u/Numerous_Creme4949

Hi everyone,

Sorry in advance because this is a really long post/rant/vent, but being in this community has made me realize I’m not the only one going through this, and I wanted to share my story.

I’m 4’11, and I started my weight loss journey at the beginning of February 2025 at around >!54.4kg/120 lbs!<. I was just slightly overweight, and at first I wasn’t accurately tracking calories at all because I honestly barely knew what calories even were. I just started learning about nutrition and weight loss.

At the beginning, I was doing cardio workouts from YouTube for around 45 min–1 hr every single day, and I lost weight pretty quickly.

Then things slowly became more extreme.

I started making my own meals and during weekdays I was basically only eating boiled vegetables, sometimes an egg, or some chicken from the salad bar. That lasted for a few weeks because of my school schedule and food limitations.

Once I started tracking more accurately, I was eating around >!1200!< calories a day, maybe slightly more sometimes if tracking wasn’t perfect, but mentally I was extremely attached to that number. If I went over it, I would become super anxious.

Then in August 2025, I got a coach for about a month because I wanted to look more “toned” and lose body fat, and she putted me on >!1158!< calories. Looking back now, I think my actual problem was that I had already lost too much muscle and should’ve focused on building muscle instead of continuing to lose weight.

During that period, I dropped down to around >!98 lbs/44.5kg!<.

I lost my period around >!104 lbs/47kg!<.

At the start of November, I tried to “bulk” and gained around >!4lbs!< back. But during winter break in December, I discovered how much walking/steps could increase calories burned, so I got a walking pad and started hitting a minimum of 10k steps every day while still eating around the same calories as before.

By the end of January 2026, I reached my lowest weight and leanest physique ever at around >!95 lbs/43kg!<(Lost a total of >!25lbs/11.4kg!<) I had visible abs and looked “toned,” which was something I thought I wanted so badly.

People constantly praised me for my “discipline” and physique. At first I loved hearing it, but mentally I felt horrible. Even when I was at my leanest, I still never felt lean enough or like I achieved the physique I actually wanted. I wanted to look “bodybuilder shredded” and somehow maintain that forever.

I also struggle a lot with body dysmorphia. Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I still see the version of myself from before I lost weight.

Eventually I realized it wasn’t worth sacrificing my actual health for.

That’s when I started “recovery.”

I increased my intake to around >!1800–2000 calories!< depending on activity, but honestly I was still mentally stuck. Even when I experienced extreme hunger, I often wouldn’t fully honor it because I was scared of overeating. I also never really reduced my exercise volume/intensity at first, so I was trying to “recover” while still mentally trapped in the same mindset.

I became extremely mentally unwell, and by the end of April, especially around April 28th, I realized that if I didn’t seriously change things, I could end up with real long-term consequences like stress fractures or osteoporosis.

That’s when I finally stopped tracking calories/macros completely, started therapy, and got hormone labs done.

Seeing that my estradiol level was only 14 honestly scared me a lot, especially because I genuinely love powerlifting and strength training. I want to feel strong, build muscle, and build bone density long-term. Even though I was surprisingly strong at my lowest weight, looking back now, I feel like my body was just surviving and pushing through.

I’m still in recovery right now and trying to seek more support. I’m thinking about working with a dietitian or recovery coach to help support both recovery and training.

One thing I’m struggling with is that my endocrinologist wants me to gain more weight, but mentally I still feel extremely stuck. In my head, I almost have this “maximum” weight I’m willing to let myself reach, which is around >!105 lbs/47.5kg!<.

I also really miss the old version of myself.

When I was younger, I genuinely loved food and didn’t overthink everything. But because of my disordered eating, food slowly took over my life.

Whenever I had to eat out with people, I would eat beforehand and just sit there while everyone else ate. I would constantly estimate calories, use AI to guess calories, and mentally calculate everything instead of actually being present.

I started avoiding hanging out with friends if it involved restaurants or eating out. Instead, I would invite them to my house so I could cook and control everything.

Whenever I cooked for other people, I would make a completely separate portion for myself with every ingredient individually measured out. If someone wanted a bite of my food after I had weighed everything, I would get genuinely upset. Even something as small as someone messing up my weighed food or changing the portion would make me extremely anxious and upset.

I think what hurts the most is realizing how much of my life and happiness slowly became controlled by food, numbers, body image, and fear.

I still haven’t gotten my period back yet, but I’m trying. I’m honestly scared, confused, and mentally struggling a lot, but I also know I don’t want to keep living the way I was before.

If anyone relates to any part of this or has gone through something similar, I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences.

Thank you for reading :)

Hi everyone,

I recently got my lab results back and my estradiol level came back at 14, which honestly scared me a lot because I’m only 16.

I know nobody here can give medical advice, but I was wondering:

• Around what estradiol level did you get your period back?
• Did anyone else have levels this low during recovery?

One of the things I’m most anxious about is bone health. I’m really scared of developing osteoporosis/osteopenia or getting stress fractures because I know estrogen is important for bone density.

The confusing part is that I genuinely love strength training and powerlifting, and part of the reason I train is because I want to be strong and build bone density long term. But now I’m scared that instead of helping my body, I might actually be harming it or backfiring because of the missing period/low estrogen.

I’ve lost my period for about 10 months now, and it initially started because of rapid weight loss (I lost about >!25 lbs!<). I also wanted to ask how much weight people had to gain compared to the weight they were at when they lost their period before it came back.

I’d really appreciate hearing other people’s experiences, especially:

• if you had very low estradiol
• whether your bone health improved during recovery
• and if anyone was able to continue strength training while recovering successfully

Thank you :)

I recently got some lab results back and was wondering if anyone had a similar experience after losing their period.

I’m not officially diagnosed with HA, but my estradiol level came back really low, while my:
- FSH was within range
- LH was within range
- TSH was within range
- prolactin was low-normal

I’ve lost my period for about 10 months now. My cycle was never perfectly regular before, but I still did have periods.

I was kind of expecting my LH/FSH to maybe be low too, so I’m confused that they came back “normal” while my estradiol was still really low.

For people who also lost their period:
- Did anyone else have similar lab results, or what did your hormone labs look like after losing your period?
- Did your doctors still suspect HA / under-fueling even if some labs were “normal”?

I know nobody here can diagnose me, but I’d really appreciate hearing other people’s experiences because I’m feeling pretty confused/stressed about the results right now.

Thank you :)

Hi everyone,

I’ve been struggling a lot with whether calorie tracking is helpful or harmful for me during recovery, and I wanted to hear other people’s experiences.

For some background, I’ve lost my period for about 10 months now. My cycle was never super regular before, but I still did have periods. Looking back, I think it initially happened because of rapid weight loss and eating on a pretty low-calorie diet for a while.

I’m currently trying to get my period back and figuring out what’s causing the missing periods. I’m not officially diagnosed with HA, and my LH, FSH, and TSH levels have come back normal so far, but I’m still waiting on my estrogen lab results. I’m also training for a powerlifting competition. Earlier this year I briefly tried training for HYROX, but it felt way too intense and honestly seemed incompatible with recovery for me, so I switched back to powerlifting.

I stopped tracking/weighing my food about 3 weeks ago, and my weight has mostly stabilized since then. The confusing part is that tracking feels both helpful and harmful at the same time.

When I was tracking:

• sometimes it helped me realize I genuinely wasn’t eating enough
• but when I experienced extreme hunger, I often wouldn’t fully honor it because I’d convince myself I wasn’t “actually” physically hungry and was just overeating

Now that I stopped tracking:

• I’m trying to eat more intuitively
• but I feel like I’m rarely actually physically hungry
• and I’m scared I might accidentally under-eat
• but I’m also scared of overeating and gaining too much weight/fat

I’m also going on a 2-week school trip to Japan soon, and I’m anxious about how to approach food there. I probably won’t be able to properly train during the trip besides maybe some bodyweight workouts.

Part of me is worried:

• if I only eat when I feel hungry, I won’t eat enough
• I’ll lose muscle/strength/progress
• or recovery will slow down

But another part of me is scared that:

• I’ll gain too much weight while traveling
• end up outside my lifting weight class
• or lose control around food after stopping tracking

Something else that confuses me is that back when I was at my lowest weight (still technically a “normal” BMI), I was actually pretty strong in the gym. Since starting recovery in February, I lowered my training intensity for around 3 months, and I honestly feel weaker now compared to back then.

I guess my main questions are:

• Did anyone continue tracking during recovery, and did it help or hurt you?
• Is it possible to recover while eating more intuitively even if hunger cues feel unreliable?
• When traveling, did you just eat intuitively / when hungry, or did you intentionally make sure you were eating enough?
• How did you balance recovery with strength/performance goals?

I feel really stuck between wanting to support recovery/performance while also trying not to fall back into restriction or obsession around tracking.

Would really appreciate hearing other people’s experiences. :)

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone else experienced sleep changes/problems after losing their period, and if it eventually got better during recovery.

Ever since all of this started, my sleep has felt really different. I naturally wake up super early now, even when I don’t want to. Usually I’ll wake up once around midnight or 1–2am, then wake up again around 4:30am. After that I can’t really fully fall back asleep, so I usually just get out of bed around 5am.

It’s also become super hard for me to actually fall asleep in the first place. I feel like I need complete quietness to fall asleep now. I’m a boarding student, so it’s difficult because I usually go to bed earlier than everyone else, and I also have a roommate. Most nights I need to wear AirPods and play white noise just to fall asleep.

I also struggle with pretty bad anxiety, which definitely makes it worse because sometimes my brain just keeps thinking nonstop at night.

I’m really grateful that I’m able to go home most weekends, and I’ve noticed that when I’m home, falling asleep is usually much easier because it’s quiet and comfortable. Unless my anxiety is really bad, I can generally relax and fall asleep a lot easier at home compared to at school.

Before all of this, I could easily sleep 10+ hours if I wanted to, so this feels really different for me.

I’m curious:

• Did anyone else experience early waking or lighter sleep after losing their period?
• Did it improve as you recovered?
• Was it related to under-fueling/stress/exercise/anxiety for you?

I’d really appreciate hearing other people’s experiences because sometimes I feel like my body is stuck in this hyper-alert state.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently about 3+ months(Almost 4) into period recovery and still trying to figure out what the “right” balance is with food and exercise.

For context, I’m 4’11 and pretty active overall. I still walk a lot and do strength training, but I’m not sure if I should be cutting back more or if I just need to increase my food intake more aggressively.

I was wondering:

• During recovery, did you still exercise at all?
• If you did, what kind/how much?
• Did you have to stop completely to get your period back?

I’m also really confused about calories. I recently stopped tracking because tracking was becoming mentally exhausting, but now I’m worried that I might accidentally not be eating enough. Part of me wants to keep tracking just to make sure I’m fueling enough, but I also know tracking can make it harder for me to relax around food.

How did you guys approach this?

• Did tracking help or hurt your recovery?
• Around how much food/calories did you need before seeing progress?
• Did your body naturally ask for more food over time?

I’d really appreciate hearing different experiences because I feel kind of stuck and unsure whether I’m under-eating, overthinking things, or just not being patient enough.

Hi everyone,

I’m about 3+ months into trying to recover my period, but I honestly haven’t seen a whole lot of progress yet, which has been a bit frustrating.

I’ve been considering working with a period recovery coach, but I’m not sure if it’s actually necessary or worth it. Part of me feels like I should just be patient and keep going on my own, but another part of me wonders if I might be missing something or doing things inefficiently.

For anyone who’s been in a similar situation:
- Did your recovery take longer than a few months before you saw progress?
- Did you ever decide to work with a coach, and if so, did it help?
- Or did you recover on your own — and what made the biggest difference for you?

I’ve also been looking into a few coaches already, specifically Hailee (@hailee_fitblog) and Emily(@emmysyummys), but I don’t know much beyond their social media content. If anyone has worked with them (good or bad) or has other recommendations, I’d really appreciate hearing about it.

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences, especially if you felt stuck for a while like I do right now.

Thank you :)