giving you an important warning - listen to it, because it's the only body you have!

spunkbeer

i only recently started getting my period back due to weight gain and etc.
it does stop from over excersing and restricting ones diet.

Last year i only had my period i think 3-4 times in the whole year?
I usually go 2-3 months in between mine.
But its always been outta whack for me.

spunkbeer

Also must add. Who wants their period anyway hahaha
It sucks id happily go without it for the rest of my life.

WhiteStar2351

Go to the doctor!

I can say straight away looking through your food diaries that you're eating no where near enough calories to support your height/weight and level of activities. Your Basal Metabolic Rate (the bare minimum your body requires to function properly - NOT including calories for exercise) is over 1500 calories a day - you're eating no where near this. Your body is well and truly in to starvation mode and is now shutting down what it considers to be non-essential systems (your calorie intake is so low that it would be impossible to support a child if you were pregnant, thus your body will shut down your reproductive system until such a point that it can support it). You absolutely must increase your calorie intake to a healthy amount or risk even more serious problems. Start off slowly with an extra 100 calories a day, but increase this as the weeks go by until you're eating a sensible amount. An average girl your height/age/weight should be eating just under 2,500 calories a day if she does moderate exercise 3-5 days per week. You can't magic energy to fuel your body out of thin air - you must eat to replace what you're using!

Franticantics

I think I'll leave it another 2 weeks to see if anything happens, and if not I'll pop to the doctors. I just worry so much about being weighed by doctors, I just hate how heavy I am, and the look they give me when i get on/off the scale, or a snide little comment on the side. I don't think I look my weight though... I don't know, I am thoroughly dismorphic, that I do know, as is my mother, the first time she put me on a diet I was about 11...Well for the first time since I can remember she is 'starting' to become happy with my body,but i still have a way to go...
I wish everything was done on measurements not weight!

One of the main problems i have with consuming enough calories is that i dont actually get a lunch break, and have to eat whilst running an average of 1/2 a mile to the next studio for the next class, and then I get home at aroun 7.30/8, and dont like to eat too much that late, so i make sure i get a good breakfast at least...

erikazj

Looking at your profile picture I would worry less about your weight and more about body fat percentage. My understanding is that sportsmen and women can be heavy for their size, but have small bodies due to being mostly muscle and having low body fat. Regardless of how much you weigh, if your body fat percentage dips below what your body thinks is acceptable for carrying a child, your periods may well become erratic or stop altogether.

I am the same weight and height as you, but I think my body composition differs completely and I am no where near as small as you appear to be, and I would expect that is because my body fat percentage is much higher.

I should think it is worth seeing a proper doctor to talk through your concerns and to make sure you are getting enough nutrition for your active lifestyle and that there are no other underlying causes for your periods to have ceased.

Look after yourself, and all the best,

Erika

kwardklinck

I agree with the others who suggest you see a doctor. It concerns me that anyone would call you "hefty" or encourage you to eat so little every day.

dzilobommo

Looking at your profile picture I would worry less about your weight and more about body fat percentage. My understanding is that sportsmen and women can be heavy for their size, but have small bodies due to being mostly muscle and having low body fat. Regardless of how much you weigh, if your body fat percentage dips below what your body thinks is acceptable for carrying a child, your periods may well become erratic or stop altogether.

I am the same weight and height as you, but I think my body composition differs completely and I am no where near as small as you appear to be, and I would expect that is because my body fat percentage is much higher.

I should think it is worth seeing a proper doctor to talk through your concerns and to make sure you are getting enough nutrition for your active lifestyle and that there are no other underlying causes for your periods to have ceased.

Look after yourself, and all the best,

Erika

I second all of the above! It sounds like you have issues about how you view your weight, which makes it hard for you to accept that you are NOWHERE NEAR "hefty" - anyone who says that has their own issues or agendas (or is just insanely jealous).

I really hope you can keep your self-esteem and don't get mentally sucked into a world with such unforgiving and unrealistic expectations about women's bodies...You may not miss your period now, but there is a reason women have them...one day you may want to have babies, can you be sure that you won't regret taking risks with your body and fertility?

Good luck and I hope you will come through in your profession based on your talent and hard work, NOT based on your levels of unrealistic thinness!

halobender

Well for the first time since I can remember she is 'starting' to become happy with my body,but i still have a way to go...

Aghhhhh. Sounds like my ex's mom. I don't think you should worry so much about how happy SHE is with your body. Is she a former dancer/ dance teacher?

123456654321

Google Amenorrhoea/Hypothalamic.

123456654321

Looking at your profile picture I would worry less about your weight and more about body fat percentage.

Apparently in more recent studies I've read they say it has less to do with actual body fat and more to do with an energy deficiency. Basically too much exercise not enough food leaves 0 energy for ovulation.

suzycreamcheese

looks like most days youre on less than 1000 and thats with exercise too,
Im pretty sure that under 1000 is a starvation diet and your body is probably trying to conserve its resources now.
Id take a trip to the dr to be on the safe side

boomer0688

I agree with what everyone is saying. By looking at your picture I would say you get getting very close to being too skinny and could be getting close to having an eating disorder and take it from someone who knows. I am and will forever be recovering from an eating disorder what helped put me in perspective, and I pray that you do not let it go this far, is when I found out I needed a pacemaker because my heart was now under too much stress. You seem so dedicated to dancing that I would hate to see something like that happen to you.

Franticantics

ooh I'm really not close to being too skinny, I'm not even skinny! Ive got another 10lbs minimum to go, but in the long run more like 15-20 depending on how I look...

yes my mum is an ex dancer and now a teacher. She came into the kitchen where I was on the computer and shouted 'Stop eating!You've been munching all day!' at me...I wasn't even eating, she saw a leaf on the counter which must have fallen from my dinner...wow, she wasn't even in today...she does make this quite tricky to be positive and all that.

believetoachieve

I'm not even skinny! Ive got another 10lbs minimum to go, but in the long run more like 15-20 depending on how I look...

Woman, I can see your hipbones and ribs from here!! Lol, where's that 20lbs gonna come off of?! :laugh:
Really, you're beautiful the way you are! What's your BMI?

meghanner

First of all, you're gorgeous just the way you are! I understand how you feel being active in a sport/ career that values small bodies and difficult to achieve weight ideals. I've been surrounded by that my whole life as well. I lost my period 3 years ago and still haven't had it return as a result of trying to achieve these ideals. From my research, it seems that loss of menses has more to do with chronic calorie deficit (below 1200 seems to be a popular #) rather than body weight or body fat %. If you are eating a net less that 1200cal/day on a regular basis your body can't support a baby in addition to your vital functions so you will stop menstruating. In the short term ,this doesn't sound all that bad however in the long term your estrogen and testosterone will fall because your ovaries aren't producing hormones anymore. Having low hormone levels makes you tired grumpy and kills your libido. Your cortisol levels will also rise making it hard to sleep and manage stress. I don't mean to point fingers or sound like a preacher, but please, take my advice and bump up your net caloric intake before your body adapts to these low caloric levels. Over time it becomes much harder to get your body's cycle back. I am now faced with infertility, bone loss and a slew of dr's appointments. I love my body at this small size but it was not without its consequences.
Best wishes to you!

kmeekhof

I think I'll leave it another 2 weeks to see if anything happens, and if not I'll pop to the doctors. I just worry so much about being weighed by doctors, I just hate how heavy I am, and the look they give me when i get on/off the scale, or a snide little comment on the side. I don't think I look my weight though... I don't know, I am thoroughly dismorphic, that I do know, as is my mother, the first time she put me on a diet I was about 11...Well for the first time since I can remember she is 'starting' to become happy with my body,but i still have a way to go...
I wish everything was done on measurements not weight!

One of the main problems i have with consuming enough calories is that i dont actually get a lunch break, and have to eat whilst running an average of 1/2 a mile to the next studio for the next class, and then I get home at aroun 7.30/8, and dont like to eat too much that late, so i make sure i get a good breakfast at least...

kmeekhof

You do NOT need to lose any more weight! Dont worry about the number on the scale so much, you look fantastic. If you have a lot of well toned muscle you are going to weigh a little bit more and still be thin. You are right where you're supposed to be. 100 lbs for every 5 foot and 5lbs for every inch after that. I think there is a lot of psychological issues going on for you clearing starting in early childhood when your mother put you on a diet at 11 years old. Increase your calorie intake, you are starving yourself.

Olona

Yeah, as the titile says really...Havnt menstruated for about 3 months now,
Not sure why though, my weight is still in the middle of the healthy range (155lbs and 5ft11)

I told my mum and she wasn't too bothered at all by it and just said to go to the doc if i'm really that bothered.
I do do an awful lot of exercise,full time professional dance training as well as going to the gym 4-6 times a week...
All in all I'm not really sure what to do?

Ok going to the doctor is a definite! But I dont think I'll have mine this month and I think its because I was excercising so hard that it caused my body to make that change but. GO TO THE DOCTOR!

cutmd

I think I'll leave it another 2 weeks to see if anything happens, and if not I'll pop to the doctors. I just worry so much about being weighed by doctors, I just hate how heavy I am, and the look they give me when i get on/off the scale, or a snide little comment on the side. I don't think I look my weight though... I don't know, I am thoroughly dismorphic, that I do know, as is my mother, the first time she put me on a diet I was about 11...Well for the first time since I can remember she is 'starting' to become happy with my body,but i still have a way to go...
I wish everything was done on measurements not weight!

Okay, your bmi is 21.6 and you have a lower body fat than 99% of doctors. I can guarantee you no one is giving you tat look because try think you're fat. You're a tall woman! And weight isn't half as important as body fat, yours is clearly excellent. I missed a period once and dialed back my exercise a bit, it returned. Any doctor worth his/her salt will tell you need to eat more and take it a little easier.

These professions that encourage eating disorders make me sick. Unfortunately your mom has allowed herself to become engulfed in it at your expense. You may need to distance yourself...

curleesam

You are very thin in your profile pic. Any more and you will risk looking too skinny in my opinion. You say that you have 10lbs left to lose...you must have a MASSIVE BIG TOE because thats the only thing hidden in this picture and thus the only place I can think of where those 10lbs are going to come from!!

You really don't need to lose weight but you do need to eat more. If your periods have stopped it is more likely a warning that you are not taking care of your body. Take the warning and fix it before your fertility is permanently affected.