My first year of college (last year), I lost thirty-seven pounds--which is a good thing, because I did need to drop weight.
I had steadied for a while at one-thirty-six, which is probably pretty good for me (I'm about 5'6", 5'7" and male).
Now I've started losing weight again. I dropped two pounds in the past week.
I don't have any medical problems. Actually, my brother kept putting on weight (even though he ate almost nothing and exercised constantly) because he had some thyroid issues. So I got checked out for a lot of stuff last December, and nothing.
Me, I eat a good bit. I'm conscious to eat healthy because I was very unhealthy for a very long time. I'm a vegetarian, mostly, but I throw in chicken every other day or so. I do some yoga and some sit-ups and pushups daily, and I walk almost everywhere. I usually do two big meals a day and a snack. Wednesdays and Fridays I get a third big meal because I go rock-climbing. Weekends I eat very little because I don't do much at all.
Other people are concerned, I think. My mom called me about it--two different relatives who'd come seen me recently called her and asked if I was sick or had developed some kind of eating disorder.
From my side, though, I have no troubles going on. For a while last year I was often getting faint after working out and I passed out a couple times, but that hasn't happened in many many months. Honestly, I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life. I feel very healthy and my body feels so very capable, which I really love.
But I keep losing weight. I get on the scale every week and the numbers keep dropping pretty steady.
Should I be concerned? What's this likely to be?
Posted by C3PO the Dragon Slayer (Member # 10416) on :
Have you been having more frequent bathroom visits as well? It could be that you're showing signs of Type I diabetes. My brother has diabetes, and we first learned about it when he was losing a lot of weight and going to the bathroom all the time. Right now, it's probably too soon to say anything. Losing two pounds is no big deal; one's weight can fluctuate by that much in the course of a day. Don't get too worried unless it strays far from the margin of error, which is about 2-3 pounds.
Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
Well, it's been on a steady drop. Two pounds just seemed like a big leap. Otherwise, I've averaged a pound or two every three weeks or so.
I weigh myself in the mornings mostly so I'm not getting fluctuation from whatever I've done in the day. That's what the measurements are from.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Steady weight loss without any obvious cause is a reason to talk with your doctor -- a phone call (or email, if your doctor does that) at the very least.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
Sounds like you're very active and you aren't eating 3 squares every day. I don't see the mystery. If you eat more you'll probably quit losing weight. Try eating on the weekends even though you're not very active then. (Assuming you'd like to quit losing weight.)
Posted by Mr.Gumby (Member # 6303) on :
I agree with scifibum. Whether or not you're very active, your body still burns about 2000 calories a day just from being alive. Plus, if you're getting fatigue and passing out from exercise you probably should eat more. I don't know a lot about cronic fatigue syndrome and I'm not saying you have it, but it might be good to read up on it.
EDIT: oops, I didn't notice that you were having some problems LAST year. I assumed it was still going on.
Posted by fetuccine (Member # 11758) on :
You mentioned you are following a vegetarian diet. My concern is you might not be consuming enough proteins to maintain your active lifestyle. Sufficient caloric intake along with protein intake is essential to maintaining healthy weight and muscle mass. If you cut down on proteins your body will actually start eating away at your muscles which will lead to weight loss as well as health problems down the line.
My suggestion is that you review your diet and make sure you are including a variety of healthy proteins such as chickpeas, lentils, milk, eggs, nuts, etc. As a general guideline, about 10-15% of your daily calories should be proteins.