Apologies for the tmi/personal question

[Whatwouldscullydo]

But has anyone found that exercising has started to interfere with their menstrual cycle. I've been using the gym etc for about 2 years now and look and feel better than I ever did in my 20s ( I'm now 44) . The only side I struggled with was the nutrition side which thanks to helpful suggestions on another thread I started I've managed to make alot of Improvements and have started meal prepping to a small degree to ensure I always have something on hand to take to work or whatever so I don't end up eating crap at weird times as that's all that's available on an evening shift.

Now I recently had one of those over 40 health checks where apparently my cholesterol was a little high but the good counteracted the bad or something and dr said not to worry about it but did give me a list of things not to eat, where frankly only 1 thing I ate was on the list 🤔

Now apparently my weight was fine for my height etc but randomly the past 3 months I've not had a period despite being regular up until that point. I'm.aware it could be an age thing but I don't know if I should ne concerned or not. My calorie intake is around 1800 a day which seems to maintain my weight well enough give or take 2 or 3lbs of fluctuation.

Any one else find this?

I think it's common for pro athletes, so you must clearly be doing a good job 😉

I found mine stayed regular, but got a lot lighter when I started exercising more/eating better.

Sidenote : love the username @Whatwouldscullydo is it referring to Brooklyn 99?

Peri?

AFAIK periods stopping in pro athletes is a warning sign that they are underweight, and is not ‘good’.

Could be hypothalamic amenorrhoea. Could be peri menopause. I’d speak to a doctor

Don't worry about tmi.
Exercise isn't for everyone, it's more what you "stick into your system" and I believe, mental health.
Personally, I hate forced exercise, rather wouldn't eat, if necessary, but not overweight at the moment.
45 yo.

Definately not a pro athlete 🤣 not unless running as slow as fuck is a top sport?

It's an x files reference, showing my age here 😳 but I do love Brooklyn 99 too!!!

My bmi is apparently in a normal range so can't see how I'm underweight.

I'm 5ft 7 and weight between 10st 3-10st 5.

I guess I should attempt to get through to my drs then..now that really should be an Olympic sport they don't wanna know unless u r dying...

@Whatwouldscullydo just to ensure you’re certain it’s not the most common reason for periods to stop - any possibility of pregnancy?

There's no way I could be pregnant no.

At 44, you are far more likely to be perimenopausal than so fit and lean that your periods have stopped.

Hopefully the exercise has kept you otherwise well and you sail through, slightly younger than average but with no other problems.

basket I've literally had no symptoms is that even normal. I mean i feel fine. I mean I guess it's a possibility but I was expecting a whole load of symptoms not just one being 2 weeks late then bang, nothing since. I do still kinda get symptoms of my period being due but without the bleeding. But that's it.

Have you had a covid jab recently?

My period stopped for about 3 months after one of my covid jabs in 2021 (I would have been a similar age to you)

I never experienced ‘peri’ at all - my regular periods just stopped. It does happen that way sometimes.

No no covid jab. Seems we have another vote for peri then so guess that's the top most likely cause.

About right for my body too. Stands to reason the second I start actually eating properly, ( I've never eaten this much salad , and vegetables and fruit in my life), lose weight , cut out alcohol , and generally try and look after myself, that that's the time it gives up the ghost 🤣

Last time ( outside of pregnancy) my periods stopped it was cos I was hardly eating and still weighed more than than I do now...makes no sense 🤣

I think peri/hormonal changes are mostly likely tbh - your weight doesn't seem nearly low enough to trigger amenorrhea - and although a healthy lifestyle may make your periods lighter it seems unlikely they would stop altogether. But I would probably talk to my doctor just in case of e.g. thyroid issues.

Btw I'm 41 and work out a lot, healthy weight range, and I've noticed that my periods have got lighter and slightly more irregular although I still have one every month, so I think changes in your 40s are probably to be expected.

Yes, for some women. Not all of us have the horror show version (I did/am). Exercise massively helps me, alongside HRT, to keep it manageable.

Get checked out to be on the safe side but fingers crossed you are just one of the lucky ones!

If I do loads of exercise around the time of ovulation it delays my period. That's not Olympic standard training, that's eg. A couple of long runs and maybe a heavy hiit session. It helps me to track my cycle and exercise on a fitness watch (Garmin good for this) as I can look back and cross ref the different data

That's interesting averagebear I have different shift patterns each week so I do alot of stuff back to back and do sometimes spend several hours on my day off doing classes and work outs 😳 . I do also do 2 5k runs a week on the treadmill but I'm slow so not sure that counts 🤣😳

I'm not sure what answer I prefer actually. The one which I've miraculously sailed through peri which considering what I reason on here about the symptoms would be amazing.

Or the one where I've just binged exercised at the wrong time and done it to my self...

If your periods stopped before at this weight it could be that your body is super sensitive to losing weight? Although you must be mid range bmi?! Have you lost a lot of weight? I agree with others that for it to be the exercise you'd have to be pro level

I don't know how much i originally lost, but a few weeks back I lost about half a stone in quite a short space of time. And since then I've lost a further 2/3 pounds and have been maintaining that. I started off 2 years ago as a 16 now my 14s are a bit big 😳

Mine tends to get all over the place in the last two months of marathon prep, but that’s with running over 100km a week

Peri probably op.

Absolutely peri.
And prob the reason you have no other symptoms is because you’re heading them off with a good diet and exercise.