Today's post is more of a "the more you know" deal. It's about menstruation and weight loss, so if that's gross or not applicable for you feel free to stop now. :)
Many women at weight extremes (obese and malnourished) find their menstrual cycle either irregular, or non-existent. Some forms of birth control can also have this effect. For the last 6 years I've been on a Myrena IUD (I'm a HUGE fan, but that's a different topic.) Also for the last 6 years I haven't had a significant menstruation (at worst a day or two of spotting every few months). Before that they were irregular, often heavy, and with migraines. Needless to say I haven't missed them. It turns out that my excessive weight, combined with my IUD resulted in a hormone cocktail that curbed my cycle.
Forward to April or so and I started menstruating again. And the last few months have been regular as clockwork. My first reaction was panic- I thought my Myrena alone had been reining in my cycle and feared there might be a problem. After checking with the doctor it turned out the lack of flow was more weight related than birth control related. Some additional research has also turned up studies and testimonials on the correlation between weight loss and fertility/menstrual cycles. This tends to be particularly applicable to women with PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome). As I lost weight the hormones balanced out in such a way that my cycle has regulated as normally as I can ever remember.
The practical take away for me has been that my cycles tend to be plateau breakers for me. I usually see a few pounds drop during or at the end of hell week. Even with cravings taken into account- because we all have days that can be best summed up with this picture:
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