May I add that (IMO) age has a lot to do with it? I'm 5'2" tall and I know anything below 120 lbs. would make me look sick. On the other hand, a 5'2" 21 year old would probably look great at 105 lbs (what I weighed in my early 20s). She'd also look a heck of a lot better in low rise jeans and a midriff top than I would!! LOL

I think the important thing is that these women are going about it in a HEALTHY way. They're eating good fats, lots of veggies, and they're cutting out sugar. They're not starving themselves or eating just one meal a day. IMO, that's not a bad thing.

Sorry for your loss I know how hard that can be.

Thanks.

When I was 17 I was really, really thin. Weighed about 100 pounds and I'm 5'3. This was too thin for me. Everyone kept telling me I was too thin that I needed help. I was taking diet pills left and right and sometimes even forcing myself to vomit. I was lucky to have such good friends there for me. It could have gotten worse. Now, I'm at the extreme end of the stick. Not obssessed (sp?) with weight anymore but I do want to be at a HEALTHY one.


Hugs to ya,

Lily

AFwife do you think your metabolism got all screwed up becasue of the diet pills? I'm on the Atkins due to Hypothyroidism....not sure your reasons. I do not mine was caused by taking a stack of Ephedrine/Caffeine/ Asprin (deadly fat burning stack)...just curious. I think weight lose pills of any kind are really making people ill....and harming their metabolism...just from some of the things I've read in my research. I burnt my thyroid out totally.

HUH, I don't know. Good question.

All I know is after I had my first born, the weight just kept going up and up and up. I've tried everything. Losing a few pounds to just gain it agian. Nothing worked till I tried Atkins back in November. I love this WOE and love this forum.

I didn't know pills could even do that to you. Interesting!

Lily

Glad I could inform you about that...keep in mind I was taking double the dose required (I was getting ready for a bikini contest). I went into liver and kidney failure and was in ICU for 6 weeks...I almost died. I strongly recommend people NOT take any diet or fat burning pills....you can end up with a burnt out thyroid, heart problems, burnt out adrenal glands....and MAJOR weight problems....do it the healthy way...ATKINS, exercise and lots of water.

8 glasses of water a day burns 300 calories!

Glad to know you recovered.

Thanks for the heads up. Especially since I was fixing to get some Fat burning pills this weekend. Guess I won't be now.

Lily

BBB--I am truly sorry if I offended anyone by referring to them as "skinny". I guess I would love to be called "skinny", which at this point ain't ever gonna happen. What I really meant was people who are already slender (and yes, I recognize that's a very subjective word in itself) doing Atkins to lose weight beyond what some people might consider healthy. I don't think there's any question, at least on this board, that Atkins can benefit anyone's health, regardless of their weight. So I think Atkins can be appropriate for thin, slender, svelte, lean, trim (I'm trying to think of a word here that won't offend) people as well as the rest of us who would like to lose weight. Of course, in that circumstance I think they need to adjust Atkins so that weight is maintained. But what I'm saying is, doesn't there come a point where most reasonable people will agree that further weight loss is not healthy? For example, if someone at 5'6" is already 115 lb. but wants to get down to 85 or 90 lb., should we encourage her and give her unconditional support? Or should we have the nerve to suggest, at the expense of offending the poster or someone else on the board, that this goal weight is unhealthy?

I do agree 5'6 90 or 80 pounds is unhealthy.....best way to deal with that...tell them to discuss it with their doctor. I don't think anyone should be low carbing without discussing with your doctor to begin with anyway....just my opinion. I have some struggles with Atkins because with Hypothyroidism the weight lose is very slow....almost to the point of being discouraging!

No we should not encourage someone to be 'under weight' but we should not judge...maybe try to understand why they feel the need to weight so little.

Sorry I got upset about the term 'skinny'....I just wanted peope, to understand there is a negative word for slim people as well.

I wish everyone in this forum the BEST on their weight lose/ or getting better health journey!

I just joined yesterday and today was the first day in months where I actually felt encouraged...thanks to the people on this board. Friends in cyber space....who would have known you would motivate me so much!

I love you all *HUGS*

My Dr. is thin and fit looking, and has been on Atkins for 8 weeks now. I asked him why, since he was always thin and fit looking. He said he's following the Atkins WOE/WOL for health reasons! He had began putting pateients who had been unable to lose weight with other "diets" on Atkins since last spring. He has seen tremendous improvements in his patients' health (outside of the weight loss). Many of his patients have been able to get off of the medications that they had been taking (for choleresterol, diabetes, blood pressure, etc.).

Mike

I don't think anyone in there right mind will tell someone it's ok to get to a dangerously low weight. I do think however, that we should help this person realize that perhaps this # they seek isn't healthy. Give them our support by listening to them, holding their hand persay. Letting them know that we care and that maybe they should change their goal weight to a # that would allow them to be healthy, and look good at the same time.

Do they have high cholesterol or any other reason they need to atain this #? Then perhaps suggest Lifetime Maintence instead of starting out with Induction. Much safer. IMO.

Lily

Me too. I'm 5'8 and at my current weight I'm in a size 12. Not near fitting into a 10. I always wondered why at a certain weight and height my body fat % and the size I wear were always so much HIGHER that what the all the charts say. After looking into frame sizes I've learned I'm way smaller than what is considered "small framed" for my height.

My goal is to reach a healthy body fat % (at my current weight I'm still not in the healthy range) and a size 8. I've weighted in the mid 120's before and wore a size 6 or 8 (depending on the brand/cut) and had a healthy body fat %. But trust me, my BF still wasn't super low-- looks-wise I still didn't look super lean.

I'm thinking now I may have to lower my goal weight by 5-10 lbs when I get closer but am also apprehensive about how others on the boards will take it. I will probably remove my height from my profile at that time to avoid people telling me I'm too thin. I agree, on paper 5'8 and 130 ish lbs looks thin-- but it isn't on this frame!

On the flip side, there are many people who do have body image issues and truly ARE aiming to be too thin. The question is, how do you identify which is which in this type of setting? It's a hard one. I don't really have an answer but if you are going to say something (which I don't think is inappropriate in cases where an ED may really be at play) try to also remember that there are some people who's stats do not equal that of the "average" person and that could be a very reasonable explanation for the low goal weight.

Great to hear a Dr. is promoting Atkins....alot of Dr.'s need to get educated...alot have old school ideas (the food pyramid )....GREAT to hear!!!!!!!

my hubby is curently very thin. we have been talking about getting him to do atkins for the sole reason of GAINING WEIGHT or muscle. he currently eats a lot of carbs and finds it hard to gain weight (dont i wish i had the same problem). we've tried that weight gain stuff but it just did not help. he has a metabolism to die for. however this leaves him with almost no fat reserves and if he gets sicks and is unable to eat it takes a while he has no fat storage to raid.

i figure putting him on atkins with all of that protein will help him put some bulk on - muscle not fat. besides more proteins instead of carbs has got to be better for you.

Hey jedswife,

I found this website that may be of use to your DH.

Good luck, just click on link.

http://www.herbalremedies.com/unweigskinne.html



Lily