New member with a HUGE appetite

i'm currently 5'1" and 104.2 lbs. during high school i maintained a weight of 98 lbs without any effort or thought at all. i gained 10 lbs within a month of being at college and my it's been a constant struggle since. it's only a few pounds, but it's also like half of my wardrobe that i cant fit into anymore! my weight is always fluctuating and it has destroyed my self-esteem. for a few months towards the end of my freshman year i became bulimic. i'm past that now, but i thought for sure that when i returned home for the summer i would lose the weight because i was returning to my old environment, but that proved to be an even bigger struggle! i understand why i've gained this weight: too many calories. what i can't understand is this change in my mindset. i'm always hungry! and even worse, i just can't stop myself! i miss the days when i didn't even think about food. i'm not sure where this huge appetite came from.

Sometimes your metabolism can slow down in certain situations (in which case, more exercise would be great), but you may just be stressed. I have an easier time eating right when I'm not feeling depressed or alone, which means that I've eaten terribly most of my life. Calorie counting can be extremely helpful if you go about it the right way. It's like a game, almost. And after a while, food becomes fuel, not comfort. I don't know what your emotional situation is like, but if it's something that needs to be taken care of, then that may be part of the problem and the solution. You need to take care of yourself. :)

Your BMI is 19.7 , on the  low end of healthy. You are far from having a weight problem :)In addition, @ your height, a weight of 98 lbs is slightly underweight. If you want to come up with any goals, I could understand some weight training to help reshape maybe, but seeking to loose more will just put you under where you need to be. I am assuming you are under 21, so you need a minimum of 1500 cals a day. Make sure you use the tools here to help assist you.

I am not you . But if I were, I would focus on eating healthier (cleaner) to have more energy, eating the required amount, and getting more lean muscle mass to appear thinner and leaner without losing more weight that, quite frankly, you need. You might feel kinda gross becuase you are not eating very healthy stuff. Just a thought.

i think you're hitting right on about the emotional part. i had a boyfriend 3 years of high shcool and we broke up a week into college. that's when i gained the weight. i wasn't really sad, but i just didn't have him around as an emotional distraction anymore. i don't know. i hate the idea of needing a distraction like that to maintain my ideal weight but i don't really know how else to fix it. i know it was a big change, and sometimes i experience loneliness, but i would say that i'm generally a very happy person, the only reason i'm not happy anymore is because of my weight!

and thank you for the advice cellotlhicks. :) i agree that the best thing i can do right now i clean up my diet and add a little exercise to my routine. i just need the motivation!

Your IDEAL weight may not be 98 pounds, and in fact it probably isn't your IDEAL weight since it is underweight. In high school our bodies are still developing and continue to do so through our early twenties. Internally there are changes that occur that can account for weight gain. Besides, you are still on the low low end of healthy so don't worry about your weight. I would address your body image issues though because if you think you're even slightly overweight then you probably have bigger problems that you have yet to uncover. Anyhow, I wish you all the best and if you need support please feel free to message me!