HA Recovery Case Studies Part 3
Working with many, many different clients we see just how unique everyone's journey truly is.
However, although our journeys will differ, the principle remains the same...
You need to restore your energy availability!
One of the best ways to do this is to reduce or take a break from movement and focus on nourishing and not punishing your body. These things are incredibly challenging for most people which is why we also want to work on your mentality towards exercise, food and your body! Because even though eating more and moving less will likely bring your period back, it is creating a healthier mindset and belief system that will prevent you from ever losing it again!
If you need a little more help, consider getting 1:1 coaching with us or joining The HA Society community. We would love to hear your story!
You never know, you just might be the next case study we share to help inspire others!
Client Case Study 1: Client HS
Client HS did not have a natural cycle for 10 years. She was a former competitive runner, who was now running for enjoyment. When she wanted to start a family, she got off of hormonal birth control and her period never returned.
Desperate to start a family she started fertility treatments, however they were unsuccessful. She then started the process to recover her cycle naturally, increased her calories and pulled back on exercise, but wasn’t making progress.
What we did together:
We increased her overall food intake, switched from structured meals to grazing throughout the day (eating every 2-3 hours). We also moved the majority of her calories to the first half of the day, but made sure she had a snack before bed!
We worked through her anxiety around food, body composition, fertility, miscarage, etc.
HS continued to exercise, but we drastically reduced the intensity, frequency and duration. We reduced her runs to short jogs, then got her down to walks and from there worked on reducing the amount she was walking, so she was doing the right amount of exercise that was appropriate for her healing process.
Within a few months, thanks to the work she had already been doing to eat more and rest more, she did get her period back. I believe that she just needed that extra nudge from the intense fear of weight gain to get her body to ovulate.
Client Case Study 2: Client HM
Client HM was missing her period for 7 years. She struggled with body image challenges and orthorexia. It was her negative relationship with food and exercise that lead to her missing period and what was ultimately holding her back from making a full recovery.
What we did together:
We did a full food rule audit to address her relationship with food and increase her calorie intake such as: clean eating, structured meal times, not eating the same food twice and focused on balanced meals with big enough portion sizes.
We worked on the need to control her body and eventually cut out walks and exercise.
After 3 months, HM did get her period back and we are now working on optimizing her cycle.
I hope that these case studies have been helpful to you. Maybe you see yourself in them, maybe it will help you realize an action that you need to take. Either way, recovery is possible for you.
