Weight Loss Question.

[student314]

I've posted a few times with various concerns that have come up in the past couple of months. Doctors have ignored my gluten concern so I've decided to cut out gluten for a few months starting next week just to see what happens since I'll be going home for a few days and can buy the groceries (I'm a poor college student and my mom agreed to buy my starting groceries ). I was weighed when I went to the doctor a few weeks ago, and I had lost 10 pounds in the four or five weeks since I had started back at college. Since then, I've lost what I'm assuming is at least another 5 pounds judging by how loose my clothes are now (everything I own is too big now). Grand total, I've lost probably 25 or so pounds since June. Granted, I'm overweight, so this isn't concerning at the moment. What is a little concerning though is the fact that I am losing the weight even though I've struggled to lose it my whole life. 

 

At first I thought all of this weight loss was caused by the chronic diarrhea/lack of appetite. And even though my appetite isn't near what it was a few months ago, I've tracked my calorie intake for the past 3 days for a nutrition project, and I consume anywhere from 1700 to 2100 calories per day. I walk half a mile and back to class, but that's only once or twice and at most 3 times per day. My diarrhea has significantly improved recently (even though I still have overall stomach upset and neurological symptoms), but I'm still dropping the weight. I mentioned this concern to someone and they chalked it up to the fact that I'm not eating as much and walking every day and it was nothing out of the ordinary. I hesitate to complain about the weight loss, but it is something really new for me--I usually plateau at some point and I haven't yet. I'm almost down to my "thinnest" size and I haven't been there in 5 years. And back then I had to exercise an hour and a half five days a week to lose the weight. I don't think I could exercise for 45 minutes in my current condition.  

 

What I'm wondering is if this is normally seen in a gluten intolerance/Celiac. And if losing weight despite eating 2000 calories per day and minimal exercise is in fact a "normal" thing or just more evidence that something is not going right in my digestive system. It would be different if this was occurring and I felt healthier, but that's obviously not the case right now.

[NateJ]

Lots of things can cause the weight loss. Stress and eating habits are just a few.  For me i just don't eat enough calories and have managed to bottom out around 120 ish.

Which is 30 lbs under what i should weigh. My doctors have run numerous scans, blood tests, and scopes but haven't found anything conclusive.

If you are having other symptoms i would go back and have them do a full physical if you haven't had one already. Then if nothing comes back you can chalk it up to college life and all that walking. Sometimes lifestyle change is all thats needed to treat something like this.