dieting and menstruation?

amother ↓

Wed, Nov 29 2006, 4:37 pm

I need to lose some weight. I've been looking into a diet that allows approx. 1200 calories a day. That seems like very little to me. I have this (perhaps irrational) fear that going on such a diet would affect my periods. Looking for some expert opinions to tell me this is not so.

chocolate moose

Wed, Nov 29 2006, 4:46 pm

How much weight are you looking to lose? If you do this diet for a few days, it probably won't kill ya.

cindy324 ↓

Wed, Nov 29 2006, 6:51 pm

1200 is not so little that it should interfere with your periods. Usually women that are suffering from anorexia or bulimia and get way too thin may lose their periods until they gain back enough to reach a healthy weight.

although, I have to tell you this. even though I'm on BC, my periods get affected by weightloss. Not drastically, but I recently lost only about 15lbs, my last two cycles, instead of being able to make a clean hefsek on day 5, like usual, I couldn't until day 7. This is the second time in a couple of years that weight loss has had this effect on me.

↑ amother ↓

Wed, Nov 29 2006, 6:55 pm

The main things I noticed that were effected by my diet were due to either: lack of hydration or low iron.

Then my flow would be slow but would take longer (like 7 days). When I'm well hydrated all month and gettinga nice supply of iron, then everything flowed well and by the first opportunity I could usually make a HT.

↑ amother ↓

Thu, Nov 30 2006, 7:25 am

OP here. I was thinking more in terms of mentruation stopping altogether, like Cindy mentioned.

rainbow baby

Thu, Nov 30 2006, 8:57 am

When I diet my cycle becomes longer as the pounds fall off. 1200 calories sounds just right for a person that is trying to loss weight. On average a woman that is not dieting needs around 2000 calories. On the Weight Watcher diet when I was doing it I was allowed 20 credits a day. One credit was equal to 60 calories. So that was 1200 calories a day. It also depends how much you weigh and your height to how many calories you need a day. Do you have someone that you go to or are you doing this diet by yourself?

DefyGravity ↓

Thu, Nov 30 2006, 10:06 am

1200 calories is a normal intake for someone that's trying to lose weight. Most people need around 2000 to maintain their weight, and you need to subtract about 750 calories from that in order to lose around a pound weekly.

I don't think that this should have any major effect on your cycle - unless you're planning on becoming a huge exercize fiend as well. Dieting and working out an hour or so daily shouldn't mess anything up.

Ruchel

Thu, Nov 30 2006, 10:39 am

amother wrote:

It is very little imho (although unfortunately I've heard of people eating much less)! But if you don't do it a long time & don't become underweight, your periods should be ok. If it is not the case, stop the diet.

↑ cindy324

Thu, Nov 30 2006, 1:23 pm

Quote:

That's exactly what happened to me the last 2 months! The flow was lighter than previously, but was still staining through the 7th day. Before then , the flow was pretty heavy on the 2nd and 3rd day, but by the fifth, I was able to get a clean hefsek.

I also agree with Ruchel, 1200 calories/day is a bit less than I would eat. I try to stick to 1400-1600/day, plus excercise 3-4x/week.

mimsy7420

Thu, Nov 30 2006, 1:28 pm

Just make sure that you are getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals. And that you are eating properly. Make sure you are getting the right amount of servings of all the food groups. Fruits, vegetables, proteins, carbs. Your menstrual cycle will shut down if you are not getting the proper nutrition. You can get the proper nutrition on 1200 calories a day if you do it smartly.

↑ DefyGravity

Thu, Nov 30 2006, 1:35 pm

That's why I like eating multigrain cheerios at least once a day (oftentimes 2x daily), then I know that I'm getting all the vitamins and minerals I need.