u/Top-Scientist-1615

Hello beautiful people of reddit,

I have had 4 periods after recovery from HA, my fifth should be coming quite soon. I feel so proud and grateful that I've recovered, however in my luteal phase especially when emotions are higher, I can't help but wonder about my weight.

For context, I was at about 122 lbs before HA (15 y/o), then while HA I dropped down to around 110-115 lbs. Now, post HA, I am about at 130 lbs (now 16 y/o and 5"6) and probably the heaviest I've been, even if it's not by a crazy much.

Sometimes I wonder if I should loose weight again, or I'm scared that I'll keep gaining weight if I continue to eat freelly. I think these are leftovers of disordered thoughts, but I'd like to know what you ladies do to help them out, and also how to even approach weight loss if that's a thing I want in the future.

Furthermore, I am increasing my workouts because I want to grow muscle and become stronger, so that might not cause me to loose weight per say - just a side note.

Another thing I wanted to ask - throughout HA and even now I am alwasy bloating. Of course it varies, as in right after period in follicular phase my stomach is flatter in the morning, but during luteal phase, like right now, my stomach always looks round + pregnant like. I am a lot freer with foods these days, but I don't think fodmaps are the cause (though it could be i guess?) anyways what do yall think? should I go to a nutritionist or doctor? how did you help this, or did it go away naturallyy?

thank you so much for reading my post, wishing you all a great day💕

Hello girls of reddit,

Luteal phase is seriously kicking my butt right now and I need everyone's best tricks on how to feel better or at least weather the storm. For more info, I usually feel anti-social and grumpy, but then also super lonely and just depress-y in general! Sometime I feel alright, and sometimes it hits hard and I just feel like collapsing, watching TV and eating dessert. Technically this is along the lines of PMS but also happens when i'm in the menstrual phase too.

any advice or tricks appreciated and thanks so much in advance!!

Hello girls of reddit,

Luteal phase is seriously kicking my butt right now and I need everyone's best tricks on how to feel better or at least weather the storm. For more info, I usually feel anti-social and grumpy, but then also super lonely and just depress-y in general! Sometime I feel alright, and sometimes it hits hard and I just feel like collapsing, watching TV and eating dessert. Technically this is along the lines of PMS but also happens when i'm in the menstrual phase too.

any advice or tricks appreciated and thanks so much in advance!!

Hi everyone,
I’m an aspiring journalist writing an article about period poverty, menstrual equity and sustainability, specifically in Toronto. I would love some first hand opinions on this issue :if you have ever been inn a tight spot with finances(as someone who menstruates) was it a struggle to afford period products? What did you do about it? Any solution ideas, or initiatives you have seen that have been helpful?
I also wanted to ask about sustainability (eco friendly and reusable products, because traditional ones create massive amounts of waste) : do you find there are enough/suitable sustainable options? What could the city or brands be doing more? Any ideas on how to make sustainable products more accessible in general?

Also : do you have any recs of who to reach out to for this article?

Thank you in advance for your responses, they are very much appreciated! I’ll view all answers as anonymous data+opinions from locals, just to let everyone know.

Thanks again for reading this post and your thoughts!

Hi everyone !

I have some questions about, like the title says, re-starting to add a little more exercise and also I'd like to advice about emotional/over eating.

For some context I started recovery about 7-8 months ago, getting a first period in December, then loosing it and getting another one last May (yay!). Anyways, I'm eating lots more, not just in amount but also variety, and trying not to control or restrict (I think subconscious restricting was a big factor in loosing my cycle a 2nd time). So hopefully with period #2 on the horizon I am considering exercising + moving a little more. Before I've kept it to 1 strneght workout with weights per week max, moderate to high -ish intensity and 20 mins. Now I'm considering upping strenghts workouts to x2-3 per week, but keeping 10-20 mins and focusing on slightly lower (so light-moderate) intensity. I'd also like to incorporate more daily stretching, yoga and light walking, since these activities make me feel just amazing. If anyone has any past experience with re-incorporating exercise after their 1st recovery cycle, I'd love to hear it! I definitely do not want to jeopardize my cycle, but I do want to start moving a little more, especially since it's getting much nicer out and it helps my mood!

Also, something else I wanted to inquire about was eating past fullness. Even though I'm far in recovery, these days especially I feel like after meals i just don't want to stop! or when i'm having dessert, 1 piece of chocolate is never enough! What do you guys think, do i just keep on eating (but i don't want to make myself feel overly full or develop bingeing!).

Any advice, also on getting that 2nd recovery cycle, is much appreciated. Good luck to everyone with their recoveries, we can do this !♡

Hello people of reddit!

Right now applications have come out at my high school for a TedX talk, for speaker positions. I'd be really interested in taking part, and I've started to brainstorm some ideas. I a cellist, and i'm also super interesting by social justice, notably women's rights. So, I was thinking about combining these two areas.

I started a little research on this topic, and two sub-topics I could possibly lean into are how posture influenced women playing cello (it was considered unmodest - circa 19th century). Also another angle I could look at this would be to analyze how women cellists were portrayed as "quiet" and "nice" and how women today are rewriting that narrative (using examples from pop culture, like Audrey Hepburn's film Love in the Afternoon, or other movies like that).

These ideas are interesting, however I want to find something that really clicks with me ! Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you very much in advance for any ideas!

Hello !!

For a little background, I started recovering in September 2025, got period back in December 2025, then lost again. I'm 16 y/o, still working out with weights about x1 per week, quite stressed because of school, trying to eat extra fats + carbs (especially lately, after 2nd period did not come).

Since the beginning of my recovery, especially after my second recovery period has not come, I have been constantly, terribly bloated. I'm talking this pushed out feeling that fluctuates throughout the day, mainly getting lots worse. Sometimes it goes down a bit in the morning, but for the last week or two it's been terrible all day.

I know i know, I gotta wait to get my cycle back for it to imrpove, but I was just wondering if anybody has had similar experiences or advice?

I am so incredibly grateful for any responses! Good luck to you all out there ❤️