Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea: Recovery Is Not One Size Fits All
Recovery is not a one-size-fits-all plan. Ahh, I wish it was.
My Functional Nutrition teacher, Andrea Nakayama said this in class one day, in reference to one-size-fits-all health protocols.
"Maps tell us the most simple path from A to B. But even those maps only tell us the most seemingly direct route. In so doing, they disrupt possibility and overlook when the direct path may not be the best way. They bypass the pleasure and intricacy of the journey as it best suits the journey-woman."
Einstein also said "logic will get you from A to B, imagination will get you everywhere."
And as a past adviser of us both, Annie Hyman-Pratt, has said, the direct path from A to B is never available.
All of this tells us that simply reading a protocol that is recommended to the masses is helpful, but not clearly the way forward. Let me be clear here, I am not bashing recovery books or courses.
I do think that following a course without taking your unique needs into account is like throwing everything at the wall because if you do, something will stick. I do think that advice based on survey data and meta analysis of studies is helpful and useful, 1000%, and we use that in our practice too, but like anything it’s still not the FULL picture. There is more!
You must find the version of recovery that best serves your unique situation as a human. To do this, we take the information from studies and our knowledge of functional nutrition and exercise, along with our ability to listen and have empathy for ourselves – or for a client – and we create a plan that we’re most likely to be successful with long term.
For example, many women going through recovery have a history of disordered eating which has also led directly to a history of digestive issues. Serious ones. So how can this person follow the same protocol as someone without? I’ve seen this many times, they cannot eat that much food. Digestive flare ups will set them back in recovery.
Some women are athletes at different levels of competition. How can we simply not take that life experience and passion into account? It’s not as simple as stopping training. There are steps we can take first, changes to training frequency and intensity. Mental re-frames on training that allow us to see the actual way to train for our bodies. Not the training strategy that just says “more is better”.
Many women are still working through fear of weight gain. How can we not take these women’s perspectives and experiences into account before simply asking them to throw as much food and weight gain at the wall as they can?
There are women dealing with cultural challenges. How does the woman at Ramadan eat for recovery?
How does the girl who is in school because of a sports scholarship work around this? How does the woman who is battling back and forth daily between looking a certain way on her wedding day and her health figure out the path ahead?
The truth about a 1-size-fits-all program for recovery is that it’s merely a suggested framework. You need to figure out the nuances of your life and make sure that your recovery protocol is suited to it.
You also need to be committed to it. One of the challenges with this is that we’re often very fair-weather when it comes to our own programming or commitments. If I asked you what you’re more likely to commit to, a program written for you by a trusted source or a program written by you, I guarantee you’re going to say a program written for you.
When taking your individual situation into account, you solidify your recovery not just physically by getting your period back, but long term. You’ve learned what works for you and your life and your body. You’ve understood what areas of your life are the ones that have been holding your period back! You’ve LEARNED and grown.
Following a diet or exercise program that didn’t take the full context of your life, needs or mental state into account is actually what got you in this mess in the first place…
Look, having a period is essentially a responsibility. It’s a responsibility that we as women are born with. It’s like someone forced a puppy upon us that we have to keep alive and well for the next few decades. If you have a pet, you know that it’s not a one-size-fits-all thing. Your pet has different mannerisms, some can be with other dogs and some can’t. Some are aggressive towards strangers and some will die of excitement to see them. Some have special dietary needs or medication. Some need to be groomed in special ways and some will never need a groomer in their life. You as a human have the differences too, so you need to understand yours and adjust accordingly.
Here are some suggestions for taking your individual needs into consideration for recovery:
What are your nutritional requirements?
1. Are you still active? I see this ALL the time, active women holding on to a 2500 cal recommendation based off studies and meta analysis and not off themselves. You probably need more food.
2. Are you tall?
3. Do you have a pre-existing condition that your body is also dealing with? If you do, consider your body's energy needs for that?
4. Do you have digestive challenges?
5. Are you eating sufficient of the three macronutrients? I cannot tell you how important it is that you’re assessing your dietary habits. This is MASSIVE. You can get sufficient calories until the cows come home but if you eat the same thing every day 7 days a week and it’s not nutritionally dense or varied, you’re potentially going to be held back from recovery or have a cycle that’s suboptimal.
What are your exercise needs?
This is essentially all about your background, mental state and ultimately, weighing up your priorities as an athlete if you are one.
Exercise is actually important and I want to remind you that the definition of exercise actually doesn’t include weight loss.
Exercise: “activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness.”
So when we write a protocol, exercise might mean skill work, mobility, walking, nourishing the joints, yoga all the way through to a light run or even weight training, specifically for my ladies who are at risk of osteoporosis or have some kind of risk that outweighs the benefits of altogether stopping.
Hear more from Dani
Dani recently did an interview with MysticMag all about hypothalamic amenorrhea recovery, answering some of your most common questions. Check it out!
