Lost weight for unknown reason, now can't gain it back

[megs18]

I am a 20 year old woman whose health anxiety started at the beginning of April 2015, so I've been dealing with it for about 9 months. When it first started in April, I felt nauseous all the time and had no appetite and went from 120 pounds to around 113.

I have always been tall and skinny since I was a child. I am 5' 7'' so I should weigh about 120 to be in the "normal" BMI range, although I know BMI is not always an accurate measure. Anyway, for the past 4 months or so I have been eating a lot more in an effort to gain weight. I don't really exercise except for doing light yoga occasionally. I weigh around 116 after I eat and if I weight myself in the morning before I eat anything I'm 113 pounds.

I am so frustrated and worried because I feel should weigh like 130 with the amount I've been eating. I've always had a high metabolism, but I used to weigh 120 or even a few pounds more but I just can't gain the weight back and it makes me nervous and frustrated.

Any advice/comments would be so, so appreciated.

[Fishmanpa]

A loss of 7 pounds since last April is certainly nothing to be alarmed at. A fluctuation of a few pounds daily is totally normal based on consumption and elimination. If you want to gain weight, the best and healthiest way to do it is to gain muscle mass. The way to to that is exercise and some light weight training along with a healthy diet of 4-6 smaller meals a day consisting of high quality protein (fish, chicken, lean beef)and low glycemic carbs (whole grain rice, yams, etc.). Muscle is denser than body fat so a couple of extra pounds of muscle won't show as much as body fat. You'll feel better and look healthier and toned too!

Positive thoughts