(For the Women) - Weight Loss and Irregular/Stopping Menstruation

VanderPask
VanderPask Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been losing weight for about 8 weeks now and I have stopped having periods (I have lost ~10 pounds and I'm still considered obese). I know, for sure, that I'm not pregnant so I looked for other reasons for it to stop. A quick Google search shows that many women experience irregular to totally skipping cycles during weight loss. Does anyone else have experience with this? Will it come back with a vengeance? How long did it stop? When can I expect it to come back?

Replies

  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,748 Member
    Stress can do that. I had various periods of my life, from college to menopause, where my periods stopped for a couple of months at a time, not related to weight loss necessarily, but lifestyle changes. It also happened when I was long distance hiking (6 month hikes) so my body was under a lot of stress. At the time I was mostly just grateful to not have to deal with it. I wasn't trying to get pregnant, and later decided not to have kids, so any long term issues were moot. My periods afterwards were either normal or light.
  • JBanx256
    JBanx256 Posts: 1,479 Member
    Amenorrhea is part of what is often referred to as the "Female Athlete Triad," however that generally occurs at very low levels of bodyfat. If you're considered obese though, that's probably not what's going on and it's more than likely just your body's response to the stress of dieting/weight loss. IMO, your rate of loss doesn't sound too extreme or aggressive (once again, given the obese status and losing 10lbs in about 8 weeks, so a little over a pound/week). Are you comfortable dialing your deficit back a bit as an experiment to see if a slower rate of loss "fixes" the issue? If possible, you may want to make an appointment with your OB-GYN just to make sure your hormones aren't going totally out-of-whack or that there's not something else going on with your health though.

    As far as when it will return, there have been studies of female physique competitors who lose their periods for a solid year AFTER their competitions, just because it takes their bodies so long to get back to a place of reasonable hormonal health, but once again, those women have been at extremely low (at/below essential levels) bodyfat for an extended period (no pun intended) of time.
  • Sinisterbarbie1
    Sinisterbarbie1 Posts: 711 Member
    A couple of random thoughts come to mind, but you don’t say how old you are or how many periods you’ve missed. If you say you have been losing weight for 8 weeks maybe you’ve missed only one? That is not necessarily unusual for any woman.
    If you are obese some obese women have PCOS (a syndrome in which cysts grow on their ovaries which messes with hormones/ovulation and can cause irregular periods).
    Also as you approach menopause and enter peri menopause your periods can become irregular. People stop menstruating at all different ages. So don’t automatically assume you need to be in your late forties or fiftyish to start thinking about that as a possibility.
    Bottom line, you should raise the issue with your family doctor or gynecologist - it is unlikely to be weight loss related if you’ve lost 10 pounds at a reasonable rate so far, and are still classed as obese. We are not likely to be good diagnosticians for you much as we are sympathetic and want to be helpful with anything we can think of!
  • barefootbridgey
    barefootbridgey Posts: 81 Member
    Agree with the above asking how old you are. How old was your mom when she became perimenopausal? My mom was in her mid thirties. I'm months from being 40 and while I have not missed any periods yet, I have all of the remaining perimenopausal nonsense. This might be a good time to check with your doctor for PCOS or maybe to have your thyroid checked out also
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 921 Member
    Losing your period due to losing weight does not typically happen from losing ~10lbs and is less directly related to simply 'losing weight' and more directly related to body fat%.

    Unless you are under 20% body fat (and probably well under that) you shouldn't be losing your period due to that reason.

    Things like illness or stress can do this --- or depending on how old you are, early menopause or something might be the culprit for irregular periods.

    Something to think about is...how regular are your periods usually? If they are usually pretty regular, and this is out of the ordinary, you should make an appt with your doctor or OBGYN.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Sinisterbarbie1 wrote: »
    A couple of random thoughts come to mind, but you don’t say how old you are or how many periods you’ve missed. If you say you have been losing weight for 8 weeks maybe you’ve missed only one? That is not necessarily unusual for any woman.
    If you are obese some obese women have PCOS (a syndrome in which cysts grow on their ovaries which messes with hormones/ovulation and can cause irregular periods).
    Also as you approach menopause and enter peri menopause your periods can become irregular. People stop menstruating at all different ages. So don’t automatically assume you need to be in your late forties or fiftyish to start thinking about that as a possibility.
    Bottom line, you should raise the issue with your family doctor or gynecologist - it is unlikely to be weight loss related if you’ve lost 10 pounds at a reasonable rate so far, and are still classed as obese. We are not likely to be good diagnosticians for you much as we are sympathetic and want to be helpful with anything we can think of!

    Yes, when I was in my 30s and a full time yoga teacher, I normally got my periods every 6 weeks, and got them every 3 months a few times.
  • xrj22
    xrj22 Posts: 218 Member
    Typically people don't stop having their period due to weight loss unless they are really under weight. But really, a person can randomly skip a period or two for just about any reason, or no reason. (change in diet, stress, minor medical illness, etc. I wouldn't worry. Some women are like clockwork, others miss many periods or are always irregular. Also, a person can change from one to the other as they age even when not near menopause. Next period will likely be noticeably heavier, but not drastic.

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