Hi,

I am new and I found this site doing a search trying to connect a low carb lifestyle to a stalled menstural cycle. I started the diet on Dec 29th at 271 lbs and was 263.5 as of this past Sunday. My period was actually due the week I started low carbing and at the latest due by the 5th...but no period yet. Initially I thought I was pregnant but 2 tests taken days apart say negative, so now I am scared that my low carb diet is affecting my period. I typically have 26 day cycles the longets being 30 days...I think this is like day 36.

I like the quick results, but I don't want to ruin my body in the process. Has anyone encountered this or have any knowledge or somewhere I could read more about it? Thanks so much.

i had a textbook 28 day cycle, but for the last 4 months it's gone haywire on me... anywhere from 2 days early to a week late. except for me, i've been lowcarbing for about 6 months now, so if that's what messed with my cycle, then it took a while to kick in.

there's a good bunch of us that have been affected this way, but i don't think anyone's been hit right off the bat. menstrual cycles have to do with hormone levels, not necessarily dietary intake. and it's possible that you may simply have skipped this month... it does happen, so i'm thinking lowcarbing might not be to blame this early on.

if it doesn't show within a week, i'd suggest going to a doctor just to see if anything else is going on.

If eating low-carb is a big change from the way you were eating before, it can definitely throw off your period. So can ANY stressor, such as traveling or starting a new job. It's probably nothing to worry about. This page confirms: http://www.americanpregnancy.org/ge...govulation.html

If you want to read a great book on understanding women's cycles, take a look at Taking Control of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler.

My cycle was a pretty consistant 3 weeks off, 1 week on. When I first started low-carbing it changed to 2 weeks off, 2-3 days on. I got it sooooooooo frequently! And I hated it! But, yes, diet change causes hormonal change which will do funky things to your body. No real harm (I think, or at least I'm not worried)

Weight loss itself can cause hormonal changes.

Low calories, starvation or near starvation can also cause periods to be missed. Are you eating enough?

estrogen is stored in fat cells, so when you start burning fat, you are releasing the stored estrogen into your bloodstream where it will affect your cycles for a few months until the excess fat is gone and the excess estrogen is also metabolized by your liver...this is the short story....you can research more about it on google

Staying overweight has its own long term costs to the body that may not show up quite as fast as a late period. Over the longer term, however, they're way harder to shift.

If you think you are losing too fast, eat more fat. If you think you might be pregnant and that's not an outcome you want, you might want to be more careful about birth control because your cycles may be a bit irregular as your body adjusts.

Good luck.

Are you ona form of birth control? I have an IUD and my periods are really wacky. I will have one and then not get one for 2-3 mos and then get it every 2 weeks for 2 mos..

Perhaps your BC, combined with the stress of a sudden lifestyle change, could have something to do with it??

I had this problem the first time I went on Atkins and actually made the poor decision to quit because of it. However after more than 40 lbs gained I have decided I don't care what it does to my cycle I would rather be thin with little or no periods than fat and a regular cycle.

I am so glad to hear that I am not the only one (that's why I love this forum). I was burning a lot of fat and I'm sure it was the estrogen release.

Cool another thing to look forward to!!