Weight Loss, really scared:(

[Jess5566]

For some time now I’ve been losing weight, I was originally 8 stone 9 and have been pretty much since I can remember, around the end of 2019 I weighed myself I noticed I was down to 7 stone 11, I seen a doctor got bloods took and they wasn’t concerned so I ignored it.

at Christmas I weight myself again and I was 7 stone 6, and today I went to a doctor for a check up and I’m now 6 stone 10, I’m so worried, I’ve recently had blood tests and they were all okay except I have borderline anaemia.

I have in the past had a fear of choking which slowed my eating down slightly but I picked it back up again, I do now have a fear of anaphylaxis which for a couple of months I would only eat potato’s, cheese, Jaffa cakes and Pringles. But on a calorie counter I’m still getting enough calories eating what I’m eating.

I’m really scared I have cancer, I’ve got night sweats, pain, and just feeling really weak and tired.

I’m sitting here so upset!:(

[nomorepanic]

If you had cancer the doctor's would know from blood tests.

Anxiety causes weight loss and you are not eating as much so you lose weight.

Your diet is not good so needs looking at - ask for a referral to a dietitian if necessary.

[NoraB]

For some time now I’ve been losing weight, I was originally 8 stone 9 and have been pretty much since I can remember, around the end of 2019 I weighed myself I noticed I was down to 7 stone 11, I seen a doctor got bloods took and they wasn’t concerned so I ignored it.

at Christmas I weight myself again and I was 7 stone 6, and today I went to a doctor for a check up and I’m now 6 stone 10, I’m so worried, I’ve recently had blood tests and they were all okay except I have borderline anaemia.

I have in the past had a fear of choking which slowed my eating down slightly but I picked it back up again, I do now have a fear of anaphylaxis which for a couple of months I would only eat potato’s, cheese, Jaffa cakes and Pringles. But on a calorie counter I’m still getting enough calories eating what I’m eating.

I’m really scared I have cancer, I’ve got night sweats, pain, and just feeling really weak and tired.

I’m sitting here so upset!:(

Whenever somebody posts like this, 9 times out of 10 the answer to their problem is there, in their own words..

Fear has a very physical response, and it will make you lose weight. I lost two stone on the HA diet and also when I put myself on a restrictive diet in the past - being vegetarian but before any decent food came out. I practically lived on chips and cheese! With all this mucking about with your diet, and only eating certain foods, it's unsurprising that you have borderline anaemia, and given that your weight issues started around the end of 2019 - I seriously doubt that you'd only be borderline anaemic well over a year later..

Also, your blood tests were otherwise clear..

Pain, night sweats, tiredness? You've described nothing that I haven't experienced, and I don't have cancer.

As Nicola says, you need to see a dietician and also a therapist re your phobias..

[pulisa]

Do you think that you may be bordering on having ARFID which is a form of restrictive eating based on fear:

https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/types/arfid

It must be horrible for you, Jess and I think you definitely should speak to your GP again and ask for psychological help x

[ankietyjoe]

But on a calorie counter I’m still getting enough calories eating what I’m eating.



You're getting enough calories for what?

Calories aren't the only metric for weight loss, there are several other factors involved too.

Two different people could eat exactly the same thing and experience wildly different weight maintenance results. In the past I have eaten over 6000 calories a day and lost weight fast, but now I can barely maintain my weight on about 2250 cals per day. Your age, activity, hormonal activity, time you eat and several other things can dictate whether you gain, lose or maintain weight.

Nora and Pulisa are right, you are actually describing an eating disorder and it's highly likely you are not eating as much as you think you are, and you are eating the VERY wrong things for optimal health.

[NancyW]

Jess every time I have been in a high anxiety state my weight goes down .. I swear it's the extra adrenaline that revs up our metabolism and burns those calories. My guess is this is where you are at.

[Jess5566]

Thankyou so much for all your replies!, I consume roughly 1000 to 1500 a day, some days I’ll eat a lot less due to me finding it hard to eat, and I’m a little active as I have 2 little toddlers!

When I see the weight I’ve lost and how crappy I feel in myself my brain just takes me to deadly diseases!

[pulisa]

It's very easy to fall into that trap with HA but looking at it logically, you are running around after 2 toddlers and undereating due to fear so you are going to lose weight and feel weak and even more panicky.

Is there any food/food drink which you think you could manage to add to your list of "safe" foods? Something containing calcium such as milk or a milk substitute to protect your bones and add calories?

[ankietyjoe]

Thankyou so much for all your replies!, I consume roughly 1000 to 1500 a day, some days I’ll eat a lot less due to me finding it hard to eat, and I’m a little active as I have 2 little toddlers!

When I see the weight I’ve lost and how crappy I feel in myself my brain just takes me to deadly diseases!

At your size, 1500 may be enough to maintain your weight. 1000 is way under, if you're eating less than that you need to really get help with your diet. You are way, way under what you need. There is no way you can maintain weight with two toddlers on 1000 cals per day, especially with a massively restricted diet of potatoes and biscuits.

[NoraB]

Thankyou so much for all your replies!, I consume roughly 1000 to 1500 a day, some days I’ll eat a lot less due to me finding it hard to eat, and I’m a little active as I have 2 little toddlers!

When I see the weight I’ve lost and how crappy I feel in myself my brain just takes me to deadly diseases!

Anxiety will rip through 1000 calories, no problem. Some people gain weight with stress, others lose weight fast. I lost weight fast, and I had muscle wastage - the lot! Believe me, I went down the cancer, MS, ''I'm dying' route but those tests kept coming back clear!

I get where your HA mind is at - I've been there - but this is clearly a dietary/anxiety issue, not cancer.

[anom]

Admittedly I was over twice your weight but I've had 2 fairly large streaks of anxiety (I'm still in my 2nd one) and it really does rip through your weight.

The first one I went down 3-4 stone in a couple of months.

This one has been slower, maybe only 2 stone and I think I'm bottoming out (well actually I thought I'd had some good news on the health front - so I started eating more..to have my doctor turn round and basically say ignore what you have been told, there could still be a problem)

Just don't end up weighing yourself, religiously, I was doing it 3-4 times a day and panicking when it dropped 2-3kg over a day (but ignored the fact that it usually went back up 2-3kg the next day)

It's nuts what anxiety can do for your weight, I'm about the thinnest I've ever been since I was a teenager, doesn't necessarily mean cancer (even though I have similar thoughts in my own head!)