Period way too late

[Hannah]

Hi. I have thrown away three negative pregnancy tests, because I was convinced that I was pregnant. I am about three weeks late î Now I am sure it is all hormones fooling around in my body. But I seem to read that the hormones often disturbs the cycle the other way- that they are shorter and comes more often?

[Karen]

If I start a whole 30 prior to ovulation, ovulation is always delayed for me, which in turn delays my period. Any sort of perceived stress on the body can delay ovulation, because the body realizes conditions aren't right to potentially conceive. Once you ovulate, your body must menstruate within about two weeks, if you're not pregnant. Do you have any ovulation signs, or do you temp at all to track when ovulation happens? Do you know if you have or haven't ovulated yet?

When I can, I start a whole 30 after ovulation so the whole 30 doesn't delay my period. I also temp my cycles with my basal body temp every day so I know when I ovulate. As long as I've seen I haven't ovulated yet, I don't worry about pregnancy or a late period! I highly recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility if you're into learning about temping and demystifying changes in cycles!

[Snappy Shark]

My period was almost three weeks late after my Whole30 (also went through a few pregnancy tests). Hang in there.

[Hannah]

Karen and snappyshark- thank you for posting ! I already have three kids so I am not tending to have more at this moment... Still no signs of period or ovulation (not temping or any of stuff like that), but I'm relaxed, I think it will show up eventually.

[Ann]

I'm having period issues too, but wonder if it might be the start of menopause for me, as opposed to paleo/W30 related. I'm 47 yrs old.

I had a Mirena for 5 years, and had no periods all that time (which is very common). Got Mirena removed in April...

4/6 - Mirena out

6/7 - period (62 days from removal)

7/7 - period (30 days later)

7/8 - start W30

8/8 - end W30

8/23 - period (47 days from last cycle)

No period since 8/23, that's 80 days and counting.

No other noticeable menopause symptoms, but I can't imagine it's my diet, as I have been on-again-off-again paleo since I finished my W30.

[Hannah]

Ann - wow, I can see you are waiting too. After I used injections as birth control after my first kid - my body was really confused - I was bleeding for almost a year!! I actually had to get back on BC pills to get my body back on track when we wanted a second baby. Maybe your body is confused by removing your Mirena, and on top of that changing your diet? Just thinking out loud. I don't know if menopause symptoms is fading being on the paleo lifestyle, but it would not surprise me, after all the other positive effects I have read about.

[Bekah Ortiz]

If I start a whole 30 prior to ovulation, ovulation is always delayed for me, which in turn delays my period. Any sort of perceived stress on the body can delay ovulation, because the body realizes conditions aren't right to potentially conceive. Once you ovulate, your body must menstruate within about two weeks, if you're not pregnant. Do you have any ovulation signs, or do you temp at all to track when ovulation happens? Do you know if you have or haven't ovulated yet?

When I can, I start a whole 30 after ovulation so the whole 30 doesn't delay my period. I also temp my cycles with my basal body temp every day so I know when I ovulate. As long as I've seen I haven't ovulated yet, I don't worry about pregnancy or a late period! I highly recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility if you're into learning about temping and demystifying changes in cycles!

You stated that the Whole30 throws off your ovulation cycle. With this affect my chances of actually conceiving? We're trying for baby 2 and have been for a year now (off and on). I'm hoping changing my diet will help things move along.

[Karen]

As long as you know when you ovulate, it shouldn't affect you conceiving! The time period between menstruation and ovulation isn't important for conception, other than knowing when you actual ovulated so you can time intercourse properly! But the time period between ovulation and my period has always stayed the same, and typically won't vary much.

Here's an example of my cycles both on and off Whole30:

ON Whole30 - 40 day cycle, ovulated on day 29 (later than normal), 12 day luteal phase

OFF Whole30 - 35 day cycle, ovulated on day 23 (normal for me), 12 day luteal phase

If anything, I've seen diet changes actually lengthen the luteal phase in others, which allows more time for implantation and better chances at conceiving! (I'm on a forum for women with endometriosis, and diet changes have allowed for a fair share of pregnancies!)

Do you know when you ovulate? If you want to learn more about temping/determining ovulation dates, I highly recommend "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Wexler. I'll admit I don't have any kids and am not TTC, but everything she outlines has helped me understand all that good stuff and I temp to avoid pregnancy since I swore off hormones.

Note that the body really needs some extra energy after ovulation, so don't hold back on (good) carbs afterwards. It needs more energy to support a potentially growing baby, thus the carb cravings we often get every month. Good luck!