There’s that Weight loss that is good for your health, the one that you decide to have, but there’s that sudden noticeable weight loss that could indicate the presence of a serious medical condition, sometimes even stress or depression and in most cases, it can get out of hand very fast.
There are so many ways to Know when you start to lose weight, for instance :
- Your clothes stop fitting you like they should, they become loose-fitting.
- You have increased infections, and sudden weight loss may lower your immune function.
- You are always fatigued, with general body weakness.
- Often the loss of appetite.
- Also visible are ribs and bones.
As I’ve already mentioned, unintentional weight loss could be because of an underlying serious medical condition like type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and even certain cancers.
Type 1 diabetes, is quite common, and it’s often diagnosed in children and younger adults weight loss is one of the most common symptoms and therefore a sudden weight loss in your child could probably indicate diabetes, so it’s important to get sugars checked, and also test for other medical conditions.
Inflammatory bowel disease may cause extreme Stomach pains, bloating, reduced appetite, and even diarrhea which can adversely affect nutrient intake and absorption big time. Most people with inflammatory bowel disease would even fear eating because of possible pain, like literally avoiding eating, which in the long run leads to the severity of the same condition.
Depression often causes constant sadness that may lead to reduced appetite in most people. Also, depression and stress lead to people removing themselves from the company of people, and can easily lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa. ( denying self food to remain thin)
Aside from illnesses, there are other serious causes of unintentional weight loss that you should really watch out for:
- Could be side effects of certain medications for instance Chemotherapy, this type of treatment for cancer has shown a very big effect on the weight of most patients, which is why good nutrition is important before, during, and even after chemotherapy.
- Extreme exercises can lead to extreme muscle and fat loss, and therefore you end up losing more than you expected.
- Dental problems also limit nutrient intake so much, and in the long run, lead to unintentional weight loss.
- Certain eating disorders like Anorexia nervosa will also lead to unexpected weight loss. Do you have an eating disorder?
Most of us already are looking forward to weight loss, however, unintentional weight loss will put you at risk of other more serious health problems, and even social problems. A common one is malnutrition.
Therefore, unintentional weight loss is something we should really prevent and this is how to:
- Treat the underlying condition, get medication for diabetes, get pain relievers for inflammatory bowel disease, and even get psychotherapy in case you are going into depression.
- Another important thing is to consider visiting your Nutritionist for prescribed nutrient supplements and multivitamins.
- If you suspect the weight loss could be because of medication, go back to your doctor and get re-checked, this is especially for medication causing nausea and diarrhoea, you will really need that checked.
- And always remember to Make realistic weight loss goals
NOTE: weight loss after pregnancy is totally okay unless you become Underweight. And therefore you don’t really have to worry so much about that.