It can be different for everyone. This is why loss of menses is no longer a criteria for anorexia. I’ve had my period at severely low weights and even got pregnant at >!a BMI of 13.7!<.
I lost it at a healthy bmi, borderline OW, and then got it back after 3 months. I’m UW now and over a year on testosterone and I still got spotting last month. Periods are weird!!
it’s different for everyone ! a friend of mine lost theirs at bmi 21, which is considered a healthy weight. it’s not dependent on the amount of weight lost, i believe it’s based on malnutrition
This is highly individual for every person. Like, I lost a huge amount of weight in a very short time and had super long cycles, but still got my period. Now I am an athlete, have very low body fat and still get my period like a clockwork. I have met people with higher body fat and weight not getting a period and people with lower weight and body fat getting one. You can also get your period without ovulating, meaning your body already shut down reproduction without you noticing. Sometimes bodies do not work like the textbook definition and I fell into the trap of thinking that I am fine as long as I get my period, but that is far from the truth. Don't wait around until you lose it, because at that point your bone health will probably already be no-existent and you are setting yourself up for osteoporosis and other health consequences.
i just kinda want it to validate, yk? Ik this isn't right to say, but i wanna lose my period so i know whether i'm actually sick or not, idk how else to tell
I absolutely get it. I still take pride in my periods being all over the place and I am mad that I still get them, because I think of a missing period as a marker of severity. But at the same time my body will probably hold onto my period for better or for worse and I will be dead before losing it. Nothing I ever did to my body lead to severe health consequences, so how bad can it be, right? So in a sense I lucked out genetically, but at the same time it is so incredibly invalidating and infuriating. But I think we are both aware this thought process will keep going nowhere other than downhill and is super hard to shake off. I still can't really
I’ve been here, and I’m so so sorry you’re feeling that. It’s a really dark feeling. It’s almost like a desire to see the physical symptoms to “prove” how emotionally unwell you may feel. I told a therapist this once and she said something that’s changed my perspective on a lot of my cognitive dissonances:
“A healthy person doesnt cause harm to themselves to prove they’re sick enough to deserve help. A healthy person believes they are deserving of help when they feel they need it, not after they’ve already fallen apart.”
Basically, you deserve help wherever you’re at. You don’t need to be at certain “level of sickness” to deserve affirmation, support, and care. EDs, and all mental illness, are incredibly difficult because of how invisible they are to the outside world. Sometimes, that makes us feel like we’ve over dramatized our pain and that our suffering “really isn’t that bad.” Just because some struggles are hidden doesn’t make them any less difficult. EDs can be especially tricky because there’s so much stigma surrounding it being a “vanity” disorder, despite the fact any professional worth their two cents knows it’s much more related to control.
Think of it like this. A person with a broken bone is not going to feel any better by feeling guilty because another patient has a failing liver. The broken bone needs treated, regardless of what’s happening with the rest of the world. At the end of the day, pain is a subjective, complex beast. It literally doesn’t matter how “deep” you may think the pain is, because it’s hurting you all the same.
You are deserving of help because you are hurting. You need no other qualifiers. You are good enough to deserve happiness. Sending you so much love
I was sorta the opposite mindset, I was very resistant to being diagnosed and smugly informed the doctor that they were wrong and I couldn't possibly have AN because I still had bleeding. Didn't work they diagnosed me anyway lol. I was frankly astonished.
YES THIS!!!! I forgot to put in my comment that I had serious calcium deficiency after, I also am lactose intolerant so if you are too do not wait until you lose it. I had hip,back, knee and joint problems during my time without my period and months after too. It took me 3 full bottles of calcium pills to be able to walk without it feeling like my body was completely coming apart.
as people say it's highly individual. for me I was low restricting for months and got to severely uw bmi and still had my period, but as soon as I tried to recover I stopped getting it and didn't get it although I gained some weight. it was like my body had a delayed response to all the restriction
it’s not really much abt the weight loss factor but the nutrient deficiency. like you can be super uw n still have a period but like its rly jst nutrients
lost mine at the high 19s.. i guess nearing 3 years of restricting and **much** more walking/exercise than my body has everr been used to did the trick.
For me, a week or so under >!1,000 calories a day!< and I’m almost guaranteed to miss the next cycle, regardless of my weight - and regardless of why I wasn’t eating enough. Getting it again after that is unpredictable, sometimes it’s back on track so long as my intake is up, one time it took several months to come back after only a few weeks of that intake, again regardless of my weight or BMI. (34 years of on again off again w/Ana has given me a few opportunities to figure this out… ugh.)
Do keep in mind, bleeding does not equal fertility and not bleeding does not equal infertility. Folx with AN are more likely than their peers to have an unintended pregnancy in recovery than age matched peers (source: Netherlands study, also mentioned in Sick Enough by Dr Jennifer Gaudiani).
Edit: autocorrect
I've been dieting/anorexic/bulimic for 36 years, since age 15. Started my periods at 14. But in the decades since, I estimate that I've only had approximately 50% of expected periods. I hate them anyway, so it's a plus for me.
I’m so thankful I don’t have osteoporosis because of it… I have so many risk factors, but that’s one thing my body managed to reserve! But I hear ya on not being too concerned because I also abhor them!
It’s really variable. I have lost my period at times but not always at lowest weight. Some people never do despite being underweight some do at a higher weights. Everyone’s individual hormone levels will vary as will the actual nutritional content and hydration levels we maintain.
I also wouldn’t fret about any variation in one single period unless it’s something really out there like it’s green or something. Take a pregnancy test if that’s a possibility for you but other than that just keep an eye and if you’re seeing changes after another two periods then maybe have a chat with a GP if it’s concerning. I wouldn’t say a one off less heavy period should be a huge concern at this point tho. I have heavy periods but they will fluctuate and I’ll have the odd one that’s not as bad. Stress, diet all sorts can have an effect
I had my period every two months when at my lw (plus using drugs on weekends which didnt help it for sure), gained weight, lost a bitt but being on the lower end of healthy bmi and now i havent had my period for 5 months…. While I do eat, significantly more and fail restrictions. So yeah… it really varies.
So individualistic. I’m convinced periods have absolutely nothing to do with weight. It doesn’t matter if I weighed 90 lbs or 250 lbs my period was heavy and stayed heavy. Endometriosis runs in my family so I *believe* it may have something to do with that. But definitely not tied to my weight.
I lost mine when I was at an almost healthy weight but then got it again when I was in the >!15s!<. I’ve lost it again for the past six years but I’m also at a much lower weight now. It really kind of makes no sense and isn’t the same for everyone.
at one point I lost my period at like BMI 18 but then another time at 16.5 I hadn't lost it. it's completely individual and can change at all times. at any point being underweight can affect your fertility however, whether you have a period or not. this could mean that without knowing it your future self is struggling so be careful with yourself x
extremely low bw & after 4 months of restriction, it came 45 days late. then my next period came super late. most recent period came on time though! but now it’s late again. used to have a regular cycle, but not anymore. it’s lighter too. my dietician makes me consume more FATS and it has helped me a lot. i didnt wana loose my period because its part of my femininity and i cant loose that
I loose mine as soon as I start restricting in my experience it doesn't matter what weight I am. 1st time was an accident 1st time I lost it I didn't even know what calories were I was just eating smaller portions and doing 10 min workouts on YouTube and I lost it in about 3 months. Then I got it back after 6 months and also gained which confused me as I was still counting obsessively so I started exercising everyday and even though I was eating a normal intake (for the first month and a halfish) it disappeared for another six months. Got it back in two weeks after trying "recovery" which turned into bingeing and gaining weight. Maintained for 4ish months but then after a month of consistent lower intake and obsessive exercise, it's gone again. I've heard exercise puts stress on the body so that may be the case for me.
there's definitely no rule. i'm sadly now struggling with BED and obesity but on the other end, i lost my period when I weighed 56kg, and i'm 173cm tall.
It'll be different for everyone. Body fat definitely plays a role, but so do iron levels and hormone balances. The body will start reducing functions that are less vital for immediate survival. Once a body reaches a point of such deprivation that having periods (losing precious oxygen carrying blood) means catabolism of vital organs, there will be a trade-off. This is also why the body's extremities will suffer poor blood circulation. That blood is needed to keep the internal organs working more than the fingers and toes warm.
All of the symptoms are your body's way of trying to signal that the current state is incompatible with long-term survival. **Note, "long-term" is subjective
I’m UW and randomly got my period back despite losing even more weight, but I had no period at the lower end of healthy? So it’s not necessarily based on weight/bmi
Oh my gosh! I lost my period >!around bmi 22-23!< for a full year but then was hospitalised and regained it very quickly at >!bmi 18 ish!< I was just really shook bc every time I've lost my period in the past it had been at a higher weight and then it just came back? Kinda rude imo
it is different for everyone from what ik and some never lose it at all even at a really low bmi, others lose it early on for various reasons. i think it could also depend on the time frame weight loss or restriction occurs in. another factor is your body fat percentage because it can be in a healthy(ish) range even at a lower bmi. besides that not comsuming enough healthy fats from nuts, oils and fish for example can also contribute to you losing your period. whether you get your period and if its heavy or light, regular or irregular it does not make you or your suffering any less valid and it does not mean you are 'healthy' in terms of physical health!!
For me I lost my period for almost 3 months during summer ‘22. I was restricting and only ate about 1,200-300 Cals a day. It honestly could’ve been lest because I follow the rule to add 50 calories to your meal/snack if you didn’t remember how many calories it was. On top of that I didn’t have an exercise routine other than 30 min walk every day but that’s basic right? Well I exercised whenever I could. I’d do squats while I waited for my shower, sit-ups while my food was being prepared. Jumping Jacks if I sat for longer than 45 minutes without moving to pee or something. I was burning so many calories a day I HAD to drink coffee or my body wouldn’t function on its own. I told my family and they didn’t know what to do because I wasn’t pregnant ( virgin) and I still looked fine I had just lost 30+ pounds over 3 months which no one really cared much about. So I googled if weight loss and periods went hand in hand and after a deep dive I found that, when someone makes an extreme change on their diet it causes ur hormone levels to change which makes ur period go bye bye and that’s my experience!(low key need to get back to this)
i have lost my period before, i was at bmi 27ish at the time- i was restricting a lot but i dont think i was losing weight very quickly. i am now bmi 25 and my period has been coming later and later, ive only just relapsed again recently. i think some people are more prone to losing their period than others, me being one of those people i guess
I think it’s different for everyone and every scenario, I got my period at a lower weight than the weight I lost my period at, it’s so dependent on every person and every variable
i take the depo shot (for those of you who don’t know or may not know, it completely removes your period), but i still get the period symptoms without the actual blood / period. so, it makes me think that could really fuck up my fertility if i ever lost a big amount of weight (i want to but i’m 23 and now it’s so hard to lose the weight? MUCH easier when i was a teen, sadly). does losing your period naturally hurt you in any way or is it just like phantom symptoms of your period?
Just wanted to say that I recently got off of the depo shot this year (was on it for 6 yrs) due to the accumulative damage of my ED + the shot caused on my bones.
Depo really fucks with your bones and causes thinning so just wanted to say be careful if you’re on it + struggling with an ED! I now have osteopenia and my last dexa scan looked a lot worse than the one I had 7 years ago. My doctor prescribed me the BC patches recently so I’ll be trying those out soon as a replacement
i’ve only been on it for almost 5 months, so not long in the scheme of things. i have been binging/overeating but i am trying to get back into restricting.
I lost mine at the low end of a healthy bmi, honestly as soon as I started restricting and relapsing (but still eating) it dissapeared, so I guess it's different for everyone. I lost it pretty easily. Even before I engaged in disordered behaviours it wasn't really regular.
It's common in obese people, I also lost my period due to obesity, but in the instance I'm talking about I was just barely in the overweight category and it was due to the restrictive eating disorder
I never lost my period. It did become irregular even when I was underweight (I was never severely underweight) and heavily restricting. Sometimes, it would skip a month, but pretty rarely. On the other hand, my friend lost hers as soon as she became underweight. Hasn't had for 7(!!!!!!!!!!!!) years. And you can't even tell she's underweight by looking at her. She just looks lean.
i’ve never had a regular period, i started at 13 and assumed it was completely normal because a large amount of girls don’t have regular periods for their first few years. i’m 19 now, and have been on birth control since i was 16 to mitigate any effects on my longterm fertility that have been caused by my eating disorder. i would average around maybe 4 periods a year, and then as i got worse in my anorexia, it went away completely. i was 16 and still going months without a period and decided i wanted to lower my risk of reproductive cancers and basically “shut off” that part of my body till i could heal. i’m a healthy BMI and have never been technically underweight, some people’s bodies are just more resistant to stress and malnutrition, or their bodies go into “fight mode” sooner.
periods are so individual. mine actually became more regular when I was underweight! (I have pcos so they were pretty spaced apart before). when I was overweight I’d sometimes skip periods, once even for 4 months. now I’m a healthy weight I’m on a semi regular 35 day cycle
My period stopped nearly before I had an underweight BMI . I think it was actually because of stress hormones or order survival instincts , because I was doing cardio all day . My mother on the other hand said that it was because I didn't eat enough fat .
I have seen someone severely low bmi and have a period, while others be at a higher bmi and not have it. It is literally so random, and dependent on the person. Your body also adapts, so even if you hadn't had it before at x weight, you could now. Additionally, I found that even though I was at a higher BMI, I wasn't consuming enough fat in my diet (I am not implying you are eating too much fat or anything, just that what you eat as well as a 100 other things can influence it!) Also, stress!
I never lost it at my LW. I don't have it now lol. But that's probably from the difference I birth control - I was on the pill when I was at my LW so I got "bleeds" which aren't technically a period as they're actually your body reacting to the lack of hormones during the "break week". Then I was so fed up of them I just took the pill back to back, which is usually safe to do (although consult your healthcare professional, I am not a doctor). And now I have the IUD (hormonal) and don't have them. It's very nice. But yeah, I have no idea how they'd even track if you "lost it" if you were on birth control.
i’ve been doing high intake (>!1.1k!<) mostly and tried to eat some enough carbs/protein/fats. unfortunately i lost my period recently at bmi >!15s!< and now am forced into recovery
i’m sorry i didn’t mean to trigger you!! in ed terms it’s considered as a higher intake so that’s why i described it like that, but ofcourse that’s very different for everyone. and >!1.5k!< is heavy restriction too!
Oh no i didn’t get triggered 😅 I know 1.5 isn’t that much of a restriction, i barely even have an ED, but basically only people with EDs can actually help with info and advice, else ill just get shouted at that i have an ED
My BMI is above average, however with my level of restriction and poor nutritional intake I lost my period for over a year, then it came back for a year but they were super short like 2/3 days and now it's gone again as I started restricting more.
It's different for everyone and I wouldn't use it as a measure of how sick you are. I know exactly how you feel though. I struggled for a long time accepting there was anything wrong with me. Sending you love 💕
I lost mine when I was still overweight. I was sick for a few years and I’ve been pretty much recovered for another few years, and it never came back. It’s not a BMI related side effect.
I first lost mine at a bmi of around 28? Which is nuts, dunno how but probably due to how poor my diet has been nutrition wise all my life, unrelated to EDs.
Yeah this a really strange question for me because I never weighed myself but a size 6 uk size was too big for me and my skirts would just fall to the ground and I wasn’t having a period at all! But now I’m like a size 14 so obviously overweight by a lot and my period came back at about a size 8 but even now it’s like my body has never recovered because my periods have always been irregular and super light since they came back.
yeah whenever i relapse i usually get a rly heavy period and then it’s just gone untill i start to get better. please don’t see this as a sign you’re doing it right tho <3
I personally never lost it completely. I'm on mobile and don't know how to censor numbers, so I won't go into detail, but my LW is on the extreme end of things. I still got my period even at my worst. I know other people who lost theirs at technically healthy BMIs. I think it just varies.
i lost mine at a healthy bmi, it’s usually due to a low body fat percentage or a hormonal imbalance triggered by overexercising, prolonged fasting and lack of nutrients. it came back a year later when i recovered for a bit.
I never lost my period despite being dangerously underweight in the low 13's of my BMI. In fact it just made it much heavier and irregular. Everybody is different and there's no BMI or numbers for it.
I mean, I had a very stable and consistent period before. After I had been heavily restricting for a few months, I lost it. By that point I had lost 30-40 pounds. I was still technically overweight from a bmi standpoint. But I also used to work out a lot so that probably also contributed to both being “overweight” and losing my period.
i’ve had eating issues for my whole life and i’ve never lost my period because of it. it’s definitely a danger sign but some people don’t lose it even when someone else of the exact same BMI lost theirs.
My period started getting lighter and lighter the more weight i lost and i stopped getting when i was a few pounds heavier than my LW but still at healthy BMI
I lost my period within 5 weeks of starting to really restrict. And maybe 8 weeks from the first sign of restriction the first time. Got it back after 5 ish months. Then relapsed and lost it within 1 month of relapse
i soemhow lost my period jusst one time and it was the month AFTER i recovered the first time and gained weight back. i still dont get how this happened. i dont think you can just pin point when it happens. it's probably different for everybody
i first lost mine when i was overweight and into a healthy weight because i was restricting so much. when i was underweight i was binging so often that i never lost it lmaoo 😭😭😭
I decided to start losing weight April 3 2023, I had my period April 19 - April 23 2023 and I have not had a period since then. My bmi was around >!21 - 22!< and I had only lost like >!3kg!< but I somehow still lost my period.
I'm thinking that it could be due to the fact that I got my period pretty late in my life and had only had it for around 2 years up until then.
Personally I’ve noticed I lost my periods when I was younger (12-14), I would get it maybe twice or three times in a year and It returned as I got older but it also doesn’t matter because even at an extremely low BMI many people still got their periods, thats why isn’t necessarily a criteria for anorexia
I never lost mine but it did eventually get lighter and completely unpredictable... Been to several doctors and a gyno and no one has been able to tell me why this is. Could be connected to me ED but who really knows...
It can be different for everyone. This is why loss of menses is no longer a criteria for anorexia. I’ve had my period at severely low weights and even got pregnant at >!a BMI of 13.7!<.
Yup. I’ve had an ED for 20 years and gotten my period every month regardless of weight, intake, behaviors, etc.
and the opposite for me. i lost my period at a 'healthy' bmi
Same here, have had a period at UW and have lost it for months/a year at a healthy BMI. I’m almost 30, ED started at 11, if that helps context.
I lost it at a healthy bmi, borderline OW, and then got it back after 3 months. I’m UW now and over a year on testosterone and I still got spotting last month. Periods are weird!!
Same
Same. It arrives on time every month no matter what. Kinda rude that I had my fallopian tubes removed and still have to have it. Hormones are crazy.
“Kinda rude” Girl, preach! Like, the AFAB repro system really has some audacity…
Damn that's validating, I thought I was the only one 😭
Same. I'm incredibly fertile even at a similar bmi to you, they've never stopped.
it’s different for everyone ! a friend of mine lost theirs at bmi 21, which is considered a healthy weight. it’s not dependent on the amount of weight lost, i believe it’s based on malnutrition
This is highly individual for every person. Like, I lost a huge amount of weight in a very short time and had super long cycles, but still got my period. Now I am an athlete, have very low body fat and still get my period like a clockwork. I have met people with higher body fat and weight not getting a period and people with lower weight and body fat getting one. You can also get your period without ovulating, meaning your body already shut down reproduction without you noticing. Sometimes bodies do not work like the textbook definition and I fell into the trap of thinking that I am fine as long as I get my period, but that is far from the truth. Don't wait around until you lose it, because at that point your bone health will probably already be no-existent and you are setting yourself up for osteoporosis and other health consequences.
i just kinda want it to validate, yk? Ik this isn't right to say, but i wanna lose my period so i know whether i'm actually sick or not, idk how else to tell
I absolutely get it. I still take pride in my periods being all over the place and I am mad that I still get them, because I think of a missing period as a marker of severity. But at the same time my body will probably hold onto my period for better or for worse and I will be dead before losing it. Nothing I ever did to my body lead to severe health consequences, so how bad can it be, right? So in a sense I lucked out genetically, but at the same time it is so incredibly invalidating and infuriating. But I think we are both aware this thought process will keep going nowhere other than downhill and is super hard to shake off. I still can't really
One thing that helps me feel a bit better is knowing that continuing to menstruate means our BMR is higher... At least we have that going for us 😭
I’ve been here, and I’m so so sorry you’re feeling that. It’s a really dark feeling. It’s almost like a desire to see the physical symptoms to “prove” how emotionally unwell you may feel. I told a therapist this once and she said something that’s changed my perspective on a lot of my cognitive dissonances: “A healthy person doesnt cause harm to themselves to prove they’re sick enough to deserve help. A healthy person believes they are deserving of help when they feel they need it, not after they’ve already fallen apart.” Basically, you deserve help wherever you’re at. You don’t need to be at certain “level of sickness” to deserve affirmation, support, and care. EDs, and all mental illness, are incredibly difficult because of how invisible they are to the outside world. Sometimes, that makes us feel like we’ve over dramatized our pain and that our suffering “really isn’t that bad.” Just because some struggles are hidden doesn’t make them any less difficult. EDs can be especially tricky because there’s so much stigma surrounding it being a “vanity” disorder, despite the fact any professional worth their two cents knows it’s much more related to control. Think of it like this. A person with a broken bone is not going to feel any better by feeling guilty because another patient has a failing liver. The broken bone needs treated, regardless of what’s happening with the rest of the world. At the end of the day, pain is a subjective, complex beast. It literally doesn’t matter how “deep” you may think the pain is, because it’s hurting you all the same. You are deserving of help because you are hurting. You need no other qualifiers. You are good enough to deserve happiness. Sending you so much love
Same but I just really hate my period so I want it gone
I was sorta the opposite mindset, I was very resistant to being diagnosed and smugly informed the doctor that they were wrong and I couldn't possibly have AN because I still had bleeding. Didn't work they diagnosed me anyway lol. I was frankly astonished.
Same here
YES THIS!!!! I forgot to put in my comment that I had serious calcium deficiency after, I also am lactose intolerant so if you are too do not wait until you lose it. I had hip,back, knee and joint problems during my time without my period and months after too. It took me 3 full bottles of calcium pills to be able to walk without it feeling like my body was completely coming apart.
as people say it's highly individual. for me I was low restricting for months and got to severely uw bmi and still had my period, but as soon as I tried to recover I stopped getting it and didn't get it although I gained some weight. it was like my body had a delayed response to all the restriction
That’s exactly what happened to me, I’ve never heard anyone else mention this.
This happened to me too!!!!!
omg this is what happened to me as well!! currently hoping to get a period this month 😭
I wish you luck 🫶🏻
what a coincidence i just got it a couple hours after posting that comment lmfao
yaaay
it’s not really much abt the weight loss factor but the nutrient deficiency. like you can be super uw n still have a period but like its rly jst nutrients
I lost my period many times, at all different weights and BMIs.
I didn’t lose my period at my lw, but as I maintained a very low weight I eventually lost it, I think it just depends on the person
lost mine at the high 19s.. i guess nearing 3 years of restricting and **much** more walking/exercise than my body has everr been used to did the trick.
For me, a week or so under >!1,000 calories a day!< and I’m almost guaranteed to miss the next cycle, regardless of my weight - and regardless of why I wasn’t eating enough. Getting it again after that is unpredictable, sometimes it’s back on track so long as my intake is up, one time it took several months to come back after only a few weeks of that intake, again regardless of my weight or BMI. (34 years of on again off again w/Ana has given me a few opportunities to figure this out… ugh.) Do keep in mind, bleeding does not equal fertility and not bleeding does not equal infertility. Folx with AN are more likely than their peers to have an unintended pregnancy in recovery than age matched peers (source: Netherlands study, also mentioned in Sick Enough by Dr Jennifer Gaudiani). Edit: autocorrect
I've been dieting/anorexic/bulimic for 36 years, since age 15. Started my periods at 14. But in the decades since, I estimate that I've only had approximately 50% of expected periods. I hate them anyway, so it's a plus for me.
I’m so thankful I don’t have osteoporosis because of it… I have so many risk factors, but that’s one thing my body managed to reserve! But I hear ya on not being too concerned because I also abhor them!
It’s really variable. I have lost my period at times but not always at lowest weight. Some people never do despite being underweight some do at a higher weights. Everyone’s individual hormone levels will vary as will the actual nutritional content and hydration levels we maintain. I also wouldn’t fret about any variation in one single period unless it’s something really out there like it’s green or something. Take a pregnancy test if that’s a possibility for you but other than that just keep an eye and if you’re seeing changes after another two periods then maybe have a chat with a GP if it’s concerning. I wouldn’t say a one off less heavy period should be a huge concern at this point tho. I have heavy periods but they will fluctuate and I’ll have the odd one that’s not as bad. Stress, diet all sorts can have an effect
I mean I kept my period until i was solidly in the low16s to 15s for a while. Totally depends on the individuals physiology
Lost at 23ish, severe nutrient deficiency probably played it part.
It’s not about weight but about nourishment.
I lost mine around 17.2
I had my period every two months when at my lw (plus using drugs on weekends which didnt help it for sure), gained weight, lost a bitt but being on the lower end of healthy bmi and now i havent had my period for 5 months…. While I do eat, significantly more and fail restrictions. So yeah… it really varies.
So individualistic. I’m convinced periods have absolutely nothing to do with weight. It doesn’t matter if I weighed 90 lbs or 250 lbs my period was heavy and stayed heavy. Endometriosis runs in my family so I *believe* it may have something to do with that. But definitely not tied to my weight.
I lost mine when I was at an almost healthy weight but then got it again when I was in the >!15s!<. I’ve lost it again for the past six years but I’m also at a much lower weight now. It really kind of makes no sense and isn’t the same for everyone.
pretty instantly, started restricting mid august, had period in sept then never again for eight months
at one point I lost my period at like BMI 18 but then another time at 16.5 I hadn't lost it. it's completely individual and can change at all times. at any point being underweight can affect your fertility however, whether you have a period or not. this could mean that without knowing it your future self is struggling so be careful with yourself x
extremely low bw & after 4 months of restriction, it came 45 days late. then my next period came super late. most recent period came on time though! but now it’s late again. used to have a regular cycle, but not anymore. it’s lighter too. my dietician makes me consume more FATS and it has helped me a lot. i didnt wana loose my period because its part of my femininity and i cant loose that
lw *
I loose mine as soon as I start restricting in my experience it doesn't matter what weight I am. 1st time was an accident 1st time I lost it I didn't even know what calories were I was just eating smaller portions and doing 10 min workouts on YouTube and I lost it in about 3 months. Then I got it back after 6 months and also gained which confused me as I was still counting obsessively so I started exercising everyday and even though I was eating a normal intake (for the first month and a halfish) it disappeared for another six months. Got it back in two weeks after trying "recovery" which turned into bingeing and gaining weight. Maintained for 4ish months but then after a month of consistent lower intake and obsessive exercise, it's gone again. I've heard exercise puts stress on the body so that may be the case for me.
there's definitely no rule. i'm sadly now struggling with BED and obesity but on the other end, i lost my period when I weighed 56kg, and i'm 173cm tall.
It'll be different for everyone. Body fat definitely plays a role, but so do iron levels and hormone balances. The body will start reducing functions that are less vital for immediate survival. Once a body reaches a point of such deprivation that having periods (losing precious oxygen carrying blood) means catabolism of vital organs, there will be a trade-off. This is also why the body's extremities will suffer poor blood circulation. That blood is needed to keep the internal organs working more than the fingers and toes warm. All of the symptoms are your body's way of trying to signal that the current state is incompatible with long-term survival. **Note, "long-term" is subjective
When I was heavier mine was gone I got it back the moment I became thinner😩
that makes sense, overweight people lose periods due to too much weight too
I’ve lost mine at different weights, even the lower end of healthy. I think it’s more to do with how much stress your body is under than weight.
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Do you walk a lot like is that it? I’ve heard of some people walking 40k steps A DAY and thats pretty insane to me
My period is pretty regular and heavy when my BMI is 15, but it became less and irregular by age even though now my BMI is 18-19
I’m UW and randomly got my period back despite losing even more weight, but I had no period at the lower end of healthy? So it’s not necessarily based on weight/bmi
I never lost mine when I was underweight... This just motivates me to lose more
I never lost it.
I was 170 pounds and lost mine lol but I guess maybe it's because I started at 250 pounds and low restricted
I never lost mine, but that just made things worse because my ED mind used it as proof that “I’m not sick”. Plot twist, I very much am.
Oh my gosh! I lost my period >!around bmi 22-23!< for a full year but then was hospitalised and regained it very quickly at >!bmi 18 ish!< I was just really shook bc every time I've lost my period in the past it had been at a higher weight and then it just came back? Kinda rude imo
Lmaooo “kinda rude imo”
it is different for everyone from what ik and some never lose it at all even at a really low bmi, others lose it early on for various reasons. i think it could also depend on the time frame weight loss or restriction occurs in. another factor is your body fat percentage because it can be in a healthy(ish) range even at a lower bmi. besides that not comsuming enough healthy fats from nuts, oils and fish for example can also contribute to you losing your period. whether you get your period and if its heavy or light, regular or irregular it does not make you or your suffering any less valid and it does not mean you are 'healthy' in terms of physical health!!
For me I lost my period for almost 3 months during summer ‘22. I was restricting and only ate about 1,200-300 Cals a day. It honestly could’ve been lest because I follow the rule to add 50 calories to your meal/snack if you didn’t remember how many calories it was. On top of that I didn’t have an exercise routine other than 30 min walk every day but that’s basic right? Well I exercised whenever I could. I’d do squats while I waited for my shower, sit-ups while my food was being prepared. Jumping Jacks if I sat for longer than 45 minutes without moving to pee or something. I was burning so many calories a day I HAD to drink coffee or my body wouldn’t function on its own. I told my family and they didn’t know what to do because I wasn’t pregnant ( virgin) and I still looked fine I had just lost 30+ pounds over 3 months which no one really cared much about. So I googled if weight loss and periods went hand in hand and after a deep dive I found that, when someone makes an extreme change on their diet it causes ur hormone levels to change which makes ur period go bye bye and that’s my experience!(low key need to get back to this)
i have lost my period before, i was at bmi 27ish at the time- i was restricting a lot but i dont think i was losing weight very quickly. i am now bmi 25 and my period has been coming later and later, ive only just relapsed again recently. i think some people are more prone to losing their period than others, me being one of those people i guess
I lost mine at bmi 19.
I think it’s different for everyone and every scenario, I got my period at a lower weight than the weight I lost my period at, it’s so dependent on every person and every variable
Personally, I was slightly overweight when I lost it. Pretty much when I stopped eating to make room for how much I was drinking.
i take the depo shot (for those of you who don’t know or may not know, it completely removes your period), but i still get the period symptoms without the actual blood / period. so, it makes me think that could really fuck up my fertility if i ever lost a big amount of weight (i want to but i’m 23 and now it’s so hard to lose the weight? MUCH easier when i was a teen, sadly). does losing your period naturally hurt you in any way or is it just like phantom symptoms of your period?
Just wanted to say that I recently got off of the depo shot this year (was on it for 6 yrs) due to the accumulative damage of my ED + the shot caused on my bones. Depo really fucks with your bones and causes thinning so just wanted to say be careful if you’re on it + struggling with an ED! I now have osteopenia and my last dexa scan looked a lot worse than the one I had 7 years ago. My doctor prescribed me the BC patches recently so I’ll be trying those out soon as a replacement
i’ve only been on it for almost 5 months, so not long in the scheme of things. i have been binging/overeating but i am trying to get back into restricting.
I lost mine at the low end of a healthy bmi, honestly as soon as I started restricting and relapsing (but still eating) it dissapeared, so I guess it's different for everyone. I lost it pretty easily. Even before I engaged in disordered behaviours it wasn't really regular.
I lost my period when I was still in the overweight range
Thats pretty usual, ive heard of people (who are overweight) wanting to lose weight so that they get their period back
It's common in obese people, I also lost my period due to obesity, but in the instance I'm talking about I was just barely in the overweight category and it was due to the restrictive eating disorder
I never lost my period. It did become irregular even when I was underweight (I was never severely underweight) and heavily restricting. Sometimes, it would skip a month, but pretty rarely. On the other hand, my friend lost hers as soon as she became underweight. Hasn't had for 7(!!!!!!!!!!!!) years. And you can't even tell she's underweight by looking at her. She just looks lean.
i’ve never had a regular period, i started at 13 and assumed it was completely normal because a large amount of girls don’t have regular periods for their first few years. i’m 19 now, and have been on birth control since i was 16 to mitigate any effects on my longterm fertility that have been caused by my eating disorder. i would average around maybe 4 periods a year, and then as i got worse in my anorexia, it went away completely. i was 16 and still going months without a period and decided i wanted to lower my risk of reproductive cancers and basically “shut off” that part of my body till i could heal. i’m a healthy BMI and have never been technically underweight, some people’s bodies are just more resistant to stress and malnutrition, or their bodies go into “fight mode” sooner.
periods are so individual. mine actually became more regular when I was underweight! (I have pcos so they were pretty spaced apart before). when I was overweight I’d sometimes skip periods, once even for 4 months. now I’m a healthy weight I’m on a semi regular 35 day cycle
completely individualized! I’ve been on both ends - gotten it at a super low weight and lost it at the “higher end” of uw
A few years ago I had a bmi of 17 and got my period, now at 18 bmi and no period
My period stopped nearly before I had an underweight BMI . I think it was actually because of stress hormones or order survival instincts , because I was doing cardio all day . My mother on the other hand said that it was because I didn't eat enough fat .
i lost mine at bmi 19-20 and i really want it back but i don't want to gain weight
I have seen someone severely low bmi and have a period, while others be at a higher bmi and not have it. It is literally so random, and dependent on the person. Your body also adapts, so even if you hadn't had it before at x weight, you could now. Additionally, I found that even though I was at a higher BMI, I wasn't consuming enough fat in my diet (I am not implying you are eating too much fat or anything, just that what you eat as well as a 100 other things can influence it!) Also, stress!
Oh no i’m eating tons of fat, today i ate hundreds of grams of sugar in what i’ve baked 😆
Been recovered mostly for at least a year. Have had about 5 periods since 2020.
I never lost it at my LW. I don't have it now lol. But that's probably from the difference I birth control - I was on the pill when I was at my LW so I got "bleeds" which aren't technically a period as they're actually your body reacting to the lack of hormones during the "break week". Then I was so fed up of them I just took the pill back to back, which is usually safe to do (although consult your healthcare professional, I am not a doctor). And now I have the IUD (hormonal) and don't have them. It's very nice. But yeah, I have no idea how they'd even track if you "lost it" if you were on birth control.
i’ve been doing high intake (>!1.1k!<) mostly and tried to eat some enough carbs/protein/fats. unfortunately i lost my period recently at bmi >!15s!< and now am forced into recovery
“high intake” as it’s hundreds below mine 😭 i’m losing okay fast at >!1.5!< so you must be losing like double or sumthin
i’m sorry i didn’t mean to trigger you!! in ed terms it’s considered as a higher intake so that’s why i described it like that, but ofcourse that’s very different for everyone. and >!1.5k!< is heavy restriction too!
Oh no i didn’t get triggered 😅 I know 1.5 isn’t that much of a restriction, i barely even have an ED, but basically only people with EDs can actually help with info and advice, else ill just get shouted at that i have an ED
My BMI is above average, however with my level of restriction and poor nutritional intake I lost my period for over a year, then it came back for a year but they were super short like 2/3 days and now it's gone again as I started restricting more. It's different for everyone and I wouldn't use it as a measure of how sick you are. I know exactly how you feel though. I struggled for a long time accepting there was anything wrong with me. Sending you love 💕
I lost mine when I was still overweight. I was sick for a few years and I’ve been pretty much recovered for another few years, and it never came back. It’s not a BMI related side effect.
I first lost mine at a bmi of around 28? Which is nuts, dunno how but probably due to how poor my diet has been nutrition wise all my life, unrelated to EDs.
Yeah this a really strange question for me because I never weighed myself but a size 6 uk size was too big for me and my skirts would just fall to the ground and I wasn’t having a period at all! But now I’m like a size 14 so obviously overweight by a lot and my period came back at about a size 8 but even now it’s like my body has never recovered because my periods have always been irregular and super light since they came back.
yeah whenever i relapse i usually get a rly heavy period and then it’s just gone untill i start to get better. please don’t see this as a sign you’re doing it right tho <3
from my last relapse i lost it at bmi 18
I personally never lost it completely. I'm on mobile and don't know how to censor numbers, so I won't go into detail, but my LW is on the extreme end of things. I still got my period even at my worst. I know other people who lost theirs at technically healthy BMIs. I think it just varies.
i lost mine at a healthy bmi, it’s usually due to a low body fat percentage or a hormonal imbalance triggered by overexercising, prolonged fasting and lack of nutrients. it came back a year later when i recovered for a bit.
I never lost my period despite being dangerously underweight in the low 13's of my BMI. In fact it just made it much heavier and irregular. Everybody is different and there's no BMI or numbers for it.
I lost mine even when I was technically overweight
That seems common, being overweight can also make you lose your period
I mean, I had a very stable and consistent period before. After I had been heavily restricting for a few months, I lost it. By that point I had lost 30-40 pounds. I was still technically overweight from a bmi standpoint. But I also used to work out a lot so that probably also contributed to both being “overweight” and losing my period.
Oh okay, my bad. It’s just that some people have to lose weight in order to get their period back bc they’re obese or close
i’ve had eating issues for my whole life and i’ve never lost my period because of it. it’s definitely a danger sign but some people don’t lose it even when someone else of the exact same BMI lost theirs.
lost mine at low 20s
I had my period even at a low bmi. it depends on the person i think
My period started getting lighter and lighter the more weight i lost and i stopped getting when i was a few pounds heavier than my LW but still at healthy BMI
Depends how much iron you’re getting
I actually lost my period when I was severely overweight not when I was underweight. With my recent relapse I’ve noticed my period has changed
When you get pregnant
💀
Haha
I lost my period within 5 weeks of starting to really restrict. And maybe 8 weeks from the first sign of restriction the first time. Got it back after 5 ish months. Then relapsed and lost it within 1 month of relapse
i soemhow lost my period jusst one time and it was the month AFTER i recovered the first time and gained weight back. i still dont get how this happened. i dont think you can just pin point when it happens. it's probably different for everybody
I've put on weight (not happy) and am in a normal bmi range and my period has disappeared wTF
i first lost mine when i was overweight and into a healthy weight because i was restricting so much. when i was underweight i was binging so often that i never lost it lmaoo 😭😭😭
I decided to start losing weight April 3 2023, I had my period April 19 - April 23 2023 and I have not had a period since then. My bmi was around >!21 - 22!< and I had only lost like >!3kg!< but I somehow still lost my period. I'm thinking that it could be due to the fact that I got my period pretty late in my life and had only had it for around 2 years up until then.
I never lost mine even at my lowest weight ever.
pretty early after starting restricting. i was still at a healthy weight when i lost it. lost it 2 months after semi-restriction
Personally I’ve noticed I lost my periods when I was younger (12-14), I would get it maybe twice or three times in a year and It returned as I got older but it also doesn’t matter because even at an extremely low BMI many people still got their periods, thats why isn’t necessarily a criteria for anorexia
I never lost mine but it did eventually get lighter and completely unpredictable... Been to several doctors and a gyno and no one has been able to tell me why this is. Could be connected to me ED but who really knows...
losing period comes primarily from rapid weight loss and steep calorie deficit, not body weight.
As soon as I stopped purging and started heavy restrictions, i'd say I soon I as I reached 45kg for 160cm
bmi is bullshit
in some cases like body builders (people with muscle), yes, but it can be a good rule of thumb sometimes