When does it stop being 'watching what you eat' and become a

STR0NGisSEXY

I'm about your height, and I'm aiming for around 110 pounds... If you are still unhappy with the way your body looks, instead of focusing on "dieting" maybe eat normally and healthily, but make sure you are using weights to train. That will tone your body up, make you happy, and rev up your metabolism. If you don't eat enough calories or if you drop below a certain weight your body wil not be able to function properly.

That being said, I also spend hours researching things, and watch the calories that go into my mouth. Just be careful. It is a fine line.

rml_16

Thanks for the KG conversions. :-) I was being lazy and not feeling like googling for it.

I'm 5'3" and 103 pounds is the drop-dead least I can weigh and still be a healthy BMI. I weighed that in high school when I was pregnant and had such horrible morning sickness that my net calorie intake was probably less than 0. When I weighed 110-120 in high school, I was a size 3 (about 15-20 years ago).

I was TINY.

I know body types and muscle tone make a difference, but that's still very small for any height on an adult. I think 28 pounds lost in three months is a lot for someone already in the healthy weight range. You shouldn't lose more than 2 a week to avoid losing muscle along with the fat. Muscle (as has been said) is what makes you look good, not being super skinny.

As for the celebrities, well, I think the ones who get too skinny look absolutely horrible. I've never praised anyone for being super skinny or unhealthy.

I want to be thin, but I also want to maintain a woman's body (that means curves and not bones to me).

think48

I think the biggest red flag for you is if you are hiding anything from anyone. Only you know the "truth" of who you are and what you do behind closed doors. If you are hiding things from your real life friends (posting here does not count, as it is anonymous) then you are already over that line.

I say this is in concern, not criticism, as one of my best friends was placed into a hospital for TWO WHOLE YEARS because of anorexia. She missed her chance to have children 3 times because of it, she missed out on tons in her life. Life went on past her while she was locked in a psychiatric hospital dealing with this. She's better now, thank goodness, but it was at least a $60,000 (American dollar) problem per year....not counting all of the out-of-hospital counseling she's had to go through. She ended up losing a lot of friendships because the relationships she developed were based on lies (of not teling anyone how she truly felt or what she did behind closed doors).

Anyways, we don't know you, all we know is what you have posted. The fact that you sound concerned about it yourself does concern me, but at the same time, you are questioning it, not denying it. I hope that you are doing this the healthy way; only you can control your self image.

ActionJackson

I don't care how much weigh always watch what you eat.

fitnesspirateninja

I'm just going to add my vote for talking to a doctor and nutritionist. I'm not a professional, and even if I was I wouldn't be able to tell you through the internet if you have a problem or not. If you talk to your doctor and a nutritionist, and they say you're healthy and okay your weight loss plan, then it will put both your own mind, and your friend's, at ease. If they're not okay with your plan, they can help you come up with a new one. Either way, if your friend says something to you about it, you can say, "I'm sticking to my doctor-approved plan."

One thing I would mention is that it is possible to change who you are on the inside. I thought it was a little concerning that you feel as if being skinny will make up for something you're unhappy about emotionally. Being skinny won't take away whatever hurt you have inside. I think that while you're working on getting your body healthy, you should work on getting your internal stuff healthy, too.

kanonxbou47

I think you should probably talk to a doctor about it.
Because "underweight" isn't about looking bad, it's about being unhealthy and undernourished, with not enough energy to do what you need to do.
Your friend is probably saying this for a reason.

Good luck with everything, hun!

MisdemeanorM

so for the heck of it i tried to go to one (actually a couple) of those virtual weight loss model sites just to type in 103 lbs and 5'5" (which would be a 17.1 BMI) just to get an idea of the general body size / shape of a generic person that size (granted, we have no idea your build) and none of them would allow it as they all have limitations which do not allow people to put in unhealthy BMIs so that girls won't try to create unhealthy body images for themselves. The lowest weight it would allow is 111 or 50KG. Just an FYI.

nsueflorence

First and foremost, and other people will back me up on this, people are JEALOUS. Who knows if that's what's up with your friend, but they are, and success in any way will change how people treat you.

You're not obsessed. Obsession means placing an unhealthy amount of importance on things that aren't, and you're not doing that. You're changing how you live. Food is a huge part of how we live our lives, and changing how we use food changes many facets of our lives, many in ways we never foresee at the beginning.

I've also spent hours upon hours researching nutrition, as well as training methods. Just like you said, it's a hobby, and a hobby that can make our lives SO much better!

haters gon' hate.

Great Post!

Unknown

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rml_16

Your mother needs to find a new doctor. On 1,200 calories a day (or whatever MFP recommends), she should see a loss her first week.

Mookz0r

There are a lot of things that I don't like about myself that I can't change. This I can change. This is I can control. I can't change who I am on the inside, but I can certainly change who I am on the outside.

I think this is actually the big telling point that says that you've crossed over to obsession.

You're no longer talking about being healthy, you're talking about the hope of changing who you are through weight loss, about gaining control. You're also expressing the fact you feel that "who you are on the inside" is somehow lost, can't be changed, isn't likeable, but the outside, the superficial - the bit that actually doesn't matter as much - can be... and so you want to shape it into something that's socially acceptable, but not actually beneficial to you.

Think about it.

LotusF1ower

Hey everyone, there's something that has been bothering me and I wanted to get some opinions...

When does watching what you eat become an obsession? Is there anyway to tell when you have crossed the line from being careful into being obsessed? I ask because I've been having a lot of arguments with a person in my life who thinks that I am too obsessed with counting calories and, for lack of a better word, dieting. I've only recently joined myfitnesspal, but prior to joining I lost 13kgs in about 3 months. Because I lost the weight so quickly there has been a fairly noticable change in how I look and the clothes I wear (I literally bought a whole new wardrobe because nothing I owned fit). This person is forever telling me that I should gain some weight, or at the very least stop trying to lose more. I am towards the bottom end of my healthy weight range, but I want to drop another ten kilos. Technically this would put me in the 'underweight' category, but my frame is quite small so I won't look too thin. This person is telling me that I am unhealthily obsessed and that I need to stop thinking about numbers. Admittedly I am forever thinking about numbers and calories, and today I worked out that I spend an average of two - three hours a day looking up nutritional information and researching diets, bmi's, calories... I love doing it, it's like a hobby for me. Does anyone else do stuff like that? Or am I just a weirdo obsessed with counting calories?

Okies.

There is a very fine line and it is one that many people cross and do not realise until they are woken up with something like a sledgehammer to their mental state that brings them back into reality.

To be underweight can be as unhealthy as being overweight, it is strongly advised that you think back to the weight you wanted to achieve at the very beginning. Are you there yet or have you passed it? If so, why are you suddenly wanting to take thing further?

Regarding all this weightloss business, perhaps you could study for a home course in nutrition or something, get a qualification and help others. You see, by studying something you thoroughly enjoy and projecting it all outwards for the benefit of others, you will no longer be focussing on yourself all the time and then you will, perhaps, finally find a balance. If you really do love researching and learning about all this, you would probably soak up all the knowledge to do with nutrition really quickly - who knows where it could end!!

Obsession is a very dangerous thing, don't let it control you, because given half a chance it will take hold before you even know what is happening.

Look after yourself, you only have that one body and it can do wonders if it is healthy xxx

MisdemeanorM

About the doctor though... Recently (like, 2 or so weeks ago), my mum went to the doctor and spoke to him about losing weight. She asked him how many calories she should be eating every day... And he told her to eat 600. Seriously. He said that people get de-motivated when they don’t start losing straight away and so she should start on 600 and slowly build up to about 800 – 1000. Now, MFP says that the lowest you can eat is 1200 a day, and yet a medical professional is recommending that my mum eats half of that. What do you all make of that? For informational purposes... My mum has quite a high bmi and it is in the ‘overweight’ category. I don’t want to give her weights and measures away because I don’t think she’d appreciate that, lol.

Yes and no. One one hand, how long is "slowly work up to 1200." Eating 600 for a week is not going to screw up her metabolism, in fact it would probably be a good shock, but doing it for a month could be worse than doing it at all.

Also, if your mom has a rather unhealthy BMI and is used to eating say 3000 or even more cals a day, well, going to 1200 is already a big shock to her body and she will lose weight!

I'd say I did not agree with this doctor's advise because of the REASON he gave. Do it to see fast results so you will stick with it. She needs to do it because she wants to and sees healthy, albeit slower, results that last!

I dont know what sort of DR she saw. Sometimes GPs or those not specializing in weight and health (and heck, even some who do!) go off old or outdated or just popular methods and not necessarily what is best long term. Sad isn't it?

Let me rephrase my suggestion - find a reputable and recommended doctor specializing in health and weight loss and talk to them. You could also talk to an eating disorder Dr. Not to diagnose yourself or say you have one, but they know the ins and outs, they can help you find a healthy medium or they can tell you you are spot on for your body type and your goal.

YeaILift

Personally, I think you should just build some muscle while trying to lower your body fat. You'll maintain your "healthy" weight limit but your body composition will be completely different.