Having a period is a natural part of your sexual wellness and wellbeing, but going on a diet can actually play havoc with your cycle. If you are not getting adequate nutrition or enough calories, you can find that this has a direct effect on your menstrual cycle. Dieting usually won’t increase the severity or frequency of your period, but it can make it vanish altogether. If you go back to eating healthily and having a balanced diet, your period will probably resume. You should be aware, though, that missing your period for a length of time can indicate other health issues, so if this happens to you then you would be worthwhile contacting your GP.
Dieting so severely that your body weight is extremely low can result in you not having a period, and this condition is called amenorrhea. If you’re very underweight, or if you lose a lot of weight very quickly, the hormonal functions of the body can be interrupted and thrown off. They are then likely to stay this way unless you start providing your body with enough nutrients and calories again.
Exercising can also make your period disappear – whether it is on its own or coupled with a diet. In professions such as gymnasts, athletes and ballet dancers, where the training is intense and the body weight has to be kept low, the condition is fairly common. Rigorous exercise can massively reduce your body fat, use up a lot of energy and put lots of stress on the body – all of which can lead to skipped periods.
If you continue to exercise and diet to excess in the long term, there is a chance that you could also develop a health issue called female athlete triad. This triad consists of unhealthy eating habits, no period and osteoporosis.