Underweight risks?

[BaggyClothes]

Anyone know if there are any risks associated with being a little bit (few pounds) underweight?

I don't think I can afford to be on mj long term. My weight is tumbling off so I could probably get to being underweight (BMI 18 ish) by summer. I can probably afford mj maintenance for another couple of months after that.

Because it's likely a bit of weight will creep back when I stop mj, I thought if I can get to a little bit underweight, then when the weight does come back a bit, I can stay slim! and stay within the healthy weight range!

But does anyone know if there are risks associated with being a tiny bit underweight? (not something I've had to think about before! And I'm sure I've watched documentaries about how being a bit underweight and under eating calories by a bit, can prolong life?)

I wrote my post from personal experience. I got really sick in my mid twenties and dropped a huge amount of weight. I was at about 17 on my BMI before I finally ended up in hospital because my electrolytes were so bad that my heart stopped working properly.

It really isn't a fun experience. I started working out regularly once I was managing to eat properly again. That was actually enjoyable. Get your biceps pumped, is my advice.

I lived with a model when I was younger. She developed anorexia while we were housemates. I would never, never wonder what it feels like because I could see that it was physically painful on top of all the ways it was fucking with her head.
She was a beautiful, healthy, slim woman who became an alarmingly thin woman who I could only look at with concern. There is nothing aspirational about being underweight.

How will you look at BMI 18?

I know it's not the main concern but I would be concerned about that for me. Having been overweight I think being that weight would not be kind to the face etc.

It’s quite worrying actually reading this. Read it back and imagine you had a daughter saying all this- would you be okay with that?
”wonder what it’s like to be underweight”
that’s shocking, I think you should stop the injections as you’re at risk of an eating disorder.
there is literally not one good thing about being underweight. Would you say the same thing about being obese?
”ooooh does anyone else wonder what it feels like to weigh 20 stone? Just once to try it?”
I doubt it. Idolising being under weight is so unhealthy, sorry but I think you need a wake
up call before it’s too late

BMI of 15 is life threateningly underweight. Please, if you haven't already, get medical help before it's too late.

If it's any consolation, I'd love to be underweight and look like a catwalk model. So fantasising about that does not make you someone with disordered eating in my opinion. But I'm 5ft 5 so that's unlikely at any weight 😂

I've been reading around about exiting MJ and the alternatives and to my mind the sensible approach is not to starve yourself into an underweight position with medication as it simply will not be sustainable. By all means get yourself to that borderline point but what is your plan to start exercising and to start eating normally as you reduce your dosages? If nothing else, weight loss will not give you a toned physique so you have a body to match your new weight? Equally, if your tastes run to uber processed food and you've only lost weight because you've spent months just frankly as sick as a dog, why would you suddenly have an inclination to feast on a salad without dressing when you come off the meds?

What is useful to know is your height and build. Underweight BMI has a range albeit a much smaller one than "Healthy". A kg under is not going to kill anyone but the risk is you do become quite disordered about your eating and / or panic when the weight starts to creep up if you are not eating and exercising in a way that you can maintain it.

I'm hoping that if I lose a stone or so I can start to do some HIIT training similar to the Body Coach. Right now my knees and my back aches and I know I'll injure myself so I'm concentrating on lots of walking and sensible eating.

Thank you for your message

Thanks for understanding.

Please don't loose anymore weight xx

Thanks! That's a helpful and validating post! I don't want to be less than BMI 18. I don't envisage and wouldn't want to be more than kg or so under.

I don't actually know what my build is! I assumed I was 'big built' whatever that is. But as I am loosing weight I don't now think I am. I was just fat!! Maybe I'm just average build whatever that is. I have an annoyingly small head, which I think suits me much better now my body is getting smaller (I did look odd before having a tiny head on a big body!!) I have broad shoulders and slim legs.

I'm definitely an apple. There's another thread on here about being a low BMI but still size 14. That's v similar to me. I think at 18 BMI I would be a size 10 ish, not less than size 10, so not tiny tiny.

I don't like strength training. I find it really boring! And I also don't want to have big muscles. I really don't like the muscly sporty look! I enjoy running and swimming, and I think swimming is good for toning, so I do do both those activities and plan to continue them when I hit maintenance..

To be fair, I have a tiny head and I don't really want to lose more from my face! Though I could do with one less chin 😜 so can probably still loose a bit more! At BMI of 18 I'd probably just look slim, not skinny (though my face and legs may be a bit too thin looking not sure til I get there really!)

OP, you sound unwell.

I have gone from a BMI of 30 and am
currently about bmi 23.5. I weight 59kg at 5ft 2in and have just reached a point where I could pass as unwell. My face is quite gaunt and droopy, my boobs have become quite saggy and I have loose skin around my thighs and stomach. Saying all this, I still have plenty of fat on my stomach and thighs so could probably lose more but I won’t.

I have also been unwell in the past and a very low weight. It was extremely uncomfortable with bones sticking out, cold all the time, no energy and people telling me I looked unwell.

a mid BMI point is what you need to aim for or you’ll look ill, saggy and old before your time at a weight of 51kg.

Any kind of exercise will help build strength and endurance. And you're quite right to do something you enjoy. A lot of people plan really unpleasant workouts for themselves and then feel defeated when they can't keep it up.

I'm very concerned. You're a prime example of someone who should no longer be prescribed MJ and you should have some therapy.

I am really concerned OP and very surprised that you're still being prescribed this 😔.

I sometimes wonder what it is like to be a properly skinny person but not in a "oh, I wish I looked like that" way - more that I imagine it's freeing to not be bothered about food. Mounjaro is obviously helping me with knowing how that feels! The women I know in rl who are extremely skinny are my next door neighbour (who is an ultra-marathon runner and super fit) and my SIL who is tiny and has always had disordered eating - and imo doesn't look good, she is extremely pale and ill looking. I wouldn't want to look like either of them frankly! I like having a bit of a bum and boobs. I'm currently 11.8 and 5"8" and in a size 10-12, another stone and il be done even though Il only be in the middle of the healthy range. I can't even comprehend how awful I'd look if I got to the bottom of the healthy range which would be 8 stone 10 for me - I'd look absolutely horrendous and probably be a size 6!

Catwalk models often look quite freakish in real life as they are so tall and elongated - they look fabulous in photos etc but it's not a look most body shapes can achieve as a pp said. I'd much rather look a bit sexy than be thin as a rake. Models are famous for living on coffee and cigarettes and loads of them take amphetamines and coke. Look at Kate moss, one of the most famous supermodels - her drug issues are well known.

Also like others have said, slimming to bmi 18 would take a huge calorie deficit and your health would probably suffer in the meantime - and once you start eating normally and the weight will go back on. Obviously it depends how much you eat where your bmi will settle.

OP please rethink this.

Wanting to be slim and wear beautiful clothes is fine. Wanting to be underweight is not. It is also unlikely to be attractive. BMI 18 is very very small.

I have had a BMI of 19, I don't want to be that weight again. It was the 90s and heroin chic was cool but I looked too thin. I was an inch taller than Kate Moss and my measurements were slightly smaller. As I was young, firm, fit and pert I didn't look too bad but I was very very thin. My Mum worried I had an eating disorder. I longed for boobs bigger than a bee sting. I struggled to get clothes that fitted. Even jewellery was an issue, I found a photo recently and I'm wearing a bracelet pushed up to just below my elbow because it was so huge. I wasn't allowed to give blood, and my blood pressure was low. I looked so much better when uni life added a stone!

As a mature woman who has been overweight that weight now would look terrible. There would be sagging, loose skin, muscle loss. I certainly wouldn't be dressing like a catwalk model.

When my Mum lost lots of weight due to health issues she found sitting down uncomfortable without a special anti-bedsore cushion. She lost so much muscle and couldn't regain it and it left her weak and easily tired.

Please rethink. Aim to get to BMI 23 and see how you feel and look.

I agree, I think posts like this highlight that although higher levels of monitoring are a pain, I think they are needed. I think checking in with the person via video call to have a visual check from time to time may end up being needed. I think over time this is going to end up being needed because of misuse.

@BaggyClothes how tall are you? And how old?
Your goal should want to be within the healthy BMI range, not overweight nor underweight. Both have potential & dangerous health risks.

Not a good idea at all! I am naturally on the thin side. BMI normally 19/20. I record my weight about four times a year and put it in my phone. In October I was 56 kg which is a BMI of 18 at my height. Didn’t calculate this at the time or realize that a healthy 58/59 could so quickly become underweight.
A month later I was in hospital with a collapsed lung and then sepsis. Have never been so ill in my life. No proof that it was the (relatively tiny!) loss of weight that caused it, but I have never been underweight before in my life and collapsed lungs are much more common in underweight people. I also lost more weight in hospital and left in very very poor shape. For someone who was in good health last summer, it was all a massive shock. Have been eating a huge number of calories (carefully planned out, loads of porridge, bread, healthy fats and protein) since then and finally feeling better. But having a BMI of 17/18 in hospital is a scary place to be.

I'm late 40s and I think about 5ft6 / 5ft7

So realistically your target weight of 51 kg or 112lbs is underweight for someone about 5ft 2.

We’re broadly the same height. 8st 7lbs/ 120lbs would be super lean and frankly you would either look like an athlete or as an older person which I assume you are, look pretty unwell if you don’t exercise and train with weights. I haven’t been that weight since I was 25, pre kids and exercising a lot. At that point I was also about to get married so an optimum weight (with some sort of life) was 9st (sorry, really bad with kg)

There is little point in waiting until you get to your target weight to start swimming etc. It won’t happen.

finally, take a look at some regular losing weight threads. Weight lifting does not make you look like a body builder. If you can afford a couple of PT sessions you should have a go. Simple weights routines using 2-8kg weights and exercises that use your own body weight will give you that lovely lean and toned look if the fat has gone.

@BaggyClothes You need to get your height measured precisely for an accurate BMI reading. 1 inch out can make a big difference.
So you want to weigh around 8 stone? For your height that isn’t a healthy weight. You really should aim to stay within the healthy BMI limit, & not right at the bottom end either. Being underweight is truly as unhealthy as it is being overweight.
Why don’t you have a re think of your expectations? Some of the models who you wonder what it feels like to be that skinny have huge psychological problems, some suffer from anorexia, not something you should want to strive to be like.
Is there a GP or someone you can talk to?

Another reason not to do it. Don't mean to be ageist but a woman in her late 40's is never going to look good being underweight. We need a bit of fat to pad out the face!

I'm 40s and 5ft 7 and my BMI is currently just over 20. I have a very small frame, small head like you, and do look better on the lower end of my BMI. However, I have stopped losing weight and I'm maintaining, I'm still increasing my calories and I've always done strength training. I want to 'fill out' a bit with more muscle and I'm getting there. A BMI of 18 on me would require me to severely under eat and I would definitely not look good. It's still a drastic weight loss for me, I've lost nearly 5 stone and went from a BMI of 30. There's definitely no need for me to go to underweight and I would be uncomfortable, low energy, and clothed would just ne hanging off me - I'm currently wearing an 8 to 10.