Weird bones that I've never noticed before? TMI alert!

Okay, first off, let me start by saying that the following may be TMI.  Read on if you want.

Today when I was getting into the shower, I looked into the mirror and gasped.  I noticed these very slight bumps between my boobs that I've never seen before...it looks like a backwards spine.  When I suck in, they stick out even more.  It's like three little bumps about the size of spine vertebrae, and from what I can tell they are part of my rib cage.  Is this weird and there's something wrong with me, or am I just not a very observant person?

It's your breast bone/rib cage.  From my knowledge, this wouldn't be showing if you're at a healthy weight for your body frame.

Oh goodness, I just looked it up, and you're absolutely right.  It's my sternum.  EEK!  What do I do?! My BMI right now is 18.5, in the 31st percentile, which isn't underweight at all.  I don't know what to do! Maybe it always showed and I just now noticed it? Maybe it's normal?  Can anyone else see theirs?

yeah i could see mine when i was in the depths of anorexia. are you sure you're not underweight? stats?

To be exact, I'm 5'5.5", 15 years old, and 111-115 lbs. depending on the time of day.  I know I'm not underweight, but maybe I just carry my weight in extreme places?  Could that be it?

Uhm, hate to break the news to ya, kiddo, but THAT'S underweight. sure, you're in the 31st percentile, but you are ALSO at an underweight BMI. I'd say a good weight would be 119-145lbs, the healthy range for 5'5 1/2" (I'm that hieght too, horray!)

Okay, okay, okay, hold on just one minute.  I may be a little bit hyper and psycho, but I know I'm not crazy, and I know I'm not underweight. According to this calculator:

http://kidshealth.org/teen/nutrition/weight/b mi.html

specifically for teens, I can weigh like 101 pounds and still not be underweight (and that's if I'm rounding my height up!).  Plus, I went to the doctor just a few days ago, and she didn't say a word about my weight because I lost at a healthy and barely noticeable rate.  Now I'm confused!

That's still very, VERY low for weight. Still, it wouldn't hurt to gain just a little bit more, I don't think it's natural to be able to see your sternum through your chest.

I'm no expert though.

It depends on where you carry your weight. I can see my sternum at points, in certain lights, and I'm at a healthy weight as well. It was worse when I was underweight, but everyone's different. It's weird looking, but nothing to really worry about as long as your dr. says you're okay. 

For some people, it's normal to have a bony chest. And for some people, it's normal to be your weight & height as a teenager (I think I had your exact stats when I was 15).

I can't say for sure if you're one of those people. Do take care of yourself & make sure you feel healthy - that's more important than how you look.

(As for me - I grew up, became more active, and packed on some muscle. Now I'm 5'6" and 130, and I really feel great at this weight. I'm 27.)

That is within your healthy weight range for someone your age, but it is kinda on the low end on the spectrum.  How many calories are you eating a day?  Even though this is a healthy weight for now, you're still growing and obviously need to eat enough to sustain that growth.

Have you grown in height recently?  Sometimes a growth spurt works like that, where you grow upwards first, then fill out a bit, in that case, you're going to look a lot skinnier at your new height, before you fill out a bit.

As long as you're eating enough, I wouldn't worry about it, your body is changing.  But, if you're NOT eating enough, I'd up your calories a bunch to sustain your growth.

Hiya

From looking at your profile I would guess you are not at a healthy weight for YOU. If you are all of a sudden seeing these new bones protruding, whilst at the same time you have been calorie counting and actively losing weight, then I would say you are taking this too far.

I know you don't think you have an eating disorder, but this is exactly how mine started..just wanted to get "healthy" and a bit slimmer. And I too "promised" myself I'd never go below a certain weight, however, once you start it's not so easy to stop.

The fact that you want to be the lowest possible BMI is not a healthy thought. I know this children's BMI calculator says you can be healthy at this, in a couple of years you'd be considered seriously underweight at 100lbs. These calculators allow for teens who are having massive growth spurts and not teens who are dieting to get to that weight. Many of my friends WERE healthy at a lower weight at your age, but they ate lots and lots of food and never had any worries about their weight...except they wanted some boobs!

Please don't think that what you're doing is healthy, because its not. This is a time of growth and development and dieting to stay at a low weight is preventing that, and also possibly leading you to a severe eating disorder which will make you anything but happy.

Sorry for ranting. I just hate to see anyone going down this horrible path!!

Good luck hun

xx

Regardless of BMI's, percentiles and any websites that might tell you you're a healthy weight... if there's so little flesh on your bones that they are visibly protruding, you probably ought to tackle it by gaining some body fat and muscle.   Other areas that start to stick out when you're too thin are hip bones, the collar bone.  And if your legs/arms are the same thickness all the way down rather than tapering towards the ankles and wrists... that's not a particularly good sign either.

Be sensible...  Eat more! 

My BMI is 23 and I can see those bones. 

A healthy weight for this 15 year old is 106-146.  At 16 it would 109-149. At 5'6 -- these numbers change a tad.

okgo -- without seeing pictures of you we can't really make a determination of whether the low end of the spectrum is bad for you -- if you just saw your doctor and she is not concerned, then probably every thing is fine.

Remember, however -- you are still growing (inside if not out) and you still need to take in a rather large number of calories just to maintain.  This is what you should be eating based on your activity level:

not active:  1770

low activity: 2100

moderately active: 2410

very active: 2920

 

Interesting.  A few weeks ago I noticed my sternum protruding- I knew what it was, though- and I have at least 30 more pounds to lose.  I am still in the 186 range so you can't call me anorexic!  Plus my sternum area and there by where my boob is hurts a lot when one of my cats steps on me- nothing like being out cold at 3 a.m. and a friendly cat steps on 'parts'.   My doc has put me on a nerve damage pill so maybe I do have a problem.  It is weird how I have plenty of fat in my stomach left but ribs and sternum are really starting to stick out.

This is kind of a funny post because I have lost about 60 pounds (CW 177, 5'6.5") and I recently felt these bones then freaked out thinking it was cancer or something.  My boyfriend assured me it was simply a normal bone that I could now feel without my thick layer of fat there - ha!

The ideal healthy BMI is 21 and anything under 19 is considered "thin", not exactly too thin though. Being able to see your ribcage however is definately a hint that you should pick up a lil bit of weight.

i've always been able to see my ribs between my boobs. you're skinny yes, but not underweight. i don't think it's just body weight, i think it also has to do with your body structure/genetics/etc.

Original Post by ewwxroflzz:

i've always been able to see my ribs between my boobs. you're skinny yes, but not underweight. i don't think it's just body weight, i think it also has to do with your body structure/genetics/etc.

 I agree. My collar bones have always protruded pretty wildly, even when I was 15 pounds overweight. All of my [nine!!] aunts on my dad's side have protruding collarbones as well, and have since they were kids. It's just the way I'm built and that could be the case for you, too. You're not severely underweight and if you're eating enough, there's not much cause for worry.

Hey I didn't read all the responses, bc there were already a lot, but just in case no one mentioned it, you might just have no muscles. do you lift weights or do push ups? if a girl is eating properly and getting nutrition, she can still look all boney in the chest region if she's not working out (specifically, weight training). you'll build muscles faster if you're eating right. i've seen TONS of skinny but fit girls at the gym who only do cardio, and they look fine with their sports bra on, but then in the locker room, you can see their chests SAG.

Okie:  When I was your age, I could see mine too.  I didn't do weights or anything, but I was a runner, track and cross country.  I ate like a horse, eating 2 dinners every night which was probably STILL not enough since I was so active and running (in cross country) about 15 miles a day.  Maybe eat a bit more and put on like 2 or 3 pounds if it bothers you.  It bothered me, and I tried to gain weight, I really really did, but I couldn't seem to eat enough.  I wish that was my problem now!  Good Luck!