Your period is part of your regular menstrual cycle. Every month, one of your ovaries releases an egg during ovulation. Your hormones start to alter to prepare the body, specifically the uterus, for possible pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur, your body sheds the uterine lining in the form of your period.
Irregular Periods
An irregular period can be difficult to define and diagnose. While the average menstrual cycle occurs every 24 to 29 days, many women have different experiences. Some women have months where they experience two menstrual cycles, while other women regularly skip months. While some women experience heavy menstrual cycles, others have very light discharge. The cycles for some women run like clockwork, but the cycles for many women will be short a few days or late a few days. The best way to determine if your period is irregular is to compare it to what is normal for you and your body. Shifts in your hormonal balance cause most irregularities in your menstrual cycle.
Weight Loss
Weight loss can alter a teen's menstrual cycle. This does not mean that losing a couple of pounds will change the regularity of your period. In order for weight loss to affect your menstrual cycle, the weight loss must be both quick and excessive. Not getting enough calories in your diet will affect the regularity of your period. Low caloric intake may eventually lead to your becoming severely underweight. Low body weight can affect hormone production, which in turn can affect menstruation.
Additional Factors
Many teens who are trying to lose weight not only decrease their caloric intake to unhealthy levels, they also increase their amount of exercise to unhealthy levels. Increased or excessive amounts of exercise can also cause irregular periods. Exercise also affects the amount of hormones produced by your body, which in turn affects your period. Moderate exercise should not affect your period unless this is an increase over your typical routine. Other causes of irregular periods include hormonal imbalance, stress, some medications, smoking, drug use, alcohol consumption and caffeine consumption.
Considerations
Consult a doctor about changes in your menstrual cycle. Discuss changes in exercise or eating habits that may play a role in your altered cycles. If your menstrual irregularities are due to your weight loss, diet plan or exercise regimen, your doctor can help you find a way to maintain or lose weight in ways that won't upset your body's hormonal balance. If your irregular periods are a result of some other factor, your doctor can determine the cause and treat it as necessary to improve your health.
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