How and why am i underweightI for my size and age? Am i doing something wrong or is it something else?

Question

Im a 6’3 19 year old man weighing about 9 and a half stone maybe 10 at a push, i eat mcdonalds breakfast 5 times a week, i eat a packed lunch or a takeaway at about 10:30 5 times a week, i have another takeaway at about 13:00 5 times a week and then ill have a home cooked meal for most (i still get takeaway more often than a normal person would for dinner some nights) i dont eat as much on weekends and i smoke weed if that matters, and do other drugs sometimes but not often, last time i went hospital the paramedics said i shouldnt be so skinny still knowing all this aswell, and asked if my parents had any medical problems, when i told them my dad had diabetes (type 1 i think) they looked at each other as if it might mean something, i never found out if there was a link and why it meant anything cause nothing was done about it, but i still wonder why im so boney and dont have as much  weight muscle or fat to me as most men my size and age. In fact i weigh the same as some 5 foot girls i know. I work as a labourer on a building site and just chill and smoke weed in the evenings, but surely i should put on weight considering i eat fatty foods and plenty of calories. Can anyone tell me why im underweight because i eat plenty? Thanks

SayItRight · Answer

Working as a labourer can use quite a lot of energy so perhaps you are not eating enough compared to what you are actually burning, you are young and tall so quite likely to require a lot of calories, it's easy to think you are eating enough but that isn't always the case.

You should definitely have some bloodwork done and see if there is an underlying cause as well as seeking medical advice about how to effectively gain weight even if there is nothing physically wrong with you, from what you describe it does sound as if you eat a lot but so much depends on activity levels and individual metabolic rates too.

I am a 5 ft 1 female, 41 years old and only lightly active, I had to regain weight due to having anorexia and having done it twice I can honestly say I was shocked at how many calories it took to even get to a low end healthy BMI, I was eating 6-10k calories a lot of days and I am still only just at a healthy weight months into it.

I'm not suggesting you have an eating disorder by the way but when our bodies are underweight it's common to need huge amounts of food to restore the fats that we need and once we have been at a healthy weight for some time the need to eat as much usually declines but typically if you have been underweight you will always need more than an average person to keep the healthy weight up.

First thing first though, get to see a doctor and ask for some tests and professional help, it's really the best thing you can do because until you know the cause it's so difficult to give accurate advice about how to gain weight so that you are healthier again.

Echo · Answer

Eating takeaway food doesn't necessarily make you gain weight. My best advice to you is to see a nutritionist or a dietician. Maybe talk to someone that trains in the gym. Everybody's body is different.
All the best,
Echo

JenKay · Answer

It's just your metabolism.

Trending News

How and why am i underweightI for my size and age? Am i doing something wrong or is it something else?

3 Answers