People fluctuate a pound or two all the time - sometimes 5-10 lbs, if it's their time of month. Not eating enough calories makes things harder, both because you lose muscle and so don't burn as many calories by existing, and because your metabolism slows. It also saps your energy which make excercise harder. you'd probably do a lot better taking the advice that's been given here, put away the scale, eat more, and go see a doc and a councellor. Also, you might get a more objective view of what you look like if you go to http://www.mybodygallery.com/index.html . The thing is, when we look at ourselves, we look with a magnifying glass - we don't like "that" roll, or *that* bit there, or the way things pucker or fill out or aren't flat. No one else sees us like the sum of all these little bits we like to get upset about - they see the whole person. It's a good idea to learn a bit of objectivity to help improve body image.

http://www.mybodygallery.com/index.html

Wow! This totally changed my idea of the scale and what the scale means to me, as well as what I ACTUALLY look like. Thank you so much for posting this!

gain the weight
dont worry
your body knows best

You are extremely thin for your height and while I can totally understand that an upward movement of the scale is not what you want to see, does 5 or 6lbs really make that much of a difference? It's not worth obsessing over and once you start you can get into an eating disorder mentality. I've seen people at 5'2" and 120lbs that are rock solid (muscle) and tiny. Maybe your body is just adjusting? Sometimes when you play with your calories or change up your workouts you retain fluid which will eventually go away. Just drink lots of water

You definitely need to eat more. And your weight might go up a bit at first. It's probably water. What you could try and do would be to increase your calories gradually. Going from 1000 or 1200 to 1800 or 2000 calories is pretty dramatic. But what if you upped your calories by 100 every few weeks or even every month. So eat 1200 for a month, then eat 1300 for a month, then 1400... until you're at a good place for your weight, height and age. . Your AMR (active metabolic rate) will give you an idea of what you need to eat to maintain your weight if you just live your life and don't incorporate any exercise into it. If you exercise you would add in those calories as well.

You very well could just be a naturally thin person whose body is comfortable at a low weight for your height. As long as you are eating healthy I would let your body do what it is going to do and see where it's happiest.

And if abs are your main concern then you should be focusing on 1) body fat % and 2) what you're eating. High sodium foods are going to cause you to retain water (so think anything that's overly processed) and not working could mean that despite the fact that you are thin, your body fat percentage isn't ideal. Incorporating some weight training or resistance training into your days could have a big impact on how your body looks.

But I seriously would not even think about losing weight right now. Get your calories to a good, stable place, add in some exercise and make sure you're eating minimally processed foods. Good luck

"Intuitive Eating" by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. Read this book. It will not tell you to eat more. It will not tell you to eat less. It will not tell you what to eat. It may expose you to new ideas if you haven't thought of them on your own or already heard of them. It will give you encouragement and hope. Read this book in addition to seeking professional advice and support, and use this book to help you choose the right kind of professional advice and support for you.

Another thing - a lot of what bugs slender people about their bodies isn't actually fat, it's a bit of fleshiness here and there caused largely by not being fit, or by a misunderstanding of what real people look like, or some combination of the two. I suggest that if you really have bits you're not so keen on, like your tummy, you start doing resistance training of some kind (sit ups, crunches, weights, pushups, etc.) It doesn't take long, and can be very effective. But, you will have to eat more to make it work - your muscles can't rebuild if you don't feed them! And, you will have to get used ot the idea that muscle weighs more so you will weigh a bit more, but you will get the look you want. Also, if your body image isn't reasonable, you will never be happy no matter what you do. No one looks like a super model, including the super models. We hear this a lot, but you can really see it in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U . And this one too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05c0jd66Xns. Wrinkles, fleshy bits, rolls, blemishes, muffin tops are all routinely deleted in fashion, but even those models who are making it their job to be 'beautiful' have those 'imperfections'. It's just how bodies are, and you are setting yourself up for nothing but misery and disappointment if that is the standard you want to achieve.

I just want to pop in here and say that at 5'4, 111 pounds is not necessarily "anorexic" or automatically a reason to sound the alarm. We don't know her frame, her ethnic background, or if she's really 5'4 (not that you are lying OP, it's just that a lot of people round up their height automatically). I know people who are 5'4 and 111 pounds and are perfectly healthy - PHYSICALLY.

At one point I was 5'6 and 120 lb, even got down to 110 lb and I was definitely not anorexic or had an eating disorder. I was young, and super fit and had a great metabolism. Honestly.

What I will agree with is that your diet sounds kinda... well, not nutritious. I think you are focusing on the wrong thing here - you are focusing on calories whereas a better start may be to look at the nutritional value of your meals.

Fruit can get high in calories, but it's not necessarily bad nutritionally for you. So if you are focusing on calories and eat a lot of fruit that might look high to you.

You could try omitting the treats/coco puffs for breakfast and incorporating some more protein. That will fill you up for longer. Instead of soup all the time why don't you try a big dark green leafy salad with some protein? Instead of spaghetti for dinner maybe try some brown rice and veggies instead?

I would start with changes like that, look more into nutritional value and stop focusing so much on calories. Because really, you could have a 200 calorie snack and it could be completely devoid and empty of any nutrition - or it could be PACKED FULL of nutrition. That's your choice.

I believe once you start focusing on nutritional value your choices will get better, and your body will maintain itself at a weight that is healthy for you.

Sounds a bit like my 16-yo daughter. She's 5'7" and weighs 112 pounds, and she definitely doesn't have an eating disorder. She eats well over 2,000 cals per day, some of it healthy and more of it not so healthy. She LOOKS like she's athletic and fit, but she's not. I'm hoping she changes her ways before time catches up to her... (and yes, we've talked about it).

F.

Haha actually I rounded down a little - I am so close to 5'5, and determined to be that tall one day ... haha!

I know maybe that write up didn't sound like it, but I do think (on the whole) my choices aren't too bad. When I have soup it's always fresh or home made, with lots of veggies in, and I will always have some kind of veg with every meal (apart from breakfast). I must say coco pops are a sin of mine lol - usually I will have fruit and yoghurt, but sometimes I can't resist lol. I try to have brown/whole grains where I can, but it can be tricky as I'm wheat intolerant, so I'm a little limited there. I don't eat much bread, but try to eat my ptato skins and choose brown rice if I can. I am probably guilty of choosing snacks that might have the calories but don't have the nutrition, though.

I am really trying to have healthy meals and not focus on the calories too much (well, saying that I am trying out 1400-1500 at the moment, and I am terrified of gaining weight but I realise it's probably a healthier amount of food). I have had probiotic yoghurt with a variety of fruit, oat bran and almonds for breakfast all this week. Lunches have been vegetable/tomato/chicken soup (the one-of-your-5-a-day kind) and sesame ryvitas. Snacking on fruit in the afternoon, dinners I've had baked potato with cottage cheese, ham, green beans and sweetcorn, spaghetti carbonara (the kind just with bacon, egg and parmesan, no creamy sauce) and salad, and tonight I had a bowl of home-made beef casserole (lots of veggies) with a bread roll (instead of potato). In the evenings my snacks aren't as good, stuff like yoghurt or a chocolate mousse, and still having a light hot chocolate. I always have an apple and a couple of ginger oat biscuits before bed. I think that's a bit better?

My exercise is always slightly limited - I am recovering from chronic fatigue syndrome/ME so I have to be careful how much I do. I probably average 90 minutes of cardio (sometimes walking, treadmill, bike, cross trainer.. depends on what works around my week! Mostly brisk walking though) a week, and I try to do some stomach/core exercises morning and night. I do 15 crunches (the kind where you lift your legs too), 15 press ups, and 30 seconds of plank per side and facing downwards (make sense? lol!). I'll do 3 rounds of the plank exercises in the evenings. I am trying to weight machines when I'm at the gym to work on my core/back, but I only have access to that once a week during term time.

I am hoping that my body will be able to adjust and my weight will stabilise after a while of upping my eating. I am so scared about not weighing myself, especially with christmas so close, but I don't think I can crack this until I stop focusing on that number. I hope that if I eat more and a better balanced diet, maybe I won't crave those naughty things so much - or will start allowing them in moderation throughout the week, rather than feeling deprived by the weekend and going overboard.

Some of those pictures and videos helped a bit, though I still can't help think most of them have better stomachs lol! Doesn't help that I'm flat chested so doesn't balance out I guess! My dad joked about how people who are nutritionally starved have very distended stomachs, and maybe I should eat more. He very much thinks I should eat more, but it's difficult to get it onto my head I might look slimmer by eating more. It goes against everything you think!