You never thought you had disordered eating—until your period disappeared.

You eat well, stay active, and take care of your body. So why are you struggling to get pregnant?

The truth is, many women are unknowingly dealing with signs of disordered eating that lead to low hormone infertility. Low hormones disrupt ovulation, metabolism, and your ability to get pregnant. 

These signs are often dismissed by doctors—especially if you’re not underweight or don’t “look” like you have an eating disorder.

In this episode of the Period Recovery and Fertility Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani, internal medicine physician and author of Sick Enough, to talk about the medical consequences of disordered eating. We also discuss why you don’t need a diagnosis to discover what your body might be trying to tell you.

How Your Body Reacts to Low Energy Availability

Even if you’re not consciously restricting food, your body can still enter a state of low energy availability (LEA). This happens in active women, especially if you’re not aware of how to eat enough to support your activity level. Your body will quietly downregulate certain body functions—including reproduction—to keep you alive when it senses calories aren’t adequate. 

This state often contributes to low hormone infertility, where estrogen and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels drop too low to support a healthy menstrual cycle

Signs You’re in a Low-Energy State

These are some of the most common signs of disordered eating that can impact your fertility:

• Feeling cold all the time – Your metabolism slows to conserve energy. One way it does that? By lowering your basal body temperature. 
• Digestive discomfort – Bloating, constipation, and feeling overly full after normal meals. Your body will conserve energy by slowing down digestion, downregulating the production of digestive enzymes. This contributes to a whole sleuth of gut issues. 
• Chronic fatigue – While initially food restriction can actually give you a false sense of energy due to elevated stress hormones, it will eventually leave you feeling drained. Physical signs can include poor recovery from exercise.
• Food fixation – Constant thoughts about food, guilt after eating, or anxiety around meals.
• Missing or irregular periods – One of the biggest fertility red flags that your body isn’t feeling safe enough to ovulate.

Why Disordered Eating Often Goes Undetected

Many women with these symptoms are praised for their “healthy” lifestyles—by doctors, friends, and even fertility clinics. But just because your BMI is normal or you haven’t been formally diagnosed doesn’t mean your body isn’t in distress. In fact, signs of disordered eating are often present in high-functioning, high-achieving women who are seen as the picture of health.

Dr. G emphasizes that praise from authority figures can be deeply gaslighting, delaying proper diagnosis and treatment. If your lifestyle is built on fear of gaining weight, rigid routines, or avoiding certain foods, it’s worth taking a closer look.

Are Your “Healthy Habits” Actually Hurting Your Fertility?

One way to distinguish between healthy and disordered behavior is by asking: are your decisions driven by fear or flexibility?

• If your routine gets disrupted—does that ruin your day?
• Are you skipping social events or meals to control your food or workout schedule?
• Do you panic when plans change or certain foods aren’t available?

Rigid thinking, anxiety about eating, or feeling out of control without structure are all signs of disordered eating, even if you’re functioning on the outside. And unfortunately, those same patterns can prevent your body from doing the very thing you want most—ovulate and sustain a pregnancy.

What Is Low Hormone Infertility?

Low hormone infertility refers to a state where key reproductive hormones are low from under fueling, overtraining, or chronic stress. This might present in bloodwork with estrogen, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) being on the lower side. Even if you’re not underweight, your body can interpret certain behaviors as a signal that it’s not safe to reproduce.

Lab ranges can be broad, so it’s important to understand the difference between normal verses optimal hormones for fertility.

This hormonal shutdown is especially common in women with hypothalamic amenorrhea or undiagnosed disordered eating. Without enough energy coming in, the brain essentially puts fertility “on pause,” which is why many high-functioning, health-conscious women find themselves stuck—despite doing everything they think they’re supposed to.

Why You Shouldn’t Wait for a Diagnosis

The medical system often fails women in this gray area. Most doctors receive no formal training in the medical complications of eating disorders or hypothalamic amenorrhea. And because weight loss and control are often praised, many cases of subclinical disordered eating are brushed off.

But as Dr. G says: if you’re not getting your period, obsessing over food, or terrified of changing your routine—you are sick enough. You don’t need to wait until you’re hospitalized to seek help.

I’ll also add, struggling with a missing period doesn’t automatically mean you have an eating disorder or are struggling with disordered eating. Most of the women we work with inside the Food Freedom Fertility Society don’t identify with having an eating disorder. But they recognize that despite how healthy they might feel, their body is telling a different story.

We can help you tease out the difference between healthy habits and disordered patterns that might be hurting your hormones and your fertility. 

🤰 If You’re Trying to Get Pregnant, Listen to the Subtle Signs

The good news? Your body is incredibly resilient. With the right support, nourishment, and mindset shifts, most of the complications related to disordered eating and infertility can be reversed.

If you’ve been trying to get pregnant and something just feels “off”—don’t ignore the red flags. 

Whether it’s a missing period, low energy, or persistent symptoms of low hormone infertility, these are all important clues your body wants you to pay attention to. 

Want to know what’s keeping you stuck?

Take our quiz and get personalized insight into your fertility roadblocks:

👉 The Fit Girl Fertility Fix: Uncover what’s blocking your fertility