That is alot of update!

+1 to against trolling. Just seems weird to me.

You are 60?! Wtf.

Have you thought about tracking your calories to see what you are actually eating and if it's that low? Maybe it really is just low for your previous weight.

Also, I think you should post work stories Dilbert style. Those are some of the best.

Went to the Dr. about my weight loss.

Lost another lb. since my last official weigh-in last month.

She pulled up my bloodwork from March (maybe Feb). She said it was unusual to not have a single thing out of range. Good thing. She had me give blood again to compare today to the last one.

I've also lost 10lbs. since that checkup.

We talked a lot about possible lifestyle changes and she didn't hear anything that would explain the loss.

She said there might be several explanations. Cancer is one. She told me to go get chest X-rays. Also need to mail in a stool sample. Another possible explanation is that my absorption rate (digestive system) has changed. She referred me to a GI (gastrointestinal?) specialist. I'll be setting all of this up.

I couldn't really read her very well. But, I think she was somewhere in the middle of concern and let's just run some tests to rule stuff out.

She mentioned that if everything comes back negative, there are drugs to help gain weight. I have no idea why I would want to do this. Not only do I not really care that I'm losing weight, I like being leaner. I've tried to lean down for 30 years. I just can't explain why it is happening and it is a little concerning.

Blood work came back normal.

Good to hear.

Have you tracked calories in any way? Just been super accurate for a couple of days. Perhaps you are magically eating below maintenance and don't realize it. Or, if that is too much work, just try G4S' POICAD (pint of ice cream a day) added on to your normal food and see if you still are losing weight. If so, something is very wrong but I think the opposite will happen.

Glad you're blood work came back normal.

gl with the children's book. I remember you mentioning that but I thought it might have gotten lost with all the other stuff, very excited to hear it's still going on.

Thanks!

I haven't really tracked anything. Even if I did, I don't really have a good baseline other than my memory. I feel like my diet hasn't changed much but again, I don't have any stats to back that up.

My Dr. suggested something similar to the ice cream route. I'm going to wait to see what the GI specialist says first, though. I keep thinking my weight will stabilize somewhere.


Thanks.

Yeah, I met the illustrator the other day. She started talking about marketing. Honestly, I don't have any sort of expectations that this will amount to anything. Just something I want to do. But, she's had many of her books become somewhat successful and she told me she feels like this has a chance.

If you're losing weight so quickly there is a chance your stabilization could be too low of a weight. There are very easy to use calculators to guess your baseline fyi.

I'm not exactly sure I understand this. Why would my stabilization change? Or is that a dumb question? I've stayed around 205 for more than 10 years and now I'm at 192 (and falling). Something seems off.

Anyway, poop test came back fine. I never heard about the lung xrays but my assumption is they are fine since nobody said anything.

GI appointment this Friday.

Just want to note that, again, I feel fine. And, I'm fine with a slimmer me. I just can't explain the weight loss and want to cover the bases.

I'm simply saying (in different ways) that you may be eating less than you have for 10 years without realizing it.

Oh definitely this. Or drinking less.

It just doesn't "seem" like it but, yeah, without tracking it I know things could have changed.

It hasn't affected my DL or squats (which were super weak anyway), but my bench has really suffered. Again, not really an issue if all else is good.

Ugh, Mom is now having health problems. She fell and broke her arm about a month ago. That in itself hasn't been horrible but she can't use her walker so she isn't getting exercise. And, she can't sleep well. Apparently, she gained a LOT of water. I don't know all the details but they put her in the hospital last night. ugh.

They don't think it is serious but my fear as soon as I heard about the arm was that that sort of thing is a setback for someone that age and is difficult to recover from.

Just got back from the GI specialist. Good news and not-so-sure news.

The good news is I got poked and prodded and questioned and they found nothing. Also gained a couple of pounds since last weigh in.

The not-so-sure news is they ordered a colonscopy and a gastroscopy. Basically attacking from both ends.

I asked her if she was concerned and she said, well, your doctor specifically ordered this so there is some element of concern.

I asked her if there wasn't some non-bad reason for this weight loss. She indicated that that there would most likely need to be some significant change in diet for this to happen.

I keep thinking that there has to be some other explanation. Better sleep, better mood, home cooking, a little less drinking? Maybe my diet has changed more than I realize? I dunno. Sort of scary that they keep ordering tests.

IANAD, but I assume they keep ordering tests not necessarily because they're concerned, but because they haven't found anything yet, and a colonscopy and a gastroscopy are standard GI diagnostic tools that any GI is going to use, even if it's just to rule stuff out.

I had some GI issues 20ish year ago and they said it's probably nothing but we'll run some tests. They did a sigmoidoscopy (a mini colonoscopy) and an endoscopy (which I think is the same as a gastroscopy) and found nothing. GI told me he could do a colonscopy if I wanted, but he didn't think it was necessary and wouldn't find anything, so I said no thanks, I don't need stuff shoved further up my colon. In the end they ruled out anything serious and I was left with a diagnosis of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Thanks!

Yeah, part of me is saying this is much ado about nothing, but the other part is saying "wtf".

I had a colonscopy about 7 years ago and they basically said, don't come back any time soon.

They scheduled the tests for about a month from now. I'm tempted to cancel them if my weight starts coming back.

Just count your calories for a week or so. I mean I know that it is highly annoying. I mean this counting everything you put your mouth. But in this situation it seems to be essential info.

I don't really have a baseline, though? I just know that my eating habits haven't changed dramatically. Identical breakfasts and lunches. Basically the same dinners only fresh veggies instead of canned. Some different before bed snacks but if anything more calories now.

Of course, I'm googling cancers. I have literally no symptoms of any sort of GI or pancreatic cancer (jaundice, nausea, loss of appetite, bloating) EXCEPT weight loss.

Stress or added some physical activity?

I had to do an endoscopy without anesthesia and it was brutal.

If anything, less stress. Exercise routine pretty much the same.

Oh God, I can't even imagine this. Why?

On a much happier note, got this bad boy yesterday:

But you would at least know if things are completely screwed or if that all can be somehow explained with food and physical activity. A handful of nuts less per day can add-up. More sex? That does burn calories.

Any way I wish you that that all is nothing bad. And I would do this tests. It is worth a lot to be able to exclude cancer.

Thanks....with an ugh. I really don't want to take these tests. But, yeah, I probably need to.

I've gained 3 pounds back. I can feel it in my arms. Don't ask me how I can tell, but I can tell. My lifts are coming back too.

I'm considering cancelling the tests if I can maintain this weight. I dunno

This whole thing seems sort of surreal. I almost never weighed myself in the past. Now I do it every day.

I don't think I'm necessarily fearful of the upcoming tests, but I'm definitely not looking forward to them.

My weight seems to be stabilizing and my lifting is definitely showing signs of improvement. It might be from the newfound WIM caused by this. Maybe I'm trying harder to prove to myself nothing is wrong.

I'm growing increasingly annoyed with my job. I'm ready to move on.

Officially my plan is to retire in March, but I'm finding it harder and harder to go to work.

I've been researching health insurance and really it can be summed up in one word - UGH. Super duper expensive for someone like me. I only need it for about 5 years, but it really won't be practical for even this long.

Soooooo....... Started looking for part time jobs. Lowe's, Chase, and Whole Foods all have benefits for part timers. I could probably handle any of those. I worked in a grocery store for many years so I know the business, but I didn't care for it much. Chase would be fine but boring I think. Lowe's might be a good option. I used to almost live there it seemed when I was remodeling. I think it might be a decent fit for me.