lost weight on atkins, now need to gain it

[sokki15]

hey everyone!

i lost weight on atkins and somehow managed to get to 88 pounds because i seemed to have developed an obsessive way of thinking about my weight and stuff like that. anyway, now i'm 88 pounds and people are telling me i look too skinny so now i need to put on weight. not that i am 100% sure that i want to, but now i feel paranoid being skinny, but sometimes i still think i'm fat. can i do this with atkins? i've been eating carbs all day like pizza, sandwiches, cereal and stuff for the last three months and haven't gained a pound. haven't even been exercising. and i mean like, whole pizzas at a time. this way of eating is depressing me even though i don't gain anything, i still feel disgusting. funny though, if someone offered me pizza right now i'd take it.

eating low carb makes me crave other foods insanely, but at least with atkins i don't feel guilty about eating. unless i cheat, lol.

i want to add muscle, which i suppose means i have to eat more, but now i'm skinny fat and paranoid about adding more fat to my stomach. my arms and legs are really skinny, all the fat is on my stomach.

so if i attempted to gain weight low carb, will i be adding minimal fat? i think that's what my actual question is, lol... can i gain muscle? i thought you needed carbs to add muscle...

thanks everyone. oh yeah i'm 5 foot 2 and 23 years old. i have no freakin idea how many calories to eat, everywhere i read says something different.

thanks!

[LuckyD]

Hi Sokki,
sounds like you have an eating disorder happening and my first recommendation for you would be to get counseling with someone who specializes in this field. They can help you come to terms with your body and also recommend a dietician or someone that can help you with nutrition. Please do this and keep us posted on your progress.

[grovemonkey]

Yep, for 5foot 2inches your fairly underweight I reckon. 88pds is very light, around 39kilos and I think 45 kilos is probably about normal. you probably need to pack on another 10 to 15 pounds. Of course you don't want to pack it on in fat calories but if you are doing the atkins and weigh that much, you should consider adding calories in the form of complex carbs until you start to gain about 1 kilo a week. Sounds like you maintained induction for too long!

Once you start gaining those few pounds a week (try nuts and oatmeal or other slow burning carbs) you can gradual try to find a ideal weight which is probably around 120lbs. The key is gradually moving back into an ideal weight zone.. going buck wild on bad foods is just going to create a yo-yo type imbalance.

just my take on it.. you can go see a dietician or an MD regarding it.. especially if you are suffering from low blood pressure as a result of your weight loss.

[seattleatkinsfan]

When I went on my first Atkins diet I went from 200lb to 122lb and wanting to keep getting skinnier.. stepping on the scale and seeing the weight go down was like a drug to me. Keep in mind i'm a 6 foot tall male with a "broad" build that should be 175lb to 185lb at a very healthy weight.

It took finally looking at pictures of me from a camera to realize I had a problem.. that's when I went off atkins.. and it sure came back.. and more

now i'm at about 175lb and stay away from the scale and very happy.. just trying to maintain.. live and learn..

[grovemonkey]

A lot of people have the opposite problem of you two but I have seen a few posts over the last few years with similar themes. Loosing too much! It's good that you got back up to a healthy weight.

[RIMedusa]

Hello --

Please get help from a qualified eating disorders therapist. Although we all have the best intentions on this board, unless folks who respond to you are professionals in this area, it would not be a good idea for you to take their (our) advice -- except the advice to seek help.

Good luck on your journey.