149. How Much Do I Need To Eat To Regain My Period?

03/21/22 • 28 min

1 Listener

The question on everyone’s mind when they commit to hypothalamic amenorrhea recovery is “how much do I need to eat to regain my period?” It’s probably the first one that comes up in conversation during the Healing HA course and with our 1:1 clients, so Lucy and I thought it was time to address it on the podcast.

In today’s episode Lucy and I discuss:

What is low energy availability and how it causes a missing period
How to reverse low energy availability for period recovery
The scientific basis of 2500 calories for period recovery
Why you might need more or less than 2500 calories to recover your period
How what you eat is just as important as when you eat for period recovery
The optimal meal and snack timing for period recovery
The main foods and macronutrients you should be focusing on for period recovery
The problem of high volume foods in period recovery
Why you need to face your food fears when working on period recovery
How to stop calorie counting and start listening to your hunger

❤️ Join my newsletter list for weekly motivation and inspiration and you'll also receive a FREE copy of my eBook "31 Ways to Boost Your Body Image"

❤️ Ready to get your period back? Join the next round of Healing Hypothalamic Amenorrhea! This 8-week, hybrid group and 1:1 coaching program is designed to help you recover your period while improving your relationship with food, exercise and your body. Find out details and sign up here: https://sarahlizking.com/healing-ha/

❤️ Looking for a supportive recovery community? For all the support, resources and strategies you need on your recovery journey, join us in Recovery Club today!

❤️ Work with me and my team to improve your relationship with food and exercise by heading to www.sarahlizking.com and filling out the contact form.

❤️ If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5⭐️ review and share a screenshot on Instagram by tagging myself @sarahlizking and I'll be sure to reshare.

In today’s episode Lucy and I discuss:

What is low energy availability and how it causes a missing period
How to reverse low energy availability for period recovery
The scientific basis of 2500 calories for period recovery
Why you might need more or less than 2500 calories to recover your period
How what you eat is just as important as when you eat for period recovery
The optimal meal and snack timing for period recovery
The main foods and macronutrients you should be focusing on for period recovery
The problem of high volume foods in period recovery
Why you need to face your food fears when working on period recovery
How to stop calorie counting and start listening to your hunger

❤️ Join my newsletter list for weekly motivation and inspiration and you'll also receive a FREE copy of my eBook "31 Ways to Boost Your Body Image"

❤️ Looking for a supportive recovery community? For all the support, resources and strategies you need on your recovery journey, join us in Recovery Club today!

❤️ Work with me and my team to improve your relationship with food and exercise by heading to www.sarahlizking.com and filling out the contact form.

❤️ If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5⭐️ review and share a screenshot on Instagram by tagging myself @sarahlizking and I'll be sure to reshare.

Previous Episode

148. Are You Addicted to Exercise? The Lowdown on Primary versus Secondary Exercise Addiction

1 Recommendations

Exercise is something that is incredibly healthy but becomes unhealthy when overdone. When used moderately to maintain physical and mental health, and/or when used in conjunction with an appropriate amount of nourishment, exercise has a whole host of incredible benefits.

But in the case of exercise addiction, yes; too much of a good thing can yield negative consequences.

In today's episode Lucy and I explore speak in depth about exercise addiction including:

Whether exercise addiction is formally recognised as a diagnosis
How common exercise addiction is across the population, athletes and gym attendees
Who is at a higher risk of developing exercise addiction
The two main types of exercise addiction - primary and secondary exercise addiction
Signs and symptoms of primary exercise addiction
Signs and symptoms of secondary exercise addiction
How do you know if you're doing "too much" exercise?
The law of diminishing returns and how it applies to the benefits of exercise
Treatment options for primary and secondary exercise addiction
Where to get help if you do feel like you're struggling with your relationship with exercise

❤️ Join my newsletter list for weekly motivation and inspiration and you'll also receive a FREE copy of my eBook "31 Ways to Boost Your Body Image"

❤️ Looking for a supportive recovery community? For all the support, resources and strategies you need on your recovery journey, join us in Recovery Club today!

❤️ Work with me and my team to improve your relationship with food and exercise by heading to www.sarahlizking.com and filling out the contact form.

❤️ If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5⭐️ review and share a screenshot on Instagram by tagging myself @sarahlizking and I'll be sure to reshare.

Next Episode

150. Diet Culture in the Dance Industry with Louisa Paterson of Train Like a Ballerina

1 Recommendations

In episode 150 of Holistic Health Radio I'm joined by Louisa Paterson, a retired professional dancer and founder of Train Like a Ballerina. Her passion is to help ballerinas and ballet enthusiasts train smarter, not harder, perfect their technique and learn from the worlds leading experts on proper nutrition, strength and flexibility, mindset and anatomy. While she's a wealth of information today and now lives a very balanced lifestyle, that wasn't always the case. Away from family and unsure of what to eat, combined with nutrition myths and fads perpetuated by dance teachers, Louisa fell into a pattern of under fuelling her body. It was only later through her own education and distance away from the dance world that she realised how disordered and toxic it can be. This is an episode that will inspire you and full you with hope, while also opening your eyes to how insidious diet culture can be in the dance industry.

In this episode Louisa exposes the dangers of diet culture in the dance world including:

How disordered eating is normalised
Common nutrition myths perpetuated by dance teachers
A snapshot of what life was like as a professional dancer
When she first got her period and the negative meaning she attached to it because of a dance class experience
How easy it is to get caught in the trap of "I'll be happy when..."
The impact underfuelling had on Louisa's mental health and happiness
What she did to start fuelling her body correctly and repairing her relationship with food
Her experience with the oral contraceptive pill and how she regained her period once coming off of it
The changes Louisa hopes to create by injecting education into the dance world through the Train Like A Ballerina App and Academy (coming soon)

❤️ Join my newsletter list for weekly motivation and inspiration and you'll also receive a FREE copy of my eBook "31 Ways to Boost Your Body Image"

❤️ Looking for a supportive recovery community? For all the support, resources and strategies you need on your recovery journey, join us in Recovery Club today!

❤️ Work with me and my team to improve your relationship with food and exercise by heading to www.sarahlizking.com and filling out the contact form.

❤️ If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5⭐️ review and share a screenshot on Instagram by tagging myself @sarahlizking and I'll be sure to reshare.