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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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


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!!

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).

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.

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

having a size zero is just whack

If you are unsure if you have taken it too far, ask yourself rather or not you think it's a good idea to stop calorie restriction and start eating at maintenance. If you think you should lose more weight, then perhaps you have taken it a bit too far and you may want to talk to someone.

I agree with taking photos in minimal clothing (underwear, bikini). I realized I needed to up my calories a little when I could see my ribs in my chest. I didn't see it in the mirror, but in photos, it was apparent.

I am 5'10" and I wore a 12 in high school at 145lbs (healthy BMI but underweight according to my doctor). I'm currently wearing a 10 and amost 50lbs heavier. Vanity sizes are ridiculous! I would go by your doctor's opinion or body fat numbers. At 145lbs you could count my ribs and see my backbone even though that number would be fine for most people my height. My doctor wanted me at 160-165lbs. I was very pear shaped then and carried my weight on my butt and thighs. Now I'm more hourglass shaped so am aiming for 170ish (I think this is a good weight for my shape and age). I will probably end up in a size 8 but it will still be bigger than the 12 I wore in high school 20+ years ago.

If you're really concerned then get a physical for a gut check. It sounds though like you're okay from the status you gave. Maybe you're just seriously shocked from looking in the mirror and not recognizing the person staring back at you?