How do you maintain your hardly earned period after getting it back after hypothalamic amenorrhea?
Watch the video below or keep reading…
Here are my three tips for you: What NOT to do, and what to do, to keep your period once you got it back after recovering from Hypothalamic Amenorrhea.
Don't Cut Your Calories
This is one of the biggest mistakes — we want to lose the weight so we jump right back into calorie restriction. But let's remember what hypothalamic amenorrhea is about — losing too much weight, being too thin, having too low body fat percentage.
If we go back there, lose the weight and bodyfat, then there's a good chance that our periods might go away too. What got us in trouble the first time, does the same next time.
Don't Add Too Much Exercise
Same thing — we want to lose the weight quickly so we jump right into running, HIT training or heavy lifting. This is too much for the body. We have to ease in to exercise carefully because for some of us, there may have been several months since we worked out. So it's important not only from our hormones perspective but also from our musculoskeletal perspective, that we don't get back to exercise too quickly.
Especially intense exercise and running can cause our cortisol to rise quickly and keep it elevated if we don't rest enough. Here's why that's dangerous.
Check out my program Simple Strength for Women if you want to get back to safe exercise after hypothalamic amenorrhea recovery. This program offers a safe way to get back training and get strong again. You can also watch some reviews here.
Take Care of Your Mindset
It absolutely critical that we do some mindset work, either journaling, meditation, take slow nature walks or do yoga. The last two — not in an obsessive way but so that these activities actually nourish our bodies and minds.
Many women start overtraining and under eating shortly after they've gotten their first recovery period(s), and this is why: They haven't done the mindset work.
Mindset work helps us to be aware of our choices, be present. The more aware we are in our bodies, the better it feels, and the better food and exercise choices we make as well.
Make sure you don't cut your calories significantly, and don't start with intense exercise too soon after getting your first few periods. Instead, keep focusing on your mindset and strengthening that, and cultivate body acceptance and self acceptance.
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