Is underweight really an issue?

I am vey active. I ride/train/sell horses as part of my job.
The problem is that when I do that I often burn 1000 cals in a day. So I've been eating like 3000 cals a day and only gaining very slowly. But when I eat 3000 cals I feel like I'm binging and I hate it! Also I feel like I've gotten quite big, which I know isn't true, but compared to 98 it feels true...
Also I am vegan (something I'm not willing to give up) so it's hard to find enough cals in food to get my required amount....

hey ashley, i know what you mean about feeling big. i ganed 20 pounds in my recovery and am back to a healthy weight for my height - 5'4 and 120 lbs.

as long as you are eating a healthy amount then your body will balance itself out to where it needs to be. as for the calories, i know it feels like binge eating and i am so glad to hear that although you burn a lot you are making sure you eat enough. try focussing on calorie dense foods to help get those numbers up without over eating, and to get healthy fats in as well.
make sure you talk about this with your doctor to determine what a healthy weight for you is, and to make sure your levels are good and are getting essential nutrients.
good luck in your recovery!

I suggest you get into 12 step for anorexics. (Look it up) If those meetings are not available go to OA (overeaters anon.) as they can and will help with ALL eating disorders. OA has saved the lives of my friends and it can help you, too.

K I'll try to keep going. I think part of the problem is I have a lot of clothes that I bought when I was very underweight and they are tighter on me know and that makes me feel huge.
Shopping spree?

Hey girl! I suffered from anorexia a couple years ago and was about 95 pounds at my lowest. I was seeing a dietitian and theapist and they had my growth charts from the doctor to see how much I should weigh at my age based on a curve specific to me. The number that the charts showed was 122 pounds. I was stubborn and told my parents and dietitian that I was stopping at 110 lbs, no ands ifs or buts. I thought I was big enough, too, but I was still underweight. I hit about 125 pounds, and although it was 15 pounds more than where I'd wanted to stop, I was still far from heavy, and actually really thin still. I feel so much better now and although I have an occasional self-conscious thought, health-wise I am physically so much better. I don't get sick as much, I'm not cold as often, my hair doesn't fall out, I'm happier, I think sharper, things like that. I highly suggest stopping by the doctor's and getting your growth charts, because those have data on them from since you were a kid and will suggest an accurate number to be at in terms of weight. In terms of not having money to go to a doctor, you can seriously just call up your pediatrician or family doctor and they can print out the chart to get to you free of charge. Just tell them your dietitian wants to see it. (Even if that's a lie. Just so you can see it and get an idea. because if you were petite and underweight all your life then your projected number for being 21 years old might be different than a BMI number online. Or if you were muscular all your life, the growth chart will project for that when it gives you a goal number for being 21 years old now)

In terms of clothes, I wore 00s when I was at my lowest and now I wear 3s since I'm actually about 135 lbs right now. Anyway, It was hard at first to buy clothes bigger than what I had, but you have to realize the clothes you have were for when you were at a very unhealthy, sickly weight. (I was a senior in my acting class, and we all had to have matching pants and when a thin 7th grader came in with a pair of 00s when I realized how ridiculous I was being in not wanting to be bigger than that. At 17 years old, I shouldn't be the same jean size as an 11 year old.) So it's not normal to be at a healthy weight and still fit into the clothes you wore when you were at your lowest, unhealthy weight. So I decided to just get over the tags on my new jeans. To make myself feel better, after I bought them, I cut them out of my jeans. It doesn't help to remind yourself of your pant size if you're going to be caught up in the number being bigger than it was before. Also, throw your clothes away (or sell them to a consignment shop/Salvation Army etc.)from when you were 98 pounds. You're going to try to make yourself fit in them otherwise and when you don't fit in them, that won't help your confidence. I was way too tempted to lose weight again after I recovered when I still had my old 95 lb jeans I was tempted to fit into.

Good luck! Feel free to message me!

Being underweight has never been an issue for me, and I'm now 50, but I've also never had an eating disorder.

I'm 5'9". When I was your age, I weighed between 103 and 107lbs. During one period of prolonged stress, I was as low as 97 lbs.

Over the years I've gradually put on about .5 lb per year. I'm currently 117, still technically underweight. I have VERY small bones.

My immune system is much better than average; haven't used a single sick day at work in the past 15 years or more. I get a regular cold maybe once every 3 or 4 years. I've been told by a few surgeons that I heal in half the time most people do.

I've never lost my periods (except following a hysterectomy, lol). I did have some very light barely-there periods in my early 20's.

Because I have a very strong family history of osteoporosis (and lifelong low dairy consumption due to lactose intolerance), I had a bone density scan done around age 40. No concerns were noted.

It's not all dire.

Being underweight has never been an issue for me, and I'm now 50, but I've also never had an eating disorder.

I'm 5'9". When I was your age, I weighed between 103 and 107lbs. During one period of prolonged stress, I was as low as 97 lbs.

Over the years I've gradually put on about .5 lb per year. I'm currently 117, still technically underweight. I have VERY small bones.

My immune system is much better than average; haven't used a single sick day at work in the past 15 years or more. I get a regular cold maybe once every 3 or 4 years. I've been told by a few surgeons that I heal in half the time most people do.

I've never lost my periods (except following a hysterectomy, lol). I did have some very light barely-there periods in my early 20's.

Because I have a very strong family history of osteoporosis (and lifelong low dairy consumption due to lactose intolerance), I had a bone density scan done around age 40. No concerns were noted.

It's not all dire.

Bad advice to give someone recovering from an ED. Recovery rates are not stellar, can take YEARS and relapses are common. Just because it is not dire for you doesn't mean it isn't dire for someone else. Please think about that before telling somebody with an ED that it's fine.

Hi, I haven't really got anything to add to this thread but as a recovering anorexic I have found it hugely motivational in making me realise why I need to eat more and keep up with my recovery, its far too easy to think I'm happy as I am, changing is too hard and will make me unhappy but reading this has made me feel positive that while its not going to be easy it will be worth it and I hopefully won't feel as terrible as I'm imagining when I'm at a healthier weight. Thank you to everyone who's posted regarding recovering as you have pretty much switched a lightbulb on in my brain. Xx

if you ever want to have your period again, ovulate, and have a baby - you need to gain weight. but yea, ask your doctor.

If your profile picture is you at your current weight, yes, you need to gain some more. Where are you getting, "I have a lot of muscle" from? Why do you think that's the case?

Being underweight is also associated with dysfunctional ovulation which can impede pregnancy. Going on a weight gain diet in these cases almost always improved the chances of the woman getting pregnant. A woman must have a certain amount of body fat to sustain a healthy and growing baby, so any woman who is underweight should try to establish a diet that is highly nutritious and will help her maintain and gain weight throughout a pregnancy.

Being underweight is also associated with dysfunctional ovulation which can impede pregnancy. Going on a weight gain diet in these cases almost always improved the chances of the woman getting pregnant. A woman must have a certain amount of body fat to sustain a healthy and growing baby, so any woman who is underweight should try to establish a diet that is highly nutritious and will help her maintain and gain weight throughout a pregnancy.

I'm not trying to get pregnant. I'm only 21! I just want to be healthy...

Yes, but at some point in the future you might want to have a baby and the hormonal imbalances of today might affect your ability to conceive.