Why ?

[izzieamy]

Hello, im 15, 5 ft 5 , weigh 7.4 stone and have a BMI of 17.3
I eat a fair amount and i do constantly worry about being over 8 stone or putting on wieght but its not a huge issue in my life. Why am i in the underweight catagory when i look normal and look quite podgey ????
Thank you.x

[Pigletion]

1. perhaps your image of your body is not the same as others, you may only be podgy in your eyes. (Or your body may be storing fat in certain areas as it feels starved of it, that's the main reason to store fat, in that our body is storing it for use later).

Less than 7 1/2 stone is very low for someone of your height. Maybe you could talk to someone about your food/weight issues - you say it's not a problem, yet you constantly worry about it. This suggests it is actually an issue, but maybe you don't want to admit that. Why do you worry about being over 8 stone? Being very thin can affect your health detrimentally - dry skin, thin hair, fertility issues, bone density problems etc.

2. Youth offers a wonderfully fast metabolism compared to when you're older so you can get away with eating a lot more.

3. It can be inherited, if your parents are naturally slight, you will be too.

If you are worried, I would speak to someone. It doesn't need to be scary. You could see a nutritionist so you know that you are getting genuine nourishment from the food you eat. Being healthy and happy is much more important than what the scale or BMI says. BMI is an old measurement (which only the NHS and women's mags seem to use!) and says lots of international sportsmen/women are grossly obese, as it doesn't take into account muscle mass or % fat. Nutritionists have a different measure for this that takes into account your body make up.

Good luck, hope you get the answers you need. There are many avenues to investigate, your GP could outline them for you.

[izzieamy]

Thank you pigletion, thats really opened my eyes to new reasonings!
i dont know why...i mean i dont think being 8 stones fat its just something i personally dont want to be, i dont want my parents knowing i feel like this sometimes, they'd go crazy and i just cant tell them, my parents are fairly podgey so im not sure...
my friends say i look average but when they actually see
my stomach they say im like anorexically skinny but im really not, i dont think im fat but i defiantly dont think im skinny either. =/
This is where i get confused!
Perhaps its something all teenage girls go through im sure its nothing, i just wanted someone elses oppinon
Thank you :)

[Pigletion]

I think there is definitely an element of being a teenager in the there! You just have to make sure it doesn't take over your life and become and obssession. The same is of course true for anything, not just eating/weight issues.

Just remember there are always people to help, confidentially if necessary, if you feel you need to talk. It doesn't have to be asking for help, just talking to someone else can often get things straight in your own head.

Also, I know it's hard, but your parents might surprise you. I admit as a teenager I would have doubted this. Also they maybe a bit podgy now (they may have been thin in their teens?), but it may be that they are now happy with there lot and other stuff concerns them more than their weight, like bringing up their children, enjoying life etc. They may well have worried about stuff when they were younger though!

Hope all goes well for you

[Velvetee]

You are in the slightly underweight range for your BMI because you ARE underweight.

You possibly have a distorted image of how you actually look and contrary to your belief that your weight is not a huge issue, I would say it is. Even if you were 10 stones at 5'5", that would still be classified as normal.

You possibly look "podgy" because you have no muscle tone so your body is "soft" and not firm.

[izzieamy]

v.....what are you saying ?

[craft1948]

izzieamy when I left school aged 16 I was the same height as you and weighed in at 7stone 12 pounds. I was extremely fit as I played a lot of sport, but I wouldn't have liked to have weighed much less as I would have been classed as underweight, and that was way back in 1964. If you don't do much exercise I would give it a try.....you may weigh a bit more but become more toned.

[Velvetee]

I don't know if you exercise Izzie, but I assume you don't do much in the way of Resistance Training. People tend to think they look podgy or lardy, when their muscle tone is poor.

If you are quite thin and don't eat enough, then your body tends to consume muscle fibre, which gives the soft podgy effect. It sounds like you are too preoccupied with your actual weight and not how your shape looks.

I think it's better to look toned and healthy, than just thin and shapeless. You could probably afford to eat more, considering your weight.

[onlyme26]

hi,

i think your're going to have to accept the fact that you WILL put weight on, you cant stay that weight for ever and if you obsess over this you will make yourself ill,

you are only 15
you still have to grow...

when i was 15 i was probabily about 8 and a half stone, i was size 10-12, like you im 5 foot 5 and a half

when i was 21 i was still the same size (10-12) but weighed between 9 and a half and 10 stone,

you will put weight on naturally as you grow older just try not to worry about it,
i only ever got weighed in PE at school for some health programme we were doing at the time, i never even looked at the scales at your age, you shouldnt obsess over weight, you sound like you are slim, maybe a little underweight, tho i can sympathise, im a size 16 now! thats what having 2 kids does for you hehe but when i look back at pictures of me at your age i was soooo slim, but at the time i thought i was fat! but im older and wiser now all i needed was a bit of excercise, i mean i was a perfect size just needed to tone, if you think you look a bit podgey its not weight you need to lose you maybe just need to tone up a bit,

good luck anyway x