Whole30 and changes in menstrual cycle?

[brizels1231]

Hello everyone! I completed my first Whole30 on 2/2 (2 weeks ago to the day). I felt great and have tried really hard to maintain as close to Paleo as I can. I am now 6 days late for my period. Pregnancy test was negative. I usually cycle like clockwork and currently have no signs that any kind of menstrual occurrence is even on the horizon. I know diet can play a role in women's cycles, but I thought that eating a super clean and healthy Whole30 diet would swing the pendulum in a more consistent/positive direction. 

 

Anyone else experience anything like this? I'm getting very concerned. 

[ShannonM816]

It's not unusual for women's cycles to change when they make a major change to their eating like this. If you're feeling okay, don't have any other symptoms to make you think anything is wrong, you can probably just wait it out and see what happens in the next few weeks. Obviously, if you're truly concerned there's something more than just hormonal adjustments going on, or if you've having pain or something, call your doctor and discuss your concerns.

 

If you google Whole30 cycle changes, or Whole30 period, or something like that, you'll find a lot of past discussions on this, or just browse through the Ladies Only portion of the forum and you'll probably find some recent ones.

[Karen]

Can I presume you're not on birth control? Women not on BC can often ovulate later than normal at first, which means your period would be late as well. A change in diet in caveman days meant stress or famine, so to help preserve the species, the body would delay ovulation until the stress subsided or the body adjusted to the change. If the body were to ovulate under times of stress, there's less likelihood of a good pregnancy outcome.

Assuming you're not on BC (women that are tend to get their period early), it's just your body listening to the changes in your body and waiting for the all-clear that the changes are a-ok. It may take a cycle or two for that to happen.

Any old stress can cause that, too. Car accident, work stress, illness, etc. It's not just food.

[brizels1231]

Thank you both for responding. 

 

To answer your question, no I am not on the BCP. In fact my husband and I are trying to start a family so I'm a little upset that I was unaware of this seemingly "common" ovulation issue. As a 32 year old woman, I did not want to do anything to jeopardize the timing of conceiving a child and thought that cleaner eating would actually enhance my fertility. I have a history of PCOS which has been managed and under control for years now, before even knowing about the Whole30 plan. Now I'm brought back to my teenage years/early 20s and remembering what it was like to not have a regular cycle and the negative feelings/emotions that go along with that. This is not what I wanted at this stage in my life. I'm very disappointed. 

[Rutherford]

Can I presume you're not on birth control? Women not on BC can often ovulate later than normal at first, which means your period would be late as well. A change in diet in caveman days meant stress or famine, so to help preserve the species, the body would delay ovulation until the stress subsided or the body adjusted to the change. If the body were to ovulate under times of stress, there's less likelihood of a good pregnancy outcome.

Assuming you're not on BC (women that are tend to get their period early), it's just your body listening to the changes in your body and waiting for the all-clear that the changes are a-ok. It may take a cycle or two for that to happen.

Any old stress can cause that, too. Car accident, work stress, illness, etc. It's not just food.

I was going to ask this question too, except my period showed up four days early (I'm on BC), but I see this has already been answered.

[ShannonM816]

Thank you both for responding. 

 

To answer your question, no I am not on the BCP. In fact my husband and I are trying to start a family so I'm a little upset that I was unaware of this seemingly "common" ovulation issue. As a 32 year old woman, I did not want to do anything to jeopardize the timing of conceiving a child and thought that cleaner eating would actually enhance my fertility. I have a history of PCOS which has been managed and under control for years now, before even knowing about the Whole30 plan. Now I'm brought back to my teenage years/early 20s and remembering what it was like to not have a regular cycle and the negative feelings/emotions that go along with that. This is not what I wanted at this stage in my life. I'm very disappointed. 

 

Long term, eating this way probably will enhance your fertility -- certainly there are lots of stories out there of people getting pregnant after eating Whole30-style for some period of time, or women ovulating for the first time in a long time due to eating this way. Check out the Testimonials page (scroll down to the infertility section), or check out some of these success stories in the forum: Shaimom's story, Ophelia's story, Kya's story -- I know there are other ones out there, these were just a few that came up in a quick search.

 

(Just a thought, any chance your pregnancy test was wrong? I know they're generally pretty accurate, but nothing is 100%.)

 

Bottom line, there's nothing inherently unhealthy in eating a lot of vegetables along with adequate amounts of protein and healthy fats. Try to relax and not stress about this. 

[Rutherford]

Long term, eating this way probably will enhance your fertility -- certainly there are lots of stories out there of people getting pregnant after eating Whole30-style for some period of time, or women ovulating for the first time in a long time due to eating this way. Check out the Testimonials page (scroll down to the infertility section), or check out some of these success stories in the forum: Shaimom's story, Ophelia's story, Kya's story -- I know there are other ones out there, these were just a few that came up in a quick search.

 

(Just a thought, any chance your pregnancy test was wrong? I know they're generally pretty accurate, but nothing is 100%.)

 

Bottom line, there's nothing inherently unhealthy in eating a lot of vegetables along with adequate amounts of protein and healthy fats. Try to relax and not stress about this. 

Funny story....this actually happened to a friend of mine. They had been trying to get pregnant for a couple years. No success. She started Whole30 just to be healthier and lose some weight. After she finished her Whole30, she found out she was pregnant.

 

This is why I will make sure NOT to miss my BC. I'm 35 years old and my husband and I don't want any more kids (he has an almost 20-year-old from a previous marriage). We tried for years to have our own. Turns out I can't (doctors could never figure out the case of why I don't ovulate).

 

Anyway, I'm sure eating like this would fix whatever issue I've had. Trouble is I don't want a child now. LOL

[Karen]

Delayed ovulation may be happening right now, but it's a good thing. Does it really matter if you ovulate 4 weeks later (or whatever), knowing you're setting your body up for being as healthy as it can during a body's most taxing time (pregnancy)? I've struggled with a whole host of reproduction issues (endometriosis, endocrine imbalances, ect. ) and sometimes wouldn't ovulate for a year because my body was such a mess. This is for a different reason. It's not because your body is failing you like before, it's because you're healing. Different perspective.

If it helps, my husband and I started trying in October. I did another whole 30 in November. Ovulation was delayed again, but I got pregnant in December! I'm 38 and have lots of issues. It happened that fast because I was ready and my hormones were ready. If you have irregular cycles, temping or using opk can be very helpful.

(I unfortunately miscarried last week, but for quite different reasons. That's irrelevant to this discussion. But I know what I need to do again to get pregnant, and have a few other things to tweak to try to have a better outcome. Diet and nutrition are critical to my approach. )

[missthing74]

Hello! This is also my first whole 30. I too am experiencing a late period. I am not on birth control and my husband is not fertile. Although I have been irregular in the past in recent years I have been like clock work every 30 days. I realize as mentioned earlier that dietary changes can delay a period. My problem is I'm 15 days late. I've been cramping constantly.  I know it just sounds like PMS but with no period in sight I'm nervous that its not coming this month at all or that I'm going to cramp till I get one whenever that is. Tomorrow is the last day of my whole thirty. I'm not sure whether starting my reintroduction is going to delay it further or bring it on. Suggestions?

[sunflowerinksa]

I really recommend charting your cycles.  Take your Basal Body Temp every morning and keep track of your cervical mucus, at a minimum.  After a few months, you should see a pattern, and then you will know when you're ovulating.  Try Fertility Friend or Kindara.  Also, if you can get 'Taking Charge of your Fertility' from the library or a bookstore, then it's definitely worth the read.