Fri Aug 08 / Ashwini Achutharaman, RD Intern & Dr. Abrar Al-Shaer, PhD, RD
How to Bring Back Your Period Naturally
Learn how to restore your menstrual cycle naturally through balanced nutrition, better sleep, and stress recovery. A holistic guide to hormone health and period recovery.
Losing your period does not have to be a forever problem. To get your period back, you first need to understand what is causing you to not have one. The umbrella term for not getting your period is amenorrhea. Amenorrhea is divided into two subcategories, which are treated differently. To learn more about the difference between these & which one you fall into, read our article Why Have I Not Gotten My Period?
If you have determined that you have secondary amenorrhea, you then need to know what is causing it. Some causes can be related to other medical issues, and it’s very important that you know how to identify the cause. We created a flowchart explaining what lab values you should test under the guidance of your medical provider. If you’ve ruled out the underlying medical issues mentioned in the two blogs we linked, there is a good chance your amenorrhea is stress-related. However, different stressors can manifest in varying aspects of your lifestyle. To learn more about how to identify what type of stress is impacting your amenorrhea, read our blog post here.
In this blog, we’re diving into what might be causing your period to go MIA and, more importantly, how you can get it back. Whether it’s stress, nutrition, over-exercising, poor sleep, or birth control throwing things off, we’ll break it all down. Think of this as your go-to guide for understanding what’s happening with your body and taking simple, empowering steps to support your cycle’s comeback.
What is RMR?
First, to get your period back, you need to supply your body with more than enough energy so that it can feel replenished even after performing its normal functions. Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the energy used by the major organs in your body to just barely keep them functioning. Most of the energy is used by the liver, brain, and kidneys. RMR does not factor in any movement, whether it be a workout or walking to get a glass of water or the energy used to digest a meal. Although RMR can vary by person, the average 130lb female has a RMR of 1510 calories (1). Realistically, you will have some amount of movement in your day. The following diagram graphically represents how healthcare professionals calculate the total amount of energy your body needs in a day. They add RMR + energy for digestion + energy for daily tasks + energy for exercise.
Your body uses most of its energy just to function at rest. This visual highlights how important nutrition and rest are in supporting hormonal balance and organ health—even when you’re not moving.
Helping your body recover from functional hypothalamic amenorrhea means making sure that you supply it with more than this daily energy requirement. Only then can it start repairing itself from the inside and eventually bring back your period. Luckily, there are a few easy lifestyle changes that can help you get regular periods naturally.
Birth Control Pills for Amenorrhea
Before we get into natural remedies, let’s address a common question: Should I use birth control to treat amenorrhea?
Many medical providers will prescribe patients birth control in the form of combined oral contraceptive pills. These pills create a hormonal cycle in your body that causes you to bleed every 28 days. However, using birth control is only a band-aid solution. It does not address the root cause of why you have amenorrhea in the first place. Rather, it just temporarily pushes the problem to the side.
Taking birth control has various side effects. Nutritionally, many vitamin levels can be lowered when taking birth control, including many of the B vitamins, vitamin E, and vitamin D—all essential for hormone balance and fertility. For example, folate deficiency can cause neural tube defects in a fetus (2).
Birth control can also affect mental health. Studies show that adolescents who took the pill had higher rates of depression and were more vulnerable to it later in adulthood. The pill also affects brain function and memory, potentially due to changes in brain shape or harm to the gut microbiome (3).
If you choose to take the pill, our goal is to ensure you are making an informed decision that relates to both your present and future. However, we encourage you to also consider ways to naturally regulate your period without birth control.
What to Eat to Get Your Period Back
How can you increase how much energy your body has? By eating more!
It sounds simple, and it can be if you follow a few basic ideas. The caloric targets we are providing are not something that you need to track every day for the rest of your life but rather serve as a guideline so you can understand what your body needs. Your goal is to train your body to eat when you feel hungry.
If you have a history of dieting or restrictive eating, your hunger cues may not be accurate. It may feel uncomfortable at first, especially if you are not used to eating that much food in a day—but trust the process. If you increase your energy intake by 20%-40%, you are more likely to regain your period (4).
To get a sense of what that looks like, we included a sample 7-day meal plan totaling 2250–2500 calories per day, with 30% from healthy fats. Each day includes 3 meals and 3 snacks.
Eating at regular intervals helps stabilize your blood sugar and cortisol levels, preventing energy crashes. To learn more about cortisol and how it affects your period, check out our post Does Stress Affect Your Period?
Try to incorporate a variety of foods in your meals, and avoid labeling foods as “good” or “bad.” Viewing food neutrally helps you make objective choices and prevents cravings triggered by restriction.
Every day is a new opportunity to nourish your body. The most important thing: if you’re hungry, eat. That’s your body’s way of saying it’s healing.
Addressing certain nutritional deficiencies can also help your body feel more ready for a period. Below are a few key nutrients, along with their recommended lab values (4):
- Magnesium: Ideal 2.0–2.6 mg/dL
- Iron (ferritin): Ideal 50–100 ng/mL
- Zinc: Ideal ≥80 μg/dL
- Vitamin D: Ideal 50–80 ng/mL
Balancing these nutrients helps restore regular cycles. We recommend high-quality supplements from Fullscript, a trusted platform that ensures quality and transparency. You can also find alternatives on iHerb if you’re outside the U.S.
How to Get Your Period Back After Over-Exercising
If energy availability is a balance between input and output, another way to help your body is by reducing how much energy you burn. Strenuous workouts that raise your heart rate elevate cortisol, your stress hormone.
Try swapping high-intensity workouts with gentle movement like walking or yoga. A good rule of thumb: if you can comfortably talk while exercising, you’re in the right range.
You can also find alternative ways to meet the needs exercise once fulfilled—whether that’s energy, stress relief, or social connection. Breathwork, meditation, or short nature walks can offer similar benefits.
Sleep to Get Your Period Back
Sleep is another critical factor for hormone health. When you sleep, your body produces melatonin, which works to repair cells and clean up oxidative damage in the ovaries. Melatonin and cortisol have opposite rhythms—cortisol peaks in the morning, and melatonin rises at night.
By prioritizing sleep, you can lower cortisol and support hormone restoration. The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7–9 hours of quality sleep per night.
I Got My Period Back—What Now?
After what feels like a huge mountain, you finally made it! But don’t rush into intense exercise yet. Your body needs three consistent months of repair mode to regulate hormone signals (5).
You may notice your second cycle isn’t perfectly 30 days—this is normal as your body recalibrates. Once cycles become regular, you can slowly reintroduce movement while listening to your body.
Getting your period back is more than just a milestone—it’s a journey to a stronger, more balanced you. If you need personalized support, our team is here to help you build a holistic and nourishing lifestyle.
References
- Wang, Z., et al. (2011). Evaluation of specific metabolic rates of major organs and tissues: comparison between men and women. American Journal of Human Biology, 23(3), 333–338.
- Palmery, M., et al. (2013). Oral contraceptives and changes in nutritional requirements. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci, 17(13), 1804–1813.
- Kheloui, S., et al. (2023). Combined oral contraceptives and mental health: Are adolescence and the gut-brain axis the missing links? Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 68.
- Dobranowska, K., et al. (2024). Dietary and Lifestyle Management of Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea: A Comprehensive Review. Nutrients, 16, 2967.
- Rinaldi, N. J., et al. (2019). No Period, Now What?: A Guide to Regaining Your Cycles and Improving Your Fertility. Antica Press.