Is 101 pounds too skinny for 5'3 woman?

[Anonymous]

Yes. The lower end of a healthy weight range for a woman who is 5’ 3” is 104.4 pounds. Below that you are considered underweight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 5'4" and 100 lbs. and don't think it looks good at all. I have a chronically poor appetite and fill up quickly, and a lot of things give me indigestion. I've been on the low end of the weight curve pretty much my whole life. I suspect there might be some kind of GI issue (23 and Me thought I had celiac) but I've always had very regular cycles and while I can't seem to gain, I also don't lose, so my motivation to figure out if there is an actual problem and possibly go through a bunch of invasive and embarrassing scopes just to potentially come out with no answer and be labeled a hypochondriac is pretty low. I'm switching to a new doctor soon so I'll see what she thinks. Others have raised an eyebrow but when I tell them I've always been like this they lose interest.

They say having a low BMI is not healthy. But there are so many obese people in America that I think those of us at the other end of the curve don't raise much notice unless there's obvious anorexia or cachexia or something.

5-3 and 101 is a BMI of 17.9. That's obvious anorexia to most people.

[Anonymous]

1. I'm 5'4" and 102 lbs at age 39. I've been this size my entire adult life (except during pregnancy of course). It is my natural weight.

2. The fact that you are asking if this is "too skinny" suggests you have a problem. Maybe a little problem, maybe a big one. I don't know.

[Anonymous]

My teenaged daughter is 5'2" and 103. She has slender hands and feet, with a slender body to match - but is in no way underweight. When I was her age, I was 5'3" and 125. I am bigger boned, have larger breasts, and am more broad-shouldered. Both of us at our teenage height/weight looked appropriate for our build. If she gained 25 lbs, she would look heavy, whereas if I had lost 25 lbs, I would have looked anorexic.

[Anonymous]

At that weight I have no curves. I look really good at 120 and I'm 5'3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At that weight I have no curves. I look really good at 120 and I'm 5'3.

Me too. Below 115 I get bony. And I’d be hungry all the time. 117-123 is my range.

[Anonymous]

I’m 5’4” and 110 and reasonably curvy. I can imagine getting to 101 if I were an inch shorter quite easily.

[Anonymous]

I am 5'4 and 101 was only possible with very disordered eating (I hit that on the way down to <90 on 600 calories a day). My weight in HS was about 120. I never wore a 0 or 2 at any weight because my frame isn't small. (I'm in the 120s at age 48)

If you are counting calories and weighing yourself obsessively to stay that small and hate yourself if the scale reads 103 then you are probably too skinny. If that is just how you are built without much effort, it's probably fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry - as you get older and your hormones start fading this won't be an issue anymore. Make sure you're eating a healthy diet with good fats (avocado, nuts, olive oil ) and natural calcium for your bones and enjoy your thinness.
I used to be 5'8" and 120 lbs!

This. I used to be 5’2” and 125 lbs. I wore a size 2-4 petite, so some of you must be really tiny. 10 years later I’m fully in peri menopause and a lot heavier. I don’t think I near that much more but it happens. I don’t want to starve myself for weight at this point.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think I eat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 5'4" and 100 lbs. and don't think it looks good at all. I have a chronically poor appetite and fill up quickly, and a lot of things give me indigestion. I've been on the low end of the weight curve pretty much my whole life. I suspect there might be some kind of GI issue (23 and Me thought I had celiac) but I've always had very regular cycles and while I can't seem to gain, I also don't lose, so my motivation to figure out if there is an actual problem and possibly go through a bunch of invasive and embarrassing scopes just to potentially come out with no answer and be labeled a hypochondriac is pretty low. I'm switching to a new doctor soon so I'll see what she thinks. Others have raised an eyebrow but when I tell them I've always been like this they lose interest.

They say having a low BMI is not healthy. But there are so many obese people in America that I think those of us at the other end of the curve don't raise much notice unless there's obvious anorexia or cachexia or something.

5-3 and 101 is a BMI of 17.9. That's obvious anorexia to most people.

I think BMI can be deceptive. My BMI is similar and my doctor thinks my weight, my blood work, and vitals are healthy. I am in a competitive sport (strength train and cardio every day) and eat well but don’t diet or restrict. I do not look skeletal, but rather lean and toned. I’m above average in height but have a small-bone structure. I have never had an eating disorder and don’t look like I have one.