Unintended weight loss

tracengel · March 2018

Hi all. I'm a 39 year old woman with an underactive thyroid. My weight has been steady for years - in May 2017 I weighed 68kg - somewhat overweight. I'm 160cm tall. My thyroid has never really been adequately medicated.
My eating habits my entire life have been shocking: while I have always favoured healthy food, mostly, I've never denied myself anything I wanted. However - I never ate breakfast or lunch, only supper, and then probably only 4 times a week. The other 3 days a week I might have eaten an apple or a slice of bread or two - maybe a carrot etc.
I don't have any eating disorders, it's just laziness and resentfulness at having to put time and effort into thinking about food - I find food boring and never got any real enjoyment out of it. I was always a bit overweight despite this lack of real nutrition.

Then in August 2017 I started losing weight - had not changed my diet, no exercise, thyroid medication had not changed. To date I've lost 18kg and I'm now 50kg.

I have been tested for a wide variety of medical issues including cancer & HIV - all negative. My thyroid is not even in the normal range yet, still tests as underactive, so this doesn't account for the weight loss.

The weight loss has not slowed down, even though over the last month I've made a concerted effort to eat at least 3 times a day - breakfast (cereal, smoothies, fruit), lunch - couscous, roasted veggies, dinner - veggies, rice, maybe chicken. With some snacks in between like cheese, fruit, bread etc. Been adding meal supplement power do smoothies.

I've gone off all junk food like sweets, chips, chocolates, take out - I used to love them.

I'm not gaining weight and the sudden increase of food is playing havoc with my system - constipation etc. I still struggle to get to the recommended calories per day

I really don't care how I look - have no interest in that. I just want to be healthy.

Neither I or my doctors have an explanation for the change - what I'm hoping to hear from others is stories of unintended weight loss and how they managed.

68kg vs 52kg. Now down another 2kg

[photo removed by MFP mods]

kommodevaran · March 2018

Junk food is calorie dense and easy to eat (overeat). It's still down to calories in/out.

Your story does not sound coherent. Compare

while I have always favoured healthy food, mostly, I've never denied myself anything I wanted. However - I never ate breakfast or lunch, only supper, and then probably only 4 times a week. The other 3 days a week I might have eaten an apple or a slice of bread or two - maybe a carrot etc.

and

I've gone off all junk food like sweets, chips, chocolates, take out - I used to love them.

had not changed my diet

Yes you have. How does the timeline for those changes match your weight trend?

You look healthy, by the way.

PAV8888 · March 2018

Volume of food is great. Calories is what counts.

Chips, take out, candy all have lots of calories in small volumes.

Generally when people want to create a caloric deficit and lose weight, they switch out the candy, and chips, and take out for nice, wholesome, proteins and veggies with little sauce and fats... and...well.. create a caloric deficit since a lot of the calories in the foods we eat are in the bread, butter, sauce, and occasional cookie or twelve that find their way in us.

Now. There seems to be nothing wrong with your new eating habbits. However you may want to ensure you're eating sufficient healthy fats and sufficient fiber (don't increase the fiber suddenly if already constipated) to ensure that everything continues to function normally.

So at 50kg, you ought to be consuming AT LEAST 44g of healthy fats a day (least saturated, maximum mono and polyunsaturated). You also want to be consuming AT LEAST 88g of protein a day. The rest you can split any which way you want to that makes you happier, with the majority probably going towards carbohydrates. These should include a good 27g, or so, of fiber.

You may also want to quite quicky take control of this situation and stop the unintended weight loss as the last 2kg have dropped you within view of the limits of the bottom of the normal weight range for your height.

Really.... add a piece or two of cheesecake till your weight loss stops.

You don't have to eat 100% "clean". And if you're not meeting your base level of maintenance calories your way of eating is LESS not more healthy than an "unhealthy" diet that actually meets your base caloric needs!!!

tracengel · March 2018

I'm really not interested in eating "clean" at all - and the way I was eating before was definitely not on purpose in order to control my weight or anything - purely laziness and lack of interest in food. I'm perfectly happy to eat cheesecake (if only i could fit it in! am so full all the time now)

I also wish I understood what changed, and why I should suddenly start dropping weight. It has me worried, as it doesn't seem like the norm

L1zardQueen · March 2018

Do you track your calories? In and out?

tracengel · March 2018

I do track calories, and have for ages. I know that when I was eating so poorly, there would be days on end that I wouldn't reach 1000 calories a day. I would expect weight loss then, but for years it didn't happen, until August when suddenly it started. Since feb, the deficit is a lot less than when I ate so poorly. I'd eaten that way for 10 years at least and never lost any weight then suddenly something triggered it to start happening, dramatically. I would be okay if the weight loss stopped here - but it's showing no signs of slowing down even though I'm eating much more than before.

PAV8888 · March 2018

tracyengelbrecht wrote: »

I'm really not interested in eating "clean" at all - and the way I was eating before was definitely not on purpose in order to control my weight or anything - purely laziness and lack of interest in food. I'm perfectly happy to eat cheesecake (if only i could fit it in! am so full all the time now)

I also wish I understood what changed, and why I should suddenly start dropping weight. It has me worried, as it doesn't seem like the norm

It doesn't sound absolutely normal, I agree, but you mentioned it is also baffling your doctors, which implies they have already run standard tests and you're not suffering from something obvious that is making you unable to absorb the calories you eat.

In your discussion you clearly stated that you've switched your way of eating and moved away from less satiating high calorie easy to over eat junk food to more "wholesome" choices.

I replied pointing out that your changes are the exact strategy employed by many people who are actively trying to lose weight: Replace high calorie less satiating items with more nutritionally dense and calorically sparse food.

Energy balance is not magic. To reverse a deficit you can either reduce your energy out lay, increase your intake, or both.

Really. Walk and exercise less. Eat more calories. Simple as that.

So if you're not hungry enough for extra cheesecake... eat faster and start your meal with cheesecake while finishing it with your vegetables and only then drinking any liquid.

Replace any non caloric beverages with orange juice or Apple juice.

Use cream and full fat yogurt.

Eat cheese and nuts.

Think of everything one could do to lose weight... and do the opposite!

And do continue to pester your doctors!!!

tracengel · March 2018

Sounds like a holiday on the couch is in order

jgnatca · March 2018

I find it surprising for someone who has so little interest in food that you have taken the time to log all your meals. Keep on eating. Adding fats will help with the constipation, and weight gain.

icemom011 · March 2018

Iny opinion, unintended weight loss means that something is wrong medically. There's a lot of good advice given on upping your calories from other members, but i would encourage you to pursue your medical team to keep searching as to why you are losing that much weight. Most people have to make a great deal of effort to achieve that, and unintended loss should be a concern. So keep tight food diary, with weight on grams, and keep your doctors posted on your exact intake as well, i hope it turns out to be nothing but just change in the way you eat. Good luck, OP.

tracengel · August 2018

So in the months since I posted this question, things have become clearer. March - May was a health disaster - ovarian cysts, chronic constipation causing severe pain, UTI's that turned into several kidney infections one after the other. But - some things did get worked out regarding the weight loss.

Once all those had been treated, docs kind of gave up on figuring out the weight loss, when they couldn't find any scary reason. But then I realised some things.

My routine had changed quite a lot since the loss started, more than I realised. I underestimated how inactive I had been before.

- My hypothyroidism is being treated much more aggressively for the first time in 15 years and my numbers are much better (while still not 100%). This only happened after a few months of weight loss, so wasn't the initial cause, but has contributed now.
- My work life changed - for close to 10 years I'd be in the office 8 hours a day, get home and do on average another 4 hours of work a night. All-nighters were not uncommon. I hardly moved. Then straight to bed, only to start again the next day. Weekends all I had energy for was sleep. Stress levels through the roof. When I did eat, whatever deficit there was would be wiped out, as I was so inactive.
- In Aug / Sep last year, I started dating for the first time in 10 years (ha, yeah, there's that activity increase). Not kidding, this is what started it - according to the timing. I honestly didn't think of this til much later.
- I changed jobs in Feb, much less stress, much more time in the evenings and weekends to do other things. So my activity increased even if I thought it wasn't enough to make a difference. It apparently was.

Now I've started pole dancing and have kept it up for 3 months - longest I've ever been interested in exercise, even though I'm objectively terrible at it. I have specific exercise goals related to pole now (like improve terrible upper body strength etc), which helps to keep me interested and motivated. I haven't yet gotten seriously into any other kind of exercise yet. Gym intimidation is real for me right now.

Since June, my weight has stayed fairly steady at 50kg, sometimes dipping down to 49 and a few times to 48-ish (I'm 1.6m so fairly short). I don't want to go any lower. Peanut butter is my new best friend.

I resisted weighing my food for a long time, as my family was concerned seeing me weighing - thinking I was trying to lose even more which wasn't the case. I've managed to convince them that it's to ensure I'm eating *enough* and to get my numbers right (i'm a giant data nerd). Have only been weighing for a couple of weeks, so before that I was slightly underestimating intake. I think, based on my data, that I burn slightly less than average, but I'll need a few more weeks to really figure that out. Right now I'm eating probs between 1300-1400 a day, which is less than what MFP gives me for maintenance, but I'm still working towards eating enough to get there. A work in progress. I eat whatever I want, whenever I want it, and don't worry about any days I might go over.The things I *like* to eat nowadays are less calorie-dense than before, so that's my challenge.

I now know what hunger is! I'm always hungry - and eat probably 4, sometimes 5 times a day. It's an entirely new experience.

I feel much healthier, I have more energy, I sleep better, constipation is gone. I have, like, half an ab!

It's odd that it all happened unintentionally, but I was lucky. If I'd carried on not taking care of myself like I was, it would not have been good. I still feel weird when people "congratulate" me on the change- I didn't do it on purpose, and I don't care much about how my body *looks* but for the first time in my life I'm excited about what my body can *do*.

But I'm okay! No cancer, nothing bad. I'm 40 next month and have an entirely different life now. It's cool.

TavistockToad · August 2018

If you're always hungry, why are you not eating more?

tracengel · August 2018

@TavistockToad I'm hungry *often* and eat as much as I can manage at one time, but that isn't really much just yet. Get full quickly. I probably eat every 3 to 4 hours, but am still getting used to eating what is a lot for me at any one sitting.

babysaffy · August 2018

Yea never underestimate the calorie burn between the sheets!!

When I first met my now husband just under 13 years ago, I lost around 7 pounds in a month and nothing else had changed except that extra activity

- I was even eating slightly more but burning off a lot what with things being so new haha

Glad you're ok now and that it wasn't anything sinister.

Unintended weight loss

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