Hi. I need help in regard to fitness and my health as I’m I’m a bad place at the moment. I have just turned 18 years old weighing 45kg at a height 5ft 2 inches. I have not had my period in over a year now which is very serious and I have been repeatedly gone to see the doctors. This was due to weight loss. I am underweight and not eating healthy-that’s why I have missed a long period. I have had periods which I have tried to gain weight then maintain weight. I have also gone through periods of binge eating then eating very little to make up for it. I know that’s very unhealthy and needs to be sorted out. The out come of this is that I’ve lost most muscle and all that’s remaining of my body mass is basically fat. I’ve been doing research and some refer to it as ‘skinny fat’ I’m not sure. I am underweight yet I don’t look it from some places. I am very skinny from my arms and above my stomach however have a lot of fat in my stomach area. I need to develop a healthy relationship with food and I would also like to gain muscle. I know muscle weighs more than fat so I’m not sure if I should gain weight or workout to increase muscle because I know my body is mostly fat rather than muscle right now. My primary goal of weight loss was to loose fat in my stomach area however I know that’s not the way to go. I would like to gain muscle and loose fat at the same time but I’m not really sure as to how. I don’t really have any curves at the moment and I have hip dips. I was wondering any advice you could give me as I want to do this right.
Thank you
Thank you
Answered by Roman Footnick
Thanks for your questions.First, throw away your scale. It is only good at measuring the amount of gravitational force on your vessel at that moment. It reveals nothing regarding your body composition or health. So unless you must make weight for a competition, a scale is useless at best and a detriment for most.
Second, go get good blood work done via your doctor or labs in your area (ie. quest labs.) You will want all the basics, plus an endocrine panel (testosterones, estrogen, thyroid, etc.) at minimum.
Third, read Chris Kresser's book "The Paleo Cure" [http://amzn.to/2C1PAqX]
There are not many people I agree with 100%, but Chris has become one of them. The book lays out a functional medicine approach for dietary changes. It is easy to read and understand. It has certainly helped patients in my practice. In fact... It's pretty much required reading for my patients.
Fourth, RESISTANCE TRAINING!
I don't care what you do, or what form you get it in... you must do some form of brief and intense resistance training. Whether its lifting weights, using bands, bodyweight calisthenics, kettle bells, rowing, yoga, or jiu-jitsu - or a combination of things - it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that you make demands on your musculoskeletal system to such degree that it is stimulated to respond in such a fashion that it must get stronger.
If you are looking for at home training or a system that is proven to work on a variety of levels you may want to check out some of the TACFIT products, Primal Stress, or other products from Scott Sonnon: https://rmaxinternational.
And finally, be persistent and adaptive toward your goals and remember that discipline equals freedom.
All the best!
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