I shared a story a while ago about my experience with Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA) and how I got my period back. But I finally decided to make a video about this topic as I realised just how important it is to spread this message.
I don’t know whether it is just the online circles I hang around in but I feel like hormonal issues are becoming much more prevalent, especially in young women. It’s so important to know that this is not normal or healthy. If your periods are missing you need to do something about it!
What is Hypothalamic Amenorrhea?
Before I share my story of how I got my period back, I want to explain why they were missing in the first place. Hypothalamic Amenorrhea is the absence of menstrual cycles due to stress or negative energy balancing in the body. Menstrual disorders like that are affecting more and more women as we strive to achieve the perfect body through restrictive diets and punishing exercise regimes.
I don’t think social media is helping as we now are faced with images of attractive women to compare ourselves to. We are faced with messages of how to eat and exercise to stay skinny, youthful and beautiful whenever we open up our phones or computers. Often this is packaged up as health but is this truly the message being sent? I don’t think so.
Social media (and before that mass media) is destroying our self worth as women. Worse than that, we are being shown an ideal which is unhealthy for most and unattainable for many. It’s crazy that our idea of a “healthy woman” now involves a six pack and barely any body fat. So far from the image of a fertile woman from the past.
Plus, I’m sure that a good proportion of the women in the fitness industry are suffering inside. Many are over exercising and restricting their diet to the point of physical deprivation and mental anxiety. Of course there are the exceptions but on the whole I think the fitness industry these days is pretty toxic.
How I got my period back after 8 years
Watch the video below from my Youtube Channel where I share my story of how I got my period back after 8 years of Hypothalamic Amenorrhea. I first lost my period at age 17 after being on the contraceptive pill for 1 year. I waited and waited and it didn’t come back for another 7 years! Despite me clearly being underweight, obsessed with food and the gym, my doctor assured me it was normal.
After a PCOS scare and the fear I’d never be able to have children naturally, I started to study and research. Finally I discovered the book No Period Now What and learned about Hypothalamic Amenorrhea. I found the path to recover my natural period and once I committed fully to the process I was able to get my period back in just 4 months!
A big part of this was letting go of restrictive dieting and the need to control my body weight. Following certain period recovery diet guidelines was a major element in how I got my period back. Also taking a break from my gym addiction and allowing my body to rest and heal.
It was a big challenge for me to learn how to eat more and nourish my body without binge eating on junk foods. In the beginning I experienced extreme hunger as many women recovering from dieting and eating disorders do. For the first few months I ate A LOT of all types of foods. I was still vegan at that time and my story shows it is possible to recover your period on a vegan diet.
However, with the education and experience I now have, I wouldn’t recommend it. I’ve since created a period recovery meal plan to simplify the process of knowing what and how much to eat
Getting my period back changed my life
Getting my period back after so long was a huge turning point in my life. This experience is what sparked my passion for nutrition and feminine energy yoga that I love sharing to this day. I am still interested in health, including eating well and moving my body. But nowadays this is from a much more relaxed, intuitive place.
I’m not fighting my body at every turn I’m just going with the flow. This was the key strategy to how I got my period back. Letting go. I thought that letting go meant letting myself go. But actually I am able to maintain a healthy body without depriving myself or running myself into the ground. The best thing is that my mind is so much calmer and happier for it!
Over to you…
If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.
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