Do you think I need to lose anymore?

[charimito]

So I think I'm starting to look too skinny, what do you think?

@hahaha well it's just so I can get a balanced maintenance diet. I came up with my own diet /training plan but oddly enough I feel that I need a professional to help me with a plan to keep the weight off.

The NHS is on its knees and you want weight maintenance advice?

Jesus wept

Well if op maintains a healthy weight and mental attitude it's likely to save the NHS thousands later on so I've no problem with her getting advice.

OP you will be lucky to get that on the NHS. The waiting list for referral to dieticians for weight reduction is months where I am and they won't see people for weight maintenance, you would need to go privately or just eat sensibly and increase your calories by a bit every day until you stop losing weight.

My daughter is 170cm and has a BMI of 24 and gets into a 10-12 as a dancer she has a lot of muscle and is well toned.

I think you look great by the way.

Sending photos of yourself to your old friends to see what they think, posting photos of yourself on an internet forum to see what strangers think, asking all your family and friends, and wanting to spend a GP appointment talking about your weight and diet...

I think you have become completely obsessed with how you look in a very unhealthy way. So while your weight and size is nothing to be concerned with, I think you might want to speak to the GP about your unhealthy fixation on it.

I agree with AyeAmarok

I actually don't think so. I come from a family of morbidly obese people, weight has always been a huge concern but I never got to do anything about it. When you don't have that many friends that you can talk about this (3 total) then going online doesn't seem like such a bad idea. I always thought of going to the doctor about it. Again, my family is plagued with weight related health issues, I used to be anemic for many years and I'm also hypothyroid. I just want to be healthy that's all. To me a GP seems like a sensible place to go.

Another thought - do you know what your body fat % is? If that drops too low you can start looking a bit bony and that might be what people are seeing.
When mine hit 20% (on my not-mega-accurate bathroom scales) I definitely looked a bit... sharply defined! and I wasn't really comfortable with it.

To me a GP seems like a sensible place to go.

As pp has said the NHS is stretched beyond belief. We has to wait 7 hours in A&E last week. I have had 2 operations postponed. They won't help you maintain your weight, your health is not at risk.

Maybe your family are making these comments because it's highlighting how over weight they are.

OP - I am in the US, here in the NYC area and my doctor said that at my ideal weight I should be able to see (as in an outline) my bottom 2-3 ribs when standing. Said this was her best indicator for a patient being a healthy weight. I don't know how true that is or isn't but right now you can't see any of my ribs!

No, you don't look too skinny. Perhaps they think your face is looking bony? Faces can look very different with less weight. I'm also confused about how you are a size 6 at the weight and height you say! Are you very muscular? I'm the same weight as you and a good few inches taller and between a 10 and a 12. When I was a size 6, I was in 7 stone range. All of mine is fat though, I have no muscle.

Your levels of exercise do seem high, to be honest. I'd probably be a bit concerned if you were my friend because it can become obsessive. So it could just be that it's a shocking change for them or even that they prefer the way people look with more weight. Or even jealousy! Who knows. Some people do seem to suit a bit more weight. I have a friend who is 5'2" and looks great at a size 12. She starved herself whilst in an abusive relationship to become a size 8 and looked horrible. She can see how it didn't suit her when looking at old photos now.

You do sound like you are bragging btw (not that you shouldn't be proud of your weight loss and fitness) but if you are coming across that way in real life I can see it rubbing people up the wrong way and perhaps encouraging them to tell you you are too skinny so you gain weight again and shut up!

Thinking about it, I have another friend who's recently lost weight after her pregnancy. She was slim before the pregnancy and is just stick thin now. I think it was her goal to lose more and I know she lifts weights, so would expect her to look muscular and fit. But I actually gasped when I saw her because she looked ill. Her legs are like toothpicks I don't know her well enough to comment on it, and assume she is pleased with her appearance, so I didn't say anything, but I really was shocked.

When I had an eating disorder I exercised every day and didn't eat for as many days as possible. I used to pass out regularly. I look back now and all I ever thought about was weight and food and exercise. It was an obsession. Do you think you would be able to recognise whether your thoughts have become unhealthy? Maybe that is what they are concerned about but they don't want to make you angry by saying that outright. If they were correct and you are becoming obsessed with it, bluntly questioning it might just push you away and cause you to deny it and continue in secret. Saying 'do you think you look a bit too skinny now?' might be their attempt at gently raising it with you. I have no idea of knowing whether that is the case, I just thought it sounds like the way I might raise it if I thought somebody had a problem. I'd probably tiptoe around it like that.

If your BMI is 25 you're not at all underweight, so that's fine!

Yes I'm muscular my body fat % if around 20, that's just my scale so it might be wrong. I've only asked a few people in person, my bf, my cleaner, husband and mil. Now l of them think I look OK (mil thinks I'm borderline), husband has told me he would definitely let me know if he thought I was too skinny. Ironically the people who have told me that I look too skinny are the ones who haven't seen me in person. And at least one of them has said the she prefers a "chubby" look. I don't exercise to lose weight (not anymore anyways) I enjoy running its proper "me time" and enjoy training during my week for my long runs. So nope, overall I don't think I over do it (also at least not in comparison to other people who run anyways). But I do wonder about the whole clothes size/ BMI disconnect. One of the reasons why I'm seeing a GP.

You asked your cleaner if you are too skinny? Plus mumsnet, of course.

I think that, at the very least, you need a bit of a perspective shift.

We always talk about fitness. She likes to go for walks, I like running. And she has seen me change through the months. The other day she even asked me to show her my new clothes, we get along in that way.

I'd probably aim for a BMI of 22 or 21. Then stop.

I think you're looking for someone to say well done, and whoever that person is, hasn't said it yet, so you're continuing to try and get that affirmation from others instead.

"My waist is 26in"

That was a size 10 when I was young. Size inflation again.

You are very slim for your weight though, if that makes any sense.

I think you sound a little self-absorbed. It's not attractive in a person.

My waist is 26 inches, and I weigh 8 and a half stone at 5ft 5. I'm a size 10 in most shops. Sizing is weird.

Yes I agree sizing is odd and not consistent at all. I've always been slim for my weight, even when I was obese I was a size 14.

I don't think you look too skinny, you look normal - but maybe you could do with building some muscle, that will make you look better. Plus focusing on gaining strength is a better mindset than focusing on being thin.