Does anyone worry about going too low?

odonogc

I am struggling with this, every time I hit a new "low", I get all mental about it, worry, and then seem to ultimately decide that that is the new goal. I came on this site wanting to get to 140, then when I hit 137 I thought that was great and wanted to stay there, then that happened at 133, and today I was 131. For reference I'm 5 foot 8.

I think I look good, and not super small, but it gets hard to really SEE yourself. Yes, a few people have said I'm "too thin", but I've also heard a lot of "you look amazing!"

And once you get in this dieting mindset, it gets so tough to get out of it!

Thanks for reading.

FluffyDogsRule

i was like this for a little while. someone told me that my body would let me know when i was done losing...and it did. i kept thinking "geez, if i keep losing i'm gonna disappear!!!", but i didn't feel like i was "done" losing. so i just let it happen. then, all of a sudden, i stopped losing and got hungrier. so i picked that current weight as my maintenance weight. i'm maintaining at 114, which is 5 pounds less than my initial goal weight was. i swear my body picked 114. just roll with it. and enjoy the low numbers.

for reference, i've been maintaining for 6 weeks now...i'm a newbie ...and i'm 5'5.

findingmyhappyplace

I did that process. I did it to the extent that I got diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and was required to regain 15lbs. Trust me, better to stop at a BMI around 20, maintain for a while, and if your weight slips down then take a couple of weeks of indulgence to bring it back up. Being underweight sucks. I honestly just thought 'oh I dropped another 1lb, well I may as well see if I can hit 110', then skipped past 110 to 105...then 95...and lower...all just by going '1 more lb'.

All I'm saying is BE CAREFUL. I didn't ever intend to get seriously underweight and give myself permenent health issues but I got into that mindset that you describe, and it can be very addictive and enticing.

For Caucasian women over age 21, a healthy BMI is 20-25. The 18.5–20 bracket is ONLY healthy for under 21s or other ethnicities (such as South East Asians, who also have a lower overweight BMI cut off of 23). The reason we are told 18.5-25 is because that is the WHO guidelines - and of course they have to give a figure that covers everyone.

Tkzk

I am also nervous about this. I'm 5'5, a thin frame, and I was 125 about a month ago, and now I'm at 118. I was 120 for most of my young adult life, so being 118 feels kind of weird. At the same time, I have more energy and feel stronger than I have in I don't know how many years.

I just switched to "maintenance" caloric intake today, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work, because I'm just not that hungry. I can't imagine being anorexic, because I never have been, but obviously if I don't stop losing the weight I will become so! I think tomorrow i will just try to eat a little more with each meal. I certainly don't want to just start eating crappy empty calorie stuff, too.

stetienne

Yeah, it feels like now that I've reached my target weight, I am worried about that...also worried about gaining it back. Guess I should enjoy this, but I'm really sort of freaked out about it.

odonogc

I did that process. I did it to the extent that I got diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and was required to regain 15lbs. Trust me, better to stop at a BMI around 20, maintain for a while, and if your weight slips down then take a couple of weeks of indulgence to bring it back up. Being underweight sucks. I honestly just thought 'oh I dropped another 1lb, well I may as well see if I can hit 110', then skipped past 110 to 105...then 95...and lower...all just by going '1 more lb'.

All I'm saying is BE CAREFUL. I didn't ever intend to get seriously underweight and give myself permenent health issues but I got into that mindset that you describe, and it can be very addictive and enticing.

For Caucasian women over age 21, a healthy BMI is 20-25. The 18.5–20 bracket is ONLY healthy for under 21s or other ethnicities (such as South East Asians, who also have a lower overweight BMI cut off of 23). The reason we are told 18.5-25 is because that is the WHO guidelines - and of course they have to give a figure that covers everyone.

Thanks so much to everyone, for understanding, it truly means a lot to me.

That is so interesting about the BMI guidelines being assoc. with age and ethnicity. I'm 38 years old, and not Asian, so that motivates me even more to make sure that I stay where I am, at a BMI of 20.5.

blonde71

This is something I struggle with constantly. I had gotten down to 113 lbs. at one point from running about 16 miles weekly. At 5' 6, that's too low. Was having dizzy spells and constant headaches. I spent about four months gaining back 11 lbs. yet recently I discovered that I'm back down to 122 from 124. I'd lost some additional body fat and gained a small amount of muscle but it does rattle me a little. It's such a slippery slope - the delicate balance between maintenance and wanting to constantly be in a calorie deficit.

CoderGal

I've heard a lot of you're to thin my whole life. Some of that time I was 30 lbs heavier. I worry about this to. I'm 120 lbs, and I'm maintaining. But I've stepped on the scale a couple times and been 118 and was pretty happy inside, wondering how low I could get. I'm 5'7 btw. I just make sure I'm eating over 1500 calories a day (that being the low I'm not feeling well and haven't moved much days, my BMR is ~1300) and tell myself if I can eat well over this and still loose, I won't worry about it. I've been doing this for a while, and I hover up and down 120, so this seems to be where I naturally sit.

I still felt fat at 120, I couldn't fit into some of the clothes I use to fit into. I started being more active and finding my clothes look a lot better now and I'm a lot happier with it.

fittiephd

I am 5'8" and aiming for 128, but I'm at 130 right now. I don't think 131 is too low for 5'8". I'm sure you're fine