I thought I was healthy until my physical showed I'd lost 14 lbs in a year without trying and now im underweight. looking for advice.

Hi everyone,

I'm a 23-year-old woman, 5'1", and I recently had my annual physical where I found out I had lost about 14 pounds over the past year without trying. I went from around 108 lbs to 94 lbs, and honestly, I never intended to lose this much weight and didn't even realize it was happening until my doctor pointed it out.

I exercise about 4–5 times a week and generally consider myself to have a healthy diet. I make an effort to eat protein, vegetables, dairy, and balanced meals. The problem is that I get full very quickly and tend to eat smaller meals because I have a pretty small appetite and a small stomach. Looking back, I think it's very possible that I simply haven't been eating enough calories to match how active I am.

To start off at my physical, my blood pressure was low enough that my doctor specifically mentioned that I need to increase my fluid intake and work on my hydration. My doctor also told me that I'm extremely underweight and that my weight puts me around the 10th percentile, which was honestly a huge wake-up call for me. I always thought I was a pretty healthy person because I exercise regularly and try to eat well, so hearing all of this at my physical was really shocking.

Over the past year I've also noticed irregular periods, heat intolerance, anxiety/jittery feelings at times, episodes of diarrhea, dizziness, definitly dehydration which is causing me to have low BP, and feeling full very quickly when eating. so because of the weight loss combined with all the other symptoms im experincing I'm also wondering if there could be something thyroid-related going on, such as hyperthyroidism. My doctor ordered blood work, so I'm currently waiting for those results. She's also concerned that I may not be getting enough iron, and now I'm worried that I could be anemic as well. Waiting for the blood work has been stressful because I keep wondering what it will show.

I'm very concerned because I never thought I was as unhealthy as I apparently am right now. Losing 14 pounds without trying feels like a lot, especially since I didn't notice it happening until now. No matter what the blood work shows, I already know I'm going to have to make some pretty significant changes with drinking more water and increasing my calorie intake going forward. The good news is that I don't intentionally restrict food and I don't have any issue with eating more if that's what my body needs.

What I'm struggling with is how to do that in a healthy way. I don't really enjoy snacking, and I don't want to rely on junk food to gain weight. I get full quickly, so eating larger meals can be difficult.

For anyone who has been in a similar situation: How did you increase your calories without feeling stuffed all the time? What healthy, calorie-dense foods helped you? Did anyone else have trouble gaining weight because they filled up so quickly? And if anyone ended up having thyroid issues or anemia, did your symptoms look similar to mine? also what changes can I make in my workout routine to prioritize building muscle to add a few lbs as well.

Thanks in advance for any experiences or advice.