Posts by quest89

From what you listed, it sounds like you are eating a lot of low fat/ low fiber foods. Also, it is difficult for your body to keep up with liquid calories, and you did mention some liquid foods that do have calories. When you feel hungry, you should eat, but you should eat something that has a lot of volume but very little calories. For example, cauliflower is very low calorie dense. It might fill you up. I think you need to eat some fiber rich foods. Another thing is that for me, PB really does do the trick and makes me not "hungry" anymore. However, you mentioned that you ate it with saltine crackers. Why don't you try the PB with celery or apple instead. Add some fiber to your diet. Also, another thing I do is that I eat air popped pop corn without any added oils/fats. You can eat a lot of this (or it looks like it) and not allow the calories to add up much. So you can be munching away for a while but not consume too many calories. Hope this helps!! Good luck.

1200 cal/day seems a bit extreme, since you are only 16 years old and still "growing." Although I understand that you are still trying to lose weight, I think a healthier option would be to increase your food intake and add in some exercise. Also, since you have lost a lot of weight already, you might soon reach a plateau, which might cause you to eat less in order to lose any more weight. Also, if you are showing such extreme side effects, I think that your body is trying to tell you something. The way you acted was simply a survival instinct. I reccomend that you do not decrease your food intake any further, to eat every 2-3 hours, and to add in some extra exercise. It's not about the weight. It is about being healthy. You can be skinny as a stick but be less fit than someone who has a bit more meat on the bones. Focus on being healthy, not the number on the scale. Good luck!

I weighed myself this morning and I was 118.6lbs.

It was a bit alarming at first but I think I am ok~ I look and feel the same but I dunno where the extra "weight" went~!! Hahaha! I have not been 118.6lbs for a while now and as long as I can wear my pants, I am fine with it.

Does anyone have any more tips? Is gaining weight really helping? How long would it be for me to get my periods back??

Also, good luck everyone!!!

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Minutexwaltz.

I think your problem is that you are not eating enough for your exercise. I think this is also my problem. I had my period at the weight I am now (117lbs) when I used to exercise every other day for about 40 minutes. I also ate about 1600 calories back then too. But I think when I started increasing my exercise but failed to inc my calorie intake, it caused problems. I have been at this weight for over a year now...I am really really concerned now because I have not had my period for over a year and I know it is very bad for the bones…

I looked around for new research results recently and found that it's not really body fat BUT the lack of calories.

Check out these links:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18574231?o rdinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.P ubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultRepor tPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

I found this article very helpful:

http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/fitness/arc hive/late.html

I know that some people might think that I am not in the position to comment about this stuff since I have the same problem, but it is the reality that people with normal BMI may have amenorrhea and people with very LOW BMI may still have their periods. So I think it boils down to this: If you don't eat enough calories to fuel your daily activities, your body WILL shut down "excess" functions, such as the ability to reproduce...in order to use the limited fuel for more essential activities, such as moving and breathing and keeping your heart pumping. Therefore, I don't think it is JUST body fat or your weight. I think the most important thing is calorie restriction. I have gone 1 week w/o exercise and eating 1600 because I was traveling. However, I didn't gain anything. I actually lost (weird, right?). This tells me that my body is probably in "starvation mode" because I do not feed it enough calories to deal with daily activities PLUS the exercise. Many athletes have the same problem (check out the link above). So now, I am going to increase my calories and see what happens, as well as reducing exercise. However, I am not going to shock my system and go straight to 2500cal/day. In a nutrition class in college, I learned about an experiment about starvation and after the experiment, the participants were fed more an more food SLOWLY. I do not think shocking your body will do any good…I think it will be the best to go slowly. I think the most important thing is that I know I have a problem and that I am going to fix it.

One more comment is regarding my physical appearance. No one tells me that I am too thin and I do ask family/friends. Although some of my family members say they can’t really tell because they have been around me too much, I do not look in the mirror and see someone very VERY thin. I am actually disgusted by the very VERY thin people that I sometimes see on campus of my college. I do not have bird legs or bones sticking out I actually look pretty lean and toned. This is why I am so reluctant to gain weight that I did not need to have my periods in the past….So I am trying to figure this out. I think the important thing for now is to increase my calories like everyone is telling me to do. If that causes me to gain weight, then I guess that is what needs to be. If it doesn’t, then I will watch out for myself and increase calories as I see fit. However, I am going to make sure I do not push myself too hard with exercise. I think I am probably burning up too many calories for what I eat daily

Dancinginblue,

It sounds like the problem you are having is very VERY similar to the problem I am having. -___- Like I mentioned, I really don't want to gain TOO MUCH WEIGHT because I did have my periods at my current weight...I never had drastic weightloss and I was always pretty slim. The only lifestyle change that I made about 2 years ago...was exercise. I started off with 20min every other day, which became 40...then 40 every day...an then now 60 every day... maybe I am addicted to exercise?? But I know I can live without it. -__-. I have been to 3 doctors and all they want me to do is take BC pills. They don't help me figure out what is wrong. But I think I know what is going on now. I think it is too much exercise and not enough food. So, Dacinginblue, I think we need to eat more calories1! -__- Try eating healthy fats like olive oil, which is very dense in calories... I think that will help. I am not going to weigh myself. I am just going to slowly increase my calories and hope for the best.

And one more thing! I have researched and found that when your body is getting very VERY low calories, you will tend to feel bloated after eating, even a small amount, because your body is not making enough digestive acids. So if you feel very bloated after eating and you did not eat that much, that means that your body is probably in extreme starvation mode. Even after exercise, we need at least 1400 cal/day w/o ANY activities. So yea....If I really do burn 600 and have been eating only 1600, then that means that I have been living off of 1000 calories. No wonder I am not gettting my periods. -___-.

But I am going to make an effort to do w/e it takes to get my periods back.

Thank you everyone for all the thoughtful comments!!

Why the cynical comments?? That is not very helpful. You should leave me some helpful comments, not discouraging ones.

Hm. But do you think I should increase my calorie intake slowly??

How long would it take for my body to realize it is not "starving" anymore and is getting more and more calories? That is why I think it would be ideal to increase slowly....

Also, what are your thoughts about not cutting the exercise completely? I think it is good for the body in general..