Too thin ?

Well, this is bugging me. Twice now my Mother has told me I'm getting too thin and my face looks "sunken in" (whatever that means). Then today I had to see the infectious disease doctor as a follow-up to the strep pneumonia I had two weeks ago. I weighed in at 155, which is where I've been for a few weeks now. He asked me if I was still losing, and I told him maybe a few pounds a month and that my surgeon wanted me at 137. He looked at me and said "No way. You're 5'7". You will look emaciated. You're losing here." (and he pointed to the side areas right above my eyes). Now that I look closer (especially at that area), I can see my bones popping out just about everywhere. I'm wondering if that is a good thing or not. While I have lost 102 lbs. since December 28th, I am feeling depressed about the extra, wrinkly skin. I have some on my inner thighs (not too bad, but enough to "jiggle" when I walk). My stomach is pretty wrinkly, and my breasts look empty and wrinkly. They look like deflated balloons, no matter what type of bra I buy. It's bumming me out, and I'm feeling so self-conscious. I have always said I don't want any plastic surgery because 1) I couldn't afford it and 2) I absolutely could not tolerate the pain, discomfort, and drains. I'm not sure what I'm trying to get at here but felt I needed to get this out. I wonder if I will keep losing and seriously look too thin? My bones are indeed showing in a lot of odd places. What really sucks is I had hoped for nice, thin legs but they don't seem to have lost all that much. My calves still look heavy, and my knees look just as yucky as always. What the heck do I do now?? CHRISTINE 257 / 155 / 137?

See what the BMI chart says is normal for 5'7". My so called best friend and her husband told me top stop at 200lbs. NO WAY!! According to the BMI chart I would still be over weight. http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bmi-start.phtml You also have to decide where you feel comfortable at. My surgeon never gave me a weight to stop at but if he did I would still go with what makes me happy. Donna 338/190 -148

Hi Donna, Thanks for your response. My BMI is currently 24.1, which is "normal". According to the chart, for me at 5'7" it says: Your weight is 154 pounds. Your ideal body weight is 147 pounds. Thus, this means your "excess" weight is about 7 pounds. Hmmmm, I am not sure where I will feel comfortable. I kinda feel like I need to lose another 10-15 pounds, but then when I see the excess skin I wonder how that will be possible. I think the real issue I'm having here is that I STILL SEE MYSELF AS OVERWEIGHT when I look in the mirror. Wow, I'm sure most of us here can relate to that huh? Even though I'm buying size 9 juniors jeans/skirts, I still think I'm fat.

I do feel that way at times but then I look at my before pictures and it's a slap across the face "walk up call" I'm not fat anymore 10 years ago I felt fat at 180lbs and today at 190lbs I feel thin. When you carry around 338lbs on a 5'4" frame 250lbs makes you feel small. Only thing I hate is the skin that is hanging off my arms. I can tuck the rest in my pants but not my arms. You have to feel comfortable with your own body. Your going to find people that will put you down regadless if your fat or thin. When your obese you hear comments like. You really need to lose the weight as it's not healthy and then you start losing weight and these same people tell you that your to thin. My thought on this is. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. Donna 338/190 -148

Dear Christine, I am going to use body fat percentage, not weight as my goal. When my body fat gets to "normal", I'll get on a maintenance type program. Tanita has scales that give a pretty good rating of bady fat. You may want to invest in one of those and let it be your guide. Angie 302/196/normal body fat percentage

Hi Angie, Thanks for responding. I'm not sure what percentage body fat I should have, but my BMI is at 24.1 which is "normal". I do have a Tanita scale that I got a few months back but it doesn't calculate body fat. Hugs, Christine

Christine, congrats on your weight loss. As per my surgeon, he told me that your body will more or less know where to stop at. I think you are doing fine and from the photos you have on your webpage you look great. I have a lot of wrinkly skin all over my body and it looks horrible. I can roll my breasts into my bra and my thighs jiggle and shake all over. My fiance says, I look like I am melting. I know that I will have to have ps because I have too much loose skin, but I will deal with that when the time comes. You're doing great and continue to exercise your legs, that will help address the loose skin around your knees (that is what my trainer is helping me with). Fran 12/16/04 283/183/155

Hi Christine! I found a site from a post from our Virginia board, that was very helpful. The site is http://www.thinnerself.com/main_page.html click on BODY Calculator He'll show you the "National Average" for women your age, height, weight and of course gender. Then he'll also give you the "MEDICAL" standard sterile version that only takes weight and height into consideration. Hope this helps! Dianna

Thanks for sharing this site with us. I love the Nutrition page. http://www.thinnerself.com/files/nutrition_page.htm

Christine, You be the judge, You can tell when you have lost enough. I know what you mean by the excess skin, I too have deflated breasts that just disgust me and my calves are still huge. I've lost weight everywhere but in my calves and ankles. I also feel like I wish I would stop loosing weight in my face and colar bone area. I still have 59lbs to reach my surgeons goal, I'm only 5'8 and he would like me to get to 185( that could be because i weighed 415 and I have lots of extra skin) Christine I don't think I helped you any but just wanted to let you know you are not alone, I think alot of us are dealing w/ the same issues and that's great to come here for support. That's what we are here for. Kelly