Getting too skinny/severely underweight while being primal? page

[Nanty]

Hi All

Ladies please help.

I have been primal for about 5 months now. Even though I didn't have much weight to lose, my family is now forcing me to eat grains and wheat and stuff because the are scared I might lose too much. I am 1.55 m tall and weigh 48 kg ( I was 54kg before going primal).
Has anyone gotten too skinny/underweight while primal? Is weight loss going to cease at some point? How to you curb this excessive weight loss from happening?

Many thanks inadvance!

[denise]

I want to be supportive, so I will try. BUT understand that is going to be hard for someone who has NEVER had this problem (so I'm not really the person you were addressing in your post)! You didn't sound overweight to begin with to me!!! So I kind of understand your family freaking out if you have dropped 6 kilos.

I assume you are in good health?? Not medical reasons for weight loss??

Simplest answer - eat more calories from Primal approved foods. Seeing you simply eat more good, solid food (fats! good carbs!) might reassure them that you are not cutting back your food too much and so it doesn't matter what you AREN'T eating (grains etc).

I think most people are going to tell you the same - EAT!!!
Also - build some nice heavy muscle by doing weights workouts. IF you are still exercising in a weight loss way, cut back on that type of workout.

[sanepsycho]

First I had to convert your measurements - you are about 5'1" and were 119 lbs. and now weigh 107 lbs. How old are you? How much are you exercising and what is your average daily food intake?

You can curb the weight loss by eating more than primal friendly foods than you are now, and increasing your carb intake (more vegies, maybe incorporate regular or sweet potatoes a few days/week). You don't have to add grains back to do this.

[nachobrawler]

I say eat what and how YOU want! Dont let anyone force you into a way of eating or a lifestyle. Seriously, if you are eating healthy primal...there isnt a better way to live and eat on the planet! So, you are eating as "healthy" as you can and the way that nature designed OUR bodies, as humans, to eat and live.

[primalrob]

You can curb the weight loss by eating more than primal friendly foods than you are now, and increasing your carb intake (more vegies, maybe incorporate regular or sweet potatoes a few days/week). You don't have to add grains back to do this.

this is pretty good advice. there's no need to add grains and sugar (unless you want a cheat for a celebration or just because you are in the mood).

also, tell your family not to worry so much. if you are following the 10 primal laws you will not get too skinny. that means lifting heavy things, sprinting, and moving slowly, playing, sleeping, etc. along with the primal diet. what you are after is called homeostasis...it's the body's ideal composition. you might be thinner than your family is used to see you, but if you follow the laws it is highly unlikely that you will be too skinny in any evolutionary or biological sense.
tell them the PB is about overall health...not just weight loss. then sit down and eat a 20 oz. steak in front of them.

[Fatkid]

All good advice, I'd through in try to educate them also... I find, at least here in America, that people tend to think 'healthy weight' is underweight... just because you're not rocking love handles or a pooch doesn't mean you are underweight... that being said... weight training would be helpful...although if they are going purely off of how you look that might hurt because you'll look thinner even though you weight more...

[sanepsycho]

*that should be "eating more primal friendly foods than you are now"

[m e g a n foxy]

I second FatKid. American's think anything remotely close to skinny is underweight, when truly, you could be extremely healthy just with a low body fat %.

[Hil]

All good advice, I'd through in try to educate them also... I find, at least here in America, that people tend to think 'healthy weight' is underweight... just because you're not rocking love handles or a pooch doesn't mean you are underweight... that being said... weight training would be helpful...although if they are going purely off of how you look that might hurt because you'll look thinner even though you weight more...

this. my dad lost weight roofing one time and everybody thought he was too skinny. he merely lost his gut. your numbers don't sound terribly underweight to me and when i plugged it into BMI (not the greatest, but doesn't hurt) it was 20.0. So still not technically underweight. Eat more, including steak in front of your folks (yum) and don't worry about it.

[denise]

one other thing - forgive me for this but are you sure you aren't actually deliberately still losing weight? Secretly pleased to be told you are "too thin"?? fascinated by that decreasing number on the scale??
We women can get sucked into that - and IF that was the case, nothing we tell you would mean a damn thing. You'd "eat more salad" or something and say it was Primal.

Not saying this is you - just saying.