Ladies: Changes in your period?

When I was a full time yoga teacher my periods got lighter.

I think it's pretty normal. I have short periods anyway and find then even lighter and shorter when I'm hitting it harder. I also know several friends who have had kids that were very serious gymnasts and that caused the girls to potentially skip their periods all together.

My cycles have been irregular & light previously when cutting cals and exercising hard. I have a short cycle (25 day) incl a short (3days) but very heavy period (changing tampons every 2-3 hours for up to 2 days). I find that exercising during my period helps, if I dont exercise sometimes its a bit stop/start these days. It interesting to hear that they might get lighter as I do, prior to kids I used to get really bad cramping and even clots, after kids that all stopped.

Just before I fell preg with my 3rd child I had started to use a cycle tracking app as they were all over the place. Some so light I wasnt sure that it was a period, I was a similar weight & fitness to now after starting exercise and losing 10kgs over a period of a few months. I have stopped using my tracking app but am thinking I may need to again as my last period was def later than normal but was pretty light in comparison to what I am used to.

when i used to lift heavy, my periods were very light and less intense.

Mine arrives like clock work but I'm pretty much cramp free I used to have to take ibuprofen all day for like 2 days. Also no TOM zits!

I went the opposite way- I've always had hellish periods and mine have only gotten worse as I've lost weight. People will you exercise helps, but it's really hard to exercise when you're curled up on the floor unable to move. I asked my doctor and he suggested that my body's hormone production was trying to keep up with the changes in my physical health and it should 'even out soon'.... that was three months ago.

Thank goodness I just saw this thread because the same thing is happening to me right now and I legit thought I was dying, when I noticed I started screaming

Yes. Years ago when I first started eating better and exercising regularly my period changed. I used to have periods so bad that I would have to miss school, I would be vomiting and couldn't leave bed (some women suffer from this- the cramps are way more severe than normal ones. They were literally disabling for the first 2-3 days- no exaggeratation ). Because of this my doctor recommended birth control pills for me in high school. It made my periods muchhhhhhhhh better after a few months. And then, freshman year of college I began working out, and when I took a break from my birth control- my periods remained light. So i stopped taking it all together for a long time. Typically my periods only go back to that unbearable state if I've been eating like crap for MONTHS and not consistently working out. So I am POSITIVE lifestyle can effect your menstrual cycle.

... Unless you are one of the lucky ones with a naturally light period ...

We definitely need to stop apologizing for talking about our cycles. It's a huge part of being a woman for many years of many of our lives, some exceptions of course.

I lost my period for a while when I was basically starving. I had also had major surgery, so the stress could have done it too. Probably took 3 months to come back. I'd say your lighter flow is due to exercise, I was told by my gynecologist that if I were having a heavy period adding in exercise could reduce the amount? Who knows how true that really is,but it would fit with what you're experiencing
Don't worry so long as it doesn't stop completely. If it does stop you'd need to evaluate your health and see if you're over doing it somewhere.