Period Loss Due to Rapid Weight Gain (TMI, sorry!) ?!

Hi everyone, so I am freaking out a little bit. I lost weight last year for my wedding, but started bingeing in September 2015. I was able to control my "bingeing" until the end of January of this year, by only bingeing once a week and exercising 6-7 days a week and eating around 2,000 calories a day. At the end of January my bingeing became out of control and so did my weight. When I was losing weight I would workout 4-5 times a week and eat around 1,500 calories a day.

At the end of January I weighed at 130 pounds and now I weight 156.6 pounds. The biggest jump in weight happened between May 15th and July 15th, when my weight went from 142 pounds to 154.4. During those months I was bingeing like crazy, almost daily, sometimes between 4,500-5,000 calories a day, I was also depressed and working from home which made me feel isolated and secluded. My weight now hovers around 154-156 pounds and I seem to be ready to jump start my weight loss. It has really been helpful cutting back on processed foods and sugar to help control my urges, but now I am sad and depressed that all of my hard work has been lost and I have to start over.

In addition to feeling fat and discouraged as well as dissapointed in myself, I am terrified that I messed up my hormones and period cycles due to this yo-yo dieting and weight gain/loss. In August my period came 4 days early and now it is two days late. Before, even when I was much thinner my period was consistent and I didn't seem to have a problem. I know I need to get control over my eating and I know I need to get back to a healthy weight in order to feel better, but has anyone experienced anything like this? Is it possible to destroy your body in 6 months or so due to rapid weight gain? I have an appointment to see an OBGYN in the next week or so but I wanted to see if anyone can offer words of encouragment or can relate to this situation.

Apologizes for providing too much information and I appreciate your support!

Replies

  • kanaada
    kanaada Posts: 57 Member
    Hi! Just like you I lost about 15kg In a few months through crash dieting and my menses didn't come for 8months!!! I was Super scared at that point and even went to see the doctor. The doctor said it was because of my rapid weight loss that causes my hormones to change a little but it's fine. But I started bingeing shortly after and gained back all the weight and that's when my menses come back:( it's like I have no control of my body at all I binge Everyday for months. It took me another 6 month after all these weight gain before my menses becomes regular again. Now I'm trying to lose the regained weight too! Halfway there! Feel free to add me for some support
  • Gena575
    Gena575 Posts: 224 Member
    4 days early and 2 days late is extremely normal. Even minor stresses like a nasty bruise or a head cold at the right time in your cycle can delay ovulation. Or anxiety like I feel in your post. When you see your obgyn, ask for a referral to someone who can help with the binge eating.
  • akilia112010
    akilia112010 Posts: 46 Member
    Hey. I actually went to the doctor last week and she gave me a prescription to help jump start my period sense i haven't had once since June. She also told me that I needed to lose weight because i gained over 30lbs in the last couple months. Hopefully losing weight can help me get back to normal too.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Gena575 wrote: »
    4 days early and 2 days late is extremely normal. Even minor stresses like a nasty bruise or a head cold at the right time in your cycle can delay ovulation. Or anxiety like I feel in your post. When you see your obgyn, ask for a referral to someone who can help with the binge eating.

    Cosigned.

    I used Cognitive Behavorial Therapy to stop abusing alcohol and the techniques I learned were useful for me to develop a healthy relationship with food as well.

    @Myjourney2345 - I'm a bit concerned to read your words "I seem to be ready to jump start my weight loss." I associate "jump start" with extreme, unsustainable methods that often lead to binging or burnout, and thus failure. Slow and steady wins the race.

    tortoise.jpg
  • Myjourney2345
    Myjourney2345 Posts: 116 Member
    Hi all! Thanks for all the input. I appear to have overreacted as I got my period this morning (again sorry for TMI). As far as jump starting my weight loss, I want to lose 1.5-1.7 pounds a week a bit less a bit more while eating nutritious food and exercising. The bingeing I suspect will need to be addressed in therapy, it is something I have struggled with my whole life and on and off since I lost weight back in 2009.

    I have lost a significant amount of weight multiple times. Once in 2009 I went from 190-118 pounds, I regained the weight through bingeing and went up to 215 pounds. I then lost weight again and went down to 150 pound only to have gained weight again to 190 pounds. Finally in 2013 I went down to 150 pounds kept it off and lost 20 pounds for my wedding in 2015. This is when the bingeing resumed after being binge free for almost 3 years. I know that bingeing and not restricting is my underlying issue. Whenever I lose weight I don't go below 1,500 calories and I don't exercise excessively. A lesson I learned back in 2009 when I ate only 1,200 calories a day and exercised sometimes two hours a day six days a week and lost my period for six months. All the other times I have lost weight have resulted in better periods and no period loss.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    OP, how tall are you?

    You've exhibited some extremely unhealthy behaviors towards food in the past. I would see a licensed therapist to get your mind in order so you can be good to your body this time around.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    Some nutritionists and dietitians are also trained to treat eating disorders. The one I saw for a year had this training. See if you can locate someone like that. Binge eating disorder will really throw a monkey wrench in the works for sure.
  • leejoyce31
    leejoyce31 Posts: 794 Member
    Hi everyone, so I am freaking out a little bit. I lost weight last year for my wedding, but started bingeing in September 2015. I was able to control my "bingeing" until the end of January of this year, by only bingeing once a week and exercising 6-7 days a week and eating around 2,000 calories a day. At the end of January my bingeing became out of control and so did my weight. When I was losing weight I would workout 4-5 times a week and eat around 1,500 calories a day.

    At the end of January I weighed at 130 pounds and now I weight 156.6 pounds. The biggest jump in weight happened between May 15th and July 15th, when my weight went from 142 pounds to 154.4. During those months I was bingeing like crazy, almost daily, sometimes between 4,500-5,000 calories a day, I was also depressed and working from home which made me feel isolated and secluded. My weight now hovers around 154-156 pounds and I seem to be ready to jump start my weight loss. It has really been helpful cutting back on processed foods and sugar to help control my urges, but now I am sad and depressed that all of my hard work has been lost and I have to start over.

    In addition to feeling fat and discouraged as well as dissapointed in myself, I am terrified that I messed up my hormones and period cycles due to this yo-yo dieting and weight gain/loss. In August my period came 4 days early and now it is two days late. Before, even when I was much thinner my period was consistent and I didn't seem to have a problem. I know I need to get control over my eating and I know I need to get back to a healthy weight in order to feel better, but has anyone experienced anything like this? Is it possible to destroy your body in 6 months or so due to rapid weight gain? I have an appointment to see an OBGYN in the next week or so but I wanted to see if anyone can offer words of encouragment or can relate to this situation.

    Apologizes for providing too much information and I appreciate your support!

    I'm really sorry to hear that you are going through this. I don't have any advice to offer but just wanted you to know that I hope things get better. Your post caught my eye because just Friday, I ate 4,200 calories. I'm only 5'1.9", but I don't call that a binge. Did I overeat? Heck yeah. But normally this happens every 6 weeks or so due to hormonal eating. Sometimes it does freak me out a little because I wonder if this time I won't bounce back, but this morning, I was on my elliptical machine and had my usual pre-breakfast almonds and I am off on my day.

    I guess what I am saying is that binging means different things to different people, but if you really believe that you have become out of control with this, maybe you could talk with a nutritionist or someone who could help you.

    Be encouraged! :)
  • Myjourney2345
    Myjourney2345 Posts: 116 Member
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    OP, how tall are you?

    You've exhibited some extremely unhealthy behaviors towards food in the past. I would see a licensed therapist to get your mind in order so you can be good to your body this time around.

    I am 5'4.5.
  • Myjourney2345
    Myjourney2345 Posts: 116 Member
    gothchiq wrote: »
    Some nutritionists and dietitians are also trained to treat eating disorders. The one I saw for a year had this training. See if you can locate someone like that. Binge eating disorder will really throw a monkey wrench in the works for sure.

    I have seen a few dieticians for both restrictive and binge eating and I have all of my meal plans saved from past appointments. I know what I need to do in terms of food, so it's the emotional demons that I need to battle hopefully with a therapist. I have done therapy before and it did help, but I stopped when I felt confident enough to tackle this on my own. Now I think I need a little extra support!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    What's your goal weight?
  • Myjourney2345
    Myjourney2345 Posts: 116 Member
    leejoyce31 wrote: »
    Hi everyone, so I am freaking out a little bit. I lost weight last year for my wedding, but started bingeing in September 2015. I was able to control my "bingeing" until the end of January of this year, by only bingeing once a week and exercising 6-7 days a week and eating around 2,000 calories a day. At the end of January my bingeing became out of control and so did my weight. When I was losing weight I would workout 4-5 times a week and eat around 1,500 calories a day.

    At the end of January I weighed at 130 pounds and now I weight 156.6 pounds. The biggest jump in weight happened between May 15th and July 15th, when my weight went from 142 pounds to 154.4. During those months I was bingeing like crazy, almost daily, sometimes between 4,500-5,000 calories a day, I was also depressed and working from home which made me feel isolated and secluded. My weight now hovers around 154-156 pounds and I seem to be ready to jump start my weight loss. It has really been helpful cutting back on processed foods and sugar to help control my urges, but now I am sad and depressed that all of my hard work has been lost and I have to start over.

    In addition to feeling fat and discouraged as well as dissapointed in myself, I am terrified that I messed up my hormones and period cycles due to this yo-yo dieting and weight gain/loss. In August my period came 4 days early and now it is two days late. Before, even when I was much thinner my period was consistent and I didn't seem to have a problem. I know I need to get control over my eating and I know I need to get back to a healthy weight in order to feel better, but has anyone experienced anything like this? Is it possible to destroy your body in 6 months or so due to rapid weight gain? I have an appointment to see an OBGYN in the next week or so but I wanted to see if anyone can offer words of encouragment or can relate to this situation.

    Apologizes for providing too much information and I appreciate your support!

    I'm really sorry to hear that you are going through this. I don't have any advice to offer but just wanted you to know that I hope things get better. Your post caught my eye because just Friday, I ate 4,200 calories. I'm only 5'1.9", but I don't call that a binge. Did I overeat? Heck yeah. But normally this happens every 6 weeks or so due to hormonal eating. Sometimes it does freak me out a little because I wonder if this time I won't bounce back, but this morning, I was on my elliptical machine and had my usual pre-breakfast almonds and I am off on my day.

    I guess what I am saying is that binging means different things to different people, but if you really believe that you have become out of control with this, maybe you could talk with a nutritionist or someone who could help you.

    Be encouraged! :)

    Thank you for the kind words!

    I guess I was able to have controlled binges without it impacting my weight for five months, but ultimately I lost control. think binge eating is clinically diagnosed as having more than one episode of binge eating per week for at least 3-4 months, but don't quote me on this. I was having a lot of depression and anxiety due to my weight gain which ultimately in my twisted mind justified my bingeing for days at a time. Yes, occasional overeating won't devastate your body and will most likely not have a negative impact on your weight, unfortunately in my case I wasn't able to snap out of it and ultimately I went bingeing on 4,000 calories a day for days a time. The only reason I am not currently over 200 pounds is because I continued to exercise. :(
  • Myjourney2345
    Myjourney2345 Posts: 116 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    What's your goal weight?

    132 is when I felt my best ( I know a bit of a random number), 125 is when I looked my best, but my goal is 130 ( I am currently 156).