Some advice please!

Hi all... I am a new member to CC, though I have been reading posts and such on here for a while now, and I am in need of some advice.

I think that this summer I may have been anorexic even though I never got below a healthy BMI.  I had a very complex and not very understandable relationship with food, but anyhow I have resumed eating but have been counting my calories for two months now and I have continued to lose weight.  My BMI is 21 which is still fine, but my %body fat is quite low (13.5).  I am very athletic and I run alot so the higher BMI makes sense because I have always had alot of muscle.  Recently I my ribs and hip bones have become more defined and my hands, shoulders and knees seem bony.  I have been trying to up my cals ( from 1300 to 1600) but somehow that only made me lose more in the last two weeks which concerns me.  I know that I need to stop losing and maybe even gain but I am not sure how.  I am also having psycological issues with eating more cals earlier in the day.  I always seem to have to top off the night with peanut butter or protein shakes to make it up to my goal.  Should I try eating more?  Any advice is appreciated.  Thanks.

You don't mention your stats or your age but if you're very athletic then you certainly need to eat more than 1600 a day to maintain your weight.  Since the 'average' adult, lightly active female needs 1900-2100 to maintain her weight you're technically undereating and you'd therefore expect to lose weight.  (You lost weight because you ate slightly more and gave your metabolism a temporary boost)

Assuming you're 20+ use the CC tools to work out how much you actually need to maintain - stipulate the top activity level.   Add on another 500 cals a day if you intend to gain.   So you could be looking at 3000 cals a day realistically.  If you want to gain weight faster, cut back on your running and do strengthening/resistance exercises instead.   And then work out how you're going fit in all the food you need by planning your day ahead of schedule.  Eating smaller meals but more frequently can be easier for someone like you than trying to tuck down very large platefuls when you're not used to it.   Start early with breakfast and aim to eat every 2 hours initially.

There is a good list at the top of the board on the ideal foods to use for weight-gain.   Energy-dense but low in bulk makes it easier to eat a lot.   Peanut butter is a good example and there are lots of others.  As you succeed in eating more and eating more frequently your appetite will improve and you'll find it less difficult

If you really struggle to eat more  - mentally or physically - then do talk to someone about it e.g. your doctor.  You don't have to be underweight to have disordered eating problems.  Best of luck

sorry... stats are probably revelvant.  I am 18, 128lbs and 5'6" and I run 5-7 miles daily.  I know I need to eat more especially during the day but I have some kind of mental block so I keep a huge deficit until dinner and then I have to stuff myself to get it up to my goal.  I think I am going to try to add snacks in the middle of the day... maybe high cal energy bars, or some of the other cal dense foods.

Thanks for the advice!