Do I have a tapeworm or something?

marissla

So, less than a week ago I posted a topic about maintaining my weight, and I took the advice. I checked my weight this morning (before eating, etc.) and I lost 3 pounds, by eating 1700-1800 calories a day, (I counted mentally and I listened to my body "intuitively eating"). I know the obvious answer is to eat more, but I literally just sat on the computer chair all day and browse the internet, besides going to the kitchen, going to go pee, etc. Also, I've been getting comments about how skinny I've gotten...IN THE PAST 3 (couple) DAYS. And, no I don't undereat or anything, I have 4-6 meals a day all consisting of 300 or more calories, and if I only have 4 meals a day I usually have a bowl of icecream or something. My meals are pretty much the same: 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 tbsp of peanutbutter, and lots of fruit. Or it could be salad with 2 tbsps of dressing and lots of vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Any suggestions?? I don't want to lose anymore fat, but I don't want to gain fat either, and I know once again, the obvious answer is to eat more. But I'm eating an adequate amount for my sedentary life.
I weigh 114 5'4 and I'm 20 as of today this morning. Most days are the 1800 calories though. I literally just sit all day, honestly. Any thoughts? Thank you!
Oh and I try not to count my calories, this is just an estimate, since I do not want to count calories since I obsess over them. But, as I said I do have a clear understanding about servings and stuff, so it's a pretty accurate guesstimate (5% off maybe).

queenliz99

Daily fluctuations on the scale are typical.

healthygreek

You are obviously NOT eating anything near adequate!
I don't really understand quite why you're posting at all since you already know the answer.

marissla

queenliz99 wrote: »

Daily fluctuations on the scale are typical.

I understand that, but people have been commenting how skinny I've got in the past couple days, it just makes no sense. I have no access to a doctor at this moment or this weekend either.

GiveMeCoffee

Mentally counting you don't know what you are eating. Losing 3 lbs in a week you are undereating. 4 meals @ 300 calories = 1200 + ice cream serving roughly 270 = 1470 so not close to the 1800 you say you are eating.

marissla

healthygreek wrote: »

You are obviously NOT eating anything near adequate!
I don't really understand quite why you're posting at all since you already know the answer.

I really am. I'm eating 1700-1800 calories and I'm extremely sedentary, if I were to eat more I'd gain. My question is why did I lose so much weight in a short time in maintenance mode. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

marissla

GiveMeCoffee wrote: »

Mentally counting you don't know what you are eating. Losing 3 lbs in a week you are undereating. 4 meals @ 300 calories = 1200 + ice cream serving roughly 270 = 1470 so not close to the 1800 you say you are eating.

Thanks for your input. But, I said I rarely eat the 4 meals, and it's around 300-400 but more on the 400 side. Let's see, 1/2 cup oatmeal is 150 calories, 1/2 yogurt is 80 calories, fruits = 120 calories, and nuts (small serving) would be 50-100 calories. That's 350-400 calories.

But once again, my main concern is why I have lost so much weight in such a short time, and why people are noticing it, I mean I wear the same style of clothing everyday, I'm scared.

emdeesea

So the answer would be then to actually log what you eat for like one month to six weeks and then reassess. If you're not gaining, then the likely answer is that you're not eating the amount that you think you are.

Dollie712

As long as the rapid weight loss doesn't continue, you should be okay. If you lose more than 10-15 lbs over the next week or two while keeping your calorie count up, you really should find a way to see a doctor. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it.

cathiggs

if you are that scare why are you posting on a forum on the inernet and not going to you GP?
And secondly it sounds like your not eating enough you say your counting cals mentally why dont you try weighing everything you eat and writing it down on this website it could be a case ur under estimating what your eating?

healthygreek

marissla wrote: »

healthygreek wrote: »

You are obviously NOT eating anything near adequate!
I don't really understand quite why you're posting at all since you already know the answer.

I really am. I'm eating 1700-1800 calories and I'm extremely sedentary, if I were to eat more I'd gain. My question is why did I lose so much weight in a short time in maintenance mode. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

I say UP your calories!
If you are losing at 1700-1800 calories, then that's a deficit for you, NOT your maintenance calories. Add 100 calories a week till you are maintaining-that will be your maintenance calories.

marissla

Thanks everyone for responding. I use cups and serving sizes to weigh my food. A week prior to this I was sort of eating a lot! (PMS) I probably ate 3000 calories a day, so maybe my metabolize is burning like crazy and I just lost the weight somehow. Another theory I have is I might have grown (?) so my fat might have stretched out because even though I'm 20, there's some cases where girls grow at this age, and I felt a little taller yesterday. I'll email my doctor and make an appointment, but besides that I guess I have to calm down and not freak out...
I know this is sort of stupid, but I googled "how do you know if you have a tapeworm" and I had 8/10 of the signs...

You have an explained constipation, diarrhea, gas, or other symptoms of IBS Check
You have a history of food poisoning and your digestion has not been the same since. Check
You have trouble falling asleep, or you wake up multiple times during the night. Check
You get skin irritations or unexplained rashes, hives, rosacea or eczema. Check
You grind your teeth in your sleep. No
You have pain or aching in your muscles or joints. Check
You experience fatigue, exhaustion, depression, or frequent feelings of apathy. Check
You never feel satisfied or full after your meals. Check (?)
You've been diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia. Check

Maybe it isn't such a good idea to do such things like this, I don't have really healthy habits of cleaning my food...to be honest I barely ever wash my food... Oh gosh...
But, yeah, I'll email my doctor and mention some of what you guys said + get tested for a tapeworm (if you can do that?).

marissla

double post, sorry.

higgins8283801

People in the past haven't noticed my weight loss in the clothes i always wore. When i got a few new outfits people thought i had lost too much weight too. When really, it was just the sudden sight of me in a new former fitting outfit. Maybe people are just noticing the changes on you and to them it is sudden when in reality it is gradual. I know i don't see the changes on myself, i have to look at before and now pictures to see it.

zyxst

marissla wrote: »

Thanks everyone for responding. I use cups and serving sizes to weigh my food. A week prior to this I was sort of eating a lot! (PMS) I probably ate 3000 calories a day, so maybe my metabolize is burning like crazy and I just lost the weight somehow. Another theory I have is I might have grown (?) so my fat might have stretched out because even though I'm 20, there's some cases where girls grow at this age, and I felt a little taller yesterday. I'll email my doctor and make an appointment, but besides that I guess I have to calm down and not freak out...
I know this is sort of stupid, but I googled "how do you know if you have a tapeworm" and I had 8/10 of the signs...

You have an explained constipation, diarrhea, gas, or other symptoms of IBS Check
You have a history of food poisoning and your digestion has not been the same since. Check
You have trouble falling asleep, or you wake up multiple times during the night. Check
You get skin irritations or unexplained rashes, hives, rosacea or eczema. Check
You grind your teeth in your sleep. No
You have pain or aching in your muscles or joints. Check
You experience fatigue, exhaustion, depression, or frequent feelings of apathy. Check
You never feel satisfied or full after your meals. Check (?)
You've been diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia. Check

Maybe it isn't such a good idea to do such things like this, I don't have really healthy habits of cleaning my food...to be honest I barely ever wash my food... Oh gosh...
But, yeah, I'll email my doctor and mention some of what you guys said + get tested for a tapeworm (if you can do that?).

I know you said you get obsessive when you weigh/measure your food, but you'd honestly rather go through testing to see if you have tapeworm than log your food for a month to see what your average intake is? I have 5/10 of those listed symptoms. I don't have a tapeworm.

Edit for apostrophe.

StarChanger

Maybe you pooped??

Unknown

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ana3067

marissla wrote: »

GiveMeCoffee wrote: »

Mentally counting you don't know what you are eating. Losing 3 lbs in a week you are undereating. 4 meals @ 300 calories = 1200 + ice cream serving roughly 270 = 1470 so not close to the 1800 you say you are eating.

Thanks for your input. But, I said I rarely eat the 4 meals, and it's around 300-400 but more on the 400 side. Let's see, 1/2 cup oatmeal is 150 calories, 1/2 yogurt is 80 calories, fruits = 120 calories, and nuts (small serving) would be 50-100 calories. That's 350-400 calories.

But once again, my main concern is why I have lost so much weight in such a short time, and why people are noticing it, I mean I wear the same style of clothing everyday, I'm scared.

so 4x4 = 16, or 1600 calories. Not 1800.

Eating less than you thinka s already said. WEigh and log your food.

obscuremusicreference

It looks like I have a tapeworm too, but s/he's not eating nearly enough.

You mentioned that it was your TOM last week. It sounds like you're no longer holding that water weight.

asdowe13

marissla wrote: »

GiveMeCoffee wrote: »

Mentally counting you don't know what you are eating. Losing 3 lbs in a week you are undereating. 4 meals @ 300 calories = 1200 + ice cream serving roughly 270 = 1470 so not close to the 1800 you say you are eating.

Thanks for your input. But, I said I rarely eat the 4 meals, and it's around 300-400 but more on the 400 side. Let's see, 1/2 cup oatmeal is 150 calories, 1/2 yogurt is 80 calories, fruits = 120 calories, and nuts (small serving) would be 50-100 calories. That's 350-400 calories.

But once again, my main concern is why I have lost so much weight in such a short time, and why people are noticing it, I mean I wear the same style of clothing everyday, I'm scared.

You've lost so much weight because you are eating way less than you think you are.


But I can swing 3-5 pounds a day depending on water and whether I have pooped

ana3067

MrM27 wrote: »

marissla wrote: »

Thanks everyone for responding. I use cups and serving sizes to weigh my food. A week prior to this I was sort of eating a lot! (PMS) I probably ate 3000 calories a day, so maybe my metabolize is burning like crazy and I just lost the weight somehow. Another theory I have is I might have grown (?) so my fat might have stretched out because even though I'm 20, there's some cases where girls grow at this age, and I felt a little taller yesterday. I'll email my doctor and make an appointment, but besides that I guess I have to calm down and not freak out...
I know this is sort of stupid, but I googled "how do you know if you have a tapeworm" and I had 8/10 of the signs...

You have an explained constipation, diarrhea, gas, or other symptoms of IBS Check
You have a history of food poisoning and your digestion has not been the same since. Check
You have trouble falling asleep, or you wake up multiple times during the night. Check
You get skin irritations or unexplained rashes, hives, rosacea or eczema. Check
You grind your teeth in your sleep. No
You have pain or aching in your muscles or joints. Check
You experience fatigue, exhaustion, depression, or frequent feelings of apathy. Check
You never feel satisfied or full after your meals. Check (?)
You've been diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia. Check

Maybe it isn't such a good idea to do such things like this, I don't have really healthy habits of cleaning my food...to be honest I barely ever wash my food... Oh gosh...
But, yeah, I'll email my doctor and mention some of what you guys said + get tested for a tapeworm (if you can do that?).

I can confirm I am the tapeworm, I am inside your intestines. Please feed me ice cream and pizza.

Thank you,

Tapey the worm

DUDE, there's a book about tapeworms that basically ARE cognizant. They like take over the person's body and brain and some of them wind up living normal lives. Others are basically zombies.

So you're totally creepin' me out here, man.

asdowe13

ana3067 wrote: »

MrM27 wrote: »

marissla wrote: »

Thanks everyone for responding. I use cups and serving sizes to weigh my food. A week prior to this I was sort of eating a lot! (PMS) I probably ate 3000 calories a day, so maybe my metabolize is burning like crazy and I just lost the weight somehow. Another theory I have is I might have grown (?) so my fat might have stretched out because even though I'm 20, there's some cases where girls grow at this age, and I felt a little taller yesterday. I'll email my doctor and make an appointment, but besides that I guess I have to calm down and not freak out...
I know this is sort of stupid, but I googled "how do you know if you have a tapeworm" and I had 8/10 of the signs...

You have an explained constipation, diarrhea, gas, or other symptoms of IBS Check
You have a history of food poisoning and your digestion has not been the same since. Check
You have trouble falling asleep, or you wake up multiple times during the night. Check
You get skin irritations or unexplained rashes, hives, rosacea or eczema. Check
You grind your teeth in your sleep. No
You have pain or aching in your muscles or joints. Check
You experience fatigue, exhaustion, depression, or frequent feelings of apathy. Check
You never feel satisfied or full after your meals. Check (?)
You've been diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia. Check

Maybe it isn't such a good idea to do such things like this, I don't have really healthy habits of cleaning my food...to be honest I barely ever wash my food... Oh gosh...
But, yeah, I'll email my doctor and mention some of what you guys said + get tested for a tapeworm (if you can do that?).

I can confirm I am the tapeworm, I am inside your intestines. Please feed me ice cream and pizza.

Thank you,

Tapey the worm

DUDE, there's a book about tapeworms that basically ARE cognizant. They like take over the person's body and brain and some of them wind up living normal lives. Others are basically zombies.

So you're totally creepin' me out here, man.

You mean like the Goa'uld in Stargate?

Unknown

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queenliz99

Aemely

Don't go into the hot tub. Seriously. She's not your friend.

lifeskittles

If you had tapeworm you would be hungry ALL the time. If you haven't been eating raw foods, and you cook them properly then you don't have tapeworm. 3 lbs is a normal weight fluctuation. You aren't eating enough protein or fat probably (Looking at what you say you eat), and you're probably losing more muscle than fat. Add more protein to your diet and you won't look so "skinny". Loss of muscle makes you look skinny, not loss of fat.

GaleHawkins

Dollie712 wrote: »

As long as the rapid weight loss doesn't continue, you should be okay. If you lose more than 10-15 lbs over the next week or two while keeping your calorie count up, you really should find a way to see a doctor. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it.

I agree with what Dollie states. When we lose weight the messages the brain gets from our weight controlling hormones can be a bit confusing perhaps. The brain normally selects a new 'weight point' and will work to maintain that figure over time. If you keep eating more and the weight loss continues you may have a medical condition going on.

lifeskittles makes a good point about looking at your intake of protein and fat.

SLLRunner

queenliz99 wrote: »

Daily fluctuations on the scale are typical.

This. OP, you didn't lose three pounds of actual fat in a day eating 1700 calories. As for the tapeworm- if you really think you have one, you need to go to the doctor.

SLLRunner

marissla wrote: »

Thanks everyone for responding. I use cups and serving sizes to weigh my food. A week prior to this I was sort of eating a lot! (PMS) I probably ate 3000 calories a day, so maybe my metabolize is burning like crazy and I just lost the weight somehow. Another theory I have is I might have grown (?) so my fat might have stretched out because even though I'm 20, there's some cases where girls grow at this age, and I felt a little taller yesterday. I'll email my doctor and make an appointment, but besides that I guess I have to calm down and not freak out...
I know this is sort of stupid, but I googled "how do you know if you have a tapeworm" and I had 8/10 of the signs...

You have an explained constipation, diarrhea, gas, or other symptoms of IBS Check
You have a history of food poisoning and your digestion has not been the same since. Check
You have trouble falling asleep, or you wake up multiple times during the night. Check
You get skin irritations or unexplained rashes, hives, rosacea or eczema. Check
You grind your teeth in your sleep. No
You have pain or aching in your muscles or joints. Check
You experience fatigue, exhaustion, depression, or frequent feelings of apathy. Check
You never feel satisfied or full after your meals. Check (?)
You've been diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia. Check

Maybe it isn't such a good idea to do such things like this, I don't have really healthy habits of cleaning my food...to be honest I barely ever wash my food... Oh gosh...
But, yeah, I'll email my doctor and mention some of what you guys said + get tested for a tapeworm (if you can do that?).

Yeah, not a good idea to self-diagnose, as those symptoms could be from a hundred other things as well.

Weight naturally fluctuates.

TavistockToad

Just out of interest, how does one 'feel' taller?

Unknown

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