I have a problem, can you shed some light? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

Kati · 11-27-2007, 01:21 PM

I know from my studies that starvation can cause ones menses to cease, though only in extreme starvation, right? Such as with concentration camp inmates, or even bulimia sufferers. Correct me wrong if I am.

I have not been eating, much. Not that I am starving myself or anything, my stomach has shrank and I am not letting it expand, thus I am eating very little. Most times I am rather nauseated. I know, not very healthy, but I can't force myself to eat or I will never get my eating under control.

I have not had my menses in almost two months. Once I realized how long it had been I began eating a lot more, in case I was pregnant. I am not pregnant, and have gone back to only eating a little. ( I am consuming around 1,000 a day, if I eat higher calorie stuff, I eat a lot less then if I eat lower calorie stuff.)

Can this cause my menses to stop? Please don't tell me to rush off to a doctor. I am just curious and I am working on getting in to see my Dr.

Anyway, thanks for you time.

hellokitty81668 · 11-27-2007, 01:28 PM

Isn't under 1200 calories considered starvation? I may be wrong, and apologize if I am, but if you are feeling sick, having menstrual problems, something is up. I would up my calories to 1200 and see if the problem persists, then I would go to a doctor...
good luck and I hope everything works out.
cheryl

Jasmine31 · 11-27-2007, 01:29 PM

Well they do say it is not safe to consistently go below 1200. How long have you been doing this?

rockinrobin · 11-27-2007, 01:37 PM

Menstruation can cease not only from too few calories, but from too little fat in ones dies and it can also stop from a drastic weight loss, regardless of caloric intake. Are your stats current? Have you lost 8 lbs, or more then that? I'm thinking if you've been consuming only 1000 calories for 2 months now, you may have lost more weight then is stated.

Regardless, I know you've said we shouldn't tell you to go to your doctor, but realize we here are NOT doctors or experts in any field. There are a slew of other reasons why your period has stopped. You really need to take this up with a doctor.

dek6 · 11-27-2007, 02:23 PM

That is not healthy. YOu will lose more weight by eating atleast 1200 cal. Soon your body is going to think that it is starving and it will stop losing fat.
If you are not getting the right amount of nutrients that you body needs your menses can stop. Just like if all you ate was high fat high calorie foods, IE... fried foods, chips, refined sugars it will also stop. I would say (I am not a dr) that you are not getting what you need and although you may not be 80 pounds, you are starving your body... YOU HAVE GOT TO EAT!!!!! This is a lifestyle change and you can not keep going on 1000 cal a day. Eventually your body will give out....

Lovely · 11-27-2007, 03:08 PM

It does not have to be "extreme" starvation that causes loss of menstruation. It is possible for your body to "turn off" your monthlies after long periods of less than adequate calorie/fat intake. It is, after all, a high energy consuming process, and stopping it means that your body is trying with all its might to stop losing energy. (This is starving the body of healthy calories... and I worry. After all, being in control of eating does not mean eating so little we don't get what we need.

Being in control means making sure our bodies are getting everything they need to function at peak performance, not eating so much or little as to be detrimental to our health.)

I'm no doctor (so it's good you're working on getting an appointment, because I'm sure a doctor would be able to go through many possible causes) but lack of nutrition can be, if not the full cause, at least part of the equation that is leading to this.

I urge you to reconsider your 1000 calories. This seems dangerous longterm unless medically supervised. (Again, just something else to bring up to your doctor when you get that appointment.)

Kati · 11-27-2007, 03:27 PM

OKies let me assure you I am not starving myself on purpose. I am NOT hungry. I forget to eat and by the end of the day I am nauseated because I have forgotten to eat. When I do make myself food, I set it next to me and an hour later I see that it is still sitting there. I am just not hungry. I am not going to force myself to eat when I am not hungry. When I get hungry, I will and do eat.

I just wanted to know if my theory was possible.

I am not losing weight, actually the 8 pounds lost is wrong, I have gained 5 of those back ( when I forced myself to eat because of possibly being pregnant).

I am not actually counting calories, I just estimated around 1k. It might be more than that. I didn't realize everyone was going to jump on the 1000 calorie mark, lol.

Anyway. I think I have gotten my answer, and I really appreciate the help and input. You can all rest assure that I am not on some stupid moronic diet to lose weight, I am way to old, mature and intelligent for that kind of thing.

Thanks.

Glory87 · 11-27-2007, 03:41 PM

In college, I did a radical low fat diet (which was low calorie too). I skipped a period for the only time in my life. Big handfuls of my hair also came out in the shower. I did lose weight, but I couldn't maintain the low levels of fat/calorie, eventually binged and quit that "diet." All the weight came back so quickly I was left with 3 permanent stretch marks on my belly.

If you are having trouble eating, go for small portions of super nutritional foods that pack in the calories - dried fruit, peanut butter, avocado, etc. You only need 1/4 cup of dried cherries to get over a 100 calories and they are good for you too.

vixjean · 11-27-2007, 03:56 PM

YES YES YES
eating to little can cause your flow to stop,
the point is, your body is going into starvation mode, you may not want to hear it, but your body only has enough feul to do what it has to do, ie blink, heartbeat, and will not give the extra feul to the other processes,
That happened to my best friend she was loosing weight for her wedding, she was eating a lot of sugar free product foods in order to avoid having extra calories, so she could drop a few lbs.
I know if you are not doing this on purpose, but it is still un healthy, you will have to step it up to 1200 BARE minimum.

Sheila53 · 11-27-2007, 04:21 PM

I know that I have screwed up my eating signals so much that I indeed have to force myself to eat even when I'm not hungry. Frankly, I don't know what hunger really is because I've often confused hunger with other things like being tired, being stressed, being thirsty, etc. So I eat on a schedule, and I eat small meals throughout the day, whether I'm hungry or not. IMHO, you can get your eating under control even if you eat when you're not hungry--and you can lose weight doing so. That's just my 2 cents.

Hope you can get a dr. appt. and find out what's going on with you.

Cuter w Curves · 11-27-2007, 11:31 PM

Sounds like you are going to need to schedule small portions more frequently through the day. It is generally best overall anyway but it will help your body realize it is no longer starving.

JayEll · 11-28-2007, 07:33 AM

Hey, I just wanted to mention that one definition of "anorexia" is "loss of appetite." It is unhealthy not to eat--I'd suggest you put yourself on an eating schedule, as others have suggested, and "make" yourself eat at the scheduled times. It doesn't have to be a big meal--just 200 to 300 cals. Say, every 2 to 3 hours.

And yes, under 1200 cals for an extended period is not recommended except under a doctor's supervision, which it looks like you don't have. The reason is that you can't get sufficient nutrition at under that level.

Good luck!

Jay