metabolism issues/malnutrition, I need knowledgeable advice

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green_tea

New member
I'm an 18 year old female. Recently, I lost 22 pounds and while I'm happy with the results, I'm not happy with how I'm getting there. I'm 5' 3.5" and 110 pounds now. I run 1,000 calories on the treadmill (about 7 miles on a high incline) 5 days a week. I've been eating about 500 calories a day, if even that. I want to maintain my weight while trying to be more healthy about it. The problem is my metabolism, in that it's always been shit and it's probably even worse because in order to compensate for it's shittiness I've been semi-self starving. When I was at my highest weight (about 132 pounds), I was probably only eating about 1,200 calories a day and doing moderate exercise on a regular basis (I'm a fencer). I know that if I switch to a technically "healthy" diet of 1,800 calories, I'm going to gain a lot of weight. My mom has hypothyroidism and she's on medication for it and diabetes runs in my family, so I'm one of those people with a natural inclination to be "fat". I feel like there's no winning in my situation. If I try to be "healthy" with my diet and exercise, I will gain weight until I ultimately end up borderline overweight. I feel like if I go to a doctor about this, they'll dismiss me without treating my metabolism problem because I'm no longer overweight.

Advice, please?
 
green_tea said:
I'm an 18 year old female. Recently, I lost 22 pounds and while I'm happy with the results, I'm not happy with how I'm getting there. I'm 5' 3.5" and 110 pounds now. I run 1,000 calories on the treadmill (about 7 miles on a high incline) 5 days a week. I've been eating about 500 calories a day, if even that. I want to maintain my weight while trying to be more healthy about it. The problem is my metabolism, in that it's always been shit and it's probably even worse because in order to compensate for it's shittiness I've been semi-self starving. When I was at my highest weight (about 132 pounds), I was probably only eating about 1,200 calories a day and doing moderate exercise on a regular basis (I'm a fencer). I know that if I switch to a technically "healthy" diet of 1,800 calories, I'm going to gain a lot of weight. My mom has hypothyroidism and she's on medication for it and diabetes runs in my family, so I'm one of those people with a natural inclination to be "fat". I feel like there's no winning in my situation. If I try to be "healthy" with my diet and exercise, I will gain weight until I ultimately end up borderline overweight. I feel like if I go to a doctor about this, they'll dismiss me without treating my metabolism problem because I'm no longer overweight.

Advice, please?
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You're 5' 3", your heaviest weight was only 130ish lbs and you think you have a natural inclination to be fat? Man, I forgot how jaded the 18 year old's point of view on the world was.

I don't think this is an issue of metabolism. Rather, it's just the way you look at yourself. Unfortunately, a lot of that probably has to do with your age. Every 18 year old thinks that they aren't good enough - it's just the way our society works. I wish I had advice for you, but...I don't. It's just something you'll have to work out for yourself. Sooooo...good luck with that.
 
When I was at my highest weight I was dieting and exercising anyway. At that point, I was like 5 pounds from becoming overweight according to my BMI. I assume that the National Institute of Health isn't just fucking with me in their categorizations of "overweight". And my suspicion about my metabolism is based not only on my weight but my family's medical history. Thanks for implying that I was a naive 18-year-old for asking a medically valid question about how to maintain my weight without being unhealthy.
 
5 pounds from becoming overweight is still not overweight. It's within the healthy weight range, and is much healthier than going on a 500 calorie diet.
 
Hi there :) I find this thread very interesting, and i know where you are coming from. Im not here to lecture you or point the finger.
I have been through a similar situation. I used to weigh 110, through pretty much nearly starvation and excercise. Some days i just didnt eat, some days i would have a really restricted amount.

Then after many years of personal problems etc i just started eating normally, verging on unhealthy, and got to my highest weight of 195 pounds!!!!!!!!!!
My metabolism just isnt normal any more. If i ate 1000 calories a day, and excercised an hour a day, i would probably still put on weight.
I am currently really struggling to lose weight again. I am down from 195 to 176, but still a long way to go. And it is a real struggle for me at the moment to lose weight. I would love to get back to 110, but then id be in the same situation as you. How do i stay at 110 and eat healthily? If i eat healthy, i become overweight. I believe my metabolism is shot!!!

So please... anyone that can offer real advice while seeing where you are coming from will be great.
 
green_tea said:
When I was at my highest weight I was dieting and exercising anyway. At that point, I was like 5 pounds from becoming overweight according to my BMI. I assume that the National Institute of Health isn't just fucking with me in their categorizations of "overweight". And my suspicion about my metabolism is based not only on my weight but my family's medical history. Thanks for implying that I was a naive 18-year-old for asking a medically valid question about how to maintain my weight without being unhealthy.
Click to expand...

If you think that the BMI chart is some sort of medically accurate, unarguable way of determining your health, then yes...you are a naive 18 year old.

Look, the BMI chart is an estimation (a very VAGUE estimation) as to how much we, as individuals, "should" weigh. It's not something that anybody should be taking all too seriously. For instance, according to most BMI charts, my "healthy weight" is anywhere between 125 and 140 lbs. But, according to reality, my "healthy weight" is anywhere between 170-180 lbs. That's when I look and feel the best. And, for most of my life, that was my "normal" weight.

If I weighed 125-140 lbs, like the BMI chart says that I'm "supposed" to weigh, then I would be a sickly looking weakling. Hence, why nobody should ever take the BMI chart too seriously.

*EDIT - The reason you shouldn't take the BMI chart too seriously is because it doesn't take into consideration that different people have different levels of body fat, muscle mass, etc. If I was a 5' 8", 190 lb man, the BMI chart would register me as obese. But, what if I only had 2% body fat? How could I possibly be obese when I have hardly any fat on my body at all? That's why you shouldn't take what the BMI chart says too heart.
 
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So, there are a couple of issues here.

First - your numbers don't sound overweight, why do you feel like you are/were? Do you feel like you have a lot of flab on you and you're skinny fat?

If that's the case, then the best thing you can possibly do is to eat normally for a while and start lifting weights while getting plenty of protein. When you gain muscle instead of fat you won't get that fat look, you'll be able to eat more (higher weight = higher metabolism) but you won't look fat. If you put on fat as well as muscle, worst case you'll have to diet some of that fat off. You can read the stickies in the exercise subforum for more information on how to start up a resistance program.

Second - how do you know how many calories you're getting a day? Do you track everything you eat? Do you weigh your food? The reason I ask is that it's really really easy to underestimate your calories by as much as 25% a day. That means you may actually be eating 1600 calories while thinking you're averaging 1200. Maintenance for 110 lbs is around 1650 calories, so if that's the case you might really be eating a 'healthy' amount for your weight.

Third - if you think you have issues with your thyroid, go see a doctor anyway. You can request a thyroid test which should tell you up front if you have hyperthyroidism like your mother. If you do, then it doesn't matter whether or not you're overweight, they will treat you. On the other hand, if you just have a slightly slowed metabolism then you might just have to deal with eating less and exercising more - a boat most of us here on this forum are in.
 
I agree with Jeanette401. Go get tested with the doc to clear up that lingering question in your head. You've also got some body issues, let's face it. To deal with that, a resistance program will help you build muscle and start changing your body composition. You will need to eat more to make that happen though. Trust in the idea that if you're doing a full body resistance program, that eating more will be contributing to the growth of lean mass. Don't gorge, just do some research on how much of a daily calorie increase you should start with in order to gain muscle. You're not going to bulk up, but you'll get leaner and you'll raise your metabolism with every lb of muscle you gain. And since 1lb of muscle is so much more compact that 1 lb of fat, you'll be smaller and leaner for the same body weight. I'd try not to pay so much attention to the scale or concern yourself so much with BMI as ChiTown is right, BMI is just a general guide for a whole diverse population. Gauge your healthy by what you can comfortably maintain with diet and exercise, and how you look and feel. If you feel fat no matter what weight you are, then that is all in your head. But if you really think you're "skinny fat", than doing resistance training to help change your body composition should help you see the results you're looking for: reasonable weight, lower body fat %, better physical appearance and raised metabolism.
 
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