under weight.

[im_the_undead]

i just found out i'm waaay under weight. I always knew i was thin, i get made fun of a lot.. but i thought it was normal for my age.. I'm 18.

Then i saw a height, weight, age chart which says the lowest weight i should be is 103 lbs. I'm about 98 on a normal day, 100 on a really good day...when i'm sick i can go as low as 95 lbs which scares me...

What can i do to get up to the 115 i used to weigh when i was 14??

it's so annoying being this thin, everyone nags me and claims i'm annorexic. I'm tired of having to over eat

[Fudgie]

Damn, I wish I could give you some of my body fat. I've got some to spare!

 

You need to remember that those charts are a ballpark range. You're within the range...you're really not that far off.

 

Aside from the anorexic jokes, do you feel healthy? Do you really want to weigh a little more? If so, i'd talk to your doctor. he/she can check your metabolic rate and help you develop a good diet/exercise plan to help you get to a healthy weight.

[pilotgirl]

A good way to put on weight slowly without feeling full throughout the day...I know that people trying to build muscle after workouts sometimes do this when trying to repair muscle and gain...is to right before bed make yourself some toast with jelly, or a small bowl of oatmeal made up however you like. Then wash it down with a tall glass of skim milk with a few scoops of Malt flavored Ovaltine (orange jar).

 

Ok...why.

 

The toast or oatmeal just gives you a little calorie boost, adds some carbs and protein in there too with low fat. Hopefully you drink milk...hopefully you like Ovaltine. I love it. Skim milk is full of protein and vitamins and hopefully you get the kind not made with growth hormones...many aren't anymore. The Ovaltine is yummy and chocolatey and adds a bunch of vitamins and minerals. For some reason the other flavor (chocolate in the blue can) doesn't, but the orange jar is like a vitamin shot.

 

When you digest milk...and hopefully you can, it turns into a kind of solid in your stomach so while you may feel like you just drank a big glass...in 1/2 hour you won't feel full at all. If you add this 200-300 calorie "before bed snack" you won't be so full that you can't sleep, you won't get hungry in the night, you won't have to add lots of food during the day that makes you full, and by sleeping soon afterward, you won't be burning it all off or overtaxing your digestion.

 

All those good proteins, vitamins and stuff go to repairing you and building lean muscle. Keep doing this an you will slowly gain weight at a rate that won't require a major dietary change during the day, or feeling uncomfortable at the rate of gain. It might take a month to even notice a difference, but it's all a matter of math. As long as your activity level stays somewhat constant, it works. I know you aren't necessarily working out or training for anything, but by adding weight you'll be adding muscle and some fat, in healthy proportions.

 

Then when you get to the weight you want to be at, you can stop the Ovaltine and oatmeal/toast thing and if you notice you start to lose again you just start it back up.

 

One little change over a length of time, makes permanent change in a way that we can handle. I think society gets wrapped up in "Lose 20 lbs in 3 days!!" and stuff like that. You can't lose like that healthfully, and you can't gain (and keep it on) healthfully either.

 

I started doing the Ovaltine thing when I was working out to prepare for a big 20 mile hike in the mountains and I did it to keep weight from melting off me with my increased activity level. I actually gained strength and muscle mass quicker and I didn't wake up with a sugar crash, craving breakfast. It's like I had high quality fuel in the tank all night for a slow burn.

 

Hope it works for you! If you try it let us know!

[Jd1983]

I wouldn't worry so much on the whole BMI charts.

 

You also have to realize that it doesn't always apply to everyone. It also depends on the muscle composition etc. Don't base your health on a chart because it isn't always accurate.

 

If you feel healthy, and you don't have any problems then that's all that should matter. You have to realize that just because someone has a 'healthy' BMI rate, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are healthy. Alongside of that, those that are overweight can still be healthy, even though their BMI shows otherwise.

[im_the_undead]

thank you for the advice, much needed

 

 

about the healthy part.. well i have a bad immune system [i'm always sick] but it's been that way for ever so i don't think it has anything to do with my weight...