r/Amenorrhearecovery

No exercise. No elegant macro plan. No wellness-girl recovery arc.

Just me hoarding every bakery surprise bag on the Too Good To Go app.

I’m about 20 lbs up now, and looking back at old photos… yeah. My body was not being dramatic. I needed it.

Boobs and ass are back. I’m sleeping through the night again. My skin looks better. I’m warm again. And today my uterus finally decided to rejoin the workforce.

A few weeks ago I made a post joking that my recovery was basically being powered by Tiff’s Treats, frozen yogurt, and 7-Eleven pizza because apparently my body had no interest in balanced macros and only wanted warm cookies.

Apparently, she knew what she was doing.

One period doesn’t mean I’m fully recovered, but it does feel like a very chaotic little miracle.

Anyway. Girlies, this is your sign to eat what you want. ALL food is FUEL!!!

Im having trouble with getting different ideas for snacks and feel like im just reaching for the same things every time as they are “safe”. Usually I go for a couple dates with pb and a square of chocolate, a yogurt/fruit bowl, ice cream or some form of chocolate cereal…I feel like these foods are helping calorie wise (except maybe for the fruit/yogurt) but arent really helping nutrient wise??? Does anyone have any good ideas for snacks that helped you? Same thing with meals. Im also trying to combat my tendency to reach for more high volume foods to feel more satisfied when I know I should just be eating the amount I want. Any tips on how to deal with this?

TW WEIGHT AND CALORIES!

Im 160cm, and roughly 44kg and have been gaining on around 2100-2200 (my weight stabilised on 2000 after 2 weeks - that is to say after the first week of increased weight, the next week I didnt gain anything) … my current activity is getting 10k steps a day, with volleyball 1x a week. If I bump up my intake to 2500, after the initial gain, will it balance out after a while? Is this recommended? For context I am 15 and havent had a period for nearly 8 months due to under fuelling for a couple months.

Hey guys! I haven’t gotten my period back yet, but a small win in my food freedom and ending restricted eating journey, I suggested going out for breakfast so I could get a big ole stack of pancakes 🥞 literally nothing crazy but old me would stress about having to go out to eat I’d be studying the menu and calculating the entire night before and I never thought I’d be one to suggest eating out! Everyday is a small step but just feeling a little proud about this one! Which pancake combo is the best?? In my opinion I love a chocolate chip one but I’d love to hear your fave! :) love you guys 🤍🫶

Happy Friday everyone!! I am back to answer any questions you may have!

A little background on me, I am a Registered Dietitian who works at a private practice specialized in Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) and HA. I approach period recovery with an individualized approach, because what works for one might not work for another! We do not always practice the 'all-in' approach, and many of our athletes continue to train during recovery. That does not mean I am anti-all in, I know it works for some!

Ask me any questions you may have about HA/REDs/any challenges or struggles you are facing. I am here to provide guidance to anyone who wants it!

Note: Please refrain from using harsh language in this thread! I understand what I do is not what is stereotypically pushed in the HA recovery space, but that doesn't make it wrong. If you disagree with me and would like to discuss in a professional/respectful manner, I welcome that!

I'll be answering questions until later this afternoon, thanks guys <3

I have had two regular periods after a year and a half of no period!

I initially lost my period due to overtraining and under eating, tracking cals etc. I didn’t realise how skinny I had gotten until somebody sent me a video of me dancing at a pool party. That’s when I realised and everyone else told me they’ve been trying to tell me that for months that I looked too skinny but I honestly didn’t even notice (or maybe subconsciously ignored?). From then I started eating more and I cut out running (was running about 3x a week, about 5 kms each run) and cardio (random hitt classes here and there but not often). Continued to lift weights four times a week and continue to walk every day about 3-5 km walk.
My doctor then told me that I was still underweight for my height. I continued with the same exercise but consciously ate calorie dense foods. I did this up until my first period. I’m now just eating as I normally would before tracking. I’m just focusing on not worrying about how I look and on eating to fuel my active lifestyle. I think I look chubby now (I know I’m actually not) but honestly don’t care as I just want my body to be healthy and strong to carry a baby.

Before recovery symptoms - brain fog and memory loss, irritability and very little patience, hair and nails stopped growing, no CM, freezing beyond belief, no hunger or appetite, insomnia, boobs completely gone, very anxious about things - OCD like tendencies (eg checking things repeatedly, keeping on top of chores unnecessarily -why was I doing washing every day when there was barely any to even put in the machine?)

Early recovery symptoms - horrible night sweats every single night (drenched to the mattress)

Later recovery symptoms - night sweats started easing, nails and hair growing, mental clarity and realisations coming back, lots of CM (normal, ovulation looking and occasionally some old blood), boobs coming back, headaches

First period - started without warning, relatively heavy and some period pain

Second period - very similar to the first one but with more intense period pain like what I remember.

The best thing about my recovery besides the fact that my body feels happy and safe enough to carry a baby now, is the difference in my mind. The ease of anxiety is just the biggest relief. I just feel better in every way.
I think it all started (under eating and over training ) for me due to the need to have control on something in my life. Now that I am very aware and conscious of this, I’m feeling very mindful and confident that I have broken these habits.

I hope my recovery story might help someone feel encouraged!

All the best ladies xxx

Hi all! For those of you who had low heart rate as a result of HA, when did you notice that improving/getting higher? The low heart rate is one of the symptoms/side effects that freaks me out the most (and is the most debilitating) so I'm wondering if anyone has any personal experience on how that changed during recovery.

Hı, has anyone experienced high insulin levels during recovery?

It just feels like there’s this huge gap between ‘getting your period back’ and then trying to figure out how to live normally again with regard to food, weight and exercise.

The support out there is brilliant, especially Nicola Rinaldi’s book, but it doesn’t really feel like there’s anything focused on post-recovery life.

As someone who dealt with HA in the UK, it felt like the NHS saw getting my cycle back as the finish line. There’s no roadmap for how to proceed, and I’m left with tons of unanswered questions relating to healthy weight loss, exercise habits and calorie intake.

I see so many women like myself on this sub struggling with body image, eating habits and mental health (pre & post-recovery), that I can’t say I’m surprised when people feel discouraged and want to revert back to their old ways. Myself included…

I don’t suppose anyone has found anything that’s been particularly useful in supporting maintenance of recovery but also support for the other aspects mentioned above.

Sorry to be negative, I just figured it was worth asking! Sending love <3

Can you be in REDS but still be gaining weight? I am gaining weight on a low calorie level.

I started increasing my calories at the beginning of April. I was eating around 1400-1600 calories and some higher calorie days on the weekend and would average out to about 1750 a week. I increased my regular calories to 1800-2100 and the last couple weeks I’ve been around 2000-2300. I was out of town for a week. My lowest weight was around 99.2 lbs at the end of March and then I was up around 101-102.5 lbs. I went away for work for a week and was eating 2200-2300 calories each day and when I got back, I was 99.8 lbs. I am 5’4.5” for reference. Is it normal to increase, then decrease weight before gaining?

Basically the title... will the lengthen even whilst I return to running? My cardiovascular fitness is really shit and I miss feeling fit and physically capable like I used to.

so ive been a larper on this sub reddit for quite a while, just to keep me motivated to stay on track.

personally i did not quit working out, if anything, i started working out to get my period back which i know sounds counterintuitive but it worked so🥹

im 165cm and my lowest weight was 36kg, ive recovered once and got 3 normal cycles (i was around 46-49kg) then fell into a relapse and around july last year my last period was just brown spotting.

around march this year ive gotten back to 38kg and decided to actually try and recover, fast forward to today im 49kg so i did gain a bunch of weight but i think its mainly muscle since i started lifting

it took me a month of listening to subliminals, eating wayy too much like 2700+ some days, working out (i did it daily, so i never really had a full blown rest day, but im considering it today since im on my period)

i would do 4x lifting + little walks, and the rest was just stretching and/or pilates + my walks

in terms of food in the first few days of recovery i didnt even consider health lol i was just eating everything i was craving: burgers, sweets, chocolate, cake, waffles, fries.. i even remember inviting my friend over and i almost ate an entire pizza, pasta, garlic bread, and donuts in a span of 2 hours. i dont regret it one bit.

however i noticed that after honoring all my cravings, they naturally died down a bit - i mean i started craving dates and nuts instead of my usual chocolate which was so shocking to me

these last few weeks i stopped craving so much “junk food” to the point that i would be totally okay with not having processed sugar/fried food for a day. also i would religiously eat one huge loaded yogurt bowl with everything i could fit in it daily: nut butters, a WHOLE bunch of granola (i went through 600g in half a month), fruit, seeds, full fat yogurt, etc

didnt quit caffeine i think thats bullshit (i just cant quit)

i wouldnt say my recovery was picture perfect bc i fell into some relapses here and there BUT ur body focuses on total energy availability and not on a slip up that happened a day or two. i even got sick and threw up and thought that was just gonna ruin everything but here i am now! its all okay.

again this is what worked for me and i am just sharing my story! good luck to everyone

so I’ve had a few instances of spotting, and in early April I did have spotting for 3 days at once! I did also have very little bit of cm sometimes but not ewcm or consistent cm 😞 i spotted a bit today as well, but im not sure if this means anything!

5'3 girls: what weight did you get when you got your period back?

I'd like to get an idea if I should continue gaining weight or if I can just stay here and wait (I know everyone is different, I just want to get an idea) ❤️

Girls, I think I'm giving up. I can't gain any more weight hoping it comes back without knowing for sure. What's the point of having my period but being so depressed that I can't leave the house? I was 42 kg at the beginning. I first accepted gaining 3 kg, which for me was a lot, then another 3, then another 2, then another 2. I had two spontaneous periods before stopping the Prozac I had been taking for a year and a half. After stopping, everything stopped again. Now I'm 52 kg (I've always had my period at this weight; I usually weighed 49 kg and have always had regular periods; I'm 160 cm anyway), I had to get a new wardrobe, my legs and feet are always swollen, my breasts are swollen and painful, and I have white discharge (but not clear, so I'm not ovulating) BUT STILL NO PERIOD. I had an ultrasound and it showed a 3.4mm endometrium, which is still too thin, and I definitely won't have a period anytime soon. I'm giving up. I'm 29 now and I don't want children.

The only solution the gynecologist suggested was either the pill or estrogen patches combined with progesterone. I know it's not a real period, but at least it would protect my bones.

I am getting slightly stressed about this, I have PE at school twice per week, but now we're training for sports day, so I have to do stuff like reelay, discus, shot put, high jump, long jump, and a lot of running, so I feel like this might ruin my recovery? I do less steps on days where I have PE so should I be ok??

When is it actually allowed to do sports again? So, a little background: I'm 16 years old, 159 cm tall, and haven't had my period for about 450 days. Actually, I lost it for the first time because of drastic weight loss within a year. I severely restricted my diet, sometimes eating only 500 calories or less, and burned over 1000 calories.

Within six months, I went from 53 kg to 39 kg. But I couldn't keep losing weight, and I continued to do very intense exercise, like running. I went for walks that lasted for several hours. Anyway, it all started in 2025. In 2025, I wanted to change something and walked 20 km every day for a month and a half. I didn't eat that much more, but I did eat a bit more. My diet was still very unbalanced and very high in protein, and I gained weight back up to 46 kg in three months. Unfortunately, I also developed bulimia, but it wasn't frequent, except for occasions when I really, really ate a lot.

From December 2025 to April, I actually lost weight again, down to about 44 kg. The thing is, I started walking 20,000 steps every day in February, and that was obviously a setback because I was constantly in a calorie deficit. The deficits didn't go above 500 calories anymore, but still. And then came a shocking turn of events for me. My mother and I went to the gynecologist, and my blood was tested. It turned out to be at the level of an 80-year-old grandmother—my hormones were all over the place. This really shook me up, so on March 18, 2026, I decided to do a recovery program.

Things progressed relatively quickly, and I was eating absolutely everything. I was truly desperate. I just couldn't control myself anymore. There were days when I ate a total of 7,000 calories or so, with a surplus of around 6,000 calories. I have to say, I'm still drinking extra calories on the side. I know it's not good, but I just can't stop. It was really stressful; I had no control anymore. Sometimes I ate four bars of chocolate and felt miserable every single evening. I had such terrible gas and it was truly awful, and I gained about three kilos today, because my actual weight is currently around 47.4 kg and today is May 1st. I'm slowly losing my mind because I'm torn between not caring and wanting to eat everything without restricting myself, which I'm really trying to do, but somehow I'm losing my shape and getting that bulge in my stomach again, and it's driving me crazy.

So, since March 18th, I've completely stopped exercising and I'm trying to move as little as possible. During the week, it's usually less than 10,000 steps because I'm at school, so I can do less, and on weekends it's usually only 4,000 or 5,000. When can I start again? I just want to go for walks again, even just 20 steps, anything at all. I usually go riding on Fridays and then to the horse on Sundays to try and exercise it, but that's it.

I absolutely can't control my excess weight. So, I never go below a surplus of around 500 calories, but there are a few days when I lose control and end up with a surplus of 3000 or 4000 calories, totaling 5000, and it's starting to get to me. Maybe someone can help me. Something else I should mention: what do you think the chances are of me getting my period back by June 25th? Because that's the date my gynecologist says I absolutely have to get it, otherwise I'll have to take medication, and I don't want to do that. How much do you estimate I need to lose due to my weight?

Hey all, I’m so confused right now and wondering if anyone has thoughts or advice for my situation. I have a history of restriction and overexercise that got bad in october 2023 when i lost my period until october 2024. throughout that year i did a lot of work to eat more and exercise less (i gained 25lbs, went from 5’7 130 lbs to 155lbs) and recovered my period, had normal cycles for about a year after that.

this past winter my periods were getting lighter each month, my weight had gone back down to 135 without much effort, i had an active job and i was just trying to maintain and eat enough of all the food groups (i was working with a dietician). i moved house & changed jobs in mid february and my last period was february 27th. i got a full hormone panel done because i thought maybe i was dealing with PCOS, as my hair is thinning, i have acne, and irregular periods! but my labs show normal testosterone/glucose/androgens, and my estrogen/fsh/lh/progesterone is all on the low side.

could i have HA again just from changing house and job? i feel like im definitely eating enough, im probably around 140 now (i dont weigh anymore, going based on my pants sizes lol) and my new job is quite sedentary so im not physically exerting much. what should i do?? anyone else still have HA at a normal weight? if so are you still eating more, or just trying to reduce stress? helppp meee i just want normal hormones💔

also, how can i rule out the PCOS thing?

this is so frustrating :(