242. Is Your Cycle Trying to Tell You Something? Hypothalamic Amenorrhea and the Impact of Disrupted Periods with Dr. Nicola Sykes

"What we call healthy on the outside does not always reflect what is happening on the inside."

A missing menstrual cycle is often one of the body’s earliest warning signs that something is off beneath the surface. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Nicola Sykes, a leading expert on hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA), to talk about what it really means when your period goes missing, why HA can affect bodies of any size, and how normalized “healthy” behaviors and weight stigma often delay real support. This conversation goes beyond fertility to explore how to listen to your body, understand the signals it’s sending, and support your health in a sustainable way.

✅ What You’ll Learn:

1. Why habits like carb-cutting, intermittent fasting, and intense exercise can disrupt your menstrual cycle
2. How under-fueling, stress, and exercise multiply to trigger hypothalamic amenorrhea
3. Why anyone, regardless of body size, can experience HA, and what makes weight-based assumptions so harmful
4. What a disrupted cycle looks like and why tracking ovulation matters
5. How to start reconnecting with your body, tune into real hunger and fullness cues, and ditch shame in favor of curiosity
6. Actionable first steps for period recovery, including why eating breakfast is a big deal!

🔗 Connect with Dr. Nicola:

1. Instagram: @noperiodnowwhat
2. Website
3. Period recovery support group
4. Blog post mentioned: Diagnosing Hypothalamic Amenorrhea
5. The Missed Menstrual Periods Study at Mayo Clinic Florida

✨ Struggling to know when to eat or when to stop isn’t a failure… it could be a byproduct of following diet rules instead of your body’s cues. The free Hunger & Fullness Scale Guide helps you ditch the noise and tune back into the cues your body is sending to build trust with your body and food. Get it at DietCultureRebel.com/hungerfullnessscale.

Come back next week for another episode and connect with me over on Instagram at @diet.culture.rebel. 💕

Struggling with food, but not sure where to start?

You don’t have to feel 100% ready to get support. If you're tired of obsessing over food or feeling stuck in the diet cycle, my team of Registered Dietitians is here to help. We offer one-on-one nutrition counseling—and we accept insurance! Spots are limited, so head to https://dietculturerebel.com/insurance to see if we’re covered in your state and learn how to get started.