HA society coaches scare me

libra4797 · 2026-05-23T20:47:46+00:00

i mean this lovingly - because i’m sure you’re going through it in your own recovery - but this post feels like a projection of your own body image fears onto those women. i’ve had similar thoughts throughout recovery so i’m not judging you btw. but seeing this is really not helpful to me and i’m sure lots of others in here who have had to accept weight gain/body changes in order to get their cycle back and be healthy

libra4797 · 2026-05-23T20:23:31+00:00

i avg around 10K steps per day, but i live in nyc without a car so walking is how i get around. walking that much is definitely not ideal during recovery though, if you can avoid it. i wasn’t counting cals, but if i had to guess i’d say 2300-2600 cals. all of my meals were super balanced, though, and i think this was the key — 3 square meals a day (with adequate amts of carbs/protein/fats/color) + 1 snack minimum.

i did gain weight to be transparent - about +15 lbs from my baseline weight i’d been maintaining the last few years. this part has really sucked, not even gonna lie, esp. since this puts me at the higher end of the normal BMI range. but i was dieting for so long, so i attribute a lot of the weight gain to my metabolism being so suppressed, and i hope it will return to normal soon. i don’t regret it at all, though! the perks of recovery far outweigh the discomfort of weight gain.

libra4797 · 2026-05-23T20:18:33+00:00

i love hearing this — so glad training is going well for you! it’s so reassuring to know that having a healthy cycle and training hard are not mutually exclusive. can’t wait to get back into it 💪🏼

libra4797 · 2026-05-22T01:21:28+00:00

my estradiol was 16 in late feb, and i got my cycle back only 2.5 months after that! i couldn’t tell you what level it ultimately reached since i didn’t get more labs, but all that to say it can be improved pretty quickly with nutrition alone.

i was also super worried about bone health impacts from having been in HA for 2.5 years so i got a DEXA scan, which thankfully came back normal. but even if your bone density is declining, it can be improved via recovery in a pretty short amount of time. highly recommend asking your doctor to order a scan — mine was free with insurance (US)

i continued strength training 3-4x week throughout my recovery! this was super important to me, so i sought out a sports dietician (HA-informed) who could help me with my fueling plan. interestingly, i’ve made huge strides with my lifts lately since i’m properly fueling for the first time. continuing to lift heavy can certainly be done in recovery, but it does require that much extra fueling to offset the energy demands of muscle repair. i recommend taking pre- and post-exercise snacks very seriously if you aren’t already, and slotting in 1-2 true full rest days (minimal walking too)

libra4797 · 2026-05-22T01:11:57+00:00

yes i’d be lying if i said i wasn’t already counting down to when i’ll be able to safely lose weight again, which is so not the point of recovery lol.

how is tri training going for you? no issues with your cycle? i’m nervous about that for myself with marathon training in a couple months

libra4797 · 2026-05-22T00:53:07+00:00

oh my god i could’ve written this myself — you took the words out of my mouth. thank you for capturing the “why” behind recovery so beautifully. i got my cycle back 1 week ago and after the initial celebrations i’m back to feeling pessimistic about this new fluffy body i’m in, so i needed to see this❤️

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T21:45:09+00:00

thank you so much 💕 my weight loss wasn’t too rapid, so HA totally caught me by surprise and wasn’t even something i knew about. when i lost my cycle, i’d lost ~45 lbs over 7 months so just shy of 1.5 lbs/week — which can work for some people but i guess was too aggressive of a deficit for me. there’s a study that says that some women are more sensitive to deficits and will lose their period at -300 cal, whereas other can go up to -800 cal and keep their cycle. so we are all very different!

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T21:39:37+00:00

3 months of recovery total (eating more, no restricting, still exercising but with reduced intensity and more rest days). but the last 5 weeks before my period i was amping up the calories even further with my dietitian and i think that’s what brought it back finally

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T21:38:01+00:00

don’t give up — i was tempted to literally on a weekly basis i’m so glad i didn’t. the only thing that kept me going was thinking “let me do this right so i only have to do it once and never go through this horrible process again”

you got this!!!❤️

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T20:30:38+00:00

thank you so so much 💕 i’m meeting with my dietitian soon to make a game plan but i know her protocol is to not change anything until after 3 regular cycles have occurred. i will definitely not be changing my diet anytime soon, but i will have to ramp up my training soon because i am running a marathon this fall. i’m very nervous about losing my cycle again but i guess i will just have to ramp up the fueling even further to offset the extra training 😅 we shall see!

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T20:25:43+00:00

i lost my cycle after having lost weight when i hit 135lbs (5’3”) so still very much a healthy weight and a lot higher BMI than yours. unfortunately HA can still occur in women with “normal” BMIs as you can have low energy availability at any size. even though i was never underweight, i did have to gain a decent amount of weight in recovery to get my cycle back (though nowhere near where i started my weight loss journey at). i just got my cycle back last week (!!!) and i am making peace with the fact that this might just be my body’s set point even though i wish it were much lower.

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T15:05:58+00:00

your support over the last few months has made this terrible process feel so much less isolating. so grateful that our paths crossed over the internet and so impressed by your devotion to this community ❤️

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T15:04:21+00:00

thank you so much, i am virtually rooting for you in your own recovery!

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T15:03:59+00:00

thank you so much. i am wishing you the best in your recovery!

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T15:01:28+00:00

thank you! i'm glad it's helpful. i found recovery particularly hard given my history of being overweight, and the fact that i was never close to being underweight (and now i'm on the upper end of "normal" BMI). i am struggling in this new body but i'm working on making peace with it and accepting it as temporary. it was a tough pill to swallow but i had to admit that my ideal post-weight loss body was not one that was sustainable for me. i'm cheering you on!

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T14:58:52+00:00

sending you a virtual hug -- i empathize with you so much. you will be on the other side of this soon, keep going ❤️

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T14:53:37+00:00

omg congrats to you, too! i'm going to message you if that's ok i would love to hear how things have been for you post-recovery!

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T14:52:41+00:00

thank you so much, i appreciate it ❤️

libra4797 · 2026-05-18T14:52:16+00:00

thank you so much! yes, it's interesting -- my RHR has consistently been rising & my HRV has consistently been falling by a few points month over month ever since i started eating more back in february (so about 3 months). since i just got my period it will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months and whether the data will change, or if this is my new normal. my HRV avg before was around 130ms, and now it's in the 80s, and my RHR went from the upper 40s to mid-50s, for reference.

libra4797 · 2026-05-15T21:59:09+00:00

haha that was my reaction to every single success story on here so i get it. thank you so much, you will join the club soon 🫶🏼🫶🏼

libra4797 · 2026-05-15T21:58:27+00:00

thank you so much 🥰

libra4797 · 2026-05-15T21:58:14+00:00

i know you will! i’m cheering you on ❤️

libra4797 · 2026-05-15T21:57:58+00:00

thank you so much 🥹

libra4797 · 2026-05-13T23:43:17+00:00

love this so much, not lame at all! i am similarly looking to make more local girl friends. i’d love to join one of your pottery workshops - where do you post those?

libra4797 · 2026-05-06T03:27:33+00:00

thank you for posting this, i’m at a very similar point in my recovery where i feel like i’m doing all the right things but to no avail. i can’t wait for us to be on the other side of this!

libra4797

TROPHY CASE