The moment you realise you've maybe taken it too far...

Options
I started out this fitness journey in January, and while I was never really "overweight" as such, I figured I could stand to lose a few kilograms while I was improving my fitness.

I had gotten to a point recently where I was more or less happy with my fitness (and the associated weight loss), so figured it was time to go buy some new clothes. Because my Australian size 8 (roughly a US 4) jeans and pants no longer fit me properly. Went to the shops today to go find some new work pants, because my other ones are now falling down on me, and went to try on a size 6 (US 2)...And they were too big. I tried several brands in different shops. All too big. Just to check, I tried on a pair of size 24 jeans - and they fit. Apparently that's effectively a size 0. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry (I actually did cry when I got in the car to drive home).

I think I've just realised that maybe I've taken this whole thing too far in the other direction. The thing is, when I look in the mirror, I can't see it. I know the scales tell me I've lost almost 34 lbs. I know my shirts are now hanging a bit loose on top and my jeans and work pants are literally falling down. Obviously I know I've lost weight. But I just can't see it visually.

I guess I should probably let up on the diet and exercise a bit. I honestly didn't think I'd taken it that far.
«1

Replies

  • jocybee83
    jocybee83 Posts: 155 Member
    Options
    Maybe comparing a before and after pic would help you see it. If you think you have taken it too far though, maybe you its true and you might need to seek help before you develop an eating disorder.
  • StinkyWinkies
    StinkyWinkies Posts: 603 Member
    Options
    If you think you've taken it too far, you probably have...how tall are you? I agree with the previous poster about a possible eating disorder, talk with your doctor and about taking pictures. Take care.
  • carlosdanger
    Options
    Size 0 isn't as evil and horrible as people want you to believe. Depending on your height and body structure, it could be totally fine and healthy to be size 0. I was that size for most of my life before I gained weight recently, and I was nowhere near "too skinny." Of course, I don't know how much you weigh or anything, so I can't say whether you specifically have taken it too far, but if you think you look good, don't second-guess it just because of the size you wear. And if you decide you need to gain weight to get to a size you feel more comfortable at, that's okay too.
  • tachyon_master
    tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
    Options
    I don't think it's an eating disorder at all actually. I eat well enough. I pig out on junk occasionally. I think perhaps I've been overdoing it on the exercise though.

    My stats though: Female, 32 years, 5'2", currently 106 lbs. Which for my height, is still within the healthy BMI range, albeit at the lower end.

    I'm mainly just shocked that somehow I've managed to reach a size 0 without ever actually intending to.
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
    Options
    Size 0 isn't as evil and horrible as people want you to believe. Depending on your height and body structure, it could be totally fine and healthy to be size 0. I was that size for most of my life before I gained weight recently, and I was nowhere near "too skinny." Of course, I don't know how much you weigh or anything, so I can't say whether you specifically have taken it too far, but if you think you look good, don't second-guess it just because of the size you wear. And if you decide you need to gain weight to get to a size you feel more comfortable at, that's okay too.

    Your username is "starving_hysterical", I highly doubt you're a natural size 0 and that you don't suffer from an ED yourself.
  • carlosdanger
    Options
    Size 0 isn't as evil and horrible as people want you to believe. Depending on your height and body structure, it could be totally fine and healthy to be size 0. I was that size for most of my life before I gained weight recently, and I was nowhere near "too skinny." Of course, I don't know how much you weigh or anything, so I can't say whether you specifically have taken it too far, but if you think you look good, don't second-guess it just because of the size you wear. And if you decide you need to gain weight to get to a size you feel more comfortable at, that's okay too.

    Your username is "starving_hysterical", I highly doubt you're a natural size 0 and that you don't suffer from an ED yourself.

    Well, the username is a quote from one of my favorite poems...and whether or not you think I have an eating disorder, I was naturally a size 0-2 without any dieting or anything until I was around 17. Around the same height and weight as the OP, actually.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Options
    One of my closest friends is about 5'6 and she is a size 0. She's healthy, eats right and works out and that's just her clothes size so Size 0, as starving_hysterical said isn't as evil and horrible as people seem to believe.
  • rachelbethany
    rachelbethany Posts: 211 Member
    Options
    I get carried away sometimes, too. Lately I am really noticing my weight loss, and it's weird. Like, I can't really see it so much in the mirror, but my clothes are all WAY looser and some of my bones feel different when I'm sitting/lying down. I've only lost 16 pounds and I'm still in a very healthy BMI range-- I'm nowhere nearly as thin as you-- but I do sometimes think "Man, I could just keep going. I wonder how thin I could really get? What would that look like? What if I could wear jeans I wore 10 years ago?" (I'm 23). I think the fact that you NOTICE things might be getting out of control is a good sign, though. For me, I just have to focus on my desire to be strong. Otherwise, it could be fun in a way to just limit my calories like crazy, do lots of cardio, and watch the numbers drop. But I want to be able to at least try to fight someone off if I'm ever robbed or a rapist comes after me (hey, I'm in college and I walk home in the dark a lot). I want to see muscles, not just bones. And a little fat isn't so bad, either. I already had small boobs, but just from losing 16 pounds, they've gone from a B to an A. I don't want them to go to AA! What are your reasons for NOT wanting to lose more weight? Focus on those, and maybe shift your fitness plan to maintaining or even gaining a little weight while building muscle. Set health-related goals that don't have to do with your weight, like being able to lift something heavier or eating more potassium, for example-- or anything that will make you healthier that you might be low on. Don't think you have to give up health and fitness in order to keep yourself from an eating disorder. Because I honestly believe that focusing on being healthy-- and by that I mean, whole, full, happy, and strong-- is a great way to combat all those negative body thoughts/obsessions. Best of luck.
  • maricash
    maricash Posts: 280 Member
    Options
    I think the real question is, what are your diet and exercise habits and how do you feel about those habits. That is, if you are eating healthy, getting an adequate number of calories, and exercising a reasonable amount, then you are probably fine. If you are starving yourself, scared to eat, or exercising to excess, than you might have a problem. It could be that size 0 is natural for you, but it could be that it's not. It all depends on how you get there/maintain it.

    Also, looking at pictures of you at a higher weight can be helpful to see the change. Also, looking at pictures of others. mybodygallery.com is a good place to see pictures of women at a variety of heights/weights.
  • heidimaggott78
    Options
    Size 0 isn't as evil and horrible as people want you to believe. Depending on your height and body structure, it could be totally fine and healthy to be size 0. I was that size for most of my life before I gained weight recently, and I was nowhere near "too skinny." Of course, I don't know how much you weigh or anything, so I can't say whether you specifically have taken it too far, but if you think you look good, don't second-guess it just because of the size you wear. And if you decide you need to gain weight to get to a size you feel more comfortable at, that's okay too.

    Your username is "starving_hysterical", I highly doubt you're a natural size 0 and that you don't suffer from an ED yourself.

    Well, the username is a quote from one of my favorite poems...and whether or not you think I have an eating disorder, I was naturally a size 0-2 without any dieting or anything until I was around 17. Around the same height and weight as the OP, actually.

    I always chuckle when adults compare their adult size/weight with that of when they were still children.
  • carlosdanger
    Options
    Size 0 isn't as evil and horrible as people want you to believe. Depending on your height and body structure, it could be totally fine and healthy to be size 0. I was that size for most of my life before I gained weight recently, and I was nowhere near "too skinny." Of course, I don't know how much you weigh or anything, so I can't say whether you specifically have taken it too far, but if you think you look good, don't second-guess it just because of the size you wear. And if you decide you need to gain weight to get to a size you feel more comfortable at, that's okay too.

    Your username is "starving_hysterical", I highly doubt you're a natural size 0 and that you don't suffer from an ED yourself.

    Well, the username is a quote from one of my favorite poems...and whether or not you think I have an eating disorder, I was naturally a size 0-2 without any dieting or anything until I was around 17. Around the same height and weight as the OP, actually.

    I always chuckle when adults compare their adult size/weight with that of when they were still children.

    Okay, you have a valid point. But I stopped growing (height and weight) in like 7th grade, never really developed "curves" in any sense as I got older, so I feel like I would have stayed around the same size for a long time if I would have been smarter.
  • esballet
    esballet Posts: 51 Member
    Options
    Wowwwww everyone needs to lay off a little bit about the eating disorder thing. An eating disorder is a mental illness. It is not defined by a certain weight, clothing size or BMI. Nothing that tachyon_master or starving_hysterical has said indicates that either one of them has an unhealthy mental or psychological relationship with food or body image. There seems to be an awful lot of confusion here about what an ED actually is. That's a pretty serious accusation to be making, and to make it with basically no reason is both completely unnecessary and kind of rude.
  • tachyon_master
    tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
    Options
    I think the real question is, what are your diet and exercise habits and how do you feel about those habits. That is, if you are eating healthy, getting an adequate number of calories, and exercising a reasonable amount, then you are probably fine.

    I agree, and that's what it comes down to I guess. Today was just a wake up call or something?

    I think my diet is fairly normal. Yes, I have cut out a lot of the pasta, rice and fried food from my diet (though not entirely), but on the other hand, I still drink soda regularly, eat burgers and pizza now and then and I have the occasional alcoholic drink. It's not like I live on salad and water or anything.

    I suspect it's mostly exercise related at this point. Once upon a time I was a competitive swimmer. And when I decided I wanted to get my fitness levels back this year, I more or less automatically defaulted to my old training routines. I started exercising the same amount I did when I was competing back in high school and university. Which probably wasn't necessary given that I'm not actually competing anymore, and I'm now almost double the age.
  • mareeee1234
    mareeee1234 Posts: 674 Member
    Options
    I get carried away sometimes, too. Lately I am really noticing my weight loss, and it's weird. Like, I can't really see it so much in the mirror, but my clothes are all WAY looser and some of my bones feel different when I'm sitting/lying down. I've only lost 16 pounds and I'm still in a very healthy BMI range-- I'm nowhere nearly as thin as you-- but I do sometimes think "Man, I could just keep going. I wonder how thin I could really get? What would that look like? What if I could wear jeans I wore 10 years ago?" (I'm 23). I think the fact that you NOTICE things might be getting out of control is a good sign, though. For me, I just have to focus on my desire to be strong. Otherwise, it could be fun in a way to just limit my calories like crazy, do lots of cardio, and watch the numbers drop. But I want to be able to at least try to fight someone off if I'm ever robbed or a rapist comes after me (hey, I'm in college and I walk home in the dark a lot). I want to see muscles, not just bones. And a little fat isn't so bad, either. I already had small boobs, but just from losing 16 pounds, they've gone from a B to an A. I don't want them to go to AA! What are your reasons for NOT wanting to lose more weight? Focus on those, and maybe shift your fitness plan to maintaining or even gaining a little weight while building muscle. Set health-related goals that don't have to do with your weight, like being able to lift something heavier or eating more potassium, for example-- or anything that will make you healthier that you might be low on. Don't think you have to give up health and fitness in order to keep yourself from an eating disorder. Because I honestly believe that focusing on being healthy-- and by that I mean, whole, full, happy, and strong-- is a great way to combat all those negative body thoughts/obsessions. Best of luck.

    I like this response :smile:


    And with the whole eating disorder thing.... if you are purposely eating very low calories then that means you are taking this too far and are going to extreme/unhealthy lengths to get in shape (this is what happened to me last year)
    However, if you are just simply not seeing the results as you should and struggling to notice a difference, this is NORMAL and is very COMMON in weight loss. So.. basically, only you know if you are taking this too far. Evaluate your diet..are you starving yourself ? Do you purposely skip meals in order to lose weight? If not, and you are doing this in a good healthy way, then you have nothing to worry about. And with your height and bmi, size 0 is fineee . Best of luck!!
  • bluechip777
    bluechip777 Posts: 160 Member
    Options
    Sounds like it's time to set new goals. How exciting!!!
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
    Options
    I don't think it's an eating disorder at all actually. I eat well enough. I pig out on junk occasionally. I think perhaps I've been overdoing it on the exercise though.

    My stats though: Female, 32 years, 5'2", currently 106 lbs. Which for my height, is still within the healthy BMI range, albeit at the lower end.

    I'm mainly just shocked that somehow I've managed to reach a size 0 without ever actually intending to.

    What's your body fat percentage? That will tell you far more accurately whether you've got a healthy amount of body fat or not. There are big differences in frame size between people, which means that what sizes and weights are healthy for you are very different. I'm 5'1" and I have an large frame and 100lb of lean body mass (i.e. bone muscle etc before you count body fat) so there's no way I could weigh 106lb and still be healthy. However a small framed woman of the same height would be healthy at 100lb, and she's have a lower lean body mass, maybe around 75-80kg. And the small framed woman in this example probably would be size zero at a healthy weight.

    I know how much I should weigh based on body fat percentage and lean body mass, and I currently weigh 130lb which is around 23% body fat and about right for my height and frame. For a woman of my height who has a small frame and around 75-80lb lean body mass, 130lb would be carrying far too much fat (i.e. over 50% body fat). So basically, you can't go by weight and height alone, getting a decent estimate of your body fat percentage will really help you to determine if you've gone too far, or if you're in the healthy range. The healthy range for young women is 18-25% and 35%+ is obese.

    So it's impossible really for me or anyone else to say if you're a healthy weight for your height and frame. Maybe you are, maybe you aren't.

    You can get calipers like the accumeasure ones that you can use on yourself at home, although they take practice to get an accurate reading. You can get measured at the gym with someone who knows how to use calipers correctly, and there are other more high tech methods. The scales that measure body fat percentage are not very accurate and they're good for obese people to see change in the right direction, in your case to tell you if you're still in the healthy range or not, they may not be accurate enough and it may be better to get it done at a gym or somewhere.

    Also, if you're really slim and still want to improve how you look (it wasn't clear from the post whether you like how you look currently or not) then adding some lean body mass by lifting heavy in the gym will give your body a more firm/"toned" look and you may get a little heavier, but you wouldn't get any bigger (i.e. you'd still be a size zero, I know a few women who lift heavy and are tiny sizes because they have a low body fat percentage and a small frame).
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    Options
    I remember back in middle school, I was 88 lbs and 5'4". When I looked in the mirror, I didn't see myself as fat, but I definitely didn't see myself as skinny either. I had to trust my doctor and the weight-per-age charts to move towards consuming a healthy number of calories, because I certainly couldn't see a need for change by looking at myself. You of course, are in a much healthier situation that I was since you're questioning if you've taken it too far.

    I would see a doctor and/or dietitian and talk to them about your concerns. They can give you a better idea of what is right for you.
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    Options
    The best way to go about this is to ask your doctor. Judging by size alone isn't going to give you the answer you're looking for.


    I've always been small, except for a brief period of my life. Currently, my stats are similar to yours, and I am very healthy. I'm a short, small framed female, and I wear a size zero. It's not a goal I set out to achieve, it just happened because I have a small frame. Perhaps you are similar. No reason to panic until you have an opinion from a medical professional.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    Options
    Take a week off, don't exercise at all and don't diet or track anything at all. If that freaks you out or is impossible you could be at the start of a problem be that disordered eating or exercise addiction.

    If you regain more than one kilo then you have been chronically undereating - it's very difficult to gain that much fat in a week, so likely you would replenish your muscles with the carbohydrate fuel glycogen and gain healthy water weight (1g glycogen = 3g water). You won't lose fitness in that time and you may improve because it will give your body the chance to heal and repair if you are overreaching/ overtraining.

    Also consider switching from tracking calories or macros to tracking number of portions and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids) - your needs can easily double with an intensive exercise regime. So emphasising what you can and should be eating not what you cannot and should not.
  • sugarfree123
    sugarfree123 Posts: 82 Member
    Options
    You cannot judge by the size of clothing. For one thing the manufactures of clothing mess with the sizing all the time. In high school I was wearing size 8 pants and I barely weighed 100 lbs and I had a 24" waist. !!! yes I am almost a senior citizen. lol. But you compare what size you were wearing to what you wear now but don't rely on it. fat percentage is far more reliable. I am very small boned. I am 5ft 6 in and I weigh 110 lbs. My fat percentage is19%. I eat very very clean and am very healthy. I am very proud that I can do 10 chin ups and 50 men style push ups. Not bad for aproaching retirement. Clothing optional. lol