Help. Too thin and overwhelmed

Wheelhouse15 wrote: »

Verity1111 wrote: »

Also, height and weight

comptonelizabeth wrote: »

SLLRunner wrote: »

Hannahrose888 wrote: »

Thank you everybody for your responses.
For those curious, after visiting my parents I have realized that I badly need to gain at least 5 pounds and need to adjust my eating habits. That is why I am seeking help. I am pretty sure that the source of my scary weight is depression after recently relocating to a new city away from family. The last few months I have felt too lonely and sad to eat, but I am starting to adjust and feel better. At first I liked the weight loss, I eventhought I looked better. However, I am now realizing that my weight has dropped too low. I am now afraid that I will/do have health issues. Right now I am setting my goal weight for 95 pounds (I want to take baby steps.) Any advice for gaining ten pounds safely? Also any long term diet advise? Thanks
Btw: I did have a check up last week. Oddly the doctor never mentioned any concerns about my weight.

Hi Hannah,

I'm surprised your doctor did not mention any weight concerns. Do you realize that 88 pounds is 23 pounds below the lowest normal weight for your height, and 95 pounds is 16 pounds underweight? You can see for yourself

I don't understand this chart - not arguing ,just genuinely baffled! I'm also 5'3 and weigh around 120 lbs. According to the chart I'm underweight but I don't think I am. I'm trying to gain weight because I look and feel better when I'm heavier. But I'm not "medically underweight "surely? Isn't BMI a better indicator? (Mine is around 22)
I agree that 88 lbs is definitely underweight!

Not put so badly yourself. Also, height and weight charts differ. You're not underweight according to this one here

Not sure what you were looking at but the BMI calculator has her at 15.6 (underweight) and the chart starts at 107 for her height. Even at 4'10" the lowest height on the chart 88 pounds is still underweight.

Hannahrose888 wrote: »

Btw I also realized that the source of my weight loss after speaking to my nutritionist is eating too healthy and being more active than I thought. It took me much too long to realize that I was taking in so little calories. Also after tracking my walking, I realized that I was burning more calories than I thought. Ugh I feel so stupid now.

Nathanae wrote: »

Never listen to people who tell you to eat junk food*!
Being skinny isn't a reason to abuse your body! There are good and healthy foods that will help you gain weight AND feel good and have nice skin!
Just add seeds and nuts to your diet wherever you can, eat regular snacks, just have a tablespoon of peanutbutter or two before you leave the house or in the evening (the unsweetened kind would be better, because it usually doesn't contain palm oil either, but whatever you have in the house)
----> if you don't know what fruit to eat, eat a banana or mango instead of berries or an apple. eat pumpkin and cooked carrots instead of steamed broccoli, finish with a bit of cream (overall: full fat milk products) add loads of Avocado, seeds and Feta cheese and such to your salads, dress your food with lots of healthy oils (linseed, rapeseed, olive)... just leaf through a calorie list of common fruit and vegetables and mark the ones that are high in calories, so next time you choose your sides, you know what to go for.
Avoid empty calories from white bread. yes, wholegrain will make you full for longer, but it also has more calories and will do your guts some good.
Keep exercising, but put more focus on strength building rather than overly long cardio workouts (unless your goal is to run a marathon). The occasional glass of dry red wine will do your heart good, too!

*...and DO enjoy the odd Pizza if you feel like it! (you can never be sure what people mean by junk food, so I wanted to make sure). Some takeaways are delicious and good and just beautiful in their own way and need to be eaten, regardless of the calories, like good Indian Curries which are definitely NOT junk, albeit very high in fat, usually, but also cancer fighting with all its tumeric)!

chocolate_owl wrote: »

Verity1111 wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

Verity1111 wrote: »

Ok being underweight doesnt make her have an ED and people suggesting it are either jerks OR uneducated about eating disorders. 88lbs is small, yes. The smallest recommended "ideal" weight for 5'3" is 107lbs. She would be about 19lbs underweight. That's not that much, especially if she has a tiny frame and her curves (chest and booty) are modest. She may just be more active than she realizes, have a thyroid issues or active metabolism or just not get that hungry. Or maybe she eats really healthy so it ends up low calorie. You're really judging a lot to assume she's just underweight on purpose, especially when she is asking how to gain weight. People with EDs who want to be underweight don't ask for help gaining 10lbs because they feel unattractive! I'm over 200lbs and I have a form of bulimia so you can not diagnose an ED by someone's weight.

NEXT: To the original poster@Hannahrose888 Things you can eat that are healthy and still good for calories - Avocados, Beans, Potatoes, banana Rice, Pasta, Sauces/Condiments, natural oils, etc. Avocados/Guacamole are pretty high in calories if you can manage to eat a whole one. If you added just one a day to what you normally eat to maintain your weight then you *should* in theory gain about 1/2 pound per week with just that. One baked potato (with butter would be good!) and one banana in a day would be about the same.

hmmm op is underweight, suffering depression (her own admission), and thinks she only needs to gain five pounds, but everyone suggesting she seek professional help is an uniformed jerk? Ok, keep telling yourself that. How is the view from up there?

She actually asked to gain TEN pounds AND she went to see a nutritionist who told her she really only needs to gain 11minimum. Her not knowing what is normal for her height does NOT give her an ED. I have an ED and no way in hell would someone with a full on legit ED ask to gain weight unless they have an ED that makes them want to be gigantic (it happens). To have an ED, for example, anorexia, you need to WANT to be thin or really be afraid of food. She confirmed, as I said, that the nutritionist said she was eating "too healthy" so to speak or not eating enough fats and that because she walks so much she was burning way more than she realized. That's not an ED!

eat·ing dis·or·der
noun
noun: eating disorder; plural noun: eating disorders
any of a range of psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits

There is nothing to say this girl has a psychological disorder. She only suffered from distraction and lack of information regarding calorie content and exercise/energy output.

Not every eating disorder is anorexia or bulimia, not every eating disorder involves fear of weight gain, and not every eating disorder involves fear of food. There's a broad range of behaviors and severity - not every eating disorder falls neatly into the category of anorexia or bulimia. While we are not qualified to sit here behind our keyboards and diagnose anyone, there were red flags that popped up right away that indicated professional help was a good idea, and you suggesting that being underweight by 19 pounds isn't a big deal and insisting she doesn't have an ED shows you really need more education on the topic before you go around giving advice. It's also not up to you to decide what a "legit" ED is.

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/avoidant-restrictive-food-intake-disorder-arfid

Disclaimer: I am not diagnosing the OP, but based on what she's described, I would absolutely think she needs to talk to someone about a potential eating disorder and see what steps should be taken to get to a healthy weight. Thankfully she's done so, and it seems like she's got a good plan in place.

Verity1111 wrote: »

chocolate_owl wrote: »

Verity1111 wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

Verity1111 wrote: »

Ok being underweight doesnt make her have an ED and people suggesting it are either jerks OR uneducated about eating disorders. 88lbs is small, yes. The smallest recommended "ideal" weight for 5'3" is 107lbs. She would be about 19lbs underweight. That's not that much, especially if she has a tiny frame and her curves (chest and booty) are modest. She may just be more active than she realizes, have a thyroid issues or active metabolism or just not get that hungry. Or maybe she eats really healthy so it ends up low calorie. You're really judging a lot to assume she's just underweight on purpose, especially when she is asking how to gain weight. People with EDs who want to be underweight don't ask for help gaining 10lbs because they feel unattractive! I'm over 200lbs and I have a form of bulimia so you can not diagnose an ED by someone's weight.

NEXT: To the original poster@Hannahrose888 Things you can eat that are healthy and still good for calories - Avocados, Beans, Potatoes, banana Rice, Pasta, Sauces/Condiments, natural oils, etc. Avocados/Guacamole are pretty high in calories if you can manage to eat a whole one. If you added just one a day to what you normally eat to maintain your weight then you *should* in theory gain about 1/2 pound per week with just that. One baked potato (with butter would be good!) and one banana in a day would be about the same.

hmmm op is underweight, suffering depression (her own admission), and thinks she only needs to gain five pounds, but everyone suggesting she seek professional help is an uniformed jerk? Ok, keep telling yourself that. How is the view from up there?

She actually asked to gain TEN pounds AND she went to see a nutritionist who told her she really only needs to gain 11minimum. Her not knowing what is normal for her height does NOT give her an ED. I have an ED and no way in hell would someone with a full on legit ED ask to gain weight unless they have an ED that makes them want to be gigantic (it happens). To have an ED, for example, anorexia, you need to WANT to be thin or really be afraid of food. She confirmed, as I said, that the nutritionist said she was eating "too healthy" so to speak or not eating enough fats and that because she walks so much she was burning way more than she realized. That's not an ED!

eat·ing dis·or·der
noun
noun: eating disorder; plural noun: eating disorders
any of a range of psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits

There is nothing to say this girl has a psychological disorder. She only suffered from distraction and lack of information regarding calorie content and exercise/energy output.

Not every eating disorder is anorexia or bulimia, not every eating disorder involves fear of weight gain, and not every eating disorder involves fear of food. There's a broad range of behaviors and severity - not every eating disorder falls neatly into the category of anorexia or bulimia. While we are not qualified to sit here behind our keyboards and diagnose anyone, there were red flags that popped up right away that indicated professional help was a good idea, and you suggesting that being underweight by 19 pounds isn't a big deal and insisting she doesn't have an ED shows you really need more education on the topic before you go around giving advice. It's also not up to you to decide what a "legit" ED is.

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/avoidant-restrictive-food-intake-disorder-arfid

Disclaimer: I am not diagnosing the OP, but based on what she's described, I would absolutely think she needs to talk to someone about a potential eating disorder and see what steps should be taken to get to a healthy weight. Thankfully she's done so, and it seems like she's got a good plan in place.

Yeah no. I am educated. Ive went to school for psychology and I do know what Im talking about. I specifically said she has to have a fear of food. That's what that says!

"Lack of interest in food or poor appetite.
Fears about negative consequences of eating (e.g., vomiting, choking, allergic reaction).
Selective or picky eating."

She didn't say she has a lack of interest or anything. For all you know she eats a LOT but it's vegetables and fruit or fish, etc! She eats what she likes. Just because it's low calorie does NOT indicate a disorder. She didn't mention having any of those three and to jump to conclusions is ridiculous.