Anyone have a problem being underweight?

[*mandi*]

I hate this fear so fricking much I cant take it anymore. I dont eat very good, and I am really underweight and its making me really depressed. I hate being underweight. I try to eat. And I just cant gain anything. Sometimes its hard for me to eat b.c. i think it might make me V*.


Does anyone else out there have this problem? Anyone else underweight and scared like me? Im afraid something is going to happen to me. Or that I might die or something. I mean...I eat...but I still keep losing weight. Is there any sort of medications out there that help with appatite?


I woudnt say that I am annorexic...b.c. I DONT think I am fat. I wish I could gain weight. And I eat. But just not enough. Please Someone Help.[img]smileys/smilies_06.gif[/img]

[stef]

hey mandi... thats not good that u hav such a problem putting on weight
bcos im sure its affecting ur health.. are u eating the right dietry
amounts of everything? if not than i suggest concentrating on ur
eating... i know thats so hard bcos i know how this fear affects us so
much that we are scared about wot we eat... but dont be... i just think
'iv gotta eat this cos its fuel... my body needs all of these things
and if i dont look after it than il get sick' and thats wot im most
scared of so that keeps me eating wel.. i never get sick bcos i hav a
good diet... eating normally will not make you v*... ur body will
appreciate it and ul feel good all the time.. eating small amounts is
fine.. as long as ur getting enough of everything... carbs, dairy,
vitamins, iron, fresh fruit n veg, breads and pasta, meats, fish, eggs,
yoghurt, milk, fats, sugars, etc... ur body needs it all... i dont know
of any medications that will help u get an appetite, sorry!! a lot of
medications such as some anti-depressants hav a side effect of weight
gain and appetite increase... however my anti-depressants hav the
opposite effect and make me lose my appetite so i am also getting very
skinny and im a very small person to begin with so its hard.. but i eat
properly and im sooo healthy!! i hope i hav been of some help[img]smileys/smilies_05.gif[/img] sorry i cant help u further[img]smileys/smilies_06.gif[/img] all the best and let us know how ur going!



-stef

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[missy77]

hey mandi, i'm going through the exact same thing that you are. i am underweight. i am 28 years old 4ft 11in and i should weigh between 105 and 115 lbs.at the moment i only weigh 90 lbs. i am trying to gain weight but because of my emet i hardly eat anything. i want to gain weight so bad, but i cant seem to. i hate being underweight too!! i am scared also. i'm afraid that i will have to be put in the hospital if i keep losing weight. i eat too, but i am still losing weight. i went to go see an nutritionist yesdterday because i thought i could get help on trying to gain weight. i expected more but all i got was a handout with tips on how to gain weight. here are some of them. maybe they can help you.


1. eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks each day. try to eat every 3 hours.


2. eat high calorie snacks between meals.


3. eat larger portions at meals.


4. drink fruit juice and milk instead of diet soda, water, coffee or tea withj meals and/or between meals.


5. if you smoke, stop. it will help increase your appitite.


i got this yeaterday and today i had a bad day so i wasn't able to start to try it. but to be honest with you i know that i am going to have a hard time with it. it is hard enough for me to eat twice a day. but i do know that i really do want to gain weight. i really want to try to do these things. but it is hard. and i know that you know that. but you aren't alone in being underweight. i feel exactly what you are going through. hopefully we can gain weight.

[s0ccer_princess]

I have this problem! Only the thing is, I don't put on weight very easily. It's not a case of me being underweight because I can't eat, it's a case of me eating large, completely fatty meals (which I ADORE ) and not putting any weight on.

Sometimes I do get scared of eating but rather than it being chronic like yours, luckily this only happens when I feel ill already- and then even non-emets might not feel like eating.

It's really tough, the way this affects eating. I bought a chicken burger the other day and the coating on the chicken was almost white when it was supposed to be brown. I knew I really couldn't let myself eat that without worrying about food poisoning for the rest of the day (and salmonella is particularly nasty- even for a non-emet). So I chucked it without touching it. OF course, I bought a substitute lunch from somewhere else, because I never skip out on meals, but my friend still looked at me as if I was strange- throwing away a lunch which seemed ok (unless you inspect it like we do).

Also, my strange eating habits, i.e. not eating anything which looks undercooked, worrying about eating too much in case i'm sick, literally chargrilling anything when cooking it XD, never cooking meat even though I'm a year 10 Food GCSE student- which means I've gone three years of food lessons so far always avoiding cookign meat :P and being relucatnt to eat when I feel ill (but since I feel ill a lot nowadays, I tend to not do this one so much).

Unfortunately, people- MY FATHER- have misinterpreted this fussyness as me making excuses not to eat- therefore saying I have an eating disorder. People do not know how much this annoys me. YES, emet can be a type of eating disorder if it prohibits you from eating- but NOT THE TYPE HTEY ARE THINKING OF. Nowadays, what with anorexia being frightfully common, people think the only eating disorders are people who don't want to put on weight. This is why if he says I have an eating disorder, it is not true, because he only sees refusing to eat to not gain weight as an eating disorder. Like many people. But I highly doubt if I didn't want to put on wight I;d be eating chips for every meal of th day happily, and be renowned amongst my friends as a complete food lover.

I'm sorry about this. It just annoys me how people who know nothing about what we go through try to write us off as "anorexics". There are real people out there with that as a real problem, like one of my closest friends. They need help for it. We need help for what we have. Don't merge the two.

[hollyjean]

wow im the complete opposite, i hardly eat and i cant loose weight! I used to be like you, but even worse, i actually was anorexic in the past. Not through fear of being fat but because i was scared of food, i was scared it would make me sick. I was extremely underweight and was on a waiting list for a special eating disorders ward :S Now im recovered, i do eat, but very little. I still relapse and go back to not eating at all, but it does not effect my weight. Iv been to a doctor about it and they told me i cant loose weight because i dont eat enough so my metabolism has slowed way down.


IF i could, i would donate my extra flab for you :P

[*mandi*]

I feel a little bit better knwoing im not the only one who has this problem. It really is hard for me. I do eat. Its hard for me to eat Full Big meals....b.c. If I eat too much I just feel sick.


Its just so frustrating. Its like I always think about my weight. And I DONT want to lose anymore...so im constantly trying to eat all the time....and I am constantly worrying how skinny I am....then I soon lose my apatite. Its the same process over and over each day.


I have no medical coverage what so ever. So right now im stuck. I cant get any help. So the only thing I can do is eat. But I still cat gain anything. And Im still really scared something might happen to me.


MISSY thank you for some of that info you gave me. I will definately hav to try some of those. Although its hard for me to eat "large" portions at meals.

[nicki]

I too am underweight, I am 5'6 and size 8 clothes in the Uk are too big for me (i think thats a size 4 in the usa). I eat out a lot and worry miyself sick everytime (actually anytime i eat) that im going to have got food posioning or the person who prepared it may have not washed their hands properly etc etc. Unfortunately I also have some anorexic tendencies, I worry about my weight constantly and yes when i look in the mirror i see fat, thankfully the logical part of my brain tells me that all the while size 8 clothes are too big im not fat.


I think my mum has noticed now, she always used to make jokes about my huge bum, but now she tells me how skinny i am, likewise my bf has noticed how thin i have become over the last year. I am also a teacher which can be bad at times as some of the kids sometimes comment how small i am

[rubysoho120]

I'm the opposite, I want to loose weight and I can't. All I do is eat. Mostly stuff I "trust." But really what can you trust? I'm a chef, so its hard not to want to eat what you make, you know? But I have a big diet restriction due to being allergic to lots of stuff...so that makes it hard. But I would take Missy's advice, it sounds healthy and good for you.

[samara's on tv]

I used to be REALLY underweight, so underweight that I wasn't even getting my period. Thentwo years agoI was hospitilized for it (For two weeks) and suddenly gained 30 pounds because when I was at the hospital I started eating at EVERY MEAL. I now feel like I'm a little overweight but it's not true cause if it was then my doctor would have said something to me. I haven't been able to lose the 30 pounds that I gained (Even though I wish I could...I feel fat) Anyway...just try eating something for every meal...and snack between meals. That's how I gained my weight.


~Monica

[kel12347]

Mandi, if you're having trouble eating enough, try Ensure shakes between meals. They taste pretty good (at least in my opinion) and have about 300 calories. That way, you're technically not eating anything, but you're getting calories and lots of good nutrients at the same time.

[*mandi*]

Thanks everyone. I do eat. But I think it might nt be enough for me to gain any weight. Ive only gained 2 pounds in the last week. ITs hard. I mean I absolutely LOVE food. And I love eating it....but sometimes when im eating I will start think out of nowhere "what if this makes me sick" or "what if I get nauseas and I V* alll this back up". Then eventaully I just cant finish my meal. Its the same routine everyday.


When I was taking Paxil a few years ago I put on about 10 pounds and was happy. Maybe I need to be back on it. Who knows. All I know is taht I constantly obsess over my weight. I think I am TOO Skinny. I wish I could gain weight. So when I dont gain weight I get so angry and upset that it makes me feel even worse (more anxiety). So it just sucks. Im hoping one day I can trust myself with food to not think that it will make me sick. I just wish it wa simple to do....but it isnt.

[tayda]

I have had trouble keeping it off, ever since I had my son, I've kept some extra weight. However, between school, work, and caretaking... I don't really eat super good. I mean I eat a lot of carbs I guess.. and not the good kind. I eat at least one piece of fruit a day, 3 veggies, and 1 protein.. but the rest (if any) is usually starchy... and I get regular exercise between chasing my boy around, and walking the dog.... I dunno.. I guess it's wierd when people think they're too skinney... cause I'm so used to thinking I'm too fat.... one doesn't usually think about it the other way around.... your stories were interesting to read

[liriodendron]

I eat like a pig sometimes even though I'm a finicky eater. Lots of
junk food, even right before bed when it's not going to get burned off.
I stay thin anyway. That's how I know I'm thin because that's just the
way I am, not because of the phobia. Afterall, I do get lots of
excercise and I really do like having great abs!



If you're concerned about whether or not you're eating enough, I
suggest you take a look at this website: http://www.mypyramid.gov/

It talks about the FDA's (US) food pyramid and gives you additional
information on how much to eat and of what. You might be surprised to
learn that it's not so much quantity of something, but variety instead.
And a lot of this stuff you can make safely at home if you wanted to.

[noeygirl]

i have the same problem...i am 5'5 and 100lbs i barely fit into a size zero but i cant seem to eat alot...i used to eat so much and now i cannot at all...it is so frustrating because everyone gets worried about me and thinks im anorexic and im not!!!!!!aaaaaaggggggggghhhhhhh

[*mandi*]

Noeygirl...I barely fit into a size zero too ITs so frustrating trying to find clothes that fit me. And yes everyone worries about me and think taht I am annorexic. Some people just dont understand this at all.


I've been very thin my whole life...I just guess its harder for me to put on weight...it always has been. But this is too much! I mean I get regular periods and everything...and I am barely ever sick (colds, flu ect.) Although I do feel the Nausea everyday...But thats b.c I think about it all the time.


But I should be ok as long as I eat right? Even If I cant put on the weight. ARg I wish there was something out there that could make me gain weight!


Maybe Ill have to try those ensure shakes along with my meals.

[tayda]

So for those of you who want to gain wieght; go to a local healthfood store or GMC store and purchse weight gainer. I had a friend in highschool who was tryin gto bulk up for football, and he took this stuff. He didn't go to the gym though, and he packed on some weight. I warn you, it is not the best tasting stuff, but it should do the job if you have to gain some weight.

[jenneth]

what do you class as underweight?

[*mandi*]

Im 5'1" and under 90 lbs.