Skinny and wary of exercising?

You didn't give a height, so I don't know how skinny "super skinny" is. If you are far underweight on the BMI chart for your height, consult a doctor. (It's probably a good idea to consult a doctor either way, especially if you've experienced unintentional weight loss lately. Weight loss is one of the real physical symptoms depression and mental health problems can cause.)

In my experience as someone who tends towards underweight because of depression: physical activity helps improve my mood, which helps increase my appetite, which helps me to gain healthy weight. I started the C25K (couch to 5K) running program about two years ago at 5'3" 110 pounds. I wasn't underweight but close to the edge and very unhealthy/not fit at all. Now I'm still only about 111/112 pounds, but more of my body is made of muscle and I feel tons better now than I did then.

I love, love, love C25K and fitness blender for battling depression with physical activity. The woman in the fitness blender videos also has a lot of videos on the youtube channel about how she overcame being really skinny and eating disorder to gain healthy weight and muscle.

I'll be honest, my "fitness journey" has been a real challenge. There were months or weeks where I just didn't do anything and gave up on running and weight lifting. But I tried to just do whatever I could even if it was just a walk around the block or light activity like cleaning my house.

Also, on the days I am hungry I try to really give myself unlimited permission to eat, because I know that even though society says women shouldn't eat / should try to be skinny, I struggle with the opposite problem and need to keep my calories up, especially protein. (I don't calorie count or anything because that makes me obsessive and anxious, I just try to go by feel.) I don't weigh myself often because that number makes me feel bad about myself too, just often enough to check in with where I'm at.

/r/xxfitness Thread