My clothes don't fit!

[fluffymark]

I've been going through some of my older clothes from about 3 to 5 years ago and seeing if I still like them, while cringing at some of my fashion blunders and bad taste. It appears that very few of them still fit me - they keep falling off. I'd not been aware I'd lost that much weight since moving to London, and even back then I was severely underweight. Now I'm a mere 53 kilos, and despite my best efforts, still losing weight. Eeeeep?

Comments

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Do you often have abdominal pain?

[fluffymark]

Yes, I frequently have abdominal pains (in fact, I've had them as recently as today - very bad ones all day, fortunately gone away now), and no doctor has ever suceeded in figuring out why. I'm curious how you might have guessed about thse pains? Is there something I should know? I know it isn't appendicitis, and usually attributie it to frequent bad indigestion, while I attribute my inability to put on weight to an overactive metabolism.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Ulcerative colitis? Just a thought, might not be, but it's one thing that can make people incredibly skinny.

[fluffymark]

Just looked up 'Ulcerative colitis'. Scary. However I don't think it is that, as I'm happy to say I don't suffer from rectal bleeding. Theres probably dozens of conditions with symptoms of abdominal cramps and weight loss out there still.

[snow-leopard.livejournal.com]

I suspect the abdominal pains are actually your liver complaining about the fact that on Friday night you drank (and this is just what I kept track of so undoubtedly there was more):
at least two glasses of white wine
two mugs of mulled wine
most of Davefish's mead
A large dose of brandy
some apple schnapps
and then started downing vodka on top of that.
If you want your liver to like you try to drink less for a while, I suspect abdominal pains will then go away!!

[fluffymark]

Ooooops. Make that at least 4 glasses of red wine at the top of that list, before we even started on the white wine.

[excelsis.livejournal.com]

How long have I been telling you you should go and get your skinnyness investigated?

And you bastard, you've given what weight you've lost to me ;-)

[fluffymark]

If I fall under 50kilos then I'l really begin to worry and go and see a doctor. As catt says, I don't exactly eat a lot, but thats becasue I feel full very quickly.

[mirabehn.livejournal.com]

Hi Mark!

Do you mean "full very quickly" as in, feeling slightly bloated and tight, even after a relatively small amount of food?

What you've got sounds to me like it could be irritable bowel syndrome. Especially if you ever get things like constipation and diorrhea for no apparent reason? IBS can be connected to losing weight, especially if your appetite is low - it could be that the pains and the bloatiness are causing you to eat less. As for me, I have IBS and low weight, and though they're both more symptoms of the M.E. more than anything else, they definitely interract.

IBS is one of those irritating conditions that can't really be tackled with conventional medicine, but if you've been checked for everything else (and I really suggest you get checked, if you're not already - please don't wait until you fall under 50kg), then I could suggest some basic principles which might help. Stress and alcohol both exacerbate it. Fresh fruit, bio-yoghurt and above all relaxation techniques can help.

This is only one suggestion - could be a lot of other things, I guess. But if IBS starts looking likely, you're welcome to get in touch if you want any more detailed advice/suggestions/website recs etc.

*hugs* I'm so glad your party was such fun. Liz was bouncing on the phone about it on Monday. :-)

Elly

[fluffymark]

IBs sounds possible from your description, but it could be anything really. At some point i'll have it checked out if things get worse, in the meantime I'm attempting to eat more - in fact i've been eating *very* well this week. Not sure if i've put on any weight yet. But at least I appeat to have an appetite when I push myself. Yay! :)

And it was fab to see liz at my party. Glad she enjoyed herself, as I was worried she'd arrive and not know anyone and get scared off or something! Hearing she liked the party has cheered me immensely.

[snow-leopard.livejournal.com]

Now I'm a mere 53 kilos, and despite my best efforts
What best efforts? You hardly every manage lunch, nibble at teatime and despite what you may think a bowl of Smash does NOT count as a meal. Eat properly and you may weigh more (and if you weighed a decent amount you wouldn't be able to keep stealing my clothes, which could only be a good thing).
And yes you should hassle a doctor about it as you can't afford to lose any more weight, if necessary we will get you some of those fattening milkshakes they give to people recorvering from surgery (kind of anti-slimfast).

[fluffymark]

Can I just eat lots of chocolate instead? Hang on....I do do that, but that doesn't seem to work.

Re:

[snow-leopard.livejournal.com]

Erm no, eating chocolate will just fill you up without helping you put on weight. You need to eat THREE well balanced meals a day. This involves things you are unfamiliar with such as VEGETABLES - suggest you find what vegetables you like (other than potatoes). It also involves realising that the 4 basic food groups are not cheese, potatoes, chocolate and chicken curry!!!
As I said, if you are serious about putting on weight we should work on the above and get some of those fattening milkshakes to bulk you up a bit as well, its also worth checking with a doctor in case it is anything more serious and to see what they suggest.

[fluffymark]

So It wasn't a good start of me to forget breakfast this morning. Mooop :(

[wechsler.livejournal.com]

*blink* uh, how tall are you?

[fluffymark]

I'm 5 foot 10 inches. Ham many kilos am I supposed to weigh at this height?

Apparently...

[wechsler.livejournal.com]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/yourweight/bmi_metric.shtml (link as provided on the NHS Direct website)

More than that. High 60's, if you want to get out of the "underweight" category. I just clear it at 70kg, although I'm a touch taller.

[alektoeumenides.livejournal.com]

As I said, shall I just send my access weight to you? Hm. You need a Russian babushka to take care of you. Can't you get them via mail-order or something? Hire-a-babushka?

But jokes aside, you know I have been concerned for ages about how little you eat, although you always seem to eat well around me. Catt is right, 3, or even 4 balanced, WHOLE meals a day, not this smash malarky. I should know, I spent many years of my youth seeing a damned dietician (although for the opposite reasons). This doesn't mean you have to force feed yourself, but even little things, like corn, bread, pasta and cheese can actually add a good deal of bulk to a meal.

If you can't bear to eat so much at once, then snack. You said you like toast, well have it more often. A slice here, a slice there, munch munch. Popcorn is also good in that respect.

Do try. Your health will suffer, especially as winter is comming up. Also, lack of vitamins and, even more so, fat from your diet can adversely effect your moods. If you've found yourself feeling lower than usual of late, your sparce diet may be part of the cause. That's one of the reasons why we're naturally inclined towards liking fatty foods: they make us feel happier.

[fluffymark]

*heh* Maybe I need to hunt down another Russian girlfriend again, someday, just so her mum can fatten me up? ;)

Seriously, though - maybe that is part of the problem - Maria's mum *did* keep me well fed, and since we split up I've not had anyone feeding me with quite the same quantities of food (except possibly yourself, who made me some mouthwartering picnic munchies and dinners *lickslips*). I could try visiting Maria's parents more often, they live close, and maybe I can get fed properly there.

I have a huge bowl of cornflakes for breakfast most days, and eat lots of brean, cheese and pasta. Often though, thats as far as it goes. Sweet things keep me going, and I'll cook myself a dinner whose size depneds on how I'm feeling. Maybe snacking in the answer, a quick 'cheesey-beansy-toastie' between meals may fill me up a bit! :)

I've not been feeling noticeable lower as late. New Scientist had an article a couple of months back on the 'Happy fat', some Omega-fat that the absence of it in a diet correletes highly with depression in people. Unfortunetly mosr modern 'refined' food contains very little of it, and it is mainly found in more organic food, and most common in seafood. If I'm feeling down, a nice bowl of mussels will cheer me up! :)

[alektoeumenides.livejournal.com]

cheesy-beanie-toasty sounds very good. Don't you have a sandwich toaster? If not, get one. That should help get you started. Also, maybe change little habits. Have a nice hunk of bread layered with full-fat butter with your cup a soup. If you don't already use full fat milk, get into the habit. Drink hot chocolate for breakfast. I dunno. It's always the little things that pile on the pounds, so next time you go food shopping, look around. Pretend I am with you or summat.

Eat pringles. They are evil for pound-piling. Although not very healthy. Doh. Can't have it both ways eh?

*sigh*

Mussles

mmm.

[fluffymark]

Indeedy I have a sandwich toaster, and make hot greasy toasties in in occasionally. I've always drunk full fat milk - anything else just tastes wrong. And I avoid any 'low fat' food like the plague too. Hot chocolate for breakfast sounds nice, but i think i'll stick with coffee, as I need to wake up.
Pringles idea is good, as long as it's in addition to meals. For a lot of last year I frequently ate a whole tube of pringles whenever I was working late, but after that I really didn't feel able to manage any proper dinner.

Tonight's dinner will be Quorn chunks with sweet and sour sauce and a few extras, which should be filling. Tomorrow I'm going out for a full 3 course posh dinner, which will fill me, and Friday looks like a trip to Pizza Express. Yummy! :)