u/Otherwise-Tear-4807

Hey everyone. I’m an early 20s dude, 5’6 and 125 LB. As a kid I was like 240 LB and lost a ton of weight. I’m active. I lift like everyday and hit the elliptical.

Now, I have an eating disorder (atypical anorexia). I recently began a bulking program through a registered dietician. He has STRONGLY emphasized I stick to a .5 LB per week weight gain and that I do not count calories. I think this will be very hard to achieve without counting calories since I’m shooting in the dark, but what do I know.

He said I have fat cell memory from being obese as a kid. Not saying he’s wrong on that. However, the tone in his voice when explaining this made my situation sound dire, as in if I exceed the .5 LB per week rate, I will gain a sufficient amount of fat that warrants concern on his end. Good luck hitting a precise 250 cal/day surplus without counting. I don’t like counting, but it is clearly the safest way to ensure precise surplus.

Now to my post title…

Expectations/standards of being lean are killing me. It makes me wanna say screw it and just eat whatever. I’m tired of seeing the same messages on social media: “You’re not lean enough bro” or “Dude you bulked and got too fat (meanwhile the person is legit like 18% body fat which is much better than the average person)”

My scale says I’m 11.9% BF, which may or may not be accurate. But regardless, I just feel exhausted, lost, and like I can’t win. I weigh myself once a week and I can just see my future self stepping on the scale next week saying “Please don’t increase by more than .5 LB…Please don’t increase by more than .5 LB…Please don’t increase by more than .5 LB”

I restrict to stay lean, then I feel bad bc I don’t enjoy foods, I’m irritable, cold all the time, low energy, low resting heart rate, and I can go on.

Or I can liberalize my diet, gain some weight and might be perceived as fat by others. I feel like I can’t win. I see other people out at dinner enjoying whatever they want and I wish I could do the same. And no, these people aren’t 400 LB. Maybe they don’t look like chiseled statues, but they aren’t obese. They just look “normal.” I wish I could be that happy, though.

I really would value other guys’ opinions on this. It’s such a struggle for me. Please. I’m not asking for medical advice, but rather new perspective

Hey everyone. I’m an early 20s dude, 5’6 and 125 LB. As a kid I was like 240 LB and lost a ton of weight. I’m active. I lift like everyday and hit the elliptical.

Now, I have an eating disorder (atypical anorexia). I recently began a bulking program through a registered dietician. He has STRONGLY emphasized I stick to a .5 LB per week weight gain and that I do not count calories. I think this will be very hard to achieve without counting calories since I’m shooting in the dark, but what do I know.

He said I have fat cell memory from being obese as a kid. Not saying he’s wrong on that. However, the tone in his voice when explaining this made my situation sound dire, as in if I exceed the .5 LB per week rate, I will gain a sufficient amount of fat that warrants concern on his end. Good fucking luck hitting a precise 250 cal/day surplus without counting. I don’t like counting, but it is clearly the safest way to ensure precise surplus.

Now to my post title…

Expectations/standards of being lean are fucking killing me. It makes me wanna say fuck it and just eat whatever. I’m tired of seeing the same messages on social media: “You’re not lean enough bro” or “Dude you bulked and got too fat (meanwhile the person is legit like 18% body fat which is much better than the average person)”

My scale says I’m 11.9% BF, which may or may not be accurate. But regardless, I just feel exhausted, lost, and like I can’t win. I weigh myself once a week and I can just see my future self stepping on the scale next week saying “Please don’t increase by more than .5 LB…Please don’t increase by more than .5 LB…Please don’t increase by more than .5 LB”

I restrict to stay lean, then I feel like shit because I don’t enjoy foods, I’m irritable, cold all the time, low energy, low resting heart rate, and I can go on.

Or I can liberalize my diet, gain some weight and might be perceived as fat by others. I feel like I can’t win. Sometimes I see other people out at dinner enjoying whatever they want and I wish I could do the same. And no, these people aren’t 400 LB. Maybe they don’t look like chiseled statues, but they aren’t obese. They just look “normal.” I wish I could be that happy, though.

I really would value other guys’ opinions on this. It’s such a struggle for me. Please. I’m not asking for medical advice, but rather new perspective

Hey everyone. The title of the study is “Measurement of body composition in response to a short period of overfeeding”

**Method: “**Ten healthy men completed 3 days of overfeeding during which they consumed 1,500 kcal/day more energy than consumed in their normal diets”

Results: essentially no change in fat mass

How could this happen when, in theory, they should have gained about 1.3 LB? I’m not a science guy, I’m just curious since I’m interested in nutrition, fitness, etc.

Hey everyone. I’m an early 20s dude, 5’6 and 125 LB. As a kid I was like 240 LB and lost a ton of weight.

Now, I have an eating disorder (atypical anorexia). I recently began a bulking program through a registered dietician. He has STRONGLY emphasized I stick to a .5 LB per week weight gain and that I do not count calories. I think this will be very hard to achieve without counting calories since I’m shooting in the dark, but what do I know.

He said I have fat cell memory from being obese as a kid. Not saying he’s wrong on that. However, the tone in his voice when explaining this made my situation sound dire, as in if I exceed the .5 LB per week rate, I will gain a sufficient amount of fat that warrants concern on his end. Good fucking luck hitting a precise 250 cal/day surplus without counting. I don’t like counting, but it is clearly the safest way to ensure precise surplus.

Now to my post title…

Expectations/standards of being lean are fucking killing me. It makes me wanna say fuck it and just eat whatever. I’m tired of seeing the same messages on social media: “You’re not lean enough bro” or “Dude you bulked and got too fat (meanwhile the person is legit like 18% body fat which is much better than the average person)”

My scale says I’m 11.9% BF, which may or may not be accurate. But regardless, I just feel exhausted, lost, and like I can’t win. I weigh myself once a week and I can just see my future self stepping on the scale next week saying “Please don’t increase by more than .5 LB…Please don’t increase by more than .5 LB…Please don’t increase by more than .5 LB”

I restrict to stay lean, then I feel like shit because I don’t enjoy foods, I’m irritable, cold all the time, low energy, low resting heart rate, and I can go on.

Or I can liberalize my diet, gain some weight and probably be perceived as fat by others. I feel like I can’t win.

I’ll be straight to the point: I know I’m skinny when I look in the mirror. But, as someone who was obese as a kid, I FEEL fat. I FEEL like I notice my loose skin/fat moving around when I walk.

Is this body dysmorphia?

Dietician set a weekly weight gain goal for me. However, it is strict & precise. I will not share numbers. I am recovery from atypical ana, lower end of the normal weight range.

He set a weekly weight gain “rate” which most would consider a modest rate. Think of a “lean bulk”. If I exceed this rate, I risk unnecessary fat gain. This requires me to really track macros to ensure I am as close as possible to the targeted energy surplus. He doesn’t want me to track, but it feels like I have no choice

This still feels restrictive. I can’t take the fucking pressure. It’s like I’m now hyper fixated on gaining a specific amount of weight per week to adhere to societal expectations and body image standards.

I’m on vacation now and it feels like torture. It’s like good luck actually enjoying.

Hey everyone. I'm recovering from atypical anorexia. My current goal is to gain weight at a slow pace (think of a rate akin to slow bulking; ik i can't mention numbers).

My dietician recommends I take pictures of my meals instead of counting. Has anyone tried this?

Hi everyone. Allow me to give some context first:

I’m a guy with a long history of weight loss. I lost like 120 lb over some years and have some loose skin as well because of it. I’m decently fit, workout, but not exactly a perfect body (no abs, not great thighs partly due to loose skin).

I’m now about 10 LB away from being underweight at my height of 5’6”. Im obviously no where near obese per se.

My problem is I feel this immense pressure to keep my weight exactly where it is in the fear of others not liking me. For example, I weight about 125 lb. I feel like if I gain 5 LB, people will be disgusted with me.

I guess I’m just worried that if I even “look overweight” others will judge me and be less likely to like me.

I don’t know if anyone can relate. I know it’s not healthy to feel this way. I guess I just need some perspective or tips on how to move past this. This mindset also blocks me from intentionally gaining muscle through trying to lean bulk. I’m so adverse to a calorie surplus

Wish I could say more than the title. Just feel depressed. Feel like I’m stupid for choosing high energy food. Does anyone have advice how to change my perspective? I’m a normal weight, but in the lower end of the range, trying to recover

Hi everyone. First, let me preface with a few things.

1. I know I have a compromised relationship with food/weight.

2. I am seeking counseling for it.

3. I count calories as accurately as I can, even to the point where it is obssessive.

Now to my point. I weigh roughly 125 LB at 5'6" and I'm a guy in my early 20s. I weigh myself once a week to avoid being overly obsessive about my weight. Last week, I weighed myself on Friday (June 12) as I usually do, and weighed in at 124.6

This week, I was unable to weigh in on Friday (June 19), so I weighed in on Thursday (June 18). I weighed about 125.6. My Wednesday (June 17) night meal was much larger than my Thursday night meal the prior week (June 11), plus I was constipated prior to the 125.6 weigh-in lol (June 18).

I know weight fluctuates, and even being constipated can cause fluctuations. The weight gain has encouraged me to restrict this weekend, avoiding going out to eat with family. I have seen on Reddit that people say avoiding going out to eat with family is a good idea too, so maybe I'm doing well?

Either way, I can see there may be logical explanations for the weight increase. I know for a fact that I did not eat a surplus of 3500 cal over this 7-day span.

I catastrophize about this, no matter what my counselor tells me. I know you're thinking, "Strangers on reddit can't help." Maybe you can't, but it's worth a shot. I guess I just feel "fat" because of the weight increase and constipation, which makes me feel bloated (I have IBS-C).

Can anyone shed some light? I'm prepared to get criticized & ridiculed, but I'm just grasping at straws here.

Just to caveat a few things:

1. ⁠I know I have a compromised relationship with food/weight.
2. ⁠I am seeking counseling for it.
3. ⁠I count calories as accurately as I can, even to the point where it is obsessive
4. I am only trying to maintain my weight. Ik this is a last sub but idk where to go

Now to my point. I weigh roughly 125 LB at 5'6" and I'm a guy in my early 20s. I weigh myself once a week to avoid being overly obsessive about my weight. Last week, I weighed myself on Friday (June 12) as I usually do, and weighed in at 124.6

This week, I was unable to weigh in on Friday (June 19), so I weighed in on Thursday (June 18). I weighed about 125.6. My Wednesday (June 17) night meal was much larger than my Thursday night meal the prior week (June 11), plus I was constipated prior to the 125.6 weigh-in lol (June 18).

I know weight fluctuates, and even being constipated can cause fluctuations. The weight gain has encouraged me to restrict this weekend, avoiding going out to eat with family. I have seen on Reddit that people say avoiding going out to eat with family is a good idea too, so maybe I'm doing well?

Either way, I can see there may be logical explanations for the weight increase. I know for a fact that I did not eat a surplus of 3500 cal over this 7-day span.

I catastrophize about this, no matter what my counselor tells me. I know you're thinking, "Strangers on reddit can't help." Maybe you can't, but it's worth a shot. I guess I just feel "fat" because of the weight increase and constipation, which makes me feel bloated (I have IBS-C).

Can anyone shed some light? I'm prepared to get criticized & ridiculed, but I'm just grasping at straws here.

I have:
Apples
Strawberries
Blackberries
Peach

I wanna choose 2 out of 4. I’ve been doing strawberries and blackberries lately, which has been good, but I’m thinking of changing it up

For example, having a small tortilla with like 7g fiber as snack.

Hey everyone. I’m an incoming 1L from the DC area with BL goals. I don’t go to school in DC, but I go to a T30. My goal is to end up in NYC BL, if that matters.

Would it be a good idea to write to a congressperson to seek an internship on the hill for my 1L summer? I know your 1L summer doesn’t mean that much, but I would like to start the process of looking at 1L summer options while I have the time before 1L.

If so, how should I go about it? If not, what should I look to do? It’s totally fine if the position is unpaid (I know most are unpaid for 1Ls anyway)

EDIT: interested in corporate/financial law!

What do you consider normal weight fluctuations vs. weight changes (gain/loss)?

For example, if you weigh 150 LB today, and weigh again 7 days from now, where do you draw the line between fluctuation and changes in mass? I know it’s hard to tell the difference!

Funny numbers here:

School A: 50% BL
School B: 40% BL

But school B living conditions will be better, leading to being more comfortable there.

Is this justifiable?

EDIT: School B is approx 7k cheaper to live per yr