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BMI of 15.6
im 18 f and find my weight a very difficult subject. people keep telling me how skinny i am but i just don't see it. when i look in the mirror i see a mildly chubby girl staring back at me. i was concerned about what people were sayings i decided to calculate my bmi and it said that it was 15.6. i can see that this is probably unhealthy but the problem is food scares me. i don't like eating a lunch and will only eat small portions for breakfast and dinner. for snacks i drink tea or water. whenever i eat a piece of food i think about how the fat will stick to my body and make me look huge. my mom keeps trying to force me to eat, she shouts at me and makes me cry but i just can't bring myself to gain weight. i don't want to look fat or disgusting. is there a way of getting over this? i can't live with my self loathing any more.
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Maybe give some free advice about: Mental health?
It can be hard to recognize our own cognitive distortions, because we can only inhabit our own viewpoint inside our own heads! Everyone has some cognitive distortions [errors in thinking], try to remember some beliefs other people have where you've thought, "how can they think THAT?" Well, that's how everyone around you feels when you say you're mildly chubby at 15.6 BMI.
Deep breath, because you don't want to hear this, but feeling afraid of food and gaining weight is the textbook definition of anorexia nervosa:
"Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which people have an intense fear of gaining weight and can become dangerously thin. Signs of anorexia include less than normal weight, negative body image, and obsession with food."
[cite: [Link](Mouse over link to see full location)]
Ok, now please be honest with yourself, does that sound familiar at all?
Some people automatically reject the idea that they have a "mental illness" because there's some unfair and outdated stigma attached, but you can at least accept that to the rest of the world, your perception of yourself is a cognitive distortion, because you have to ask yourself the likelihood that every person and every metric you come across is wrong, even if your fear of treatment makes you desperately want to believe they are.
Here's the thing, your cognitive distortions are NOT just harmless or a simple difference of opinion. Your mom is deeply concerned about you for good reason, anorexia has THE HIGHEST MORTALITY rate of any disordered type of thinking.
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
You are her child and she loves you and she doesn't want you to die. There are very few things in the world that have such a high death toll as this particular disorder. You are dealing with an issue of life and death. Something that is at the conservative end 30x more likely to kill you without treatment than if you had HIV with treatment. Something that is about as deadly as breast cancer. You are 12 times more likely to die from this illness before your 24th birthday than any other cause--not murder, not terrorism, not accidents, nothing is nearly as deadly to you as this illness. [Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
Please don't give in to the skinny corpse fantasy, because I know I've been heavy-handed, but that's the all-too-likely alternative to treatment, because you need to know there are so many experiences you have yet to enjoy in a strong, healthy, beautifully capable body that gives you the full range of pleasure a life without fear or self-loathing has to offer.
I genuinely hope this gets through to you and that you talk to your mom and ask her not to lecture you, ask her instead to help you see a counselor.
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Hello I weighed 245.8 lbs at my heaviest and today I weight 123lbs. Needless to say I took my fair share of health classes to get this far. First off do not let what other people say bother you and if you are worried I suggest you get a doctors option before starting any diet regimen. What you need to do is be a healthy skinny and you can obtain this by eating you 3-4 meals a day but making them low in calories. The kicker is they need to be highly nutritious foods: fruits, veggies and proteins. This way you get all of the nutrition without the fear of weight gain. Also it is very important to realize fat gain or loss is all determined by math. No fancy fad diets are needed. Remember this if the calories you intake in a day=the calories you burn in a day there is no possible way you can gain weight. ABSOLUTELY NO WAY. But there is such thing as being fat skinny. This happens when a skinny person burns the calories they eat but the calories were fat calories. This is the skinny model that does of a cholesterol heart attack. Good luck and be safe and most of all remember you are beautiful and amazing and no one can define who you are exempt yourself!
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You need counselling.
When what your mind tells you doesn't line up with the truth, and that causes you this much distress and agony over food, it's time to get help. That is a pretty clear symptom of an eating disorder. You'll be happier, and healthier, if you can address it with a therapist.
It's TOTALLY possible to recover from an eating disorder. Lots of young women struggle with this, and go on to live much happier lives with much better relationships with food and their own body.
You can ask your mom about talking to a therapist, or ask a counselor at school. You may also want to visit a doctor for a check up to make sure there isn't anything going on physically that is contributing to your struggles.
This is tough - but it's not uncommon - and it absolutely can be fixed! You just need to good, sensible professional help to guide you.
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