Why can't I stick to my diet?

Well because you are underweight and you need all the calories you can get. Don't restrict what you can eat, just put more emphasis on high quality animal products.

But isn't this a good 'runner weight'?

Like I feel that my weight is good enough for me to run better.

I don't wanna eat junk so bad but it's hard.

Will it affect my running? Or my mind?

Overthinker wrote:

But isn't this a good 'runner weight'?

Like I feel that my weight is good enough for me to run better.

I don't wanna eat junk so bad but it's hard.

Will it affect my running? Or my mind?

Your BMI is 18. Under 18.5 is underweight. You'll have bone problems if you keep this up. Can't run fast if you are always dealing with stress fractures.

Runners in African countries are underweight and they're obviously doing good.

Most of the runners I know are slightly underweight. I've never had bone problems or anything.

My only problem is my diet and I'm worried if it'll affect me in a bad way.

I've been the same weight for mayb 1.5 years and during that time I've been on/off with my diet.

Overthinker wrote:

Runners in African countries are underweight and they're obviously doing good.

How many of them have long careers? Also, most of them are juiced. So unless you are juiced, you shouldn't follow their lead.

Most of the runners I know are slightly underweight. I've never had bone problems or anything.

No problems yet, many of these problems from under eating may take years to develop.

My only problem is my diet and I'm worried if it'll affect me in a bad way.

I've been the same weight for mayb 1.5 years and during that time I've been on/off with my diet.

Need help:

At 17 you shouldn't be the same weight for 1.5 years, nothing like :(

People overthink dieting.

Step 1) pick a goal weight

Step 2) don't eat until you hit your goal weight

Simple as that.

overthinking it wrote:

People overthink dieting.

Step 1) pick a goal weight

Step 2) don't eat until you hit your goal weight

Simple as that.

This post is extremely toxic and if you are being serious then I hope that you realise the toxicity of your post and get some help yourself. If this is a troll (which it most likely is because this is LetsRun) then you are not funny and your words are putting people’s health in real danger.

OP if you think you may have an eating disorder, seek help. EDs are NOT a joke and they do not lead to athletic success, they can and do lead to permanent disability. Having weak bones, weak muscles and a weak heart 5 years down the line is really not worth it just to be temporarily 20 seconds faster in the 5k right now. Eat plenty of healthy fats and grass-fed meats.

Also, you most likely cannot stick to your diet because you are restricting your intake too much or your body is craving all kimds of nutrients because of a combination of things such as your activity level being high while spending a prolonged period of time in a caloric deficit. When you say about 18 being a standard runne BMI that is not the case. Okay, it is to find elite (are you elite?) distance athletes with a BMI over 23 but having a low BMI does by any way mean you are at an optimal BMI for running. There are lots of fast runners out there with BMIs of 16/17 who clearly are not healthy (and clealy aren’t going to be able to keep this up for a long time without permanent consequences) who would actually be running a lot faster if they added some weight and got their BMIs into the 18/20 range but they are too scared of the calories to do this. If your BMI is too low then you are not going to have the strength or the power to reach the next level in your training, optimal strength-to-weight ratio paired with great mileage is what makes champions, not obsessing over calories in the orange juice they had for lunch. Some people can be healthy at a slightly underweight BMI but those people are rare, in order to be optimal/healthy at those sort of weights for long periods requires a genetic predisposition meaning you have to be born with a super light frame, good muscle tone and a raging metabolism. Think: Kenyan people. They are very fast and when given the opportunity, a lot of the, eat what they want and as much as they want. Their bodies are programmes to burn and perform. Yours might not optimise calories that well and to be honest, restricting is just going to slow your metabolism long term.

A bmi of 18 is a little bit underweight. You are starving. It should be your goal to get your bmi to at least 18.5, not restrict what you are eating. Being underweight negatively effects running. Running with a bmi of 18 will make you as slow as someone who is a bit fat.