HA: Eat More, Exercise Less, Stress Less
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Published Jul 20, 2016, Updated Jun 26, 2020
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Sharing my experience with hypothalamic amenorrhea and where I’m at with it right now.
Exactly one year ago I wrote about dealing with post-pill amenorrhea. At the time I had been off birth control for about 10 months and hadn’t regained my cycle. I initially thought my body just needed time to get back on track after being on the pill for such a long time, but after some blood work I was diagnosed with hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA).
My doctor’s main recommendation was to eat more and exercise less. As a health coach, personal trainer and healthy living blogger this was crazy talk to me. I thought what I was doing for the past 10 years was super healthy so how could my body not be working properly? After being upset (with a WHY ME, I’m not even THAT skinny attitude) for a few days I took his advice to heart, scaled back on exercise, stopped running and started eating whatever I wanted without worrying whether or not it was healthy. The “eat everything” mindset was fun for a while, until I gained about 7 lbs in two weeks. My clothes became uncomfortably tight and I was unhappy with how I looked and felt.
A few months later a new fitness studio called OrangeTheory opened in Richmond. I decided to try it, LOVED the workouts and started going 3-4 times a week, taking 3-4 days of rest. OTF is a lot of running and high intensity, but I justified it because I was working out less than my old routine of moderate exercise (PureBarre, walking, running or strength training) 6-7 days a week. I was running faster than I had ever run before, I felt stronger and I really enjoyed the community there.
I also started back tracking my food again, working to lose a few of the extra pounds I had put on and feel better about my body. Even with doing OTF and eating cleaner/less, my body wasn’t responding. It was holding on to everything. Definitely a sign that something was off.
Eat More, Exercise Less?
While all of this was going on I found a few online groups with other ladies who have dealt or are currently dealing with HA and everything I read talked about the solution being to exercise less and eat more, just as my doctor had suggested.
Finally I decided that I most likely need to give the whole eat more, exercise less another go if I want to regain my cycle. I haven’t worked out in about 4 weeks. I have attended 3-4 gentle yoga classes, gone on walks (mostly Pokeman hunts) or bike rides with Isaac, but that’s about it. I’ve also given myself the freedom to eat whatever I want while trying to be mindful and intuitive. I naturally crave healthy food so I’m still eating well, but I’m not giving myself any restrictions.
I’m not sure how much weight I’ve gained because I’m not weighing myself, but I know I have gained because all of my shorts are tight, some I can’t wear at all. It’s definitely been hard. Some days are harder than others, especially since it’s summer and bathing suit season. I’ve had moments of tears and moments where I question if this is really the solution. One thing that has really helped is the book Intuitive Eating. I started reading it a few weeks ago and I love all the advice about listening to your body and ending the dieting, deprivation, guilt cycle. It’s been an awesome thing to read while going through this process. I highly recommend it if you haven’t read it.
High Cortisol Levels
I also recently had updated blood work taken and received the results last week. My LH, FSH and TSH have all increased and my Estrogen levels have doubled over the past year. Great news! At this point everything is in the normal range except Free Testosterone, which is low and Cortisol (stress hormone), which is high.
From my research I know that stress, both metabolic and psychological, can affect the HPA axis and reproductive health negatively. This article does a great job explaining it. With this in mind, my main goal right now is to work to decrease stress and therefore decrease my cortisol levels. Cutting out intense exercise will surely help and doing more yoga and light walking should help too. Caffeine can also increase cortisol so as of this week I’ve decided I need to cut back on coffee. As a coffee lover this is going to be a big change for me, but totally doable.
As I shared in my amenorrhea update in November of last year, I had some additional tests done that showed debris in my uterus as well as a bit of uterine lining migrating into the muscle around my uterus. This info is scary and I’m still not sure if these issues are part of the reason my period is missing.
Sorry for the lengthy post. I just wanted to share where I’m at with this journey right now. I know there are a ton of ladies dealing with similar situations and I just want you to know that you’re not alone. HA, and infertility issues in general, aren’t talked about very often and if you don’t have any close friends who’ve gone through something similar, it can feel really isolating. I know I’ve felt that way at times. Here’s to increasing awareness around these issues and healing our bodies!
2020 UPDATE: Just wanted to share that I was able to heal hypothalamic amenorrhea, get my cycle back, became pregnant and had a beautiful baby girl. If you’re currently struggling with HA right now I’m sending hope, love and positive vibes your way!
Thank you so much for sharing this with everyone! I am sure there are so many people out there that you re helping. I am sending you lots of love!
Thank you so much lady! <3
Cutting caffeine out of my life would just not happen – Ah ha ha! But ugh, I am sorry you’re going through all of this lady, I am hopeful you’ll be able to figure out antidotes!
Thanks friend. I’m on day 4 of no coffee!! Wish me luck. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your story. I would greatly appreciate if you would share what kind of sandals you’re wearing; I’m obsessed with them! Sending positive vibes your way : )
Thank you Kelley. They’re the Toms “Lexie” sandal. http://bit.ly/2a3nwpO 🙂
Hey Brittany! I’m working with a nutritionist right now to regulate my hormones because all of my years of restricting carbohydrates put my metabolism and hormones into whack as well. She has the same advice – eat more, exercise less. It’s been a journey and definitely not something that feels “natural” to me because I a) love to exercise and b) tracked my food for so long.
We will get there! Keep at it! 🙂
Wow! I didn’t know you were struggling with hormonal imbalance as well. Thank you so much for sharing and thank you for the kind words. Sending you a hug (because I understand the struggle) and lots positive vibes. We will definitely get there. Just have to be patient, something I’m not very good at.
Thank you for sharing this and shining a light on a topic that many people struggle with. I struggled with this as well, and boy is it frustrating. You are doing everything right though for your body, and soon mother nature will take course. Sending lots of love girl!
Thanks so much, Alyssa. I really appreciate the sweet comment.
Brittany thank you so much for sharing this! While I haven’t gone to the doctor to take a look at anything, I have to wonder if the weight I put on was due to my hormones and getting off of birth control, plus the stress of moving, not eating enough or too much, etc. It is 100% hard to not fit into pants and shorts that you used to. I am trying to remind myself that I’ve also put on a bit of muscle over the years, but change is hard no matter what way you look at it.
I am sure things will be looking up for you soon. Thanks again for sharing <3
Thanks so much, Ash! I appreciate the thoughtful comment. I agree, body changes are really hard!! I’m trying to keep my head up and working on staying positive. Wishing you the same. <3 <3
Thank you for sharing this girl. I don’t know much about the subject but I know there are tons of women out there going through this and it’s nice to hear someone with a platform discuss the issue openly. I hope the new routine works for you!
Thanks so much, Whitney!! <3
I am in shock reading this, I had NO clue that you and so many others have experienced the same thing I am going through! I stopped BC after 12 years non-stop on it, and it has taken me 8 months to get a period. I am no clue when it will be normal again, but having started weekly acupuncture and started taking the stress levels in my life more seriously, and doing my thing with food and exercise, too. I have recently started meditating and that has made a huge difference. Thanks so much for sharing, it is SO nice to know others out there are experiencing the same thing!
Thank you so much for sharing, Victoria.I have started meditating a bit too, but I really need to do it more often! Do you use an app or video or do you do your own mediations?
I hear you, Brittany! I totally hear you. I had HA for almost five years before regaining my period. I went on the pill this year, but I’ve noticed that my period has become very light to absent since then. *sigh* HA is not easy to recover from.
Thank you Joyce! I totally agree. When I was on BC my period was very light but I was told that was normal! :/
Oh Brittany. I went through/am going through something so similar that I feel so much the same as you! A few years ago, I was in the throes of an eating disorder and during that time was also diagnosed with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism. Also I had amenorrhea for a year and half + in there somewhere. Obviously, I don’t know what led to what, but while my naturopath was treating my Hashimoto’s and trying to coax my period back with herbs and supplements, I started also working on my body image, banishing self hate and embracing all types of bodies, not just the one type that society sees as acceptable. I am still working on that (it’s a daily practice), but I’ve found my way to a great deal more food freedom along the way. I also gained weight as well (I see now that I needed to, and I’ve actually regained my period since! ????????), which was, and sometimes still is, very triggering to me and sometimes I start to question what I know is right and start believing the lies I’ve been fed from the media my whole life. Part of what has helped me tremendously on the road of recovery and just improving body image generally is podcasts. I don’t know if you listen to podcasts, but I would highly recommend Mind Body Musings with Maddy Moon (also Finding Our Hunger with Kaila Prins is good, and addresses some of the greater sociatal and marketing issues as well, but she does touch on some topics that make me uncomfortable…I am sure there are other people would be fine with it though). Anything by Isabel Foxen Duke is amazing IMO; she has a blog, but not a podcast, though she is frequently interviewed, so if you search for her name in the podcast app, you get a lot of results! Her Stop Fighting Food free video series is one of the top things I’d recommend to anyone! One other blog/video series that has helped me is by Libby Crow…she’s awesome! I know you didn’t ask for all these like body positive suggestions, but I wanted to throw it out there, as these resources are what helped me so much when I was going through a very similar circumstance. ???? Big hugs to you!
Hi Hannah! Thank you so much for sharing your story. I love hearing from ladies who are on the other side. It gives me hope! 🙂 And thank you for all the body positive recommendations. I really enjoy podcasts so I’ll definitely check out the ones you mentioned. I already follow Isabel Foxen Duke and love her work!