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Rdr72 – how tall are you?

Really proud of you hon for getting back on the wagon.

Yes–it feels SO good to eat so little, feel comfortable, and watch the pounds float away. It is much more fulfilling to eat less and know that you are getting thin than to eat more of something you’ve just put in your mouth. So get excited about crossing the finish line, and just go for it!!

Rdr! See?!?! NOW you know why they call them ‘fun size’!!
And just as Dr. Lewis said, they taste EXACTLY like the regular-sized bars, so you’re not missing out on anything (except excess inches LOL)!!!
Outstanding hon!!

Switched to "Fun Size" Snickers last week. Lost 7 pounds. Total weight loss in 6 weeks is 42 pounds. Have also lost 6 inches from my waist! Now at 218. Any ideas on what my "ideal" weight should be?

I have a friend who is 5’6", she weighs 107lbs (I don’t know what BMI number that is), and she still gets her period. She wanted a child about 3yrs. ago, and after trying for about 4mos., she became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
My husband’s s-i-l weighs about 300lbs, and was told she’d NEVER be able to have a child. For years…[Read more]

I am very glad you wrote this—I needed to read it!!! Before, when it would happen I would just let it roll off my shoulders, but this FBD changed my life, and I am going to defend my own honor for crying out loud!! Good for you, too, having the guts to split a kid’s meal in front of the relatives—it’s awesome that you and hubby are both in…[Read more]

I don’t – I have been, and I want to.

Because appearance becomes before health for me. It isn’t what I would recommend for my patients.

I might agree with you that below 18.5 is more unhealthy–the truth is I (we) don’t know yet. I mentioned that there is evidence to suggest lower than this may be healthier, but that is just one study. I don’t know, but I can comfortably argue that shooting for a BMI of 18.5 is the healthiest target for all people.

Why do you maintain a BMI of 16?

Fair enough, you are speaking from your own experience. Have you had many people with BMIs less than 18 trying to conceive, though? A lot of women become amenorrhoeic at this kind of weight.

Perinatal mortality in Africa is in part an access to healthcare issue, I agree – but poor maternal health also predisposes to poor outcomes, and even in the…[Read more]

Funny, but the only people (thus far, in my 6-year-old practice) who have had fertility problems are those who are overweight. They present first to me, I run some basic tests, and I refer them to a specialist if the tests don’t reveal the problem.

Regarding the issue of miscarriage and perinatal mortality in Africa–that is not an infertility…[Read more]

Thanks. I’m relieved to know that you don’t believe people should starve themselves to death (recently admitted a man with a BMI of 12 – I can tell you, he wasn’t healthy).

But what WOULD you say as the lower limit of safety? You repeatedly say "18.5 but lower may be better", but then you don’t specify how much lower.

I had a feeling you would…[Read more]

OMG you too?? The same exact thing happened to my husband and I the other day. We ate out with my in-laws, and my s-i-l was harping on me that I’m already "there" as far as my weight loss goals are. Uh, thanks, but no thanks. We went to an italian restaurant, and my husband and I split 1 kid’s meal between us. My in-laws were looking at the both…[Read more]

Of course. If you are devoid of fat stores you body is forced to break down protein as a carbon source to make sugar when you sleep. So there is a point at which too low is too low. But, According to Dr. Gelber et al, published in March, 2007 in the International Journal of Obesity, people that had a BMI of 18.5 and lower lived longer and…[Read more]

Well, if you count eating disorders as being a chronic illness then perhaps. I’m not referring to those with malignancy, malabsorption syndromes, heart disease etc. But even women who have always had a BMI below 19 and seem to be naturally that way can have trouble conceiving (as can athletes, as I’m sure you are aware).

I’m intrigued – I know…[Read more]

Fair enough. I imagine that those with a BMI of under 19 who are infertile have a chronic illness that drove them to a BMI of 19–not that they chose to be there. I would have to look at the study.

No I agree that being overweight is also associated with infertility – in the UK you can’t get funding for IVF etc if you are significantly overweight, as the advice is to lose weight first. But you can’t get funding with a BMI of less than 19 either. It’s associated with infertility (even in the absence of amennorhea), and also with low birth…[Read more]

I have not heard that a BMI of 19 is associated with infertility, but WITHOUT DOUBT being over weight is.

I would think that a BMI of 16 is too thin, but I would need to know more about you. Are you maintaining that BMI for health reasons (were you diabetic, have a stroke, heart problems?) or because you think you look best at that weight. I…[Read more]

A well-known physician once gave a lecture to our medical class entitled: "To Air Is Human". It was whimsical and light in nature, but the essence of the lecture was that most people perceived their gas emissions as excessive when in fact they are quite normal. If your bowel movements are normal, then everything is working as it should, and…[Read more]

But a BMI of below 19 is associated with infertility isn’t it?

Personally I feel best when my BMI is around 16 – everyone else has told me this is unhealthy, do you disagree?