To think you can be "underweight" and healthy?

[GoldenWombat]

I have always been skinny despite striving to eat full fat foods and eating as and when I please. My parents brought me up on a healthy diet, with only fruit and digestive biscuits as snacks. Normally we'd eat rice, meat, and salad for dinner. I generally wouldn't eat much lunch but would have cereal with full fat milk for breakfast.

As an adult, I've tried to gain weight by eating full fat products and nuts. I even went through a period of wilfully eating unhealthily to see if it would help me gain weight, but I stayed the same. However I'm still classed as being underweight, with a BMI between 16.5 and 17. I have never been on a diet, however I naturally get full quickly and generally only desire one big meal a day.

I've checked online for signs of malnutrition, however none of the following symptoms apply to me:

• tiredness and irritability
• inability to concentrate
• always feeling cold
• loss of fat, muscle mass, and body tissue
• higher risk of getting sick and taking longer to heal
• longer healing time for wounds
• higher risk of complications after surgery
• depression
• reduced sex drive and problems with fertility

In more severe cases:

• breathing becomes difficult
• skin may become thin, dry, inelastic, pale, and cold
• the cheeks appear hollow and the eyes sunken, as fat disappears from the face
• hair becomes dry and sparse, falling out easily

In fact my hair is extremely thick, my face has a normal distribution of fat, I don't suffer from depression or breathing difficulties, and I tend to be more resistant to viruses and illnesses than my friends - I actually tend to recover quicker. My periods are extremely regular.

I take a full range of vitamins to ensure that I have an appropriate vitamin intake. The only symptom I may possibly have is anaemia, but this runs in my family - even my overweight cousins have it.

I have only ever once gained a noticeable amount of weight, but that was just a few kilos after living off Pâté and chocolate when on holiday in France. But it quickly dropped off once I returned to my usual diet.

To be honest, I find it really hurtful when people tell me to gain weight, as it seems like an impossible task to me. I've never wilfully lost weight, and I don't by any means look skeletal. I'm not posting this to brag, it's just that I'm genuinely curious to know whether I really am malnourished without realising it??

AIBU to think that I am healthy despite being technically underweight? Any knowledgable people out there who can share resources as to how I could gain weight/whether this is necessary? Anyone else out there in the same boat as me?

It might be worth having a blood test to see if you're vitamin deficient. Some conditions do not reveal themself until they become chronic.
For example on Friday I found out I have poor kidney function but I've been feeling fine.
Also I'm guessing you're in your 20s? You may be getting away with under eating now but it may catch up with you 20 years later (osteoporosis).
Nothing wrong with a small appetite but if you were to have an illness or had poisoning, you're likely to lose weight and become dangerously underweight.
So get a blood test and start adding some nutient rich foods as snacks - nuts, avocado, houmous, rice cakes.

Have you ever been pregnant? I'm the same btw. I had a baby when I was very underweight when I was 24. I'm now 30 and have a slightly higher BMI (still underweight technically) but haven't been able to conceive for 3 years. Doctors blame my weight.

I was always underweight as a young woman, for no reason - I ate what I wanted. I was pretty healthy. For some people it's just the way they are.

(I am not underweight now though and have not been since my early 20s. But at the same time my weight at 9 months pregnant would not have put me into the overweight category, had I not been pg.)

It's a good point about osteoporosis, I hadn't considered that. I'm mid-20s, and was born with only one fully functioning kidney so I definitely should continue trying to eat better.

If you've always been underweight then I suspect that some of the symptoms listed may well be your 'normal' and therefore not stand out to you. You're unlikely to have properly studied your own healing time, for example. Or though you may not consider yourself to be irritable, putting on some weight to get yourself into the healthy weight category may lead to a boost in mood. And low BMI most certainly does put you at increased risk of surgical complication and means you have barely any functional reserve if you do get sick. As a PP mentioned, low intake can have longer term impacts such as impacting bone strength.

No real advice, sadly, as I have the opposite problem. But FWIW, I do hope you are healthy.

I haven't been pregnant yet, but planning to TTC in the next couple of years. I'm not sure how my weight would put my fertility at risk though, considering my periods are regular? I might be being naive??

I thought the same, and my periods are also very regular. But no, the doctors insist it's because of my low BMI! They can't tell me why though... everything I've read about it just seems to say being underweight could cause periods to stop and therefore infertility, which isn't the case for me... or you!

I'd recommend getting your bloods done, purely because I was very seriously anemic with absolutely no symptoms. Or so I thought. I just felt like shit all the time so that was my idea of normal. Now I'm on medication, I feel a million times better.

My sister was underweight when she fell pregnant with absolutely no issues. I've been overweight most of my adult life with no major health complaints, other than my anemia. After years of yo-yo dieting (which actually caused me health problems!), I've decided it's healthier to maintain my albeit too high weight, eat healthy, exercise regularly and get enough sleep, reduce stress etc. Rather than trying to achieve a 'healthy' weight through unhealthy means.

Yes. I even managed an underweight vegetarian pregnancy without being aneamic. Although obviously I gained weight when pregnant, but I was under consultant care. My periods were 28 days too.
My fighting weight just falls into the low BMI when I'm active and eat well. I've never dieted or eaten low fat.

Not having enough body fat is suppose to disrupt the flow of hormones so you won't release an egg every month. This doesn't mean you won't have a period. This can happen if you are underweight, or normal weight but doing too much exercise so are muscular. Hence if you have trouble concieving they tell you to put on weight if you are underweight, and to do less exercise of you exercise 5+ times a week for significant periods of time.

It could be just how you are made. My brother eats so much and he cannot gain weight. He lifts weights for exercise, basically to bulk himself up a bit and get some shape.

Only very slightly off topic but my Aunty and cousin have to eat a higher than average calorie count to keep their weight in the healthy range so they eat chocolate every day...
I'm not jealous... not at all 😂 🙈

I think the point is that you can't be underweight and healthy and being underweight IS unhealthy but you can eat a healthy diet and be underweight.

As with everything there are alway exceptions and BMI is no different. The chances are you have always been on the lowest percentile for weight.

Might be worth consulting a proper dietician or nutritionist?

You sound like you’re a healthy weight for you - BMI is a good rough guide but it’s not perfect.

I was the same and had to gain weight to qualify for Ivf funding - to do it I had to stop exercising and overeat. Since having a baby (still breastfeeding) I seem to hold onto weight a bit better so now fall in the bottom end of the ‘healthy weight’ BMI range, but I really think if you’re strong, well, and having periods you’re probably fine.

I was like this for all of my pre-children years. After 3 children, I am now normal weight, and in fact have a bit of a 'tummy', although am still at the low-mid end of the healthy range of the BMI scale. So things can change as your lifestyle does.