PeriodsWhen it feels that combination does not leave it with enough energy to reproduce, it will shut down your periods to conserve remaining energy as part of slowing your metabolism. If you start getting irregular periods when you are at a low weight, or even at a normal weight when doing hard restriction, it could be a sign the body is getting ready to shut them off. In itself this is not a health risk - the periods normally come back if you increase your calorie intake, although you may need to increase weight also, depending on your body. Some are able to have periods at pretty low BMI's. If you are under 17 there is a special risk of osteoporosis - thinning of the bones. Before the 17th birthday your bones are still growing, and because they are in a different "mode", you lose much more bone than you would from the same osteo happening a little later. The only treatment for the osteoporosis is gaining weight, and even that is not particularly effective. Bad osteoporosis can cause back and neck pain for life in some cases - usually including addiction to painkillers, but still feeling the pain. It's not usually that bad, but it's not good... If you can, you want to keep your period up to age 17, meaning not too much restriction. There is a connection between the periods and the bone growth that keeps the bones forming pretty well when you still have the periods. To bring back periods it helps to have around 20% of your calories coming from fat or oils (nuts and vegetable oils are healthy sources), and your calorie intake should be high enough to keep you from losing weight. Depending on your body you may have to gain some weight to get them back. It's better to restrict more slowly when you are losing weight to prevent losing the periods in the first place. |