How to tell if you're "too skinny"?

FitSuga

First off, don't go off what people say too much. I have people that have asked if I am ill and think I'm "Skinny" but they come from people that are a good deal heavier than I am as well. I'm definitely not ill or even skinny. Also, when you have lost weight a lot of people just are not used to seeing you differently so they think, "Too skinny!" because it's different for them.

Beyond that, to determine if you are too skinny or underweight check with your doctor, check your body % level, see where you are on the BMI etc. If you have multiple sources saying you're too thin, chances are, you are. If multiple sources have you in a healthy range then again chances are you are. I wouldn't go by bones at all. Some people depending on how they are built can have more prominent collar bones, ribs, hips etc. Make sure you are eating enough and well, have energy to workout/work/errands. Make sure you are getting your period still too.

cuterbee

Don't ask us, ask your doctor if you're worried.

However, if your menses have stopped (and you're not old enough for menopause) or your hair is falling out, then yes, you may very well be too thin.

Some people are naturally very thin. Heck, some of my CF patients are thinner than you are, despite eating high-fat, high calorie diets.

_Cheyanne_

If your doctor says you're healthy, there's no reason to change unless you deem that necessary

2013sk

You do look very slim in your picture. Def go by how you feel, your diet, body fat and bmi

casy84

I also have a visible xylophone, but when it comes to my thighs I'm not skinny at all.

bunbunzee44

weight, bmi, body fat, mirror.

bluebear_74

You can be too thin and have muscle. Example:



It looks like all she has is skin over muscle and 0 body fat and it's not attractive.

.5 of being in a healthy weight range still means you're underweight, especially if you have more muscle since it's denser than fat.

CrazyTrackLady

Depends on the person telling you.

I'm considered chubby here in Korea :drinker:

edit: don't let people bully you into thinking you are too skinny, many people do this to make themselves feel better about their size/weight

If you are referring to me, let me make myself CLEAR that I am NOT bullying her. NOR am I "jealous" of anyone because they are "too skinny".She asked for our opinion.

Why do people always go to the "You're just JEALOUS!" line? No, NOT jealous. Concerned.

CrazyTrackLady

If that's your picture, I'd say you're too skinny too. Eat more protein.

agree

I'd say you could use a good bulk. People only look too thin if they don't have enough muscle. It's not even about body fat percentage. Think about it, who has the lowest body fat percentages? Body builders. Look at this picture.

This is Andreas Münzer. He was about 2% body fat. Would you say he's too thin? Of course not. The dude was massive, he just had no fat and a butt load of muscle. Go on a bulk, get some gains, cut and lose the fat you'll inevitably gain on your bulk. Report back in about nine months (assuming six month bulk and three month cut).

Personally, this guy looks absolutely unattractive to me. Give me the body of a swimmer, diver or martial artist any day. I think a woman looks best with some curves to her.

I didn't post this picture to say whether or not he's attractive. I was simply using this as an example of being at an extremely low body fat percentage without looking "too thin." Now as a comparison, check out this Auschwitz mode bro that's probably at a higher body fat percentage than Münzer was.


Basically what I'm saying is this:

Very little fat + whole lot of muscle = strong and lean
Lower/low-ish amount of fat + very little muscle = DYEL mode/Auschwitz mode/"too thin"

Oh, okay -- gotcha. And that other guy is horrifying.

Cr01502

If that's your picture, I'd say you're too skinny too. Eat more protein.

And you're basing this off of a profile picture that shows nothing but a bicep and a face shot . . .

anaboneana

I flipped through your food diary and I'm shocked. I know I was "too skinny" at one point.. But I was also eating only 500cal/day or less and forced my way down to 99lbs. You seem to eat just fine. Perhaps a little lower than you should be - I'd up your calories a smidge to maintain your weight. I'd only be worried if your skinniness was the cause of severe restriction, which it's not.

But perhaps you should see a doctor or nutritionist? They would be better at judging if you're truly healthy.

twelfty

i'm the same, i've been called skinny all my life lol, i have people who are overweight tell me that i'm too skinny etc etc, and in a way... i cracked to this opinion, i don't have severe body image issues, always been comfortable naked in bed etc but i felt it time to increase my weight a bit, the up shot of it is if you do want to put weight on you'll very likely be doing what i'm doing and have to eat a shed load of calories to do so, (currently eating between 3500 - 4000 a day and gaining very slowly)

it's definately good be naturally skinny, but from my own and my ex partner's experience theres an upper and lower normal limit to being naturally skinny, for example

last year i dropped to 12 stone (168lbs) a few times just under, at this point i was eating about 2800 calories a day but could easily skip a meal here and there some times go 3/4 of a day without eating at 6'4 this was definately the lower end of my natural weight

currently eating 3 meals a day and a protein shake, as i said at about 3500 - 4000 calories a day, and i'm now at 13.5 stone (190lbs) which is much better, i feel more comfortable with my body image than before, i keep colour in my face, and i have some muscle and a bit of healthy body fat (about 15% at the moment)

my ex partner is 5' and last year dropped to 6 stone, and she looked too thin same as me, she wasn't eating that badly but just not enough, she watched her calories more closely and is now at the 7 stone mark and looks great for it, she has extra junk in her trunk, and a healthy covering of fat at a guess i'd say around the 18% mark

my advice for you, if you do have ribs that poke out, they'll likely do it regardless of your weight but that's not to say being at your lower end of healthy weight won't make them look worse

try not to skip meals, find foods that you really enjoy: buy and eat more of them, embrace the fact you're naturally skinny and can eat a bit more junk than most, as long as you don't go to the extreme of unhealthy foods, but a pizza once a week and maybe a few doughnuts and things like that are yours to eat and enjoy with the added benefit of giving you a bit more body fat to cover your bones better, do some weights if you want a bit more thickness on your arms, squats for a bit more of a rear end, and chest flies to cover your ribs a bit more

ultimately being naturally skinny is great and is something to be pleased with but it just means you need to keep on top of eating the other way round, eat till you're full, think of food at meal times, try not to drink 20 - 30 mins before a meal so you can feel the full hunger, and i find the quicker i eat the more i can eat, all these will help you if you feel you need them

tattycakes

I definitely don't think going by what people say is good since people would tell me I was too skinny while still overweight. But bmi can be a good indicator. If you are underweight by bmi, I think it would be a good idea to get your body fat % checked to see if it is in a healthy range. Interested to see what others say....

Be aware of this. Whether it's deliberate or mistaken, people can act quite strangely about your weight loss. Some say that it's jealousy or sabotage, sometimes it's just a shock to them to see you so much smaller than you were before, even if you're still healthy.

Some of my friends and family are telling me not to get "too skinny", when I'm still an overweight BMI and have rolls of flab that I can literally grab and shake! It's sweet of them but not very helpful for me.

I think you should eat healthily, have a good mix of protein, veg and carbs, with the occasional sweet treat, and work on building some muscle if you want to look more rounded, as it will give you more mass but with definition, which will look great! Good luck!

twelfty

looking at that actually makes me feel ill lol... you can quite clearly see the dip in his chest and around his collar bones just goes to nothing but skin and bone

Alatariel75

You're very leetle, from your pic, but you have lovely definition in your arms. If you are healthy, eating well, and your doc says all your levels are where they need to be and you can look in the mirror and go "yeah, baby", I'd say you're fine.

queenbear5

For what it's worth, I think you look fantastic. The term "too skinny" is annoying as hell and very subjective. I've been hearing it a lot lately. Mostly from family members. I'm a size 4 and am at 25% body fat. Clearly I'm quite far from "too skinny." I don't think you should worry about it. You look perfect to me.

faeriewings1

You are beautiful just the way you are. Dont let others define you. Love yourself and look after yourself.

Lupercalia

Honestly, talk to your doctor. Nobody can really tell from one photo of what we presume to be your face and bicep. Your doctor can look at your medical history which will include some sort of history of your weight, blood pressure, etc. and can make a more informed assessment as to your health with that sort of info.

ladymiseryali

looking at that actually makes me feel ill lol... you can quite clearly see the dip in his chest and around his collar bones just goes to nothing but skin and bone

He looks like he's made of beef jerky! I want to bite off a piece of him, but not in a sexual way!

watfordjc

If I were towards to the low end of a normal BMI (or underweight) - i.e. coming from the opposite direction - I would use the following to determine where my goals should be:

1) Body fat percentage to determine lean mass pounds, then converted to total body weight for an "average" body fat level. I'd then use BMI and a bit of further number crunching to work out (a) if I'm less muscular than average, and if so, (b) how many pounds of lean mass I need to gain to have "average" muscle mass.

2) Bone mineral density to determine bone strength and to see if I can just concentrate on muscle mass (i.e. if bone density is average, most of my lean mass gains can be just from muscle mass gains).

3) WHR, SWR/CWR/BWHR, etc. to track progress with an aim of getting towards the golden ratio or equivalent.

That is how I'd determine what to aim for, not to determine if I'm too "skinny" or where I am right now. Most thin people want more muscles/curves. Most average people want more muscle definition. Some defined people go overboard and make their bodies too out of proportion. Most large people want to get rid of the excess fat. The "perfect physique" is more than likely unattainable, but "getting closer to it rather than moving away from it" would be how I'd monitor progress - I couldn't tell from a mirror or photos if I "don't need to lose any more weight" and almost everyone I know has been influenced by the media and/or others, so I'd rather rely on math and the primal subconscious.

Skinny/average/fat are just labels for aesthetics. If strength/health/fitness/etc are your goals you don't really need to worry about it (although you'll probably make aesthetic improvements in such a case, without it being a goal as with those whose sole concentration is losing a lot of excess body fat). The only difference with the average label is you don't hear many people say "you look too average".

Underweight, on the other hand, is a medical label. If a doctor told me I needed to gain weight but couldn't answer whether it was muscle, bone, and/or body fat I needed to increase, I'd question what medical reason (s)he based the advice on (and I wouldn't take "statistics based on population surveys", "BMI/the government says", "the pharmaceutical company that gave me this pen say", "my mother always used to say", etc. as a valid reason).