@PaleoPhil: No harm taken sweety! I am a adult woman and feel great with my weight and body type, so I don't take heart to any comments its all interesting and welcome debate to me
! Maybe some women would not feel healthy in my weight, I would not feel healthy in their weight either, so I can understand everyone has their own way of being. All I wanted was to show that some very SMALL framed and skinny women are natural and real!
No I have never taken a pregnancy to term but I am sure I would have no problem with that (yes I have no PROOF but I listen to my body constantly), feeling physically great and not having any health issues whatsoever, feeling better as I get older at my weight - not worse, having no issues eating ANY kind of raw meat and then all of a sudden mixing random cooked food (call it self-experimentation) and still having no issues (only bloating & bad skin from grains & pure sugar but those are just poisons anyway) all that tells me I'm fine. Some girls at my weight stop getting their period I heard...I have never missed my period at my weight. I have a very high sex drive, and get pregnant when I am literally shown a picture of a sperm LOL, to me thats signs of a healthy woman.
I have no migraines or headaches ever (only had them as a young teen due to horrible eating), not weak, and extremely flexible...can someone with bad joints and bones do splits and go backwards to a bridge from standing position, and I don't even practice yoga (but thinking of starting), I think not! When it comes to overall robustness guys I know consider me a tough chick, definitely not a delicate flower.
Oh and I don't come from a pure and clean and innocent background, I have done more then my share of heavy chemical drugs (I went to raves when I was 14-15 and did e and coke wow weeee), heavy drinking, smoking, and guess what, I am still doing good! I have no addictions, when I stop doing something my body goes ahead and detoxifies the faulty substance in it! As soon as I take care of my body it starts rewarding me, instantly (hence why I love my body).
Should I add more muscle, YES! I agree, I am working on it now and it feels good, and will post some progress pics when the time is right. Should I add any fat NO WAY, why? I am not planning to walk across the desert and live off of my 'reserves', I am not planning for winter hibernation - if I had something like that in mind I would then try and get extra fat on. I DO have fat on my ass, and I have plump inner thighs, thats my 'woman fat' and thats all I require for health.
I know there is LOTS of information out there that women need to have a layer of fat but to me the greatest source of information is listening to my body, to how I feel (not to doctors or researchers or their one-minded stupid studies), listening to my own mental state and well being! Any information out there is relative and some people ALWAYS end up proving otherwise.
I feel like a ninja, nimble and light on my feet, I feel like this is how I always want to be...Feeling good in your own body is whats important, not conforming to some general concept of 'wellbeing'! Taking cues from your body and knowing how to give your body what it needs is one of the best and healthiest habits to learn.
@Miles: I know Yuli doesn't agree with me on her being "overly thin" and if she or anyone else wants to suggest a different term that will be more acceptable and still enable discussion, feel free. By including myself in the comment I tried to show I meant no harm, and Yuli seems to feel quite good about herself so I didn't think there would be any harm taken, but if so, then I apologize.
I kinda thought that one of the few benefits of being skinny and being open about it was I could talk frankly with other slim folks about the subject (you know, kinda like Oprah does about overweight--though I know I'm not as warm and fuzzy as Oprah), but guess I overstepped my mark.
I should have been more clear--I meant that it's my understanding that a certain amount of healthy body fat in women is generally regarded as beneficial in terms of both reproductive and general health by both most scientists and all the traditional peoples of the world, not that it's an absolute necessity in order to get pregnant. I'm talking about overall robustness, rather than absolutes, and not just re: pregnancy. If you're interested in more info on it, let me know. If not, that's fine too, and of course I and the scientists and the traditional peoples could all be wrong and there's also an exception to every rule. On the other hand, sharing and considering information can be beneficial at times.
It's comforting to know that you're doing so well, and perhaps your youthful and innocent-looking countenance brought out the concerned father in me and I'm just overreacting to your images. However, aren't you rather young yet for any obvious symptoms of low bone mineral density to appear? Besides, I wasn't trying to imply that you have it already, just discussing that a safety margin of healthy fat in the context of robust health has been connected to lower risk of future development of low bone mineral density and osteoporosis. This happens to be an issue of particular interest for me, because I looked into it before at the request of a female family member who, like me, is very thin (plus I just received another lecture myself from my best friend on the need for me to put on some weight, which as usual I agreed with--but easier said than done ).
That's excellent--exercise is useful in lowering the risk for both low BMD and sarcopenia in later years. How strong are your connective tissues like your ligaments? If you have no lax joints, that's another good sign.
Yes, and I believe that's true in my case as well, but I also think that it's generally beneficial even for people like me who are genetically thin to add on at least some muscle if not also healthy fat depots (with the science and tradition suggesting that the former is more important, and the latter less important, in males). I can further explain and support what I mean if you're interested.
I believe you, and that's comforting as well, thank you.
If I recall correctly, the information I found suggested otherwise. I can check for what I saved on it and further explain it if you like, but I don't wish to step on toes.