Hey all,
I'm a 15 year old girl who started losing weight in September. I was losing about a kilo a week (except during Christmas and a little afterwards when I plateaued). I started doing weights every week sometime in February or March. I've gone from 72.2 kilos to 51.
Anyways, I had to go to the endocronologist because I lost my period in early December and I discovered that I'm 17% body fat.
So if I'm 166 cm tall, weigh 112 pounds and am 17% body fat, is that a bad thing? My Mom thinks I'm getting too thin, but I still notice my stomach sticks out a bit.
Any advice someone could give me about this? Should I gain some weight back?

Hey all,
I'm a 15 year old girl who started losing weight in September. I was losing about a kilo a week (except during Christmas and a little afterwards when I plateaued). I started doing weights every week sometime in February or March. I've gone from 72.2 kilos to 51.
Anyways, I had to go to the endocronologist because I lost my period in early December and I discovered that I'm 17% body fat.
So if I'm 166 cm tall, weigh 112 pounds and am 17% body fat, is that a bad thing? My Mom thinks I'm getting too thin, but I still notice my stomach sticks out a bit.
Any advice someone could give me about this? Should I gain some weight back?

Hmmmmm, how curious, this sounds exactly like what's been going on with my granddaughter............Why she could be you except she's 17 and not 15 and has been working out for a 'tad' longer than you. All I can tell you is that the endocronologist gave her a clean bill of health. What did your 'endo' tell you? How tall are you? How do you feel? And as for a slight protrusion of the stomach...............so?

It depends. If your weight loss is a result of an eating disorder, then I would be worried. If you lost your period, then that's a sign that you're not taking in the nutrients your body needs - losing one's period is a tell-tale sign of an eating disorder, by the way. I think 112 lbs is very light for someone your height and puts you on the brink of being underweight. I'm 173 and weigh 140-142 lbs at about 17% body fat. So, to sum up, yes, I think you should gain the weight back preferably in form of muscle. :) If you have issues with food, I recommend you talk to someone and get help.

Sorry I haven't replied sooner guys, I was on vacation for the past few days.

Thanks for your input J_W. I don't think my weight loss is the result of an eating disorder, as I lost the weight through both exercise and a very healthy, clean diet, although quite recently I did become more restricting with my calories, even though I was losing weight just fine without counting them...though now I've started to eat more. You're definitely right about my weight, though...the endocronologist is almost certain that I have amenorrhea because of my weight loss and that's probably the obvious answer, so he's told me that I need to re-gain some weight.

Thank you too, Carole, for responding. I'm 166 cm tall. I went to the endocronologist again today and, like I just wrote here, he told me to re-gain some weight back because it's most likely caused by my weight loss. He also checked my body fat percentage again today and apparentally today it was 14%! He told me this is definitely too low for me to get my period back. As for how I feel, well, I think after I started eating more frequently and more in general, I feel somewhat more energetic, and my Mom said I look healthier now.

EDIT: Oh, and by the way Carole, about my diet and exercise; Usually I will do 3 (1 hour) sessions of Body Pump a week (Tues., Fri., Sun.), which you may know about (it's a sort of weight lifting class). For cardio, it depends; I do light tennis lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays, Thursday I will do a half hour to an hour of exercise (sometimes, lighter exercise than other times; for example, one day I could do a dancing class for an hour, another day I might go running for 35 minutes etc). Friday I do Body Pump and an hour long Body Combat class. Saturdays I do some kind of cardio or I just rest, and Sunday I do a Body Pump session but then I'll sometimes do some running or elliptical.
A typical day in terms of my diet would be something like this:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup of oats with a cup of skimmed milk and a banana/apple
Mid-Morning: Fruit and yogurt
Lunch: This depends on whether I eat at home or at school...if at home, it could be eggs with peppers and onion and plantain or toast, or a sandwich made with vegetables and cottage cheese and some fruit...but if I'm at school, I generally just have the very plain salad they serve daily and whatever fruit is on offer...and I know that's not a good thing to do, but the other options are usually very processed, unhealthy foods. I'm planning to start bringing my own lunches in next year, though, to solve the problem.
Snack: Fruit or crispbread with cottage cheese and smoked salmon
Dinner: Varies from day to day - today I had black beans and brown rice with some avocado. Usually it's something like a piece of fish or chicken with rice or root vegetables and a salad with a light dressing of oil and vinegar. However, even though we don't stick to a set meal plan, dinners are always healthy here.
Evening: Large apple and a square (10g) of dark chocolate.
Also, I've cut out my consumption of red meat quite a lot in favor of fish and chicken.

EDIT: Oh, and by the way Carole, about my diet and exercise; Usually I will do 3 (1 hour) sessions of Body Pump a week (Tues., Fri., Sun.), which you may know about (it's a sort of weight lifting class). For cardio, it depends; I do light tennis lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays, Thursday I will do a half hour to an hour of exercise (sometimes, lighter exercise than other times; for example, one day I could do a dancing class for an hour, another day I might go running for 35 minutes etc). Friday I do Body Pump and an hour long Body Combat class. Saturdays I do some kind of cardio or I just rest, and Sunday I do a Body Pump session but then I'll sometimes do some running or elliptical.
A typical day in terms of my diet would be something like this:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup of oats with a cup of skimmed milk and a banana/apple
Mid-Morning: Fruit and yogurt
Lunch: This depends on whether I eat at home or at school...if at home, it could be eggs with peppers and onion and plantain or toast, or a sandwich made with vegetables and cottage cheese and some fruit...but if I'm at school, I generally just have the very plain salad they serve daily and whatever fruit is on offer...and I know that's not a good thing to do, but the other options are usually very processed, unhealthy foods. I'm planning to start bringing my own lunches in next year, though, to solve the problem.
Snack: Fruit or crispbread with cottage cheese and smoked salmon
Dinner: Varies from day to day - today I had black beans and brown rice with some avocado. Usually it's something like a piece of fish or chicken with rice or root vegetables and a salad with a light dressing of oil and vinegar. However, even though we don't stick to a set meal plan, dinners are always healthy here.
Evening: Large apple and a square (10g) of dark chocolate.
Also, I've cut out my consumption of red meat quite a lot in favor of fish and chicken.

:)Your diet appears to me to be just a 'tad' austere but
healthy ........hmmm that said though the only thing I question (but do bear in mind here I ALWAYS question this particular thing when reading peoples 'routine diets'..............) is your breakfast. Perhaps this is because I am not one to eat 5 or 6 times a day but rather just 3 times and as a result of this practice think I am probably more inclined to emphasize a 'hearty' breakfast after the long nights fast.

The only other thing I notice is the amount of cardio you do. Were I you, your age and with your body statistics I believe I would be inclined to 'ease off'' on the cardio. To clarify let me say this.......at this moment in time, at the weight I am I perform cardio only for the heart health and stamina benefits I receive....:D and most certainly would, without a care abandon such if it weren't for that!!!

:)Good luck young lady and I will eagerly watch for subsequent posts apprising us of your fitness journey.

I'm still concerned about a possible eating disorder. Many people with anorexia (or exercise bulimia) believe they are being healthy. I encourage you to make sure that your net calories (after subtracting your burned calories from exercise) fall within a safe, healthy minimum and maximum range. I'm glad to hear that you're taking the advice of professionals rather than blowing them off. That tells me that my concerns are likely incorrect. :)

That said, this really jumped out at me:

Also, I've cut out my consumption of red meat quite a lot in favor of fish and chicken.

This may be fine, but from where are you getting your iron? That could be a factor in your lack of menstruation.

Nonetheless, good for you for

Your diet sounds quite healthy to me and not something that would concern me. But your body fat percentage and your total body mass is quite low. Especially at your age, I'd be concerned about it. Loss of periods can permanently affect your fertility and your bone density, which could mean no babies and lots of broken hips in your future.

Your cardio is very ambitious, but I don't know for sure if it's enough to be a concern, unless it's preventing you from doing other things with family and peers.

I definitely think it's a good idea to take your doctor's advice and gain back some weight. Like J_W says, there's no reason you can't gain it back in muscle. 17 or 18 % can be a healthy sustainable body fat percentage at a high enough BMI.

In the meantime, be sure you are adding some multivitamins to your daily routine, especially calcium for the potential bone loss, and iron if you're eating less red meat than what most people do. Did the doctor check your hemoglobin? I bet you're at such a low body weight that you're ineligible to donate blood. :(

Oh and congratulations on your weight loss of 46 pounds! :eek:

:claphigh:

You must be very proud of what you've been able to accomplish. :bow:

Do keep in mind that growth is not a bad thing. :) Now that you've conquered your weight, aim for gains in performance. Maybe try and beat your time for a mile, reps in pushups, and meet other similar challenges.