Help, I'm not anorexic...

[Rookie6239]

Ok, so I'm hoping not to cause too much trouble with this issue, just a little specific and trying to get some help.


I'm about 125 lbs, 5 foot 9.

I've been up to 165 before, with a little work, but that was a few years ago. I've been bouncing between 130-135 for a couple years now.

I've never once in life considered losing weight to be a good thing, I've always been underweight or at best the right size. I'm a fairly active person, but I just got a job where I sit all day, so that's definitely not going to help.

Anyways, to the point - I've never been this skinny in life, I am seeing more exposed ribs and always feel hungry. I don't eat because I am just used to not eating, whether it stems from laziness or just a general paranoia that I don't have enough food to constantly eat. I also smoke cigarettes, up to half a pack a day (used to be a full pack), for about 3 years now which helps me ignore food a lot of the time. I've gone days without eating before, I've been trying to eat at least twice a day recently, and in big serving sizes. But I haven't seemed to even stay steady, I think I seem to lose a little weight still.

In an average day I'll get;

About 6-7 hours of sleep.
Maybe 15-20 minutes of exercise on a treadmill.
About 2 meals.

So, I'm trying to figure out where I need to be aiming for. I don't have a lot of money for food, maybe $100 every 2 weeks. I may try to put a little more towards it, still have not figured out exactly how much I'll need. I've been trying to figure out what kind of cost effective foods can I buy in bulk, how much I should be eating etc.. And also at what point should I stop exercising to avoid burning more weight? I want to start exercising, but I'm afraid I don't have the nutrition to achieve any results. I want to get up to about 175 pounds, maybe more. I don't want to be huge, just more solid.

Can anyone recommend any good foods or give me any information on about how much I should be eating? I have always thought I've had a fairly fast metabolism. I could eat nearly a full meal every 2 hours - (Not that I could afford that all day), but in regards to going from full to fairly hungry again regardless of the meal size is about 2-3 hours.

Also, should I eat before or after I exercise? How long before or after?

Really just any information that could help would be much appreciated. I have googled and stuff, but it seems to just give me so much information I feel like none of it applies to me.

Thanks!

[Boss Man]

1.Ditch the smokes, so you'll have more money for food. If you want this it won't be an issue, laden with excuses, it will be done and dusted within 48 hours.

2. Bulk buy. Things like Baked Beans, Eggs, Large Biscuit Ceral, 3 for 2's, 2 for 1's, discounted products. You'll find thigns like Fruit and Veg can be on discounts so it can work.

3. If you can shop around, I.E. use more than one local place to maximise savings then do that, if you're just shopping around a few places within striking distance of one another.

4. Try to get 6 meals a day around 2.5-3 hours apart, as the regularity will be good for you and give you a regime to stick to.

[Rookie6239]

What about if I work out, should I try to put meals after I workout or before? and how much should I make sure to have inbetween?

[Boss Man]

I'd stop working out for now. I meant to say that last time but forgot. Unitl the eating is more consistent and controlled, working out is likely to cause issues.

A: if you burn muscle, as it can weaken your metabolism, leading to more fat gain potential, as 1lb of muscle burns around 45-50 extra calories, so less muscle would therefore burn less calories.

B: You might cause a possible issue for the bones in the Legs and Ankles, if they are not strong enough to tolerate the impact of treadmill running.

Once the diet has been amended and controlled, then you could start working out again, but I'd leave it for a month to be on the safe side, then you can add the exercise back in and try to find a balance between the two things. Giving yourself more time to eat properly and build up the body more through nutrition, especially things like Bone density and immune system would be beneficial.

Right now, trying to makes changes to both and gain a good symbiosis of the two, might be a little bit much and make it a bit difficult for you to make them consistent and habitual. Focusing on one aspect for a while will hopefully make it habitual, so you're then ready to integrate the other one in and try to make that habitual too.

Hopefully you understand where I'm coming from .