How I Solved My HA and Luteal Phase Defect and Got Pregnant

If you’re looking for information about getting pregnant after having no period OR solving a luteal phase defect in your cycle, I’m your girl!

In this blog post we’re going to discuss how I solved my short luteal phase defect - aka low progesterone - and then took action to get pregnant.

I also have a YouTube video where I go into these details about my hypothalamic amenorrhea, short luteal phase AND share my pregnancy symptoms if you’re interested.

Getting Pregnant After Hypothalamic Amenorrhea

Before we dive in, here are the key starting points so you know where I was when I started to try to get pregnant and work on my short luteal phase/luteal phase defect:

1. I had recovered my period for about 5 months before we started to try to get pregnant.
   

2. We tried for 3 months, however I will say we didn’t try “hard”. We probably had sex 1 time within the window of ovulation whereas many people will try every 2 days or more.
   
   I was of the belief that if everything in my body is working as it should, sex just once should work. Your body wants to do this and is trying to do this. It’s not that I didn’t want to have more sex, but I’m a curious person and wanted to give it a try.
   

3. When it didn’t work for the first 3 months, I knew it was because of my short luteal phase. I was ovulating and I confirmed this each month, but my luteal phase (the second half of my period after ovulation) was always short. We’re talking 6-8 days. It should be 10+ day.
   

How I Increased My Luteal Phase

These are the changes that I made to improve my luteal phase. I know they might sound really simple but I PROMISE you, they were the only things I did and they are widely considered huge indicators of improved luteal phases.

Working Out Less

Working out even less, a reduction of another 1-2 days and less intense workouts (they were not even that intense anyway, this is how sensitive my body is). (1) (2) (3) (4)

Eating breakfast FIRST THING in the morning

I believe this was one of the biggest helpers for me. I got lazy and was eating around 9.30-10am, which means I had been awake for hours before eating. Now, I was trying to eat within the first hour of being awake whether I felt like it or not. (5) (6) (7)

Slightly Increasing My Meal Volume

Eating bigger meals by just a little bit. Not a huge increase as I was already eating a lot thanks to my HA recovery prior, but some extra olive oil here, avocado there, more rice here and there – you get it.

After a month of those changes, my husband and I did the baby dance. I will say, when I look back at my other months of trying, the days that we did the dance were never the very day before ovulation and this time, we did the exact day before I ovulated so that was within hours. Usually it was a couple days before. (8)

I had a feeling that we nailed it (haha). I had made such big changes that month to my lifestyle and when I saw that we had sex the day before ovulation I had never felt so sure it worked.

I was so sure, that I tested on 7DPO and got a pretty obvious positive result. It was faint, but you could see it. That’s really early to test but there you have it. That same day I went straight to my doctor.

We did blood tests immediately that day and then two days later I went again to check that my HCG levels were rising. They should double every 72 hours or so, so if she saw a huge increase that was a confirmed pregnancy. But I knew as soon as I saw the test that this was real. To have a positive pregnancy confirmed by 9 DPO is pretty uncommon…I wondered if maybe I was having twins or something! But I don’t think that an early test or increased HCG levels early on actually indicates that.

Animal Protein Increase

When women increase animal protein, they improve luteal phase parameters because animal protein helps with progesterone production. (9)

Animal protein can contribute to progesterone production through its role in providing essential nutrients and amino acids necessary for hormone synthesis. Progesterone is a steroid hormone derived from cholesterol, and its production involves several steps.

Here are some ways in which animal protein may support progesterone production:

1. Amino Acid Supply: Proteins are made up of amino acids, and certain amino acids are crucial for hormone synthesis. For example, the amino acid tyrosine is a precursor for progesterone. Animal proteins, such as meat, eggs, and dairy products, provide a rich source of essential amino acids, including those involved in hormone production. (10) (11)

2. Cholesterol Content: Cholesterol is a precursor to steroid hormones, including progesterone. Animal products, particularly animal fats, are a source of dietary cholesterol. While excessive cholesterol intake may not be advisable for everyone, having an adequate amount of dietary cholesterol is essential for the synthesis of steroid hormones. (12) (13)

3. Nutrient Density: Animal products often contain essential vitamins and minerals that play a role in hormone regulation. For instance, zinc and vitamin B6 are important for progesterone synthesis and can be found in animal-based foods. (14) (15)

Short Luteal Phases and Hypothalamic Amenorrhea

To dive deeper into WHY you have a short luteal phase and how you can help improve it watch this video (don’t forget to subscribe if you do!):

Want help with the EXACT plan you need to perfect your period? Take our free masterclass – Restore Ovulation & Get Pregnant Naturally

References:

1. Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea and its influence on women’s health

2. Exercise, Training, and the HypothalamicPituitary-Gonadal Axis in Men and Women

3. Female athlete triad [Review]

4. Strenuous exercise with caloric restriction- effect on luteinizing hormone secretion

5. Effect of Intermittent Fasting on Reproductive Hormone Levels in Females and Males: A Review of Human Trials

6. Shattering the Myth of Fasting for Women: A Review of Female-Specific Responses to Fasting in the Literature | Health to Empower

7. Nutrients | Free Full-Text | The Effects of Intermittent Fasting and Continuous Energy Restriction with Exercise on Cardiometabolic Biomarkers, Dietary Compliance, and Perceived Hunger and Mood: Secondary Outcomes of a Randomised, Controlled Trial | HTML (mdpi.com)

8. Where Have the Periods Gone? The Evaluation and Management of Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea

9. Current Concepts and Unresolved Questions in Dietary Protein Requirements and Supplements in Adults. Stuart M Phillips

10. Effect of Dietary Protein on Bone Loss in Elderly Men and Women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study. Marian T. Hannan,Katherine L. Tucker,Bess Dawson-Hughes,L. Adrienne Cupples,David T. Felson,Douglas P. Kiel 

11.  Prospective study of dietary protein intake and risk of hip fracture in postmenopausal women R G Munger 1, J R Cerhan, B C Chiu

12. Dietary protein: an essential nutrient for bone health Jean-Philippe Bonjour 

13. Estrogen and progesterone exposure is reduced in response to energy deficiency in women aged 25 –40 years, N.I. Williams1,*, J.L. Reed1, H.J. Leidy2, R.S. Legro3,and M.J. De Souza

14. Protein Requirements of Pre-Menopausal Female Athletes: Systematic Literature Review

15. Estrogen and progesterone exposure is reduced in response to energy deficiency in women aged 25 –40 years, N.I. Williams1,*, J.L. Reed1, H.J. Leidy2, R.S. Legro3,and M.J. De Souza