Low Weight / Period Loss & Lateness

LegacyUser

I was wondering if anyone knows anything about periods stopping / becoming late when you're at a low weight.

The last two months my period has been about a week late both times, now this month it hasn't come at all so far. I don't think I can be pregnant although I'll take a test if I haven't had it within the next couple of weeks. I'm around 5ft 1" - 2", and weigh 8 stone exactly and am a size 8. Am in the normal weight range for my height, although have been told I am quite slim. I am vegan and most of my food is very low cal as I like to watch my weight seeing as I was overweight for most of my 20s. I am 30 now. I never eat more than 1000 calories a day, but I don't starve myself, it's just that what I eat is sensible and not too calorific. I haven't suddently lost a lot of weight recently or anything (although am trying to lose a couple of pounds at the moment), but I've done some research online I think maybe I'm not getting enough fat/nutrients to have a period. Anyone know anything about this??

Seraphina

When your body fat percentage goes under a certain amount, your periods stop. You may be healthy, but your body may not have the extra energy and calories it needs to support a baby, so your periods stop.

However under 1000 calories a day definitely sounds unhealthy to me, but it can vary from person to person. I would recommend you speak to your doctor about it tbh.

LegacyUser

Thanks for your response, much appreciated. I am thinking that my body fat percentage is probably lower than my BMI suggests, seeing as I have quite a bit of muscle. Is there any accurate way of telling what your fat percentage is? I have a calculator on my iphone but that only goes by weight/height ratio which I assume can't be that accurate. I suppose I ought to invest in some type of scale that sends an electrical pulse through your body to determine it - are these a good, accurate way of measuring it?

LegacyUser

No.As a vegan it may be that your body isn't receiving the right nutrition. Particularly iron, seeing as you lose a lot of iron from your body over several periods and you don't eat meat, I presume. You should probably take an iron supplement once or twice a year.
I'd say go and have a chat with your doctor. Things like BMI and percentages of body muscle are a very subjective way of measuring anything. Your doctor will give you a better idea of whether you are underweight or more importantly, malnourished.
You sound like you think a lot about your weight and your body, which is probably a by-product of being over weight. Honestly I wouldn't put too much store in a BMI number....it's basically a statistic, which can be used to prove anything. You need to speak to your doctor about what you eat and how much and, by the sound of it, how much exercise you do relative to both of the above. If you're noticing changes like this it's probably your body sending you signals that something is not quite right, and maybe you need to make some changes.

shellyboo

Um, don't you need 2000 calories a day to LIVE? That's the very minimum you should be eating, unless you're on a diet, which I would presume you're not.

I would take a trip to the doctor if I were you and just have a chat to him about the problem. The weight could be key.

LegacyUser

well I'm pretty much always on a "diet" because I do monitor my weight, try to eat completely healthily, avoid dairy and meat, and am trying to lose a couple of pounds.

I just did a test online that takes all your weight, heigh, measurements of various body parts, and I have a body fat percentage of 17%. I think that is normal for someone fairy active?

Mary42

I would agree with the last poster you should be getting 2000 calories a day. Also because the vegan diet can leave you short of nutrients because you're cutting out major food groups so th that could be another factor.

LegacyUser

Mary42 wrote: »

I would agree with the last poster you should be getting 2000 calories a day. Also because the vegan diet can leave you short of nutrients because you're cutting out major food groups so th that could be another factor.

If you eat a good vegan diet you can get all the nutrients you need. I think personally it has something to do with my fat intake. I heard that Oestrogen is stored in fat so if you do not take in enough fat in your diet then your periods may stop. I don't know if this is true...

blairbear

It's not necessary to have 2000 calories a day to live. It's the recommended average. How much you need is dictated by your size. I'm around 8 stone too and my weight stays the same the whole time. I'd eat nowhere near 2000 calories. I have a balanced diet and I'm healthy. A lot of my slim friends would eat very similarly to me and none of us have a problem or are losing weight the whole time. A woman who's 5ft10 and 11 stone would obviously need more energy to fuel herself than a girl who's 5ft2 and 8 stone so might be eating 2200 calories a day, for example, and maintaining her weight all the time too. As I said, it's an average.

I would get blood tests done though and have your vitamin B12 and iron levels checked. A week late isn't too irregular for periods. Were you under any work stress or emotional stress lately? My periods are very sensitive like that.

Wibbs

You can certainly get good nutrition as a vegan and you can get enough nutrients even on 1000 calories a day. 2000 is an average figure and this of course depends on so many variables. Your metabolic rate, your calorie output to name but two. But and it's a big but, it's very difficult and you have to be very prudent with your food choices to ensure you're all getting the nutrients you need.

Mixing both vegan and a very low calorie intake is going to cause problems IMHO, especially if you're anyway sporty or active. There are people who follow the well researched CRON longevity diet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRON-diet who get by on very low calorie intake(as low as 800 calories a day), but they include animal products in that diet albeit in small amounts and they are not highly active. I did the CRON diet myself in the past for 6 months at a time and as I say it's doable, but bloody difficult to make sure you're getting all the nutrients you need. Supplementation was almost a given too. Plus I would eat very little to start with compared to most and aiming for 1000 calories a day wasn't easy for me and very hard to sustain long term. It can also cause some issues even if followed perfectly.

I know women who would have very low body fat(tested at 18/19%) due to serious fitness regimes, but they both had very good diets, including animal products and their periods didn't stop.

I would talk to a nutritionist who knows their stuff. My take being that your body is telling you something with your lack of/delay periods. I would listen to it. It suggests something outa whack, even if it's just temporary stress. If that doesn't work I would suggest a doctor be your next call. Indeed a doctor might be your best first call, especially if you can find one who deals with more sporty and athletic people, who has more experience of dealing with lower body weight people anyway. If you know any men or women who are serious about their fitness, maybe you could get a recommendation from them.

LegacyUser

No I haven't been under any more stress than usual...

You're right about people not needing the daily recommended intake of 2000 calories. My diet would typically consist of a home baked cereal bar for breakfast, home made vegan sushi for lunch, a snack such as fruit/nuts/yoghurt/apple somewhere mid afternoon, and for dinner I'd have something like tofu and vegetable stir fry with noodles, or salad and polenta strips, or some other healthy dish. I don't eat after 7pm if I can help it. And I still allow myself treats and alcohol.

I think I consume enough, I am never starving, it's just all quite low cal.

I suppose a week-10 days isn't TOO late, as I said I'll get some tests done if it gets to the end of the month and I still haven't had it.

Thanks guys

Wibbs

I'm no nutritionist, but that doesn't sound to me like you're getting the full spectrum of nutrition. Maybe try adding brewers yeast and a multivit to that.

LegacyUser

Wibbs wrote: »

You can certainly get good nutrition as a vegan and you can get enough nutrients even on 1000 calories a day. 2000 is an average figure and this of course depends on so many variables. Your metabolic rate, your calorie output to name but two. But and it's a big but, it's very difficult and you have to be very prudent with your food choices to ensure you're all getting the nutrients you need.

Mixing both vegan and a very low calorie intake is going to cause problems IMHO, especially if you're anyway sporty or active. There are people who follow the well researched CRON longevity diet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRON-diet who get by on very low calorie intake(as low as 800 calories a day), but they include animal products in that diet albeit in small amounts and they are not highly active. I did the CRON diet myself in the past for 6 months at a time and as I say it's doable, but bloody difficult to make sure you're getting all the nutrients you need. Supplementation was almost a given too. Plus I would eat very little to start with compared to most and aiming for 1000 calories a day wasn't easy for me and very hard to sustain long term. It can also cause some issues even if followed perfectly.

I know women who would have very low body fat(tested at 18/19%) due to serious fitness regimes, but they both had very good diets, including animal products and their periods didn't stop.

I would talk to a nutritionist who knows their stuff. My take being that your body is telling you something with your lack of/delay periods. I would listen to it. It suggests something outa whack, even if it's just temporary stress. If that doesn't work I would suggest a doctor be your next call. Indeed a doctor might be your best first call, especially if you can find one who deals with more sporty and athletic people, who has more experience of dealing with lower body weight people anyway. If you know any men or women who are serious about their fitness, maybe you could get a recommendation from them.

Thanks Wibbs, I'll take all that info on board, you seem to really know what you're talking about. I suppose my issue would be I am happy the way I am eating and I'm happy with the weight I'm at... so I'm just worried that if I go to a doctor all they'll do is tell me to eat more and my periods will come back - which kinda defeats the point really, because if I eat any more I'll get heavier, which I would hate when I know my weight is fine for my height as it is now.

Wibbs

Thanks for the compliment, but no that's the thing, I don't really. I have some notion, but that's it and it's little beyond common sense. That's why with stuff like this you need to find a good professional to see where you may be lacking. There's bad or misguided advice in the real world, but you can double that up online.

I don't have any issue with the 1000 calories a day. IMHO a lot of people reckon they need to eat far more than they actually require for their body to do it's job and do it well, hence so many with weight issues on that basis alone. You're small and with what sounds like a small frame. Grand, but you do need good nutrition, regardless of the calorie intake. Someone eating like a horse simply has more in reserve and nutritional deficits will take longer to show up if at all. Though I know some very overweight people who aren't getting good nutrition.

If you're eating at the level you are then your reserves are going to be lower and you have to be more careful as any deficit will hit quicker. Then add in the vegan diet where certain vitamins are going to be harder to obtain than someone on a similar calorie level, but eating eggs and dairy products.

That's why i reckon a good vegan friendly nutritionist type is your best bet. If the periods continue being late or stop then get thee to a GP at that point, just to make sure all is well.

newbie_84

Hi op,

The only thing u should do is go to your doctor-ask for his/her advice,and if required they will recommend any necessary tests. If the results suggest that the reason ur not having ur periods is due to ur diet/body fat index/weight, then u have ur answer. ie ur body is starving (even tho it may not seem like it to u) and deems itself unable to support a pregnacy or carry a baby to full term, hence ur periods have stopped. Ur body knows best, nature is a truly amazing thing, and once u know the reason behind ur periods stopping,ul be able to fix the problem by eating more/ taking supplements etc etc. But u do need to go see ur doctor!!
All the best!

Oh The Humanity

I've recently been told the first thing to go out of the window when you are constantly dieting is your reproductive system. Seemingly its a big red flag that your body is starting to prioritise essential life systems over non essential ones. And seemingly early menopause is a danger for women who diet a lot which scares the [EMAIL="cra@p"]cra@p[/EMAIL] outta me! They mean women like us in our 30's who diet as a way of life!

But anyway, I think maintaining on 1000 cals is on the low side tbh regardless of size. I've done all the diets and always get success with them. But I notice if I go hard at it now that I do notice it affect cycles which has frightened me a bit!

So please be careful especially if you plan to have children at some point!

Milky Moo

Anything around 1000 cals and under is considered a starvation diet and your bodies metabolism slows down.Just because you are not hungry doesn't mean your body does not need the extra calories,it's amazing how little it can learn to survive on.

If you begin to feel cold and generally lethargic this is a sign this has happened.

How about adding some nuts to your diet they are full of good fats and are high in calorie,it could be the little push to get you back to a level where you would not lose anymore weight.

I am around your height and my BMR(base metabolic rate)is like 1400 calorie but with exercise and just general running around i need around 1800,any less over time and I would start to lose weight.

Everyone so far has concentrated on calories and weight but there is one extremely important factor here to consider.
Low weight and stalled menstruation (amenorrhea) reduces bone mass and will put you at very high risk of osteoporosis.

You need to see a doctor.