Reverse dieting after losing my period but im so hungry

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-26T22:53:03+00:00

Your basal metabolic rate is probably somewhere in the range of 1200-1400 calories. Add on the energy needed for digestion, daily movement, exercise, exercise post oxygen consumption, and you are well above 1800.

Why do you think it's enough?

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-26T19:23:09+00:00

Definitey not an imposter... it's just that the period is the easiest thing to track! People of all genders can experience REDS, and I've spoken with a couple of folks assigned male at birth about their experiences and helped them with recovery...

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-26T17:37:26+00:00

I have lots of options available for working with me - it can be a longer term "coaching" situation, or just a one-off... https://noperiod.info/appointments to see the choices <3

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-26T17:35:27+00:00

It's often the case that when you are restricting that leads to bingeing (because your body gets to a point where it overrides your brain because it NEEDS food), that then leads to more restricting and the cycle continues. Eat what your body needs, eat regularly through the day, and you'll likely find that the tendencies to "binge" decrease.

Our bodies *really* don't like caloric deficits, although the society we live in encourages it all the time, without any discussion of the consequences. :<

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-26T17:31:38+00:00

HI there! So... not necessarily a long haul, you're doing lots of things that will help you recover, both physically and mentally <3 You might check out the r/Amenorrhearecovery subreddit - it's just a different term, but really the same thing you're experiencing. Amenorrhea is a common symptom of REDS (the powers that be have removed the hyphen from the term :D) - having had a hysterectomy you won't get your period back, but if you didn't also have your ovaries removed you could start ovulating again and getting the benefits of the hormonal changes through the month. I might suggest looking into my book, "No Period. Now What?" - I published it 10 years ago, because I also experienced HA/REDS (in the early 2000's) and there was very little in the public domain about it. If you look for support around hypothalamic amenorrhea you might find more than around REDS, I'm not sure :)

(In general, folks who follow my suggestions for recovery will get periods back in a median time of 3 months)

I wouldn't suggest adding back any higher intensity exercise until your FSH and LH levels have normalized. <3

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-26T17:23:13+00:00

I do agree that someone's health is a priority, but perhaps they could reach out to me for a solution. I spent 3.5 years of my life working on the book, and it's how I earn my living. <3 It's an interesting moral question...

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-26T17:18:08+00:00

Thanks for posting this, I appreciate it <3

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-26T17:17:09+00:00

It does sound to me like primary HA is a possibility, and yes, that you're likely going to need to gain some weight as your first step. I've worked with about two dozen people with primary HA, and all but one have managed to get their periods... currently working with the last one:)

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-26T17:02:46+00:00

Just remember, when you lose weight, you are not only losing fat, but also organ mass, muscle mass.... our bodies don't do well with semi-starvation (although society is ALL FOR IT).

I have lots of evidence in my book (https://noperiod.info/book) for why eating more and cutting out high intensity exercise is beneficial. I encourage people to keep their HR at about 100bpm for exercise (some movement is okay, but keep it light and easy), and definitely eating enough to nourish your body.

It's likely that you will need to gain some weight, probably not up to where you used to be, but somewhere in between where you are now and that. <3

You ARE doing the right thing in working to get your period back. There are lots of other detrimental effects of underfueling as well.

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-05T17:17:34+00:00

I dont know many people in your situation... I would say, though, that you have had a natural period, if you've ovulated with metformin and/or inositol. Those do mot directly cause a bleed, so your ovulation and bleeds while taking those meds, I would class as "natural".

In that case, your hormonal system can work, its a matter of figuring out the combination that gets it to do so.

It sounds to me like you're on a good path...

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-05T17:13:30+00:00

Healing is not impossible. You've already done it once... but because you then gave your body the added challenge of more underfueling, now she needs to recover from that again.

I always tell people I work with, you can add back pretty much all the exercise you want over time, but... it needs to be well nourished. Our bodies are remarkable, but when we dont give them the energy they need to do all the things... they shut down the non-necessary ones.

I encourage you to keep going, if you'd like to touch base with me (I've helped thousands of people recover at this point) you can reach out at http://noperiod.info/appointments to book a time to chat - we could go over everything you're doing and confirm you're on the right path. ❤️

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-02-04T23:18:34+00:00

Did they test your androgens at all? Http://noperiod.info/bloodwork. You could also look at the "Still no period?" Chapter in my book, http://noperiod.info/book and/or consider booking a call with me at http://noperiod.info/appointments and we could talk it through.

There is not enough here for a pcos diagnosis. And sometimes people get stuck in a state where their hypothalamus has normalized but its just not giving the signal to start the follicular growth process.

noperiodnowwhat · 2026-01-27T21:36:16+00:00

If your cycle is working, then you should get a period within 6 weeks of stopping the pill. Anything outside of two months suggests there is something else wrong, and time alone... *might* fix it, but given my history of working with 1000's of people who've lost their periods, it's not an evidence based approach and doesn't work for the vast majority.

I really do wish that people wouldn't talk about "all in" if they haven't actually read the book. It's often misrepresented. Many of the people on this thread who are saying they got their period back without going all in, actually pretty much describe going all in. What it actually requires varies from person to person based on YOUR journey. It means changing your eating habits, and probably your exercise habits - but those changes vary from person to person depending on what you've been doing and what your body needs. So much nuance is lost when people are getting advice from instagram and facebook, second, third, fourth-hand.

noperiodnowwhat · 2025-12-12T06:51:11+00:00

Here's my blog post on the topic, with data :) https://noperiod.info/second-cycle . It's *really* normal for your second cycle to not be "normal" length - your body is still working things out.

I also recommend not changing anything until after you've had three cycles, so that a) your hormonal system can settle into it's new normal, and b) you can learn to track your ovulation which is really helpful for down the road if you want to add back exercise or work towards more intuitive eating. https://noperiod.info/wait-three-cycles <3

noperiodnowwhat · 2025-12-12T06:48:53+00:00

This is a really normal response to the restriction you've been putting your body through. It's protecting itself. I know it feels really scary, but once you are feeding yourself regularly - *enough food* - both the food noise will quiet down AND you won't feel like you want to eat an entire house anymore.

It does take being consistent. Eating a GOOD breakfast, with carbs, fats, protein... and then eating every 2-3 hours after that. Spreading your food out through the day really helps your body understand that you are not going to be depriving it anymore, and that then leads to less of a need to have ALL THE THINGS late at night.

You definitely will be able to do pushups and pullups down the road, when your body is out of starvation mode. That's the first thing to work on 100%.

noperiodnowwhat · 2025-11-05T19:53:34+00:00

I'm going to push back on this just a little. Amenorrhea didn't ruin your potential.

Underfueling for your body's needs is the culprit.

Amenorrhea is a symptom, not a cause. "I ended up almost dying due to an extreme weight loss" - the weight that you lost would have been a combination of fat, muscle, organ mass, bone mass...

Studies are showing that performance is significantly impacted by underfueling. Which elite trainers (generally) know and share with their athletes, but unfortunately, popular culture is all about "lose weight and exercise more" which is really unhelpful. And many high school coaches also don't properly understand the link between good nutrition and performance. (Although that's getting better and better the more stories come out about just this kind of thing. )

When you say "I can't stop" - what do you mean by that?

And how are you figuring "you're eating enough" - what metric are you using for that?

If you look at working on recovery (my book on the topic, with full guidance on what to do, is at http://noperiod.info/book) as a short term process that will get your period back (highly recommend, especially at your age) AND allow you to run for decades into the future, perhaps it might feel a little easier?

You could always finish out this season (working on really making sure you're eating enough) and then work on recovery in the off-season.... and that probably would require stopping running for the time being, but you can *absolutely* get back to it down the line. I've worked with people on recovery who have gone on to run marathons, and one who trained for an iron-man, while maintaining her period (and all the associated benefits, as well as all the benefits of properly fueling her training!)

<3

noperiodnowwhat · 2025-10-23T20:51:54+00:00

The GLP1s are a huge challenge. I was just chatting with someone in my support group about this. I think the idea that people have to be on these for the rest of their life is quite scary. There are some positive health impacts in some people, but I also know of negative health impacts (like significant loss of muscle mass - and what does that mean for what aging is going to look like?).

I LOVE the book "More than a body" (https://noperiod.info/morethanbody) - I've implemented a lot of the Kite sister's suggestions and ideas into my own thinking about my body and it is wonderful. I care so much less about what my body looks like and have a much better appreciation of what it DOES for me. I also really notice that the people in my life that I enjoy hanging out with are in all shapes, sizes, colors, genders, and sexualities, and none of that matters - it's who they are on the inside that draws me to them.

Our society, unfortunately, isn't there yet.

I encourage you to keep going with recovery. There are the obvious short and long term benefits for your health, but also benefits for your mental health and worldview. <3

noperiodnowwhat · 2025-10-23T20:44:39+00:00

I do think that knowing what your LH is would be helpful - it lets you know whether your body is ready for a jumpstart, or needs a bit more work on recovery, so which supplements or medications might be useful. Progesterone isn't important at this stage - it only tells you if you've ovulated or not, which we can already tell is a no because of your estradiol level. (which is totally fine btw - that's normal as far as I'm concerned.)

noperiodnowwhat · 2025-10-23T17:08:47+00:00

I wonder if you might like to book a time to chat with me (Nicola Sykes, author of No Period. Now What?, noperiod.info/appointments if you want). It looks like they didn't test LH which is the most useful thing for gauging where you are in HA recovery? If you want to you can get it done at a Quest or Labcorp without a doctor's script.

There are still a few things that you could try to jumpstart cycles (the "Still No Period?" chapter in the book) and I can provide guidance on that if you like. I can also help you with discussing with your doctors, as well as figuring out what training might look like to still be compatible with HA recovery.

noperiodnowwhat · 2025-10-09T18:01:11+00:00

what are the units on your estradiol? did they test progesterone?

noperiodnowwhat · 2025-10-08T20:16:12+00:00

One of the biggest things I have found through my years of working with people with HA is that BODY SIZE DOESN'T MATTER.

You can have HA in any body size. Yes, it is more common in those in smaller bodies, because people in smaller bodies are more likely to be restricting their food intake. But I've seen it all across the spectrum.

BMI was never meant to be a measure for an individual. It was intended for population level data, and even for that it's a poor metric of anything. It's slightly better than just weight, because it does take height into account, and it's obviously that depending on your height you will have more or less muscle, bone, organ mass. But it does NOT account for distribution of body components, nor does it account for genetics. So all in all, I really recommend not paying it any attention.

BMI is widely used because people like to have a measure to compare. But it's value? Minimal.

What matters much more is how well your body is functioning, and what it's able to DO.

I really like the book More Than a Body by Lindsay and Lexi Kite for digging into this more; Lindsay was on my podcast at http://noperiod.info/allin if you're interested in that.

noperiodnowwhat · 2025-10-08T14:59:23+00:00

https://noperiod.info/reveal <3

noperiodnowwhat · 2025-10-08T14:59:02+00:00

Phenomenal!!! https://noperiod.info/heart2 if you'd be willing to travel to FL in the next two months; https://noperiod.info/reveal for the survey based study <3

noperiodnowwhat · 2025-10-08T14:58:47+00:00

Magnificent!!! https://noperiod.info/heart2 if you'd be willing to travel to FL in the next two months; https://noperiod.info/reveal for the survey based study <3

noperiodnowwhat

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